Revised December 18, 2017
Review by Bruce Dinges, Arizona Historical Society:
Every historian tries to remain impartial, but when all the evidence is in, we are often forced to choose sides. "Arizona's Graham - Tewksbury Feud" is Leland Hanchett's admittedly partisan history of the bloody events that transpired in Pleasant Valley more than a century ago. Based on documents he uncovered researching "The Crooked Trail to Holbrook," Hanchett argues that Earl R. Forrest very nearly got it right when he published "Arizona's Dark and Bloody Ground" back in 1936. The introduction of sheep to cattle country ignited a fuse that burned down to the last man. Hanchett takes this classic scenario a step further when he suggests that prominent territorial businessmen and politicians manipulated the feud to serve their own selfish interest. It certainly wasn't just a case of the Grahams vs. the Tewksburys, he concludes. Instead it was the Grahams vs. the Tewksburys, all of the county sheriffs, most of the local media, the best legal minds of the southwest and the Governor. As Kennedy assassination buffs can attest, conspiracies are difficult things to prove, and Hanchett doesn't quite pull it off in the case of the Pleasant Valley War. Nonetheless he has uncovered new material in corner's inquests, court testimony, tax rolls, and census records that support his contention that woollybacks were at the heart of the matter.
Every historian tries to remain impartial, but when all the evidence is in, we are often forced to choose sides. "Arizona's Graham - Tewksbury Feud" is Leland Hanchett's admittedly partisan history of the bloody events that transpired in Pleasant Valley more than a century ago. Based on documents he uncovered researching "The Crooked Trail to Holbrook," Hanchett argues that Earl R. Forrest very nearly got it right when he published "Arizona's Dark and Bloody Ground" back in 1936. The introduction of sheep to cattle country ignited a fuse that burned down to the last man. Hanchett takes this classic scenario a step further when he suggests that prominent territorial businessmen and politicians manipulated the feud to serve their own selfish interest. It certainly wasn't just a case of the Grahams vs. the Tewksburys, he concludes. Instead it was the Grahams vs. the Tewksburys, all of the county sheriffs, most of the local media, the best legal minds of the southwest and the Governor. As Kennedy assassination buffs can attest, conspiracies are difficult things to prove, and Hanchett doesn't quite pull it off in the case of the Pleasant Valley War. Nonetheless he has uncovered new material in corner's inquests, court testimony, tax rolls, and census records that support his contention that woollybacks were at the heart of the matter.
Reader Review
"....The significant value of Lee's presentation in my opinion is the research he has done on the money trail and the implications that result from his emphasis on the money influence. The implications seems to be that both the Tewksburys and the Grahams became pawns of the Daggs and their power influence...."
"....The significant value of Lee's presentation in my opinion is the research he has done on the money trail and the implications that result from his emphasis on the money influence. The implications seems to be that both the Tewksburys and the Grahams became pawns of the Daggs and their power influence...."
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