Latest / The Mind of a Man / (1873_ Arizona) Wild West Macabre History _ The Sisters Who Served More Than Beer

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(1873_ Arizona) Wild West Macabre History _ The Sisters Who Served More Than Beer · The Mind of a Man

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome to this journey through one of the most disturbing
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: cases recorded in the history of Arizona Territory. Before we begin,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: I invite you to leave in the comments where you're
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: watching from and the exact time you're listening to this narration.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: We're interested to know which places and what times of
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: day or night these documented stories reach. In the unforgiving
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: landscape of the American frontier, beneath the scorching Arizona sun
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: of 1873, a tale of calculated horror unfolded that would
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: remain buried in territorial archives for nearly a century. This
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: is the documented account of what became known as the
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Copper Canyon Incident. A series of events surrounding the McKenzie
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: sisters and their establishment that served weary travelers more than
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: just whiskey and beer. The year was 1873. The Arizona
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Territory had been established for just over a decade and
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: the promise of copper, silver, and gold drew men from
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: across the country to this harsh, unforgiving land. Approximately 17
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: miles northeast of Prescott, then the territorial capital, along what
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: is now the Black Canyon Highway, stood a small mining
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: settlement called Bumblebee Creek. It was little more than a
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: collection of wooden structures, a general store, and a prominent
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: two-story building that served as both saloon and boarding house.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: the Copper Queen. The Arizona territory of the 1870s was
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: still very much a frontier in every sense of the word.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: President Lincoln had signed the Arizona Organic Act in 1863,
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: separating it from the New Mexico territory, but formal governance
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: remained minimal at best. The Apache Wars were ongoing, with
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: Geronimo and other leaders actively resisting encroachment on tribal lands,
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: The Southern Pacific Railroad had yet to reach the territory,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: making travel arduous and communication sporadic. Prescott, established as the
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: territorial capital in 1864, was struggling to maintain its position
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: of prominence against the growing influence of Tucson to the south.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: The discovery of silver in Tombstone was still a few
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: years away, and the infamous gunfight at the O.K. Corral
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: would not occur until 1881. This was Arizona before it
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: became fixed in the American imagination, raw, dangerous, and largely lawless.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: The federal government maintained only a token presence, primarily through
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: military outposts like Fort Whipple, near Prescott, and scattered Indian agencies.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: Law enforcement consisted of a territorial marshal with a handful
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: of deputies responsible for an area roughly the size of
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: modern Italy. local governance fell to appointed officials whose authority
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: often extended only as far as their personal influence or
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: the threat of their weapons. It was against this backdrop
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: of limited oversight and that abundant opportunity that the McKenzie
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: sisters established themselves and their deadly enterprise. According to territorial
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: records and newspaper accounts from the Prescott Minor, the establishment
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: was owned and operated by by sisters Margaret and Elizabeth McKenzie,
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: who had arrived from Missouri in early 1872. The women,
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: aged 27 and 25 respectively, were unusual figures in a
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: landscape dominated by rugged men seeking fortune. Their arrival was
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: noted briefly in the territorial newspaper. Two sisters of respectable
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: bearing have established themselves in business at Bumblebee Creek, offering
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: clean lodgings and home-cooked meals to the weary traveler. What
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: the newspaper failed to mention was that the sisters had
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: appeared seemingly overnight with resources that seemed disproportionate to their
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: modest backgrounds. County deed records show they purchased the property
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: with cash, unusual for women traveling alone in that era.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: More unusual still was that no one questioned their presence
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: or means. The Territorial Census of 1870 lists no McKenzies
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: in Arizona and inquiries to Missouri authorities years later revealed
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: no record of sisters matching their descriptions from the counties
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: they claimed as their origin. It was as if they
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: had materialized from the dust of the desert itself, carrying
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: with them a dark purpose that would not become apparent
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: until it was too late for many unfortunate souls. The
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: settlement of Bumblebee Creek itself had a troubled history even
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: before the sisters' arrival. Founded in 1868 as a mining
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: outpost after small copper deposits were discovered in the nearby hills,
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: it had briefly flourished before a series of violent incidents
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: earned it a reputation as unlucky ground among the more
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: superstitious miners. In 1870, three prospectors were found dead in
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: their claim, allegedly the result of a dispute over boundaries.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: A letter from Indian agent Calvin Williams to the Commissioner
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: of Indian Affairs in Washington said, dated June 1871, mentions
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: Bumblebee Creek as a settlement of dubious character, frequented by
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: men seeking to avoid scrutiny from both military and civilian authorities.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: He notes that the settlement's location, in a narrow valley
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: with multiple escape routes into the surrounding hills, made it
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: ideally situated for those with reasons to depart hastily. By
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: the time the McKenzie sisters arrived Bumblebee Creek, was in decline,
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: with many miners having moved on to more promising claims elsewhere.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: The following year, the first saloon owner was discovered hanging
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: from a cottonwood tree, officially ruled a suicide, though rumors
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: persisted of foul play related to gambling debts. The territorial government, however,
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: maintained a small office there due to its strategic location
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  Speaker 1: on the route between Prescott and the northern mines. making
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: it a natural stopping point for travelers and freight wagons.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: This positioning would prove crucial to the sisters' operation. The
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: Copper Queen stood at the settlement's edge, the last building
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: before the trail wound north through increasingly desolate country. For
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: travelers heading into the wilderness, it represented a final opportunity
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: for comfort. For those returning to civilization, it offered welcome
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: relief after days or weeks in the harsh landscape. The
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: building itself had an unusual history. Originally constructed in 1869
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: by a German immigrant named Heinrich Müller as a combination
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: trading post and home, it had changed hands twice before
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: the McKenzies acquired it. Müller had incorporated architectural elements unusual
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: for frontier construction. Thick adobe walls reinforced with timber, a
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: root cellar dug deep into the hillside and a second
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: story with dormer windows that gave it an almost European appearance.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Local legend, recorded by folklorist J.D. Harrington, in 1937, held
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: that Muller had built secret compartments into the walls to
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: hide valuables, a common practice among frontier settlers who distrusted
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: banks or had reason to conceal their assets. Whether this
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: was true or merely convenient folklore, that later helped explain
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: the McKenzie's modifications remains uncertain. What is documented is that
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: Miller died under unclear circumstances in late 1870. The county
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: coroner's report simply states death by misadventure, though a note
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: in the margin mentions an unusual blue tinge to the
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: lips suggesting respiratory distress. His property passed briefly to a
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: mining investor who never occupied it, then to a saloon
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: keeper named Jackson, who operated it for six months before
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: selling to the McKenzies. The sisters immediately set about transforming
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: the property. They hired local laborers to make extensive renovations,
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: paying generously for swift work. John Carter, one of the
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: carpenters employed, later recalled to investigators they had real specific
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: ideas about what they wanted built, strange requests like that
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: false back in the wardrobe and the reinforced floor in
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: the back rooms. I figured maybe they was worried about
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: Apache raids and wanted hiding places. Paid cash, no questions asked,
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: so neither did we. The renovations took approximately six weeks,
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: during which the sisters stayed at a boarding house in Prescott.
