January 24, 1864
On this day, the euphemistically named “Pinole Treaty” left a lot of Native Americans dead and raised the suspicion of poisoned food.
At the center of the various versions of the same story was the unlikely pairing of Arizona pioneer rancher, King Woolsey, (left) and pinole, a staple of the Southwest indigenous diet.
A mesoamerican “super food, ”it was first noted by the Spanish commander of San 
Diego, Captain Pedro Fages. While on a foray into present-day Contra Costa County in search of deserters, Fages (right) and his men ran out of provisions and were given a mixture of ground acorns and chia by a local tribe. The name was derived from the Aztec word, “pinolli.”
King Woolsey, born in Alabama, arrived in Arizona from California at 28 and first sold supplies to the Army. Two years later he and a partner bought the historic Agua Cliente Ranch. He eventually operated the territory’s first flour mill and is credited with owning its first mechanical threshing machine.
Early threshing machine cut costs for grain harvesting by half
Despite a reputation as a progressive businessman, Woolsey was best known for abusing Native Americans. A self-described “Indian exterminator,” he received public accolades for his numerous violent encounters with the territory’s indigenous people.
The first version of the poisoned pinole story has Woolsey and a number of miners working gold claims in the Bradshaw Mountains when being surrounded by a group of possibly Yavapai. After convincing the chief to take part in a peaceful parlay, a number of their party were given or happened upon a bag of pinole laced with strychnine. When the first victim died, this account claims, the remaining Yavapai tried to escape and were shot by the miners in retreat.
Woolsey’s version is markedly different – up until where the shooting starts. He identified the antagonists as Tonto Apache. Woolsey and the miners out tracking horses stampeded by the Apaches were surrounded in a canyon. They were outnumbered and stalling for time waiting for 
reinforcements from Tonto Apache chief, Wah-poo-eta. But Wah-poo-eta declined to come until the next day.
Low on ammunition, Woolsey and his translator, “Yavapai Jack,” perhaps Jack Swilling (left) or possibly an actual member of the Yavapai tribe, coaxed the chief out of the hills for “a friendly parlay.” Identified as Par-amuka, the chief admitted he’d stampeded the horses and would continue to attack Anglos, the story goes, but in this case the miners’ Sharps rifles caused him to hold his fire. Woolsey then instructed his men to “pick out an Indian.” He would kill the chief as a signal to open fire, thus “signing” the “Pinole Treaty.”
Did Woolsey poison the pinole? Of course not, he said. There wasn’t enough time.
Many historians doubt numerous aspects of the Woolsey account, pointing to a deadly prequel to the poison pinole event. Just weeks earlier he had been involved in a similar encounter which ended in the deaths of two dozen Apache.
Known as the “Battle of Bloody Tanks,” it started when Woolsey, this time with a company of ranchers, went again searching for lost or stolen livestock. In another “peace talk” ruse, the Apache leaders were reportedly surrounded, shot at close range and later scalped for good measure.
Territorial Governor John Noble Goodwin (right) made Woolsey a Lieutenant Colonel in the Arizona Militia following Bloody Tanks. As a result of the “Pinole Treaty,” the Territorial Legislature awarded him a commendation for “taking the lives of numbers of Apaches, and destroying the property and crops in their country.”if he was in fact,
Elected to the Territorial Legislature that same year, he continued to be re-elected numerous times. Fortunately for the territory’s Native Americans, he died of a heart attack at just 47 and was buried with honors in the Phoenix Pioneer and Military Memorial Park.
If in fact it was Jack Swilling who acted as Woolsey’s translator at the “Pinole Treaty,” he managed to buff up his legacy a bit. After starting the Swilling Irrigating and Canal Company, he is credited as an early founder of Phoenix. But he met an unfortunate end when he and two traveling companions were arrested on suspicion of robbing a stage. Resembling a trio of highway men, they were held in the Yuma County Jail to await a Grand Jury decision on the evidence against them. Addicted to morphine, reportedly 
to blunt the pain of his numerous past injuries, Swilling either died in custody or soon after being released. He was just 48.
If there’s any good news here it’s that pinole lives on. Following the release of a 2011 book “Born to Run,” it found its way into mainstream health food markets. The book tells the history of the indigenous Tarahumara people of north central Mexico, famous for incredible endurance as long-distance runners. (Above)
The Smoki Museum, 147 N Arizona Ave, Prescott, Arizona. includes more than 2,000 Native American artifacts from the pre-Columbian period to the modern era. Founded in 1931, the museum is housed in a stone and log structure built as a Civilian Works project in 1935 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Open 10 to 4, Monday through Saturday and 1 to 4, Sundays. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, $5 for students with ID and children under 12 are free. For more information go to smokimuseum.org, e-mail smokimuseum147@gmail.com, call (928) 445-1230 or write Smoki Museum, 147 N Arizona Ave, Prescott, AZ 86301
The Smoki is four minutes away from Prescott’s Sharlot Hall Open Air Museum, 415 W Gurley, featuring 11 exhibit buildings, five of which are historic. Named for journalist and historian Sharlot Hall, all are situated on 40 park-like acres. It shares the same hours with the Smoki. For more information go to visit-prescott.com.
© Text Only – 2020 – Headin’ West LLC – All photos – public domain or fair use.
*Head On West strives for historic accuracy and uses a number of sources considered reliable. When research differs on significant facts, the various points of view will be cited.