NOTE: PRESCOTT COURIER DID NOT PUBLISH THE STORY BELOW FOR JULY 7, 2013 DUE TO THE YARNELL HILL FIRE AND THE DEATHS OF THE GRANITE MOUNTAIN HOTSHOT FIREFIGHTERS. HENCE THIS STORY IS BEING REPUBLISHED BY THE SHM WEBSITE FOR JULY 13, 2013.
By Jan MacKell Collins
This article is a summary of a presentation Jan MacKell Collins will make at the Tenth Annual Western History Symposium that will be held at the Hassayampa Inn on August 3rd. The Symposium is co-sponsored by the Prescott Corral of Westerners and the Sharlot Hall Museum and is open to the public free of charge. For more details, visit the Corral’s website at www.prescorral.org or call Fred Veil (928-443-5580).
Mention the Hash Knife cattle outfit to any passing history buff today, and chances are you will receive a bevy of wry comments about a rough group of tough cowboy outlaws. There is no question that the Hash Knife was once known for its roughneck cowpunchers who delighted in terrorizing Holbrook on a Saturday night, and several were involved in various shoot outs, robberies and rustling escapades.
Like all good stories of the West, however, a lot of beliefs about how wicked the Hash Knife really was is the stuff of Hollywood fodder. “I consider it a damn good outfit,” former Hash Knife cowboy George Hennessey once said of the brand, which at one time represented the largest cattle ranch in Arizona. “They were all good cowboys and good men. The ones I knew made something for themselves, ran businesses or held public office.
Hash Knife cowboys at the Fashion Saloon in Winslow. (Photo Courtesy of Jan MacKell Collins, Hennessey Family Archives).
Hennessey would know, being amongst the last cowboys hired in 1899 while the brand was still owned by the Aztec Land and Cattle Company. In 1901 the outfit was purchased by the Babbitt Brothers. The cattle were sold off and shipped out as the Aztec’s four headquarters between Holbrook and Joseph City slowly fell into disuse. But the Hash Knife brand and its romantic and rough sounding name stayed alive. Even today, the name and the brand continue to be used by the Babbitts but also various ranches, bed and breakfasts, a musical group, and of course the Pony Express Ride that takes place between Holbrook and Scottsdale each year.
Named for a common kitchen tool, the Hash Knife brand actually originated in Texas in the 1870‘s. By the 1880’s, the outfit’s association with the notorious Millett brothers in Texas, as well as a shootout involving some Hash Knife cowboys in Montana, had already tainted the brand’s good name. When the company expanded to a large range between Holbrook and Flagstaff in 1884, the owners hoped the outfit would shed itself of its unsavory reputation. Unfortunately, such a cleansing was not forthcoming. By the time Captain Burton C. “Cap” Mossman was hired as superintendent in 1898, rustlers and outlaws seemed to be rampant both inside and outside the company.
Mossman set to work cleaning house, firing half the crew within a month. He was assisted by foreman Benjamin Franklin “Frank” Wallace, with whom he had worked in Texas and hired soon after joining the Hash Knife. Wallace in turn hired Hennessey, and the two became lifelong friends. Hennessey fell in with approximately 30 other hands working under Mossman and Wallace. A few questionable characters may have still been in the group but, “It wasn’t a mean bunch,” Hennessey insisted, “just happy to return trouble.”
Besides, it would seem most of the men under Mossman were far too busy working to stir up much trouble. Hennessey had fond memories of those days. “We ate breakfast about 4 a.m. and wrangled our horses,” he remembered. “Sometimes we’d circle for 20 miles in a day, bringing the cattle in. Generally, we got a little rest in the afternoon. We’d come in at night in time to get the herd together and hold it overnight. Then everybody would stand three hours guard at night.”
By 1898, the Aztec was suffering from over-populated ranges, feed shortages, a particularly harsh winter and a four-year drought. Two years later Cap Mossman was shipping out the final bunch of cattle, resigning soon after. Wallace and Hennessey followed suit within a few years, purchasing their own cattle. Wallace worked for and purchased a few other outfits, including the historic OW Ranch near Payson. Hennessey did likewise, establishing the Slash T Slash and XVL brands.
In 1911 Hennessey married Wallace’s daughter Frances, and in 1917 he was the first elected mayor of Holbrook. But he never forgot his fellow cowboys at the Hash Knife. “The Hash Knife had the name of being a hard drinking, hard fighting outfit,” he fondly remembered in 1973, “but I never worked with a better bunch of men.”
(Days Past is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners, International (www.prescottcorral.org). The public is encouraged to submit articles for Days Past consideration. Please contact Assistant Archivist, Scott Anderson, at SHM Archives 928-445-3122 or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information.)