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: They made frequent trips to oversee the work, always arriving
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: together and leaving together. The laborers noted that Elizabeth, the
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: younger sister, carried a notebook in which she made detailed
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: sketches and measurements. while Margaret handled all financial transactions. By
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: March 1872, the Copper Queen was open for business. The
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: transformation was remarkable. The rough trading post had become a
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: respectable establishment, with polished wooden floors, actual glass windows, a
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: luxury in the territory, and furnishings that must have been
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: transported at considerable expense from Prescott or possibly as far
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: as California. According to the Prescott Minor, the opening night
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: drew visitors from as far as ten miles away, curious
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: to see the establishment that was bringing a touch of St.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: Louis refinement to our rugged territory. The article described Margaret
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: Mackenzie as a handsome woman of commanding presence who oversees
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: the saloon with a firm but gracious hand, while Elizabeth
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: was noted as more reserved in manner yet meticulous in
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: her attentions to the comfort of overnight guests. The sisters
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: quickly established a reputation for running a respectable business, unusual
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: in a frontier environment where most saloons were rough establishments
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: offering raw whiskey, gambling, and often prostitution. The Copper Queen,
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: by contrast, served better quality spirits, offered meals at regular hours,
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: and maintained strict rules about behavior. biting, excessive drunkenness, and
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: lewd conduct were not tolerated, with offenders barred from returning.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: This atmosphere of relative refinement attracted a different clientele than
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: the typical frontier saloon. While local miners and cowboys still
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: frequented the establishment, it also drew travelers of means, merchants, investors, attorneys,
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: and others whose business brought them to the territory, and
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: who preferred accommodations a step above the usual frontier fare.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: It was precisely this clientele that would prove most valuable
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: and vulnerable to the McKenzie's true enterprise. The first six
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: months of operation passed without incident. The sisters became known
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: figures in the small community, though they maintained a certain distance.
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: They attended the occasional social gathering in Prescott, but formed
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: no close friendships. They contributed appropriately to community causes, particularly
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: those that enhanced their reputation. A donation to the nascent school,
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: funds for a church building fund, support for a sheriff's
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: posse pursuing cattle rustlers. Margaret, the more socially adept of
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: the pair, cultivated relationships with territorial officials and businessmen who
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: passed through, engaging them in conversation and ensuring they received
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: preferential treatment at the Copper Queen. Elizabeth, by contrast, remained
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: in the background, efficient but reserved, speaking little but observing much.
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: The first documented irregularity associated with the McKenzie sisters appears
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: in a complaint filed with the Territorial Marshal's Office in
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: August 1873. A letter from a Mrs. Eleanor Whitman of
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: San Francisco inquired about her husband, Gerald Whitman, a mining
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: investor who had traveled to the Arizona Territory and whose
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: last correspondence mentioned taking lodgings at an establishment run by
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: two sisters near Prescott. The marshal's cursory investigation concluded that Mr.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: Whitman had likely continued his journey to the southern mines,
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: or perhaps Mexico. His luggage, however, was found in storage
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: at the Copper Queen, allegedly left behind with instructions to
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: forward it to Tucson, instructions the sisters produced on a
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: note that Mrs. Whitman later claimed did not match her
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: husband's handwriting. What the official report neglected to mention, but
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: was recorded in Deputy Marshal James Corrigan's personal journal, discovered
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: decades later, was that Whitman had been carrying nearly $ 5, 000
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: in bank drafts and gold coin, a substantial sum in 1873.
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: The deputy noted, inquired of Banking House and Prescott. No
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: drafts in Whitman name-cashed. Sisters claim he spoke of associates
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: in Tucson who would handle his business affairs. Something unsettles
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: me about their manner. Too rehearsed, perhaps. Gerald Whitman's background,
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: pieced together from San Francisco business records and his wife's
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: subsequent correspondence with authorities, reveals he was a 42-year-old former
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: merchant who had accumulated modest wealth during the California gold rush,
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: not through mining, but by supplying miners. By 1873, he
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: had transitioned to investing in mining operations rather than supplying them,
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: using his knowledge of the industry to identify promising ventures.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: His journey to Arizona was for the purpose of evaluating
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: several silver claims near what is now Jerome. According to
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: his last letter to his wife, dated June 12, 1873,
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: he had completed his initial assessments and found them promising
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: enough to warrant substantial investment. He mentioned staying at a
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: surprisingly civilized establishment run by two sisters from Missouri, and
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: his intention to conclude negotiations within the week before returning home.
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: He was never seen again. This was the first thread
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: in what would become a tapestry of disappearances associated with
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: the McKenzie establishment. Between June 1873 and November 1874, territorial
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: records indicate that at least seven men of means who
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: passed through Bumblebee Creek were never documented as having reached
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: their next destination. In each case, the last confirmed sighting
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: was at the Copper Queen. What makes this case particularly
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: disturbing is not just the disappearances themselves, but the calculated
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: efficiency with which the sisters operated and the community's complicit silence.
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: As one former resident, interviewed in 1952 by Arizona State
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: University researchers, recalled, My grandfather said folks knew something wasn't
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: right with those women, the way they'd single out certain travelers,
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: always the ones traveling alone, always the ones who seemed
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: to have money. But nobody said nothing. In those days,
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: you minded your own business if you wanted to keep breathing.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: Another account, from Harriet Schultz, whose father had been the
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: settlement's general store proprietor, revealed more troubling details. Father noticed
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: that whenever a particular type of guest stayed at the
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: Queen— Margaret Mackenzie would visit his store the following day
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: with unusual requests. Once it was for extra lye soap
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: and coal oil, amounts that seemed excessive for a normal cleaning.
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: Another time she sought to purchase a saw and shovel
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: well after dark, claiming a guest had complained of a
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: rat in his wall. Father said her hands were stained
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: that night, though she wore gloves after that when she
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: came to the store. The operation of the sisters' establishment
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: followed a pattern that according to assembled accounts. The Copper
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: Queen offered two types of accommodations, basic rooms with shared
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: facilities for the common miner or cowhand, and premium rooms
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: for travelers of means. These premium rooms were always located
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: at the far end of the second floor, where the
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: building adjoined the hillside behind it, a curious architectural feature
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: that would later prove significant. The building itself, constructed originally
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: as a trading post in 1869, had been modified extensively
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: by the sisters. County records show they filed permits for
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: structural improvements within weeks of acquiring the property. These improvements,
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: ostensibly to shore up the hillside exposure and expand the
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: guest quarters, created the hidden infrastructure that would facilitate their crimes. Margaret,
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: the elder sister... typically worked the main floor, serving drinks
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: and engaging patrons in conversation. She was described in multiple
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: accounts as striking rather than conventionally beautiful, with auburn hair
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: always meticulously arranged and eyes that seemed to appraise rather
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: than merely see. She had a remarkable memory for details
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: and an ability to extract information from patrons without seeming intrusive.
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: A letter from William Stanton, a Philadelphia manufacturer who would
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: later become one of the sisters' victims, to his business
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: partner in April 1874, mentions Margaret, The proprietress here is
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: a most unusual woman. Within an hour of my arrival
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: she had ascertained the nature of my business in the territory,
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: the extent of my holdings in Pennsylvania, and even the
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: preparatory school attended by my sons, all through what seemed
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: like casual conversation. I found myself speaking more freely than
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: is my custom with strangers, particularly regarding financial matters. There
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: is something in her manner that inspires confidence, though on
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: reflection I wonder at my own loquacity. Elizabeth described in
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: accounts as the quiet one with eyes that never seemed
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: to blink, managed the rooms, and served meals. Where Margaret
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: was outgoing and charismatic, Elizabeth was reserved, efficient, and watchful.
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: The contrast in their personalities created a complementary dynamic that
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: served their operation well. Margaret identified and charmed potential victims,
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: while Elizabeth managed the practical aspects of their elimination. A
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: diary entry from Rebecca Tilson, a rare female guest who
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: stayed at the Copper Queen while traveling to join her
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: husband in Prescott, provides one of the few insights into
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: Elizabeth's character. The younger Miss McKenzie moves through the house
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: like a shadow, appearing suddenly where you least expect her.
