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 24
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The Comforts and Conveniences of the Present Compared with the Hardships and Dangers of the Past-The Southern Pacific-Benefits it has Conferred on the Country-How to reach Southern Arizona from the West-And from the East-Branches from the Southern Pacific-How to reach Northern Arizona from the East-The Route of the Atlantic and Pacific-Scenery along the Route- Benefits to Northern Arizona-Branches- The Arizona Mineral Belt Railroad -- A Network of Roads Projected- Telegraph Lines.
HE opening of two transcontinental railways through the Territory of Arizona has removed the barriers of isolation which so long separated it from the active, bustling, progressive world. It is no longer an unknown land, as far removed from the centers of civilization as the distant regions of Central Africa. No longer is the traveler compelled to undergo the hardships, discomforts and dangers of long, dreary and dusty stage rides ; no longer is he subjected to the miseries of a "buckboard," and exposed to the burning suns by day and the chilling winds by night ; no longer docs hunger, thirst, loss of sleep and weariness of mind and body accompany the visitor who journeys to the marvelous country.
Those features of travel in the early days are now but remi- nescences of the past, and a trip to Arizona at the present time can be made as comfortably and as pleasantly as to any part of the Union. The palace car has superseded the ricketty stage, and the railroad hotel has taken the place of the wayside station ; and instead of bacon and beans, bread and black coffee served up by a picturesque individual with slouched hat, unkempt bcard and big six-shooter, the traveler sits down to an inviting table, and dines as well as at the best city restaurant. A jaunt to the Territory now is one of pleasure and recreation. Lolling in a luxuriously cushioned seat, the sightscer can enjoy the ever-changing panorama of mountain, plain and mesa, the brilliant sunshine, and the wonderful atmospheric tints which soften the rugged outlines of many a barren mountain and jagged peak. The journey of a month across the continent has
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been shortened to six days ; and the time when the adventurous visitant to the wilds of the southwest deemed a small arsenal an indispensable part of his outfit, and nervously watched every cañon and curve, and rock and bush along the roadside, is passed, never to return.
The shriek of the locomotive has sounded the death-knell of isolation and savagery, and those twin relics of an unprogressive past have been swept aside by the irresistible tide of civilization. The dark shadow which their presence cast over this fair land has been dispelled by the rising sun of modern progress, and the advent of the iron rail heralds the brightest epoch in Arizona's history.
The Southern Pacific railroad enters the Territory at Yuma, and follows the wide, rolling plains that skirt the Gila river, to Mar- icopa Wells. From this point it trends southwesterly to the city of Tucson. After leaving Tucson the road runs in a northeast- erly direction for some distance, thence turning due east it passes the Dragoon, the Chiricahua and the Steins Peak ranges to Deming in New Mexico, where it forms a junction with the At- chison, Topeka and Sante Fé road. Its length through the Ter- ritory is 384 100 miles, and its course is between the thirty-second and thirty-third degrees of latitude.
The region through which it passes is not a very inviting ne and a stranger gazing at the vast stretches of dry, treeless plains and barren mountains is not apt to be favorably impressed with the country. But nearly everyone of those rocky and forbidding mountain masses is rich in precious metals, and north and south of the line the country presents an entirely different appearance. The building of this road has been of great benefit to southern Arizona. Every industry has felt the advantages of quick and reli- able rail connection, and mining, more especially, shows a marked improvement since its completion. Many prosperous towns and camps have sprung into existence; cattle-ranges have been es- tablished ; prospectors, speculators and traders have poured into the country; capital has sought investment, and Tucson has grown from a sleepy old hamlet to an active, wide-awake city of 10,000 inhabitants. All this has been brought about by the building of the railroad, and is a fair sample of the beneficial change to be wrought in other portions of the Territory, when they, too, are in possession of rail facilities.
