USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Vol. IV > Part 2
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
will need considerable work to be made popular. A company was chartered by the Legislature to improve it. In the opinion of Capt. Walker, the veteran pioneer of Central Arizona, and of others, the junction of Williams' Fork and the Colorado is the natural and best point for a large town or city; and a town named Aubry has been laid out there.
"Fort Mojave, upon the Colorado, one hun- dred and sixty miles above La Paz, is a noted point, and one of the longest occupied in the Territory by the whites. Within a mile of the fort is Mojave City, a sprightly town laid out and chiefly built by the California volunteers stationed at the fort for two or three years past. There are some good agricultural lands in the vicinity, and gardens abound. The visit of the chief of the Mojave Indians (Iretaba) to New York and Washington in 1863-4, gave him such an exalted opinion of the white man and the power of the general government, that he has not ceased to urge his people to the most friendly relations, and to habits of industry and enter- prise.
"At Mojave, as at La Paz and Fort Yuma, there is a well regulated ferry across the Colo- rado, with scows calculated to convey wagons and stock.
"Hardyville, nine miles above Mojave, upon the Colorado, is a young, but active and hope- ful settlement. It has a large trade from the quartz mining districts around it, and even from the Wauba Yuma district, forty miles in the interior, and from Prescott, the capital, one hundred and sixty miles inland.
13
CONDITIONS IN 1865.
"Recently the Utah people have flocked to Hardyville for their annual supplies finding it much easier than to go, as heretofore, to San Bernardino and Los Angeles.
"The mines of the several districts contigu- ous to Mojave and Hardyville, and of El Dorado Canyon, sixty miles further up the river, are among the most noted and promising in the newly known portions of Arizona. The ledges are many of them very large; the ores both of gold and silver, the latter predominating, are surprisingly rich. Considerable money has already been expended in opening the lodes, one or two mills are in operation, and others are contracted for. Immediately upon the river there is a dearth of wood, but a supply may be had from the Sacramento and Wauba Yuma districts, and from the Vegas, thirty miles north of El Dorado Canyon, or from the Buckskin Mountains, one hundred miles north. Rafted down the river, it would cost but little more than for the cutting.
"The navigation of the Colorado above El Dorado Canyon has only been attempted (ex- cepting by Ives) since the Mormon trade began to attract attention and assume importance. It has now been ascertained by trial that steam- boats may ascend at all seasons to a point one hundred miles north of Hardyville, and less than four hundred miles from Great Salt Lake City, by a road over which goods may be hauled with- out difficulty. At this point upon the River a town named Callville is just begun. It will be the depot for Utah, and. of course, more con- venient than Hardyville. Callville is but a little more than one hundred miles south of St.
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
George, a thrifty Mormon town close upon the Arizona line, if not within the Territory, and from which place and the fertile district about it, supplies of cheese, butter, vegetables and fruit have already found their way to the min- ing districts of El Dorado Canyon, Hardyville and Mojave.
"The Colorado is the largest river between the Mississippi and the Pacific, and the only navigable stream in Arizona. Its position be- tween the Territory and California, its connec- tion with the Gulf and the Pacific, the vast mineral wealth of its banks, and the important trade of Arizona and Utah, make it a most valu- able highway, and one to the navigation of which careful attention should be given. With a constantly changing channel, a swift current and a bed of quicksand, it requires experience, patience and skill to conduct the steamers with safety. These are necessarily of light draft and limited accommodation for freight. It is be- lieved that those now in use may, by remodeling, be greatly improved in speed and capacity, and that freight may be delivered at much less cost of time and money than is now required. In the upper part of the river are a few obstruc- tions, for the removal of which a small appro- priation has been asked from Congress.
"The present rates of freight are from two to three cents per pound from San Francisco to towns as high up the river as La Paz, and four cents to Hardyville; probably six to Callville. Ore is carried to San Francisco for from $20 to $25 per ton. This is considerably cheaper than transportation can be had by the roads across California. As yet there is only an ir-
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CONDITIONS IN 1865.
regular line of sailing vessels from San Fran- cisco to the mouth of the Colorado (one hundred miles below Fort Yuma), and upon an average, three weeks are consumed in making the voyage. With a line of propellers as projected, this time might be reduced to a week or ten days.
