Aztec Spring Ranch Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This cache location overlooks the site of the Aztec Spring Ranch, established in the 1880's by Jamie Stott, one of three young cowboys that lost their lives in the Pleasant Valley War.
The history-
Early in the morning on August 11, 1888, two young cowboys, Jamie Stott and his employee Jeff Wilson, were taken into custody at Stott’s Aztec Spring Ranch by a posse of men led by Apache County Deputy Sheriff James D. Houck. The group was then joined by men from Pleasant Valley and Tonto Basin, who had captured a third man, Jim Scott.
Houck supposedly had a warrant for the three, though he didn‘t have the warrant with him at the time of the arrest. The group of about 25 men and their three prisoners headed west towards Pleasant Valley, via Phoenix Park and the Old Verde Road. West of Black Canyon, Houck would later claim that his prisoners were taken from him by a band of forty masked men.
By that afternoon, Stott, Scott and Wilson would be dead, hung from a ponderosa pine near the edge of the Mogollon Rim, victims of the Pleasant Valley War, also known as the Graham-Tewksbury Feud.
The vigilantes swore each other to secrecy and departed the area.
The bodies hung from the trees for several days before being taken down.
The site of the hanging was a major crossroads on the cattle trail between Pleasant Valley and Holbrook and was probably chosen to send a message to those involved in rustling.
Deputy Houck was aligned with the Tewksbury faction, and another member of that group, Jake Lauffer, had just been wounded from ambush in Pleasant Valley. Lauffer had previously charged Stott with rustling and stolen stock had been seen at his ranch in the past. Houck suspected Stott in the shooting.
Stott’s family came west from Massachusetts following news of his death, demanding a proper investigation of their son’s murder.
This was territorial Arizona. Names of the alleged vigilantes slowly came out over the years, though no one was ever charged with the murder of Stott, Scott and Wilson.
The cache-
This cache is located near Forest Road 107 on a ridge that overlooks Jamie Stott’s Aztec Spring Ranch. You can drive to the ridge top with an off road vehicle or park on the road and make the short hike to the cache. The cache was placed in the summer and is probably inaccessible during the winter.
From the ridge, you can see the remains of an old cabin, a pond and modern ranch house. The present day ranch is on private property and gated with “No Trespassing” signs. Though FR 107A leads to the ranch, there is no access to the ranch property.
The graves-
The graves of Stott, Scott and Wilson can be visited at another Geocache, “Hangman’s Trail (Cemetery)”, GCP5BC.
To learn more about the history of this area, pick up a copy of “The Crooked Trail to Holbrook” Leland J. Hanchett. Jr. Arrowhead Press 1993, or "Pleasant Valley War" Jinx Pyle Git A Rope! Publishing 2009
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)