USA > Arizona > The resources of Arizona; a description of its mineral, farming, grazing and timber lands; its rivers, mountains, valleys and plains; its cities, towns and mining camps; its climate and productions; with brief sketches of its early history etc > Part 22
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These wiseacres are of the same class with those who included all that vast and fertile domain west of the Missouri in the "American Desert," and asserted that it was incapable of cultiva- tion and unfit for the abode of civilized man. But the fruitful fields, the happy homes, and the rich and populous cities which cover the vast plains from the Big Muddy to the Rocky moun- tains, show that the so-called "desert" is one of the most produc- tive portions of the great Republic. And so it will be with Arizona. She has the soil, she has the climate, she has the water, and she has the timber to make her agricultural resources scarcely second to her vast mining and grazing interests Although we have before alluded to the matter in a general way, we propose in this chapter to speak in detail of the timber and water facilities, and of the system of irrigation upon which
192
THE RESOURCES OF ARIZONA.
the farmer must always rely for the raising of crops in this Ter- ritory.
Although no data can be had from the Surveyor-General's office, it is safe to assert that at least twenty thousand square miles of the entire area of Arizona are covered by a heavy growth of timber. This vast belt may be said to extend from the thirty-sixth parallel of latitude to the line of Sonora, follow- ing in its course the principal mountain ranges. This timber is not continuous. It occurs on the sides and slopes of the high mountains, which have a general northwest and southeast course. The largest body of timber in Arizona is the Mogollon forest. It begins at the San Francisco peak and extends in south- westerly direction to the thirty-third parallel, a distance of nearly two hundred miles. Its average width is about sixty miles, making the entire area over 12,000 square miles. Think of it, you who have imagined Arizona, as a· rocky, barren desert. Here is a body of magnificient timber land nearly as large as the State of Maryland, and yet almost untouched by the woodman's axe.
In this grand cathedral of nature the pinus ponderosa rears his lordly head sometimes to a height of 200 feet; and specimens are not uncommon of 100 feet without a limb, and from four to six feet in diameter at the butt. The pine is of the pitch and sugar varieties, and makes fine, clear lumber, well adapted for building and all other purposes. Reduced to acres, this vast belt contains 7,680,000, and estimating twenty trees.to the acre, and 1,000 feet to the tree-a very moderate estimate-we have the enormous total of 153,600,000,000 feet of lumber in this forest alone! In the Sierra Prieta range, near Prescott, where from one to four sawmills have been at work since 1864, there are yet millions of feet untouched.
The large pine forest that crowns the Santa Catalina range remains undisturbed, while the wide stretches of timber-lands in the Santa Ritas, the Huachucas, the Chiricahuas, and the Pinale- ños contains thousands of acres of virgin forest. In fact, Ari- zona has been favored by nature beyond most of her sister terri- tories in the matter of timber. Besides possessing enough for her own wants, she is in a position to supply her neighbors for generations to come. Besides the pinc, there are also large belts of oak and ash in the Sierra Blanca. The oak is of the white variety, the trees being tall, straight and remarkably free from limbs. The grand forest of the Mogollon has scarcely been touched; but it is not likely to remain long in that condition. Already a mill has been established near its northern boundary, and just south of the Atlantic and Pacific railroad, and the Mineral Belt road, which is now under construction, will pass through it for over 100 miles. When this road is built the timber to supply the mills, mines, farms, cattle-ranges, cities and towns of Arizona will be drawn from this grand pinery. Many articles
SEE PAGE 218
NATURAL BRIDGE, TONTO BASIN.
BANCROFT - LITH -S.F.
193
WOOD AND WATER.
of wooden-ware and lines of furniture, which are now brought from abroad, will be produced at home. For building material the timber is equal to the best Oregon pine, and here is enough to supply homes for Arizonans until the latest generation. The glory of the Territory are the magnificent pines which crown her mountains and lofty mesas. With the richest of mines, the finest of grazing and farming lands, extensive coal deposits, and thou- sands of square miles of timber, Arizona has all the resources to make a rich, populous, and prosperous State.