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: Twice to-day I turned to find her standing silently behind me, observing.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: When I commented on her quiet tread, she smiled in
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: a way that did not reach her eyes, and said simply,
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: In our business it's best not to disturb the guests.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: Something in her gaze made me uncomfortable enough that I've
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: decided to continue to Prescott to-morrow, rather than rest here
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: another day as planned. Together they created an atmosphere of
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: respectable comfort, rare in frontier establishments. The Copper Queen became
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: known for its clean rooms, well-cooked meals, and the unusual
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: refinement of its proprietresses. This reputation attracted precisely the clientele
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: the sisters sought, men of means traveling the territory on
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: business rather than the rough mercenaries. and cowboys who populated
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: most frontier saloons. Thomas Finch, a mining engineer who stayed
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: at the Copper Queen in October 1873 and later provided
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: one of the few first-hand accounts, wrote in his journal,
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: the elder Miss McKenzie possesses an unusual memory for details.
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: Upon hearing I was bound for the Vulture Mine, she
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: recalled precise details about three other gentlemen who had traveled
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: that route in recent months, down to the contents of
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: their luggage. When I remarked upon this ability, her expression
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: changed momentarily to something I cannot quite describe, before she
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: laughed it away, saying, A good hostess remembers her guests, Mr. Finch,
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: particularly those she hopes might return. Finch's Journal, published in
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: part in the Journal of Arizona History in 1954, continues,
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: Miss Elizabeth maintains the establishment with remarkable attention to detail.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: The sheets are pressed, the floors swept clean of the
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: ever-present dust, and the meals would not be out of
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: place in a San Francisco hotel. Yet there is something
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: in her manner that causes one to avoid meeting her
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: gaze directly. She moves through the rooms like a shadow.
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: appearing suddenly where she had not been moments before. I
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: confess to feeling watched, though perhaps this is merely the
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: natural wariness of a man accustomed to the dangers of
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: the frontier. Finch survived his stay, perhaps because he mentioned
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: colleagues who would be following his same route within the week.
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: Others were not so fortunate. The case of Robert Cartwright
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: provides a particularly well-documented example of the sister's methodology. Cartwright,
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: a 38-year-old banker from Chicago, arrived at the Copper Queen
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: on February 17, 1874. His purpose in the territory was
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: to evaluate several mining operations that had sought financing from
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: his institution. According to the stage company's records, he was
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: carrying a leather portfolio containing substantial bank drafts and letters
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: of credit. Margaret McKenzie personally showed him to one of
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: the premium rooms in and, according to the bartender's later testimony,
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: spent considerable time discussing his itinerary and business over dinner.
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: Elizabeth was observed taking his luggage up and later bringing
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: additional blankets, though the evening was not particularly cold. The
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: following morning Cartwright was not present for breakfast. When inquiries
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: were made, Margaret explained that he had departed early, having
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: decided to proceed directly to Phoenix and rather than continuing
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: to the northern mines, as originally planned. She produced a note,
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: allegedly written by Cartwright, thanking them for their hospitality and
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: indicating his change of plans. Three weeks later, when Cartwright
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: failed to return to Chicago as scheduled, his bank sent
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: inquiries to various territorial officials. The investigation was perfunctory, the
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: note was accepted as genuine, and his disappearance was attributed
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: to the common frontier practice of men abandoning previous lives
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: for new opportunities. What no one knew at the time
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: was that Elizabeth McKenzie had made a detailed study of
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: handwriting and document forgery. Among her personal effects, discovered after
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: their flight, was a notebook containing practiced signatures of at
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: least nine different men, including Cartwrights. The precision of these
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: forgeries was remarkable enough that when they were later examined
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: by a document specialist from Wells Fargo in 1952, he
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: commented that they would have passed scrutiny in any bank
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: of the period. The first tangible evidence that something was
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: amiss came in February 1874, when seasonal rains caused a
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: washout along the creek bed behind the Copper Queen. A
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: freight driver named Samuel Doane discovered what he initially thought
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: was an animal bone protruding from the eroded bank. Closer
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: inspection revealed a human femur. According to the Territorial Marshal's report,
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: dated February 17, 1874, an investigation uncovered the partial remains
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: of what appeared to be two adult males. The report notes,
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: bodies appear to have been interred for approximately six to
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: eight months. Identification impossible due to condition and absence of
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: distinguishing effects, cause of death undetermined. What the official report
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: omitted was that both sets of remains showed evidence of
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: having been bound at the wrists with the same type
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: of cord used at the Copper Queen for tying back curtains.
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: This detail appears only in the personal notes of Deputy
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: Marshal James Corrigan, found among his effects after his death
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: in 1911, and subsequently archived in the Arizona Historical Society
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: collection in Tucson. Corrigan's notes, written in a private cipher
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: that was not decoded until 1956, reveal his growing suspicion
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: of the McKenzie sisters. Found same cordage as used at
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: the Queen. Mentioned this to Marshall Davis, who advised letting
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: the matter rest. Later learned Davis received a substantial loan
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: from M. McKenzie last fall for gambling debts. Have documented
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: measurements and samples privately. Something very wrong at Bumblebee Creek.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: Corrigan's position was a precarious one, as a deputy with
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: limited authority, challenging his superior or making accusations against established
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: business owners, particularly ones with political connections, could end his
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: career or worse. Nevertheless, he continued to collect evidence surreptitiously,
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: maintaining a separate unofficial investigation. His notes detail observations of
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: the McKenzie sisters' pattern of behavior. M always engages male
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: travelers of means in extended conversation, particular interest in those
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: traveling alone with no clear destination or schedule. E always
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: prepares the far rooms personally, allowing no one else to
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: clean or maintain them. After certain guests depart, sisters often
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: make purchases at general store that seem inconsistent with normal operations.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: The discovery prompted little official action. The remains were reburied
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: in unmarked graves at the Prescott Cemetery, and the incident
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: was attributed to typical frontier violence, possibly the result of
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: gambling disputes or robbery. No connection was publicly made to
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: the McKenzie sisters or their establishment. In fact, the sisters
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: standing in the community seemed to have improved around this time.
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: A notice in the Prescott Minor from March 1874 mentioned
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: their donation to the Territorial Capital's First Church Building Fund,
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: and Elizabeth McKenzie was appointed to the newly formed school
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: board for the Bumblebee Creek settlement. The territorial governor's correspondence
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: from April 1874 includes a letter commending the McKenzies for
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: bringing civilization and refinement to our developing territories and suggesting
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: their establishment as a model for proper development. The letter
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: specifically mentions their discretion regarding matters that might otherwise deter
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: investment in our promising region, a curious phrase that takes
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: on sinister significance in light of later discoveries. This veneer
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: of respectability was carefully cultivated. As was revealed later, the
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: sisters maintained detailed notebooks documenting the comings and goings of
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: every guest with particular attention to those traveling alone, those
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: carrying significant sums, and those whose disappearance might go unnoticed
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: for some time. These notebooks, discovered decades later, contained coded
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: entries that researchers from Northern Arizona University partially deciphered in 1963.
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: The code used simple substitutions and referred to potential victims
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: as stock, with annotations about their quality and processing. One entry,
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: dated July 14, 1873, reads when decoded, Boston stock arrived today.
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: Quality excellent. Processing scheduled after assessment of documents. M will
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: handle the accounts while E prepares the special room. Another
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: from September 3rd of the same year. Chicago merchant departed
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: officially for Tucson. Actual disposal completed before dawn. Yield $ 100
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: to $ 200 in paper, $ 340 in gold, and deeds to
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: Illinois properties requiring further investigation. left clothing and personal effects
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: as planned. E. Concerned about recent inquiry from San Francisco
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: regarding previous acquisition. Assured her our arrangements are secure. A
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: particularly disturbing entry from January 1874 reads, Processing of St.