To reach southern or central Arizona from San Francisco the traveler takes the Southern Pacific railroad to Yuma, on the Colorado river, distant 730 miles from the city. From this point boats run up the river to Silver district, Aubrey, La Paz, and other camps. From Yuma to Silver district there is also a well- appointed stage line, which makes tri-weekly trips, the fare being $6 each way. From Yuma to Maricopa is 157 miles, the fare over the road in Arizona being ten cents per mile. At Maricopa the stages of the California and Arizona Company are always
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ready to convey passengers to Phœnix, twenty-eight miles dis- tant, and to the towns and camps of northern and central Ari- zona. The coaches of this Company are large and commodious, the stock good, and the drivers careful. The fare to Phoenix, the handsomest town in Arizona, is $5, and from there to Prescott, the capital of the Territory, $20, time twenty-four hours. A line is also run to the Vulture mine and by the famous Antelope Peak, on top of which was found the wonderful deposit of placer gold.
Twenty-six miles east of Maricopa is the station of Casa Grande. From this point the Kerns and Griffith Stage Com- pany run a line of commodious coaches to Florence, the county seat of Pinal county, twenty-five miles distant. At Florence the line branches, one to Pinal and Silver King, and the other to Globe, by way of Riverside. From Florence to the King is thirty-five miles over a good natural road. If the traveler desires to reach Globe by this route he will find saddle animals at the mine, and can take the trail over the Pinal mountains, passing through the rocky gorge of the Devil's cañon, and other wild and picturesque mountain scenery en route. The road from Florence to the Globe mines passes by the Pioneer camp and over the lofty and heavily-timbered Pinal mountains, by a broad smooth grade. The magnificent views of mountain, valley and plain which are seen along this route are not sur- passed in the Territory. Fine stock and competent drivers are employed by this company, and a trip on one of their comfort- able coaches is a treat to the new-comer who gazes for the first time on the wild and striking beauty of Arizona mountain scenery.
At Tucson, 978 miles from San Francisco, a daily line of coaches run to Tubac, Calabasas, Arivac', and all points in northern Sonora. This is a well-equipped line, six-horse coaches being used, and the road being one of the finest natural thorough- fares in the Territory. At Benson, forty-six miles cast of Tucson, the Arizona and New Mexico railroad branches from the main line for Guaymas. The traveler for Tombstone and the adjacent mining camps changes cars here, and a ride of an hour brings him to Contention station, where he takes stage for Tombstone, nine miles distant. At Wilcox, eighty-five miles east of Tucson, and also at Bowie, twenty miles further cast, stages run to Globe and the San Carlos Indian Agency. That from Bowie also passes through the Pueblo Viejo valley, one of the finest bodies of farming lands in the Territory, only thirty-five miles north of the railroad.
To reach southern Arizona from the east the traveler has choice of routes by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé or by the Texas Pacific via El Paso. At Deming, in New Mexico, 1,149 miles from Kansas City, the Atchison and Topeka forms a junction with the Southern Pacific. The fare to Deming, from
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Kansas City, is $70. From Deming to Benson it is 173 miles, fare $17.30, and from Benson to Tombstone the fare is $3. From Deming to Tucson is 219 miles, fare $21.90-thus making the entire distance from Kansas City to Tucson, 1,368 miles. At Lordsburg, New Mexico, sixty miles west of Deming, a narrow-" gauge road leaves the main line for the rich copper mining region of Clifton, seventy miles north. This road passes through the valley of the Gila, and over a rich grazing and agricultural county.
From the Southern Pacific, branch roads have been projected from Maricopa to Phœnix, from Casa Grande to Florence and Silver King, and from Tucson to Globe and Port Lobos. The branch from Maricopa.to Phonix will open up the finest farm- ing valley in the Territory and afford an outlet for the large quantities of flour, grain, hay, fruits and live stock now pro- duced there. Such a road would be a paying enterprise from the start, and its business would steadily increase. There is every likelihood that the branch will be built in a short time. The proposed line from Casa Grande to the Silver King will pass through the valley of the Gila, and tap the rich mineral belt of which the great Silver King is the centre. With a railroad to the Gila river, and reduction works erected on that stream, there are scores of claims in Pinal county which could be pro- fitably worked. The Gila is the natural mill-site for the mines of Pinal, and with such a railroad as we have mentioned, mills and furnaces would line its banks above and below the crossing.
Work is now being pushed on the road from Tucson to Globe, and about ten miles of the distance has been graded. This line receives a subsidy of $200,000 in bonds of Pima county. It will tap the important coal deposits on Deer creek, pass through the rich mineral country near Riverside, and afford an outlet for the extensive mining region of Gila county.
