Picturesque Arizona : being the result of travels and observations in Arizona during the fall and winter of 1877

University Library
University of California • Berkeley

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PICTURESQUE
ARIZONA.

BEING THE RESULT OF TRAVELS AND OBSERVATIONS IN ARIZONA
DURING THE FALL AND WINTER OF 1877.

BY E. OONKLIN,

Representative of the National Associated Press and Artist and Correspondent of
Frank Leslie^s Publications.

ILLUSTRATED BY THE

Continent Stereoscopic Company, of New York,

PUBLISHERS,

No. 60 NASSAU STREET.

THE MINING RECORD PRINTING ESTABLISHMENT,
No. 61 BROADWAY

1878.

Ft

\

Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1878,

By E. CONKLIN,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C.

ELECTItOTTPED BY

CHUM & R I N G L E tt ,

NEW YORK.

TO THE

tny Country,

WHOM I HAVE LEAKNED TO HOLD IN HIGH ESTEEM^

THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
BY THE AUTHOR.

PKEFACE.

My book is a preface to Arizona.

Let those who would know my " Preface" read my
book.

The Author here acknowledges valuable aid and cur-
tisies in gaining information for this book to the follow-
ing named persons : —

Ex. Gov. A. P. K. Safford of Arizona ; Col. J. D.
Graham, of the Toltec Syndicate of mines, San Fran-
cisco ; Col. R. J. Hinton, of the Evening Post, San Fran-
cisco, California ; Col. Wm G. Boyle and Dr. II. R.
Allen, of the Aztec Mining Company ; Lieut. Geo. M.
Wheeler of United States Corps of Engineers ; Major
J. W. Powell, of the United States Geological and Geo
graphical Surveys ; George Tyng, Editor of the Yuma
Sentinel.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Return to San Francisco— The allurements of the " Baldwin "—The Invita-
tion from the Aztec Mining Company— The Preparations— Whiskey
Looking-glasses, and Starched Shirts— Interviewed at the Depot— The
Scene from Oakland page 17

CHAPTER II.

Off for Arizona— Scenes on the way— The Livermore Valley— Yosemite—
The Great Tehachapi Pass— The Orange Districts— Across the Desert to
Fort Yuma page 25

CHAPTER III.

]\Iy Arrival at Yuma— Description of the Town— Its Former History— The
Coming Sanitarium— Dr. Loryea's Opinion— The Railroad Enterprise-
Its Vicissitudes— A Watchful Guardian of the Night— Lo! the poor
Indian page 38

CHAPTER IV.

The Arrival of the Aztec Mining Company— The Denizens of Yuma— We
break our fast— The Excitement over our mules— The ft Yosemite"
and "Thorough-bred 1" page 56

CHAPTER V.

Arizona, the Future Country of the Student, and the Husbandman— The
Fertile Valleys of the Plain— The Unique Barrenness of the Desert-
Sunday morning at Ehrenberg-The Mojave Indians— The Mountain
Panorama Scenes P»ge 70

10 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VI.

Gila City— A Frontier Hotel— Taking the Census— Celestial Phenomena-
Meditation— A Setting Sun in Arizona ,._ 84

CHAPTER VII.

The Mirage— A City not Built with Hands— Onward from Gila— The Sagu-
ara— The Sturdy Sentinel of the Plain— The Mesquite— The Palo-verde
—A Desert rife with Growth ... 101

CHAPTER VIII.

A Desert which is not all Desert— From Dos Palms to Prescott— Sensations
on the Desert — A Southern Moon — Sand Storms— A City of the Desert —
Breathing Air— Silver Threads and Golden Nuggets 116

CHAPTER IX.

Mining Capital in Arizona— The " McCracken "— " The Hannibal "—" The
Stonewall Jackson " — The Great Prospectors, McMillen and Flournoy —
"Dead Broke "—Cinnabar, Copper, and Tin— Arizona ! why so long
lain mute ? 130

CHAPTER X.

Narratives of early Arizona— Bloody Deeds and the Apaches— Eskimenzen
— Cochise— Witchcraft— Habits of life— Reform— Who is to blame ?.. .149

CHAPTER XI.

Ehrenberg— A lonely " Village of the Plain "—Painful Thoughts— Corona-
tion Peak— The Goddess of the Valley — No Endowment Policy — Interest,
Contrast, and Beauty— To the Land of Hemp, Cotton and Rice 168

CHAPTER XII.

Antelope Peak- A Night's Companion— " Lone Peaks "—A Gold Story—
Oatman's Flat— Freight Trains of the Desert— Pedros Pintardos 181

CHAPTER XIII.

The Salt River Valley— Lost on a Desert—" Happy Camp "—A Dollar Drink
—Water, twenty-five cents— The Bed in the Manger— Mule, versus Man
—Important Considerations— Montezuma or Washington, Which ? . . .207

CONTENTS. 11

CHAPTER XIV.

The Indian— The Pi mo— The Maricopa — The Papago— The Zuni— The
Moqui — The Apache — Their Diversity ;223

CHAPTER XV.

The Zuni and Moqui— The Model American Indian— Their Villages— Mode
of Life — Morals — Rebecca at the Well — Games and Pastimes — A Sacred
Rite— Shrewdness— Hospitality , 239

CHAPTER XVI.

The Moqui and Zuni, continued— Their Dress — Manufactures — Govern-
ment-—The Seven Cities of Cibola— The Ark, again— A present from
President Lincoln — That Persistent Mission — Major Powell's Descrip-
tion 256

CHAPTER XVII.

The Antiquity of these Indians — Arizona's Vicissitudes — Conquered at last
— America's Dark Ages — A Costly Bonfire — Prescott— Humboldt — Ban-
croft—To the Land of Ancient Lore by Rail ! 275

CHAPTER XVIII.

The Great Casa Grande — Impressions — A Palace, Castle, or What — A Bil-
lowy Sea of Green— The Puzzle of Puzzles 281

CHAPTER XIX.

Florence — Its Uniqueness— Anxiety for Col. Graham— False Alarm— Mod-
ern Ruins— The Old Mission Buildings— San Xavier Del Bac 292

CHAPTER XX.

The Tolling of a Contrite Bell— The Knell of Parting Power— Alone with
the Spirits of Centuries— Tubac— The Mission Ruins of Saint Joseph—
Tumacacori— The Santa Cruz Valley 802

CHAPTER XXI.

Leaving Tubac — The Nineveh of America— Silver lined and Verdure clad—
The Dawn of Arizona— Bold Mountain Scenery— The Santa Ritas—
Their Mines. .. 308

12 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXTI.

The El Pleaches — The Land of Massacres- -Cochlse — Mountain Cavern— A
Talking Mines — A Dream of Waterfalls, Valleys, Canyons, and Caves.

314

CHAPTER XXIII.

The Meeting of the Mountains— Arizona's Natural Wonders— The Micro-
cosm of the World — The Colorado — Its Canyons — Its Plateaus — Its Ca-
prices—A Home for the Repeater— The Indian Guides of the Colorado—
—A River that tells no Tales. ... . . .322

CHAPTER XXIV.

Remarkable Ruins in Southern Arizona— The Founders of the Aztec and
Toltec Syndicates of mines — The Grandest Pecuniary Success on
Record— The "Bollas De Plata" (Balls of Silver)— Col. J. D. Graham.

33G

CHAPTER XXV.

From Camp Apache, Northeast — A Land full of interest — A Great Agricul-
tural and Mineral Belt Combined ... 350

CHATTER XXVI.

My Departure from Tucson— Admonitions— The Jehus tf the Plain— Ben
Hill— Mind and Matter— A Tale of Love and Woe — All for Gold— The
Highwayman 355

CHAPTER XXVII.

Spirit of the Desert— The Author Robbed— Penniless— The Meeting of
McMillen and Josiah Fournoy— The Proverbial Sympathy of the
Pioneer 366

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGK.

" The Baldwin" of San Francisco Frontispiece

Eed Rock Pass on the Colorado River above Yuma— The Chimney

Peaks in the distance 14

A Scene in the Orange Groves of E. J. Baldwin, Esq 33

Indians taking their Sun-bath at Yuma 43

An Indian Belle of the Yuma Indians 49

Indian Group 53

Getting ready for a prospecting tour 60

An Indian in town ; 64

An Indian watching the approach of Emigrants on the plains of Arizona . 72

A Mojave Indian Chief at Ehrenberg 76

Mojave Indians at Ehrenberg taking their Sunday walk 80

Map of the ancient province of Tusayan, Arizona 83

An Indian Warrior, 87

Prescott 01

Tucson 97

Valley of Santa Cruz, (From Hinton's Hand-Book of Arizona) 103

The Proposed Hotel and Plaza at Calabasas Valley of Santa Cruz Ill

A Miner's vicissitudes in Arizona 136

Charles McMillen and Josiah Flournoy 140

Ready for a Scalp '. 152

An Apache Chief 160

An Apache Squaw and Papoose 131

The City of Ehrenberg— Looking up the Colorado Riv^r— Indians at play 1C9

A Mojave Indian and boy at Ehrenberg 173

A View of the Colorado at Yuma I?7

" Lone Peaks," on the road from Ehrenberg to Prescott 1£3

A Midnight Camp of the Apaches in the Pelonchillo Mountains, Arizona 188

14 ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE.

Rocky Canyons and Mesa lands of Arizona 192

The Continent Stereoscopic Company's Artist " viewing " in Arizona. . . 200

The Painted Rocks (Pedros Pintardos) on the plains of Arizona 204

Scene in the Salt River Valley 207

The Region of the Thousand Wells, on a high rocky Mesa 209

Just in from the desert— getting ready for a good square meal 213

Papago Indian Women going to carry hay 222

A Maricopa Indian Girl picking berries 225

Pimo Indians at home 229

A Squad of Indians at a game of cards 233

An Unwelcome Visitor 238

Mi-shong-i-iii-vi— a village of the Moquis in North-eastern Arizona. ... 241

Interior of an Oraibi house in the Moqui Villages 249

The Free Indian Girls, An-ti-naints , Pu-tu-su and Wi-chuts 253

The Terraced houses of Oraibi 257

Praying for Rain— a religious observance of the Moquis 261

An Indian Hunter 268

A Scout of the Navajo's in northeastern Arizona 274

A Navajo Indian Boy 277

An Ancient War dance of the Apaches 279

Ruins of the Great Casa Grande in Southern Arizona 283

Ruins near the Great Casa Grande 287

The Mission of San Xavier del-Bac, located 9 miles south of Tucson. . . . 297

Old Mission Ruins of Tumacacori 303

A Street Scene of the Adobe Spanish Residences 305

Sand stone Formations, found in the Ravines of the Santa Rita Moun-
tains 312

Butte in the upper Colorado Canon— Colorado River, Arizona 325

Marble Canon of the Colorado River 329

The Great Canon of the Colorado River, Arizona 333

The " Toltec " mining camp in the Santa Rita Mountains 345

Stage Coach Robbery ... 368

CHAPTER I.

RETURN TO SAN FRANCISCO— THE ALLUREMENTS OF THE " BALD-
WIN"— THE INVITATION FROM THE AZTEC MINING COMPANY
— THE PREPARATIONS — WHISKEY, LOOKING-GLASSES AND
STARCHED SHIRTS — INTERVIEWED AT THE DEPOT — THE
SCENE FROM OAKLAND.

HAVING completed my labors as correspondent of
the trans-continental tour, organized by Mr. Frank
Leslie in the Spring of 77, in the interests of his
many publications, I made known to him my long
intended purpose of writing and illustrating Arizona —
the most interesting of all our frontier territories.
Long had this been a cherished desire of mine, and
long had I, in my many trips to the coast kept an
eagle eye on this obscure, but wonderful region. As
jealously had I picked up from time to time all scraps
and hear-says of this territory, as the ravens within its
borders now pick up the morsels scattered by travelers

1 3 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

and mining parties. And now raven-like, I cany
these scraps to all the world as a faithful messenger of
the future great mineral State of America.

I returned to San Francisco and in August made
preparations for an extended tour through Arizona.
No fitter time had ever presented itself for a represen-
tation, digestion and general unraveling of Arizona's
vast resources in all channels of human industries, than
the completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad to the
Colorado River, which was expected to take place the
following month. A more propitious or favorably
auspicious event will never probably be known in the
history of that territory — except perhaps the purchase
of the southern portion of it. To go to Arizona here-
tofore and find what you wanted — where to go, or how
to go, reminded one of that emblematic hay stack and
its needle, A double combination of events have
transpired this fall which will be an era in the history
of Arizona — the completion of the Southern Pacific
Railroad on its way across the territory, which takes
you to this hay stack, and Col. R. J. Hin ton's Hand
Book and Guide, which, enables the traveler to unrav-
el that hay stack and find the needle when he is once
there ; and the object of this book is to show you the

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 19

merits of your particular needle wlieii found, whether
you be a miner in search of mines, a farmer in search
of fertile valleys, or a tourist or scientist in search
of the beauties or wonders of nature.

Again in San Francisco, and the very recollections
of the luxuries of its famous Baldwin Hotel seem to
allure us to the spot and already stimulate us to new
ambition. The soothing quiet of this hotel is a mar-
vel even in the nucleus of the most brilliant hotel
achievements in the world. Never was there a com-
bination of such rare and rich material brought togeth-
er in such perfect and complete harmony. This hotel
is the most attractive institution under that name that
ever decked American soil. We feel free to say it.
It is an allurement to all travelers and tourists who
have once seen it.

While in San Francisco preparing for a new depar-
ture, I received an invitation from Col. J. D. Graham,
Secretary of the Aztec Mining Company of Arizona, to
accompany him and his party on an extended tour
through southern Arizona, to the mines of the compa-
ny. I appreciated this, knowing that to the indomitable
pluck and energy of the members of this company,
were due some of the greatest mining enterprises and

20 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

achievements in the territory ; and I accepted, knowing
that their mines lie in the Santa Bita Mountains, one
of the richest mining sections in the State, and their
course through some of the richest valleys, thereby
affording me ample facilities for learning of what I
would know. Favors, like crosses, thought I, never
come singly. So I arranged to meet the party subse-
qumtly at Yum a.

I left San Francisco amid all the vicissitudes conse-
quent upon going on a big trip. I felt this spirit of
bigness — of vastness, forcing itself upon me ; not so
much that the trip itself was to be a long one, but of
the interest and importance that the completion of the
Southern Pacific Eailroad to Arizona was ushering
into existence. Although I had plenty of time, as the
moment approached for me to depart, I found I had
fallen a victim to that treacherous u last moment"
which had, with its wonted subtleness crept unawares
upon me, and like a thief in the night, found me
asleep. The express called for my trunk ; I tried to
squeeze two seconds into one, forgetting the lesson in
applied philosophy learned when young, that no two
things could occupy the same space at the same time.
, Being intuitively reminded of this by some automatic

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 21

faculty of the mind — reason I had none just then — I
reverted to material things and tried to cram two shirts
into the place one should occupy, which caused me to
break a bottle of whiskey that I was taking along for

— the Indians, or medicinal purposes. I was sorry
for this, because I had intended if I kept my health
— and whiskey — in tact, to finally bestow it upon some
of my red brothers, the Arizona Indians. I am a friend
to the Indians.

I rushed frantically about for something that would
work on the capillary system, to wipe up the muss.
I seized a towel from the bureau, and in turning
qiiickly around, broke a glass which cost me ten dol-
lars and fifty cents.

Becoming exasperated, and with a spirit indefatiga-
ble to conquer, I chucked — this is the best word just
here — everything into my trunk promiscuously, re-
solving to remodel things on the train, by bribing the
baggage-master to let me have access to it there. The
express man got my trunk and rushed off. I was too
late for the " Bus," which is one of those emblemati-
cally punctual institutions, especially when you hap-
pen to be a few minutes behind. I took a horse-
car. At the railroad office I called for my ticket for

22 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

Fort Yuma. I laid down my fifty dollars, and was to
have received eightdollars in change, but I never knew,
from that day to this whether I ever picked up that eight
dollars or not; for at the utterance of the words " Fort
Yurnn," I was besieged by a dozen or more individ-
uals wanting to know if I was actually going to Fort
Yuma, and putting into a score of other questions all
the qualifications of importance. They were enthu-
siastic emigrants. They all wanted to hear from Fort
Yuma ; and no less than half a dozen persons wanted
me to write them each a private letter giving them
a full description of the great mines of Arizona and
New Mexico ; and how I thought turnips would grow
there ; whether the Indians were as troublesome as
they had been in the Black Hills ; whether cows could
be milked three times a day, and whether jackasses
could be sold for mules down there. These requests
were all made with the familiarity of two strangers
meeting in a foreign land. I promised all to give them
the desired information. I justified my wilful false-
hood by the satisfaction it afforded them for the mo-
ment; and I justified my neglect to subsequently
comply with their requests from the fact that not one
of them offered me stamps for postage.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA 23

The cause of a greater portion of all my vicissitudes
I trace back to the allurement I was under at the
"Baldwin." We all know what an effect pleasing
surroundings will have, to the neglect of sterner duties,
causing the mind to swerve until it forgets itself and
becomes dilatory, and reason itself becomes tossed and
cannot at once iind its equilibrium. Oh ! this allure-
ment ! Oh ! the infatuation that makes mockery of
self control. This fascination that causes one to miss
trains, miss everything in life while under its influence.

And yet the}7' are the very allurements that we are
most willing to be charmed by. But we are really
justified in them in exemplification of our nature, as
explained in Romans 7th and 15th : " For what I would?
that do I not ; but what I hate, that do I."

In twenty minutes we had spanned the bay of San
Francisco to Oakland, where all passengers for South-
ern California and Arizona take the trains of the Cen-
tral Pacific Railroad. Oakland has been so long com-
pared to the Brooklyn of New York in its proximity
to San Francisco, that it has become typical of it. The
concourse of people swarming like bees and increasing
fiom day to day as they are, to almost incapacitated
proportions, makes good the similitude.

24 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

The train stood waiting at the Oakland wharf hiss-
ing off its virulent steam, anxious for a start. The
evening was inexpressibly charming, under the mellow
light of an Occident setting sun. I took my seat in the
sleeping car, and scanning the bay of San Francisco,
beheld the glorious scene which has become the em-
blem of the city ; the pride of its people ; and the joy
of the traveler and tourist — a setting sun at the Golden
Gate ! And I must here waive the old adage, not to
give advice until one had been " thrice asked for it'7
and proffer it to all travelers, not to miss this phan-
tomed halo.

CHAPTER II.

OFF FOR ARIZONA — SCENES ON THE WAY — THE LlVERMORE VAL-
LEY— YOSEMITE — THE GREAT TEHACHAPI PASS — THE OR-
ANGE DISTRICTS— ACROSS THE DESERT TO FORT YUMA.

BY the time my spirits had been mellowed down
into their accustomed equilibrium, the time had
come to depart. " Klick-er-de-klick ; ehit-er-de-chat :
chit-er-de-chat; klick-er-de-klick," rattled our ladened
train over the wonderful Meiggs wharf which ex-
tended two and a quarter miles out across the bay.
Klick-er-de-klick, chit-er-de-chat, rolled oar car wheels,
like the prattle of a lot of merry school girls let loose,
and had the same effect of merriment upon its listen-
ers. Then the old smoke-stack bellowed forth,
" Hush f—Hiish !— Hush !— ush !— ush !— usli !— ush !
sh, sh, sh, sh, sh," as if warning his charge against
useless gossip, and admonishing them not to make
such a noise.

2G PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

Thus we sped, twenty miles away, across the charm-
ing Livermore valley — one of the chosen spots of Cali-
fornia's richest soils.

If one's spirits are in a ruffled state as mine had
been, " these sights and these sounds " would prove a
soothing balm.

As we approached the end of this valley, which nar-
rowed down to about the width of a good sized farm,
we felt that one of the Eldorados of our trip had been
seen. All the diversity for the richest rural effects
and of husbandry, were here combined. We had seen
the sweet maiden daughter of the hardy husbandman,
standing in the threshold of his humble cottage ad-
miring with unwitting zeal, the fruits of her sire's
sturdy arm and sweaty brow. .One charming picture
particularly attracted my notice. A maiden of some
fourteen Summers, with her golden hair flowing over
her shoulders, and a neat, clean pin-a-fore clasping
jealously her form, stood on one of these thresholds,
breathing the balmy atmosphere from the mountains
wafted over the waving corn and blooming wheat,
from which it received its perfume. As the train
passed, this little creature pulled from a pocket in her
apron her handkerchief, and "\vaved it. This was the

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 27

climax of this valley scene. Perhaps the handker-
chief had something to do with it. We all know how
far this token of welcome, as a flag of truce,, will put
new life into the soul. Behind the little hamlet, rose
a spur of the mountains, one peak of which seemed
the maiden's special guardian. On we sped through
the Canyon ; witnessed the shades of evening trans-
formed into Luna's night, and arrived at Merced, the
place of departure for the Yosemite valley, just be-
fore midnight. Many left our train here. The name
of Yosemite has not ceased to allure, nor its sights to
charm. I was a little allured myself, but as the train
moved on, I contented myself by reciting the lines
contributed to fair Tissaack's abode while with the
Leslie part}7, when we were there in the Spring. We
had, on that occasion just reached the summit of the
Sierras from which we were to descend into the valley.

Yosemite ! How wells the heart,

When o'er the Sierras' summit height,

The sense of sight, to the soul imparts

Fair nature's gift, this grand, this gorgeous sight.

Behold ! we near the crested edge ;

Our every breath held by a spell.
We fain would make a solemn pledge,

To all the world this vision tell.

23 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

Down ! down ! the mountain's side we prance,
Each steed, sure-footed, marks his pace.

To the right — to the left — yes, all around,

Bold rocks command, and waters run their race.

To the left, "El Capitan " rears its ponderous head,

Carved out by some gigantic power !
To the right, " Fort Rocks " commands the valley front,

Beneath lies Tissaack's chosen bower.

Down in the very depths of this colossal vale
Hemmed in by Sybil's choicest charms,

Our soul would break from its fettered chains
And with its praise, the mortal man disarm.

With hair unfurled and ribbon tossed,
Across the "Bridal" stream we bound,

And with hats in hand we give one shout !
For our Mecca we have found.

In the night the train enters the Tehachapi Pass —
enters, as it were the last remnants of chaos; enters one
of nature's grandest caprices; as treacherous as it is
wonderful, as interesting as it is beautiful, and as
capricious as it is grand. The Tehachapi Pass is one
of the greatest pieces of railroad engineering in the
world. It includes, perhaps, the wonderful features
of all other railroads combined.

In this Pass, comprising a distance of nineteen miles,
you have your high tressels, chasms, horse shoes, Cape
Horns, tunnels, &c., &c. In fact these things in them-
selves constitute this entire section. The train will

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA, 29

jump from mountain dome to pinnacle; from peak to
peak, with as much agility as a man on the trapeze.
In the last mile of this section the train passes through
five tunnels. By the curves and the angles, the cross-
ing of ravines, and the rounding of pinnacles ; with
high towering mountains on the one side, and precip-
itous gorges on the other; all theories of trigonometry
and the calculus are demonstrated, and practically too.
The locomotive fairly plays tag with the tail end of the
train in the wildest commotion. You are held spell-
bound. In its fury Mr. Smokestack again belches
forth its Hush, Hush, Hush, as if warning you to hold
your breath and not venture a whisper until we are
over safel}7. Standing on some of the elevations over
which the train passes, in this wild and elevated re-
gion, a most imposing view of the surrounding coun-
try may be had. It suggests that the whole of God's
footstool might be comprehended, so vast is the ex-
tent. The eye peers over hill, dale, mountain peaks
and ranges, until it is lost in its own vision, and seems
to comprehend infinity. How grand the sensation !
How your soul grasps — pants, for just a something
more. From Yosemite to Teliacliapi your mind re-
verts. We have often heard how the West in its broad

30 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

expanse, captures the emigrant and traveler in mind
and spirit, and weans him from his eastern home. We
have all tried to define what this influence is ; I think
it is just such scenes as this. As the mind, in compre-
hending and retaining its mental observations, and as
the field becomes broader and he clings to those obser-
vations with a zeal proportionate to its vastness, so
does the soul expand with what it sees, in proportion
to its own vastness. How often this condition forces
itself upon the traveler in Arizona. And perhaps this
is the reason one finds so many whole-souled men in
this interesting Territory. Many of them were perhaps
whole-souled before they went there, but we are rather
inclined to think the most of them have become so from
the very soul-spirit of all nature in this beacon land.
As the mind is wont to grasp after what lies beyond
its present sphere, so does the emigrant and the trav-
eler jealously long for the blessing, the freedom, the
liberty, the wide expanse, that these scenes suggest to
his nature.

The traveler takes a last, lingering look at the re-
gion of the Tehachapi Pass, this being the last moun-
tainous scenery until he reaches Central Arizona.
This region is commonly known as the famous

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 31

''Loop/' from the fact that in circling itself, it crosses
its own track to reach a high elevation of mountain.

At daylight you strike a portion of the great Mo-
jave Desert, the word "desert" striking dimly on
your ear, and feeding the mind with imaginary evils
always associated with that name. This gradually
dies away, however, with the remarkable and interest-
ing characteristics peculiar to the so-called desert,
gleaned later from our facetious friends — the pioneers
and frontiersmen of our countr , and from the natives.
A chapter on the deserts of our country will be found
in its proper place.

Further south four hundred and seventy miles from
San Francisco, the far famed orange region is reached.
The conglomerate city oi Los Angeles tells you of the
adventurous days of the chivalrous Fremont. Eight
miles below Los Angeles you pass through the fertile
San Gabriel Valley, where the greatest orange groves
of the State thrive in luxurious splendor Here are
located the great orange groves of E. J. Baldwin, Esq.
All kinds of semi-tropical fruits are raised on this
ranch, which covers sixteen thousand acres.

One of the original aims of Mr. Baldwin was to sup-
ply his own culinary wants of the hotel. This self

32 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

sustaining principle enables him, in adding to the
luxuries of his hotel, to do so at a less cost than any
other method, or in other words, to give a greater
amount of luxuries for the same price. This system
of Mr. Baldwin's explains the query made by the
many patrons of his house, " How can he afford to
run this extravagance at the regular hotel rate? "

To get an invitation from Mr. Baldwin to visit his
ranch in Southern California, and to actually visit ity
is a treat, and one can get an extended and — ex-
alted did we say — at least a flattering idea of a bonan-
za farm of Southern California. On this ranch or farm
can be found all products indigenous to the coast.
Mr. Baldwin has, also, other ranches in different parts
of the State. The orange blossoms and groves throw
their fragrance broadcast through the air and with
their emblematic influences, charm the senses.

An orange tree in blossom is a gorgeous sight.
" Gorgeous sight," did I say? Well! it depends.
To some, each blossom is transformed into a little
cupid plumed and armed, and holding high carnival
in the tree top : while to many these are, by some
misordained condition of nature, transformed into lit-
tle devils. Owing to the present jogging condition

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 35

of the world, this orange growing section will not loose
its interest for some time to come. We are told of
both young and old having fainted at the sight and
perfume of this marital emblem. At least, we can say
by our own experience, a drive from Los Angeles to
the beach at Santa Monica through the orange groves,
is a most condign place for a young man, who wants
to have a lady faint in his arms.

One hundred miles south of Los Angeles you cross
the great Colorado desert. Although a desert, this
vast tract of country is full of interest. But of these
interests in desert traveling we will speak in connec-
tion with our journey through Arizona.

On this desert, shorn, if not of its name, at least of
its terrors, by the annihilating iron horse, and the civ-
ilizing palace car, 'one gets the first intimation of the
peculiar scenery of Arizona. Looking "from the car
window to the east, a distant range of mountains,
different from anything you have, perhaps, ever seen,
attracts you.

" Domes and half domes,
Pinnacles and peaks; "

truncated cones, pyramids and spires; castles in the
air (with solid foundations, which none but a strong

36 PICTURESQUE ARIZOXA.

miner's will can move) with bases of hid Jen gold and
silver, salute yon. This is the scene that contrasts so
forcibly with your desert. And this variety is what
makes the desert so interesting in itself. We all know
the charm of variety — of change. In the direction
you are now looking lies the famous "Needles" of
the great Colorado River. In the distance are the
famous "Chimney Peaks ; " further down is the " Cas-
tle Dome ; " and by imagination's sweet charm, or
in recollection's powerful cast, you see the capricious,
the whimsical, the wonderful Colorado River.

This is the view that greets the traveler's eye and
cheers his spirit as he nears Arizona, and for three
hours before reaching her initial point, Yuma. Let
it be in the grey of the morning, and the peculiar hazy
blue, like a sea vapor that hems the different mounts
and ranges in, reminds you of the Blue Mountains of
Jamaica in the West Indies. Let it be in the eve-
ning's golden hue of an Arizona sunset, and the rug-
ged outline fringed with gold and crimson, and the
whole fretting on the azure blue of the firmament, is
a scene to charm the soul and puzzle the senses.