Nor has the Territory been neglected in the supply of water. The Colorado, the Gila, the Salt, the San Pedro, the Verde, and scores of other streams are capable of irrigating vast stretches of land. We have seen that the Territory was at one time the home of a dense population. The remains of acequias, or irrigating canals, are found in almost every valley, showing that hundreds . of thousands of acres now relegated to the desert, were once under cultivation. There is no reason to suppose that the rain or snow-fall was greater then than now, but there can hardly be a doubt that ten times the acreage was cultivated. And the same result can be achieved again. The water supply of Ari- zona is sufficient to irrigate nearly all the arable lands within her borders, and with a system as perfect as that which once prevailed, as large an area can be reclaimed.
But the fact is apparent that the ancient tillers of the soil had a much better knowledge of the irrigating problem than their modern successors. They evidently utilized every drop, and allowed none to go to waste. The present occupants have not yet attained the same degree of perfection in this respect, but it is only a question of a very short time when some regular sys- tem must prevail. As the farming industry depends for its suc- cess entirely on irrigation, and as the system is little known or practiced anywhere in the United States, outside the Pacific States and Territories, some brief data regarding it is here in- serted, which may be of benefit to those who think of coming to the Territory and engaging in farming.
Irrigation is probably the oldest system of agriculture known to man. In the cradle of our race, the dry elevated plains of Persia, Assyria and Babylon, it is practiced at the present day,. and it is not unlikely that Adam, after being driven out of the Garden and compelled to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. learned to construct canals and raise crops by irrigation on the plains of Mesapotamia. Some of the richest and most. productive regions on the globe have been cultivated in this manner ever since man learned the arts of tillage. The greater portion of India, the plains of Lombardy, the valley of the Nile and the fruitful fields of Castile, have always depended on irriga- tion for the raising of crops. And although subject to such a system for thousands of years, they are to-day the most produc- tive spots on earth, and support a dense population.
13
124
THE RESOURCES OF ARIZONA.
In India, where irrigation has been most successful, there are from 200 to 600 persons to every square mile. In Italy we find an average of 270 persons for Piedmont, and 390 persons for Lombardy. The irrigated portions of Spain have populations ranging in number from 200 to 430 souls per square mile. Egypt, which for ages was called the "granary of the world," has a population equivalent to 484 persons upon every square mile of her cultivated territory. In these countries the govern- ments have framed laws regulating the entire irrigating system, and defining clearly what shall be the "duty of water," that is, what quantity each occupant is entitled to in the raising of a crop. The measurement is by the cubic foot, flowing at a uniform ratc through the irrigating season.
In the several provinces of Spain the quantity of water re- quired to raise crops is as follows : Murcia, one cubic foot per second will flood 96 acres ; in Granada the same quantity will supply 244 acres ; in Henares, 157 acres; in Valencia, 280 acres ; in Reoja, on low, clayey soil, 350 acres. For cereals and grasses generally, the "duty" is placed at 280 acres ; for gardens, 85 acres. In Spain, whose soil and climate is not materially different from Arizona, the number of waterings given to each crop per year is as follows :
Wheat, three irrigations, in March, April and the latter part of May.
Barley is only irrigated once, in April.
Corn is flooded eight times during its growth, from the twentieth of June to the end of September.
Alfalfa requires, on an average, thirty irrigations during the season.
Vegetables are subjected to eight waterings before they are .gathercd.
In Italy the average duty of water is about So to 110 acres per cubic foot, but in the valleys of Lombardy and Piedmont the meadows and rice-fields require a constant sheet of water running over them for several months of their growth.
In India, wheat requires five waterings to insure a crop, and the average number of acres flooded by a cubic foot, during the season, is given at from 160 to 180.
In the United States irrigation is practiced in Southern Cali- fornia, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and the great Utah basin. The system has, perhaps, reached its highest development in Los Angelos and San Bernardino countics, and the crude modes of the Mission fathers have been gradually improved upon, until every drop of the precious liquid is made to do some service, and a cubic foot will sometimes irrigate as many as 300 acres of the loamy soils of the mesa lands ; while in exceptional cases, where scarcity of water requires the utmost economy in its use and distribution by means of pipes,
195
WOOD AND WATER.
as high as 1,500 acres are cultivated by one cubic foot. The careful and judicious use of the water in these counties has accomplished wonders, and although the supply is at all times limited, its proper application has made of Los Angeles the " Garden of California."