"YAVAPAI COUNTY.
"This county is bounded on the east by the line of the Territory of New Mexico; on the north by the parallel of 37º north latitude; on the west by the line of 113º 20' west longitude; and on the south by the middle of the main channel of the Gila River. The seat of justice is estab- lished at Prescott, which is also the capital of the Territory. Yavapai County embraces a part of Arizona as vet unknown to the map makers, and in which the Territorial officers ar- rived hard upon the heels of the first white inhabitants. Until 1863, saving for a short distance above the Gila, it was even to the daring trapper and adventuresome gold-seeker a terra incognita, although one of the richest mineral, agricultural, grazing and timber di- visions of the Territory; and abundantly sup- plied with game. Yavapai County is nearly as large as the State of New York. The Verde and Salinas Rivers, tributaries of the Gila, which run through its center, abound in evi- dences of a former civilization. Here are the most extensive and impressive ruins to be found in the Territory. Relics of cities, of aqueducts, acequias and canals, of mining and farming op- erations and of other employments indicating an industrious and enterprising people. Mr. Bart- lett refers to these ruins as traditionally re-
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
ported to him to show the extent of the agri- cultural population formerly supported here, as well as to furnish an argument to sustain the opinion that this is one of the most desirable positions for an agricultural settlement of any between the Rio Grande and the Colorado. The same authority says a district north of and im- mediately contiguous to the Gila River, is par excellence, the finest agricultural district in our territories lying in the same latitude, between Eastern Texas and the Pacific, for the great extent and richness of the soil, the abundance and excellence of the water, the cottonwood timber for building purposes, the fine quarries of stone in the adjacent hills, and for the facility with which it may be approached from every quarter.
" 'The district in question lies at the junction, and in a measure forms the delta of the Salinas and Gila Rivers. It lies but a little above the bed of the river, and might be, in consequence, easily irrigated. The arable bottom land is from two to four miles in width, and is overgrown with mesquit, while on the river's margin grow large cottonwoods. The river is from eighty to one hundred and twenty feet wide, from two to four feet deep, and both rapid and clear. In these respects it differs from the Gila, which is sluggish and muddy for two hundred miles.'
"'A portion of the Gila Valley is occupied by two tribes of Indians, noted for their good traits, the Pimas and Maricopas. The lands culti- vated extend from sixteen to twenty miles along the river, centering at the Pima villages. Ir- rigating canals conduct the water of the Gila over all the district. The Indians raise wheat,
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CONDITIONS IN 1865.
corn, millet, beans, pumpkins and melons in great abundance. They also raise a superior quality of cotton from which they spin and weave their own garments. There is a steam grist mill at the Pima villages, and a large quantity of excellent flour is annually made. I have no doubt that the Gila bottoms alone afford arable land sufficient to raise food for a densely populated State. But these are by no means all of the agricultural lands of Yavapai County. The Val de Chino, so called by Whipple, where Fort Whipple was first established, and the Ter- ritorial officers first halted, is nearly one hundred miles in length and abounds in tillable and pas- toral lands. The valley of the Little Colorado, on the 35th parallel, is large and well adapted to cultivation. There are numerous other valleys near to Prescott, and the road from the Colorado River, via Mojave and Hardyville, to that place, is described by a recent traveller as being 'for over a hundred miles of the way, a prairie coun- try that would compare with the best in the world for grazing, and with most of the Western States for agriculture.'
"In timber lands Yavapai County exceeds all others in the Territory. Beginning some miles south of Prescott, and running north of the San Francisco Mountain, is a forest of yellow pine, interspersed with oak, sufficient to supply all the timber for building material, for mining and for fuel that can be required for a large population.
