CAVANESS, Silas

Wickenburg Sun (Wickenburg, Arizona) Friday, September 29, 1950, p. 5 Death Takes Silas Cavaness at 94 The Town of Wickenburg came into existence in 1864 following the discovery of the Vulture Mine 16 miles southwest of here. In August of that year there came into this region and to the banks of the Hassayampa in the vicinity of where the High School now stands, Jeremiah Cavaness, his wife and 10 children. They brought with them 80 head of horses and their object was to secure employment hauling gold ore from the Vulture to the arrastras on the river. One evening, soon after their arrival, and while the man they had hired to look after the horses was eating his evening meal, the head of the family sent his 8-year-old son, Silas, out to keep an eye on the horses. Within a few minutes the youngster came running into camp, screaming that Indians had driven off the entire string of horses, with the exception of one which had been tied to a tree. It was true. It left the family in desperate circumstances, with only one horse and the nearest source of supplies La Paz, 125 miles west on the Colorado river near where the present town of Ehrenburg stands. General Peeples, who was associated with Henry Wickenburg in operating the Vulture, learned of the Cavaness family's plight and offered to ride the one horse left to La Paz to secure oxen to replace the stolen horses. This mission he successfully accomplished. On September 14 of this year, in Los Angeles, Silas Cavaness died at the age of 94. Word of his death was received here this week by J. R. Barnette, who for many years was a close friend of an older brother, the late Matt Cavaness, who chose to stay in Arizona after the rest of the family had moved on to California. Word of the death of Silas Cavaness was sent to Mr. Barnette by a great granddaughter of Matt Cavaness, Laura Seaman of Los Angeles.