HARQUAHALA, ARIZONA

Precious metal mining in southern Arizona had fallen on hard times by 1888. The sporadically productive Vulture Mine near Wickenburg had again shut down, while a catastrophic 1886 fire in Tombstone had severely damaged the water pumps necessary to operations in its rich silver mines. Flooding had left only two mines in limited production. Things changed in late 1888 when rumors surfaced of a rich strike 90 miles west of Phoenix in the remote Little Harquahala Mountains (originally spelled Harqua Hala, which translates to “running water” in Yavapai).

Spanish explorers had discovered gold