Martin Sweeny, Indian Agent, was born in Massachusetts in 1845, and decided to head out West at the age of 23. He ended up in Arizona shoeing horses on the Apache reservation. Here he learned the Apache language, and developed an appreciation for their lifestyle.      

 

During this time as well as Apache who were on the war path, there were those who helped the military. Because Sweeny knew the Apache language, he was hired to teach the peaceful Apache military tactics, to help them fight in conjunction with the cavalry. Sweeny worked so well with the Apache that when the local Indian agent resigned, Sweeny was offered the job.         

 

But Sweeny was looking at other opportunities. For the last couple of years he had been investing in silver mines around the Tombstone, Arizona area. One of them, the Grand Central, was beginning to do quite well. So Sweeny left the Apache Reservation for Tombstone. 

 

On June 24, 1878 Sweeny was visiting the Grand Central mine with one of his partners, an Oliver Boyer. A disagreement arose between the two men. Voices were raised, and a shove or two took place. Now, Sweeny was a large man, and was noted for his skill as a fighter, but he didn’t carry a gun. However, his partner did. And Boyer pulled his pistol, and killed Sweeny. Boyer was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison. 

        

Although there were those shootouts that give the Old West the excitement we like to hear about, the vast majority of people who were killed by a gun, like they are today, were defenseless.