Arizona history Sept. 27-Oct. 03
Sunday, Sept. 27
On this date in 1858, Rafael Luna petitioned Col. Benjamin Bonneville for a military escort for protection while passing through Navajo Country along Beale Road with a flock of more than 50,000 sheep — the first flock to be driven to California along this route.
On this date in 1910, the town of Naco was destroyed by a fire which originated in a stable on the American side of the line.
On this date in 1922, The Arizona Republic reported that government big-game hunter Ramsey Patterson said a Grizzly bear and a mountain lion were traveling, hunting and denning together. Patterson tracked the animals and killed the lion.
On this date in 1929, more than 200 horned toads were entered in a race sponsored by the Tucson Lions Club to raise funds for the construction of a road to Mt. Lemmon. Residents and business establishments throughout southern Arizona sponsored entries with such colorful names as “Plumbers Friend,” entered by the Arizona Pipe and Heating Company, and “Static,” entered by radio station KVOA. The toad entered by the city of Willcox won the race and more than $2,000 was collected for the Mt. Lemmon road.
On this date in 1929, 27 federal prisoners in Maricopa County Jail went on a hunger strike, claiming they had been forced to eat food “unfit for human consumption.”
Monday, Sept. 28
On this date in 1874, the Tucson Citizen reported that Steven Ochoa had grown the first cotton near Tucson.
On this date in 1910, Phoenix Newspapers reported that earthquakes had been felt for several days over an area north of Flagstaff toward the Grand Canyon. Adobe houses were cracking, chimneys falling and people were leaving the area.
On this date in 1929, the 10th Calvary marched out of Fort Huachuca headed for St. David for field maneuvers....