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: Louis attorney completed with unusual difficulty. Subject partially regained consciousness
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: during procedure. E. Forced to employ excessive measures resulting in
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: significant cleaning issues. yields substantial but complications necessitate three-day closure
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: for thorough sanitization of special room will claim water damage
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: from roof leak to explain odors and closing the special
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: room would later be identified as a concealed space built
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: into the hillside behind the copper queen accessible only through
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: a false back in a wardrobe in one of the
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: premium guest rooms the dimension of this room, approximately 8
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: feet by 10 feet, with a dirt floor that sloped
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: toward a narrow tunnel leading to the creek bed, suggested
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: its grim purpose. Archaeological examination of the site in 1955
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: revealed traces of blood that had seeped into the clay
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: floor and evidence of coal oil, used repeatedly to clean
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: the space. Metal rings embedded in the walls indicated restraints
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: had been employed. The tunnel, roughly 30 feet in length,
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: emerged in a dense thicket of mesquite along the creek,
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: providing a concealed route for disposing of bodies. The sisters'
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: method appears to have been methodical. According to reconstructed events
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: based on the discovered documentation and physical evidence, They would
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: identify victims who met their criteria, traveling alone, carrying significant funds,
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: and unlikely to be immediately missed. These guests would be
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: given one of the premium rooms with access to the
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: hidden chamber. At night, likely after serving drugged drinks, analysis
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: of preserved bottles found on the property in 1952 showed
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: residue consistent with laudanum mixed with whiskey. The sisters would
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: move the incapacitated victim into the hidden room. There, they
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: would eliminate the victim, though the exact method remains speculative
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: due to lack of forensic evidence, before robbing them of
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: valuables and documents. A journal entry attributed to Elizabeth, though
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: the handwriting analysis remains inconclusive, provides a chilling glimpse into
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: their methodology. M. insists on speaking with them extensively before
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: the procedure, says it helps her better forge their handwriting later.
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: I find this unnecessary exposure, but her forgeries have prevented
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: inquiries thus far. The Whitman matter proves the system works,
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: though we must be more thorough with personal effects. The
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: watch was an oversight. Another entry, dated March 1874, reveals
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: the coldly practical nature of their operation. M suggests we
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: increase capacity by adding a second processing area. I disagree.
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: Current volume is manageable. and expansion increases risk of discovery.
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: Better to maintain quality over quantity. The merchandise we select
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: must continue to meet our established criteria, solitary, wealthy, and transient.
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: Deviation from this profile has proven problematic in the past.
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: The bodies were apparently disposed of via the tunnel leading
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: to the creek bed, buried along the bank in locations
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: that would be subject to seasonal flooding. nature's way of
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: concealing evidence. The sophistication of this operation suggests the sisters
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: were not novices to criminal activity. Indeed, subsequent research by
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: historian Rebecca Tanner in 1967 uncovered evidence suggesting the McKenzie's
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: may have operated previously under different names in Missouri and Kansas,
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: always in frontier settings where transient populations and limited law
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: enforcement created ideal conditions for their predation. Newspaper accounts from Independence, Missouri,
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: in 1870, mention the mysterious disappearance of three travelers who
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: had stayed at a boarding house run by two sisters
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: of genteel appearance who left the area shortly thereafter. A
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: wanted notice from Dodge City, Kansas, dated 1871, describes two women,
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: matching the McKenzie's general description, who were sought for questioning,
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: in connection with the disappearance of a cattle buyer. The
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: notice was never followed up and no arrests were made.
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: The sisters, if indeed they were the same women, had
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: moved on before authorities connected them to the missing man.
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: The pattern suggests a methodical migratory predation strategy. Establish a
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: respectable business in a frontier area, operate until suspicions begin
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: to arise or a better opportunity presents itself. Then, move
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: on with accumulated wealth to establish a new identity elsewhere.
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: The Arizona territory, with its sparse population, limited communication infrastructure,
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: and general lawlessness, would have represented an ideal operating environment
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: for such predators. What remains one of the most disturbing
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: aspects of the case is how the sisters maintained their
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: operation despite growing suspicions. Evidence suggests they employed a combination
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: of of strategic bribery, blackmail, and community manipulation. A letter
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: found in the territorial governor's archived correspondence, dated September 1874
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: but not discovered until 1960, reveals that Margaret McKenzie had
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: made a substantial donation to the governor's re-election fund with
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: a note mentioning, our mutual interest in ensuring the continued
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: growth and stability of the territory without undue attention to
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: unfortunate incidents that might deter investment. The sisters also maintained
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: what appears to have been a calculated system of community indebtedness.
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: The ledgers of several Prescott businesses show that the McKenzies
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: extended unusually generous credit terms to influential citizens, effectively buying
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: silence through financial obligation. They also made strategic gifts to
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: community projects, that enhanced their reputation while creating a network
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: of beneficiaries who would be reluctant to question their activities.
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: The territorial newspaper editor, John Marion, received a business loan
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: of $ 300, equivalent to nearly $ 7, 000 today, in July 1873,
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: shortly after publishing a brief article questioning the number of
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: solitary travelers who passed through Bumblebee Creek but never reached
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: their stated destinations. No follow-up article ever appeared, and subsequent
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: mentions of the McKenzies or their establishment were uniformly positive.
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: More sinister still was their apparent gathering of compromising information.
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: Elizabeth McKenzie served as the settlement's unofficial postmistress for a period,
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: giving her access to private correspondence. Margaret's position behind the
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: bar allowed her to observe indiscretions and gather confessions from
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: men whose tongues were loosened by alcohol. They also appear
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: to have known precisely which local officials had visited prostitutes,
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: accumulated gambling debts, or engaged in other activities that might
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: compromise their standing. A small black book discovered among their
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: abandoned possessions contained encoded notes on various prominent citizens, including
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: details that could only have been obtained through intimate knowledge
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: of their private affairs. One entry, partially decoded, reads, Judge H.
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: visits Chinese girl at Wong's establishment every Tuesday, pays double
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: to ensure privacy, mentioned during intoxication that his wife believes
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: he attends Masonic meetings. Another notes, Marshall D. now owes $ 1, 250
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: to gambling house in Prescott. Third time his debt has
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: been settled by unknown benefactor. Leverage increasing. As one territorial
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: Marshall's deputy reportedly said to his wife in private correspondence...
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: Those women know too much about too many men who matter.
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: Nobody's going to look too hard at what happens up
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: at their place, no matter how many San Francisco dandies
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: go missing. This combination of financial leverage, social standing, and
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: blackmail potential created a protective shield around the sisters that
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: allowed them to operate with virtual impunity. When questions arose,
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: they were quickly silenced by those whose interests aligned with
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: maintaining the status quo. The case of Gerald Whitman exemplifies
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: this dynamic. When his wife's inquiries reached Territorial Marshal William Davis,
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: the investigation was perfunctory at best. Davis, whose gambling debts
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: to Margaret McKenzie were documented in her private ledger, concluded
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: that Whitman had simply continued his journey without informing his wife,
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: a common enough occurrence on the frontier to seem plausible. Mrs. Whitman, however, persisted.
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: In October 1874, she traveled to Prescott herself, an arduous
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: journey for a woman alone. Her diary, preserved in the
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: California Historical Society collection, records her frustration. The officials here
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: seemed determined to dismiss my concerns. When I mentioned certain
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: inconsistencies in the story told by the McKenzie women, Marshall
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: Davis became quite agitated and suggested I was overtired from
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: my journey and and perhaps imagining conspiracies where there were none.