From here I started to make a two month's tour
through the northern part of the Territory, the results

PICTUBESQUE^ARIZONA. 3 7

of which will be embodied throughout my book in
connection witli my southern trip ; and from which
trip I returned to Yuma on the first day of December
to await the arrival of the Aztec party.

CHAPTER III.

MY ARRIVAL AT YUM A— DESCRIPTION OP THE TOWN— ITS FOR-
MER HIISTORY — THE COMING SANITARIUM — DR. LORYEA'S
OPINION— THE RAILROAD ENTERPRISE— ITS VICISSITUDES—
A WATCHFUL GUARDIAN OF THE NIGHT— LO ! THE POOR
INDIAN.

HERE I am at Yuma ! and while wailing for the
arrival of the Aztec party, I will contemplate
some, the land I am going to roam.

That part of the Territory of Arizona over which
our travels were now to extend, was acquired by the
Gadsden purchase from Mexico in 1853 ; and, save
the regret that the instrument of purchase did not
record a section of country as far south as Guaymas,
which would have given us a port on the Gulf of
California — a "Golden Gate" to Arizona — the pur-
chase was a most condign and satisfactory one. At
the time of the purchase, Mr. Gadsden did not re-
ceive himself, this compliment from the people, but

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 39

rather abuse and ridicule ; an abuse evidently given
from ignorance. This suggests how often chastise-
ment is given in ignorance. How long — Oh ! how
long, will the human race — that noble race — that man
— in his vast system of philosophy, education and sci-
ence— that being with a reputed psychological exis-
tence, be elevated to know how, when, and where to
chide. Then indeed will our God-soul be elevated
toward its rightful sphere. Then will judges be well
deserving the potent "Honorable," and, the preachers
claim u Eeverend " to their names. Then will parents
make men and women of their offspring, and be truly
proud of their issue. As it is, where is the man who
would dare originality or individuality to the lull
extent of what his experience, education and good-
will would seem to urge, for fear of reprimand from
an unphilosophic world ? There are a few such ; they
die persecuted — perhaps a martyred death for the
benefit of an enriched and selfish world ; while that
world lives the very embodiment and verification of
the sheep element ; following where they have been
led, and grazing on the products of a good and fer-
tile soil. Poor Arizona ! How near you came to
being lost to us. But Ho ! for Arizona ! is our senti-

40 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

ment now. Although in many places in our country,
within certain limits are combined so great a variety
of climate and topography that one may in certain
sections, experience all the diversity of traveling
abroad; especially is this applicable to the southern
portion of the Pacific coast. In one short dny you
come from the snows of the Sierra to the tropic of the
desert, where in July the thermometer will range
about an n verage of 120° Fahr. in the shade, and 170°
in the sun. One peculiar feature of Arizona's climate

s

might be mentioned here.

Although the thermometer may often 'range much
higher than in some other known place, the heat is
felt very much less. An incident of mine will amply
illustrate the fact. In '73 I went to Southern Cali-
fornia for the first time; I had some friends whom I
visited and who were farmers. Having once lived on
a farm, the inclination presented itself to me to see
how much of my rural tuition I had, in my now rov-
ing propensities, retained. I made a request to go into
the hay field the next day, and help pitch hay "just
to ses how it felt" as I said, "after a fifteen j^ears
rest." The next day I was told by my friend in an
insinuative sort of way that it was going to be a very

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 4 t

hot day he thought, and he did not think an eastern
man like me could stand it to work in the sun. Now
this was the very worst thing he could have said to
me if he had not wanted me to go, for I always pride
myself on my physical strength and powers of endur-
ance. I was bound to go. I worked until noon, and
pitched hay all the time too. The thermometer, I
learned when we went to the house to dinner, was
118° Fahr. I could not believe it at first. I
had suffered some from the heat — in fact con-
siderable. But it was rather a burning, outward
heat as from the rays of the sun ; and not an
inward bodily heat as if suffocating. And although.
I perspired freely, the big drops rolling down my
cheeks and brow, I did not suffer as much, nor feel
as fatigued, as when walking in New York under a
thermometer of 95 degrees in the month of July or
August.

This is the nature of the heat in these locations.
The rarity and dryness of the atmosphere, it is well
known, is the chief cause for this favorable condition,
and especially has Arizona these qualifications. When
a person hears another speak of the thermometer
being 110Q or 115° in Southern California or Arizona,

42 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

he must not imagine that those " poor mortals " there
are suffering what he would be in New York or Balti-
more under a thermometer of 90°. Yuma itself, in
conjunction with the Colorado River which runs along
side, from the cause jusi alluded to, is Nature's Russian
or Turkish bath. The very Indians take their sun
bath here every day. For centuries this people have
been reclining at certain times of day on their heated
sand-mounds, at a high temperature, and checking the
heat by a plunge in the cooling waters of the Colorado.
For centuries they have been working wondrous cures
from the aid of these medical properties of the soil
and atmosphere. A private letter written me con-
cerning this location as a natural Sanitarium, by Dr.
A. M. Loryea, M. D. of the celebrated Hammam baths
of San Francisco, comprehends some of the principal
merits. Dr. Loryea says : —

" * * * * My experiences in Arizona were very sat-
isfactory.. The heat there, though high, is endura-
ble in consequence of the dry ness — hence its adapta-
bility as a place of residence to those afflicted with
Renal affections, especially Bright's Disease of the
Kidneys. The skin acting vicariously for the lungs,
exhaling carbonic acid and absorbing oxygen, Con-

INDIANS TAKING THEIR SUN-BATH AT YDMA.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 45

sumptives would there find relief. One does not take
cold and my patients there in the last stages of renal
and lung affections slept out of doors all arid every
night with perfect freedom. Malaria does not exist
in Yuma, so that we have every advantage obtainable
for invalids and hence many term it 'Nature's Turk-
ish Bath, ' or the great Sanitarium of America; and
patients who may visit these need not 'abandon hope '
but have every assurance if not being cured of their
"many thousand ills that flesh is heir to " but at least
of being ameliorated and measurably banefitted. Of
course all class of affections, sucli as Rheumatism, Sci-
atica and Neuralgia are resolved by the heats of Yuma."
On the Colorado River, ninety miles from its mouth,
and on its east bank, is located the old city of Yuma,
in Arizona. On the opposite shore, or California side,
on a high elevation, is situated Fort Yuma. This
location which has heretofore lain mute with a history
that perhaps rarely extended beyond its own domain,
except by an occasional exploring party, or an inhab-
itant who had fortunately made his escape from the
ravages of Indians or Mexican desperadoes, has
now gained for itself a place in the history of the
Pacific Coast.

46 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

On the 29th of September— of the year, 1877—
this point became the present terminus of the South-
ern Pacific Railroad of California, Since that time
the two great signals that govern the destinies of
armies, have been called into requisition by the event.
"Halt!" and "Forward March!" have been given
with all the pomp and pomposity of military tactics.
The occasion for these conditions seems to have been
some misunderstanding between the military and
civil authorities ; but this being now settled, and the
road fairly into Arizona, it is simply our pleasure to
notice the likely results and interesting incidents
from the fact.

The likely results are that a complete, through,
southern, trans-continental route will steal an exist-
ence upon us, as unawares, as did the first and origi-
nal road across the Continent in '69. When we
realize the vast interest, to all the different sciences,
the two Territories of Arizona and New Mexico are
constantly opening up to the geologist as a mining
district; and to the historian, in the different races
of human beings suggested by the many and unique
ruins constantly being discovered, we hail the event.
The legendary spirit connected with many of these

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 47

old and p re-historic ruins, is interesting beyond de-
gree; and the subject so engrossing that we dare not
attempt a description in this present limited space.

The bridge over the Colorado looms in plain sight
to the inhabitants of both sides of the river, a lasting
monument of the indomitable pluck adextremum, of
the American people.

The completion of this bridge was associated with
some pleasing incidents on the night of September
29th. From the misunderstanding between civil and
military authorities before alluded to, orders were
issued to the military headquarters at Fort Yurna, not
to allow any of the Southern Pacific's rolling stock
whatever, to cross the Colorado River, and to stop the
construction of the bridge. Sentinels were placed
at the bridge to keep vigilance. Nobly did our
country's servant perform his duty until his
bed time came. Then all was "quiet on the "-
Colorado. Our sentinel slackened his martial tread,
and stooped to catch the slightest sound; and in the
stillness of the night, the yelp of a stealthy coyote, or
the screech of a hawk was his only reward, except
perhaps, the snore of the bridge-engineers, which in
this case must have been a little unnatural, as it was

48 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

feigned. Thinking that "all was well," our sentinel
thought to steal a little sleep. No sooner had he suc-
cumbed to his own alluring thoughts, than the same
surreptitious spirit to "steal" was evinced by the
sturdy engineers. In a moment, they were " to arms "
or rather to their tools ; stole a march, and in the
space of three short hours the last quarter of a mile
of track was laid, including a section of one of the

' O

most substantial bridges on the coast. Well did they
steal their march. And well, do we think, our sen-
tinel must have slept. The right of way to this Com-
pany for crossing the Colorado ended on the following
day, the 30th of September. On the 29th at eleven
o'clock at night, they ran the first steam cars over this
bridge from California into Arizona. Since then, it
has been authentically decided that they had the
right to do so, and the work of extending the road on
through Arizona is about to commence with the same
indomitable pluck characterizing the road to its pres-
ent terminus.

Distance often gives an erroneous interpretation, as
well as an enchantment. We think this is somewhat
the case with Yurna. Yuma is the new name for
Arizona City. It is not an Indian village; though

AN INDIAN BELLE OF THE YUMA INDIANS.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA 51

an Indian village exists contiguous to it, and a full
representation of the old Yuma tribes constitute an
equal half of its daily population. Blanketed and
half-nude Indians associate as intimately with the
"whites (what few there are here) as do the Mexicans
themselves.

The town itself, is strictly of Mexican origin, and
Favors of all the looseness and primitiveness charac-
teristic of the smaller, out-of-the-way towns in the
Republic of Mexico.

Standing on the promontory where the fort is lo-
cated on the California side, and looking over, and at
an angle of perhaps 20°, one sees a mass of one story
buildings, built of adobe, and roofed with mud, the
floors of which were originally the ground, but
which have been, by the more thrifty foreigners
of all classes recently arrived, replaced by board
ones. Some are whitewashed, and present a cleanly
appearance; while others are the embodiment of the
filth of the greaser. One or two genuine Span-
ish houses built in the quadrangular form with the
garden plot in the center, and two stones high with
a veranda, where flower-stands bedecked with flowers,
cheer this otherwise barren place. The town of Yuma

52 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

was first founded about 1855, and was then called
Colorado City. In 1858 it contained about half a
dozen houses, according to Ives' report on government
explorations. The name was then changed to Arizona
City, and afterwards to Yuma Cit}r, in honor of .the
government fort across the river. It now numbers
about two thousand people of all classes, including
Indians.

The hour of eight, every morning now, when the
train comes in, is an interesting one in Yuma. There
is then congregated, with eager eyes, Indians, Chinese,
Americans; Jew, Gentile, and Pagan. In fact, most
every nation and condition of men on the earth, one
might be inclined to say, is represented. The same
conglomeration, characteristic of all embiyo places of
the. West, is here seen. It seems to us that now wqulcj-
be. a. good time for the study of the Psychologist in,
Yuma, as it is interesting to the traveler.

At night the Indian huts and camp fires may be
seen glimmering around the city. As one approaches
these and sees, crouched together, a handful of half-
clothed, beggarly Indians, a, feeling of sadness steals
over him. .They will sit with stoic stillness and
stare at you with- an awe-stricken expression

c

INDIAN GROUP.

PICTURESQUE ARJZONA. 55

as if they knew that their hour for final. extermina-
tion was at hand. The fires perhaps, may be fading
into dying embers. Upon this you will look and
muse. For how typical, in its fading, is it of the very
race to which it has given warmth and life. You
count one, two, three, four, five remaining embers in
the heap. There are just five Indians in the group.
As quicklyas those embers, must these Indians fade
away under our civilization ; and we wonder, that if,
in our civilized state, were we truly so, this would be
the case.

CHAPTER IV.

THE ARRIVAL OF THE AZTEC MINING COMPANY — THE DENIZENS
OF YUMA— WE BREAK OUR FAST— THE EXCITEMENT OVER
OUR MULES— THE " YOSEMITE AND THOROUGH-BRED!"

ON the 5th of December, 1877, Col. Wm. G. Boyle,
President, and Col. J. D. Graham, Secretary of the
Aztec Mining Company, arrived at Yuma with the
following members of the company, and well known
capitalists of the East : Alexander Wilden, Esq., of
Philadelphia, Dr. H. R. Allen, of Indianapolis, founder
of the great National Surgical Institute of Indian-
apolis, Indiana ; J. K. Wallace and F. Steele of Phil-
adelphia ; Col. C. W. Tozerof San Francisco; and Col.
R II. Hm ton, of the Evening Post, San Francisco, who
was just completing his superb Hand Book to Ari-
zona. In addition to these were several subordinates,
such as our cook, two drivers and your humble ser-
vant. Yes! and there was another arrival not a little

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 57

important to the completion of the company, in the
shape of eight large stalwart Kentucky mules. If the
reader had been in Yuma, Arizona, at the time of the
arrival of these mules he would appreciate the value
of this last assertion ; for to the population of Yuma
this last acquisition was the all interesting one. In
these eight mules was more interest to the majority,
of the inhabitants of this hamlet community, than
any event since the arrival of the railroad in Septem-
ber. I venture to say that eight-tenths of the popu-
lation would have given more for one of these mules
than all the other things connected with our outfit,
including the members themselves. I must explain
here that this eight-tenths portion of the population
is composed of Indians and Mexicans ; and also that
a genuine animal of this kind had never yet trod the
virgin soil of Arizona, and considering the weakness
of the Indian, and the avarice of the Mexican to pos-
sess a fair specimen of the asinine creation, you will
not only comprehend the situation with them, but will
appreciate our situation in keeping a fatherly eye at
night on those particular mules. The excitement on
the arrival of our party was as rife as on the occasion of
the entrance of the first locomotive into the town. I

58 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

saw them both. Steaming across t e Colorado, on the
new bridge, which was yet a great object of interest to
the Indian and the crude Mexican, the people rushed
to the depot to see us. Indians hung to the sections
of the bridge, climbed on the cars, peeped in the win-
dows, crouched themselves on the steps and platforms
of the cars, and reminded one of monkeys in a " happy
family " cage of some museum, surreptitiously at work
under the ostentation of play, to find some fleeting
opportunity to take advantage of, or play some trick
upon their unsuspecting associates. And not only does
this subtle, stoic race, with his hanging breech-cloth
following after him in the wind, as he leaps from tie
to brace on the bridge, or hangs from his body as he
clings to a beam, in the performance of some favorite
gymnastic feat, look like the monkey; but as stealthily
will he play any cunning, or antics upon you at the
least opportunity. They will steal a blanket or a
horse with as much agility and shrewdness as a mon-
key will steal your hat.

Next to the Indian, the Mexican drew upon our
notice. With his large sombrero, and his serappa
thrown over his shoulder a la Italian, you have with-
in you all the sentiment of visiting and being in your

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 61

sister Republic — Mexico ; or of some hamlet in Spain.
By the way this class eyed our mules, we concluded
they were his particular attention. And by the way
we eyed our mules at night, you would have come to
the conclusion that he was our particular attention
also.

On the morning of the fifth of December then, the
long anticipated trip to the Santa Ritas commenced.
I had been on many an expedition; had traversed
many a mountain range; and had traveled many a so-
called desert of our West ; but somehow this occasion
had inspired me with a new zeal to analyze the coun-
try and its resources. I was up at day-break, as I
used to be on the memorable Fourth of July in my
boyhood. The first object that presented itself to me
on coming from my room was the indefatigable Col.
Graham kneeling on a roil of blankets forcing a strap
to its last hole, and puffing in the attempt. So intent
was he upon his important purpose to get each parcel
down to its lowest notch, that he hardly noticed me at
first, and when he did, it was with a careless "Oh!
Have you just got up ? " I tell you, this was heaping
coals of fire on my head ; for I had prided myself on
being a lark in all enterprises of travel where punc-

62 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

tuahfy or vigilance was a necessary requisite. The
next instant, turning hastily around, I stumbled against
Col. Boyle who, guarding the interests and pleasure
of his company, was also " up and doing ; " but whether
with a "heart for any fate," or a heart for & particular
fate is a question that Arizona herself will some day
answer in the progress her mining developments will
have made ; and it may be said here, that through the
earnest efforts of these two gentlemen, it seems to me
the mining interest at least, of Arizona will always
be identified.

Having brushed around and supplied ourselves, (in
addition to perhaps the most complete and extensive
commissary outfit that ever left Yuma) with such
tilings as extra ammunition, some cheap whiskey for
the Indians, some large brimmed hats a la sombrero
style, and some few gew-gaws and what-nots. Then,
at nine A.M. came the welcome summons to a sumptu-
ous repast gotten up by our host Mr. Levy. A huge
triangle rattled forth its notes of beefsteak and onions,
eggs, frejoles and flap-jacks, with a host of other
things of greater or less importance. Major Lord
from the Fort on the opposite side of the river, and our
facetious friend, George Tyng of the Yuma Sentinel

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. (55

were invited guests for the occasion. They were "on
time;" and it is useless to say, in this climate, with,
appetites as keen and bracing as the atmosphere itself.
At ten o'clock we were ready for a start. A con-
glomeration of individuals which suggested that this
place would one day be the leading cosmopolitan city
of the Union, had gathered around us with curious
stare. There were half naked Indians; Heathen
Chinese; primitive Mexicans; Turk, Swede, Italian,
German, Jew, Gentile and Pagan ; and a host of those
who were nothing at all — who embodied all the
characteristics of that class of people, so thoroughly
identified with Americo-Mexican towns, who have
nothing in view, have left nothing behind; who have
always lived as they are living now — "waiting for
something to turn up," or until they are turned down,
and harbored safely in their last resting place, where
neither mortal cares nor scriptural scares, would ever
trouble them more. Such was the scene that bid us
an adieu from Ytima, and which was only a fore-
runner of scores of similar ones that awaited us
throughout our journey. The Indians, on this occa-
sion however, had a double interest. They were the
Yumas, which are to-day, perhaps, one of the most

66 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

primitive of our nomadic tribes. Even further into
the interior of the State, civilized decorum seems to
be more in vogue. The men here were in the most
part nude ; having nothing on but a handkerchief,
known as the breech-cloth, tied about the loins.
While the women paid the same scant observance to
the ancient doctrine of the fig-leaf, by a little skirt
made of straw or calico, reaching half way down to
their knees from their waists. The scene was a
unique one to those of our party unaccustomed to the
primitive American race. But with faculties sensitive
to the force of education one soon becomes a careless
observer, and passes these scenes as one of the many
conditions it takes to make up a world. Such scenes
as these, however, are becoming more rare every day,
and Arizona is the last section of our country which
offers to the curious sight-seer the nearest approach
to the crude American Indian. Arizona in many in-
terests in fact is, what Col. Graham once said to rne
in regard to her mining resources, " It is the Ameri-
can's last chance" He said this with a twinkle in his
eye that put a heavy weight to his meaning, which I
proved to myself after, and which will be shown in
the course of our travels.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 6*7

Many scenes which are alike suggestive and inter-
esting will have shortly passed away under the rapid
stride of the railroad, of the miner's pick, and the far-
mer's plow and reaper.

One little incident before parting, suggestive of the
prospector and his life. Two young men who had
evidently got Arizona on the brain, bad, for their
good, were preparing for a prospecting trip through
the Territory. They were contracting fora jack (com-
monly known in this country as a buro) to be used
as a pack animal, to carry superfluous luggage. A
Spaniard had him for sale. He was drawn up before
the mart. He was "an unexceptional ass," the owner
said, and finally parted with him for sixteen pesos.
One of the young men handed the Spaniard the six-
teen dollars. As the Spaniard turned to leave, I
never saw a more affectionate parting between man
and beast in my life. The animal was about the size
of a very small Shetland pony, or that of a large, New
Foundland dog. His ears would flap back and lie on
his neck like a pair of oars. At his docile look to-
ward his parting owner, as the latter patted him on the
back an affectionate farewell, theie was a heart-soften-
ing in all observers. . The. poor jack turned to follow

68 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

his former master, and found he was tied. His eyes rolled
like two orbs on pivots, and reminded me of the agony
of a bull whose head had been drawn down to the
floor for the slayer's axe. He finally got his head
over the rope, and watched his master as far as lie
could and then he bowed his head in grief. He did
not rant and toss, and his sorrow seemed all the more
intense for its quiet submission. 0! this quier, unos-
tentatious grief! How it penetrates ! How it forces
out the human sympathies. Here on the frontier bor-
der of the desert, on the verge of the wild man's coun-
try ; away from friends and home, this scene was
strongly in keeping with its surroundings, and had its
effect upon us. It reminded me of the parting -of
many a son or a husband, on an uncertain pilgrimage
for foitune in our great West. Many a scalding tear
have I seen trickle down a wife's cheek as a husband
full of suppressed grief, would, like an Enoch Arden,
muster some word of cheer for that wife — some to
suffer a like fate, and some to give as great a cheer in
a subsequent return, as they had caused sorrow in
parting.

Finally a crack of .the whip, and the promiscuous
crowd around us signified, that we . were posi-

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA 69

lively off. Our coaches consisted of the two well-
known style of wagons " Thorough-Bred " and " Yo-
sernite." Each coach was mounted with an American
flag waving its stars and stripes to the breeze. Amid
a clatter of voices in the Mexican, Chiuese, Indian-
negro, and a mixing of tongues that suggested to me a
modern Babel, and a shout of good cheer we rattled off
over the sand bottom of the grand old Colorado River,
for the Santa Rita Mountains some four hundred miles
away. The undertaking was a ponderous one. The
eight mules had been purchased in, and brought all
the way from Kentucky to. San Francisco, and from
thence the mule?, wagons, ammunition, and stores had
been transported by the Southern Pacific Railroad to
Yuma, a distance of seven hundred miles more.

CHAPTER V.

ARIZONA, THE FUTURE COUNTRY OP THE STUDENT AND THE
HUSBANDMAN— THE FERTILE VALLEYS OF THE PLAIN—
THE UNIQUE BARRENESS OF THE DESERT— SUNDAY MORN-
ING AT EHRENBERG— THE MOJAVE INDIANS— THE MOUN-
TAIN PANORAMA SCENES

TO the ethnologist and the archeologist generally
no other beaten route offers more inducements
than our course to the Santa Rita Mountains ; and
certainly it has some of the most beautiful valleys and
mountain scenery in the territory, except the route
from Ehrenberg, on the Colorado River, to Prescott,
the capital, in the Sierra Prieta Mountains.

About two hundred miles from the river, going
directly east, you enter and pass through the land of
the Pimo Indian, two hundred and fifty miles brings
you to the old pre-historic ruins of the Casa Grande
at the time of the building of which, the mind of man,
as the legal investigator would say, "runs decidedly

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 73

to the contrary " ; which simply means that man don't
know anything about it. Three hundred and ten
miles brings you to the metropolis of Tucson (from
Too-son). Three hundred and sixty miles brings you
to the ruined city of Tubac, and to the old mission
ruins of Tumacacori, and about four hundred miles to
the famous Santa Rita Mountains and their wonderful
silver mines. Many of the famous Pedros Pintados
(painted rocks), such as are seen at the Moqui villages
in the north eastern part of the Territory, are to be
found on this route. These things we will describe
in turn.

As the traveler leaves the Colorado River going
east, he passes over the great Colorado basin. Some
misapprehensions, I find, exists in the minds of new
comers to Arizona, concerning this basin. They con-
flict it with what is generally known as the " Colorado
Desert." This is a mistake. In times gone by when
the vast section of Southern California and the eastern
part of Arizona was considered as one great and un-
known desert, the whole was indefinitely called the
"Colorado Desert." But it is not so now under
the more modern surveys and divisions. The " Colo-
rado Desert" lies wholly in California. The term

74 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

" Colorado Desert " is a proper name given in honor
of the great Colorado Kiver, it is true, which courses
very near to it. The term Colorado not being used
here as either a descriptive adjective nor an adverb of
place ; but simply a proper name given to it in honor
of the great and curious river which flows so near.
Indeed the Colorado has enough grand and curious
features of its own without claiming any from the
great desert which lies beyond it to the west. Then
we will dispense with the idea at the present of the
Colorado basin being a desert. It is true, that in its
general appearance it resembles that of a desert, but
personal observation and experiences on my part,
with proofs that have been brought to my notice,
shows that these basins of the rivers of Arizona are
very fertile and prolific. Like the famous Walla
Walla wheat districts in Washington Territory, which
a few years ago would not bring fifty cents to the
acre, but now are producing seventy bushels of wheat
to the acre and creating a clamor among those seek-
ing wheat-growing locations, so will be — yes are —
these basins of Arizona attracting the attention of the
enterprising and frugal husbandman. Deserts are not
always great §aharas, consisting of a large tract of level

A MO.TAVE INDIAN CHIEF AT EHRENBERG.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 77

sandy plains stretching their way across untold acres
and sections of land. In Arizona this is especially
illustrated. Those sections of Arizona truly desert,
are rocky stony mesas of which there are several in
the State ; but neither of the extent nor numbers
alloted to them. Some of the most potent of these
are to be found in the northwestern part of the Terri-
tory in Mojave County. However, as we have inti-
mated the region of the Colorado basin extending
for a distance of from fifty to seventy five miles east
of the river into Arizona, has nil the apparent barren-
ness of a desert. For miles and miles in many lati-
tudes, there is one unbroken level of a sandy surface
dotted here and there with an undergrowth of sage
brnsh, mesquite, palo-verde, and the indomitable
cacli. One important desert characteristic to be found
largely in Arizona, is the lack of water. In travel-
ing over the sections just alluded to, the traveler has
to resort to his canteen filled with water, for a day
or two's march. The stage coaches and freight trains
across the plains have to carry large hogsheads of
water for their animals. This is one of the many
things that increases the freight rates in this Territory.
In Arizona one has all the facilities for experiencing

78 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

a travel on a desert without going to Africa. The
monotony of some of these trips " across these des-
erts" is great, and yet they are interesting in their
very monotony, and under the well managed regu-
lations of some of the stage companies.

I remember a ride of this kind I had in the early
course of my travels, from Ehrenberg to Prescott the
capital. It was during the month of August, and
the thermometer stood about 115° Fahr. The morn-
ing was a bright one. The burning and brilliant sun,
seemed to cast a glaring halo around every thing.
The sand of the riverbank which crept up to the very
door sills of the houses, and then crept all around
them to the back door, was one burning strand. I
doubt whether I could have walked in my bare feet
upon it. It was Sunday, and the Indians about
town, having learned from the whites the custom of
attiring themselves in their better dress on that day,
were out in their fresh new pieces of calico; and with
tawdry feathers, or charms of beads around their
necks ; were strutting up and down th^ shores of the
river to my intense amusement. You will understand
when I use the word calico, it is not as we would
consider it an article of dress; but simply a piece of

MOJAVE INDIANS AT EHRENBERG TAKING THEIR SUNDAY WALK,

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 81

calico two or three yards long, thrown around the
shoulders like a shawl and allowed to come below
the hips — in some cases down to the knees. Should
the wind blow, or from any cause whatever, this arti-
cle of apparel showed any signs of becoming loosened
from the body, they would guard their person with it,
with all the grace, modesty and cunning of a belle.

Six horses to our coach and we pulled out of
Ehrenberg for Prescott. Each man filled his canteen
with water. Two large kegs were filled for the hor-
ses, and put in the boot. The whole of this day was
a desert ride. On the right of us was sand, on the.
left of us was sand ; to the front of us was sand and
behind us was sand. In the distance, and all around
us was the ever present indefatigable, persistent moun-
tain, ever the pleasing and interesting society of the
Arizona traveler. Up the river were the great
" Needles"

Almost immediately upon leaving the town we
struck a dry sandy bed, into which the wheels of our
coach buried themselves to twice the depth of the
fell. The day's journey throughout, was one contin-
uous level plain of similar substance save an occa-
sional relief of a fertile plateau.

82 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

The first great diversion of these trips is the peculiar
and interesting mountain ranges and groups that dot-
ting these plains in all directions, seem to hem you in
on every side The mountains of all this country are
peculiar in their formation, being broken up in clus-
ters or patches, and dotting the plains and valleys in
a most beautiful relief. They occupy such relation to
each other, or are so diffusely distributed that they
completely encircle you on all sides, and at all times,
arid at every compass. One will often travel hundreds
of miles and although passing seemingly beyond his
present encircled position with the mountain ranges,
he is as rapidly encircled by others. Ahead of him he
will see an opening or gap between two mountain
spires which would seemingly let him out upon some
almost endless plain. No sooner has he scarcely got
through these — nor when, nor how, he scarcely knows
— than he is as mysteriously encircled by another,
as fully diversified and interesting as the former.
You seem to' be constantly within some huge amphi-
theatre, or miniature world surrounded by all the gro-
tesque and wonderful upheavals of mountain forma-
tions. In front of you for instance, may now be seen
some spires or turrets finding their way into heaven.

