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Hewins, L. E.

[Collection of letters of an Arizona pioneer, miner, and real estate broker.]

Phoenix, A.T., 1899–1922, mostly 1899–1901. 74 pp. manuscript in ink, mostly 8.75” x 5.5”; 1 printed bifolium leaf, 11” x 8.5”, with blank letterhead and two maps; several envelope covers, most with stamps and postmarks. CONDITION: Overall very good.

A substantive gathering of letters by an early figure involved in the Arizona Territory scene, with discussions of mines, horseback riding and local travel, real-estate projects, and more.

Levi Edward “Ned” Hewins was a prominent real estate and mining agent in Arizona before and after it became a state. Born in Illinois in 1859, he settled in Arizona Territory in 1885, at the age of 27. Following his early years there—during which he stayed at the hotel of the fabled female spy for the Union Pauline Cushman and witnessed the Pleasant Valley War and the construction of the early canals—Hewins became increasingly established in cattle, mining, and real estate operations. In 1901 he was an incorporating owner (as well as secretary and treasurer) of the Pike’s Peak Gold and Copper Mining Company, operating the McGinness claims near Morgan City, and newspaper reports from 1930 indicate the success of at least two of his claims—at Rackensack and Cave Creek—in copper and gold ore. In 1907 he married Stanford graduate—and later founder of the Phoenix Library—Alice Butterfield (1878–1963), who was a close friend of journalist, poet, and official Arizona Territorial Historian historian Sharlot Hall. Hewins was remembered as an “Arizona pioneer” upon his death in Phoenix in 1936.

The letters offered here are addressed to Frances Welton Anderson (1877–1948) of Lowell, Massachusetts, and most are dated between April 30th, 1899 (“This is the fourth day since your departure”) and July 31st, 1901. Anderson’s mother owned a ranch in Arizona which Hewins evidently helped to manage, and though his early letters bespeak a romantic interest (at least on his side), Anderson married Edwin Johnson Gillette in 1905. Hewins’s ten letters over the course of two years recount trips to his “camp” (a stone cabin, likely the one pictured in this 1908 photograph) near Cave Creek, north of Phoenix and visits to mines and prospective mining properties, as well as a more involved outing to the Oro Grande mine near Wickenburg, involving a breakneck ride on a mule-drawn buckboard and a missed opportunity for a drink at the camp saloon (“we went past like we were shot out of a gun, so we lost our drink…and disappointed [the] proprietor”); horseback rides through the countryside (to “The orange groves, Mount Olive, & other places”) and sometimes taking him past “the Indian Reservation”; a drought during much of 1900, affecting the canals but never Anderson’s horse Dolly, upon whom he regularly reports; occasional real estate matters (typically regarding renting properties); a planned excursion to “picture rock[s]” (presumably petroglyphs) south of Phoenix; news of mutual acquaintances, and so on.

Among the more exciting and evocative incidents related is Hewins’s experience of being overcome by a sudden rainstorm, and spending a night outside the door of “New River Station. This is the place where two men were killed by four Mexicans a year ago this summer”:

Tuesday morning I went up on Castle Creek to look at a mine I had a red hot trip I can tell you it was very sultry crossing the desert. The mine is located about eighty miles south of Castle Creek, Hat Springs. We got in to camp late in the evening and in the morning went to the mine. On going up the trail I was a little in advance walking about half way up a deer jumped out of some brush not over twenty five yards away, made a few jumps, I whistled and he stopped and looked back. What a fine mark he made. I would have given a gold mine then for my gun I had left my 44 in camp, it was so warm I thought I would not pack it that time and you see the result. I wish you could have seen him. We spend one night at the mine. The next afternoon we started home got as far as Frog Tank Station on the Aqua Fria and there came up a big rain storm and from there to New River Station poured down all the way. One of my horses gave out with the heat and I had to put in a saddle horse to get into New River Station. This is the place where two men were killed by four Mexicans a year ago this summer and robbed the station. I made my bed down in front of the door, outside the storm had passed and everything was so quiet. As I lay there on my cot, I could not help but wonder how those fellows fell when the Mexicans rode up and opened fire with out notice. One was shot in front of the door and the others run to the rear of the house and jumped through a lock door, and the Mexicans behind the house shot him as he come through. I felt for my 44 found it all safe under my head and went to sleep. The next morning we got a good start and was in Phoenix by One Oclock.