"At a distance of forty miles north of the Gila River, Yavapai County becomes mountain- ous, and on every side are mines of gold, silver and copper. The placer diggings upon the 2
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
Hassayampa, the Agua Fria, Lynx Creek, and other streams in this region, now known as Central Arizona, were first found by the ex- plorers, Capts. Walker and Weaver, in 1863. They entered the country simultaneously, though without concert of action, one coming from the Gila and one from the Colorado. In the same year the quartz lodes attracted attention, and people flocked to the district from all quarters. The Territorial officers, then on the Rio Grande en route for the Territory, were induced to turn westward, via the 35 parallel or Whipple route, and make a personal examination of the country. The investigations of Governor Goodwin, who spent some months in travel over the Territory, going as far south as the Sonora line, and east to the Verde and Salinas, convinced him that this promised to be a most important and popu- lous section, and here he concluded to convene the first Legislative Assembly.
"Prescott, the capital, is in the heart of a min- ing district, second, in my judgment, to none upon the Pacific coast. The surface ores of thirty mines of gold, silver and copper, which I have had assayed in San Francisco, were pro- nounced equal to any surface ores ever tested by the metallurgists, who are among the most skill- ful and experienced in the city, and, as far as ore has been had from a depth, it fully sustains its reputation. The veins are large and boldly defined, and the ores are of varied classes, usu- ally such as to be readily and inexpensively worked, while the facilities for working them are of a superior order. At the ledges is an abund- ant supply of wood and water; near at hand are grazing and farming lands, and roads may be
19
CONDITIONS IN 1865.
opened in every direction without great cost. Some of the streams are dry at certain seasons, which fact renders placer mining an uncertain enterprise in this part as in other parts of the Territory ; but for quartz mining there could not possibly be a more inviting locality. The alti- tude is so great that the temperature is never oppressively warm; the nights, even in midsum- mer, are refreshingly cool and bracing. The ascent from the river by the roads from La Paz and Mojave is so easy that with the small amount of work already done upon the same, the heaviest machinery may be readily transported. The dis- tance by either road is about one hundred and sixty miles and the charge for freight from six to eight cents per pound. Contracts may now be made for the delivery of machinery at Prescott from San Francisco, via the Colorado, for ten cents per pound.
"Prescott is built exclusively of wood, and in- habited almost entirely by Americans, mainly from California, and Colorado. Picturesquely located in the pine clad mountains, it resembles a town in Northern New England. The first house was erected in June last, and now the town has some hundreds of inhabitants, and the country for fifty miles about, including a dozen mining districts and farming valleys, is largely taken up by settlers. The valleys will, it is thought, produce good crops without irrigation, as the rains in this region are frequent and heavy.
"Weaver and Wickenburg, upon the Hassa- yampa, the one fifty and the other seventy miles south of Prescott, and each about one hundred and ten miles east of La Paz, upon the Colorado, are mining towns and centres of a considerable
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
business. The former is at the foot of Antelope Hill, upon the summit of which very rich placers were discovered early in 1863, the working of which paid largely for a year or more-and prob- ably would at present with a proper arrange- ment for the elevation of water. Maricopa Wells and Pima villages in the Maricopa and Pima reservations upon the Gila, about one hundred and twenty-five miles southeast from Prescott, and some eighty miles northwest from Tucson, are places of Indian trade, and depots of grain and other supplies for the troops in the Terri- tory. Eastward from Prescott, upon the Agua Fria, the Verde, the Salinas and other streams, all the way to the New Mexican line, exploring parties have discovered evidences of great min- eral wealth and excellent agricultural districts. Northward to the villages of the Moquis, and the San Juan River, the country is but little known, but believed to be prolific in the precious ores, and in timber.
"Some of the most promising districts in the Territory have not yet been prospected at all, and others only in a most superficial manner. It is the opinion of many that the richest mines are yet unfound, and lie eastward from Tucson and Prescott; but if one in ten of those already known yield such a return, upon the introduction of proper machinery, as is promised by the indi- cations and tests had to this time, Arizona will far excel all other territories of the Union in its metallic revenue.
"CONCLUSIONS.
"This succinct description of the four coun- ties into which Arizona is at present divided,
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CONDITIONS IN 1865.
will, I trust, satisfy the reader that the Terri- tory is neither the hopeless desert nor the inac- cessible region which some have pronounced it. Its resources are varied, and have only to be rightly improved to render it a prosperous and powerful State. Though hitherto, for the want of roads and the means of conveyance, con- sidered remote and isolated, it is in fact central, and upon the best highways from the Rio Grande to the Pacific. The inevitable continental rail- road can follow no parallels more favorable for its economical construction and successful work- ing than the 32d or 35th.