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: He advised me to return to San Francisco and await
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: word from Mr. Ramos. Whitman? Assuring me that many men
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: find the freedom of the territories too enticing to hurry home.
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: His meaning was clear and deeply offensive. Eleanor Whitman's persistence
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: might eventually have exposed the truth had events not overtaken
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: her inquiries. She remained in Prescott for three weeks, conducting
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: her own investigation despite official discouragement. She even visited the
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: Copper Queen, where she reported Margaret Mackenzie was excessively solicitous,
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: yet her eyes remained cold as stone. What Mrs. Whitman
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: did not know was that her presence had created considerable
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: alarm for the sisters. A coded note dated October 28, 1870, 1874,
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: indicates they were considering processing San Francisco Widow despite complications,
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: suggesting they contemplated eliminating her as well. Only the presence
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: of a traveling companion who joined her in Prescott, a
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: cousin mentioned in her diary, appears to have prevented this outcome. Mrs.
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: Whitman's inquiries, while unsuccessful in the immediate term, did create
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: a degree of scrutiny that made the sisters increasingly cautious.
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: Their coded communications from this period show growing concern about
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: increased attention and discussion of possibly relocating operations to a
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: less conspicuous location. One entry from early November 1874 reads, M.
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: Concerned about Persistent Widow. E thinks waiting until situation resolves
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: naturally is safest approach, current inventory sufficient for a comfortable transition,
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: if necessary. Southern location previously discussed remains viable alternative. The
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: McKenzie sisters' operation might have continued indefinitely had it not
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: been for an unexpected development in November 1874. A severe
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: early winter storm caused a section of the hill behind
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: the Copper Queen to collapse. exposing part of the hidden
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: room and tunnel system, according to the Prescott Miners' Account,
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: published November 27, 1874, the collapse occurred during the night,
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: and by morning, the McKenzie sisters had vanished. The article
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: states simply, The proprietresses of the Copper Queen establishment at
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: Bumblebee Creek are reported to have departed unexpectedly, following significant
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: damage to their property during Tuesday's storms. Marshall's deputies investigating
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: the scene found concerning evidence that may shed light on
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: several missing persons cases. This understated report belied the gruesome discovery.
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: The collapse had revealed not just the hidden room, but
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: also a previously concealed cellar space containing personal effects belonging
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: to at least five different individuals, all of whom had
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: been reported missing over the previous 18 months. These items
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: included pocket watches, correspondence, and distinctive clothing described in missing
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: persons reports. Most damning was a leather-bound ledger containing detailed
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: information about each victim, including the amounts taken, the disposal
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: location of the remains, and methods used to forge documents
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: transferring property or sending false correspondence to family members. The
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: ledger contained only portions of which survived after a suspicious
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: fire at the territorial marshal's office in 1876, included entries
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: such as J. Sullivan, Boston merchant, processed October 12th, yielded $ 3, 250
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: and property deeds requiring further investigation, wrote to partner claiming
• 42:30
  Speaker 1: illness requiring extended stay in Santa Fe, will need to
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: create death certificate from Santa Fe after appropriate interval. Another
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: entry noted, H. Montgomery, Pennsylvania. Excellent quality. Unexpectedly carrying bearer
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: bonds requiring careful handling. Elizabeth concerned about disposal given recent rains.
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: Solved by using deeper location north of usual site. The
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: Sacramento Union ran a front page story on December 3, 1874,
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: with the headline, House of Horrors Discovered in Arizona Territory,
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: Female proprietors suspected in multiple disappearances. The article described the
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: McKenzie's as females of seemingly genteel bearing who concealed monstrous
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: appetites for murder and theft and suggested they might have
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: claimed upwards of 20 victims. The San Francisco Chronicle followed
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: with its own coverage, particularly focused on the Whitman case
• 43:30
  Speaker 1: running several articles that criticized territorial authorities for their failure
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: to investigate the disappearances properly. Used clothing and personal effects
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: to create impression of robbery on Trail to Phoenix. Marshall's
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: office accepting this explanation without question. The discovery created immediate
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: sensation throughout the territory and beyond. The negligence of Arizona officials,
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: one editorial stated, raises disturbing questions about the competence of
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: territorial governance and the safety of those conducting legitimate business
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: in the region. These articles prompted a congressional inquiry into
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: law enforcement practices in the territories, though like many such
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: investigations of the era, it produced reports but little substantive action.
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: The territorial governor, facing mounting criticism, authorized more thorough investigation,
• 44:24
  Speaker 1: though some suspected this was primarily to deflect attention from
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: his own possible connections to the case. Despite an extensive search,
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: the McKenzie sisters were never apprehended. Reports placed them on
• 44:37
  Speaker 1: a southbound stage the night of the storm, but the
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: trail went cold near the Mexican border. Territorial communications with
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: Mexican authorities proved fruitless, though unconfirmed accounts suggested the women
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: may have established themselves in Sonora under different identities. The
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: night watchman at the Prescott Stage Depot later testified that
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: two women matching the McKenzie's description had boarded the southbound
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: stage at approximately 2 a.m. on November 25th, carrying substantial
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: luggage and paying for their passage with gold coin. He
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: noted that the younger woman appeared agitated while the elder
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: was composed, almost unnaturally, so given the hour and the weather.
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: A telegraph operator in Tucson reported seeing two women of
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: similar description boarding a coach bound for Nogales on November 26.
• 45:32
  Speaker 1: After that, the trail vanishes. Some historians have suggested that
• 45:37
  Speaker 1: the sisters may have had arrangements in place for just
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: such an emergency departure, possibly including false identity papers and
• 45:45
  Speaker 1: cashed funds at strategic locations. The investigation that followed revealed
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: the extensive nature of their crimes. Based on financial records
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: and the coded notebooks, authorities estimated that the sisters had
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: murdered between 11 and 17 individuals over their 18 months
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: of operation, acquiring today's equivalent of nearly $ 2 million in cash,
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: property deeds, and negotiable instruments. The most conservative accounting, based
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: solely on documented disappearances and recovered evidence, confirmed 11 victims. 1.
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: Gerald Whitman, San Francisco investor, last seen June 1873. 2.
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: James Sullivan, Boston merchant, October 1873. 3. Henry Montgomery, Pennsylvania landowner,
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: December 1873. 4. Robert Cartwright, Chicago banker, February 1874. 5.
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: Thomas Wilkins, St. Louis attorney, March 1874. 6. Frederick Holcomb,
• 46:46
  Speaker 1: New York mining investor, April 1874. 7. William Stanton, Philadelphia manufacturer,
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: May 1874. 8. Charles Everton, Boston shipping magnate, July 1874. 9.
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: George Pritchard, Baltimore merchant, August 1874. 10. Samuel Thornton, San
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: Francisco attorney, September 1874. 11. Edward Palmer, Chicago investor, October 1874.
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: The case of Charles Everton is particularly well-documented due to
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: his prominence in Boston society and the extensive efforts of
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: his family to determine his fate. Everton, a 45-year-old shipping
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: company owner, had traveled west to explore potential business opportunities
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: related to the anticipated expansion of railroads into the territory.
• 47:39
  Speaker 1: According to Stage Company records, he arrived in Prescott on
• 47:42
  Speaker 1: July 15, 1874, and spent two days meeting with territorial
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: officials and business leaders. On July 17th, he traveled to
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: Bumblebee Creek, allegedly to meet with mining operators in the area.
