Tragic Jack: The True Story of Arizona Pioneer John William Swilling

I just finished reading Tragic Jack and I'm impressed. Wilson has done a thorough job of researching elusive historical material and solved, at least to my satisfaction, a homicide of 1878. Swilling was a man who lived by violence in a place where violence was required. He was, himself, a killer many times over. When he first left his home he probably killed his first man in an incident of having a dog sicced on to him, which he gutted before the disappointed eyes of the owner. When the owner attempted the task his canine had just failed to perform, Swilling killed him, too.After the Mexican War Swilling went to Arizona and encountered his famous long-time friend, Jacob Snively. Snively was the discoverer of gold at Gila City, Former Paymaster General of the Republic of Texas Army, and various other acts of courage and derring-do when the two men met.In 1860, when Snively journeyed east to discover gold at Pinos Altos, Swilling was at his side. In 1862 Swilling led Confederate troops in the only Civil War battle fought west of the Continental Divide. In 1863, he lured Mimbres Apache Chief Mangas Colorado into capture at Pinos Altos, where Mangas was murdered by US troops while trying to escape. Mangas was tied to a wagon wheel and burned with incandendescent bayonets by his guards to help him decide to raise himself on an elbow to protest. Later, Swilling was with the Woolsey party when, surrounded by Apache they poisoned pinole with strychnine and packed it onto a burro, 'accidently' allowing the animal to escape. The following morning they were surrounded by dead Apaches.In 1871 Snively was killed by Apaches at Vulture Gulch. A few days later Swilling found and buried him on the spot, mutilated, swollen, and partially eaten by coyotes.Eight years later Swilling exhumed the body of Snively, beginning his own end.This book is a worthy read. It thoroughly explores the issues of frontier justice at its worst, but does a fine job of showing the character of one of the strangest men in Arizona history.All in all, I like Jack Swilling so well I made him one of my main characters in Hell Bent for Santa Fe. He found his own way into The Lost Adams Diggings - Myth, Mystery and Madness through his Pinos Altos exploits and his connection with Jacob Snively.

A very interesting read. This book focuses on the tragic end of Swilling's life and the events that resulted in his being jailed for a crime that he did not commit. The author carefully examines the evidence and goes to great length to exonerate Swilling, who may have been given a bad rap by other historians in the past. In this book we not only see Swilling as a significant individual in Arizona history, we also see him as all too human, with the frailties and personal problems that eventually lead to his downfall. A good book for anyone interested learning more about the history of Arizona and its pioneers.