Pioneer Cowpoke is Versed in Fact, Fiction
By William B. Ridgway
From
Arizona Days and Ways, The Arizona Republic, Dec 5, 1954
Evans Coleman is a paradox.
At times he writes in cowboy jargon—and at other times with the finesse
of a college professor.
The cowpoke’s homespun, down-to-earth philosophy and the scholar’s
wisdom mix easily for this rugged pioneer.
Blessed with an imagination that flits from one mountain peak to
another, yet he is exacting and factual when recording history.
As a neighbor, Evans is kind and generous, but he can be stern and
formidable when duty calls.
Appointed marshal of Thatcher by the city council in 1920, Evans’s
first official act was to put Jerry Hatch’s stock in the stray pen, and Jerry
Hatch was the mayor of Thatcher.
Less than a week after taking office, Evans had arrested Andrew Kimball
and William A. Moody for flooding the streets with waste water. The act was similar to Prometheus
antagonizing the gods, for both Kimball and Moody were leaders in spiritual and
temporal affairs in the Gila Valley.
“Kimball and Moody were good sports about it, though,” laughs
Evans. “In church the next Sunday,
Kimball told the congregation, ‘I suppose you folks know about me being
arrested. Evans did right. I just hope he gets the rest of you.’ ”
In Tucson, an Arizona Historical Society file bulges with Evans’s
memories of frontier days in Arizona.
For centuries to come, scholars and historians can enjoy the authentic
and humorous descriptions of the burro and Texas longhorns, of Billie Johnson’s
sad, violent death. Evans’s writings
have appeared in the “Catalog” and numerous Arizona newspapers.
Evans’s sharp sense of humor can be found throughout his writings. A sample:
“a meeting was called to discuss the fencing of the cemetery. Considerable opposition. What is the use of fencing it. Nobody is out that wants to get in, and
nobody is in that is going to get out.“
Evans has a rich Mormon background.
He was born in Spring Valley, Nev. In 1875. His grandparents were converted to the Mormon
faith in England and made the long trip across the waters with their children
in company with Christopher Layton.
First they settled in Missouri and later were at Nauvoo where Evans’s
grandfather died. For a short time,
Evan’s father and sister lived with the prophet, Joseph Smith. The Colemans were among the second group of
Mormons to cross the plains to Salt Lake City.
When he was a mere 7 years Evans left Johnson, Utah with his parents,
Prime and Emma Evans Coleman for Arizona. The trip, made with J. N. Heywood family,
consumed 45 tedious days before Alpine was reached, Jan, 15, 1881.
After spending his youth and young manhood cowboying along the Blue and
Little Colorado Rivers, Evans moved to the Gila Valley in February, 1899. In 1908-10 Evans served his church as a
missionary in South Carolina. His
marriage to Eliza Skinner, an energetic woman of many talents, took place in
1912.
Evans 55 years in the Gila Valley as a farmer and dairyman have been
fruitful. From his large, well-developed
farm south of Thatcher he can review these years with satisfaction, knowing the
part he played in the development of its land, canals, schools and churches.
…
David Evans Coleman was my great uncle.
He was a favorite at family reunions.
The children would crowd around him to hear has stories. Richard N. Heywood
