Hysterical Journey To Historic Places

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<strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">CHANDLER’S MILK RANCH



J. J. Chandler raised a passel of feisty daughters. To support them he operated a dairy business, and to keep his girls feisty he had them cooking and serving meals in his home. Chandler’s Milk Ranch soon became a popular stopover for the local waddies. Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury had breakfast at Chandler’s on the morning of October 24, 1881 before heading in to Tombstone to take care of some business affairs. Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton had breakfast at Chandler’s the next morning before heading in to Tombstone to get murdered along with their brothers by the Earps near O K Corral. On the evening of March 25, 1882, the day after Wyatt Earp got his vengeance posse shot up at Cottonwood Springs, a couple of sassy young bandits named Zwing Hunt and Billy Grounds decided to rob the mill office at Charleston. Zwing kicked open the office door and went inside ahead of Billy, but was startled to see a young engineer named M. R. Peel working late. Peel stood up to see what was going on and Zwing killed him dead as a hammer with his Winchester. They fled empty handed but were recognized leaving town. Zwing and Billy were notorious hell raisers in Charleston. They knew they had to skip over to New Mexico and lie low for a while after killing Peel and needed a road stake. They were still destitute because of the failed robbery at the mill, but J. J. Chandler owed them 75 dollars for some stolen dairy cows. They rode out to Chandler’s to collect the money and flirt with the feisty girls, maybe get a meal on credit. Chandler was in Tombstone, but a hired hand agreed ride in to Tombstone and ask him to bring the money back. While there Chandler had learned of the murder and reported to the sheriff’s office that the miscreants were at his place. The sheriff, Johnny Behan, was out of town chasing after the Earps for the murder of Frank Stillwell in Tucson on March 20. The deputy, Billy Breckenridge, raised a posse to after Zwing Hunt and Billy Grounds. He carried an outstanding warrant on them for grand larceny that would give him legal standing to make an arrest while the murder warrant on Peel was being processed. The posse consisted of Breckenridge, a jailer named Allen, and two miners named Jack Young and John Gillespie. Mining did not suit John Gillespie. It was hard work for short pay. Gillespie had plans to run for sheriff himself and being in the posse that brought in the two killers would advance his plans. The posse arrived at Chandler’s just before daylight on March 26, 1882. Breckenridge sent the two miners around back to cover the rear exit and told them to hold fast until full daylight. He and Allen were waiting out front when Gillespie’s political ambitions overruled his good sense. He went to banging on the back door. When a muffled voice from inside asked who was there Gillespie hollered it was “the sheriffs, open the door”. Hunt kicked the door open and killed Gillespie where he stood. He then shot Young through the leg, and came outside looking for more trouble. At that time, Bull Lewis – a hired man working for Chandler burst out the front door where Breckenridge and Allen were waiting. Bull made it safely out, but he was followed by Billy Grounds who managed to shoot Allen in the neck. Breckenridge dropped Grounds with a shotgun blast as Hunt rounded the front corner of the house looking for his partner. Allen and Breckenridge both fired at Hunt and one of them hit him and scampered off into the brush. It was lively morning out at Chandler’s. The feisty girls were late sleepers but that gunplay surely woke them up. Breckenridge got them to help patch up his wounded posse men and then went in search of Hunt and arrested him. Billy never regained consciousness and died of his wounds that night. Hunt was hospitalized and recovering nicely when his brother helped him escape custody. During their getaway Zwing Hunt was killed by marauding Apaches not. Some soldiers pursuing the Apaches found Hunt’s body and buried him. The deputies pursuing Hunt had to dig the body up to identify him. The photo shows the front of Chandlers Milk Ranch. Breckenridge fired on the outlaws from the near side of the cottonwood tree on the left. On the day of the shootout at Chandler’s Wyatt Earp and his merry band of killers fled Arizona for good. Nobody ever hoped to see them come back.

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