MAP OF THE ANCIENT PROVINCE OF
TUSAYAN, ARIZONA.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 83

To the right, pinnacled peaks and boulders fret tlie
azure blue sky. To the left, domes and pyramids
rear their ponderous heads as if not to be moved even
by faith, and behind you to the west, truncated cones
and towers and spires ; and spires and towers and
cones pierce the golden horizon of a setting sun.

This tantalizes your powers of description. How
you get into these natural panoramas you never know.
As you ride along, some change of mountain view
ahead will take place as if by magic. It will fasten
itself upon your notice. Being prompted to look
around to find your bearing, when lo ! the whole pan-
orama has changed. Let you watch ever so closely,
you can never discern nor comprehend exactly how
you got away from your former scene of enchantment.
The mathematician can understand this, and explains
it by the deception of the lateral angle, in its vast field
\of extent over large and unaccustomed plains or areas.
Some of these mountains were one, five, eight, ten,
and even twenty miles away, but their lapping, relap-
ping, crossing and rounding each other, would produce
the effect described.

CHAPTER VI

GILA CITY— A FRONTIER HOTEL— TAKING THE CENSUS— CELESTIAL
PHENOMENA— MEDITATION— A SETTING SUN IN ARIZONA.

OUK course to the Santa Eita Mountains lay along
the Gila Valley Our start from Yuma not being
made until the sun was high in the heavens, only
twenty-two miles were made the first day, to Gila Cit}^.
Gila City ! The remnants of an ambition often revived,
and as often overthrown ; a living skeleton of a min-
er's hope and fancy, and the scene evidently, in days
gone by, of all the vicissitudes of a miner's and pros-
pector's life on the borders of our country. In 1861
the population of this city numbered about twelve
hundred persons. To-day it is composed of a stable
for the stage company's vehicles and animals, a corral
for sheep or stock, a square box-like building, built
of mud, one story high, and called the " Gila Hotel/*

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 85

and a kennel for the big ferocious dog who keeps sus-
picious-looking stragglers and Indians away. The
census of this city, taken while there was just — let me
see — the hotel keeper and his son — two, a man to at-
tend to the stage horses — one, an Indian squaw, boy
and papoose — three, three dogs — three. Making in
all nine living beings.

Attractive mountains profusely distributed on all
sides made an interesting back-ground, while between
them and the hotel (or city) scores of sand and gravel
hills from three to ten feet high, like humps on a
camel's back, gave to the scene an odd appearance.
In one of these little knolls, just opposite the hotel,
was a " dug-out," protected from the rains or scorch-
ing sunlight by a few cacti barks and frames, in which
dwelt a remnant of some roving band of Indians.

Nothing exciting disturbed the quiet of this place
at the time of our visit. Only .one man had been shot
the day before our arrival, and the perpetrator was
then off in the mountains looking for more gold heaps.
I said there was nothing stirring in town ; I had for-
gotten our own arrival. Imagine what a stir, to in-
crease a town to double its size at one time, would
produce. As we drew up in front of the hotel, the

86 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

dogs began to bark ; the Indians from across the way
crept out from their humble hut and cast their stoic
gaze upon us ; and the landlord greeted us with a
truly thankful smile. The dogs barked ; the Indians
laughed their chug-a-wa ; and the landlord smiled
three dollars worth at each one of the party. This is
what it costs the traveler to get supper, lodging and
breakfast in the land of theChemehuevis. This is the
first intimation I have made of the costs of traveling in
Arizona. Those who have ears to hear, let them hear,
and don't go to Arizona without first reckoning up
the costs; and those who have eyes to see, let them
not go it blind.

When the landlord, however, found that we were
an ambulance corps and commissary department com-
bined, his lower jaw dropped like the tail of a cat in
distress. I do not know whether he had or had
not paid for his last bill of goods from Yuma.

As we approached the city (by the way, it seems
like a cruel pollution of the English language to call
these squatting places, cities, but when you are " among
the Eomans you must do as the Eomans do " ) we
were struck with the peculiar immediate change in the
surrounding country. It was our first introduction to

AN INDIAN WARRIOR.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 89

the peculiar mountain and valley scenery of Arizona,
and I immediately cherished the idea that upon the
instance of the Trans-Continental Railroad through
the Territory, a new school for the artist will have
been ushered into a practical existence. I shall never
forget Gila. " Fair Gila ! on the "- — Gila River ; and
the particular impressions made upon me there are all
the more fastened upon my mind when I recollect my
subsequent travels through the Territory, and I say
here, that Arizona is the coming land of the artist, as
well as of the miner and farmer. Like Jacob we
pitched our tent to the rear of the town near the
)anks of the flowing Gila. The first entertainment in
this initiatory camping scene, was a chorus from fry-
ing pans, kettles, etc., etc., and the laughing and cant-
ings of our steadfast friends, the mules. Did you
ever hear a mule bray ? If not, you certainly want
to before you die. It is as essential, and fully as in-
teresting as seeing Mecca.

The table was spread — on the ground. Seats were
arranged — on the ground. Our table was the
ground, our table cloth was the ground ; our seats
were the ground. At night our bed was the ground
with a goodly supply of blankets. Of course, the

90 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

first thing was supper, and we will leave the reader
from his own imagination to supply his own puns,
suffer his own vicissitudes, crack his own jokes, etc.,
as may best accord with his own experience on such
occasions. Supper over, and chatting a la picnic we
were attracted by a peculiar light and brilliancy in the
heavens beyond the mountains, and lining the whole
horizon. Its brilliancy and extent would have sug-
gested the reflection of a world's conflagration ; but
the panoramic and kaleidoscopic effects, with the va-
riegated hues, put far from us in our wonder and ad-
miration, all thoughts of this, and suggested some
great celestial panorama. Hues and combinations of
colors most charming and new to the most of us, in
their arrangement, flitter and change at will. Clouds
of brilliant hues would roll gently along the moun-
tains, and in their course, would slowly and almost
imperceptibly change in color and outline. Every
one of our party sat spell-bound, until some enrap-
tured sense would cause them to whisper in a scarcely
audible sound, "What a rose tint! What a beauti-
ful crimson ! What a beautiful ! beautiful ! — beauti-
ful ! " — and then a deep sigh would end their effusions,
and they would settle back inUxa discontented mood

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 93

at being unable to analyze to themselves what they
saw. But in vain did we try to find any known color
to convey to the mind what the eye beheld.

These phenomena are frequent in this clime and
these latitudes, and are one of the many allurements
that will attract the tourist to the Territory It seems
to me that in Arizona you meet, in an extended and
more extensive form the sunsets of Southern Cali-
fornia, so wonderfully described by Bayard Taylor.
Italy, I think, can scarce excel them in beauty ; and
in the various phenomena of their lights, science still
finds a work to do in analyzing their causes.

Sunsets of a sublime character are frequent in this
land of heat, light and electricity. One seen in the
month of October I will give :

A dingy haze of crimson stretched from the horizon
and covering a third of the heaven's disc. So dense
was the mist that the outline of the Sun which was
just approaching the horizon could barely be traced;
and yet the light thrown over this third of the heavens
seemed as thongh the sun had dissolved, and distri-
buted its rays equally throughout. The heavens were
a complete glow from horizon to zenith, and was
rapidly changing in colors and densities. Here was

94 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

a deep scarlet patch flickering into a pale pink and
as rapidly fading away, and leaving an invisible blue
to intervene and play with other rapid transformations.
The whole gradually formed into a circular segment,
of a more uniform color, and darker, and paler. The
elements however, in their restlessness did not suffer
this long to remain. Flattering like a " ribbon in the
wind," the whole finally disintegrated itself into a
beautiful mass of fleeting, flickering, fretting mottled
patches. The sky was full of electricity. Quivering
masses of rose, violet, purple and blue, flittered across
the heaven's dome in all the choicest variegations.
I stopped and watched in silence. It was just such
scenes as this, thought I, that made the beasts of the
woods howl and whine at times, at Aurora's caprice.
Presently the element settled down its agitated spirit,
and the whole sky wore a pale mellow light — like a
blazoned background covered with a gauze — the heav-
ier blaze being dimly seen through it. This lasted but
a few minutes, when, at the horizon it rolled aside and
left, exposed to view, the Sun — first a ball of solid fire,
then a three-quarter ball, then a half and a quarter
ball, until "old Sol" finally dropped his head from
before our gaze, throwing his spears of light out after

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 95

him equal in beauty to any aurora borealis I ever saw.
We stopped still and watched it; as we turned away,
looked back upon it and finally left with a sigh.

To the atmosphere is due to a large extent these
many phenomena. We had not arisen from our sup-
per table. We were all seated on the ground. Dark-
ness stealing over us brought us to our senses and a
general rustle was made to clear the supper debris.

Supper cleared, (put your own interpretation on the
word " cleared ") and we all proceeded down to the
corral, a few rods from our camp, to get straw for a
comfortable bed. Each grabbed an arrnful of hay and
proceeded back to the scene of dirty frying pans, mu-
tilated biscuit, and broken cups of custard. We
spread our beds of straw and retired. Never did the
stars seem so bright to me, or to have such a signi-
ficance. Never was I in better humor, or felt more
vigorous. I commenced counting the stars, but like
every one else who ever attempted it, I stopped
in short metre. Then I commenced muttering over
to myself such phrases as these: u God's footstool for
rny bed, and his firmament for my canopy," u — but
the son of man hath not where to lay his head."
" The heavens declare thy glory, Lord." "A stone

96 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

for a pillow.'7 But all this was under that anomolous
condition that transforms unpleasant conditions into
present ones of pleasure. Do not think I was un-
happy for all my utterances, for I was the happiest, in
my present sphere. I was enjoying myself highly.
Perhaps it was the particular culinary conditions of
our outfit that offset all others. Our stomachs were
full. Yes, full ! For the Colonel would never let
any one go to bed hungry. Perhaps it was my stom-
ach that magnified the stars on this occasion.

This panorama was supplemented by a " grey of the
morning" peculiar to Arizona's light, and interesting.
The electric tints of gold and crimson that so grace-
fully bedecked the mountains the night before, had
changed to a peculiar deep greyish-blue; and in this
transformation had apparently brought each particular
peak or range from a glorious pinnacle of brilliant
light, down to the positive and austere condition of
something more substantial. The whole range seemed
to be transformed from a mission of Aurora to reflect
and charm the world broadcast, to a massive wall of
some creation's ampitheatre austerely hemming us in.
Thay seemed to have come down to half their height,
and to have encroached: to within half the . distance

PICTURESQUE \RIZONA, 99

toward us. The effect was weird and interesting.
It was a case of the peculiar and engaging deceptions
of atmospheric refraction peculiar to 'the land of the
cacti.

Such effects are constantly presenting themselves to
the traveler in Arizona, in all species of mirage and
looming. Col. Boyle, a member of the Geological So-
ciety of London, remarked in his enchantment at one
of these mirages, that " It is, in itself, worth a trip all
the way from London to see." Often, scenes, such as
those just alluded to will have a controlling effect
upon man and beast alike. Frequently, in the dead
of night or at a noon day's sun, when the heavens
blaze with a glaring light; or the near firmament,
with its billions of atornic lenses make a panorama of
of itself for the portraying of the world at large, the
wild beasts will suffer ihe most strange effects. Foxes
will leave their holes and howl a requiem mass to all
the nation's quadrupeds at once ; and the coyote will
follow in their wake with no less zeal. At night the
scene is often weird, and although the lamentations of
the brute creation will strike terror and discomfort to
the tender heart; even in these a suggestive interest
predominates. At night or day, phantasms, and illu-

100 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

sions are wrought with interest and admiration ; but
the mirage of Arizona is destined to be one of the lead-
ing features of the attraction to this lower country.

I will give a description of a mirage seen by me on
the Maricopa Desert in latitude. 33°, longitude 112°.

CHAPTEE VII

THE MIRAGE— A CITY NOT BUILT WITH HANDS — ONWARD FROM
GILA— THE SAGUARA— THE STURDY SENTINEL OP THE PLAIN
THE MESQUITE— THE PALO-VERDE— A DESERT RIFE WITH
GROWTH.

IT was just past noon. The nearest elevation was
the Montezuma Mountain, jutting up from the
level sandy plain which everywhere surrounded us,
To our left, over the endless sandy loam covered with
a stunted growth of grass weed, mesquite and cacti,
we looked out upon what seemed to be the ocean's deep
with a sandy beach. To the left down the shore was
"round tower" and a fortress extending out into the
sea. Above was a round turretted building, massive,
with ships anchored near it, and others approaching.
Between the two a line of ships, with silver sails
were coursing along the shore, while lower down
again, and off the great fort, came slowly up a ponder-

102 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

ous man-of-war with its broadsides to, flying the
American flag. Beyond, out on the mighty deep, rose
an island profusely decorated with houses, castles,
churches, whose spires lifted their lofty heads well
into the silver clouds that floated above, and the whole
capped by a huge white cloud. On the shore numer-
ous persons could be indistinctly seen gliding phantom-
like to and fro. This was the great picture painted
on this canvas of Nature's immense firmament by the
great Natun.il Painter.

Never had I witnessed such a system of looming.
Hardly had we feasted our soul's desire on this charm-
ing picture of nature, than nature despoiled our
dreamy gaze only to throw us into a renewed ecstacy
by a transformation. Castles were converted into
farm houses with orchards and meadowed lawns.
Ships were converted into palaces, and launched upon
some islands on the sea which had now changed into
a charming crystal lake, with borders of forest and
evergreen trees. Men were transformed into roaming
beasts, or lifted into the air by aid of soaring wings.
Phantom-like, ships would rise from the water's edge and
gracefully glide on some new sheet of water formed in
mid-air, or upon some floating sheets of ice, as if in

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA 105

Arctic explorations. Cities would float before you
in distant mid-air, in lofty grandeur ; and regiments
of soldiers, and palm tree's, and plants of distant climes,
and ancient castles and Indian huts; and lakes and
rivers aud mountains would dot here and there the
whole, making up this picture of super-human gran-
deur and beauty. You look upon the mist before you,
watching each transformation as eagerly as the boy at
his first panorama, until your imagination is unwit-
tingly taken possession of and you labor under the
phantasm that you are beholding a charming Fata-
morgan a on the straits of Messina in Italy: and like
that boy, you are for the time lost to all the outside
world. Then in an instant a thin gauze is dropped
over this phantom spectre, audit begins to fade gently,
until this panorama has faded into oblivion, and your
eye again stretches over the great plains of Arizona
until it is lost.

You spur your mules or asses on, take a sandwich
from the bottom of the wagon and then begin the con-
troversy concerning your opinions and delights of the
vision just passed, which is the chief topic the rest of
the day.

Onward east from the station Gila — we cannot call

106 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

it much else — and along the river of the same name,
one is attracted by the broad expanse of the valley ; and
subsequently when he investigates further into the in-
terests— into the fertility and characteristics of this great
arroya, he is amazed at his own credulity of its future
resources. The Gila valley resembles very much the
valley of the river Nile. Alex. H. Wilden, Esq.,
who was one of our party, a venerable gentleman and
an extensive traveler, nick-named it the American
Nile. The properties of its soil like those of the great
Columbia and Uinpqua Rivers of Oregon and Wash-
ington Territories, and the famous Sacramento River
of California, are fast becoming a leading consideration
for all those giving their attention to the coast. Here
is a valley which has been, for centuries back, as far
at least as the fourteenth century, when the Aztecs were
in their prime (and perhaps further, as but very few
evidences suggest that they cultivated it to any ex-
tent) that has been, I say, serving as a collossal recep-
tacle for a vast rich deposit of the decompositions of
the surrounding mountains, which has been carried
and swept into it by the rains and winds. Professor
Atkinson has accounted for the luxuriant growths of
the wonderful Walla Walla and Umpqua valleys, by

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA 107

certain mineral deposits from the mountains. He
says :—

" The volcanic overflows, traceable in the Cascade
mountains, that formed on cooling their basaltdykes
and cliffs, with their peculiar columnar crystallization,
added much to the soil. Immense quantities of vol-
canic ashes doubtless were blown by winds or carried
by streams into those ancient lakes, giving like valua-
ble deposits."

u These deposits " he continues further, "consist of
potash, soda, lime, magnesia, and phosphoric and sili-
cia acids." All of these constituents abound largely
in the Gila valley lands — the proportions varying with
the location.

We give below a table of analyzed mud taken from

the Colorado River :

Oxide of Manganese — trace Insoluble in Hydrochloric

Acid 78.100

Hydroscopic Water 3.270

Chemically bound Water, Soluble in Hydrochloric

4.cid 1. 140

Potassa , 103

Soda, with trace of Lithia 074

Lime 000

Carbonate of Lime 12.500

Magnesia 60

Oxide of Iron. ' 000

Alumina 2.260

Phosphoric Acid 146

Sulphuric Acid trace.

As you go east, the evidences of rich vegetable

108 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

properties show themselves in the prolific growth of
grasses abundant on every hand, and the nutrition of
those in the interior as you approach the mountain
ranges of the West, attest the richness of the soil.
The famous gramma grass which is abundant in the
interior, is a valuable pasture for cattle and sheep.
The bunch grasses, all of which are very nutritious,
that abound, are also evidences of fertile soil. Besides
these, there is a prolific growth of shrub or under trees.
The palo-verde is an evergreen and leafless tree, which
varies in height from a good-sized bush to a large
apple tree. It is described by a writer as a beautiful
tree ; I should rather term it an interesting one. Be-
ing odd and curious it attracts one's attention until
in its strange contrast one is apt to call it beautiful.
Criss-crossing each other at irregular angles, the
branches of these trees, straight or slightly curved,
form a curious network. They resemble somewhat
the willow stalk shorn of all its leaves. Not a leaf of
any kind adorns this gracefully rigid tree. Where the
leaves should be, is the same barren stem .or stalk jut-
ting out from the petiole or branch, a fac-sirnile of the
petiole itself: in short, a tree in which the stem (or
trunk), the branch, the petiole and the leaf, are all

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 109

fac-simile productions of one and the same thing, de-
creasing in size until the leaf is simply a perfect sem-
blance of a huge thorn, or as though the mid-rib of
the leaf had been pushed out — nature forgetting to
supply it with its veins and flesh. The whole struc-
ture is a curious and interesting study in itself.

These peculiar growths of the deserts of Arizona
are one of the leading features of interest to the trav-
eler. The innumerable cacti, the palo-verde, the deer
bush, a squad of branches shooting up from a common
centre and resembling somewhat, high deer horns ;
and the famous and productive mesquite tree cover
the desert. Of the innumerable cacti, we will simply
refer to the one great species confronting you every-
where in this great cacti Territory — the Saguara.
These specimens will often grow a straight, upright
stalk to the height of fifty feet ; a stiff mass of green
pulp and frame work, with a most beautiful system of
net work resembling crocheting with spangled stars,
and with prongs and coloring matter running through
the whole length of the structure. As a support to
these immense giant structures against the storms and
hurricanes of the desert, nature has furnished a frame
of immense strength, consisting of series of stalks of

1 1 0 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

hard wood running from the root to the top form-
ing a perpendicular cylinder in its course. In
the hollow of this cylinder there is contained a vast
quantity of milky substance, upon the principle of the
milk of the cocoanut, often amounting to many gal-
lons. This has often served as a life-preserving ele-
ment to the traveler over these deserts. Many a
pioneer's life has been saved by these "useless
growths " as some have been wont to call the cacti.
Besides this, the "wood of the frame being strong and
tough, has often served too, to furnish material for the
building of many a miner's or ranchman's house. The
strips of wood resemble, very much hickory and oak
and I have seen whole towns in Arizona, where the
roof, sides and partitions of the house were built of
this material, provided there was not more than one
house in the town, and the occupants did not expect
to stay more than six months or a year. (People must
get an idea of what the word "town " means in Ari-
zona.) What we would convey is, fhatthis material is
very useful in building temporary abodes ; and in the
absence of the larger timber, as is almost the universal
rule in Arizona. The Saguara is another species of the
cacti family, which contradicts the too often applied

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 113

epitliet of u uselessness," and is verifying the more
rational proverb that "there is good in all things."
In relation to this we might pertinently refer to the
cacti of the great Mojave desert in California, properly
known as the Tucca Palm, Here is a strip of land
averaging in the aggregate three hundred by four hun-
dred miles each way, in length lying obliquely south-
east and northwest. The main area is profusely cov-
ered with the Tucca Palm. For miles and miles, and
for hours, the train rushes through this orchard of
cacti ; and to all appearances, it is the very embodi-
ment of an orchard laid out upon a large scale (each
tree averaging about the size of a peach tree) except
than being laid out in rows they are scattered promis-
cuously over the land ; but at such regular distances
from each other that the whole forms a pleasing sym-
metry. The tree is a unique, interesting structure.
It is composed of a trunk averaging a half to three
quarters of a foot in diameter with only a limited
number of heavy stalky branches j utting from or near
the top, and on the end of which protrudes a huge,
round ball (or oblong speroid) gracefully beset with
porcupine-like thorns. For years and years, and for
aught we know for centuries, this product has faced

114 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA,

the hurricanes, tornadoes, sand storms, and drouths of
the desert, stretching their sway over an area greater
than the States of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massa-
chusetts, Connecticut and Khode Island combined,
and baffling the enterprise of men of science to use
them, until within the past few years, since when, a
company has been formed for the purpose of convert-
ing the Tucca Palm into paper. It produces a fine
quality of paper in almost every grade; is found to be
suitable for any purpose, and is consequently finding
a ready market. One enterprising house in San Fran-
cisco, contracted, (after testing specimens, and but a
short time after the establishing of the company) for
all the company could make ; and we learn now that
several newspapers in San Francisco are being printed
upon it. Thus we see, there is " good in all things ; "
and we will concede that the great army of Saguara
that have been for ages — perhaps since the world was
created — holding sovereign sway over the deserts of
the Territory, will at some time serve a more hospita-
ble and genial misson to man than is now accredited
to it.

So our travels through this land of the cacti is, as
every one's must be, essentially through deserts, until

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 115

the industry and civilization of man turn mountains
into rnole-hills, and heaps of sand into the river, to get
at the valuable (not filthy) lucre that lives in its very
bowels.

CHAPTER VIII.

A DESERT WHICH IS NOT ALL DESERT— FROM DOS PALMS TO PRES-
COTT — SENSATIONS ON THE DESERT — .\ SOUTHERN MOON
— SAND-STORMS— A CITY OP THE DESERT— BREATHING AIR
— SILVER THREADS AND GOLDEN NUGGETS.

term " desert" is a misnomer, we are com-
A pelled to believe, even in this early stage of the
Territory's history. As widely significant as this
word may be applied, we seem to be drawing too
liberally upon its application.

With the name "desert" has always been associated
visions of the most weird nature.

Right here, the article headed " A defence of the
desert" which appeared in the Yuma Sentinel of April
6th, 1878, and which so graphically describes, and so
thoroughly comprehends the leading features of the
deserts (so called) of both Arizona and California, we
give below :

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 117

It has become a custom to look upon the desert,
lying between the Colorado River and the Coast
Mountains of California, as upon an abomination of
desolation — utterly without value, void of beauty, and
incapable of supporting any kind of life. This im-
pression was heightened in the mind of the former
traveler to Arizona, by the birds- eye view of the des-
ert afforded him from the mountains at its western
edge ; the clear atmosphere increases the range of vis-
ion ; altitude and distance absorb detail and blend
color, till the desert appears a silent, lifeless monotone
of russet gray. He braced himself up to repel the awe
with which this view invariably inspired him ; tradi-
tions of the Sahara, of caravans dying of thirst or
buried by sand-storms, and a sense of danger, closed
his mind to all appreciations of the desert's peculiar
beauties, or observation of its value to man. He
hailed with glad relief the green willows of the Colo-
rado, and on his return to civilization, added his testi-
mony to other travelers' tales about the horrors of the
desert. The modern traveler crosses it by rail, he
strikes it after dark, turns into a sleeping car, gets an
early breakfast at Yuma — and he too adds to the
jstories of the desert perils. Men have died on this

118 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

desert, of thirst and heat; but so do they die in New
York State of hunger and cold. The man without
water dies as surely in a sand-drift, as he without food
does in drifts of snow. The latter make a blinding,
leafless, lifeless, monotonous desert of white, by far
more fatal to man than is San Diego's desert of sand,
with its varying tints and invigorating air.

The perfect health of station-keepers, railroad men
and other inhabitants of the desert, amply proves its
climatic suitability to man's residence. To carry mails
and passengers, it became necessary to dig wells at
proper intervals along the stage road; palatable water
was found at depths varying from twenty to sixty feet.
The railroad company has bored artesian wells and was
rewarded by a copious flow of water.

Agriculture has been tried, notably at Toros ; fine
crops of grain, vegetables, fruits and alfalfa have re-
paid the application of water and labor to the soil of
the desert. There are stretches of shifting sand-dunes
apparently as worthless and extensive, as were those
around San Francisco; these may never be reclaimed
— nor will those to the northwest of Guadalupe, in
Santa Barbara County. There are great plains, called
"playas," of a deep, unctuous, black soil, as heavy and

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 119

rich as the adobe lands around Stockton. Every one
who has traversed them after the rain, will recollect the
masses of mud that clung to his wheels. Where irri-
gation is not possible, the date-palm, the paper-fibre-
yucca and other desert-loving plants will reward manls
enterprise. Growing of dates here is yet an untried
experiment, whose success is predicated upon results
obtained on the deserts of Asia and Africa. The
manufacture of paper-stock from yucca is an estab-
lished industry, employing many men and consider-
ble machinery. Over sixteen hundred square miles of
this area lie below the level of the Colorado River,
and can be irrigated from its waters. Most of its soil
is alluvial and enriched with shells and other products
of the sea that once stormed above it. These shells
are seen in the greatest profusion by the most superfi-
cial observer ; the scientist has classified them in great
variety.

Just as not all of the desert is a waste of sand, so is
not all of it fit for agriculture. Rocks and mountains
here assert themselves in about the same proportion
that they do in other countries. But these are far
from valueless ; this fact is being daily demonstrated
as men begin to realize that the desert offers some-

120 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

thing worth looking for. Quartz-rnills and smelting
furnaces have already been erected on the desert
mines of Ivanpah, Resting Springs and elsewhere on
its western edge. Silver, lead and copper occur there
in ores rich enough to excite the wonder of miners.
Asbestos of remarkably long fibre is found near the
San Gorgon io Pass. Gold occurs on its eastern edge
in quantities great enough to have caused the cele-
brated Colorado River excitement of 1861 ; and mines
of it are still worked at Chimney Peak and Carga
Muchacho. Lead, silver and copper also occur as
abundantly on this side, as on the western side of the
desert. These facts give credibility to reports of rich
discoveries in mid-desert, made by prospectors too
poor to develop mines at a distance from natural
waters. Immense deposits of pure salt have been dis-
covered by railroad surveyors and other explorers.
The railroad company is now endeavoring to build up
a trade in supplying salt to the Arizona silver-mills.
The northern arm of this desert furnishes beds of
borax so large that the markets of the world are
glutted with it; so large that their produce reduced
the price from fifty cents per pound to eight and twelve
in u few years, Borax occurs in quantity in the

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 121

vicinity of Seven Wells and other points nearer Yurna,
whence beautiful crystals of it have been obtained.
Gypsum is a common product of the desert, widely
diffused; flakes of selenite are found in nearly all the
canons coming in from the West, while great masses
of this lovely mineral are found at many points.
Pumice-stone of excellent quality is found on the rail-
road and in many other places ; thousands of tons of
it lie piled in masses; the engineers are now using it
for polishing their locomotives. Sulphur is found in
banks rivaling those of northern California in size and
purity. All Yuma remembers the beautiful speci-
mens of it that Dan Connor used to bring in. The
southern arm of the desert, running down into Sonora,
has beds of soda from which vessels were loaded, on
their return trips from Guaymas to Europe; similar
beds are found in other portions of it. Thermal
springs, sulphur and chalybeate, occur in many parts,
as do those of warm, bubbling, medicated mud ; the
Indians well know their healing properties in all forms
of rheumatism, and of skin and venereal diseases.
Potter's clay is abundant enough ; while decomposi-
tion of feldspathic rocks has given the desert beds of
kaolin, extensive enough to rival those of Dresden or

122 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

Sevres. But we must have recounted enough of the
desert's resources, to satisfy the average reader that it
is far from being utterly valueless.

The desert has features of beauty — God lias made
nothing without them. At daylight, refraction lifts
and distorts the horizon in changing and pleasing
forms; later it delights the fancy with mirages of
scenery more beautiful than this world has ever real-
ized; twilight bathes all in cheerful tints that distance
blends to a soft purple, never to be forgotten. Dis-
tant mountains cut the pure air with sharp outlines
that add much to the scenic effect. The sun rises on
a cloudless sky in a flood of rosy light; it sinks in
golden glory. Every rain brings forth galleta and
other grasses to show that the desert is not an ab-
solute barren ; spring adorns it with flowers of deli-
cate beauty and of remarkable fragrance. Our " azu-
cena" is only the original, uncultivated tuberose, and
many more of these desert flowers will yet be de-
veloped into choice exotics for eastern hot-houses.
The lover of nature will be pleased with the variet)
and novelty of desert Flora; the utilitarian will be
surprised to learn their many uses.

