ArizonaRealCountry.com 9 June 2019 from the shoot-out without a scratch. In his wake were three men dead, or dying, and another wounded. Owens calmly returned to the livery stable, mounted his horse and left Holbrook. However, he returned two days later for a court inquest concerning the September 4th affray. The trial of John Blevins, the only survivor, was delayed for a year, but eventually, he was sentenced to five years in jail. Providence was on Blevins side because he was pardoned shortly thereafter without ever serving one day behind bars. Andy Cooper, Sam Blevins, and Mose Roberts, on the other hand, had already shelled out the highest duty to call their debt to society “paid in full.” On the sixteenth of September, another confrontation erupted. This time it was the Tewksbury brothers and Jim Roberts dueling with Harry Middleton and Joe Underwood. Middleton shot through, managed to return to the Graham ranch, but soon died as a result of his wounds. Underwood made it to San Carlos where he later recovered from the encounter. Sheriff Mulvenon and a posse of twenty-five, resultant of the meeting with the governor on the seventh, rode into Pleasant Valley four days later and convened at Perkins store. This store, surrounded by a stone wall, was just a short distance from the Graham house. The following day, John Graham and Charlie Blevins rode to the store and were met by a congress of the sheriff and his deputies. The possemen stayed hidden behind the stone wall while Sheriff Mulvenon gave the order for the two men to surrender. Foolishly they resisted. Mulvenon’s shotgun dropped Graham’s horse out from under him and the volley of gunfire from the barricaded posse killed both outlaws. The sheriff then went to the Graham house where he arrested a Graham confederate, Miguel Apocado. Nearby the Graham house stood a cabin where another confederate, Al Rose was also arrested. The day could be called a “roundup” in every sense of the word. Next to be arrested were the Tewksburys, Jim Roberts, and four of their cohorts. Tom Graham was not captured but turned himself in sometime in October. The prisoners were then taken to Prescott, but all were either discharged or released on bail. A Grand Jury hearing was set for December 1887. Much to the surprise of those in attendance, all of the principals showed up; however, they were armed to the teeth. Edwin and Jim Tewksbury, along with Jim Roberts and the four other defendants were indicted for the murder of Hamp Blevins on August tenth. The Grahams were scheduled to appear in court at St. Johns at the Apache County Seat. The trial dates were set for June 1888. In this case, however, not so surprisingly, out of fear, none of the witnesses showed up to give testimony. The court was forced to release all of the defendants due to lack of evidence. According to W.C. Barnes, after the trials, Jim Tewksbury became increasingly ill with consumption. He died in Prescott before the year was out. Now the only survivors of the original two feuding families were Edwin Tewksbury and Tom Graham. The following year, Tom Graham’s new bride became pregnant, and the couple moved to Tempe. Ed Tewksbury remained in Pleasant Valley but never ran sheep again. It might have seemed as though the terrible fighting had finally come to a halt. Unfortunately, there was one last scene to be played out, but it would not occur until 1892. Tom Graham and his family were still living in Tempe on August 2, 1892, when he was shot from ambush. Before he died two hours after the incident, he testified that it had been Edwin Tewksbury who had pulled the trigger. Witnesses who heard the fatal shot reported seeing a rider resembling Tewksbury. The evidence presented by those witnesses was substantial enough to support his arrest three days later. The last Tewksbury was taken to trial in Tucson, Arizona, where he was found guilty and remanded to jail. However, in February 1895, Tewksbury was released on bail due to a technicality discovered by his lawyers. They got him a new trial which was scheduled for March of 1896. At that trial, after so many years, Edwin Tewksbury was acquitted and all charges were dropped. The Pleasant Valley War had finally come to an end. Perhaps Justice of the Peace Meadows had been right all along—with no more Grahams or Tewksburys left to fight—the war was over. It had been fought to the last man—Edwin Tewksbury. Congress is a lifestyle... Susan Abare 928-713-7472 SAbare@AwardRealty.com • CUSTOM HOMES • SECOND HOMES • PREMIUM HORSE PROPERTIES • INVESTMENT & COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES • HOME LOTS • ACREAGE AMAZING NIGHT SKY GROUP THERAPY NATURE WALKS HORSING AROUND OUTDOOR FUN AMAZING NIGHT SKY GROUP THERAPY NATURE WALKS HORSING AROUND OUTDOOR FUN