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: He took lodging at the Copper Queen, where, according to
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: later testimony, Margaret McKenzie personally served him dinner and spent
• 48:06
  Speaker 1: considerable time discussing his business interests. The following morning, when
• 48:11
  Speaker 1: another guest inquired about sharing transportation to Prescott, he was
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: informed that Mr. Everton had departed early, having decided to
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: visit claims in the Northern Mountains before returning east. A
• 48:23
  Speaker 1: note purportedly from Everton was produced, thanking the sisters for
• 48:27
  Speaker 1: their hospitality and indicating his change in plans. When Everton
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: failed to return to Boston as scheduled, his family initiated
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: inquiries through business contacts and eventually hired Pinkerton detectives to
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: investigate his disappearance. The Pinkerton agent, Robert Ferguson, traveled to
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: Arizona in September 1874, visiting both Prescott and Bumblebee Creek.
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: His report, submitted to the Everton family and later provided
• 48:57
  Speaker 1: to territorial authorities, noted several inconsistencies in the account given
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: by the McKenzie sisters. Most tellingly, Ferguson discovered that the
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: mining operation Everton had supposedly gone to visit had ceased
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: operations three months before his arrival in the territory. information
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: that a well-connected businessman like Everton would likely have known. Additionally,
• 49:22
  Speaker 1: no one at any of the settlements along the northern
• 49:25
  Speaker 1: route recalled seeing Everton despite his distinctive appearance and formal
• 49:30
  Speaker 1: eastern attire, which would have been notable in the rugged
• 49:33
  Speaker 1: mining communities. Ferguson's report concluded, It is my professional opinion
• 49:38
  Speaker 1: that that Mr. Everton never left the Copper Queen establishment alive.
• 49:43
  Speaker 1: The proprietress's account contains numerous contradictions that suggest deliberate deception
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: rather than mere confusion or misremembering. I recommend immediate involvement
• 49:54
  Speaker 1: of territorial authorities at the highest level. The Everton family
• 49:59
  Speaker 1: forwarded this report to both the territorial governor and federal
• 50:03
  Speaker 1: authorities in Washington. Whether due to the McKenzie's influence or
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: simple bureaucratic inefficiency, no substantial action was taken before the
• 50:13
  Speaker 1: November storm revealed the truth. The actual toll may have
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: been higher, as the sisters' records hinted, at additional victims
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: not matched to known missing persons reports. The frontier nature
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: of the territory meant many travelers passed through unregistered, their
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: disappearances potentially unnoticed or unreported. Forensic excavation of the creek
• 50:35
  Speaker 1: bed in spring 1875 uncovered human remains in seven distinct locations,
• 50:41
  Speaker 1: though flooding and scavenger activity had rendered complete recovery and
• 50:46
  Speaker 1: identification impossible. The remains were collected and interred in a
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: common grave in Prescott, marked only with the date of
• 50:54
  Speaker 1: their discovery. Dr. Michael Jenkins, who performed the examination of
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: the recovered remains, noted in his report, The condition of
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: the skeletal element suggests various methods of dispatch, including blunt
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: force trauma to the cranium in at least three cases,
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: and what appears to be knife or similar sharp instrument
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: damage to cervical vertebrae in two others. One set of
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: remains shows evidence of binding at both wrists and ankles,
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: with stress fractures suggesting the individual struggled significantly before death.
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: The financial impact of the sisters' crimes is extended beyond
• 51:31
  Speaker 1: the immediate victims. Property deeds had been fraudulently transferred, business
• 51:36
  Speaker 1: arrangements disrupted, and estates left in limbo. The territorial courts
• 51:41
  Speaker 1: were burdened with cases related to the aftermath for years,
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: attempting to unravel the complex web of financial manipulations the
• 51:49
  Speaker 1: McKenzie's had orchestrated. One particularly troubling aspect emerged during this process,
• 51:56
  Speaker 1: evidence of official complicity. The territorial governor resigned abruptly in
• 52:01
  Speaker 1: December 1874, ostensibly for health reasons, though correspondence suggests he
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: feared exposure of his connections to the McKenzies. Marshall Davis
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: was removed from office following an investigation that revealed he
• 52:15
  Speaker 1: had received substantial loans from Margaret McKenzie, coinciding with periods
• 52:21
  Speaker 1: when inquiries about missing persons were redirected or dismissed. A
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: federal investigation conducted reluctantly and only after significant pressure from
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: Eastern newspapers and families of the victims concluded in its report,
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: The ability of the McKenzie women to operate their criminal
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: enterprise for such an extended period suggests a troubling degree
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: of official negligence at best and active collusion at worst.
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: The apparent reluctance of territorial officials to investigate legitimate inquiries
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: regarding missing persons points to a systematic failure of governance
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: that merits comprehensive reform of territorial administration. No such reform materialized, however,
• 53:04
  Speaker 1: and within a year the case had faded from national attention,
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: though it remained a significant part of the local memory
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: and lore. The Copper Queen itself was not immediately demolished.
• 53:15
  Speaker 1: Records indicate it passed through several owners over the next decade,
• 53:19
  Speaker 1: though none managed to operate it successfully. Local accounts suggest
• 53:24
  Speaker 1: patrons reported cold spots and unexplained sounds in the premium rooms,
• 53:30
  Speaker 1: though these are likely embellishments added to the narrative over time.
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: A diary entry from Joshua Harrington, who briefly operated the
• 53:38
  Speaker 1: building as a trading post in 1877, notes, Last week,
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: Simmons refused to enter the storage area claiming he heard
• 53:53
  Speaker 1: scratching from within the walls. Bound nothing, but must admit
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: the place has an unwholesome atmosphere. Business suffers as a result.
• 54:02
  Speaker 1: In 1887, the building was destroyed in a fire of
• 54:05
  Speaker 1: suspicious origin. The local newspaper reported simply, the former Copper
• 54:11
  Speaker 1: Queen establishment, site of notorious events some years past, was
• 54:16
  Speaker 1: consumed by fire Tuesday last. No injuries reported as the
• 54:22
  Speaker 1: building stood vacant at the time. Marshall's office investigating possible arson.
• 54:28
  Speaker 1: Later accounts suggest the fire may have been deliberately set
• 54:31
  Speaker 1: by local residents who considered the building a blight on
• 54:35
  Speaker 1: the community's reputation and a constant reminder of the darkness
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: that had occurred there. No charges were ever filed, and
• 54:43
  Speaker 1: the investigation was closed without conclusion. The land remained vacant thereafter.
