b'Duchet continued from page 18the crowd rode past them going about their business.Enter EstrellaGraham and Duchet successfully gathered the cattleEstrella Graham, Tom and Annies daughter, was without incident and drove them to Tempe. now grown and had married a wealthy Pittsburgh steelman named Ed Converse. He had relocated to Two months later on August 2, 1892, Tom GrahamCalifornia and was fascinated by Western history. was cut down by ambush in Tempe and CharleyWhen Converse learned that his wife had spent her Duchet, his loyal friend and trusted bodyguard,childhood with the fabled Charley Duchet, Converse was out of a job. After the trials of John Rhodes andinsists she hire a detective and track down the old Ed Tweksbury failed to return convictions, Duchetgunman. The detective found Duchet at this digs near swore he would kill them both but never did. HeAguila. Converse sent train fare and invited Charley disappeared for a while. Age and his many woundsto visit his adopted granddaughter at the Santa were beginning to take their toll. Paula estate that Converse owned.One report said the undertaker preparingFilthy and probably a shocking sight for the Santa Duchet for burial found 64 bullet holes Barbara residents to see, Charley Duchet arrived to the splendor of the Converse estate and a reunion in his body and 27 knife scars on hiswith his beloved Estrella. Cleaned up and provided a new wardrobe, Duchet lived high off the hog in Santa torso, limbs, hands, and feet. Barbara, with Converse peeling out all the cash that Duchet needed for the several years while he was Exactly when Duchet turned up west of Aguila isthere. Restless and longing for his old ways, Duchet uncertain. He had an interest in prospecting while stillfinally thanked Converse and bid Estrella goodbye. It in Tempe with Tom Graham and had developed severalwas back to his canyon and his digs.claims. Duchet settled into his digs west of Aguila not too long before the turn of the century and not too longDuchet injured his foot in 1925 and finally traveled to after the trials of Rhodes and Tewksbury. He, WagonerPhoenix to let Doctor H. Hughes treat the infection and Aguila rancher John Moore held several claims inthat had set in. Hughes cleaned and lanced the partnership during that period. Duchet lived at his digs,wound and bandaged it well. The bandage was an typical of miners of the day, without electric power,inconvenience to Duchet so he took it off. He died indoor plumbing or refrigeration, without much exceptof blood poisoning a few weeks later or so one story the crude shelters they built for themselves and thegoes. Another had him dying of pneumonia.rugged beauty of their surroundings. Duchet Canyon is one of the loveliest spots on the Sonoran desert and inHe died on March 16, 1925, at age 87. One report the Harquahalla range. Springs high in the mountainssaid the undertaker preparing him for burial found give the canyon an adequate supply of water year-round64 bullet holes in his body and 27 knife scars on his most years. torso, limbs, hands, and feet. TRACTOR Used Tractors: Kubota, John Deere, New Holland, etc.New Tractors: LS from25 hp and up.from UTVS to Car Haulers, Landscape and Dump Trailers, Special We Service & RepairOrders also available on New Trailers.Tractors, Trailers & UTVs.Grapple Buckets, Box Scrapers, Straight Blades, Rock Rakes, Chain Harrows, Arena Groomers, Brush Hogs, Post Hole Diggers, Post Drivers and More.ArizonaRealCountry.com April 2020 21'