But here the water is under municipal regulations, and is measured out to the irrigator, who prepares his land well to receive it ; he takes as much as is required and no more, and he is careful in the use of it. The supply of water in Los Angeles county is from natural streams, springs and artesian wells. The streams are small and uncertain in their supply, the total available volume of the Los Angeles river in May last, being only seventy-eight and a half cubic feet per second ; while from the San Gabriel river and its tributaries was but 191 cubic feet. The Santa Anna, which waters the flourishing settlement of Anaheim, carried 203 cubic feet, and the Trabuco and San Juan creeks eight cubic feet per second. Yet from this comparatively small flow of water the following acreage was cultivated in 1879 :
Los Angeles river
9,435 acres
San Gabriel
24,833
Santa Anna
23,200 יו
Trabuco and San Juan creeks
400 6.
This gives an average of nearly 200 acres to each cubic foot of water flowing per second, through the irrigating season.
Another great source of supply for irrigation in Southern Cal- ifornia is derived from artesian wells. The number of wells in Los Angeles county is estimated at nearly 600, and new ones are being constantly added. The flow from them is variable; and while some will irrigate from 100 to 200 acres, from forty to fifty is the general average. It is estimated there are 17,000 acres of land in Los Angeles county irrigated by this means. The water of the Los Angeles river, controlled by the city government, is divided into irrigating "heads" by placing board partitions in the flumes of the main ditches, where the depth is uniform. The amount of each 'head ' is about three cubic feet per second, and the prices fixed by the city council are as follows: For one day, $2; one half day, $1.25 ; for one hour, 50 cts. The canals are all under the charge of a sansaro, who has entire supervision, and supplies each individual with the water he requires, and at spec- ified times.
The loss by absorption in Los Angeles and throughout California is very great. From actual measurements made on the main ditch entering the city, there was shown to be a loss of thirty-three per cent in a distance of 6,000 feet. On the dry plains of the San Joaquin it is still greater. As a preventative against this waste a method has been adopted in some places of
196
THE RESOURCES OF ARIZONA.
paving the bottom of the ditches with cobble-stones snugly fitted together; but the most perfect method is the lining of the bot- tom and sides with concrete. This plan was adopted centuries ago in India, Persia, Spain and Lombardy. Another great loss of water is by evaporation. It has been estimated that the evaporation from Kings river, in the San Joaquin, for a length of sixty-two miles, during a year, has reached the enormous. quantity of 487,821,412 cubic feet. There is a great loss from this cause by the unnecessary duplication of works, and the building of four or five small canals, where one of moderate dimensions would serve the purpose more effectually, at less ex- pense, and at far less loss of water.
Irrigated land, the world over, has always commanded a higher price than that which depends on rainfall. Unimproved land in portions of Los Angeles county, under irrigating canals, is worth from $100 to $200 per acre, while that improved finds ready sale at $350 per acre. Before the construction of irrigat- ing ditches it would not bring $5 per acre. And such land cannot compare with some of the rich valleys of Arizona. On land supplied by artificial irrigation there is more certainty of a crop, and the yield is generally larger. On sandy soils irrigation has a marked effect in increasing their fertility ; in filtering through the porous soil all the sedementary matter contained in the water is retained and acts as a perpetual restorative.
These in brief are the salient features of the California system of irrigation, and by a clear understanding of it the reader will have some idea of the manner of producing crops by the aid of irrigating canals. It is the system which prevails in Arizona, but in a crude and imperfect form. As yet there has been no effort made to devise any plan regulating the supply. The first settlers in the valleys of the Territory took out ditches and laid claim to certain quantities of water. Companies were formed and stock issued, each share entitling the owner to what is called a water right. These rights are generally intended to be sufficient for the watering of 160 acres, but in most cases more than double the quantity required is taken. This water is allowed to run over the land, when in many instances there is no need of it. Owing to the number of ditches a large quantity is lost by evaporation and by absorption. Besides the streams through the valleys of Arizona, sink in many places in their sandy beds during the summer months, and most of the canals which have been constructed fail to carry away but a small por- tion of the water. This could be remedied by tapping the river bed where it is confined by rocky banks and where the bed rock is exposed.