• 54:49
  Speaker 1: and the settlement of Bumblebee Creek gradually declined as mining
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: operations shifted to more productive areas. By 1900, it was
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: essentially abandoned, becoming one of many ghost towns dotting the
• 55:01
  Speaker 1: Arizona landscape. The case of the McKenzie sisters might have
• 55:05
  Speaker 1: faded entirely from memory had it not been for a
• 55:09
  Speaker 1: University of Arizona historical research project in 1952. Graduate student
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: Howard Biggs, researching territorial crime patterns, discovered references to the
• 55:20
  Speaker 1: case in archived Marshall's reports. His subsequent investigation, including interviews
• 55:26
  Speaker 1: with elderly residents who remembered the incidents and excavation of
• 55:30
  Speaker 1: the former Copper Queen site, brought the case back to
• 55:33
  Speaker 1: public attention. Biggs' master's thesis, Murderous Hospitality, the McKenzie Sisters,
• 55:40
  Speaker 1: and Frontier Justice, remains the most comprehensive academic analysis of
• 55:45
  Speaker 1: the case. Biggs' work was significant, not just for documenting
• 55:50
  Speaker 1: the McKenzie's crimes, but for exposing the social and political
• 55:54
  Speaker 1: conditions that allowed them to operate. His research revealed that
• 55:59
  Speaker 1: frontier communities often prioritized stability and economic development over justice,
• 56:05
  Speaker 1: creating environments where predators could thrive if they understood how
• 56:09
  Speaker 1: to manipulate local power structures. What made the McKenzie's so effective,
• 56:15
  Speaker 1: Biggs wrote, was not merely their willingness to kill, but
• 56:19
  Speaker 1: their understanding of frontier social dynamics. They recognized that in
• 56:24
  Speaker 1: a society where economic development was the primary concern, those
• 56:28
  Speaker 1: who contributed to prosperity would be protected, while transient victims
• 56:33
  Speaker 1: would be quickly forgotten. They exploited not just individual victims,
• 56:39
  Speaker 1: but the collective values and priorities of a community that
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: privileged progress over protection. The archaeological excavation conducted as part
• 56:48
  Speaker 1: of Biggs' research uncovered additional evidence that had been missed
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: or ignored in the original investigation. The foundations of the
• 56:57
  Speaker 1: hidden room were exposed, along with artifacts including surgical implements, restraints,
• 57:04
  Speaker 1: and personal items belonging to victims that had not been
• 57:07
  Speaker 1: recovered in 1874. Most significantly, Biggs discovered a metal box
• 57:13
  Speaker 1: buried beneath what had been the floor of the sisters'
• 57:16
  Speaker 1: private quarters. The box contained documents that had escaped the
• 57:21
  Speaker 1: original investigation, including additional coded ledgers and correspondence that further
• 57:27
  Speaker 1: illuminated the extent and methodology of their operation. In 1963,
• 57:32
  Speaker 1: additional material came to light when renovations to the old
• 57:36
  Speaker 1: territorial governor's mansion in Prescott revealed a hidden compartment containing
• 57:41
  Speaker 1: correspondence between Margaret McKenzie and several territorial officials. These letters
• 57:47
  Speaker 1: strongly suggested a network of corruption that had helped shield
• 57:51
  Speaker 1: the sisters from scrutiny and potentially facilitated their escape. The
• 57:56
  Speaker 1: most damning of these documents was a letter dated November 20, 1874,
• 58:03
  Speaker 1: just days before the sisters' disappearance, warning them of Mrs.
• 58:07
  Speaker 1: Whitman's continued inquiries and suggesting they consider relocation before the
• 58:14
  Speaker 1: situation becomes untenable. The letter was signed only with initials
• 58:18
  Speaker 1: that matched those of a prominent territorial judge. This discovery
• 58:23
  Speaker 1: prompted renewed interest in the case with several historians and
• 58:27
  Speaker 1: criminologists publishing analyses during the 1960s. The McKenzie case became
• 58:33
  Speaker 1: a case study in frontier justice and the particular dynamics
• 58:36
  Speaker 1: that allowed female criminals to operate differently than their male counterparts.
• 58:41
  Speaker 1: Archaeological work at the site in the 1960s recovered additional artifacts,
• 58:47
  Speaker 1: including personal items belonging to victims and tools likely used
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: in their processing. Analysis of soil samples revealed traces of
• 58:56
  Speaker 1: human remains in multiple locations around the former establishment, suggesting
• 59:01
  Speaker 1: the sisters' disposal activities had been more extensive than initially documented.
• 59:07
  Speaker 1: The last verified information about the McKenzie's sisters comes from
• 59:11
  Speaker 1: a death certificate discovered in Hermosillo, Mexico, archives in 1967.
• 59:17
  Speaker 1: The document, dated March 14, 1902, records the death of
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: a Señora Margarita Vásquez, formerly of the United States. With
• 59:26
  Speaker 1: her age approximately matching what Margaret McKenzie's would have been,
• 59:30
  Speaker 1: the cause of death is listed as respiratory failure, though
• 59:35
  Speaker 1: notes indicate the attending physician suspected poisoning. No corresponding record
• 59:40
  Speaker 1: for Elizabeth was ever found, leading to speculation that she
• 59:44
  Speaker 1: may have been responsible for her sister's death, continuing a
• 59:48
  Speaker 1: pattern of betrayal and elimination that characterized their known history.
• 59:53
  Speaker 1: A tantalizing footnote to this theory emerged in 1969 when
• 59:58
  Speaker 1: historian Rebecca Tanner, researching women business owners in the American Southwest,
• 1:00:04
  Speaker 1: discovered records of a Mrs. Elizabeth Wilson who operated a
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 1: successful boarding house in Oaxaca, Mexico from 1902 to 1915.
• 1:00:14
  Speaker 1: Described as an American widow of refined manners, this woman
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 1: accumulated considerable property before disappearing abruptly. following inquiries from American
• 1:00:25
  Speaker 1: authorities about a series of guests who had vanished after
• 1:00:28
  Speaker 1: staying at her establishment. Mexican police records, translated and published
• 1:00:33
  Speaker 1: in the Journal of Borderland Studies in 1975, indicate that
• 1:00:38
  Speaker 1: authorities suspected Wilson of multiple homicides, but were unable to
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 1: gather sufficient evidence for prosecution. The description of her methodology—
• 1:00:48
  Speaker 1: drugging solitary travelers of means and disposing of their bodies
• 1:00:52
  Speaker 1: in a ravine behind her property, bear striking similarities to
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 1: the McKenzie's Arizona operation. If this was indeed Elizabeth McKenzie,
• 1:01:02
  Speaker 1: it suggests she continued her predatory activities for decades after
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 1: escaping Arizona, adapting her methods to new circumstances, but maintaining
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: the same basic pattern. The final fate of Mrs. Wilson
• 1:01:17
  Speaker 1: remains unknown, as she vanished from Oaxaca in 1915 amid
• 1:01:21
  Speaker 1: the chaos of the Mexican Revolution, leaving behind a property that,
• 1:01:26
  Speaker 1: like the Copper Queen before it, was later destroyed by fire.
• 1:01:30
  Speaker 1: The site where the Copper Queen once stood is now
• 1:01:33
  Speaker 1: part of the Prescott National Forest. Nothing remains of the
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 1: structure except foundation stones and the occasional rusted artifact. Hikers
• 1:01:43
  Speaker 1: in the area have reported feeling watched, though this is
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 1: likely the power of suggestion given the location's grim history.
• 1:01:50
  Speaker 1: In 1965, the Arizona Historical Society placed a small marker
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 1: near the site, acknowledging the McKenzie crimes without sensationalizing them.
• 1:02:00
  Speaker 1: The plaque reads simply, Near this site stood the Copper
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 1: Queen Saloon and Boarding House, 1872-1887, scene of numerous disappearances
• 1:02:11
  Speaker 1: and murders during the territorial period. A reminder of justice delayed.
• 1:02:16
  Speaker 1: and the dark chapters in our shared history. The case
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 1: has continued to fascinate historians, criminologists, and the public. It
• 1:02:25
  Speaker 1: has been the subject of numerous books, articles, and at
• 1:02:28
  Speaker 1: least two documentary films. The combination of female perpetrators, frontier setting,
• 1:02:34
  Speaker 1: and the extensive nature of the crimes makes it a compelling,
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 1: if disturbing, chapter in Western history. Perhaps most disturbing is
• 1:02:42
  Speaker 1: the possibility that the McKenzie sisters were not unique. The
• 1:02:46
  Speaker 1: frontier offered ample opportunity for predators to operate with minimal oversight,
• 1:02:52
  Speaker 1: and the transient nature of the population made disappearances easy
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 1: to dismiss or ignore. How many other such operations existed,
• 1:03:02
  Speaker 1: run by individuals who, unlike the Mackenzies, were never exposed?