Hewins also describes his involvement in the establishment of a summer community at Iron Springs, for the enjoyment of “hot Phoenicians[,] those who do not go to the [California] coast.” All interested parties purchased a share in the newly-established “Iron Springs Outing Club as it is called,” entitling them to draw for house lots:

There is good shade, large pine trees, and is rather a pretty place. There was a band three hundred went up on the tram, Mr Millay & family, Mr & Mrs Adams Mr & Mrs Hamilton & many others who you know, all of whom will build houses and spend their summers there. After luncheon was over they had a drawing for choice of lots, among the stock holders, and was quite surprised to find I had my luck with me that day, as I got first choice on lots and found many others had picked the same locations. What to do with it is more than I know, Madam Hine says if I do not build a house there she will take the lot away from me she rather likes it herself.

The latest letter in the gathering, addressed to Anderson as “Mrs. Gillette,” discusses stock shares in the Pike’s Peak mine. Along with the letters is a bifolium letterhead sheet of “L. E. Lewins Real Estate, Loan and Insurance Broker, Mines and Mining, with a plat map of “The Salt River Valley of Arizona” (with “Facts” along the left and lower margins), showing numbered lots, labeled canals, waterways, and important geographical features (“Hole in the Rock,” Camel’s Peak”), and other significant sites (“Glendale Beet Sugar Factory,” “Arizona Dam,” etc.). The Gila River and Salt River Indian Reservations are both indicated. The fourth page of the bifolium bears a map of the City of Phoenix, with the manuscript additions of a red-ink outline and a few pencil crosses in parcels just north of the Salt River Valley Canal.

REPRESENTATIVE PASSAGES:

17 May 1899: “I made another little trip on the sorrel horse a week ago last Sunday. I went down the river to look at some land and a small canal, it was next to the Indian Reservation at the junction of the Salt and Gila rivers, it was more of a trip than I thought for when I started out, I followed the river road until I came to the head of the canal, it was quite pretty there, large cottonwood trees and more water than I expected to find. They have quite a dam which farms a good pond of water above & below its a good place for a Kodak, but as I had none with me, I had to be content with a mental picture. I did not go far in to the Indian Reservation as my time was limited, the Indians are farming down there and some have every nice little places, ‘that is for an Indian,’ and a canal from the river which supplies them with water. I wish you mite have been with me. I know you would have enjoyed the trip. This coming Sunday I shall go to the Orange grove…returning by way of your ranch and see how the Gray Horse is coming on in the absence of her mistress, as I know you will want to hear…”

30 August 1899: “Thank you ever so much for the large blue prints they are very good and I was glad to get them I am going to try for some picture rock views in the mountains south of town this winter. They report some good ones there. I will take some chalk along and if they are not right up to [?] I will make them so, and a few new ones. I was at the ranch a few days ago. Dolly is looking all right, Mr West has gone and a new family moved in. It mite be well to move Dolly to another pasture as they will likely have quite a number of horses and the boys mite take a notion to use her some. I have moved my own horse to another pasture on center street but will soon bring her in town. Any instructions you have regarding a change I will be pleased [to] carry out.”

26 October 1899: “I went out to see after Dolly and found she was doing nicely now I think they are giving her good treatment perhaps better care than Mr West gave the stock if I find it is necessary will have her moved. They charge $150 per month for pasture if you do not use her this winter it mite be well to have them feed some hay which would not cost much extra. Mr & Mrs Adams have returned and Miss Frost[?] with them she is in poor health and I think will spend the winter here. I had an Application for your house Mr P[?] Armor of Chicago wanted to rent such a place for two months and would give a good price for it. Mr Heard was looking it up for him and wished me to wire your mother and see if she would. After your mother had agreed to rent we got a message from Mr. Armor saying he would go to California place of coming to Phoenix. Too bad we could not get him here but he may change his mind yet and come.”