"For a year after the organization of its gov- ernment the Territory was without a mail or postoffice. Now a weekly mail is established be- tween Los Angeles and Prescott, and eastward to Santa Fe via the 35th parallel, where it con- nects with that for the Missouri River. Other routes are proposed, and will at once be author- ized. A company is organized to furnish tele- graphic communication between Los Angeles and Prescott, and it will doubtless be had at an early day, and so put the Territory in immediate communication both with the Pacific and the Atlantic coast. Once built to Prescott, and the project is entirely feasible, the line could soon be extended eastward to Santa Fe and Denver. "The Indians of Yuma and Mojave Counties are all peaceable and well-disposed to the whites. The Papagoes of Pima County, and the Pimas, Maricopas, Yavapais, Hualapais, and Moquis, of Yavapai County, are equally friendly. Those not already upon reservations will be so placed at an early day, and become a producing people. A reservation for the Colorado tribes was des-
22
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
ignated by the last Congress. It is upon the river between La Paz and Williams' Fork, an exceedingly fertile tract.
"The Apaches alone refuse reconciliation to the whites. Their depredations have been the serious drawback to the settlement and develop- ment of the Territory. Far more than any lack of agricultural lands, of water, or of timber, has their hostile presence delayed the incoming of a large white population. By frequent and vig- orous onslaughts from military and civil expedi- tions, their warriors have, it is believed, been re- duced to less than a thousand. These have their retreats in the rugged mountains eastward of the Verde and the Salinas, and on the upper Gila. Their subjugation or extermination, while a mat- ter of some difficulty, owing to their agile move- ments and entire familiarity with the country, cannot be a remote consummation if the present military force in the Territory is allowed to remain undisturbed in its campaign. The diffi- culty hitherto experienced has been in the inter- ruption, by some new disposition of the troops, of every movement, however well planned. I think I may safely predict that if Arizona is left in its connection with the Department of the Pacific, and under the command of General Mason, who is alive to the necessity of destroying forever the power of the Apache, it will speedily be rendered as safe for residence and business, even to its eastern boundary, as it now is from the Colorado to the Verde.
"If the government had ever dealt with the Apache with the force and pertinacity with which it has handled the Sioux, hundreds of valu- able lives would have been saved in Arizona, a
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CONDITIONS IN 1865.
great population would have entered the Terri- tory, and, long ere this, its opulent mines and agricultural lands would have been so worked as to surprise the nation and the world with their returns.
"Primarily a quartz mining country, the set- tler in Arizona must not expect the quick wealth often obtained from the placers. These, while numerous and rich, are not, as before stated, to. be depended upon. To engage in quartz mining, on his own account, he will need some means. The introduction of machinery now going for- ward, both from the Atlantic and the Pacific, and the extensive development of the mines, will make a demand for labor at remunerative wages. There will also be an encouragement for the trades. Mechanics of all kinds will be needed. For farmers and herdsmen there is an imme- diate inducement. The expense of mining oper- ations can in no way be so speedily reduced and the general prosperity of the Territory advanced, as by the extensive production of bread and meat. This is a first necessity, and may at once. be made a source of profit to those who engage in it with willing and persevering hands.
"In conclusion, I recommend Arizona to our discharged volunteers, and to all unemployed persons who seek a wholesome climate, and a new and broad field for energetic industry. To all who are ready to labor, and to wait even a little time for large success, it is full of promise. The day cannot be distant when it will occupy a first rank among the wealthy and populous states. Its mountains and valleys teeming with cities and towns, musical with implements of mining and agriculture, its great river burdened with traffic, and its people thrifty and happy, the
24
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
wonder will be that it was ever neglected by the government, and by capitalists, as an insignifi- cant and unpromising possession.
"The white population of the Territory is largely composed of industrious, intelligent and enterprising persons. Many families have ar- rived since the organization of the government, and a large emigration from the Missouri, the Rio Grande and the Pacific is expected within the present year.