The railroad from Tucson to Port Lobos, on the California gulf, will pass through the Papagueria, and bring that extensive mineral field into direct rail communication with the outer world. The harbor at Port Lobos is reported to be an excellent one, and by this route goods can be laid down in Tucson at such rates as will effectually bar out competition from California or the East. It is said the Mexican government endowed this road with a subsidy of $10,000 per mile, besides granting the right of way and several other minor concessions. It is expected that the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé company, who are now running over the Southern Pacific from Deming to Benson, will soon commence the building of a line from the former point, to con- nect at Fairbanks with the road running into Sonora. This road will pass by Tombstone, and place that flourishing camp on the line of a transcontinental railroad.
To reach Northern Arizona from San Francisco, the traveler takes the Southern Pacific railroad for the Needles via Mohave
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Station. The Needles are 21/2 miles west of the Colorado river, and 622 miles from San Francisco. At this point the passen- ger takes the Atlantic and Pacific road for the towns and min- ing camps of the northern part of the Territory. From the Needles to Ash Fork, the station for Prescott, is 174 miles.
Parties desiring to visit northern Arizona from the East, take the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé road to Albuquerque. At this point the Atlantic and Pacific railroad turns westward and enters the Territory by the valley of the Fuerco. It follows that valley to its junction with the Little Colorado, near the town of Holbrook. From this point there is connection by stage with St. Johns, the county seat of Apache county. From Holbrook the road crosses the plains of the Cañon Diablo and the deep chasm of the same name, over which a bridge has been thrown, 225 feet above the bed of the creek. The road then climbs the southern slopes of the San Francisco peak at an ele- vation of 7,355 feet, and the northern spurs of the Bill Williams range, and then descends to Ash Fork.
From Ash Fork there is a daily line of stages to Prescott, the capital of Arizona, distant fifty-two miles. This line is owned by the Gilmer and Salisbury Stage Company, and is one of the best-equipped and conducted of any in the Territory. Close connections are made with trains from the East and the West, and the drive to Prescott is made in about ten hours. After leaving Ash Fork the road passes westward through Mohave county, and down the broad Sacramento valley to the Colorado of the West, which it crosses by a wooden bridge 1,600 feet in length, connecting on the western bank with the branch of the Southern Pacific from Mohave station, in California.
This road traverses the Territory, almost on the line of the thirty-fifth parallel of north latitude. It passes through the rich valley of the Little Colorado for a distance of nearly forty miles, and will prove of great benefit to the agricultural industry of that region. The sheep and cattle interests of this part of the Territory will likewise feel the effects of cheap and rapid trans- portation to the great markets, east and west. In Yavapai county the road passes through the northern end of the great Mogollon forest, which is here some fifty miles in width. Sev- eral saw-mills are now at work in this magnificent pinery, ship- ping the product by rail. The scenery along the line in Arizona is, much of it, new and novel and can not fail to have many attractions for the tourist. The rocky escarpments of the cliffs along the New Mexican divide, have a weird beauty and pic- turesqueness only found in Arizona. The petrified forest south- west of Holbrook, where former monarchs of the wildwood five and six feet in diameter lay prone upon the ground, turned to solid stone, will always be worthy of a visit from the scientist and the sightseer.
At Peach springs the track is within eighteen miles of the
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cañon of the Colorado, and conveyances are always in readiness for tourists who desire to view the wonders of this mighty chasm, before which all other scenes in either hemisphere are tame and commonplace.
Already the completion of the Atlantic and Pacific railroad is beginning to show its beneficial effects in the renewed activity visible in the mining camps of Mohave and Yavapai counties. The work of development has been stimulated and encouraged by low rates on freight, and the facilities for the shipment of ores. The connections made by this road with the California and Eastern systems, the great valleys of the Mississippi and the Ohio, and the populous cities of the Atlantic sea-board, must bring to northern Arizona a rapid growth and development within the next few years.
From Ash fork to Prescott a line has been projected, and the road is expected to be completed before the first of January, 1885. The country over which it passes is made up principally of rolling hills and valleys, and no engineering difficulties stand in the way of its speedy completion. This road will be of vast benefit to the mining regions south and east of Prescott, and cannot but have a marked effect in stimulating the work of development.