The desert is not a solitude; life abounds in it;

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 123

beast, birds, reptiles and insects occur in quantity sur-
prising to one who knows the scarcity of surface
water. Rabbits, hares and coyotes seem to be the
largest animals, but chipmonks, gophers and moles
appear to be most abundant ; the ground is honey-
corned with their homes. All of them are found, as
far as twenty, or more miles from any known water.
In other parts of California, the presence of quails in-
dicates proximity of water; this is not so on the des-
ert, where large flocks are found very far from water.
The buzzing of honey-gathering flies or bees, lulls to
sleep him who reposes under the palo-verde or iron-
wood. Mocking-birds and other songsters enliven the
vicinity of water, and ruby-throated humming-birds
suck its flowers. Most of these desert denizens are of
nocturnal habits ; the hot sun drives them to shade by
day. Ravens and crows seem to live on lizards, which
in turn live on flies and ants that are abroad only by
daylight. But on moonlight nights the others turn
out in vast numbers. Reptiles are numerous, but we
have never heard of any one being hurt by them. A
tortoise is common here, which grows among rocks
and sand to a weight of twenty-five pounds, and is
eaten by some Indians.

124 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

The winter climate of the desert is good; the ther-
mometer rarely falls to 40° and rarely reaches 80°.
The air is pure and dry as that of high mountains,
while its low elevation (in some parts below sea-level)
makes it less rarified — it has more oxygen to the same
bulk, and no gasping is caused to the invalid with
half a lung. In summer the heat is high, but dry and
not oppressive ; rapid evaporation keeps the skin cool.
Perspiration is constant; this benefits invalids in
whom unimpeded functions of the skin may relieve
diseases of kidneys or lungs.

A man who has lived out on the desert is always
glad to go back, if he can be assured of comfort and
company. Its charms are indescribable, but most
men succumb to them as soon as they get off their
guard against imaginary dangers.

I shall never forget rny experience on going over a
portion of this very desert described, of Mojave in
Arizona, on my way from Dos Palms in California, to
Prescott the capital of Arizona. It was a matter of
three days' and three nights' ride. I remember with
what visions I took my seat beside the driver on top
the overland stage coach. I think in the few minutes
that ehipsed between my taking my seat and the shout

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 125

of the driver " nil aboard," all the agonizing tales of
starvation and thirst, of sun-stroke, and suffocation
from sand storms, of desolation and suffering that had
ever come to me from the Sahara, filled my brain with
an anxiety of the deepest interest. It was midnight
of a bright, moonlight night, and as the stage rolled
off, the pleasing jolt I thought, knocked all unpleas-
ant anticipations out of me. The rarity of the atmos-
phere, which is proverbial with these deserts of our
South, brought the distant mountains many miles
awny, so near that one would fancy he could reach
them in an hour; while those hundreds of miles
away, could be seen distinctly with the naked eye.
The lurid glare of the southern Moon added something
to this charming feature. I commenced counting the
stars and comparing the different outlines of the
mountains, while the turbulent grating of the wheels
in the sand began to be a music to the already ecstatic
condition of my nerves. Occasionally the low whin-
ing howl of the coyote would relieve the quiet, and
a breeze would gently play with the sand, which was
a pleasant substitute in sound for the gentle "whispers
through the trees." Although a " caravan over the
dreary desert," my time had been so interestingly

126 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

spent that I was amazed when the silver grey, streak-
ing the outline of the mountains behind us, betokened
the approach of the morning ; and subsequently, when
at 10 o'clock we reached the station for breakfast, the
whole thing had began to savor strongly of a picnic
to me — located as the station was, between several lone
mountain peaks, grown right up out of the level sandy
mesa, and sternly lifting themselves to hundreds of
feet in height. 'These lone peaks and mounts which
everywhere throw themselves up out of the plains of
the southwest, are a feature of leading interest to the
traveler. Like brilliant croppings of a sterile mind
they redeem their grosser surroundings,, and by
their pleasing contrasts, the whole is leavened and
the glory of the Maker is verified in the very thing we
dubbed as useless; and the "good in all things,"
again proved.

'The name of the station was Canyon Springs. It
was a good initiation to travel. I cannot do better
justice to the imagination of man than to simply give
him figures and allow him to draw his own conclu-
sions. The population of the place consisted of three ;
dogs — one, donkeys — one, men — one. The man he
fed us. The dog he barked for us, and the donkey he

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA 127

looked at us. The thermometer stood 120° Fahr.
For breakfast we had ham, potatoes, coffee without
mlik or sugar, and bread without butter. Price one dol.
lar. This is a desert hotel ; and it was better than those
often encountered — worse than some few. Seated on
a plank board laid across two home-made "horses,"
with a table composed of the same elements, we broke
our fast, relished it, and did not begrudge the man his
dollar. Milk and butter are very scarce on the des-
erts— in many cases not to be had at all. We had
come fifteen miles since our departure from Dos
Palms at two in the morning. Our appetites were
good ; and the refreshment received from the meal,
the reader will not be able to comprehend nor appre-
ciate except he has not only ridden across the plains
in a stage coach, but actually done so in Southern
California or Arizona. The translucent atmosphere
and the mineral properties of the climate which, on
this occasion seemed to excel any ever previously
experienced by rne, are characteristic only of this or
like locations. The alkalies, mixed with the pungent
odors which the wild shrubs and flowers sent out,
acted alike as powerful invigorators and narcotics. I
have ridden over some of these desert — so called — lo-

128 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

cations when each inhalation seemed to give a special
vigor. It would seem that you were breathing a sub-
stance rather than air. There is nothing sluggish in
it ; but a clear, buoyant, pungent element of vigor
and strength.

Eefreshed, and full of the California vim, the trav-
eler looks at the surrounding mountains and craves to
pull them down and extract the precious lucre con-
tained within their folds. He sees in his mind's eye, the
shining nugget or the brilliant threads of silver, and
listens to a fellow traveler narrate the golden stories
of his success in prospecting, or of some thrilling inci-
dent of mountain life with the Indians, or hair breadth
escape, or of his misfortune; while the coach wheels
right here are plodding through six or eight inches of
heavy sand, and causing a noise resembling very much
a steamboat blowing off its steam.

It was on this very trip that I had the wonderful
fairy -like story of the great " Stonewall Jackson "
silver mine told to me. And it continued to seem like
a tale of golden fleece until under subsequent and
very thrilling circumstances, I actually came in con-
tact with the original discoverer and owner of it, Cap-
tain Chas. McMillen, after whom one of the richest

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 129

mining districts in the world is named. This is the
McMillen Mining District of Arizona. Of both these
districts and a detailed history of its discovery by the
great prospector McMillen, an account will be given
in a separate chapter.

On the following morning, October 7th, 1877, we
reached and crossed the Colorado at early morn, amid
a halo of a semi-tropical sun. It was my first intro-
duction to Arizona. The occasion will never be for-
gotton by me, and to me Arizona to-day has a pecu-
liar charm. First impressions are the strongest they
say.

CHAPTEK IX.

MINING CAPITAL IN ARIZONA— THE " MCCRACKEN "— THE "HAN-
NIBAL"— THE "STONEWALL JACKSON" — THE GREAT PROS-
PECTORS, MCMILLEN AND FLOURNOY— " DEAD BROKE"—
CINNABAR, COPPER, AND TIN — ARIZONA ! WHY SO LONG
LAIN MUTE?

UP to January 1st 1874, American mining capital
in Arizona had never even paid expenses. Bear-
ing this in mind, the traveler is struck by the marvel
in the last four years. During this time there has
been many mines opened, and some of them paying
large dividends. Bearing in mind these facts, it was a
a matter of some surprise to me when coming down
the Colorado on one of the Col. Eiver Navigation Go's
boats, to find fourteen bars of silver bullion, repre-
senting in the aggregate a value of about twenty '
thousand dollars. This was from the McCracken
mine in Mojave county. My surprise gave way to
satisfaction, when I learned from Mr. Burke, the pur-
ser, that this was getting to be "quite a common
occurrence along the river now," and I then con-
cluded, as I had before surmised, that there was yet

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 131

a land where the old spirit of '49 might find a new
vent. The ambitious have now a chance to revive
the old spirit of early California without doubt. They
have an opportunity of vindicating their pluck now,
and their fortunes too, in this land of the Apaches.

What an advent is there already in the history of
Arizona. An advent too, I must say, without much
of the vicissitudes of transition. A writer on Arizona
four years ago, in noticing the primitive and unsatis-
factory way mining was carried on there by the Mexi-
cans, thought that a change could not be accomplished
without serious results. I must say my observation
in Arizona was, that this is the most peaceable tran-
sition I ever witnessed. And Arizona now affords,
to the followers of '49, an acquisition of all their
cherished hopes over again, without the attending
vicissitudes and hardships of that period.

After having crossed the Colorado Eiver at Ehren-
berg, and going east, information comes to you thick
and fast of the future prospects of this section, and of
the very flattering one of the region round about Pres
cott. You hear of the u McCracken " mine which now,
and in a space of only two years, has a fifty stamp mill
on the grounds, extensive tunnels, with shafts down

132 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

fifty to seventy five feet, and producing one hundred
thousand dollars per month. Leaving the McCrncken
mine and the Hope district to the northwest, you are
approaching the Hassayampa district near Prescott,
where it is said genuine black metal is reached at a
depth of seven feet. This region of rich silver de-
posit near Prescott, is the second in the vast mineral
belt extending from the extreme southeast corner, to
the northwest corner of the Territory. Some distance
before reaching Prescott, you pass the abandoned
works of the famous Vulture mines, in which aban-
donment, is again re-echoed the too often repeated
story of the attacks and murders by the Indians.
This is the story with all like cases of abandonment of
mines in the Territory, and they abound on every
hand. The country is full of them, and invariably
the Indians are the cause.

The mines themselves never give out, it is said — a
peculiar feature of the mines in Arizona and the south-
west. This remark would seem to be substantiated
in an opinion once given by Professor Ehrenberg, that
there was a continuous range of gold bearing rock
from the Vulture mine to a point ten miles north of

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 133

Prescott, embracing an area of at least one thousand
square miles.

We are now in the region too, which promises to
turn out its vast quantities of cinnabar ; and also in a
region where the old pastimes of picking up nug-
gets, threatens to draw those less willing to work or
dig. To the southeast again, along this same con-
tinued belt of rich mineral, over the Mazab}^al range,
you enter the "Globe" and " Pioneer" districts, to de-
termine the richer of which, would puzzle the most
careful and stoic calculator. In this district is the fa-
mous " Stonewell Jackson " discovered by the great
prospector McMillen. The history of this- mine is
well known, and is being perpetuated in the minds
and memories of men as one of the leading events in
the history of mines in the Territory. The mine was
discovered in 1874, and shortly after the discoverer
sold it for one hundred and twenty thousand dollars.
No sooner hnd he sold it, than word reached his ears
that the parties who purchased it would have given
him two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, had it
been necessary to obtain it ; and also, that others be-
hind them again stood ready to give three hundred
thousand dollars, rather than not obtain it A shaft

134 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

in these mines, down only ninety feet gave ore run-
ning as high as twenty four thousand dollars to the
ton in '76. It is said that since the purchase, the
mine has been estimated to be worth eight millions
of dollars.

At such events as these, having cast off diamonds,
supposing them to be simply brilliant pebbles, many a
man with a less courageous heart and a less liberal
mind would have sunk under what they would have
misconstrued as a reversion. But with the sturdy
heart and the rapier judgment of a pioneer, it was not
so with McMillen. He had "greater tilings in view "
as he told me, when I afterwards made his acquain-
tance, and was talking with him on the subject of his
mines and prospects in Arizona. Said McMillen to
me in his quaint way, but more practicable philosophy,
"You see, Mr. Conklin, a thing in my estimation, has
no real — no intrinsic value. It has only a com-
parative one, and is governed entirely by the relative
value of the things surrounding, or immediately asso-
ciated with it. Well ! but, by the way, don't you

think so, my friend?" inquired this determined min-
er interrupting himself.

I saw at once the sharp, practical ability of this

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 137

mountaineer, and felt, as has often been my wont to
feel when in contact with some of the brilliant minds
of our frontiersmen, that there was a comprehension
of facts there that I myself might profit by ; and in
my anxiety to grasp and retain the full meaning and
force that lit up his penetrating eye as he finished, I
simply said : —

a Yes, I think so." I was waiting: for some brilliant
exposition of this man's experience, which I had so
often got from the pioneers of our frontier country.

" Well ! You see," continued he, "I had been rov-
ing about this country and in these mountains ever
since '55, when I struck this little affair up here that
we are talking about. I had put my foot on several
others and Tin keeping it there for a while " added he,
with a twinkle in his eye, u I had put my foot on
some others I say, and better ones. But I thought
this little one would do to raise some money on to
work the rest. You see I was broke — dead broke.
Couldn't get trusted for an onion or a slice of bacon ;
had to wash the only shirt I had to my name, and had,
to sit under a bush in the shade while the shirt was
drying on top in the sun. I wanted money to devel-
op and open up rny other mines; and I would have

138 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

taken — (here McMillen's hand came down on his knee
with a powerful thump) I would have taken half the
amount I got, if I couldn't have got what I did.
although I knew the mine itself was worth more."

The whole course of operation and the politic man-
ner and means of securing the success of such opera-
tions, showed itself to me at once. I had now become
interested in both the mines and the -miner.

" I suppose then, you are now opening up some of
your new mines," said I.

"Well, that depends upon what you call l opening
up/ We are just sending down fifty thousand dollars
worth of machinery to commence on — my partner,
Mr. Flournoy and myself. We are now at work on
the ' Hannibal/* This is an extension of the ' Stone-
wall Jackson ' lode, and we expect to show the Stone-
wall people that — well! that they might have got
more for their money, if the Stonewall had extended
along over the Hannibal."

" But how many mines have you discovered in
all? " inquired I.

"Let me see " said he thoughtfully. u There, is the
1 Stonewall Jackson / the 'Florence/ the ' Alenaden '

* The " Hannibal'* is now one of the richest mines in Arizona.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 141

the ' Little Mac,' the 'Lee,' the ' 220' and, last but not
least, the 'Hannibal.' Oh! Yes, there is another
one, the ( First N. E. Extension to the Hannibal' —
eight in all. There are a few others, but I don't re-
call them at present."

The perseverance, indomitable pluck and persis-
tency of these two men, are fair types of what Arizona
wants for her development; and in both their faces
may be detected force of character, and that power of
will that can " remove mountains," as well as the gold
and silver that is in them. Mr. FJournoy is a native
of Georgia and is a man whose popularity in Arizona
is making him a fast and sure exponent of the devel-
opment of that Territory. His sterling integrity has
become proverbial. With Mr. McMilk-n's indefatiga-
ble ability as an original and successful prospector,
and Mr. Flournoy's qualifications for disciplining and
working a mine, a complete success is insured.

Southeast again, into the Santa Kitas, and the Oro
Blanco, districts we strike the " last but not least " of
the mines of this great natural metalliferous belt, which
lies within the boundary of Arizona. We say "last
out not j.east," and support our claim with substantial
evidence ; for in a continuous course of these rnoun-

142 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

tains over the boundary line, and into Sonora, you
have what is, and has long been known as the greatest
silver bearing country on the North American Conti-
nent. In this section, a little to the east of the Santa
Cruz valley, is the famous placer mines, long known
to exist, in and around the Baboguivari Mountains.
These stories are brought to us with the name of Col.
J. D. Graham, another of Arizona's matchless pioneers
and prospectors. Colonel Graham was one of the first
explorers and discoverers of this wild and rugged re-
gion, and knows this country aby the inch," as a
traveling companion once remarked to me, and as
subsequent facts concerning the developments, in the
whole southwest given in another chapter, will fully
demonstrate. It is said that this bold and daring pio-
neer, when only twenty-two years of age, traveled on
horse-back from the interior of Mexico to Arizona
and California on special missions of trust. I will
refer to the results of this man's accomplishments in
a separate chapter devoted to Jie opening up and
wonderful developments of the southwest and its
mines. The progress Arizona has made within the
past few years, may be realized to some extent, by the
fact that in 1877, she yielded up over four millions of

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 143

dollars in gold and silver. As a substantial defense
for Arizona and her mines, the American Cyclopedia
comes forth and says : —

" No one of. the mineral bearing Territories of the
Pacific slope is richer than Arizona, though the mines
have not been generally worked."

Like stories, we have said confront the traveler on
every hand in Arizona ; and the most of them are sub-
stantiated upon better acquaintance. Not only in re-
lation to gold and silver are they confined ; but minerals
of most all known usefulness are being discovered.
Many such cases lie dormant for means of transporta-
tion. With the introduction of the steam car and rail,
a great " blockade" will be raised, and Arizona will
flood the world with its riches. Our " Emma" mines
will never rise to the surface again, and our " Crown
Points" and a Consolidated Virginias" will sink much
below. Even now it is a noted fact that mines which
would receive much attention further north, are al-
lowed to lie undisturbed here. Copper enough exists
in the mountain in the eastern part of the Territory,
to cause one man alone to say that if he had railroad
facilities, he would employ one thousand men in his
mine. This is in. the southeastern part of Yavapai

144 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

County. In another section evidences of tin are re-
ported. Tin lias never been discovered within the
limits of the United States ; but it is of such importance
that the government has offered a large reward to the
discoverer of it. The probabilities for Arizona being
the favored field are not without good foundation.
South, in Sonora County, Mexico, tin has already been
discovered in good paying quantities, bnt? like many
good mineral products in this vastly rich location,
they are allowed to lie dormant for want of sufficient
energy in the people, or protection from their govern-
ment, to work them. The species here found consists
of both nugget and stream tin. I have several speci-
mens of both of these, presented rne by the Geologist,
Prof. Cummings Cherry, of Chicago, who has always
been largely interested in, and an enthusiast over the
richness of this whole section. Now ! Sonora County,
Mexico, borders on Arizona ; and this explains why
we can, with considerable reason, hope that Arizona
will give our country this long-coveted possesion.

These are the incentives — these are the allurers —
these are the encouraging influences that take men
from their homes and make them dare their happiness,
their homes, their lives, their all, and too often for the

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 145

after good of others. But so it is. So, does nature
again cunningly assert herself and say, u 'tis better to
give than to receive," when a sturdy, honest pioneer
discovers a rich bonanza, holds it awhile from the rav-
ages of the Indians, is finally murdered, and one of
his less bold and daring brothers comes and reaps the
reward. Many a remnant of a mining camp will tell
the same story. But the American is indefatigable.
Many may be slain, but as many more will rise to fill
their places; and again that theory identified: that
man does inevitably follow and profit by liis fellows'
toil, and that we were made to serve each other. Sym-
pathy rarely finds its vent for the hardy pioneer and
frontiers-man, or at best, ne'er gives the sympathy due.

There are some, however, who have escaped, to reap
their own harvest, and to tell of their vicissitudes.
From these we can better get some of the more fla-
grant causes for the failure of those who do not live
to tell their own.

In a previous chapter we had occasion by dint of
narrative, to simply refer to the "Stonewall Jackson "
Mine and the richness of the McMillen Mining Dis-
trict. These narratives of golden fleece and shining
nuggets being so rife in Arizona, entertaining the

140 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

traveler .on any and every trip or route lie may pro-
pose or select, one can scarcely avoid asking the ques-
tion why, if all these stories are true concerning the
mines of Arizona, and their richness, they have not
already been worked. I have been asked these ques-
tions myself over and over again ; and after narrating
what I saw, and having converted by actual knowl-
edge, those fairy-like stories into absolute existences
concerning the fabulous wealth of her mines, I would
here offer a defence for Arizona, for the seeming lack
in her mining developments.

To those who would ask the question, I would o.Tset
their interrogative by asking them why the unsur-
moun table conditions and the natural force of circum-
stances had not long ago been abolished, and Arizona
as per se been born a favored child from all the stub-
orn ills of life. It is wished it could have been so.
But rather than this, she has had more than her share
to contend with.

Arizona was the last acquired, and of all our Ter-
jitorial lands, situated to the further end of our na-
tional domain ; until at present she was of! the beaten
track of our Country's physical progress, and conse-
quently, the hardest to guard and protect, bordering a

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 147

country proverbially noted for its conquests, revolutions
and the ungovernable traits of its rapacious subjects;
filled with one of the fiercest and most warlike tribes
of America's aborigines ; and a victim to the most un-
relenting force of circumstances of perhaps any other
portion of our country. It is a marvel that the Terri-
tory shows the progress it does.

The Apaches, the most powerful and war-like tribe
of Indians that the government has perhaps ever had to
bring its forces against. Ever since 1853, have we
been more or less afficted with them, for as early as
that had the American pluck found its way into that
rich seclusion of the Sonora country. In that year
and with the purchase of our last acquisition to the
Territory we also got, in the bargain, or as a legacy,
a powerful tribe of wild, ferocious, unsubdued Indians,
whose daily life consisted in hunting after,, killing or
torturing all human victims not of their own kind or
kin. They had been at this since the time of the
Spanish conquest, and had excelled. They had suc-
cessfully repelled Mexico after her independence and
until our purchase in 1853. Since then they have,
we might say, fought us successfully also. It would
have been money in our pockets, if after the pur-

148 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

chase, we had turned around and offered the Mex-
icans the price of the whole purchase over again
to have taken their munificent legacy back, if this
could have been done. One after another however,
of our brave and indomitable men and women have
pushed out into this open country with somewhat the
spirit of '76, and one after another have they been
slain. Some striking narratives told me recently by
Governor A. P. K. Safford of Arizona, are graphically
descriptive of the times and conditions of which I
speak, and I will here give them in substance.

I would call attention to the philosophical manner
with which a practical man with a practical knowledge
of the thing dealt with, deals with this Indian ques-
tion. Stern, yet unbiased and fair, Gov. Safford has
accomplished more practical results with the Indian,
than perhaps any other man.

CHAPTER X

NARRATIVES OF EARLY ARIZONA — BLOODY DEEDS AND THE
APACHES— ESKIMENZEN — COCHISE — WITCHCRAFT — HAB-
ITS OF LIFE— REFORM— WHO IS TO BLAME ?

[A large portion of this chapter is from personal narratives kindly tendered
me by Ex-Gov. A. T. K. Safford, of Arizona.)

A N estimable lady who was a near neighbor to the
JL\ Governor in Arizona was taken captive by the
Apaches together with a young Spanish girl who was
living with her. The Indians came to the lioiise while
the men were absent On leaving the Louse, the
Indians traveled rapidly, as they knew quite well they
would be pursued. Toward the close of the first day's
travel, the Indians became satisfied that the woman
could not travel with them. She had struggled with
all her might to give them no trouble, knowing that
her life depended upon it An old man walked beside
her most of the day, who could speak Spanish. He
talked constantly of the wrongs they had suffered
from the whites.

She told him if they had been wronged that she

150 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

was not responsible. "But," said the old man, " you
are a race of villians. Your tongues are forked. My
people were once a powerful tribe and owned all this
country. Now we are compelled to hide like the
coyotes. Our people have been murdered. Our coun-
try has been taken from us, and I hate you all." Dar-
ing the day she had been allowed to travel behind;
but towards evening several savages dropped behind,
and without a moment's warning, several spears were
plunged into her body, and she was thrown down a
bank for dead. She laid where she was thrown for
several hours unconscious ; but during the night she
heard voices, and among them recognized her hus-
band's. Being so weak, however, from loss of blood
she could not speak nor move, and they passed on in
pursuit of the Indians, not knowing that they had
passed within a few feet of her. The next day she
recovered sufficient strength, and commenced to crawl
towards home, she was sixteen days crawling back,
with nothing to eat, save the roots and leaves that she
gathered on the way. She had been pierced with six-
teen spears, three of which had entered the cavity of
the body, but to-day she is alive and well. Failing to
overtake the Indians, negotiations were opened to
ransom them. The little girl was brought to the place
designated and ransomed for gold. But the woman
was reported dead and you can imagine the agreeable

BEADY FOB A SCALP.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA 1S3

surprise when she returned. At first, however, they
believed she was a spirit; and it required some time
before she could convince them that she was flesh and
blood. A few months later her husband, father, and
three brothers were murdered, and she was left alone,
but subsequently married nn excellent man, and a
happier, or better family, cannot be found.

Another case is told of a family who lived a few
miles from the capital of the Territory. The husband
was a member of the Legislature. While engaged
making laws, the Indians made an attack upon his
house. His wife and a hired man determined to sell
their lives as dearly as possible, and as the savages
approached near the house, the good wife discharged
her trusty rifte and at each discharge, a savage " bit
the dust." Finally, the ammunition began to get
short. She sent the hired man with, a letter to her
hnsband, saying, "'John, the Indians are here. Send
me plenty of powder and lead. Don't neglect your
duties by coming home, for I am master of the situa-
tion, and can hold the house.

In another place tliere was a husband and wife, a
little child, and several hired men. The house had
been attacked when only the woman and an old man
were at home; but the woman stood with rifle in hand,
and defended the house until her husband and a few
men £ame to her relief. Her husband begged the

154 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

Governor to take her to a more secure place, which he
would have gladly done. But when he mentioned it
to her, she grew pale and said, u Do not, I pray you,
mention this to me again. I can watch for the sav-
ages, and give him warning of their coming. If they
come I can assist to repel them. And if he must die,
I can die with him." This brave little woman and
her husband are still alive, prosperous and happy, I
understand.

We will narrate one more case, where a farmer was
tilling the soil some distance from his house. The
Indians had attacked and killed most of the people in
the settlements nearest to him but he was unconscious
of the fact. The Governor went to warn him of his
danger, and urged him to abandon his farm. He
said he could not ; that his wife and children would
suffer for bread if he did not gather his grain. The
Governor urged him to leave. Before the week passed
the Indians came, they swarmed upon him with their
spears, expecting to obtain an easy victim, but he
turned upon them with his repeating rifle, and the
first, second, and third, fell a lifeless corpse, when the
others ran. He continued his fire upon them, and
before they got out of the range of his gun, four more
were sent to the "happy hunting ground." Unfortu-
nately, however, a random shot from the retreating

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 155

Indians crushed his ankle and made him a cripple for
life.

"Who are the beings that perpetrated these atroc-
ities?

I have only attempted to give a few of the scenes
encountered in the settlement of Arizona. I will now
mention briefly the Indians who were the actors in these
bloody tragedies. The Apaches are of medium size,
physically quick and active, and are capable of endur-
ing great hardships. Their muscles of locomotion
have peen developed to the fullest extent, and they
are capable of moving with great rapidity. When
making raids no horse can overtake or keep up with
them.

Intellectually they are very shrewd, have good com-
mand of language, are quite witty and fond of joking.

Governor S afford was present at the first attempt to
make a general peace between them, and the whites,
and the friendly Indians. The Conference lasted two
days ; and the chiefs who spoke for the Indians ar-
gued their points with great ingenuity, and, far ex-
celled in shrewdness the tame Indians. One of the
most vexatious things we had to deal with on that oc-
casion was the case of some captive Apache children
that had been taken by the whites, and given to differ-
ent families in the country. The Indians demanded,
as one of the conditions, that these children should be

156 PICTITKESQUE ARIZONA.

brought in and given up to them. The children had
been with the whites so long that they had forgotten
their parents, and had as much affection for their
adopted parents as though they- had been their natural
offsprings; and the adopted parents reciprocated the
feeling. It was a heartrending separation. The chil-
dren clung to their adopted parents with deathlike
tenacity ; and to tear them from weeping women and
turn them over to naked Savages was a scene, as the
Governor said, he hoped never again to witness. We
tried in every way to compromise with them, and save
the children. -We offered them money, horses, any-
thing they might covet. But they replied; " Do you
think we are dogs, and would sell our own children ?

The principal spokesman upon that occasion, and
who is now chief of the Apaches, is named Eski-
menzen. I shall never forget with what pride and
pomp he rode down to the place of meeting on his no-
ble charger, with his favorite squaw seated behind
him. He was then about thirty five years old ; tall
and straight, and moved with the dignity and inde-
pendence of a king.

As he sprang from his horse he gave the reins to
his wife. She was young, and very pretty for one of
her race; and looked with pride and admiration upon
her liege lord. All day long she remained seated
upon the horse intent upon hearing every word that

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 157

escaped from her husband. Eskimenzen was bold, de-
fiant, and unreconstructed. He was a wild man, filled
with hatred and suspicion of the white man. " I bad
grave doubts about the peace enduring," said the
Governor, "and it was not long before my doubts were
realized." The Indians were subsequently howeve r,
very roughly handled, and afterwards sued for peace
in good faith. They are now living quietly and
peacably on a reservation. The Governor said, "I
have been much interested in the great change in ac-
tion and feeling that has been made in these Indians.
I have often talked with great freedom with Eskimen-
zen. Not long ago he said to me, "you can hardly
imagine what an erroneous opinion I had of the white
people before I became well acquainted with you. I
supposed that no other condition could exist between us
except war. As far back as legend carried us we had
been at war with every one with whom we came in
contact, and I supposed that must go on, until one or
the other race was exterminated. But now I see there
are good and bad among the whites, as well as among
the Indians, and that many of you desire to help us,
and want to see us prosperous and happy. I see that
your ways are better than our ways for you lay up
something ahead and never have to go hungry as we
often did. I am getting old, and I am past the time
to make much improvement, but I want my children

158 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

to grow up like white children, and learn to work and
read and write."