"The Territorial government is now fully or- ganized in all its departments. Law and order everywhere prevail. The courts are in operation. Schools have been established in the leading set- tlements, and the printing press is doing its part to build up society and promote substantial pros- perity. A code of laws unusually thorough and complete was adopted by the Legislature. The chapter regulating the location, ownership, and development of mining lands, is pronounced the best ever devised upon the subject, and is urged for adoption in some of the older Territories. It is a guarantee to those who acquire mining interests that their rights will be carefully guarded, and it will be likely to save much of the annoying and expensive litigation hitherto common in mining districts.
"This letter would, perhaps, be incomplete without some allusion to the means and expense of getting to Arizona. The emigrant by land from the Missouri may with ordinary wagons and animals make the journey to Tucson or Pres- cott in 90 days, going via Santa Fe. Arrived in the Territory he may sell his wagons and animals for as much, if not more, than they cost him upon the Missouri. He will experience no danger from Indians on the route if with a party of a
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CONDITIONS IN 1865.
dozen or more determined men. The roads are good and fairly supplied with grass and water. That via the 35th parallel from Santa Fe on the Rio Grande, being by the pass of Zuni, one of the easiest in the Rocky Mountains; that via the 32d parallel, from Mesilla on the Rio Grande to Tucson, is also level and easy.
"The emigrant going by water may now get passage to San Francisco at a low rate, and from there he may go by land or water to Los Angeles also at a reasonable cost. From the latter point the roads to the Colorado and to Central and Southern Arizona are good. Wagons and ani- mals may be purchased on fair terms at Los An- geles. Those who wish to take goods, mining or agricultural implements with them, can do so from the Missouri better, I think, at this time than from the Pacific, owing to the difference in the currency. All emigrants should start pro- vided with a supply of provisions for one year, and with flannel rather than linen clothing, even for the warmest parts of the Territory.
"Any further information regarding Arizona, its resources and prospects, that I can furnish, is at your command, and that of any who have an interest in the Territory.
"I am, Your Obedient Servant, "RICHARD C. MCCORMICK, "Secretary of the Territory."
The foregoing letter, in the main, stated the facts as they existed at the time. Very little was known of Arizona. The accompanying map will show the principal places of settlement, which were few and far between. Of course, Secretary McCormick was an optimist, but when he states that all the tribes of Indians along the Colorado were at peace with the whites, that statement can
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
be easily controverted. It was dangerous at any time for a small party to go from any point on the Colorado River to Prescott, as their stock would be stolen and their lives endangered, and at the end of the year 1865, the Wallapais, the Yavapais and the Mohaves were at open war with the whites.
There was a reservation established on the Colorado River in the latter part of this year, which was occupied by a portion of the Mohave tribe, but they could not be considered peaceable, for, in the following year, 1866, they killed their Indian agent, as will be seen further on in this work, and anyone who had the hardiness to at- tempt to make a home beyond the protection of the military, took his life in his own hands.
Secretary McCormick says there was only a thousand warriors among the hostile Apaches. In this he was clearly mistaken. To say noth- ing of the bands upon the Colorado, which were Yumas and not Apaches, those tribes in the east- ern part of the Territory, Mescaleros, Chiri- cahuas, Pinalenos, Coyoteros, Tontos, White Mountain Apaches, and Apache-Mohaves, a branch of the Mohaves which had separated from their original tribe and affiliated with the Tontos, would probably muster more than two thousand warriors. They were all fighters and strategists, never venturing to fight in the open field unless they far outnumbered the foe. At no time could an immigrant party of ten or twelve, encumbered with wagons, stock and their families, enter Ari- zona with safety from New Mexico. Particularly was this the case with reference to the lower part of the Territory, along the old Butterfield route, where the bands of Mangus and Cochise held un- disputed sway.
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CHAS. B. GENUNG.
27
EARLY CONDITIONS IN THE TERRITORY.
CHAPTER II.
EARLY CONDITIONS IN THE TERRITORY.
CHARLES B. GENUNG-HIS STORY OF HOW HE BECAME A HASSAYAMPER-MEMBERS OF THE PARTY-DESCRIPTION OF TRIP FROM SACRA- MENTO, CALIFORNIA, TO ARIZONA-LOCATION OF MONTGOMERY MINE.
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