• 1:03:06
  Speaker 1: Historian Patricia Nelson Limerick, in her analysis of frontier criminality, notes,
• 1:03:12
  Speaker 1: the mythology of the West... focuses on outlaws like Jesse
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 1: James or Billy the Kid, men who operated in the open,
• 1:03:20
  Speaker 1: their crimes acknowledged if sometimes romanticized. Far less attention is
• 1:03:25
  Speaker 1: paid to those who worked in the shadows, particularly women
• 1:03:29
  Speaker 1: who used the gender expectations of their era as camouflage
• 1:03:34
  Speaker 1: for predation. The McKenzie case challenges our conventional understanding of
• 1:03:38
  Speaker 1: frontier crime and gender roles. In an era when women
• 1:03:42
  Speaker 1: were generally viewed as civilizing influences, the sisters weaponized those
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 1: very perceptions, creating a veneer of respectability that obscured their
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 1: calculated brutality. Dr. Eleanor Ramsey, professor of criminology at the
• 1:03:57
  Speaker 1: University of Arizona, observes in her 1998 analysis the McKenzie's
• 1:04:03
  Speaker 1: exploited period assumptions about female behavior. In a society that
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 1: viewed women as inherently nurturing and morally superior, the idea
• 1:04:13
  Speaker 1: of women as predators was almost inconceivable. This cultural blind
• 1:04:18
  Speaker 1: spot created a perfect environment for their operation. Their gender
• 1:04:22
  Speaker 1: became their most effective disguise. The case raises unsettling questions
• 1:04:27
  Speaker 1: about how communities can become complicit in evil through silence, convenience,
• 1:04:33
  Speaker 1: or self-interest. The residents of Bumblebee Creek knew something was
• 1:04:37
  Speaker 1: wrong the pattern too obvious, the coincidences too numerous, yet
• 1:04:42
  Speaker 1: economic benefit and frontier pragmatism created a conspiracy of silence
• 1:04:47
  Speaker 1: that cost many lives. As territorial judge William Haynes wrote
• 1:04:52
  Speaker 1: in his private journal, found among his effects after his
• 1:04:56
  Speaker 1: death in 1890, the McKenzie matter represents a failure not
• 1:05:00
  Speaker 1: merely of law enforcement, but of community conscience. When we
• 1:05:04
  Speaker 1: prioritize prosperity over probity, When we value our comfort over
• 1:05:09
  Speaker 1: the lives of strangers, we create the very wilderness we
• 1:05:13
  Speaker 1: claim to be civilizing. His words seem particularly ironic, given
• 1:05:18
  Speaker 1: the evidence suggesting his own possible complicity in warning the
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 1: sisters before their escape, a complexity that underscores the moral
• 1:05:27
  Speaker 1: ambiguity that characterized frontier justice. The psychological aspects of the
• 1:05:32
  Speaker 1: McKenzie case have attracted attention from modern criminologists. Dr. Elaine Morrison,
• 1:05:39
  Speaker 1: in her 2003 analysis, Partners in Predation, The Psychology of
• 1:05:45
  Speaker 1: Collaborative Female Killers, suggests the sisters represented a rare but
• 1:05:50
  Speaker 1: documented pattern of complementary pathology. In the McKenzie case, we
• 1:05:56
  Speaker 1: see evidence of what would now be classified as a
• 1:05:59
  Speaker 1: dominant psychopath, Margaret, paired with a more submissive accomplice, Elizabeth.
• 1:06:04
  Speaker 1: The elder sister appears to have possessed the charisma and
• 1:06:08
  Speaker 1: manipulative abilities characteristic of psychopathic personality, while the younger provided
• 1:06:15
  Speaker 1: the methodical attention to detail that made their operation successful.
• 1:06:20
  Speaker 1: Such partnerships are particularly dangerous precisely because they combine predatory
• 1:06:25
  Speaker 1: cunning with practical efficiency. Morrison notes that while male serial
• 1:06:30
  Speaker 1: killers often acted from sexual motivation, The McKenzie's represent a
• 1:06:34
  Speaker 1: different category of predator, one motivated primarily by material gain
• 1:06:39
  Speaker 1: and operating with a business-like efficiency. Their methodology was more
• 1:06:44
  Speaker 1: akin to organized crime than to the impulsive violence typically
• 1:06:48
  Speaker 1: associated with frontier murders. The sisters, she writes, approached murder
• 1:06:53
  Speaker 1: as a commercial enterprise with clearly defined processes, careful record-keeping,
• 1:06:59
  Speaker 1: and strategic planning. They saw their victims not as people,
• 1:07:03
  Speaker 1: but as resources to be harvested. A perspective evident in
• 1:07:07
  Speaker 1: their coded references to stock and processing. This commodification of
• 1:07:13
  Speaker 1: human life represents a particularly chilling form of psychopathy. The
• 1:07:17
  Speaker 1: last word on the McKenzie sisters appropriately belongs to one
• 1:07:20
  Speaker 1: who almost became their victim. Thomas Finch, the mining engineer
• 1:07:24
  Speaker 1: who stayed at the Copper Queen in 1873, wrote in 1876,
• 1:07:26
  Speaker 1: after learning of the discoveries... I recall with perfect clarity
• 1:07:34
  Speaker 1: the moment Miss Margaret poured my evening whiskey. There was
• 1:07:37
  Speaker 1: something in her eyes as she watched me drink, a
• 1:07:40
  Speaker 1: curious anticipation quickly masked. I declined a second glass, pleading fatigue,
• 1:07:46
  Speaker 1: but remained awake with my door barricaded. Throughout that night
• 1:07:50
  Speaker 1: I heard faint sounds of movement in the corridor and
• 1:07:53
  Speaker 1: what seemed like scraping from within the walls. I departed
• 1:07:57
  Speaker 1: at first light, earlier than I had informed the sisters
• 1:08:00
  Speaker 1: I would leave. I have often wondered since if that
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 1: simple change of plans preserved my life. He continued, What
• 1:08:08
  Speaker 1: troubles me most, in retrospect, is not the narrowness of
• 1:08:11
  Speaker 1: my escape, but how utterly convincing their performance was. Had
• 1:08:16
  Speaker 1: I not been rendered suspicious by years in mining camps
• 1:08:19
  Speaker 1: where men learn to sense danger, I might have accepted
• 1:08:23
  Speaker 1: their hospitality without question. Civilization depends on trust, on the
• 1:08:29
  Speaker 1: assumption that that the hand-offering aid is not the same
• 1:08:32
  Speaker 1: that will end your life. The McKenzies exploited that fundamental trust,
• 1:08:37
  Speaker 1: and in doing so attacked not merely their victims, but
• 1:08:40
  Speaker 1: the very bonds that hold society together. Today, the story
• 1:08:45
  Speaker 1: of the McKenzie sisters serves as a dark footnote in
• 1:08:48
  Speaker 1: Arizona's territorial history, a reminder that sometimes the most monstrous
• 1:08:53
  Speaker 1: predators wear the most civilized masks, and that true horror
• 1:08:58
  Speaker 1: resides not in supernatural phenomena, but in the calculated malice
• 1:09:03
  Speaker 1: of human hearts. For those traveling through central Arizona, the
• 1:09:07
  Speaker 1: old Bumblebee Creek site lies just off the modern highway,
• 1:09:11
  Speaker 1: unmarked and largely forgotten. The creek still flows seasonally, washing
• 1:09:16
  Speaker 1: away a little more evidence with each passing year. But
• 1:09:19
  Speaker 1: in archives and memories, the story of the sisters who
• 1:09:22
  Speaker 1: served more than beer continues to disturb those who encounter it.
• 1:09:27
  Speaker 1: A stark reminder of frontiers where law was distant and
• 1:09:30
  Speaker 1: survival sometimes depended on recognizing the danger behind a welcoming smile.