Thus it will be seen that our misunderstandings,
quarrels and fights, whether with our own people or
the rude savages, are mainly brought about by not
knowing and understanding each other. These wild
men fought us cruelly, savagely, unrelentingly. .But
from their stand-point they believed that they were
doing right, and that we were all wrong. At this
time when Eskimenzen broke the peace, the first man
he killed was his friend who had been very kind to
him. I afterwards asked him why he killed his
friend, and he replied that he wanted to break the
peace; that any coward could kill an enemy, but it
took a brave man to kill a friend.

Cochise was the greatest war chief the Apaches ever
had. He never was whipped in a fight, and was
a natural born chief. He was kind to his men, and
never tasted food until they were first supplied. But
he exacted in return, implicit obedience to his com-
mands, and a very slight deviation cost the offender
his life. He had no more hesitation in plunging his
spear through the heart of one of his own men, than
in killing an enemy in battle. I met him once and
spent one day with him at his camp in the mountains.
He gave me a history of his wrongs ; and although he
liad been the cause of killing more white men, than

AX APACHE CHIEF.

AN APACHE SQUAW AND PAPPOOSE.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 163

any other chief or Indian, and had been cruel beyond
discription in his tortures, I could not help but feel
that lie had been deeply wronged ; and, that from the
light given him, and the law and morals upon which
he had been educated, he had acted conscientiously,
and had done what he believed to be right. He was a
man of great energy, of superior ability and firmness
of purpose, and was generally faithful to his promises.
He was tall, straight and commanding in appearance,
and his features were regular with a placid, though
rather sad countenance. He rarely ever smiled, and
was thoughtful and studied in all his expressions.
I talked to him of the superior advantages of civiliza-
tion, but he replied, " I am too old to adopt new cus-
toms." He had captives with him who could speak
and read the Spanish language, and he was well ad-
vised of everything the newspapers said about him.
He expressed a desire that his children should learn to
read and write, " but of us old people " he said ; "you
can make nothing of us but wild men." He died a
natural death three years ago. During the last three
years of his life he and his people lived at peace with
the citizens of Arizona, but carried on a relentless war
against the Mexicans across the frontier. I tried to
persuade him to cease this warfare, as it was liable to
involve him and the people of Arizona in difficulty.
But his eyes flashed fire with indignation at the men-

164 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

tion of making pence with the Mexican people; and
he said ; " while life is spared me, I will never cease to
hate and kill that infamous people. I know their
treachery to my sorrow. I once placed confidence
in them only to be betrayed. Many years ago I
became tired of war, and made peace with them.
I crossed the line and settled in their Country,
and everything seemed harmonious and lovely. After
we had remained there a few months and all passed on
pleasantly, the Mexican authorities proposed to get up
a grand barbacue to celebrate the era of love aud good
will. All the Indians and vast numbers of Mexicans
came together and hundreds of cattle were slaughtered
for the occasion. Liquor was freely given which re-
sulted in the intoxication of many of my bravest and
best soldiers. When they were in this helpless condi-
tion, an indiscriminate massacre was commenced, of my
braves, women and children. By this treachery we
lost a large number of our people, but I with some of
my followers, were spared ; and since that time \ve
have done what we could to revenge that terrible
wrong. If we have been cruel, then they set the
example to us. That they have greatly suffered at
our hands I know full well. They now cry for peace,
but there can be no peace between us."

Since the Apache Indians have been brought on the
reservation, and have become tame, and acquainted

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 165

with civilization, they have undergone a great change,
and appear like a different people. They have com-
menced to labor, and seem desirous, many of them, to
earn their own living. They have accumulated some
property; and it would now be difficult to drive a
large majority of them on the war path. They have
for several years been self-governing ; the police du-
ties have been entirely performed by men belonging
to the tribe, and these policemen have in every in-
stance been vigilant and true. In one instance an
Indian attempted to kill the U. S. Agent at the reser-
vation, but was almost instantly killed himself by his
brother, who was acting as a policeman. All the
Indians that I have ever met are superstitious, and are
firm believers in witchcraft. A witch is considered a
very great criminal, or rather, an unclean and danger-
ous spirit and not fit to live. Many are killed for
this grave offence. The victims are almost invariably
women, and generally aged. Death, pestilence, or any
great calamity is usually charged to the influence of
witches, who have to pay the penalty by death.
Their doctors practice their profession by sorcery.
They chant songs and go through with all manner of
mysterious manoeuvres. If the patient gets well, the
cure is conceded to the doctor. But if he is unsuc-
cessful in his practice, and cannot prove that his ill
success is attributable to the interference of witches,

166 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

he often pays the penalty by death. Last Spring, the
Governor took a scouting party of Indians into Mexico.
One of them had a felon on his finger. I applied the
usual remedies, but the night before it broke lie lost
all faith in my skill. He called in the Indian doctor,
and the night was spent in chanting. In the morning
the sore broke. The patient was relieved, and the
Indian doctor received fall credit for performing the
cure. By Indian custom the woman is the property
of the man. When an Indian desires to marry, he
purchases his wife from the father. A man is allowed
as many wifes as he is able to purchase. She is thus
his property to do with as he pleases. He can beat
her at will, and even kill her if he so inclines. Of
course she is treated according to the disposition of
the husband. Some are kind and indulgent while
others are brutal and cruel. There is nothing in In-
dian custom to which they cling with more tenacity
than this supreme power over their wives ; and no
Indian, however unjust or cruel another may be, ever
thinks of interfering to protect her; and the senti-
ment of a whole tribe has often been united against
the efforts of agents who have tried to correct these
abuses. Infidelity on the part of the women among
the Apaches is usually punished by cutting off their
noses. I have seen many thus mutilated. These
customs seem very strange to us ; but it must be

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 167

borne in mind that within the history of our own
country, with all the advantages of books and educa-
tion, many people have been by our laws executed for
witchcraft. The subject of man's superiority and
power to rule and control women too, has only van-
ished as we have advanced in civilization ; and there
yet remains many abuses to correct before we place
women on that high plain which God designed they
should occupy. While we may deeply regret the
benighted condition of the red man, we must bear in
mind that they are unlettered, and have never received
the light and elevated influence of the Christian re-
ligion.

But we might run on in this strain until our powers
of speech were exhausted, and then leave much be-
hind. This is but one chapter. A thousand might
be written. When we had first learned of the wealth
that lies hidden within the folds of Arizona, we might
think it was neglect on the people's part, and ask the
question, why has it not been worked? But when
we learn of its history and former conditions, as ex-
plained in this chapter, any stigma is cast aside, and
we forget the past, in our eagerness to grasp the bril-
liant present and future.

CHAPTER XT.

EHRENBERG — A LONELY "VILLAGE OF THE PLAIN " — PAINFUL
THOUGHTS — CORONATION PEAK — THE GODDESS OF THE
VALLEY— NO ENDOWMENT POLICY— INTEREST, CONTRAST,
AND BEAUTY— TO THE LAND OF HEMP, COTTON AND RICE.

FOR some distance back from the Colorado Biver,
to the east, and on the California side, there is a
dense cluster of willows, greasewood and timber of
smaller growth, which lines the banks of this whimsi-
cal stream. On the opposite or Arizona side of the
river, you greet the town of Ehrenberg — a unique set-
tlement to those not accustomed to Mexican huts.
On the occasion of my arrival there, hosts of Indians
were down to push the boat off the shore after the
stage had driven "upon it. One front of a row of low
flat adobe structures, constitute the material town ;
with a population of five hundred Indians, Mexicans,
and a general mixture of a little of everything else —
the Indians predominating. Breakfast taken here
again, we pushed on. From the* river, evidences of

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 171

fertile soil began to show itself in the constantly in-
creasing growths noticed as we progressed.

Desert riding at its worst, in our country, has only
an ideal in the minds of the many. Many people of
course, have suffered and died on these very deserts,
the result being attributed to the desert, but in reality
the desert is not wholly the cause. Ignorant of the
nature of their trip many an emigrant has started out
without water sufficient to carry him but a very few
miles, or having carried perhaps water enough for his
journey, but not being acquainted with, and having
no one to direct him in his right course, he has wan-
dered and strayed indefinitely at his own risk and
peril. We would not recommend any one to attempt
uncertain courses, out of beaten tracks. Arizona is
not civilized enough to trust to meeting of fellow trav-
elers for guidance, and the natural causes of delusion
in distance and direction; the beautiful but deceptive
mirage, and the effect of unaccustomed altitudes, all
make it dangerous for those not to some extent ac-
quainted with causes or with the country, to trust
themselves to their ordinary common sense.

Apart from the beauties which actually do lie in
these deserts (so called) the interest all seem to find
in them, is noticeable. They are interesting. The
diversity of our desert lands is very broken, both as
regards safety and beauty. One may have the beau-

172 PICTURESQUE AKIZONA.

ties here, without the necessary perils. Imagine riding
over a sandy desert mesa, and all the horrible visions
of skeletons and starvation, and reptile bites, choking
from thirst and the like, forcing themselves upon you
until nerves are unwittingly wrought to the highest
pitch of terror; and then by a sudden reversion of
the mind, you realize that a canteen of water which
is at your side, is ample to support you from one
station to another. On our trip from Yuma to the
Santa Eita Mountains these effects were pleasingly
realized. With one of our feet on a box filled with
canned oysters, and the other on a case of jelly, while
our eyes fell upon a choice quarter of fresh lamb or a
heap of quail which some of the party had shot on the
way. On one occasion we passed a few bones scat-
tered on the sand a short distance from the road. Our
driver informed us that they were the remains of a par-
ty of two men, a woman and child, who attempted to
cross over certain mesas and plains to reach Phoenix
without going on the round-about road to Wickenburg
first, and so on down to Phoenix. They lost their
way ; and getting out of water (which would have
lasted them until they reached Wickenburg had they
gone the accustomed way) perished.

Thirty miles inland from the Colorada River, and
the Gila valley showed unmistakable signs of the
richest fertility. Galetta, Gramma, Sacaton, and other

A TffiOJAVE IlfDIAW A1TO BOY

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA 175

grasses, together with the more ponderous and harder
growths of the mesquite, and palo-verde trees, could
but suggest a rich soil. Dr. Allen, the well-known
geologist, upon examining the soil on one occasion,
gave it as his opinion, that in a very large majority of
cases that which seemed to condemn the lands here as
desert, was simply an over crust of a salt formation
that rather enriched the ground than otherwise, and
that the other sub-soil was a rich loam upon which all
products of a semi-tropical (and in many cases of a
tropical clime) would excel in production.

Forty miles from Yuma, east from the banks of the
Gila River, we had a gorgeous sight of the object
known as the Coronation Peak. Our party all dis-
mounted here, to roll and stretch their limbs on the
lawn-like meadows that line the river's edge, and to
catch the inspiration which this peak throws out to all
who will seek her society. There is a spirit in her
that speaks to every human soul. The name is de-
rived from the resemblance the top of the peak has to
a crown. The tip aspiring heavenward, and playing
with the brilliant tints of the clouds, contrasts beauti-
fully with the blue waters of the Gila at the base.
The " shades of evening" cast over here, with robes of
crimson and purple, made poets of us all. I was a
poet while I lay sprawling on the ground in the pres-
ence of this goddess of the valley. But the trouble is,

176 . PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

I lost the gift of poesy when I parted with her. She
doesn't believe in the endowment policy. She has
no regard for those who wont stay with her alway.
The scenery of Arizona is marked. Her features are
peculiar to herself. One does not here see the "El
Capitan" nor hear the clashing waters of the Niagara.
But at neither Niagara nor in the Yosemite do we see
the mirage, nor do we see it anywhere on the earth,
perhaps, except in the famous Fatamorgana of Italy.
The artist may get his subject in the mountains of
California or in the rocky mountains ; but for his
light and shade, let him go to Arizona. In the trip
of which lam in part giving a narrative, several of the
members often alluded to the fact that if this or that
effect were to be truly pictured on canvass the observ-
er would say that it was " forced " — exaggerated. Ari-
zona's interest, next to her great mineral wealth, con
sists in her contrasts. Contrasts beget beauty ; and
interest in a thing makes that beauty lasting. We have
known of many a pretty face, that lacking interest,
has lost its charm in a very short time ; while we
have known of many a homely face whose interest has
captivated man for a whole life time. Whereas for
general and prolific productiveness, the more southerly
part of Arizona may perhaps excel ; the more wonder-
ful phenomena must be accredited to the northern por-
tion.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 179

Traveling up the Gila River there is a very pretty
series of mountains and valleys, the mountains hem-
ming the valleys in. But you travel and travel and
travel without ever meeting with any obstruction.
You continue in one broad, extensive valley unto the
end of your journey. For a distance of two hundred
and fifty to three hundred miles this unbroken stretch
of rich farming land urges the husbandman to share
its virtues and merits. As you journey eastward,
signs of agriculture increase rapidly until, arriving in
the neighborhood of Florence, which is in a direct line
east from Yuma, and about one hundred and fifty to
two hundred miles from it, the country assumes a
charming and cheerful aspect. Professor Wheeler
estimated in his reports of Arizona, that, under irriga-
tion, thirty-seven per cent, of the lands of Arizona could
be made agricultural, and sixty per cent, pastoral. Rice,
hemp, cotton, wild poppy, and opium flourish in the
southern portions of the State, while to the east, in the
Viego and other of the many rich valleys which lie
between the isolated and broken mountain ranges so
common in Arizona and the southwest, the cereals
thrive wonderfully. Our observations all through the
Gila valley forcibly showed this large extent as graz-
ing lands. In some cases even the mesas may be used
for pasturage.

Beyond the station at Maricopa Wells, is located the

180 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

Pima Indian Villages. In all the distance from here
to Florence may be seen crops of corn, grain and the
smaller vegetables, cultivated by the Indians. The
Pimas are notable for their industry. With the Indian,
has always been associated the idea of a people identi-
fied only with scalping knives, tomahawks, and a for-
midable display of feathers and fantastically orna-
mented robes of skins for clothing. But the word In-
dian has as wide a range of signification as
to say white man. To say white man may mean
a Grecian, an American or Mexican ; an intel-
ligent man, an industrious man, or a lazy good-
-for-nothing who may scarcely be worth any thing,
be he either white or black. This is about the
significance one should get of the present term Indian.
There are as great differences to be comprehended in
the one term as in the other. Comparisons between
the different tribes will show this. Not only either,
does this show itself among different nations, so to
speak, or locations alone, but between the tribes of
one section of the country. Nowhere, in my experi-
ence in Indian countries, are these facts more thor-
oughly demonstrated than in the southwest of our
country — including the different classes known under
the head of "The Indian.'1

CHAPTEE XII.

ANTELOPE PEAK— A NIGHT'S COMPANION — " LONE PEAKS" —
A GOLD STORY— OATMAN'S FLAT— FREIGHT TRAINS OF THE
DESERT — " PEDROS PINTADOS."

second night out brought us to "Antelope
J. Peak," a famous camping spot, and so named
from a high towering peak jutting up from the ground
in magnificent and haughty style, and shrowding you
and the camp grounds surrounding, with * its casting
shadows. An adobe building for the stage company's
office, and a corral for the protection and care of the
horses, and the graceful flow of the Gila Eiver o'er-
shadowed by the towering " Antelope," constitute the
main attraction for the camper. It is a very refresh-
ing and cooling retreat for the traveler, who has had
just enough of the sand and sun of Arizona by this
time, to appreciate and enjoy it. This peak, instead of
being called a peak, having the features of so much of
the Arizona mountain scenery, would be better com-
prehended by being termed an Isolated Mountain ; jut-
ting, as it does from the very level of the plains, and
throwing itself grandly up to a height of hundreds of

182 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

feet into one single conical shaped formation. There
are several of these entertaining fellows over the plains
of the Territory relieving the eye of monotony, and
without which the deserts and the traveler on them,
would yearn for some society. Their extreme contrast
with the surroundings, exalting -them to a glorious
standard. One of the most bold and pleasing of these
peaks is to be seen on Stewart & Pearson's stage road
from Ehrenberg to Prescott. After riding for miles
and hours over the broad sandy plains, with the
distant mountains forming a pleasing enclosure to
a vast natural stage upon which many a weird and
midnight scene has been enacted, to come boldly
upon these two lone peaks (there are two of them)
standing side by side, is a scene worth the whole ride.
As the stage passes by close to their base, they look
down frowningly upon you; and were you supersti-
tious, would almost think they spoke to you in the
starry stillness of the night.

The occasion on which I first saw these peaks was
in the middle of the night. It was a bright moon-
light one, and the hazy light of the moon from behind,
throwing the shadow far over our stage coach, pro-
duced a sombre effect. I was seated on top of the
coach alongside the driver, and strapped on to prevent
me from falling off by the sudden jolts in passing over
the gulches where the miners had been to work, and

" LONE PEAKS," ON THE BOAD FROM EHRENBE G TJ PRE-XX)TT.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 185

so that I might sleep and nod to my heart's content
without being dashed beneath the wheels. I had
fallen asleep as my driver could assert to this day, be-
cause he had tried his best to keep me awake for some
one to talk to. In passing over a small stream which
runs close by the peaks, the thump of the wagon fairly
forced my eyelids apart; and, beholding these two
giant figures o'er-spreading me as it seemed, 1 was held
with awe for a few minutes, and then said to the dri-
ver, " What are these ? " at the same time holding my
face up at right angles to see the top.

" Oh ! those?" said he, in a quiet unconcerned
voice, — " Oh ! those are stones that grow here in Ari-
zona,," I named the peaks "Lone Peaks," as agree-
able to the circumstances and conditions, as well as
the sentiments of both myself and my friend the
driver.

In regard to my waking up by the jolt of the wagon,
I am not sure to this day whether it was the jolt of the
coach, or due to some mechanical or other contrivance of
the driver. These drivers do not like to have you go
to sleep in the night while at their side. They want
you to talk to. Besides, if there is going to be any
Indian relays, or a meeting of any of the road
" agents " who often come out part way to relieve
the coach or the passengers of any extra money they
may have on their persons, he wants you to see the

186 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA,

modus operand* with which it is done. I do not know
then, whether it was the thump, or a pin being poked
into my leg, or a pinch that woke me up. And the
driver will " never tell you."

The Antelope peak of the Gila Peak of the
Gila must not be conflicted with what is known
as the Antelope Mountains seen on another part
of Stewart & Pearson's stage route, which is some
distance north of the Gila Eiver, where a man
by the name of Poebles took out seven thousand
dollars in placer gold one morning before break-
fast, and during three weeks following, it is known,
found eighty thousand dollars in gold nuggets. This
is a California gold story of '49 over again, and verifies
what we say elsewhere concerning the part of '49 be-
ing again played, in Arizona. We may emphatically,
look for this. The era has already dawned.

Urging our mules the next day we made a beautiful
run of forty-six miles to a station known as Stamvix
Hall, famous for its mud springs which, one of these
days will be celebrated far and wide for their medi-
cinal properties. In the morning we pass a station
that reminds us that we are not too far away from
home to be partiotic, by a flag hoisted in rude style
over the corral and composed of three white stripes,
two red stripes and two blue stripes and forty-five
stars. We had seen flags larger, and we had seen

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 189

flags less pretentious ; but I don't think any of us
ever took off our hats with a more hearty and vigo-
rous "Three cheers ! " than did the Aztec party ; and
we excused the presumption of the forty-five stars on
the grounds that perhaps the inserter of them candidly
thought Arizona was worth enough in herself to make
up the deficiency. That afternoon brought us to the
sad and tragic landmark of the Oatman's Flat, where
they have named the station after the victims of this
tragedy, to keep perhaps, fresh in the memory of the
white man the recollections of one the most atrocious
massacres ever perpetrated by the Indians.

This story is well known and has been often re-
peated by many writers. We will simply quote a few
of the more important features of the affair as graph-
ically described by J. Eoss Brown. Early in January,
1851, Mr. Eoyse Oatman and his family entered that
portion of the new Mexican Territory now called Ari-
zona, in company with an emigrant party of which he
was a member. *

He had seen no hostile Indians, and had heard of no
recent depredations on the way. * On

the 18th of March, they spent a dreadful night on
a little sand island in the Gila Eiver. A terrific storm
blew the water up over them ; their scanty supply of
provisions was damaged, their blankets and clothing
were wet through, and the starving animals driven

190 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

nearly frantic with. fear. It was a wild and desolate
place, many days journey from any civilized abode. .

It was starvation to stay, and

almost inevitable disaster to go forward. Mrs. Oat-
man, the noble wife and mother, always patient, hope-
ful, and enduring, busied herself in attending to the
wants of her children and in uttering words of encour-
agement to her husband. He, however, seemed ut-
terly overwhelmed with gloomy forebodings, and con-
tinued to look back upon the road, till suddenly an
expression of indescribable horror was observed in his
face, and the next moment a band of Indians was seen
leisurely approaching along the road. The children
perceiving instinctively that their father — to whom
they had always been accustomed to look for protec-
tion— was agitated by no ordinary emotions, became
alarmed ; but he succeeded by a strong effort in main-
taining an appearance of composure, and told them
not to be afraid, that the Indians would not hurt
them. It was a favorite theory of his that misconduct
on the part of the whites was the cause of all trouble
with Indians, and that by treating them generously
and kindly they would not prove ungrateful. Strange
that one who had lived in frontier countries should so
fatally misconstrue the character of that race !

When the Indians came up Mr. Oatinan spoke to
them kindly in Spanish, and motioned to them to sit

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 193

down. They sat down, and asked for tobacco and
pipes ; which he gave them, and they smoked awhile
in token of friendship. Then they asked for some-
thing to eat Mr. Oatman told them his family were
nearly starving — that they had a long journey before
them, and could ill spare any portion of their scanty
stock. However, lie gave them a little bread, and
said he was sorry he could not give them more.
After this they stood off a little and talked in a low
tone, while Oatman set to work to re-load the wagon.
It was observed that the Indians looked anxiously
down the road as if expecting some approaching party.
Suddenly, with a terrific yell, they jumped in the air,
and dashed with uplifted clubs upon the doomed
family. Lorenzo, a boy fourteen years of age, was
struck on the head and felled to the earth the first
blow. Several of the savages rushed upon Oatman,
and he was seen for a moment struggling in their
midst, but soon fell a mutilated corpse at their feet.
Mrs. Oatman pressed her youngest child to her bosom,
and struggled with a mother's heroic devotion to save
it, shrieking in piercing accents, " Help ! help ! Oh,
for the love of God, will nobody save us ! " A few
blows of the murderous clubs quickly silenced the
poor mother and her babe ; and in less than a minute
the whole family, save Lorenzo, Olive, and Mary
Anne, were lying dead or moaning in their death-

194 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

struggles upon the ground. Olive, a girl sixteen years
of age, and Mary Anne, a frail child of eleven, were
dragged aside and held in the iron grasp of two In-
dians. Lorenzo, the boy, was stunned by the crush-
ing blows which had fallen upon his head, and lay
bleeding by the edge of the precipice. In his narra-
tive he states that he soon recovered his conscious-
ness, and distinctly heard the yells of the Apaches,
mingled with the shrieks and dying groans of his
parent?. The savages seeing him move, rifled his
pockets and cast him over the precipice. Upon a
careful examination of the spot — as shown to the
right of the road in the accompanying sketch — I esti-
mated that he must have fallen twenty feet before he
struck the rocky slope of the mesa. That he was not
instantly killed or maimed beyond recovery seems
miraculous. Strange discordant sounds, he tells us,
grated npon his ears, gradually dying away, and then
he heard "strains of such sweet music as completely
ravished his senses."

As soon as the Apaches had consummated the massa-
cre of the Oatman family and plundered the wagon of its
contents, they fled across the river, taking with them
the two captives, Olive and Mary Anne. These un-
fortunate girls had seen their parents, brothers, and
sisters cruelly murdered, and were now dragged away,
bare-headed and shoeless, through a rude and desolate

PICTURESQUE RIZONA. 195

wilderness. Ferocious threats and even clubs were
used to hurry them along. Their feet were lacerated,
and their scanty clothes were torn from their bodies
in passing over the rocky mesas and through dense
and thorny thickets. Sometimes the younger sister
faltered from sheer lack of strength, but the savage
wretches, unmindful of her sufferings, beat her and
threatened to dispatch her at once if she lagged be-
hind. She said it was useless to try any more — she
might as well die at once; A brutal wretch of the
tribe seized her as she sank to the ground, and casting
her across his back started off on a trot. *

* Through the services of Fran-
cisco, a Yuma Indian, the purchase of Olive from the
Mojaves was effected by Mr. Grinnell, in February,
1856. She was brought down to a place on the Colo-
rado at an appointed time. Here Mr. Grinnel met
her. She was sitting on the ground, as he described
the scene to rne, with her face covered by her hands.
So completely was she disguised by long exposure to
the sun, by paint, tattooing and costume, that he
could not believe she was a white woman. When
he spoke to her, she made no answer, but cried and
kept her face covered. It was not for several days
after her arrival at Fort Yuma that she could utter
more than a few broken words of English. Subse-
quently she met her brother, and was taken by him to

196 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

his residence near Los Angeles. After that they lived
awhile in Oregon.

Since this account of the unfortunate girl was given,
I learn she came to New York State, and afterwards
died in an insane asylum.

Surrounding the Oatmairs Flat, is a very good
specimen of the different peculiar formations of the
mesas so common in Arizona. These mesas are the
bug-bears, the temper-agitators, the malin-esprits of the
desert to a class of people in Arizona vast in numbers,
but more important than vast. These are the freight
drivers of the plains. " Freighting on the plains,' is
a term that arouses a deep interest to any one who
has seen and contemplated it in all its bearings —
vicissitudes and benefits alike. To see a freight team
on the plains tugging up one of these mesas is a sight
which would arouse the sympathies of any one at all
sensitive to toils and pains. The wagons (shall we
call them wagons?) will sometimes carry as high as
seventy -five thousand pounds freight, and require any-
where from ten to twenty mules ; which, in Arizona
parlance means horses, mules, donkeys, and even in
some cases oxen all harnessed together in one team.
The effect is rather ludicrous at first sight ; but when
we observe the " happy-family " instinct with which
they assimilate, one begins to believe in the millen-
ium, and is relieved of his grating spirit in the hopes

PICTUKES^UK AKiZONA, 197

that this order of things will tend equally to leaven the
many diverse conditions of Arizona society and hasten
the assimilation of the Mexican, the Indian, the white
man, the black man ; the murderous Apache and the
indefatigable "road agent. On many occcaions seve-
ral of these wagons (generally two or three) will be
linked together, and a comparative force employed to
haul them. And when the traveler meets, as he often
will, with several of these combinations, making up
one long train, it is a sight to behold. The drivers
like those of the passenger stage coach, like company,
and will strive to travel as many together as possible.
The first intimation you have of the approach of
these teams, is a cloud of dust in the distance, which,
as you journey on assumes the proportion of a moun-
tain. Then you will see a black speck in the centre
of it. This will disappear and reappear as rapidly
again through the dense clouds of dust which are being
as rapidly supplied by the stir of the animal's hoofs.
Occasionally you will hear a deep smothered voice as
if from the distance ; or from some enclosed place ; and
daring the continuance of the echo a vast number of
intonations will be reflected by the rapidly increasing
changes of dust clouds. You become interested in
the coming spectacle. There is a spirit sent before it
that tells you it is something a little different from any-
thing you have seen before. Still nearer and nearer these

198 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

dust clouds appear, until you can see the volumes of dust
like volumes of smoke from a conflagration, roll and play
about their common victims, man and beast alike, as
majestically as the clouds at the foot of some moun-
tain range. Now the yells and shouts of the teamsters
spurring their animals on under their weary load, will
become more and more audible. Perhaps they will
just be ascending some side of a steep mesa ; in which
case, if you happened to have got near enough by this
time to distinguish the sound, you will hear the crack
of their "snake/7 accompanied by vociferous yells.
You will now, too, for the first time, be able to learn
the cause of all tins commotion. The yells become
fiercer and louder, and the lash of the whip upon the
struggling animals more frequent and forcible. Sounds
too, which to a delicate ear will heighten the interest,
if not elevate the spirit of a person, like hail stones in
an April shower. The tinkle of bells fastened around
the animals' necks soften like sweet sounding timbrels,
the gushing, grating noise of the heavy laden wheels
over the rocky mesa. After having reached the top
of the mesa and crossed it, the descent on the other
side to valley, plain, and desert, is wrought with the
same uproarious commotion as the ascent had been be-
fore. The load is equally as difficult to hold back now
as it was to haul up. Some of these freight wagons
cany at a time from seventy to seventy -five thousand

THE CONTINENT STEREOSCOPIC COMPANY'S
ARTIST VIEWING IN ARIZONA.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA 201

pounds of merchandise — from thirty to thirty -five
tons.

