Cairook
Cairook | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mohave leader | |
| Preceded by | Unknown |
| Succeeded by | Irataba |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown Alta California, New Spain |
| Died | June 21, 1859 Fort Yuma, California |
| Cause of death | Killed by US soldiers while trying to escape imprisonment |
Cairook, also known as Avi Havasuts ("Blue Rock") was a Mohave leader born sometime before 1814.[1] In 1858, he and the Mohave attacked the Rose-Baley Party.
During the Mohave War he led about 300 Mohave men in an attack on the camp of Lieutenant Colonel William Hoffman and 50 men of the First Mohave Expedition sent to Beale's Crossing to build a post for protecting settlers crossing the Colorado River. After the Second Mohave Expedition reached the Mohave in April 1859, they reluctantly agreed to a peace.
That peace included the surrender of Chief Cairook with eight others that were taken down the Colorado River to Fort Yuma. His role in the attack on the Rose-Baley Party led to his incarceration by the United States Department of War in May 1859. On June 21, Cairook was killed while aiding his eight fellow Mohave prisoners in their attempt to escape from Fort Yuma. He was shot and bayoneted, after holding a sentry while his fellows escaped.[2]
According to Fulsom Charles Scrivner, author of Mohave People (1970), Cairook was born to an influential family, and grew to a height of nearly 6 feet 6 inches (198 cm).[3]
References
- ^ Scrivner 1970, p. 127–32.
- ^ Scrivner 1970, pp. 133–34.
- ^ Scrivner 1970, pp. 127–28.
Bibliography
- Scrivner, Fulsom Charles (1970). Mohave People. The Naylor Company. ISBN 978-0-8111-0335-0.
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