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P��� 16 VOICES FROM THE PAST Excerpts from “In the Shadow of Saguaros” By Rosalee Oldham Wheeler Find In the Shadow of Saguaros at Readers Oasis Bookstore, Qtz. A GUIDING LIGHT TO WATER (Previous story was: ““The Cinnabar Mine) In the 1870s passengers disembarked at Ehrenberg Landing after a long journey by steamboat up the Colorado River. Passengers planning to continue on east by land could board one of two stages that came through Ehrenberg. If someone wanted a horse, they were available for sale. But only those who were familiar with desert survival would dare to strike out on a horse because it was common to loose ones way out in the desert. And for those restless fools that choose to travel by foot across the unrelenting desert in the summertime, knowledge about the location of water was especially important. From Ehrenberg Landing, the near- est water was at Gonzales Wells, about seven miles east of the river. It was always a welcome place to stop and fi ll water barrels. The next water sta- tion was Tyson’s Well, the last accom- modation of any kind until travelers reached Cullen’s Well, some 60 miles further on east. Cullen’s Well, located about 30 miles west of Wickenburg at a crossroad for travelers going north to Prescott or southeast to Tucson, had a 240-foot deep well with 25-feet of storage and was well known for its constant supply of refreshingly cool water. Two six-horse stages usually stopped at Cullen’s station every day, paying 25 cents to water a single ani- mal and 60 cents to fi ll a barrel. The desert between Tyson’s and Cullen’s ���.D�����M��������.��� Wells was a vast expanse of waterless terrain, and too dangerous to travel without several gallons of water for each human and each animal. The Cullen’s Well sta- M���� 16, 2011 tion consisted of a sin- gle adobe building that became known as “The place that saves lives.” The station offered wa- ter, food and shelter for travelers that came in on the stage, on horse- back, or on foot. Charles C. Cullen had emigrated from Eng- land in 1868. He came to see America and its western frontier and decided to stay. He had traveled up the Colo- rado River on a steam- boat and disembarked at the La Paz placer camp, staying only a short while. He made his way east and hired on at Henry Wickenburg’s Vul- ture Mine. Cullen kept thinking about the desperate need for a water station between Tyson’s Well and Wicken- burg. After inquiry and study Cullen selected a location where he had rea- son to believe he could hand dig a deep well into a good supply of water. He had a unique way of bringing water to the surface in a big bucket that was once an oak barrel. He used a blind- folded mule to revolve a drum over the well. The mule knew, to the inch, just how many rounds it would take before the dripping bucket would reach the top and be emptied into a trough. Hi Jolly, the noted Syr- ian camel driver, often stopped at the well to water his camels. Cul- len’s young son Daniel was fascinated with the camels. Hi Jolly gave Daniel a young camel which his father allowed him to keep even though it often caused quite a commotion around the station. route between the Tyson’ Well and Wickenburg could be very treacherous for novice travelers who, when they saw the lonely graves along the route, were reminded of the danger. Unfortunate- ly a number of foot travelers had lost their lives not knowing they were just a few miles from a water station. In SEE GUIDING LIGHT PAGE 18 During summer the IS NOW IN QUARTZSITE! Watch for us in Rainbow Acres! Wireless broadband makes everything on the Internet faster. A whole lot faster. Amazon. E-Bay. MapQuest. WebMD. E-mail. No more slowmotion connections. No more interminable downloads. No more interaction with large unresponsive companies. Just blazing fast, totally secure Internet access and navigation. And chances are, you’ll fi nd wireless broadband less expensive than other high-speed access choices. Call: Airwave Broadband Wireless @ (760) 921-2999 or visit us on the web at : www.airwavebroadband.com