One of the leading features of interest to the trav-
eler in this Mesa land is the system of pre-historic land-
marks he is constantly coming in contact with on all
sides. Man has as yet,however, derived very little pos-
itive knowledge of them from any research, or investi-
gation, and they remain to this dny a source of specu-
lative interest to the traveler, from the time he leaves
the Colorado, at Yuma or Ehrenberg, until he com-
pletes his journey. It is in these features that Arizona
presents herself as the land for the Archaeologist, the
Psychologist, and all curious minds. Among the fore-
most of these are the " Painted Rocks" (Pedras Pin-
tados).

About six miles from Oatman's Flat, on an extensive
plain, encircled by the famous Arizona Mountains, is
to be seen the largest and most perfect specimens of
these Painted Rocks (Pedras Pintados). They are in
the Gila valley one hundred and twenty miles from
Tucson, Latitude, 33°, Longitude 113°. To stop and
examine these wonders of the pre-historic age, is only
to enhance the great enchantment that waylays the
traveler in Arizona on every hand. They are a mass
of rocks, evidently piled by some physical power, ages
ago. They are massed together in a heap about fifty
feet high with a proportionate base; and while some

202 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

are of a size that may be lifted by a man, others
might -be ranked with boulders. On these rocks or
stones, are various figures and images. Figures, geo-
metrical, conic, and anatomical. A figure on one of
the stones particularly attracted my attention. It was
that of a man or woman. It reminded me of my first
attempt to draw a man on my slate at school. A
big round "0M for a body, a little round "o" for ahead,
two little straight lines for arms, and two big straight
lines for legs. This I classed among the comical.
Squares, circles, triangles, crosses, — snakes, toads, and
vermin ; men without heads, and dogs without tails.

In comparing them with some sketches I made of
the Aztec Calendar Stone in Mexico, they show some
variations, though a similarity. The figures are slight-
ly indented in the rocks ; and whether it is the result
of force at the time of application, or whether the
chemical effect of the substance used, eating into the
rock, are questions with me. I found it to be a com-
mon tradition with the Indians that they were put
there in the time of Montezuma, to record treaties
with the different tribes. This would make them four
hundred years old. Some geologists claim the inscrip-
tions to be only one hundred years old. Comparing
them again with my photographs of the Aztec Calen-
dar stone, the similarity would seem to support the
theory that they might have been the chronicling of

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 205

that age, and the variations suggest, by perhaps dif-
ferent tribes or sects of that age. This would seem to
have some weight, as the stones are of an indiscrimi-
nate collection and the paintings are as indiscrimi-
nately distributed as regards the size of rock, in pro-
portion to the amount of chronicling to be done, I
should imagine. Opinions, however, are as varied as
in other cases concerning the archaeology of this most
wonderful country. In regard to the rocks, it has been
suggested that they were monuments of boundary
lines between the different tribes' lands. It is the
reader's turn to go forward and add his investigations
to the yet meagre knowledge of the stone.

The morning of our visit was on the Sabbath. We
sang requiems to the departed souls of — of many un-
known beings ; made and drank two or three gal-
lons of lemonade, (for the desert was warm) reveled
among the antiquities, taking notes, making sketches,
copying inscriptions, etc., etc. One of our party finally
suggested that we read a chapter in the Bible, it being
Sunday. With the consent of all it was done; and^
when he came to the last clause "Rise and go hence "
we were reminded that we* were encroaching on our
time by the influence of allurement, and that the great
Prompter was with us even in the desert. I am glad
to be able to record this little circumstance ; for a man
is known by the company he keeps, etc., etc.

206 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

A want has heretofore been felt for a true and accu-
rate illustration of many of Arizona's out-of-the-way
wonders. But the Continent Stereoscopic Company
of New York has very materially supplied those wants
during the past year, by photographs taken at many
of these interesting points. Many of these I have se-
cured for illustrations in this book. The picture of
the Painted Eocks on page 205 is from a photograph
taken by this company, and the first one that was
ever procured.

A. SCENE IX THE SALT RIVER VALLEY.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE SALT RIVER VALLEY— LOST ON A DESERT—" HAPPY CAMP "
A DOLLAR DRINK — WATER TWENTY-FIVE CENTS — THE BED
IN THE MANGER — MULE VERSUS MAN — IMPORTANT CONSID-
ERATIONS— MONTEZUMA OR WASHINGTON, WHICH ?

WE had left the Gila Bend, where the Gila makes
a bold sweep from its eastward course — turns
north and emerges into the Salt Eiver — where it fur-
nishes one of the richest valleys in the State. Our
coarse now was to be over a section of country differ-
ing very much from our former travels along the Gila,
and resembling in character the land similar to that
left by the receding of some portions of the great sea.
For miles, the land is composed of a rich sandy loam
which, when irrigated, produces largely. There are
nine thousand acres of land under cultivation in the
Salt River valley alone. This character of land con-
tinues for ninety miles to Florence, from which point
going eastward still, you enter a more mountainous
country. This description of the land applies to the
section from the Gila Bend to Florence with the ex-
ception of the first fifteen miles, which is spread over

208 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

as desolate a waste as any one would wish to see, and
which brings us to the famous " happy camp."

On the 10th of December at 10.30 we arrived at the
famous "Happy Camp" — or rather a portion of our
party did. We had intended pushing on that day
across the desert to Maricopa Wells, but a mishap befel
us, so we were compelled to remain the rest of the day
on account of the loss of one of our party. The case
was after this wise :

Before arriving at the camp we lost sight of one of
our wagons. We were not alarmed at this, however,
thinking they had got on faster than we, or that they
had taken another road, there being two. We arrived
at the camp but the other portion of our party had not.
We waited until twelve P. M. and then our fears began
to be agitated, and a consultation being held by our
party on the spot an hour after our arrival, it was de-
clared that the other wagon must have been lost, and
when those words "lost on the desert" fell upon my
ear, a chill ran through my whole frame. Visions of
the skeletons on the great Mojave desert in the north,
and the wayside graves along the Gila, came up before
me and I felt lonely. We despatched at once a son of
the station agent, who was experienced in all Indian
trails and roads to seek after the missing party and
guide them aright. At two P. M. cheers arose from our
party at the camp, at the sight of the missing wagon

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 211

corning around a stony mound a short distance from
us. Many congratulations met the youthful guide of
the plains who had safely guided our straying party to
its haven and its friends, together with something of a
more solid and substantial nature.

1 ' Happy Camp" is an anomaly in its nomenclature;
and yet the happiness we experienced in meeting our
lost companions threw some light upon what might
have possibly been the incentive to the title it now
enjoys. How do we know what succor some way-
faring, depressed or perhaps, starving pioneer had re-
ceived from a more successful traveler at this particu-
lar point. Or how from beneath the Apache's club, or
the Navejo's tomahawk, some helpless one has been
snatched by the timely arrival of some mountain trap-
per or mining prospector. It must have been some
such condition as this that gained for this sterile,
gloomy place, its " happy " name. It is situated on a
barren tract at the foot of a scattered, diminutive
range of mountains, where the presumptuous cactus
(Saguara) like a vaunting egotist, rears its haughty head
and reigns supreme where it has no competing foe.
Stretching far away over the crested billows of the
rolling valley of the Gila can be seen the crested sen-
tinels of the hills and plains.

Contrary to the name then, this spot is a dreary one,
and yet the marvelous and extensive valleys that one

212 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

sees again after crossing the one ridge of mountains
to the east verifies the assertion of Prof. Wheeler, that
a large portion of the lands are or can be made agri-
cultural.

At this station water has to be brought fifteen miles
from the Gila Eiver, and the charge of twenty-five
cents per head is made for watering horses. I think
the price was formerly one dollar; but from some
advanced facilities in fetching it, — it has recently been
reduced. "Happy Camp," like many of the " Hotels of
the desert" is nothing more than a camping spot, and
combines all the vicissitudes as well as the ecstatic di-
versities of life on a frontier. The scenery around is
dismal and the character of the little mountlets,
mounds and peaks that hem us in close by, give the
whole a dreary effect. But if interest alone, makes
beauty in a thing, then this place would deserve em-
phatically the name of beautiful. One little event ex-
perienced here, I would not sell for any other one of the
trip. When night came, always having the same in-
terest in that great natural restorative sleep, as I have in
the more material one mentioned by Artemus Ward
of the " stumik," became somewhat anxious for our
place of repose. On this open, fruitless, barren, even
grassless spot, we found no place to equal that of the
corral where the mules had already been placed for
shelter and repose. They had of course been put in

JUST IN FROM THE DESERT-GETTING BEADY FOR A SQUARE MEAL.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 215

the most pleasant and comfortable stalls in the corral,
made for their protection from the tornadoes or sand
storms that sometimes blow across these wasted plains in
a very reckless manner to say the least. The corral, as
most all do, throughout this land, consisted of trunks
of small trees for the corner pieces, and the rest made
up of an association of reeds or stalks of the different
cacti of the location, and the top had a pretended cov-
ering of the coarse hay or weeds of the desert around.
However, this did not prevent you from seeing the
stars at will, nor of enjoying the refreshing spatterings
of the rain if it should come.

The propriety of turning the brute animals out was
first considered; but some one who had evidently ac-
quired the spirit of a " Bergh," protested. Stating that
if one of our party should be taken sick, or catch his
death of cold, or die, it would not make so much dif-
ference, as we could really go on without him. But if
our mules were to meet the like fate — " What would we
do?" to be sure. We of course admitted the argu-
ment. As I write this, the thought suggests itself,
how singularly the condition of things, or circum-
stances, will transverse the whole aspect of a case. At
all events, as time progressed, it became more and
more apparent that our lot was to be a bed in the
manger ; and as the fact forced itself upon us the nov-
elty of it became more prominent To humble our

216 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

selves then the more, got by degrees, to be the ambi-
tion of each and every one of our party. There were
several old broken stalls, with mangers torn down,
or delapidated, which had been decided, by the firm
protest of our Berghite, we must make the best of and
use. Not the best now, but the very worst of these,
each one wanted to claim, either to immortalize him-
self by his sufferings, or to the more thoroughly con-
tradict his previous selfish impulse. It was a solemn
procession that night as we all walked from the crude
built depot on one side of the road, to our "lowly
cots" on the other. Yes! we were to sleep uin a
manger" that night. As vividly was the story of our
Maker brought to our minds as ever was done by the
communion table, or the cross. As we lay there watch-
ing the stars twinkle one by one, no one will or can
ever know perhaps of the sentiments that occupied
many of our minds, until far into the night. I singled
out one large and brilliant star and named it the u Star
of Bethlehem." I almost fancied I could see it move.
On all occasions, however, will one have thrust into
his ear these misnomic allusions about the Arizona
deserts. One man, apparently an intelligent gentle-
man, said to me in riding over one of the stage lines
on the Colorado basin :.

" I tell you sir, these lands will never be worth the
paper the deed may be written upon. Never ! Let

PICTURKSQUE ARIZONA. 217

anybody liave them that wanls them. I would give
them for the asking."

He was emphatic. He knew it all, evidently — or
thought lie did.

"But! My dear sir," said I, "How do we know
what may develop to prove that these lands may be
good for something yet? "

" I don't care," said he a little irritably " they never
will be worth the paper the deed is made on. Besides,"
said he, endeavoring to retain a, little respect for his
temper, "you can only argue for a thing by what you
know."

He could not have said anything that would have
given me better ground for rny argument. The ba-
rometer for argument was rising in me. His last re-
mark stirred an old theme, and I said ; " Yes, true,
my dear sir, but here is just where your great error
lies, and where man lacks a great mental scope ; where
acting upon what he knows only, he lays down. theo-
ries, and allows no license for what he does not
know. He unwittingly and virtually asserts there is
nothing beyond what he does really know, which is
the worst of all egotisms."

The old fellow gave me a penetrating glance for just
a moment, and then said, " Ah ! you're too intricate,
young man."

"Yes! and it is this ignorance of these 'intricate'

218 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

things that often work the greatest harm, and keep
the world back in all its practical philosophy."

The argument ended here. I learned afterward that
this old man was dyspeptic, and had eaten nothing for
either breakfast or dinner but a glass of cold water
and a cracker. I had eaten on each occasion two beef-
steaks, a broiled chicken on toast, about a quart of
frejoles (Mexican beans), and all other things in pro-
portion. He had to pay his dollar, howeveiv as well as
1, this being the price of a meal in Arizona, whether
it be a "square meal" or — or a meal at all. He was
jealous of me. While I had paid due reverence to
Artemus Ward's admonition to " always look out for
your ' stumik.' "

At Maricopa Wells there is an oblong isolated
mountain range — known as the Sa-de-la-Estrella — one
end of which shows a most beautiful and perfect pro-
file of the old historic chief of the Aztecs, Montezuma
— so recognized by the tribes throughout the country.
It is on the southern spur of the range. The moun-
tains are named the Montezurna Mountains from this
fact. I have never been able to see profiles with any
accuracy or readiness; but I must confess that this
profile of a human face carved or hewn in this rock
by some gigantic power will show itself readily to
ninety-nine out of every one hundred people. But if
accuracy in detail of a mountain is to govern the

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 219

name, then to my mind these would command the
name of Washington. I for one, am less acquainted
with the physical appearance of Montezuma than of
Washington ; and from that stand-point come to my
decision. Here, as bold as life, between heaven and
earth, stands the Father of our country But I must
give up my prejudices. We are dealing with Aztec
land now, as identified with our own. We have spo-
ken of this profile as a "beautiful" profile. At the hour
of one of Arizona's setting suns, it supports this appel-
lation emphatically. Here, with its golden hair em-
blazoned with the fire of the setting sun, and the
tinted nose of a dark shadowed blue, and with a more
perfect light on his breast showing a continental ruf-
fled shirt-front, Washington (Montezuma) faces tiie
west in all the boldness of outline relief, and with a
positive and admiring air that would seem tore-echo
the words to all the world, " Westward the course of
empire takes its way."

The Indians have a tradition that the famous Mon-
tezuma is buried in this mountain, and that some day
lie will come forward to deliver and redeem his people.
This superstition extends south, way into Mexico.
Not a stone of this mountain will any of the Indians
in the neighborhood touch upon any consideration.
So far does this legend of this natural statuary extend
that even in Mexico I was told, when there in '74,

220 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

that some fires which I saw kindled by the Indians,
and over which I noticed some formal and solemn
performance took place, was in anticipation of the
coming of their great chief Montezuma down from
the north, where he was resting in his happy hunting
grounds. In some locations I understood, these fires
were kept burning almost constantly at certain seasons
or on certain occasions, to hasten or invoke his com-
ing, evidently feeling their depression which has been
a national calamity with them for time immemorial.

PAPAGO INDIAN WOMEN GOING FOR HAY.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE INDIAN— THE PIMO, THE MARICOPA, THE PAPAGO, THE
ZUNI, THE MOQUI— THE A.PACHE— THEIR DIVERSITY.

SO divided and sub-divided are, and have been the
various tribes of Indians in the Territory of Ari-
zona for the past few decades, that it would take a vol-
ume in itself to enumerate and describe them. Many of
these too, are so insignificant in numbers as well as
unimportant in history, and are so thoroughly on their
"last legs," that it would be useless, had we both time
and room.

So interested had our party became with Indian
life; and so much in excess of anything we had yet
seen, in point of numbers, and in permanent settle-
ments were the Pimos, that we made a stop here
longer than usual, and had our ideas of Indian life
very mnch exalted by doing so. The Pimos are loca-
ted on a rich nnd fertile strip of land two hundred
miles from the Colorado Elver, east Although to a
man just from the Yosemite the plain might seem a

224 PICTCRESQUE ARIZONA.

little tame, the back-ground of picturesque mountains
that jut up and relieve the valley plain, with the little
Indian village of dome shaped dwellings scattered
along the foreground is interesting. They number
a little over four thousand, including the Maricopas,
who, about the year seventeen hundred and sixty,
allied with the Pirnos. The genial character of this
tribe (or these tribes) must be well established, they
having held strongly to their alliances to the present
time. Their little huts are built with reeds of various
kinds, nearly upright, slanting a little toward the cen-
tre with a domed top. The height will average about
seven feet and the whole is covered over with a layer
of mud plaster. A description of the Pirno Indian
will disappoint the school boy who starts at the word
Indian with visions of scalping-knife and tomahawk,
and a head ornamented with flying feathers. But
bo must wait until lie comes to the Apaches to have
his fancies realized.

All over this village may be seen the Pimo women
going to and fro, on some active mission of labor;
while over the whole sunny reservation may be seen
patches of peas, beans, pumpkins, melons, and vegeta-
bles of all kinds ; while vast fields of wheat, barley, corn
and the larger crops may be seen further off. Sorghum
has proved a. profitable crop in tins valley. In 1863,
they sold seven hundred thousand pounds of wheat and

A MARICOPA INDIAN GIRL PICKING BERRIES.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA 227

flour to the government garrisons and travelers and mi-
ners through the southern Gila valley. One might say
this looks a little like business, and have a curiosity to
see this people. Nor can the people nor the government
in its Indian policy claim any credit for this condition
of these Indians. As early as the sixteenth century
Father De Nica from Mexico found these people culti-
vating the soil. For three hundred years they have
been known then to cultivate this land. How much
longer we have no authenticity to show ; and I was
informed by good authority while in Arizona, that du-
ring that time it is pretty well established the land has
never been manured in any way, and that two crops a
year is the accustomed yield. These facts speak well
both for the Indians and for Arizona lands. The
average yield of wheat is twenty-nine fold. The
crops are planted in December and July.

The morality of this Indian is deplorable, while the
social customs are interesting. The mode of courtship
is, that a young Indian approaches the hut of his
sweetheart. He does not reach it at this stage of pro-
ceedings, but selects some comfortable rock for a seat
or some tree or bush, and there remains in anxious re-
pose for a certain length of time — an hour or so we
believe it is, while his horse he ties to a tree near the
house. This he does for three days. If the maiden
favors him she will feed his horse, and the jig is up

228 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

He goes any time after the three days and claims her,
AVhen a husband dies the wife is offered to any man
who wants a wife. This is done at the grave, after
sufficient mourning has been made to satisfy their
grief. There is no law, however, to prevent the widow
from continuing to mourn a reasonable length of time.
It being a custom among these tribes for the women to
do all the toiling, while the men are considered to have
ample on their hands in -hunting and attending to the
cause of war; a well and able-bodied woman does not
want long for the protection and love of a man. This
matter of the apportionment of work to the males and
females seems to be identical in all the Indian tribes of
our country. They seem to think the trials of war, and
the vigilance required in hunting to keep the house-
hold supplied with meats, is sufficient to offset all
other labors of whatsoever sort or kind, for all others
are heaped upon the women. It is somewhat sadden-
ing to a person used to the civilized world's regard for
women to see these creatures trudging along the trail
or road, with a ponderous basket strapped on her back,
packed with many pounds burden, while alongside of
IKT rides her husband on a horse with nothing in his
hand but his gun. In many cases the person will be her
son ; while the mother will be an old and feeble
woman. In one case, I actually saw one of these old
women, a cripple with a staff. The young man rode

PIMO INDIANS AT HOME.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 231

along with as un concerned a smile as though be had
just shot a dozen quail on the wing with one shot.
Well ! perhaps he had.

Tiie morals of these Indians are bad. The mission-
ary labors for seven years, have been, apparently, ab-
solutely lost. Not one convert is reported to have
been made, and licentiousness is becoming more and
more prevalent. In their native slate and before the
influence of the whites, however, the Pimos are re-
ported as strictly virtuous, not tolerating any incur-
sions whatever, upon the marriage system.

Southeast of the Pimo reservation one hundred
miles, is the Papago reservation. These together with
the Pimos may be considered the model Indians of
southern Arizona, except the Moqui in the extreme
northeast, who are the best in the State. Their reser-
vation consists of over seventy thousand acres, and
their industry is proverbial. Being nearer to the
mountainous or elevated portions, they are inclined to
pastoral pursuits rather than agricultural, although both
are represented well. The Papagos resemble the
Pimos with some few traits peculiar to themselves.
They once belonged to the tribe of the Pimos, and
and speak the same language. As far as records
show, these tribes, which number over ten thousand
in all, have sustained themselves by civil pursuits, and
always been friendly to the whites, and anxious

232 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

to learn of, and pattern from them. Had it not been
for these Indians, which constitute the larger share of
all others in the Territory, the white man would not
to-day be able to travel with safety from the Colorado
Kiver across the plains to Tucson and to the rich
mines to the east.

Contrary to the Pirnos and Papagos, the word
Apache has for many years been identified with scenes
of bloodshed and murder, theft and treachery. These
comprise six separate tribes, and occupy the eastern
and southeastern portion of the State. It is hard
to conceive of so close a proximity of two classes
of people, recognized under the head of "In-
dians," and yet so thoroughly different, occupying
the same land at all. It suggests, however, that
though peaceful in nature they were war-like and
brave in spirit when necessity required it. The most
warlike and desperate of all our American Indians
save the Sioux, they have never-the-less been driven
back and held at bay by the other and more docile
tribes. Numbers and bravery of course were in their
favor.

The following constituted the force of the Apacl;c
in '76; under the following chiefs: — Is-kilte-shy-law
with twelve hundred Warriors; Ma-guils with four
hundred Warriors ; Pedro with three hundred Warri-

A SQUAD OF INDIANS AT A GAME OF CARDS.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. '^35

ors; Es-ki-min-i-gui with -- Warriors ; Diablo with
three hundred Warriors.

By this it will be seen that their wliole force could
not have exceeded two thousand available warriors.
Their success too, was founded more on their treach-
ery and stealthiness than on their bravery. They
were, in fact, what the name of one of their chiefs
wculd imply — " Diablo " in Spanish, meaning Devil.
Their warfare consisted in murdering innocent men,
women and children, as many a grave, and skeletons
of wagons, horses and human beings throughout the
Territory will attest. So sly and cunning were they,
and so skilled in their art of trickery, that their depre-
dations would almost amount to sleight of hand.
While sitting and talking with them, they would steal
a hat from off your head and you not know it. They
occupy the eastern portion of the State; but their in-
cursions extended ..throughout the whole Territory un-
til '74, when their chief — the remarkable Cochise, died.
This Cochise was the terror of the country. His
many strongholds were almost impenetrable to any but
Indian experts, and always commanded some public
highway. Often in traveling through the Territory
men would dr^ from their horses, ignorant of where
the cause came from ; or would be in an instant and
without any warning beset by these " devils " who
would seem to rise right up from the ground. * * *

236 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA^

But no matter what the diversity may be in these dif:
ferent nations and tribes of Indian?, the most interest-
ing are those of the Zuni and the Moqui inhabiting a
section of country in the extreme northeastern part of •
Arizona, and extending into New Mexico ; The Mo-
quis are in Arizona, while the Zunis are in New Mex-
ico; and while our party are spending the night with
tli is interesting people, the Pimos, I will give some
entertaining facts concerning the Moquis and Zunis of
the northeast.

AN UNWELCOME VISITOR.

CHAPTER XV.

THE ZUNI AND MOQUI — THE MODEL AMERICAN INDIAN — THEIR
VILLAGES— MODES OF LIFE— MORALS— REBECCA AT THE
WELL— GAMES AND PASTIMES— A SACRED RITE— SHREWD-
NESS—HOSPITALITY.

1 LTHOUGH not existing wholly in Arizona, the
J[\ proximity of the Zuni and Moqui villages and its
people, the Territory together with its associate inter-
ests, prevent us from passing this wonderful people
unnoticed.

The old tribe of the Zuni inhabit a region extend-
ing on both sides of the line between Arizona and
New Mexico. They are destined to prove, or, perhaps
are the most interesting of all our aborigines, probably
on account of our ignorance of them. The habitation
of these people comprise seven cities — three of which
are known as the Moqui villages, and are in Arizona.
The main Pueblo or village is situated in the fertile
and picturesque Zuni valley.

The first and leading feature in a visit to this people
is their village, or the system under which they exist
as a community. The whole tribe of the Zuni, which

240 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

in '76, numbered about three thousand people, live in
one settlement. Their houses are not. detached as in
ordinary cities, but are a s}7stem of houses massed to-
gether in one grand structure, in the following manner.
An elevated section of country which overlooks the
surrounding lowlands and valleys, is selected. A
position on this elevation, where portions of it gives a
slope of perhaps 45° or more, is also chosen.
Up this incline, the houses, or the sections of the one
grand house, are built — the one over-lapping the pre-
vious one to about a quarter or a third of its area.
The one in the Zuni valley is six stories high, com-
mencing at the first house, or at the bottom of the hill,
you approach by a ladder, to the top of that house,
and there you find the entrance (or the front door) of
thathonse, in the. place where the skylight of an Amer-
ican house is situated. From the roof of this house you
approach the same way, by the- ladder, the top of the
succeeding house, or section of the great house, and
proceed to enter it as you did the previous one. So
this system is carried on throughout this communal
condition of life. The size of the .whole may be com-
prehended when we say it covers twelve acres. The
second leading feature is the type of some of the sub-
jects. A few have nearly white hair, resembling gen-
erally what is termed an English tow-head. It is only
occasionally you will see one ; and whether these are a

MI-SHONG-I-NI-VI.-A VILLAGE OF THE MOQUIS IN
NORTH-EASTERN PART OF ARIZONA.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 243

phenomena in the one race, or a remnant of another, is as
yet, a query to the ethnologist. Also, specimens will
be found exhibiting pink or blue eyes. Both of these
classes are however, rare. In the absence of any
method of chronicling events being found among them,
they afford ample scope for the culture of the histo-
rian. Where they came from is as anxious an inquiry
of the ethnologist as the question " Where are they
destined to go to?" is with the psychologist or re-
ligionist. It is supposed that the style of dwellings is
the result of necessary protection of by-gone times.
Whether Cortes and his allies; whether more subse-
quently, the treacherous Mexican desperado of which
at no distant day this . country, was infested, perhaps
either of these could best tell us, or whether the un-
merciful persecutions of a more formidable tribe of In-
dians, is a question perhaps the ancestors of the war-
like Apache of Arizona could answer. I am of the
opinion it was some condition of the latter. All the
region of country included within the limits of New
Mexico and Arizona already traveled over or explored,
brings to the surface new evidences of persecution,
annihilation or submission.

One body of ruins covering an area of many acres
on the east side of the Colorado, between Yuma (Ari-
zona City) and Ehrenberg, exhibit one of these inter-
esting sections, where nothing remains to trace the

244 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

origin, duration or occupation. Whether it was an
extensive camp of permanent miners who were mur-
dered by Indians, or ransacked or annihilated by out-
laws, is likely to remain a secret. In the absence of
positive knowledge we are apt to concede it to the
rapacity of the more fierce and warlike Apaches.

Although void of any system of chronicling events,
like all the Indians of our West, the Zuni are in all
other respects far superior, from the Anglo-Saxon
stand-point of civilization. They are thrifty and fru-
gal. Their lands extend for a distance of ten miles
east and west of the boundary line between Arizona
and New Mexico, and seem to have been chosen with
good discretion as they embody some of the finest
agricultural lands on this region. For the distance of
upwards of a hundred miles south of the Zuni vil-
lage there is an arroya embracing a series of small
valleys, watered by mountain streams and a system of
natural springs which, could the device of man cause
to share their lot with the otherwise fertile soil of the
so-called deserts of the western part of the State,
would cause that emblematic desert rose to assume all
its brilliancy. The little valley of the Zuni is about
six miles wide at the longitude of the Zuni village,
and runs jnst here, almost due east and west. The
Zuni village is located on the north side of the Zuni
river, which runs directly through the centre of the

PICTURESQUE ARIZOXA. 245

valley. The valley is clotted here and there with
mesas, on one of which tlie Zuni villages are built;
and from the elevation of which, ranging from twenly-
five to a hundred feet, a most charming view may be
obtained for three miles each way across the valley.
It reminds one somewhat of the cheerful views in
many of the upland valleys of Mexico. Valleys, hills
and dales, nooks, rocks, and the like, present here
that necessary diversity that pleases the sight, and
which characterizes the Territory of Arizona as the
traveler goes eastward.

