The Owens-Blevins Shootout was one of the great moments in the heroic, Homeric period of the Old West.

In under a minute of close-range gunfighting, Sheriff Perry Owens shot four men, killed three, avoided prosecution, lost his badge, and entered legend.

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The Shootout was just one battle in a larger war. I mean this literally; around here we call it the Pleasant Valley War. It was a blood feud between the Graham and Tewksbury clan, fought in Navajo and Apache Counties over control of rangeland from 1882-1892. Around 50 dead.

As with all good feuds, the families started as friends. Ed Tewksbury had a ranching concern in AZ and invited his friend, Tom Graham of N. Ireland, to relocate to AZ to do the same.

Then a third interest, John Stinson, starts ranching in the area. He's a big fish. His herds dominate the open range, pressuring both Tewksburys and Grahams. Stinson plays sharp, accusing both families of rustling his cattle. Gets the law out to the Tewksbury place with a warrant

The Grahams are at the Tewksburys when the law shows up. Tewksburys won't come quietly. The Tewksburys and the posse trade shots, and the posse is injured. Later, in court, Graham testifies that the posse drew first and Tewksbury acted in self-defense.

Stinson isn't done. He offers 50 head of cattle to, and to drop the accusations against, any man of the Graham clan who will testify against the Tewksburys. The Grahams take the deal. Tewksburys are prosecuted, but the judge tosses it when he gets wind of the Stinson Deal.

Stinson then bails on AZ, dissolves his herd. But the damage is done. Graham Clan hits hard times, gets caught with OPC (other peoples' cattle). Tewksburys get into sheep, which Grahams blame for hard times (based on Sheep grazing patterns). The clans have bad blood now.

The whole powder keg kicks off when Andy Blevins (A Graham ally) murders and robs a Basque shepherd who was managing the Tewksbury sheep. Everyone gets dragged into this. The Hashknife Outfit cowboys in the area, the Daggs brothers up north, the Wells ranch down south. WW 0.5.

Things start to get HOT in 1887. The Grahams kill and decapitate another Tewksbury shepherd for bring sheep past the Mogollon Rim. Tewksburys retaliate by killing Mart Blevins. There's another shootout; Hamp Blevins and John Payne. Bloody, factional conflict at this point.

For ex, Fred Wells is involved because he owes money to another rancher, who demanded Wells join his cowboys in a raid on Tewksbury cattle, or the rancher would call his debts due immediately. Wells was close with Frederick Burnham, a 19-yo cowboy and gunman.

Burnham gets involved in a shootout between Wells and a Deputy, who shot Wells' dog and threatened his wife. The Tewksburys get wind and mark Burnham for death. Burnham heads south to Globe to seek help from Judge Hackney, a friend.

On his way, Burnham camps in a cave. There, he's discovered by George Dixon, a bounty hunter after the Tewksbury bounty on Burnham. But before Dixon shoots Burnham, Dixon himself is killed by Coyotero, an Apache tracking Dixon! Burnham scrambles for his gun and kills Coyotero.

The main conflict still raged. In late 1887, Grahams raid the Tewskbury cabin and kill two men, with the remainder returning fire from inside the cabin. Hogs start to eat the bodies. Firing ceases while 8-month-preg Eva Tewksbury buries her men in a shallow grave, then resumes.

That's the setup to the Owens-Blevins Shootout, which takes place a few days later.

Andy Blevins is a Graham man. He's in Holbrook, bragging about the killings a few days back.

Perry Owens is the new Sheriff of Apache County. He gets wind of this, and a warrant for Blevins.

Owens ran away to be a buffalo hunter at 13. He was known as a dead shot. He was ambidextrous and could accurately dual-wield pistols.

A newspaper said "Mr. Owens is a quiet, unassuming man, strictly honorable and upright in his dealings with all men and is immensely popular."

Owens rides alone to the Blevins homestead in Holbrook to serve the Warrant. 12 members of the Blevins clan are there. Andy refuses to be taken in. His brother, John Blevins, steps onto the porch and fires on Owens.

It's on. Owens returns fire - kills Andy instantly, wounds John. A Blevins ally, Mose Roberts, jumps through a side window with a gun. Owens hears, turns the corner, kills him too. Back in front, Sam Houston Blevins (15) picks up Andy's gun and fires on Owens. Owens fires back.

It's all over within a minute. The coroner ruled all three deaths as self-defense, and Owens was never prosecuted. The Governor pardoned John Blevins. Owens lost his next election. But the Pleasant Valley War raged on for a few more years.

Things stay crazy. Eventually, there are only two men left. Ed Tewksbury and Tom Graham. Graham gives up the fight and moves to Tempe to start over, but he's shot in the back in 1892. He names Ed Tewksbury as his killer, then dies.

Tewksbury goes to trial for murder. Tom's widow, Annie, smuggles a pistol into court but it snags on her dress as she tries to shoot Ed. After two trials, Ed is acquitted. He retires to Globe. In 1904, on his deathbed, he confesses to his mother that he did kill Tom Graham.

The entire Pleasant Valley affair (along with the concurrent Apache Wars, which I will write about eventually) was talked about nationally to show that AZ wasn't ready for statehood, that AZ wasn't yet modern or civilized enough to join the Union.

Owens losing the election is a kind of symbol of the end of the Old West. And though everyone agreed Owens was a hero and a great fighting man, he wasn't formally educated, or much of an administrator. He wasn't a paper pusher.

Owens ran again, but never got the nomination. He had a successful appointment as a Deputy US Marshall, but the days of high drama were over. He eventually married and retired to Seligman to buy a house and run a saloon.

Perry Owens died in 1919. He's buried in Flagstaff.

My friend @AgeWarlord made excellent thread comparing Cattlemen to feudal lords, cowboys to Steppe raiders. The Old West was a much greater thing than people realize. https://twitter.com/AgeWarlord/status/1295584015974457344?s=20