Comments on: The Wickenburg Massacre Site – An Enduring Mystery http://www.wickenburg-az.com/2008/06/the-wickenburg-massacre-site-an-enduring-mystery/ Your independent source of information about Wickenburg, AZ. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:15:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Melanie Wood http://www.wickenburg-az.com/2008/06/the-wickenburg-massacre-site-an-enduring-mystery/#comment-4882 Melanie Wood Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:15:02 +0000 http://www.wickenburg-az.com/?p=890#comment-4882 I'm glad I came across this page. Yesterday, eight of us rode our horses to the site from near I-60. No problems getting there except a wrong turn at the ranch. We realized soon enough and went back and found the right way. I had heard about the site and had seen pictures from other members of our riding group. But being there was totally different. It was so interesting and we all left the site with many questions about what really happened to the bodies and where they were buried. I'm with Gary with his thought on maybe doing an excavation to find out once and for all if they are buried there. Very cool place to go and see, and worth the trek to get there. Melanie Arizona Back Country Riders I’m glad I came across this page. Yesterday, eight of us rode our horses to the site from near I-60. No problems getting there except a wrong turn at the ranch. We realized soon enough and went back and found the right way. I had heard about the site and had seen pictures from other members of our riding group. But being there was totally different. It was so interesting and we all left the site with many questions about what really happened to the bodies and where they were buried. I’m with Gary with his thought on maybe doing an excavation to find out once and for all if they are buried there. Very cool place to go and see, and worth the trek to get there.
Melanie
Arizona Back Country Riders

]]> By: Gary Griffiths http://www.wickenburg-az.com/2008/06/the-wickenburg-massacre-site-an-enduring-mystery/#comment-4877 Gary Griffiths Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:53:12 +0000 http://www.wickenburg-az.com/?p=890#comment-4877 It appears that the main documentation for the burial of the victims of the Wickenburg Massacre in the local cemetery comes from a letter written by Mr. Kruger, an Army clerk, to relatives of one of the victims. As an Army Criminal Investigator, I had to interface with grieving family members on a number of occasions, and often had to "soften" the harsh realities of the death of their loved one. I'm confident that Mr. Kruger may have had similar impulses, especially if asked about a "Christian" burial. His rather elaborate account of them being "decently buried in nice coffins" would be more soothing than, "We dug holes beside them and rolled them in." which might be more in line with the facts. Moreover, if the bodies were buried in Wickenburg, then for some mysterious reason exhumed and reburied at the massacre site in 1949, the normal "Christian" practice is to bury bodies in a west-east orientation, whereas the graves at the massacre site are not in any particular pattern. This further reinforces the hypothesis that the bodies were buried at the site shortly after the massacre, and not transported in to town. Finally, there seems to be little reason to have fake graves at the massacre site, as it is not a popular tourist attraction. In the future, perhaps an archaeological excavation of the site will determine the facts once and for all. It appears that the main documentation for the burial of the victims of the Wickenburg Massacre in the local cemetery comes from a letter written by Mr. Kruger, an Army clerk, to relatives of one of the victims. As an Army Criminal Investigator, I had to interface with grieving family members on a number of occasions, and often had to “soften” the harsh realities of the death of their loved one. I’m confident that Mr. Kruger may have had similar impulses, especially if asked about a “Christian” burial. His rather elaborate account of them being “decently buried in nice coffins” would be more soothing than, “We dug holes beside them and rolled them in.” which might be more in line with the facts.

Moreover, if the bodies were buried in Wickenburg, then for some mysterious reason exhumed and reburied at the massacre site in 1949, the normal “Christian” practice is to bury bodies in a west-east orientation, whereas the graves at the massacre site are not in any particular pattern. This further reinforces the hypothesis that the bodies were buried at the site shortly after the massacre, and not transported in to town.

Finally, there seems to be little reason to have fake graves at the massacre site, as it is not a popular tourist attraction.

In the future, perhaps an archaeological excavation of the site will determine the facts once and for all.

]]> By: Allan http://www.wickenburg-az.com/2008/06/the-wickenburg-massacre-site-an-enduring-mystery/#comment-4871 Allan Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:47:10 +0000 http://www.wickenburg-az.com/?p=890#comment-4871 TSSM, I'm glad you made the effort to see the site. This was probably the second most important event in the history of Wickenburg during territorial days (after Henry Wickenburg's discovery of gold at the Vulture Mine). I've sat on the hilltop southwest of the ambush site and contemplated what those five minutes of terror would have been like. Thanks for visiting wickenburg-az.com and commenting. TSSM,
I’m glad you made the effort to see the site. This was probably the second most important event in the history of Wickenburg during territorial days (after Henry Wickenburg’s discovery of gold at the Vulture Mine). I’ve sat on the hilltop southwest of the ambush site and contemplated what those five minutes of terror would have been like.

Thanks for visiting wickenburg-az.com and commenting.

]]> By: TSSM http://www.wickenburg-az.com/2008/06/the-wickenburg-massacre-site-an-enduring-mystery/#comment-4869 TSSM Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:04:33 +0000 http://www.wickenburg-az.com/?p=890#comment-4869 Enjoyed reading this article! Followed the directions though I abandoned my truck when the jeep trail got a little too rugged for my liking. Loaded the GPS coordinates provided into my GPS handheld and hiked the rest of the way in ... coordinates were spot on! Enjoyed seeing a piece of history :) Enjoyed reading this article! Followed the directions though I abandoned my truck when the jeep trail got a little too rugged for my liking. Loaded the GPS coordinates provided into my GPS handheld and hiked the rest of the way in … coordinates were spot on!

Enjoyed seeing a piece of history :)

]]> By: Allan http://www.wickenburg-az.com/2008/06/the-wickenburg-massacre-site-an-enduring-mystery/#comment-4220 Allan Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:36:31 +0000 http://www.wickenburg-az.com/?p=890#comment-4220 James, Thanks for responding - I contacted Chaun directly to help with the identification of her photos. Unfortunately, I have no information regarding the date and reason for relocation of the monument to its present site. The Wickenburg Historical Preservation Society might be able to help with that question. They can be reached at (928) 684-2272. It has always been a bit of an irritation (to me) that the sign does not clearly explain where the massacre occurred. I wonder how many visitors think the massacre happened on the edge of U.S. 60. James,
Thanks for responding – I contacted Chaun directly to help with the identification of her photos.

Unfortunately, I have no information regarding the date and reason for relocation of the monument to its present site. The Wickenburg Historical Preservation Society might be able to help with that question. They can be reached at (928) 684-2272.

It has always been a bit of an irritation (to me) that the sign does not clearly explain where the massacre occurred. I wonder how many visitors think the massacre happened on the edge of U.S. 60.

]]>