It has been estimated that the Salt river where it emerges from the plain above Phoenix, carries during the irrigating sea- son 60,000 miners' inches of water. By building suitable canals this immense volume can all be utilized. Yet, at the present
197
WOOD AND WATER.
time, there is nearly 25,000 inches taken from the river, and only a little over 30,000 acres under cultivation in the entire valley. On the Gila, Verde, San Pedro, and other streams, the same waste and extravagance in the use of water prevails. The system adopted by the first settlers, if indeed it can be called a system, still maintains, and the owner of a water right generally presumes he has the privilege to waste all the water he pleases. These men have acquired riparian rights, which they cannot be divested of, and no steps have yet been taken to regulate a most vital question affecting the future prosperity of the Territory.
As we have said, there is water enough in the streams of Ari- zona to supply all the lands adjacent to them. With a proper use of the article the immense valleys of the Gila and the Salt rivers can all be brought under cultivation. But there must be system, economy and intelligent management. Whether this shall be brought about by local regulations or by Territorial leg- islation, is a question yet to be determined. In a country like Arizona where every pound of grain raised depends on artificial moisture for its growth, the water with which nature has blessed the country, will not long be permitted to go to waste.
It is believed that artesian water can be found in the Terri- tory, but no efforts to seek it in localities where it is likely to exist, have yet been made. In the large valleys of the Salt River and the Gila and in the Sulphur Spring and the San Simon, there is every indication of an abundant supply. These valleys drain a vast extent of country, and the waters which flow through them have their source in the lofty ranges, thousands of feet above.
They are vast reservoirs for the mountains behind them, and contain inexhaustible quantities of water. Nearly all the large valleys throughout Northern, Central and Southern Arizona are immense basins, which retain a portion of the rain and snow-fall of the Territory. The attention of Congress has been called to the question, and certainly a small portion of the public money could be put to no better use than in the effort to find flowing water on these dry plains and valleys. The benefits to the stock- raising and farming industries would be almost incalculable, and the area of grazing and agricultural land would be increased ten- fold.
Those who are unaccustomed to the process will have some idea after reading the foregoing, of the conditions which exist in the Territory. We have shown what has been done with a limited water supply in California, and the waste and extravagance which prevails in Arizona. We know there are valleys here in fertility equal to any in the Golden State; and we know that nature has provided water sufficient to make them bloom with productiveness. It only remains for man to use with care and judgment the precious boon which has been con- ferred upon him.
Su
CLIMATE
The [Popular Idea of Arizona's Climate-Its Healthfulness-Climate of Northern Arizona-Temperature of Prescott, Apache and Fort Grant-Climate of Salt River Valley -- Of Tucson and Yuma-Of Southern Arizona-The "Sunset Land "-Sunshiny Days, etc., etc. ·
A MONG the many errors concerning Arizona, which for years have received the sanction of popular belief, there is none greater than that relating to its climate. To most people the very name is suggestive of desert wastes devoid of vegetation, scorched by the fierce heat of a southern sun whose blinding glare neither man nor beast can withstand. A region where the temperature during the summer months is almost un- bearable and where outdoor labor is impossible. A country where everything dries up under the consuming heat; where, to quote the language of that facetious traveler, Ross Browne, "bacon is eaten with a spoon, chickens come out of their shells already cooked, and the bones of mules rattle within their shriv- eled hides."
This, for years, has been the popular opinion of Arizona's cli- mate; and even the opening of two transcontinental railroads, and a diffusion of reliable information regarding the Territory, has not entirely dispelled it. The eastern correspondent who happened to make a hurried trip to the country in the summer months has always made it a point to astonish his eastern read- ers with a description of the intense heat; and where the actual facts were not strong enough to suit his taste, he has never hesi- tated to draw upon his imagination to supply the deficiency. In fact, travelers and tourists through Arizona would consider they were derelict in their duty to their friends at home if they failed to embellish their impressions of the Territory with blood- curdling tales of its savage Apaches, minute discriptions of its venomous snakes and reptiles, and highly-colored pictures of the fearful heat of its burning suns.
And yet nothing can be farther from the truth. Arizona is blest with one of the healthiest climates on the American conti- nent. She has brighter skies, purer air, a more bracing atmos- phere, more lovely cloudless days, more brilliant starlit nights
199
CLIMATE.
than any like division of the great Republic. She possesses a climate suitable to all constitutions, ranging from the soft semi- tropic mildness of the south to the cool, bracing air of the north. Every breeze wafted across her mountains, valleys and plains bears upon its wings health, strength, vigor of mind and body. In the pure dry atmosphere of its mountains and vales diseases are unknown, and beneath its glorious skies a man can camp in the open air every month in the year, and gather new life and strength from quaffing deep draughts of the ozone which fills mountain, and plain, and mesa.