The crops of these people are raised without irriga-
tion. Their principal products are corn, wheat, barley,
pumpkins, melons, beans, and most of the vegetables ;
and in importance and quantity range in about the or-
der given — corn being the largest crop. Over the
mesas and in the beautiful valleys may be seen hand-
somely arranged garden spots equal in neatness and
attractiveness to those of the Teutons. Peach or-
chards varying from a quarter of an acre down. Red
pepper, garlic and the smaller vegetables are raised in
gardens of various dimensions, and the gardens are
symbols of symmetrical neatness and cleanness. They
are attended and cultivated by the women and chil-
dren. Although in this respect, they would seem to
resemble the Indians in custom; but from the fact
that the men give their energies and time to the

246 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

field products, they would seem to be a medium be-
tween the aborigines and anglo-saxon element. They
reminded me in this respect very much of the German.
The gardens do better with some little irrigation, and
the women and children do this by carrying water in
vessels resembling the Mexican olln, placed on their
heads. The ollas are of all sizes, and hold anywhere
from one quart to ten gallons. The wells are of an
original plan. They have no windlass or a means of
a "drop." The ground is first dug until water is
reached. An incline is then dug down to the bottom
of the well, from a point sufficiently distant from the
mouth of the well, to give it an angle for easy walking,
digging out all the earth, and leaving a complete road-
way to the bottom of the well or spring at the lower
end of the hill. One of these wells I saw, measured
forty feet deep and twelve square and had an incline
approach of one hundred feet. It is an odd and pleas-
ing sight to watch these " Eebeccas" trotting down to
the well with their vessels on their head, and from
their neat appearance and docile manners one has a
profound respect and an exalted opinion of Indian life,
after having come from the land of the greasy " Dig-
ger'1 or the rapacious Apache. In their gardens one
will scarcely find a weed.

In the morning the men may be seen going in files
to their fields — that is, provided you " turn out " at five

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 247

in the morning. Tlie division of work and rest for the
day is very similar to the most semi-tropical countries.
They go to the fields at early dawn, return to break-
fast at ten o'clock (having taken a small morsel of
something before going out, the same as they do in
the West Indies). They do no work again until about
.three in the afternoon, avoiding the broiling sun, then
they return to the field at that time and work until
sun-down.

The country being a pastoral one to a very large ex-
tent, much stock is raised. The principal of which is
sheep. On one occasion in 1872, one of the Caziques
made his daughter a present of three thousand head of
sheep.

Goats, cattle, horses, mules, burros, (a species of the
jackass) hogs, chickens etc., form no small part of their
possessions. These people are very domestic. The
men do not gamble nor become as a rule, intoxicated ;
a condition that has become almost identical with the
most of American Indians.

The chastity of the women is proverbial, and the
morality of the men is beyond reproach. In the
Zuni villages, women are as fair as alabaster, and as
pure as virgin marble. Even to this very day it can-
not but be gleaned, by an association with them, that
any one who would tamper with their sacred virtue
would meet with the fate of the famous guide, Ester-

248 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

van, who suffered death for having secretly made love
to their women.

Their pastimes consist in music and dancing, and
games, the chief of which is that known among them
as paleto. It is curious to see them exert themselves
at this game. It is the national game. One might
sit for some time and watch them, and then have a
longing to join them in their skip, hop and a jump.
It is performed after this fashion : —

A line of men and boys fire formed, in their bore
feet. Any number may join in the game. The head
one takes a stick (the Paleto) between his big and
second toe. With this lie starts off, giving two hops
and a jump, at each jump, allowing his right foot to
touch the ground, giving him a powerful spring. All
the rest are now following close behind. Their course is
round a common circle. If tliepalefo man drops his
stick, the next, without stopping, picks it up with his
toes, placing it in the same position as the other be-
tween his big toe and the next. If lie misses, he drops
out of the line while the next Indian behind tries his
luck. If he picks it up lie continues on until he
drops it and then he drops behind to the rear, as the
one who previously had done. And so they keep up,
he only dropping out of the line who fails to pick up
the stick when the leader has dropped it. Thus it
keeps up until all but one has failed to pick up the

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 25 1

paleto when dropped, and lie is claimed the victor.
This is witnessed by a large gathering of the women,
who, clap or shout at any great alacrity of the per-
formers, and the last one is hailed as a sort of King
o' the day; has a wreath placed upon his head, and is
the recipient of honors, and of presents occasionally.
This game is performed on a larger scale on fetes or
holidays, and is a source of great merriment Many
a maiden will watch her lover with the most selfish
anxiety for his success, and many such lovers will
" lose the paleto" from the simple fact that the maiden
is watching him. On fete days these games or per-
formances generally end in grand processions. They
have many fete days in which many historical events
are commemorated. On the evenings of these clays a
sort of religious feast or entertainment is usually held.
It is performed with great pomp and reverence. A
performance which was enacted with grand ceremony
attracted our attention. Some animal, usually a
quadruped of some kind, this time a rabbit, was placed
on the ground with his head toward the east. In its
fore-paws, which are stretched out before him, is
placed an ear of corn. Before this, the spirit man
takes his position with a bowl of meal and with lan-
guage and gestures the stranger does not understand'
consecrates this meal. This being done, the animal
and the ear of corn are sprinkled thoroughly with it,

252 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

and a solemn exercise of prayer and consecration is
gone through with. After this the animal is allowed
to remain one day, and then taken up and eaten as a
consecrated feast of thanksgiving ior an abundant har-
vest. On these occasions no Mexican is allowed to
enter their domain and see their processions.

The men and women alike, pet, idolize — fairly
" worship" their children. Their abodes are superior
- — in fact, cannot be compared with what we under-
stand as Indian huts. In style and material they re-
semble Mexican buildings except their houses are
built as we have described, en masse, communial —
one and ,each supporting the other. The principal
room where the members of the tribes receive friendly
visitors, are on an average nine feet high, with seats
running around the structure generally covered with
some unshorn skin of an animal such as a goat, sheep,
wild cat, etc., making it preferable to a hard board for
the sitter. The floors are of stone, and the rooms are
as a general thing, neatly whitewashed ; which is
more than we can say of the average Mexican resi-
dences met with in Arizona. They are clean and neat
always. One singular thing exists. No vermin are
to be found in the whole town; neither rats, mice,
roaches nor bed-bugs. A species of head lice is the
only thing in that line, that ruffles their tempt-r or
destroys the equilibrium of their nerves. They are

THE FREE INDIAN GIRLS :— AN-TI-NAINTS, PU-LU-SU
AND WI-CHUTS.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 255

keen in trade — never getting excited or in a hurry,
and " drive a bargain" with all the shrewdness of a
Chatham Streeter. With an anglo-saxon training,
these people, I should judge, would become one of the
greatest policy people in the world. The spirit is
innate in them ; for, until the break of friendship be-
tween you and them is made flagrant, no outward
manifestation is made of any slight antipathy that may
exist between you upon slight provocations, that could
be detected by an outside observer. The same hospi-
tality, provided you are admitted within their limits
at all, is extended to all : another evidence where the
brain power has control of, and keeps the sentiments
and impetuosities at bay. Let your visit be at any
hour of the day or night they welcome you with this
spirit. If in the night even, the same invitation for
you to partake of refreshments, or to drink some of
their beverages, is extended.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE MOQUI AND ZUNI CONTINUED— THEIR DRESS— MANUFAC-
TURES— GOVERNMENT — THE SEVEN CITIES OF C1BOLA — THE
THE ARK AGAIN— A PRESENT FROM PRESIDENT LINCOLN—
THAT PERSISTENT MISSION— MAJOR POWELL'S DESCRIPTION.

dress is of a cotton tunic, with a loose girdle,
extending to the knees. In cold weather a blan-
ket, made more generally by the Moqui tribes, is
worn. Some of these blankets me of the richest de-
signs, and will last a life time. They are mottled with
all colors and devices, and resemble, and would mnke
very fashionable and serviceable lap robes as used in
American metropolitan life. Some travelers have been
known to pay us high as one hundred dollars for one
of these blankets, and it is estimated that to some of
them a whole life time has been devoted. Col. E. J.
Hinton has one of these blankets or shawls for which I
think he said he paid forty dollars, but for which he
would not take one hundred dollars cash. It puzzled
the whole party to decide how the different colors
were blended. The thread seemed to be a tightly

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 259

twisted or u water-twisted " one, of fine wool — a thread
which among our modern manufacturers, is considered
of the greatest durability. Eemembering the primi-
tive modes possessed by the Indians, it is a marvel
how they can produce such perfection. The women
wear an outer garment, falling from the neck to the
ankle, girded at the waist, with tassels hanging from
the girdle to the feet. Woolen leggins and high moc-
casins of different designs ornament their feet. The
arms of the women are generally allowed to go bare,
(except in such cooler days or parts of the year when
they wear the wrapper or blanket spoken of above)
exhibiting an arm and hand that many a so-called
belle would be proud of, except that the hand will
show the effects of a little closer intercourse with the
material things of the world — dish cloths and slop-
pails — for instance. When they conceal those arms
under the wrapper, however, it seems to be with as
much grace as the best of 'em. Their hair is black
and thick like the ordinary Indian, but they wear it
with more taste, and something after the fashion of the
Chinese women.

Their government is more after the civilized code
than Indian. It consists of a governor; and what
might correspond to our Lieut. Governor. An Alcalde
(or Mayor). Three Tenientes (or Police commissioners)

260 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

who are responsible for the good behavior of the peo-
ple, arid twelve Caziques (or councilmen).

The head Cazlqite serves during life, and is called the
Wakamano. The Governor also serves for life.
The others are all elected yearly. The war chief
during peace conducts the different kinds of hunts.

All orders — for the government and control of
the tribes are given by the Governor in person from
the top of the central house to his Caziques, and the
orders are then distributed in the different locations
or different sections of the grand house by them.
They walk over the different places crying at the top
of their voices, the order as given by the Governor —
the story of the town cryers of old resuscitated.

In times of threatened raids from the Apaches or
Navajoes, or impending dangers of war, they will not
only congregate en masse in, and around their aerial
city, but will drive up all their stock on the mesa, and
once there they can bid defiance to an armed foe much
greater in numbers than their own. It is supposed
that these are the seven cities of Cibola which Coronado,
with an armed force of Spaniards went, in 1540, from
Mexico to conquer. It will be remembered how the in-
habitants, although with primitive utensils of war, and
with vastly inferior numbers, conquered the Spaniards.
This was done by rolling huge boulders from the
height, hurling missiles, arrows etc., at and down upon

PICTUKESQUK ARIZONA. 263

their foes, as they would endeavor to ascend the mesa.

"These people too, have their tradition of the flood.
They say they have lived in these mountains and
among these valleys ever since the world was de-
stroyed by a great flood. Their ancestors got into a
floating log which happened to be floating along.
This log in the course of due time, and as the waters
"soaked into the earth," landed on a high peak of the
San Francisco Mountains. Shortly after their num-
bers increased rapidly, and the Apaches attacked them,
killing the most of their tribe, and the remainder jour-
neyed north to where they now live. Since this time,
with their natural fortresses of defence, to be found in
the mesa, together with their watchfulness, they have
defended themselves against all odds. The old Gover-
nor— Governor Pino by name, can \ye often seen walk-
ing through his little city with the air and spirit of a
truly modest guardian. On special or state occasions,
the Governor carries a gold-headed cane which was
given him by President Lincoln.

"In the centre of the town stand the remains of the
old Catholic mission. It lias not been used for wor-
ship for over one hundred years. How old the mis-
sion is, I arn not possessed of suffiicient facts to say.
Some records date back as far as 1732, — some older
records being obliterated. Two old bells which re-
main still in the belfry are stamped 1689 and 1751.

264 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

From some cause the priests of the cliurch were ban-
ished from the place by the Zunis about one hundred
years ago and have not been permitted to return since.

We give a few additional interesting extracts from
Major J. W. Powell's letters to Scribner^s Magazine, in
relation to this people :

"By day the men hunted and the women gathered
berries and the other rich fruits that grow in that coun-
try, and at night they danced. A little after dark a
fire was kindled, and the musicians took their places.
They had two kinds of instruments. One was a large
basket tray, covered with pitch inside and out, so as to
be quite hard and resonant; this was placed over a pit
in the ground, and they beat on it with sticks. The
other was a primitive fiddle, made of a cedar stick, as
large round as my wrist and about three feet long ;
this was cut with notches about three inches apart
They placed one end on a tray arranged like the one
just described, placed the other end against the stom-
ac , and played upon the fiddle with a pine-stick bow,
which was dragged up and down across the notches,
making a rattling, shrieking sound. So they beat their
loud drum and sawed their hoarse fiddle for a time,
until the young men and maidens gathered about and

joined in a song:

* Ki-ap-pa tu-gu-wun,
Pi-vi-an na kai-va.'

(Friends, let the play commence ; all sing together.)

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 265

Gradually they formed a circle, and the dance com-
menced. Around they went, old men and women,
young men and maidens, little boys and girls, all in
one great circle, around and around, all singing, all
keeping time with their feet, pat, pat, pat, in the dust
and sand ; low, hoarse voices ; high, broken, scream-
ing voices ; mellow, tender voices ; but louder than
all, the thump and screech of the orchestra.

u One set done another was formed; this time the
women dancing in the inner circle, the men without.
Then they formed in rows, and danced, back and
forth in lines, the men in one direction, the women in
another. Then they formed again, the men standing
expectant without, the women dancing demurely
within, quite independent of one another, until one
maiden beckoned to a lover, and he, with a loud,
shrill whoop, joined her in the sport. The ice broken,
each woman called her partner, and so they danced
by twos and twos, in and out, here and there, with
steadily increasing time, until one after another, broke
down and but three couples were left. These danced
on, on, on, until they seemed to be wild with uncon-
trollable motion. At last one of the couples failed,
and the remaining two pattered away, while the whole
tribe stood by shouting, yelling, laughing, and scream-
ing, until another couple broke down, and the cham-
pions only remained. Then all the people rushed

266 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

forward, and the winning couple were carried and
pushed by the crowd to the lire. The old chief came
up, arid on the young man's head placed a crown of
eagle's feathers. A circlet of braided porcupine quills
was placed about the head of the maiden, and into
tli is circlet were inserted plumes made of the crest of
the quail and the bright feathers of the humming bird.
I have said that the ceremony was in honor of Mu-ing-
wa, the god of rain. It was a general thanksgiving
for an abundant harvest, and a prayer for rain during
the coming season. Against one end of the kiva was
placed a series of picture writings on wooden tablets.
Carved wooden birds on little wooden pedestals, and
many pitchers and vases, were placed about the room.
In the niches were kept the collection of sacred jewels,
little crystals of quartz, crystals of calcite, garnets, beau-
tiful pieces of jasper, and other bright or fantastically
shaped stones, which, it was claimed, they had kept
for many generations. Corn, meal, flour, and white and
black sand were used in the ceremony at different
times. There were many sprinklings of water, which
had been previously consecrated by ceremony and
prayer. Often the sand or meal were scattered about.
Occasionally during the twenty- four hours a chorus of
women singers were brought into the kiva, and the
general ceremony was varied by dancing and singing.
The dancing was performed by single persons or by

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. '>67

couples, or by a whole bevy of women, but the singing
was always in chorus, except a kind of chant from
time to time, by the elder of the priests. My knowl-
edge of the language was slight, and I was able to
comprehend but little of what was said ; but I think I
obtained, by questioning and close observation, and
gathering a few words here and there, some general
idea of what they were doing. About every two hours
there was a pause in the ceremony, when refreshments
were brought in, and twenty minutes or half an hour
was given to general conversation ; and I always took
advantage of such a time to have the immediately
preceding ceremony explained to me as far as possible.
During one of these resting times I took pains to make
a little diagram of the position which had been as-
sumed by the different parties engaged, and to note
down, as far as possible, the various performances,
which I will endeavor to explain .

" A little to one side of the fire (which was in the mid
die of the chamber) and near the sacred paintings, the
four priests took their positions in the angles of a
somewhat regular quadrilateral. Then the virgin
placed a large vase in the middle of a space, then she
brought a pitcher of water, and, with a prayer, the old
man poured a quantity into a vase. The same was
done in turn by the other priests. Then the maiden
brought on a little tray or salver, a box or pottery

268 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

case, containing the sacred jewels, and, after a prayer,
the old man placed some of these jewels in the water,
and the same ceremony was performed by each of the
other priests. Whatever was done by the old priest
was also done by the others in succession. Then the
maiden brought kernels of corn on a tray, and these
were in like manner placed on the water. She then
placed a little brush near each of the priests. These
brushes were made of the feathers of the beautiful
warblers and humming-birds found in that region.
Then she placed a tray of meal near each of the priests
and a tray of white sand, and a tray of red sand, and
a tray of black sand. She then took from the niche
in the wall a little stone vessel, in which had been
ground some dried leaves, and placed it in the centre
of the space between the men. Then on a little wil-
low-ware tray, woven of many colored straws, she
brought four pipes of the ancient pattern— hollow
cones, in the apex of which were inserted the stems.
Each of the priests filled his pipe with the ground
leaves from the stone vessel. The maiden lighted a
small, fantastically painted stick and gave it to the
priest, who lighted his pipe and smoked it with great
vigor, swallowing the smoke, until it appeared that his
stomach and mouth were distended. Then, kneeling
over the vase, he poured the smoke from his mouth
into it, until it was filled, and the smoke piled over

AN INDIAN HUNTER.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 269

and gradually rose above him, forming a cloud. Then
the old man, taking one of the little feather brushes,
dipped it into the vase of water and sprinkled the
floor of the kiva, and, standing up, clasped his hands,
turned his face upward, and prayed. * Mu-ing-wa !
very good ; thou dost love us, for thou didst bring us
up from the lower world. Thou didst teach our fa-
thers, and their wisdom has descended to us. We
eat no stolen bread. No stolen sheep are found in
our flocks. Our young men ride not the stolen ass.
We beseech thee, Mu-ing-wa, that thou wouldst dip
thy brush, made of the feathers of the birds of heaven,
into the lakes of the skies, and scatter water over the
earth, even as I scatter water over the floor of the
kiva ; Mu-ing-wa, very good.7

" Then the white sand was scattered over the floor,
and the old man prayed that during the coming sea-
son Mu-ing-wa would break the ice in the lakes of
heaven, and grind it into ice dust (snow), and scatter
it over the land, so that during the coming winter the
ground might be prepared for the planting of another
crop. Then, after another ceremony with kernels of
corn, he prayed that the corn might be impregnated
with the life of the water, and made to bring forth an
abundant harvest. After a ceremony with the jewels,
he prayed that the corn might ripen, and that each
kernel might be as hard as one of the jewels. Then

270 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

this part of the ceremony ceased. The vases and the
pitchers, and jewels, and other paraphernalia of the
ceremony were placed away in the niche by the
mother. At day-break on the second morning, when
the ceremonies had ceased, twenty-five or thirty mai-
dens came down into the kiva, disrobed themselves,
and were reclothed in gala dress, variously decorated
with feathers and bells, each assisting the other. Then
their faces were painted by the men in thiswise: a
man would take some paint in his month, thoroughly
mix it with saliva, and with his finger paint the girTs
face with one color, in such a manner as seemed right
to him, and she was then turned over to another man
who had another color prepared. In this way their
faces were painted yellow, red and blue. When all
was ready, a line was formed in the kiva, at the head
of which was the grandmother, and at the foot the
virgin priestess, who had attended through the entire
ceremony. As soon as the line was formed below,
the men, wilh myself, having in the meantime re-
clothed ourselves, went up into the court and were
stationed on the top of the house nearest the entrance
to the kiva. We found all the people of the village,
and what seemed to me all the people of the surround-
ing villages, assembled on top of the houses — men,
women and children, all standing expectant.

" As the procession emerged from the kiva by the

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 2*71

ladder; the old woman commenced to chant. Slowly
the procession marched about the court and around
two or three times, and then to the centre, where the
maidens formed a circle, the young virgin priestess
standing in the centre. She held in her hand a beau-
tifully wrought willow-work tray, and all the young
men stood on the brink of the wall next to the plaza?
as if awaiting a signal. Then the maiden, with eyes
bandaged, turning round and round, chanting some-
thing which I could not understand, until she should
be thoroughly confused as to the direction in which
the young men stood. Then she threw out of the
circle in which she stood the tray which she held, and
at that instant, every young athlete sprang from the
wall and rushed toward the tray, and entered into the
general conflict to see who should obtain it. No
blows were given, but they caught each other about
the waist and around the neck, tumbling and rolling
about into the court until, at last, one got the tray into
his possession for an instant, threw it aloft and was
declared the winner. With great pride he carried it
away. Then the women returned to the kiva. In a
few minutes afterward they emerged again, another
woman carrying a tray, and so the contests were kept
up until each maiden had thrown a tray into the
court-yard, and it had been won by some of the ath-
letes. About ten o'clock these contests ended, and

272 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

the people retired to their homes, each family in the
village inviting its friends from the surrounding vil-
lages, and for an hour there was feasting and revelry.
During the afternoon there were races, and afterward
dancing, which was continued until midnight."

A SCOUT OF THE NAVAJO INDIANS IN NORTH- EASTERN ARIZONA.

CHAPTEK XVII.

THE ANTIQUITY OF THESE INDIANS— ARIZONA'S VICISSITUDES-
CONQUERED AT LAST — AMERICA'S DARK AGES — A COSTLY

BONFIRE — PRESCOTT — HUMBOLDT — BANCROFT — TO THE
LAND OF ANCIENT LORE BY RAIL !

IT is a •well-known fact that the antiquity of these
people is one of the many subjects connected with
Arizona that is ; and lias been ever since the time of
the Spanish conquest, taxing the investigation of man.
As Governor Safford once said : " There is probably
no portion of our domain where such a variety of
Indians live, speaking so many different dialects, as in
Arizona." And we might add of so many different
customs and natural characteristics. In regard to the
Zunis and Moquis it is now asked, "Are they Aztec,
Toltec, or what? " The nearest we have got to it yet
is that they are " whatever " they may be. They
may be the descendants of the remnants of some par-
ticular tribe, or the remnants of a score of tribes
that suffered the incursions of the sixteenth cen-
tury, consequent upon the invasion and conquest by
Cortez. What a revolution was there! What a turn-

276 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

ing upside down of institutions of a civilized, culti-
vated and refined people, who are now forgotten and
almost obliterated by the lapse of time. A people,
perhaps, scientific in the extreme, and whose institu-
tions in many respects equalled, if not excelled, some
of those of our own civilization. With the opening
up of Arizona, the reward to us may be commensu-
rate with our difficulty and delay of getting a practi-
cal admission to her. More obstacles, and perhaps
oftener, have been thrown in the way to retard the
opening up of Arizona than perhaps any other por-
tion of our country. In addition to the most formid-
able and desperate tribes of Indians that ever com-
bated the approach of civilization, the position of
Arizona, subjects us to the incursions of the treacher-
ous Mexican banditti, who are as ready and willing to
profit by any misfortune or weakness of his neighbor
as the most ruthless Indian. Its position too, sub-
jected it to a great drawback in 1861 and '63 by our
civil war ; and at a time when she was again budding
with success.

Some men, like communities are often found in
their egotism, congratulating themselves on the ad-
vance— the progression they are making, having an
infallible belief that progression, is a magnate taking
no back tracks, and meeting with no diversions ; that
we never lose, but always gain. That we did not lose

A NAVAJO INDIAN BOY.

AN ANCIENT WAB DANCE OF THE APACHES.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 277

anything in the destruction of the Alexandrian library,
or that if we did it was chaff compared ~to what we
gained immediately after, or by the very destruc-
tion itself. Or that by the dark ages, although admit,
ting they were irksome and disagreeable in themselves-
nothing was lost. Others there are who claim to see a
complete revolution in all things ; who claim a com-
prehensive distinction between progress and change ;
who rather glory in finding that which was lost, claim-
ing nothing new under the sun, and who concede that
the dark ages are the great Machiavels of time who
cunningly and stealthily crowd themselves in to baffle
the philosopher in his course, and who simply cover
up — hide, things for a limited period, for our employ-
ment and amusement in finding again.

From 1520 to 1530, then was the " dark age " of the
North American Continent. Enough was covered up
during those ten years to take all the science, work,
and philosophy of centuries to unearth. This we
know. But we do not know but that there is much
that will never be discovered, nor even dreamed of.
The most of these belong or are connected, in some
way with the people of whom we have barely made
mention, and of whom if volumes were written, which
has already been done, one could scarcely do more.
To what extent these facts exist may be made clearer

278 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

bv reference to the historian, Prescott. Prescott says :
Book VI, Chap. 8 :

" Yet the Aztecs must have been in possession of a
much larger treasure, if it were only the wreck of that
recovered from the Spaniards on the night of the mem-
orable flight from Mexico. Some of the spoils may
have been sent away from the capital ; some spent in
preparations for defence, and more of it buried in the
earth, or sunk in the waters of the lake. Their menaces
were not without meaning. They had, at least, the
satisfaction of disappointing the avarice of their ene-
mies.

u Cortez had no further occasion for the presence of
his Indian allies.

They carried off a liberal share of the spoils, of
which they had plundered the dwellings — not of a
kind to excite the cupidity of the Spaniards — and
returned in triumph, (short-sighted triumph !) at the
success of their expedition, and the downfall of the
Aztec dynasty."

The memorable night alluded to above was that
which is the present patron saint day of Mexico, — the
day of St. Hypolito — and was selected and handed
down as such from the circumstances connected with
it

Prescott also says, in speaking of the great quanti-
ties of the fine arts that is known to have existed

P1CTURESQUK ARIZONA. 279

among the Aztecs at the time of the Spanish con-
quest : — " The first archbishop of Mexico collected these
paintings from every quarter, especially from Tez-
euco, the most cultivated capital in Anahuac. and the
great depository of the national archives. He then
caused them to be piled up in a 'mountain heap/ as it
is called by the Spanish writers themselves, in the mar-
ket place of Tiateloco, and reduced them all to ashes."

Humboldt said : — u The Mexicans (Aztecs) were in
possession of annals that went back to eight and a half
centuries beyond the epoch of the arrival of Cortez
in the country of Anahuac."

Bancroft tells us also, that the Aztecs retained many
traditions and systems of the Toltecs " whose written
annals they also preserved." He also says that at the
time of the arrival of the Spaniards, there were great
quantities of manuscript treasured up in the country.

A recent correspondence to the Philadelphia Weekly
Press, says: — "At the time of the conquest of Mexico,
Cortez fonnd in Mexico a people millions in number,
according to his account, enjoying a high order of civ-
ilization. Their government was a confederated ein-
pjre of many states, a rather highly organized system
implying large political knowledge and practical states-
manship. Their religion was one of peace and love,
if their temples filled with flowers and birds and
fountains, and their daily life and conversation and

280 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

the many virtues transmitted to their descendants to-
day— if these works are any evidence of their faith.
They had wealth of gold and silver, and artistic work-
ers in their precious metals. They had fine houses
and great public works, temples, aqueducts, roadways.
They had a calendar measuring the solar year more
accurately than ours, and requiring readjustment not
every four years, but only once in half a century.
They had full records of their own civilization and
history, but they were richer yet in the possession of
ample and authentic records of the races before them."

All these annals and paintings met the same fate.
All things in short connected with this people that fire
would destroy, was obliterated from the face of the
earth. It eclipsed the decline and fall of the Roman
empire, and the worst features of history repeated
themselves in the new world.

Science has heretofore been confined to the ancient
recesses of the old world. But. only a short space of
time will elapse when the steam car alone will lead us
to a new field of labor in this channel ; curiosity and
pleasure will follow closely in the wake of ambition's
stronger impulse ; and Arizona, New Mexico, and our
southwest generally will resound with notes of the
choicest ancient lore. The tide of pre-historic study,
will be suddenly transferred to our very doors, and the
flash of our ignited torch cast a lurid glare on even a
p re- Ada mite existence.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE GREAT CASA GRANDE— IMPRESSIONS— A PALACE, CASTLE
OR WHAT ?— A BILLOWY SEA OF GREEN— THE PUZZLE OF
PUZZLES.

A I/THOUGH in the mines and in their mining lies
Jr\ the chief value and support of Arizona, if not of
the nation so to speak, the pre-historic land-marks
that exist on every hand in our southwest — and not
only these, but the actual existence of the pre-historic
people (in their descendants) that yet remain in a
goodly number, constantly attract an additional class
of people, in our scientists, archeologists, travelers and
tourists.

In the east as well as the west — in the south as
well as the north, many evidences of these have been
already discovered. Mnjor Powell, in his recent ex-
plorations on the upper Colorado Eiver, reports ruins
along its banks and on its Plateaus ; and Gov. A. P
K. Safford tells of some in the nearer northwest.

A little to the southeast of the Pimo Indians, about
ten miles off lies the ruins of the great Casa Grande of
Arizona. It would seem modesty and good taste in

282 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

me to refrain from an extended description and refer-
ence to these ruins, except so far as to give a general
idea of their appearance, and to complete the import-
ant features of the Territory ; and then to say to the
reader, there they are. Indeed in this, have we told all
we know. Since the year 1694 when Father Kino
from Mexico gave the first account of them every wri-
ter or narrator has drawn largely upon his imagination
and still harder upon his knowledge, to throw some
light upon these somewhat ancient structures. But
we know nothing. The whole is mere conjecture.

