FORT HUACHUCA by ARLETTA DAWDY

          Many old forts and military camps have been covered here at Sweethearts of the West, in books, films and campfire stories. My fascination with Fort Huachuca began nearly forty years ago. The Huachuca Mountains are Sky Islands stretching from just short of the Mexican border, fifteen miles north in westernmost Cochise County, Arizona. Over the years we dry camped atop the mountains, RV’d close by, stayed in cabins, motels and the Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee to the east  I  had become obsessed 

with the area, its scenery, people, museums and fascinating history.

On July 8, 2015 Celia Yeary posted an article here entitled "BUFFALO SOLDIERS."

Fort Huachuca Museum

          I returned again and again even after my husband’s death in 2008 at least yearly for extended stays. I poured my energies into research and absorbing the sense of the terrain and atmosphere. A brother-in-law’s stories of his grandmother led to the book’s heroine, Josephine. Though she carried the same name as the original, she was very different and, so, HUACHUCA WOMAN evolved as the first book in THE HUACHUCA TRILOGY. BY GRACE and ROSE OF SHARON came later

          In 1952, Josephine’s young adult grandchildren have returned to the four generational family homestead in the Huachucas to record their 75 year old grandmother’s stories of her life. In Josephine’s words, here is her tale of the origins of the famed fort:

EXCERPT:

“Fort Huachuca and her soldiers have been a part of my life since memory began. After all, we shared our birth year of 1877. That’s when the camp was to deal with raiding Apaches. Before the fort, the government had set up special units of black soldiers and white officers for the Indian campaign in the north. Those first soldiers were something of a ragtag bunch with tattered uniforms, mostly left over from the Civil War, and whatever they cobbled together. Many wore the blue wool in stifling hot weather and cold winter. But none wore the ‘uniform’ more proudly.

          Negro soldiers fought in the Revolutionary War and Civil War, always with white officers in command. Later, Plains Indians gave ‘em the name ‘Buffalo Soldiers,’ for the dark of their skin, the nappy pelt of their hair that felt of buffalo hide, and for their fierce fighting ways, despite their raggedy appearance and their dependence on the worst of army nags. The soldiers took to the name with pride, not insult.         


      Most Buffalo Soldiers fought for the Union and made their way west after the War Between the States. Others were wandering freedmen, looking to make their way. Some made a life of the army, some moved on. They came in all ages and stages. Some still wet behind the ears and some with the bowed legs and grizzled look of a long life on back of a horse. Some with useful skills left from plantation days and some seeking the security of a regimented way of life.

          With a goodly amount of water and these old mountains jutting up sharply out of the desert in all their greenery, the fort was pure oasis for the weary or desert bound.

          White officers tended to come for a spell and move on. Some saw the assignment to Fort Huachuca as punishment and some took p0ride in it.  Others bided their time. By 1886, the officers had their storied houses lined up along one side of the parade grounds, just as in eastern forts. Wives and Families followed and social life of balls, picnics and good deeds came, too. For the whites.

          For the enlisted men, barracks lined the opposite side of the parade grounds. Parlors and barracks alike filled with the dust from hooves of parading horses and the boots of marching men. By this time, regulation uniforms and decent horses were the order of the day for they had been earned in the Indian Wars. At first, few recruits married or took up with squaws. They evolved their own social life in hunting, horse racing and rodeo stunts, gaming and music making. Off grounds, a few cantinas offered drinks and lady companions for a buck or two.

          

When not fighting Apaches, usually relying on Apache scouts to locate the rascals, or searching for first Cochise and then Geronimo, the soldiers were kept busy: laying telegraph wires, surveying the fort and mountains, building roads and the various buildings needed at the fort. They looked to the safety of settlers in patrolling the surrounding area regularly and stopping at ranches. Their officers might take a cup of coffee or a meal with a rancher or his family but the regulars kept to themselves.

Nearing the turn of the century, things got hot busy along the Mexican border and much of the soldiers’ time was spent patrolling against renegade Mexicans, as well as Sierra Madre or other Apaches from across the way. Others tended the orchards and fields in Garden Canyon or doing whatever work was needed to keep the fort running.”