From Winslow, on the Atlantic and Pacific, a line has been surveyed to Globe, and work already commenced. The dis- tance is 160 miles, through one of the finest grazing, the richest mineral, and the most magnificent timber-lands of the Terri- tory. The route for the greater portion of the way will skirt the western slope of the great Mogollon forest. Careful esti- mates place the whole area of timber land tributary to this road at more than 7,000 square miles-an area as large as the whole State of Massachusetts. Low estimates put the total quantity of lumber in this vast area at 78,000,000,000 feet. A railroad tapping this great pinery would not only meet the home demand, which must eventually look here for its lumber supply, but could find a ready and profitable market east and west.
Along the line of this road there are nearly 6,000 square miles of as fine grass-lands as can be found in the west, amply able to sustain 200,000 head of cattle. This industry will be one of the main sources of revenue to the road, and is sure to attain important proportions.
The mineral resources of the region through which this line passes are among the most extensive in the Territory. Gold, silver and copper are found in nearly all the mountain ranges, and in the neighborhood of Globe the copper deposits are among the largest and richest in the Territory. With direct rail com- munication and cheap freights, the development of the mines would receive a powerful stimulus, and make a profitable business for the road. In fact, there is no railroad project yet suggested that offers so many inducements for the investment of capital,
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or presents so many elements of success. Two companies have been organized to carry out the enterprise. One is known as the "Construction and Development Company," organized under the laws of the State of Virginia; the other is the "Arizona Mineral Belt Railroad," incorporated under the laws of Ari- zona. The former company intend to erect extensive works on Salt river, where the low-grade ores of Tonto basin and Globe dis- trict can be cheaply worked by the never-failing power of that stream.
The scenic beauties of this road through the Tonto basin, are unequaled in the Territory. On Pine creek is the great natural bridge of Arizona, one of the most remarkable curiosities in the West. A recent visitor thus describes it in the Phenix Gazette:
" Saddling our horses one lazy afternoon, we soon left several miles of mountain trail behind us, and found ourselves on the summit of a cypress-crowned mountain, whose steep, eastern slope descended abruptly, 500 feet to a cosy little valley, hemmed in on the opposite side by an abrupt precipice of still greater height. Descending with difficulty, we find ourselves on a large flat, with an area of probably sixty acres, with cul- tivated fields, in which corn and potatoes were already well grown.
"We stood on the crown of the bridge, and did not know it, for this beautiful garden patch is fringed on all 'sides with shrub- bery and graceful trees, and one has to go 100 yards south and descend into a precipitous cañon before he is aware of the huge tunnel which nature has cut through the solid rock beneath his feet.
"We ascertained, by the aid of a long fish line, that the crown of the bridge at its southern spring was 168 feet, and the span was eighty feet. Its total width up and down the creek, is about 150 yards. About eight fect from its southern edge, exactly in the center of the arch, is a natural hole, cut into the interior, and, by looking down this, a bird's-eye view is obtained of the bed of Pine creek, far below, at a perpendicular depth of 168 feet. But a full idea of the grandeur of this arch is not obtained until one stands beneath it and looks aloft. The gigantic lime- stone walls spring in perfect curves to the perfect arch above, and the fluted columns meeting in the semi-obscurity above, re- minds the beholder of the interior of some vast cathedral.
"The stream which winds among the huge boulders, that strew the bottom, lies here and there in deep, dark pools of unknown depth, and its precipitous sides are pierced by caves and grottoes, whose numerous windings and alley-ways, lead one far into the bowels of the mountains. Many of these have been explored, and many more have never been trodden by the foot of the white man ; though from arrow-heads, pottery and scraps of matting, mingled with bones and charred wood, we can see that our Indian brother has long been acquainted with
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these retreats. These grottoes are all hung with beautiful sta- lactites, which take all imaginable forms, and any article, whether of wood or other soft substance, if placed beneath the streams which continually trickle from the roofs of these caverns, will, in a short time, become petrified. We gathered several petrified pine cones and branches of trees, which were as hard as rock, and as perfect in form and outline, as if they had lately fallen from the trees."
