Bøger af Ethel Jackson Price

At the foot of the Huachuca Mountains, the U.S. Army founded one of the most crucial military posts for American expansion into the southwest frontier. Soldiers had been stationed in the region for decades, but in 1877 Fort Huachuca became the symbolic cornerstone of America's western domain. The Native American word huachuca, meaning "place of thunder," described the sporadic but marvelous electrical storms in the area, but the skies would not be the only thing booming. During the tumultuous campaigns to resolve American and Indian disputes, the U.S. infantry and famed Buffalo Soldiers faced off with Geronimo and his Apache nation in both tense negotiations and bitter combat. As time marched on, the fort developed into a permanent installation with barracks, modern training grounds, and other facilities to accommodate troop rotations and eventually became the innovative Center for Military Intelligence.

In the early 1900s, it was the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco, bustling with the raw material of Wild West legends. Bisbee's infamous Brewery Gulch once supported 47 saloons and was considered the "liveliest spot between El Paso and San Francisco." By the 1970s, opportunists had relieved Bisbee's Mule Mountains of billions of pounds of copper, 102 million ounces of silver, 2.8 million ounces of gold, and millions of pounds of zinc, lead, and manganese. The ore reserves were depleted, and when the last pickaxe struck plain old dirt, a mass exodus of miners collapsed the real estate market. But the lure of cheap land was a magnet for retirees, hippies, and artists. Boarding houses were converted into charming bed and breakfasts. Antique stores, galleries, cafes, and restaurants replaced the saloons. These days, a vibrant and eclectic community of ranchers, politicians, and free spirits; a well-preserved architectural and historic heritage; and "the most perfect year-round climate" make Bisbee, the county seat, a one-of-a-kind gem.

The story of Sierra Vista, Arizona begins with Coronado''s explorations of the southwestern desert in the sixteenth century, long before the 1877 establishment of Camp Huachuca, home of the famed 24th Infantry "Buffalo Soldiers." Sierra Vista grew up in the fury of the silver and copper mining days surrounded by three stunning mountains and the San Perdro River. Once known as Fry, this frontier town bloomed from a virtually unpopulated settlement into the Hummingbird Capital of the World.