Valley of the guns : the Pleasant Valley War, 1882-1892, and the trauma of violence

In the late 1880s, Pleasant Valley, Arizona, descended into a nightmare of violence, murder, and mayhem. By the time the Pleasant Valley War was over, eighteen men were dead, four were wounded, and one was missing, never to be found. Valley of the Guns explores the reasons for the violence that engulfed the settlement, turning neighbors, families, and friends against one another. While popular historians and novelists have long been captivated by the story, the Pleasant Valley War has more recently attracted the attention of scholars interested in examining the underlying causes of western violence. In this book, author Eduardo Obregón Pagán explores how geography and demographics aligned to create an unstable settlement subject to the constant threat of Apache raids. The fear of surprise attack by day and the theft of livestock by night prompted settlers to shape their lives around the expectation of sudden violence. As the forces of progress strained natural resources, conflict grew between local ranchers and cowboys hired by ranching corporations. Mixed-race property owners found themselves fighting white cowboys to keep their land. In addition, territorial law enforcement officers were outsiders to the community and approached every suspect fully armed and ready to shoot. The combination of unrelenting danger, its accompanying stress, and an abundance of firearms proved deadly. Drawing from history, geography, cultural studies, and trauma studies, Pagán uses the story of Pleasant Valley to demonstrate a new way of looking at the settlement of the West. Writing in a vivid narrative style and employing rigorous scholarship, he creatively explores the role of trauma in shaping the lives and decisions of the settlers in Pleasant Valley and offers new insight into the difficulties of survival in an isolated frontier community. Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Imprint......Page 5 Contents......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 12 Prologue......Page 16 Introduction: At the Crossroads of Fear and Death......Page 18 1. Terror on the Range......Page 27 2. Frontier Entrepreneurs......Page 58 3. Blood of the Covenant......Page 68 4. To Suffer the Arrows of Outrageous Fortune......Page 89 5. Enforcement with Extreme Prejudice......Page 111 6. Rustlers Rousted......Page 139 7. Blind Justice, Masked Justice......Page 149 8. “From Hell’s Heart"......Page 167 9. Burdens of Proof......Page 177 10. The Trials of Ed Tewksbury......Page 186 11. “What Dreams May Come"......Page 196 Notes......Page 218 Bibliography......Page 282 Index......Page 300 Drawing Upon Psychology, Literary Studies, Economics, And Trauma Studies, Eduardo Pagán Explores How Geography And Demographics Aligned To Create An Unstable Site For Settlement In The Arizona Territory, And How Cycles Of Violence, Extreme Stress, And The Strain Of Natural Resources Led To The Pleasant Valley War-- Prologue -- Introduction: At The Crossroads Of Fear And Death -- Terror On The Range -- Frontier Entrepreneurs -- Blood Of The Covenant -- To Suffer The Arrows Of Outrageous Fortune -- Enforcement With Extreme Prejudice -- Rustlers Rousted -- Blind Justice, Masked Justice -- From Hell's Heart -- Burdens Of Proof -- The Trials Of Ed Tewksbury -- What Dreams May Come. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 269-286) And Index. "Drawing upon psychology, literary studies, economics, and trauma studies, Eduardo Pagán explores how geography and demographics aligned to create an unstable site for settlement in the Arizona Territory, and how cycles of violence, extreme stress, and the strain of natural resources led to the Pleasant Valley War"-- Provided by publisher