26 September 1900: “The City of Phoenix will have grown so you will not know the place if you delay much longer.…It has been very dry here the past year and is still so, Many of the cattle men are sending their stock out of the country. Mr Adams is doing so, there is no feed or pasture that is hard on the farmers, and a bad thing for the country, I fear, if your brother was to come here now he would think the country was in hard luck…I have not received any word from your mother lately regarding the house. I was rather expecting to here from her about renting but it is possible you will occupy it yourselves the latter would be the proper thing to do don’t you think.”

12 June 1901: “I have made the trip to Wickenburg, had a great day and visited the Oro Grande Mine. We started from Phoenix about 8 Oclock had a good run through. It was not very warm on the train and every body was in good spirits, there must have been four hundred people went up. We arrived at Wickenburg at 11:30 a.m. I secured a conveyance with three other gentlemen and drove out to the wonderful mine. Had a mule train and buck board and an old gentleman, a Mr Porter for the driver. It was more hurtling than driving however. We started out at rather a slow gate but pretty soon Mr Porter warmed up and so did the mules and we hit the ground in high places the old buckboard pitched and tossed like a ship in a storm…its about five miles out to the mine, we made it in about an hour, none of the party had been at the camp so we had to do some guessing as to the right road we happened to strike it right however and got there without any trouble. The first sign of the camp was a brush shack and a tent as we came up the grade out of the sandwash with a big sign in front saying Saloon here is where you brace up for the wonders of the Oro Grande Gold Camp. The Gentlemen who served both soft and hard drinks, says just three quarters of a mile to the big mines. Gentlemen would you come in and have something, we declined with thanks saying we would stop on the return. We pushed on and soon in sight of the camp, its nicely situated for a camp about one and a half miles from the base of a[?] river. They have put up good buildings all painted white but no green blinds they seem to be doing the work in first class shop. The shop is down one hundred & seventy feet they have a gasoline hoist and do the hoisting quickly. They claim to have $100.00 on the dump and have been offered $350.00 for the property, but I doubt it. When I get an offer of one half that t for the Rackensack or the [?] something will happen. Mr Hatfield one of the owners is a pleasant fellow to talk with and gave me a number of samples of their ore, which I now have in my front window. We started back to Wickenburg, got the mules under full steam going down hill and it was pretty steep in places and was under such headway we could not stop the mules when we got back to the saloon and we went past like we were shot out of a gun, so we lost our drink that time and disappointed [the] proprietor.…Wickenburg looks more like a mining camp than most Arizona towns, and was rather quiet until about an hour before our train started. Then the fun began. I sent you a paper giving an account of the little Entertainment given by a band of 16 Phoenix boys and Wickenburg cow boys…I haven’t seen anything quite so interesting for some time.”

A fine sheaf of Arizona Territory letters by an early miner, rancher, and real estate broker.

REFERENCES: “Levi Edwin ‘Ned’ Hewins” at Find a Grave online; “Alice (Butterfield) Hewins (b. 1878–d. 1963)” at Sharlot Hall Museum online; L. E. Hewins photos at the Arizona State Library, via the Arizona Memory Project online; “Report New Ore Body,” Arizona Republic, July 6, 1930, p. 16; “Cave Creek Property Shows Gold Values,” Arizona Republic, July 20, 1930, p. 17; “Articles of Incorporation of the Pike’s Peak Gold and Copper Mining Company,” Arizona Republic, August 29, 1901, p. 3; “Mines and Minerals of Arizona,” Arizona Republic, September 1, 1901, p. 3.

Item #9703

Price: $3,750.00

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