Sunday, after a hearty Breakfast at Brownie’s Café, we tripped over to the Yuma Territorial Prison to watch a Gathering Of The Gunfighters. They had re-enactment groups from California, Nevada and Arizona at this particular annual affair. They have a three day competition and judging of their skills and costuming. Notable was the knock-up western buildings which, while small, weren’t far from the real time shacks and shanties of old West towns.
Today, Gunfighter groups are so popular they are divided into eras. The 1850’s, the 1880’s, early 1900s. Some are fancy “Dan” gamblers and Shady Ladies, Spanish Vacqueros, and Basque Herders or an outlaw gang or simple western cowpunchers. These groups first competition was in the form of a skit. One depicted the lawlessness of the old West and the repercussions of new rules preventing the carrying of guns into the saloons. Another about western Mayors and Sheriff’s bribing Mexicans to vote for them, even when they ignored them the rest of the year, and so on. It was entertaining even if a bit corny. The costuming was rich. Perhaps the serious competition was slated for later in the day.
I’ve seen gunfighter groups who ply their hobby with such seriousness that the altercation they re-enact is anything but corny. It is so realistic, babies cry, dogs howl and grown men shiver at what the Old West was really like.
Being a jail oriented person,( shucks, I even met my husband in jail,) not too many people can say that. But, the Santa Rita Jail that I know and the Yuma Territorial Prison were very different places. These Iron bunks were made to alleviate bed bug problems. The prison was located in the wilds of Yuma because it was said the heat there could melt the wings off mosquitos. The Indians covered themselves in mud and crawled into their mud huts during the heat of the day and white guys stayed in the river and drank whiskey until it was sane to move about. Surely, this would be a great place to put a prison. No one could escape because the rivers were wild, the desert surround was savage, and mosquitos vicious. Unfortunately, it didn't prove to be true. Convicts escaped on a regular basis because the tin roof of the prison cooked them alive. Many died from heat alone. It was open for a short 33 years. All that said, I thought the most interesting thing about Yuma was the types of crimes people were punished for. For instance: Morman Polygamists and Bigamists were severely punished despite the promise of freedom of religion. One man was jailed for talking disrespectfully in public to a Yuma Statesman. Fighting and drunkeness and the usual crimes of murder, prostitution, theft and cattle rustling were all represented here as were 68 different ethnic groups/countries. I wish our archives had the funding that this interesting place has. More later.