********

Fort Huachuca has continued in service to the country ever since. Two excellent museums, designation as a National Historic landmark, many changes in the operation of surveillance and communications systems have flourished. Yearly re-enactments of the 10^th Calvary’s Buffalo Soldiers continue to bring attention to its traditions. Historical events include: Ancient petroglyphs in Garden Canyon;

Geronimo’s surrender to post Commander General Nelson A. Miles in 1886; Pershing’s doomed “Punitive Expedition” into Mexico (1916-1917) to search out Pancho Villa; the 1917 appointment to post commander of Col Charles Young, West Point graduate and first Black army colonel; Singer Dorothy Dandridge and WACs arrived around WWII; and visitors and trainees now come from the world over. 

References:

Over the years I have found a multitude of books, magazines and periodicals about Fort Huachuca helpful. Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with ready references for my library is in disarray due to downsizing. Two books of some merit are:

          The Buffalo Soldiers by William H. Leckie, U of Oklahoma Press, 1967

Fort Huachuca: The Story of a Frontier Post, by Cornelius C. Smith Jr, sold by Huachuca Museum Society, 1976  

 

Photos: Google Images, Armyand Wikipedia

 Arletta Dawdy lives and writes in Northern California but her literary heart lives in the Southeast Arizona.

         

Hallie Crawford Stillwell – The “Grande Dame of Texas”

If you’ve ever lived in west Texas, especially in the Big Bend area, you know the name Hallie Stillwell. She’s a legend and a person respected and admired by people across the nation as well as Texas.

Hallie Crawford was born in Waco, Texas, in 1897. In 1900 her parents moved the family to Ozona, and in 1905 to the San Angelo area.  Searching for a better life and education for their children, the Crawfords moved their family five times in twelve years. Their last move was in 1910 to Alpine. Hallie and her sister shared driving duties of the family's Conestoga wagon.

In 1916 Hallie graduated from Alpine High School, spent six weeks at the Normal School for Teachers and earned her teaching certificate by passing the state exams. The same year she took an elementary teaching job in Presidio. Her father, concerned about her safety said, “You’re going on a wild goose chase.” She flippantly answered, “Then, I’ll gather my geese.” He insisted she carry his pistol with her as she walked the half-mile to and from school. This was a time of turmoil in Texas. Pancho Villa had captured Ojinaga, the town directly across the border from Presidio and often raided over on the Texas side.

A year later, much to her parent’s relief, she took a job teaching elementary school in Marathon, a small town thirty-one miles east of Alpine. The couple she boarded with introduced her to Roy Stillwell, a friend of theirs, “a tall, handsome cowboy who drove a Hudson Super-6.” The couple invited Roy to attend a dance with them and Roy and Hallie danced until sunrise. Roy took her for drives in his car, a real luxury in those days, to picnics and all the social function in the community. He was old-fashioned and believed proper courting included gifts of candy and night serenades. However, Roy couldn’t sing or play the guitar, but he found a fiddler and a blind man who could play the guitar. The two serenaded her below her window, often waking her to the music of “Listen to the Mockingbird” and “The Reagan Waltz.” Though he was twenty years Hallie's senior, the blue-eyed cowboy made her heart flutter. She was in love with Roy Stillwell.

Her father felt Roy was too old for her and didn’t approve of their engagement, but after four months, they drove to Alpine and eloped. When they returned to tell her family the news, both Roy and Hallie were nervous. Hallie’s family sat at the dinner table eating when they arrived. She announced they were married. Her father took the news better than they’d expected. He suggested they might as well sit down and eat.

Though Roy owned a house in Marathon, he and Hallie would live on the ranch and come to town on occasion. Roy hadn’t told Hallie much about the ranch, so she didn’t know what to expect. The house was one room, about twelve by sixteen feet. The only furniture was a table, one chair and two benches, a cabinet like a pie safe, a wood stove, a large kettle and a blackened coffee pot. In the corner was a bedroll consisting of several rolled up quilts wrapped in a tarp.

Hallie was determined Roy would not see her disappointment, especially after the three men who worked for him with muttered “That woman school teacher won’t last six months down here.” After a rough night in the bedroll on a dirt floor, her new life began. She was determined she would learn and become an integral part of the ranch.

And she did. Hallie worked along side her husband and the cowboys but it wasn’t always easy. She’d been raised to wear a split skirt while riding and her bonnet. Her attire didn’t suit Roy and he insisted she wear one of his hats and pants while out riding with him and the cowboys. He couldn’t leave her at home alone because of the danger of Pancho Villa’s raids. The Mexican Border was just twenty-five miles away. She didn't own any pants, so they drove to Alpine to get Hallie's mother to make her some. Her mother was horrified her daughter would be dressed like one of the men, but gave in and got to sewing. She made Hallie's pants full through the hips and gathered at the waist. Just below the knee they tapered to fit and were buttoned up each side of the leg. You'll have to read the book to discover the mishap she had wearing those. Not only were they dangerous, but they weren't durable for riding on the rugged land.