From Globe it is proposed to continue the road south to Benson, thus making a connecting link between the Atlantic and Pacific and the Southern Pacific and opening a continuous line of rail from the thirty-fifth parallel to Guaymas, on the Gulf of California. The benefits of such a line through the heart of the Territory, cannot be over-estimated, and the many and varied industries which would spring into life and grow up around it, assure a large and profitable business. Work is now being prosecuted between Globe and Winslow, and the character and standing of the men who are at the head of the enterprise insures its speedy completion. Besides the roads mentioned, the South- ern Pacific Railroad company is said to have in contemplation the building of a line from the present terminus of their Mohave branch at the Needles, to Tucson. This line would pass west of Prescott by the Sinks of Date creek, by Wickenburg, through Phoenix and up the rich valley of Salt River to Florence, and from thence south to Tucson. If this branch should be built, it would afford rail connection to a rich mining region in northern and central Arizona, and pass through the largest body of farm- ing land in the Territory.
From this brief summary of the roads now in operation, and in course of construction, and those projected, it will be seen that the country promises in a few years to be gridironed by the iron rail. From the two transcontinental lines which cross the Ter- ritory, north and south, feeders will soon branch out to every principal town and mining camp, and there will hardly be a point of any importance in Arizona not linked with iron bands to the outside world. This wished-for consummation means cheap ma- terial and cheap supplies for mines, mills and furnaces, an in- creased production of the precious metals, and a wonderful development of the mining industry ; it means a permanent and lucrative markets for beef, mutton, and wool, and a rapid and healthy growth for the grazing interests; it means for the farmer in the Salt and the Gila valleys low rates on his grain, flour, fruits and vegetables, brings him in direct communication with the consumer, will stimulate production, and cause many a bar- ren acre to bloom and blossom.
The benefits which a net-work of railroads will confer on the country are almost incalculable. Every branch of industry and every calling will feel its healthful effects. Population will in- crease, capital will seek investment, the productive powers of
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the Territory will be stimulated and assisted, and Arizona will take that place among the sisterhood of States which her grand resources entitle her to.
The telegraph, next to the railroad, is the leading factor in our modern civilization. While the Territory is not as well pro- vided in this respect as could be desired, yet nearly all the princi- pal towns are linked with that girdle which has annihilated time and space, and bound the earth with a circle of lightning. The Western Union Company have a line along the track of the Southern Pacific railroad, connecting at Yuma, Tucson and Tombstone with all points east and west. The War Depart- ment has built a line to connect all the military posts in the Territory. This line passes through Phoenix, Wickenburg, Florence and other towns, and joins them with the Western Union. Globe is connected by a wire with San Carlos, built and owned by a private corporation. At the latter place it joins the military line from Wilcox, on the Southern Pacific. Clifton has a line to Lordsburg, owned by the Arizona Copper Company. A line has been built along the Atlantic and Pacific by the com- pany, but is entirely devoted to their private business. The telephone has been introduced in Arizona, and is in general use in Tombstone and Tucson, and connects the principal mines, their reduction works and offices, in all parts of the Territory.
SCHOOLS, CHURCHES AND SOCIETY.
The School System of the Territory-The Mission Fathers the Pioneers of Educa- tion-The First School in Tucson-The School Laws-Number of Schools in the Different Counties-Churches in the Territory-Number Owned by Different Denominations-Society throughout the Territory -- Security of Life and Property.
I N nothing does the liberal, progressive and enlightened spirit of the people of Arizona manifest itself so strongly as in their public schools. Believing in the axiom that in free schools rests the safety of republican institutions, they have laid broad and deep the foundations for public instruction, and take a pardonable pride in the success which has attended their efforts. The early settlers who planted the standard of civilization in this remote region were a good type of the intel- ligence, enterprise and daring of the western pioneer. They had the honesty, the courage, the unflagging energy, the innate love of justice and fair play, the native good sense and intelli- gence, and all the rude but sterling virtues native and to the frontier manner born. Although most of them were attracted to the promised land of the southwest by the reports of its won- drous mineral wealth, and expected only to remain long enough to unearth some hidden bonanza which would bring them riches and rest for the remainder of their days, yet they were not un- mindful of the duties they owed to those who should come after. The seed which they planted has borne good fruit. The school- master is at home in the land; in every remote settlement, farm- ing valley and mining camp, the modest country school-house raises its head, a noble monument to its founders, and the pride and glory of the Great Republic.
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