Qualla: Skeleton Canyon Massacres

Skeleton Canyon Massacres: Introduction

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rand, McNally and Company, Public domain. Johnny Ringo liked to talk. Years later, he would boast about what happened in Skeleton Canyon, ticking off names like a roll call of infamy: Old Man Clanton, Ike and Billy Clanton, Curly Bill Brocius, the McLaury brothers. These were the Cochise County Cowboys, and in this narrow passage through the Peloncillo Mountains, they ambushed Mexican lawmen and silver traders in two separate massacres that would ultimately seal their own fate.

Image: Rand, McNally and Company | Public domain

Skeleton Canyon Massacres: The First Blood

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rand, McNally and Company, Public domain. In July 1879, cattle rustlers raided a rancho in northern Sonora, killing several inhabitants. The survivors reported to Commandant Francisco Neri, who dispatched a detachment of Rurales, Mexico's rural police force, under Captain Alfredo Carrillo. The Rurales crossed into Arizon...

Image: Rand, McNally and Company | Public domain

Skeleton Canyon Massacres: Silver and Ambush

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rand, McNally and Company, Public domain. Two years later, in July 1881, Curly Bill Brocius received word that Mexican traders carrying silver bullion were heading through Skeleton Canyon into Arizona. He gathered twenty men including Johnny Ringo and Jim Crane. The ambush was quick and profitable: four Mexicans dead, $4...

Image: Rand, McNally and Company | Public domain

Skeleton Canyon Massacres: Revenge at Guadalupe Canyon

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rand, McNally and Company, Public domain. Two months after the second Skeleton Canyon massacre, Captain Carrillo led another detachment of Rurales across the border. This time, they had intelligence. The Cowboys were camped in Guadalupe Canyon, southeast of the Chiricahua Mountains, likely dividing their spoils. At dawn,...

Image: Rand, McNally and Company | Public domain

Skeleton Canyon Massacres: A Legacy of Violence

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rand, McNally and Company, Public domain. Skeleton Canyon connects the Animas Valley of New Mexico with Arizona's San Simon Valley, a natural corridor that invited travelers and outlaws alike. The Cochise County Cowboys controlled this borderland in the early 1880s, rustling cattle, robbing travelers, and operating with ...

Image: Rand, McNally and Company | Public domain