The Three-Cornered War by Megan Kate Nelson

Author:Megan Kate Nelson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scribner
Published: 2020-02-10T16:00:00+00:00

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Clark had been back from the Mogollon expedition for two months when a letter arrived in Santa Fe, detailing the discoveries that Joseph Reddeford Walker’s adventurers had made in Arizona Territory. The letter gave a “full account of flattering prospects for the future of our New Eldorado,” arguing that the mountains north of Pima Villages were much richer in minerals than the state of California.7 As proof, the author of the letter enclosed specimens of gold from the new mines. Clark was delighted.

“I have no doubt of the wealth of that country in minerals,” he wrote in his diary, “and I trust it is now in a fair way to be developed.”8

It did not take long for gold fever to take possession of Santa Fe’s residents. A few days after the letter arrived, Clark visited James Carleton at his headquarters and the two men spent “a half hour discussing the question of protection to mines, &c.” Clark was invited to attend a meeting of prominent men in Santa Fe “who have an interest in the new discoveries of gold & silver.” They were military men (including Carleton), government officials, and businessmen. Each man would contribute money and whatever other support he could toward the exploration and development of the mines in Arizona. They had the power of arms, laws, and money behind them, an ideal consortium for backing exploratory ventures into Arizona’s goldfields. They called themselves the Santa Fe Mining Company.

The group discussed the reports from the Walker mines and agreed that the details were tantalizing, but probably untrustworthy. As even most miners acknowledged, “since gold was first discovered in the Rocky Mountains, men will lie about their exploits upon second-hand information.” Several of the men proposed to send an agent to Arizona, “to make an examination & report.” They all agreed that the man to go was John Clark. He would act as an agent for the company in Arizona, while still reporting to the government as surveyor general. If possible, he would appoint a man already working at the mines to stake claims and provide status reports.9 Once this plan had been decided upon, it came together in a matter of days. James Carleton provided Clark with an army escort of twenty 1st California soldiers with mining expertise, to accompany him on the journey.

“When you arrive at the new diggings,” Carleton instructed the captain of the escort, “I want each of your men to prospect and wash, and I want you to report the exact time they severally work, and the amount of gold each one obtains in return for his labor during that time.”

The soldiers’ statistics, combined with Clark’s assessments, would accurately represent the Arizona goldfields. If they found that the mines were rich, “there will, on your return, be a revolution in matters here which no man now can ever dream of.”10

By June 18, 1863, all of the arrangements for the expedition had been made. Before they left, Clark wrote to Commissioner Edmunds, making the case for this latest foray into Arizona mining country.

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