Two Guns, Arizona: Part 1

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Take any exit along former Route 66 in Arizona and you're bound to run into something forsaken and crumbling. The assortment of derelict stone buildings found east of Flagstaff are a perfect example.

As indicated by the sign at Exit 230, they comprise the town of Two Guns — or at least they did. More than once, in fact. Two Guns has been resurrected more times than William Shatner's career. And it's fallen by the wayside more readily every time. It's just one of the reasons the locals insist these acres are cursed.

It all started after the bridge that crosses Canyon Diablo was installed in the mid-1910s. Two homesteaders, Earl and Louise Cundiff, moved there in the 1920s and bought out a local prospector who had set up shop along the National Old Trails Highway. The Cundiffs started their own business, opening a large trading post, a free campground and cottages for rent. What's left of their original store continues to crumble today at the south end of the same bridge.

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The name Two Guns came from a somewhat eccentric character named Harry "Indian" Miller, a talented huckster who falsely claimed to be a full-blooded Apache named Chief Crazy Thunder. A partner of sorts with Earl Cundiff, Miller signed a lease to do business on the property and assembled a lengthy stone building he dubbed Fort Two Guns. When Cundiff petitioned to open a post office, the name Two Guns was officially rejected in favor of "Canyon Lodge," but Two Guns would prove to be the name that would endure.

Despite being temporarily stuck with a rather lackluster name, the town went on to achieve years of popularity as a roadside attraction, and its success was due in large part to the efforts of Indian Miller. For one, the extensive complex he called a fort was primarily a wild-animal zoo. Held within its stone and chicken-wire cages were bobcats, coral snakes, porcupines and a variety of other creatures. Miller built the zoo directly along the canyon's precipice and plastered the facade with advertising that brought in plenty of motorists.

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Miller also exploited the legend of the nearby Apache Death Cave, launching yet another tourist draw. The cave, located just the other side of the canyon, was the site of a mass execution nearly 50 years earlier. A band of some 40 Apaches had been discovered hiding in the narrow fissure after committing a series of raids and murders against the Navajo. Trapped inside, the Apaches were burned alive for their crimes.

Miller renamed the tomb "Mystery Cave" and erected a series of pueblos and ramps above the entryway. He presented the buildings as ancient cliff dwellings, outfitting the cave itself with more false ruins to complete the illusion. The huckster removed any Apache bones he discovered inside the cave, either selling them or using them as set decoration. He then arranged guided tours, hawking native wares and soft drinks down in the canyon.