The first morning she rode out with them, Roy grew impatient as she put on her lipstick. She’d been taught to protect her skin and not go out without her her makeup. Frustrated, Roy said, “You think those cows are going to notice if you have on lipstick or not?”

Roy taught Hallie everything she needed to know to be a successful rancher. She worked as hard as Roy and the cowboys.  Though their life had rough spots--droughts, illness--they were happy and survived WWI and the influence epidemic with their family intact. They raised three children—Son, Dadie, and Guy—at the ranch. Over time they added a couple of rooms to the house and Roy and the cowboys built Hallie an arbor so she had a cool place to sit. A revolver hung above the door and used to shoot the rattlesnakes while visiting the outhouse. The children were never allowed to go without an adult.

In 1930, Hallie began work as a correspondent at the Alpine Avalanche.

In 1948 while hauling hay, Roy had a wreck and he didn’t survive. Hallie and Son took over the running of the ranch. In the 1950s drought ruined many farmers and ranchers. It was a struggle to survive. To avoid bankruptcy, Hallie began giving lectures across the state. In 1956, for additional funds to run the ranch, she began her Ranch News Column. In 1957 and 1960 she became a stringer for the four well-known newspapers—The Fort Worth Star Telegram, the El Paso Times and the San Angelo Standard Times and San Antonio Express. She also became a reporter for United Press International and the Associated Press. She co-authored, with Virginia Madison, a book titled How Come It’s Called That? In 1964 she is elected Justice of the Peace for Brewster County. One of the largest counties in Texas, it covered 6,193 square miles. In addition to the above, Hallie had several other jobs. She was a hard worker and determined the Stillwell Ranch would survive.

If you’ve ever been to Terlingua you know about the Terlingua Chili Cook-Off. It’s a big to-do in the Big Bend area and folks come from all over the country to vie for the championship. Hallie judged the contest in 1967 and in 1968 was made the permanent queen of the Terlingua Chili Cook-Off.

Having lived in Brewster County for around six years, I have a deep respect for the people who live on the ranches and have built a life amid the dry, barren landscape. Many people thing it’s ugly country, but nothing is more beautiful than a west Texas sunset, or a field of blooming ocotillo, sage and other indigenous plants. I taught school in Presidio for a year and a half and know how Hallie must have suffered when walking home from school in the hot months. The temperature could easily reach 108 and on occasion reached 115. 

Texas Monthly dubbed Hallie the “Grande Dame” of Texas in 1991 as she traveled the state to promote her book, I’ll Gather My Geese, which she began in 1988 as a memoir.  Hallie was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1988, a year after her death. She passed away in April of 1997 just two months and two days before her 100^th birthday.

 In 1994, Hallie was inducted into the Texas Woman’s Hall of Fame and after her death was inducted into the Texas Heritage Hall of Honor.

For being a woman school teacher, Hallie spent seventy-nine years on her beloved ranch. When she was away, it was never far from her heart, mind and spirit. The Stillwell Ranch is still in operation and is run by Roy and Hallie's descendants. I wish I had pictures to share with you but all I found on the internet were copyrighted. If you're interested, google her name and a multitude of photos pop up. Walk through Hallie's life with her as she became the "Grande Dame of Texas."

Before her death, Hallie was able to write ten chapters of the second volume of her memoirs, My Goose is Cooked, which chronicles her life after Roy’s death. Hallie’s daughter Dadie Stillwell Potter asked Betty Heath, whose grandfather was Hallie’s first cousin, to complete the work.

 I’ll leave you these powerful words written by Betty Heath. 

“In the final analysis, Roy Stillwell chose well when he picked the unlikely school teacher to be his life’s companion in that remote and difficult land.”

References:

Stillwell, Hallie Crawford. I’ll Gather My Geese, Memorial Printing. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1991.

Stillwell, Hallie Crawford. My Goose is Cooked, Assembled by Betty Heath. College Station: Texas A&M Press, 2004.

Today I'll be giving away a PDF copy of Forever Faithful. Leave a comment to be entered into the drawing.

Forever Faithful

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Thank you for stopping by and reading Hallie and Roy's love story. 

Linda