Cowboy and Indian icon art piece #100. Since this was my 100th placement, I wanted it to be special. The perfect placement opportunity presented itself.
An assortment of veterans gathered at the Pima Cemetery on Saturday, March 26, 2011 for a grave dedication to honor the Medal of Honor recipient, Sgt. Josiah Pensyl (died in the Gila Valley on 1/22/1920). This calvary soldier, one out of 8, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for the defense of a supply train from a large Apache Indian attack that lasted from 9/9/1874 to 9/14/1874. I wasn’t able to attend the ceremony due to a scheduled appointment with my farrier.
When I showed up to the cemetery the following Thursday - locating Sgt. Pensyl’s grave was a task above and beyond my navigation. I drove and drove around the cemetery. Couldn’t find his grave!
I seriously expected to find a telltale sign, after the ceremony that was held in his honor, which would direct me his grave. Nothing.
As a back-up plan, I choose to place, photograph and document #100 on the Y shaped trunk of a tree-like scrub. My thinking was placement on the trunk of the scrub would protect it from the hot, unforgiving AZ sun. Our local climate is not kind.
This historic calvary/indian confrontation is the type depicted in countless cowboy and indian films from Hollywood. Tragic but entertaining. When I attended a semester of undergrad college long ago in England, I did a presentation on the possibilities of drama to a group of grade school kids. After the presentation I took questions from my audience. One young boy’s hand shot up right into the air.
The pressing question the boy had to do with the Apache Indian. Did they bother me much? Did I ever have to shoot one? Surprised, all I could reply was "no" and "no." His freckled face looked disappointed and he went quiet.
#100 Cowboy and Indian Icon art is dedicated to Sgt. Pensyl and that little lad who asked me a question. A calvary soldier who was in an actually confrontation with the Apache and a British schoolboy who can only fantasize about what it would be like to be such a confrontation with the Apache. Memories of both that are now just echos in my imagination.
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