| |
History and Legends of Grand Canyon West Ranch
Grand Canyon West Ranch Has A Colorful History...
THE
ORIGINAL RANCH HEADQUARTERS at Grand Canyon West Ranch is located next to Diamond Bar Springs
that has been known to Native Americans for the last 3,600 years. The oldest
inhabitants at the springs were the Cohina Indians whose roasting
pits have been carbon dated back to circa 1600 B.C. In 1871 the
Wheeler expedition first surveyed the springs during their
exploration of the Grand Canyon. The Indians called the springs, Tanyaka Springs or Grass Springs.
Around 1860, after the Hualapai War,
gold miners built a Stamp Mill to crush ore for the King Tut Gold
Mine. They named the springs Guffan Springs. From the 1870’s onwards
the Mormons used the springs as a resting and watering place for
wagon trains which used Diamond Bar Road to reach the site of Grand
Canyon West Ranch. In May of 1889 the Hualapai
Indian Tribe's first Ghost Dance ritual was held at these Springs. All
participants were dressed in white and danced for five days and nights.
In the late 1800’s Wellington Starky started a cattle ranch and
called it Diamond Bar Ranch. In 1904 at the age of 41 a notorious
gunfighter and cattle rancher called Tap Duncan bought the ranch to
escape from his previous... "profession." It is believed Tap rode with
Kid Curry and the hole in the wall gang. Tap Duncan became one of
the most well-known and widely respected pioneer cattlemen running
over 2,000 head of cattle on over a million acres. His other
ventures included involvement in the aforementioned King Tut Gold Mine. He was
eventually killed at the ripe age of age of 74, ironically, run over by a car in Kingman,
Arizona.
From 1915 onwards an unknown cowboy called
Bruce Kiskaddon
worked for Tap. He wrote about the ranch and in doing so started
cowboy poetry. In 1915 cowboy poets were not popular but he was
encouraged by Tap. The Los Angeles Times published his works for 30
years. "Rhymes and Ranches" published in 1947 is about Tap and
Diamond Bar Ranch (modern Grand Canyon West Ranch). Bruce became one of the most famous Cowboy Poets.
Tap Duncan, A True American Legend.
The
previous owner of Grand Canyon West Ranch, George
Taplan Duncan, better known as "Tap" Duncan to his friends in
Kingman and Mojave County, was born in San Saba, Texas, February 4,
1869. And like most Texans of those days, he was at home in the
saddle when he was still quite young.
When he was only 16 years old, Tap left the state of Texas with a trail herd into New
Mexico. But he was soon back in his home state where he spent the
next few years cowboying for various outfits.
In 1891, at the age of 22, he married Ollie Ann Bimmon of Uvalde,
Texas.
The following year, he and his family moved to Idaho where he became
wagon boss for the Sparks and Harold Shoe Sole outfit. When he took
that job, he related in later years, all he possessed was a wife, a baby and twenty dollars.
But he capitalized on his opportunity and soon built up a brand
of his own. The cold Idaho winters weren’t to his liking though,
so he sold out in 1898 and headed with his wife and four children
for sunny Arizona. On that trip, Ollie drove the wagon and Tap herded a
bunch of saddle horses.
Arriving at Bonelli’s Ferry on the Colorado, Tap had misgivings
about his move. The passage appeared so dangerous that he feared his
wife and children might drown. He blamed himself for taking the
route and ruefully remarked to his wife, "I guess the only reason a
cowpuncher has a head is to keep his spine from unravelling."
However, Tap used his head to good advantage, and the crossing was
made safely. Not long afterwards, they arrived in Hackberry where he
bought the "Hookedy II" brand and Jack Harden’s ranch on
Knight Creek. By 1910 he had built up his ranch to a point where he
was able to buy Walter Starkey's famous Diamond Bar outfit. Just northwest of
Kingman, Arizona, on which Tap ran around 2,000 head of cattle. This venture
prospered and he was able to acquire several other ranches in
later years.
His holding were still large when he was run over and killed at age
75 by an
automobile in Kingman on November 19, 1944. After Tap's death his
daughters, known as “The Duncan Girls, “ continued to run the ranch.
His wife, Ollie Ann, died some four years later, and the Diamond Bar
was sold to Handerly of San Francisco, who still owns it. Only two
of their children are still living - Mrs. James Ray of Kingman, and
Byron Duncan, a cattleman at Imlay, Nevada, One of Byron’s proudest
possessions, incidentally, is the old, heavy, Sharp’s rife which was
given to his father as a part of his gear on his early trail herd
ride from San Saba to New Mexico. Dale Smith, Cowboy Hall of
Fame, owned the Ranch till 2002 when the current owners acquired the
Grand Canyon West Ranch.
CLICK TO READ MORE ON
THE LEGENDARY TAP DUNCAN >>
The
Duncan Girls at Diamond Bar Ranch, circa 1918. |
|
History
and Legends of the Ranch