Probably the first question which nine out of ten emigrants will ask is in relation to the climate of the country where they intend to make their future abode. And it is a matter of the first importance, and deserving of careful consideration. Health and strength are generally the only capital which the new-comer brings with him to his western home; upon them he depends for success and prosperity, and with them, aided by temperance and industry, he can meet and overcome the obstacles of his new surroundings, and in a few short years gain the goal of independence. But no matter how rich or productive the soil, how generous the yield, how beautiful the surroundings, or how desirable the location, if health does not bless the scene they can have no allurements for those in search of new-abiding places. For the information of people who may seek homes in Arizona this chapter is devoted, and the statements made are facts which can be relied upon.
Arizona may be said to possess two distinct climatic zones. In that portion of the Territory extending from the thirty-fourth parallel to the boundary of Utah, and east of the Colorado val- ley, embracing the great plateau, the climate in summer is among the most delightful to be found in the United States. Elevated from 4,000 to 6,000 feet above sea-level, the average tem- perature during June, July, August and September is about seventy degrees. The nights are deliciously cool and pleasant in this region, insuring perfect rest to which a pair of blankets, during the hottest season, is always an agreeable auxiliary. There are no more delightful retreats on the Pacific coast than the mountains and glens of northern Arizona during the summer season, and with increased railroad facilities the region will yet become a favorite resort for tourists. During the winter months, snow sometimes falls on the elevated mountain peaks to a depth of five and six feet. It quickly disappears from the lower hills, but remains on some of the higher ranges until the middle of May. These winter snows feed the rivers and water-courses which carry life and fertility to the lower valleys, and upon which the farmer must always depend for the raising of a crop.
The winters in northern Arizona have that cool, bracing, healthful quality which people in the East are familiar with. The wonderful purity of the air makes it a positive luxury to breathe it; and those who have once drank in its exhilarating draughts
200
THE RESOURCES OF ARIZONA.
will agree that few places are blessed with a climate possessing the golden mean-not too cold in winter nor too warm in sum- mer-of the northern Arizona plateau. With its towering pine- clad mountains, its lovely grassy glades, shady glens, beautiful streams, clear, cold springs and abundance of game and fish, there is no more delightful region to pass the summer months in all North America.
As showing the mean temperature and the rain and snow- fall at Prescott, each month for the three years ending July 31, 1883, the following tables copied from the records of the Signal Service Bureau, are herewith presented :
MONTH AND YEAR.
Temperature-
Degrees.
Precipitation- Inches.
MONTH AND YEAR.
Temperature-
Degrees.
Precipitation --- Inches.
August, 1880
69.3
2.80
July, 1882
72.91.64
September, "
63.5
1.26
August, «
69.7 3.34
October,
51.70.18
September“
61.62.57
November, “
37.00.42
October,
50.50.39
December, “
38.1 1.84
November,“
41.61.55
January, 1881
35.10.16
December, “
38.20.00
February,
41.1 0.10
January, 1883
34.50.3I
March,
40.62.91
February,
37.60.63
April,
54.70.67
March,
47.42.33
May,
58.70.44
April,
47.90.86
June,
=
67.40.00
May,
56.50.15
July,
72.03.27
June,
69.00.09
August,
68.45.25
July,
=
70.43.20
September,
61.41.69
October,
52.90.33
This shows the highest mean November, “ 38.40.30 December, “ 39.70.33 temperature for any month January, 1882. 30.42.53 February, 33.52.04 during three years to be 72.9, « March, 43.20.28 and the lowest 30.4. The av- erage precipitation (rain and April, 48.80.45 snow) for the three years has = May, 57.30.45 been a fraction over 15.30 each year. June, 65.90.47 Prescott is 5,600 feet above sea-level, possesses one of the finest climates on the continent, and is one of the healthiest towns in the West. Malarial diseases are unknown, and the clear, crisp, air which sweeps down from the mountains, laden with the balsamic odor of the pines, is one of the best in the world for consumptives.
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