After having driven a distance of ten miles southeast
of the Pimo villages (or the same distance southwest
from Florence), the traveler strikes upon a vast open
land, slightly undulating, aud backed or encircled by
picturesque mountains. The land here for miles is
just diversified enough with growths of different kinds,
as well as by the peculiar contour of the land to make
the perspective pleasing ; the undulation in some cases
amounting to small hills. If an observant traveler,
you will notice in passing over some of the undula-
tions, that they are oblong, and are remains of an
acequia or aqueduct. This conflicts a little with the
sentiment under which you have been traveling, and
flattering yourself that you or your people were the
first civilized or intelligent beings that ever trod this
soil; you are amazed when by mathematical dernonstra

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 285

tions, you find the grading and building of these ace-
quias to be based upon practical principles equal to
any our present science is able to conceive. You are
now ascending a gentle grade, and a few rods bring
you face to face upon a high ruin of — you don't know
what ; but suppose from its shape, an ancient house,
supplemented on all sides by smaller ruins, of perhaps
smaller houses, or of sections of the main house.
Then all your energies of imagination and conjecture
are strained, and the interest in the surroundings has
increased. The spirit that often looms up in mute ob-
jects, holds you fast and talks to you of things you
know not of, and yet tells you not of them. All that
interest, enhanced by mystery, wells up in j^ou, and you
are riveted to the spot You are standing on an ele-
vated plateau from which you look out upon a very
gentle decline, rolling in its nature, and covered with
thousands of known and unknown plants and shrubs.
Over this billowy green your eye is carried to the
mountain outlines, and beyond. Beyond the moun-
tains even, in the translucent atmosphere, your eye
seems to wander, and if the weather is especially clear,
or the time of day late, the halo, of which we have
spoken in connection with other mountains, will lend
a beautiful back-ground to an already grand perspec-
tive. The scene is a beautiful one, and the outlook
commanding. You are standing now close by, or

286 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

leaning against the walls of the great Casa Grande.
You turn and look upon them. You step back and
lift your head to comprehend the whole structure more
at a glance. The structure, or rather the main ruin,
as it remains now is about sixty feet high on an aver-
age, by about forty by fifty in area. We notice apper-
tures on the ground level which we suppose to have
been door places, and above we see the square open-
ings for windows. As we do so and comprehend
these as an outlook, we turn about again and behold
the grand stretch of country around on all sides, for
many, many leagues. Allowing our imagination to
supply the extra distance from the ground, or actually
climbing up with some difficulty into the breaks, we
take a second survey of the land we would crave to
call our own. As we do so we are compelled, con-
trary to our egotism, to admit that at least, beings with
some art and poetry in their souls, whether they be
born of God or of the devil (as an early explorer sug-
gested) had selected this spot for their castle. The ex-
tent of the smaller ruins around, also, and the remains
of an acequia or aqueduct running around the
grounds for nine miles, suggests the existence, at some
previous day, of a potent city ; and from the strength
and duration of their walls, a well made one. We
descend again from within these dumb and tantalizing
walls. They will not speak to us. We have to shake

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 289

hands with ourselves for what we know. The Indians
have a tradition that these ruins existed five hundred
years ago. Down and outside, we turn and look again
at the remnant of centuries.

You have by this time been worked up to a pitch
of the highest interest. Who were these people?
you ask. Where did they come from ? and what was
their end ? And, like all before you, you have to
answer them for yourself. No one can tell you. His-
tory has beaten itself. Now comes the Arizona prob-
lem again! Were they Aztecs? or, were they Tol-
tecs? Did they live in the inglorious age of the Span-
ish conquerors, and were they crushed and annihilated
by them? or were they of the earlier Toltec age, and
swept off the face of the earth by the more warlike and
ferocious Aztecs from the north in the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries ? You try to throw some light
upon your ignorance by the character of the neighbor
ing country and its human life. Now you are puzzled.
To the south, you trace the native Mexican Indian, a
personification of laziness, and intermixed with the
inglorious elements that perhaps was the destroyers
of the very light you crave ; producing a race whose
energies would scarcely build a single wall, much less
a palace. To the north you have the Pirnos, and
Papagos ; docile, industrious and affectionate in
peace ; brave and fearless when at war, yet slow to

'290 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

anger and merciful. To the east, a little way off, the
murderous Apache looms up with all the horror of
murder and death. A little further to the north again
are the Moqui and Zuni people, as much different from
the former as the soul from the flesh * whose habits of
life and industry, are proverbial for integrity and pros-
perity ; who embody all the finer sentiments of a truly
cultivated soul, whose love for one another is only
equalled by their bravery and nobleness. In all these
I say, we see such a vnst diversity of the human race,
we ask to which can we ascribe the descendency of
people who once inhabited these ruined structures. Were
they so scattered by some crushing power that each
fragment has become an isolated portion, in a frame-
work that has created a separate and distinct race?
Were they the Toltecs crushed by the Aztecs ? or,
were they Aztec crushed by the ignoble — the inglori-
ous Spanish crusaders of the sixteenth century?
Were they objects born of the devil against whom the
Christian was in duty bound to carry on the work of
extermination ? If so, nobly did that Christian do his
work !

These interesting, and perhaps valuable relics to the
unearthing of some lost or pre-historic knowledge, are
fast going to decay. Even the little knowledge we
have of them, should with a possibility, compared to
a greater, warrant the government in protecting and

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 291

preserving them. It is estimated that upwards of one
hundred thousand people inhabited the Gila valley in
A rizona at one time.

CHAPTER XIX.

FLORENCE — ITS UNIQUENESS — ANXIETY FOR COL. GRAHAM —
FALSE ALARM— MODERN RUINS— THE OLD MISSION BUILD-
INGS—SAN XAVIER DEL BAC.

OUR party was in good spirits when we left the
Pimo villages ; and our reflections of the experi-
ence with the interesting people and their dwellings
often recurred to our minds. The recollection of their
many quaint narratives concerning their relation with
the whites, and of their peculiar life, has often enter-
tained me in solitude since. A half day's travel from
the Pimo villages brings you to the quaint old town
of Florence. I say " quaint " and " old " town. You
can hardly say old or new. It is a little of both ; and
the two extremes are more forcibly met with here
than perhaps anywhere in the Territory, except, per-
haps at Tucson, which town is beginning, under the
American ambition, to aspire to something more than
one story adobes. But the very combination of these

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 293

extremes makes it quaint. Here you will find the
primitive Mexican or half breed Indian adobe hut ;
the log cabin ; the Anglo-Saxon American cottage
among a cluster of cotton-wood or willow; and the
aborigines' tepis. The slight elevation of this place
with its cooler bracing atmosphere over that of the
hotter valleys of the Gila or Colorado, is a promising
feature for its growth. It also has a beautiful valley
bottom contiguous to it, which will at no distant day
open up a fine farming country. The elevation is
about five hundred feet. The pattern of the city re-
sembles very much, Salt Lake City, Utah ; having its
streets cheerfully cooled by running streams of living
water, brought down from the Gila by artificial means,
and having these streams edged with a growth of
cotton-wood or willow.

We had not to drive far from the Pimo villages to the
next hacienda or station. Here we learned for the
first time on this tour, of one of those entertainments
common on highways and especially on our frontier —
a stage robbery. Like all traveling parties over our
new West, our own had passed many a moment in con-
versation on this subject while wending our way over
mountain, plain and mesa. We had decided just what
we would all do in case of an attack. One of us
would grab the fellow by the hair; (if there happened
to be two, we bind the other one — or choke him) ;

294 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

and if more, we would shoot the whole lot of them —
with compassion of course, but as a matter of self-de-
fense and protection. There were two of our party,
however, not participants in the conversation, and
they enjoyed hugely, the good will and determina-
tion of our friends to rid the desert of its unpleasant
visitors; but as well did we enjoy the credulity of
these self-same deliverers. The whole secret was, we
two had " been there before ; " and knew that in case
of an attack, their good intentions would fail as com-
pletely as had their bravery given impulse to their
threats. The stage from Tucson that morning, had
been robbed. Col. Graham had left our party on that
morning and gone ahead to Tucson just before we
learned of the affair, to make additional arrangements
for our further travels into the southeast. We felt a
little anxiety on his account. He was naturally, in
lieu of his mission, laden with more or less of just
such " trash " as would have been acceptable to these
"road agents." Had I myself been aware of the ex-
perience with these agents that lay in store for me on
my subsequent return — my interest in the affair could
not but have been vastly greater. Subsequent knowl-
edge, however, relieved our anxieties, and the prepa-
rations we found at Tucson, on our arrival there, for
our further progress, was sufficient evidence that not
hide nor hair, nor the pocket, of our fore-runner had

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 295

been disturbed. It was the incoming stage that had
suffered.

Directly south, about seventy-five miles, lies the
now ambitious town of Tucson, the metropolis of the
State, and at one time the capital. In visiting Tuc-
son, one has virtually visited the phlegmatic Mexican
condition of life, as completely as though lie had been
to Mexico, or to some hamlet of suburban Spain.
The American traveler spends just time enough here
to find out how many of his own countrymen have
found a home within its limits, and congratulates them
upon their hopes of meeting their reward in the future.
Perhaps he will stay long enough to get drunk ; to
see a cock-fight, or go to a bailie — a Spanish-Mexican
ball. To the south of Tucson, nine miles, lies the old
Mission of San Xavier Del Bac, in a remarkably good
state of preservation. The missions of our southwest,
many of which are now in ruins, constitute a feature
of attraction. They might be known as the modern
ruins, as distinguished from ancient ruins applied to
the evidences of unknown structures everywhere to be
found over the lands of southern California, Arizona
and New Mexico. Although being in a good state of
preservation, and yet being opened to service for a
half civilized, remnant of a mixture of the Mexico-
Indian blood, it is virtually a ruin. It is, however,
the best preserved in the Territory. It was founded

296 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

in 1690; but the present edifice was erected about the
year 1785, as near as I have been able to determine
by data. This would make the establishment of the
mission nearly two centuries old. A description of
these buildings, with their dimensions, etc., although
elaborate, bold, and conspicuous in themselves, might
lack interest, resembling, as they do, any grand and
gorgeous Catholic church in our thickly populated
cities. But contrast makes both interest and beauty.
Associations make in fact, the thing itsel£ Take
away the associations of a thing, or the condition in
which, or upon which, the thing exists, and you have
changed it to all intents and purposes, to something
else. To ride miles and miles then, across a level
country, seeing nothing but what you might conceive
consisted in just the bare platform of earth placed
there by the hand of nature for subsequent use, to see
as if by magic, one of these structures, equal in all its
metropolitan adornments, planted where it would seem
there was no fruit to nourish, strikes you curiously.
All over this land you come in contact with these
modern ruins of the religious zeal and fervor of the
Jesuit Father of the seventeenth and eighteenth cen-
tury ; and in noticing the few and beggarly squads of
a people who are neither Mexican, Indian or what is
commonly known as an American, you see the tenac-
ity with which religious fanaticism holds fast to itself.

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PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 299

Approaching one of these edifices, a person ignorant
of their presence, would give vent to surprise and awe.
The deserts over which he has been riding has given
no sound, nor shown the work of any hand, and you
have seen, in nature's almost nothing, the greatest
something. In your long travels and your long ab-
sence from home and civilization, new and original
thoughts have crowded upon you. You have thought
as you never had thought before, and dreamed of
things you never saw. Why should you not? the
mental, like the mortal man, is on new soil ; and is
the mind not a plant? Does it not grow? Aye! and
what a sad growth is this growth of the mind ; for if
it grows athwart, and yet, for what, nor how, the com-
mon growth knows not, 'tis hewn down, to rot, but
really manures — enriches the soil for subsequent better
growth. In this is its glory. On ! On ! you go over
the vast stretch of country before you, unmindful of
hidden merits and virtues. Your mind has become
dreamy. You have come within the pale of some
gently rising slope unnoticed. You have skirted its
gentle slope unawares, when, turning suddenly some
abrupt side, one of these missions — bold in contrast ;
asserting in spirit, and gorgeous in display, stops you
short. Peace and quiet are its only companions. You
go 'round it, and are anxious to confront it more
boldly, and urge to get on the side which designates

300 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

its front. You are weary for some communal spirit.
You would talk with it. But when in front, you find
the doors closed, and often barred with the bolt of
time and decay. But presently, while standing mute
and writing your own brief history on the pages of
your thought, one of the doors quietly, stealthily
opens, and a solitary Peone or half breed Indian emer-
ges from the place in all the solemnity of a person
celebrating mass. Perhaps he has just finished this,
or some as solemn a rite. The door is softly closed
behind him. All is yet the embodiment of a perfect
quiet. In the soft spongy earth, not even the tread of
the worshipper is heard. Perhaps in the tower or some
secluse corner of the building, there is a remaining
bell which you had failed to find out. One ! Two !
Three ! its peal breaks suddenly upon you as if moved
by spirit hands. In the penetrating stillness, you had
heard a sound. It re-echoed the plains and deserts
wide; and in its familiar notes formed a connecting
link between you and your home. Nothing could
stop you from walking around and gazing for awhile
upon that bell.

Each toll was a wail for broken power — each knell a
cry for sympathy. Presently the door re-opened arid
there emerged from within a modest retiring priest
with downcast head, nor looking to the right nor to
the left, but keeping the "straight and narrow path"

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 301

to the hut of some benighted inhabitant of the plain
I shall never forget an experience of this -kind in a
visit several years ago, to the old mission San Juan
Ca pis trail.

CHAPTER XX.

THE KNELL OF PARTING POWER— THE TOLLING OF A CONTRITE
BELL— ALONE WITH THE SPIRITS OF CENTURIES— TUBAC—
THE MISSION RUINS OF SAINT JOSEPH— TUMACACORI— THE
SANTA CRUZ VALLEY.

TUCSON is the northern limit to these old missions
in the Territory of Arizona; but to the west, in
California, they may be found as far north as San
Francisco, where the mission Dolores is located.

One does not have to go far from the mission San
Xavier Del Bac, before he comes upon another of
these modern ruins. South, a. few miles from Tubac,
is located the old mission ruins of the Saint Joseph
Mission of Tumacacori. Many matters of interest are
connected with this mission. The interests in all are
very diversified. Some will tell of frightful obstacles
at the time of the establishing of them, and others will
tell of a series of constant tribulation. The history of
them as far as the church is concerned, is but compar-
atively little known except by that church. The

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 303

church of Tumacacori is in total ruins, it haying been
effectually destroyed by the Apache Indians some
years ago. The rains stand about three miles back
from the town of Tubac. in the valley of the Santa
Cruz : and the history of this mision can perhaps only
be equalled by the interesting facts that exist concern-
ing every section and every object in the whole valley.
These missions, or the place of their location has
always been selected with some special interest in
point of rich mineral or agricultural lands — perhaps
for the better pecuniary support of the cause. This
is particularly the case with this region of the Santa
Cruz. This valley and its surroundings have been
dwelt upon for both its richness and beauty, by all
writers ; and perhaps none the less for the diversity of
its changes and hardships, than for its riches. Per-
haps the very richness was the cause. It is this re-
gion that the story is told of the Padre and the salt-
cellar, in exemplification of the vast silver deposits in
the mountains about. The Padre had received a fel-
low Padre on a visit. Everything had been gotten
that it was thought would please and show respect.
At dinner one thing was missing, however, that at-
tracted the guest's notice. This was a salt cellar. He
made known his grievance to the host. The host being
much mortified, apologized for not having one in his
possession. Stopping to think for a moment, he fin-

3 04 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

ally said he would have one in a very few moments.
He immediately despatched one of his subjects to the
mountains near at hand to procure some silver ore.
The man returned in less than half an hour with a
quantity of ore from which a solid silver salt-cellar
was moulded, and the fastidity of the sacred guest sat-
isfied. It is well known that years ago, there was,
within a radius of sixteen miles, one hundred and fifty
silver mines. Broken remnants of the furnaces, cru-
cibles, etc. etc., used in smelting, may yet be seen in
and about the ruins.

The valley of the Santa Cruz cannot be over-esti-
mated for its beauty and fertility ; and when condi-
tions become at all stable in this country, it will rap-
idly assume to one of the Eldoradoes of the Territory.
As varied in its beauty, and rich in both its agricul-
ture and mineral resources, so has equally been its re-
versions; and as rapidly almost as pen could tell them.
Cozzens, in his " Marvelous Country," says it was a
"very attractive place, with its peach orchards, and its
pomegranates.'' This was in 1860. No sooner had he
these words out of his mouth, than our civil war put
an end to enterprise here ; turned progress and ambi-
tion into scenes of strife and bloodshed ; and con-
verted a thriving and promising present into a dark
and a-bject future. Prof. Pumpelly describes Tubac as
a "restored ruins of an old village." Tubac to-day is

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 307

a mass of adobe ruins ; but with the development of
the mines in and about the region, which is promised
by the Toltec Syndicate of mines, of San Francisco,
we may look for a rapid transition.

CHAPTEE XXL

LEAVING TUBAC— THE NINEVEH OF AMERICA— SILVER-LINED AND
VERDURE-CLAD — THE DAWN OF ARIZONA — BOLD MOUNTAIN
SCENERY — THE SANTA RITAS — THEIR MINES.

«

AT day break we were anxious for a start with a
double interest in view; we were to visit the
Santa Ritas ; and we were lo stop on our way and see
the old ruins of the ancient mission church at Tumac-
acori about three miles from the town of Tubac. It
was a brilliant morning, the rarity and clearness of the
atmosphere drawing the mountains almost up to our
very threshold. Some few of the Spanish-Indian-
Mexican element were out basking in the morning
sun. We have remarked before, what a diversity of
interests and combinations and characters Arizona af-
fords. In this place one is forcibly reminded of trav-
eling among the ancient countries of the east. With
its handful of deserted and ruined mud houses, one
and two stories high, with evidences of an attempt at
some previous day, to arches, pillars, columns, etc.,
one is reminded of a Nineveh or a Babylon. These

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 309

old ruins seem now to have no ambition but to crum-
ble away and become things of the past. One build-
ing I noticed, larger and better preserved than the rest,
had a cu_pola. This was the old presidio, or fort.
The place is not wholly deserted, a few of the houses
being inhabited by the phlegmatic Mexican greaser
waiting for " something to turn up." The principal
object of ambition and life consisted of a flock of goats
owned by the man who kept the overland stage hotel.
(The reader must be well acquainted with this
class of building in Arizona by this time.) The
goats, having a predilection for high elevations, will
often occupy the top of the ruined walls, which
gives the whole a quaint appearance to the newcomer,
who views this scene for the first time.

Looking in the direction of the Santa Eitas we real-
ized we were approaching a section of country more
diversified and picturesque. As we neared the foot-
hills and crossed ravines and gulches, we mounted
plateaus stretching for miles away, and abounding in
prolific growth, choking themselves with each other
for the very ground's sake, on which they thrived.
Here we would cross an extended mesa, and there
gradually wend our way up some gentle hill-side, lead-
ing up to the base of the ruder mountain. Here, we
will ford some gentle running stream and finally find our
way into the gorges and defiles of the mountains —

310 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

mountains silver-lined and verdure-clad. The land
included in our trip from Tubac and into the heart of
the Santa Eitas reminded us of frontier trips in fair
California of old, when the camp and the log hut
were the fashion ; but with California as an incentive,
and the immigration from the east, which is already
vastly on the increase, Arizona will not exist so long
in embryo as did her neighbor State, California. In
addition to her mineral wealth, the grazing lands of
Arizona will attract remarkable attention henceforth.
Arizona is full of a system of small clusters of moun-
tains seperate and distinct in themselves, thus giving
throughout, a vast area of foot-hills and elevated pla-
teaus favorable for sheep and goats. At no distant
day the whole eastern Arizona — the San Francisco
Mountains, the White Mountains in the northeast, and
the Santa Ritas and Cero Colorado in the southeast
will be a marvel of shepherds and their flocks.

Approaching the Santa Ritas the effect is a pleasing
and cheerful one. It relieves the barrenness of, and
forms a very consoling contrast to the sandy mesas
you have traversed in the forepart of your journey.
Leaving the Santa Cruz valley, you. pass a pretty un-
dulating prairie land, and to the head of you, you have
a second view of the picturesque and fertile San Ga-
briel valley in the Southern part of California. So
well is this valley reproduced in the approach to the

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 311

Santa Eitas that you almost fancy it is trying to rival
its neighbor State. You look in vain for the exten-
sive wheat fields and orchards of a Baldwin, or the
rural and sanitary hotel and lovely grounds of a Cogs-
well. And it would not take half the nerve and judg-
ment of either of these worthy Californians to grasp
the opportunity to utilize these mountain lands to the
same extent.

Amid the breezes wafted over this charming lea
from the canyons of the Santa Eitas is destroyed the
recollections of the heat of the desert and puts in one
the vim of a miner and prospector. With the unlimi-
ted product of grasses, the pleasing and interesting
specimens of the cacti of this capricious land, yielding
everything, and the narcotic and invigorating air
which was constantly wafted into our nostrils as
though it was a solid substance rather than a gas;
and lastly with the silver tongued Santa Eitas looming
out before us, summoning us to share her opulence, is
it any wonder that our spirits were allured to build
air castles, or our nerves and muscles strengthened for
the most arduous toil?

To the front old Picacho del Diablo, rolls boldly out
upon the plain, capped by its commanding peak, one
of the two great peaks of the Santa Eitas, the highest
south of the Gila Eiver. In and around the rugged sur-
face and crevices, of her barren walls, we knew, was a fa-

312 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

vorite defence and fortress of the murderous Apache.
From behind these natural breast- works, many an inno-
cent prospector and sturdy pioneer has been popped off
his buro or horse, and the animal taken to add
strength to these mountain devils, for further raids.

Just before reaching the immediate vicinity of the
Santa Ritas a peculiar formation of rock in a deep
gulch or ravine attracted the interest of all our party.
Large, oval and columnar shaped rocks protruded from
the banks, and others stood upright in the centre like
sentinels. They were of lime and sandstone formation ;
but in shape resembled some of the rock formations
of the upper Colorado Canyons, or of the immense
colmunar basaltic rocks on the Columbia River, in
Oregon. The ones in the centre reminded us of mum-
mies capped with a prodigious flat broad crusty forma-
tion, as if they had got their custom from the huge sun-
brimmed hats of the Jesuit Fathers that came up into
this country in the seventeenth and eighteenth centu-
ries; or from the sombrero of the more modern Mexi-
can. Sentinel-like, these interesting objects guard one
of the approaches to the Santa Ritas.

Over knoll and meadow, gulch and plain, invigora-
ted by a dry atmosphere and brilliant sun, as alluring
as one ever had in crossing over the Sierras on the
Central Pacific Railroad, we traveled on, cheered by
the knowledge that in two hours more ride, we would

SAND STONE FORMATIONS FOUND IN THE RAVINES OF THE SANTA RITA
MOUNTAINS,

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA, 313

be at the works of the Aztec Company's mines,
where we were to be led into all the interesting and
wonderful modus operandi of opening up rich mining
districts.

To the members of the company themselves, there
was one all absorbing interest — the very one that had
been the incentive to the journey itself. Eecent crop-
pings had assayed $343,86 to the ton ; and their object
was to arrange for putting the mines under active
operations at once.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE EL PICACHOS — A LAND OF MASSACRES— COCHISE— A MOUN-
TAIN CABIN — TALKING MINES — A DREAM OF WATERFALLS,
VALLEYS, CANYONS AND CAVES.

ONE hour before reaching the mines of the Aztec
Company, however, we were to pass the ruins of
what was once the works of the old Tyndal or Santa
Rita Mining Company. The stories of Indian massa-
cres and depredations connected with this place, sug-
gested a halt. To the one side of us reared the great
El Picacho of the Santa Ritas ; another of these
" guiding stars " of the plains spoken of elsewhere.
To the other, the " Teats " adds ruddiness to the scene ;
and the brilliant sky, the balmy air, and the sparkling
sunlight, made us think, act, enjoy — with a corre-
sponding vigor. The term " El Picacho " meaning
in its literal translation, the " point of rocks," one is
puzzled when he has the " El Picacho" pointed out
to him in a thousand different places in Arizona. It

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 315

would be more comprehensive to say a u point of
rocks " or signifying in some way that it was the Pica-
cho of that particular location only, and for these rea-
sons : The Picachos of Arizona, as intimated by our
comparison of it to a " guiding star, "are numerous and
serve to guide the traveler in most all directions.
They exist equally throughout the land. They rise
to a great height above all neighboring peaks, and can
be seen for a distance of from one hundred to two hun-
dred miles distant. The one spoken of in the Santa
Ritas, can be seen from a circuit of one hundred and
fifty to one hundred and seventy-five miles, guiding
the traveler thereby in the direction of the Santa Ritas.

We all dismounted or left oiir wagons here ; to stand
for a few moments in the midst of ruins which, could
they have talked would have chilled our blood and
made our hair stand on ends. We all walked around
mute for a while, and as we wrould lay our hands on
the rude adobe walls, or stumble over some loose
fragment of stone, a thrill would go through our
bodies something like that experienced by us when,
in our school days we used to read the tales of a Kit
Carson, or Velasquez; and later of the adventures of
the many characters who have become identified with
Indian massacres and their depredations.

One of these ruined adobe buildings, one in which
the walls are the best preserved, is pointed out to us

316 PICTURESQUE AKIZOXA.

as the scene of a most dastardly and cruel attack by
the Indians a few years since. The Indians had been
troublesome for some time but with great dexterity
and watchfulness, the miners of the camp had man-
aged to hold their own. At midnight a body of the
bloodthirsty Apaches under their powerful leader,
and numbering ninety warriors fell upon the camp
with yells and shouts and whoops. The fight was a
formidable one, for the Indians attacked against odds ;
and sweeping down in a bloodthirsty and determined
assault surprised the whole camp. In the principal
house — an adobe structure of three separate apart-
ments on the ground floor — seven men and one wo-
man held out all day against the treacherous red men,
and finally beat them off. Being a strong mining
camp, and the region being one of untold attraction
for miners, the whole section of country hereabouts
can tell more thrilling tales of Indian atrocities than
most others. Col. E. J. Hinton, in his book on Ari-
zona, in describing the Santa Eitas and its mines, says :
" To the north and west is a bold but lesser cone,
which it is proposed to call Hopkins' Peak, in honor
of Gilbert Hopkins, a famous mining engineer, slain
within the shadows of these mountains by the mur-
derous Apaches. To the east and south of Mount
Wrightson rises another and smaller peak, which has
been called Grosvenor, in honor of another bold pio-

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 3 1 7

neer, who, in 1861, was slain near the old hacienda at
Santa Rita, shortly before Mr. Wrightson, the manager,
of the Salero Company lost his life." J. Ross Browne's
account of the manner in which one of the^e gentle-
men lost his life, is thrilling. He says: "Not far be-
yond the mesa, we enter upon a rugged region, abound-
ing in breaks and arroyas very rocky and difficult for
our horses. In one of these desolate places we visited
the spot where Mr. H. C. Grosvenor, the last manager
of the Santa Rita mines, and the last of the three man-
agers whose fate was similar, was killed by the
Apaches about two years ago. It appears that a
wagon containing supplies had been sent out from
Tubac and was on its way to the hacienda, when the
men who accompanied it were attacked and killed.
Mr. Grosvenor and Mr. Pumpelly had passed the
wagon and teamsters a few minutes before and pro-
ceeded to the hacienda. As the freight party did not
arrive within a reasonable time, Grosvenor walked out
alone to see what was the cause of the dela}7. The
Apache's had meantime made their murderous attack
on the teamsters and plundered the wagon; and were
moving up the Canon, when they saw Grosvenor com-
ing, and immediately formed an ambush behind the
rocks and shot him dead, as he approached. His
grave lies a few hundred yards from the headquarters
of the hacienda. A marble head-stone, upon which

318 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

his name is inscribed, with the additional words, not
uncommon in Arizona, u killed by the Apaches,"
marks the spot. By the side of this grave is another
head-stone, bearing the name of Mr. Slack, his prede-
cessor, who lost his life by this ruthless tribe of Indi-
ans. Another of the managers also killed by the
Apaches, lies buried at Tubac."

Although the principal rendezvous of the formidable
chief Cochise was in the capricious Dragoon Mountains
the denies and gorges of the Santa Ritas used to
serve him " on a pinch " we think, as he often availed
himself of its natural fortresses, and partook of its
hospitable camping grounds ; many objects of a rude
character, such as a cluster of stones, board, or a stick
stuck in the ground, and some improvised means of
informing the passer by that "here lies the body of

, killed by the Apaches," will testify to this.

Holding converse here for a very limited time only
with the spirits of some of the noblest and boldest pio-
neers and frontiersmen of our country, and congratulat-
ing ourselves that Cochise had gone to his happy hunt-
ing ground (as he will have more facilities there) but
hoping there are no white people with him, we take a
hasty departure for the Toltec camp of the Aztec
Mining Company. We have arrived. And now while
seated in a log cabin, after a good mountain meal of

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 319

venison and quail, rny mission being to portray to all
the particular and leading features of Arizona's do-
main, I will diverge again, and give to my reader a
chapter of facts, fancies and figures, suggested by my
impressions of this particular region. The party are all
busy talking " mines," and planning for the prospecting
and inspection of their new mines to-morrow; computing
the cost of bringing machinery and supplies to the place ;
strengthening their confidence in their success by re-
iterating the success that has already attended the
McMillen, Globe, Peek and McCracken districts, and
congratulating themselves on the lack of antimony,
zinc, and sulphur the ore of Arizona are known to show.

I am seated in one corner of the cabin with a glori-
ous fire of logs to my back, with a rough plank board
stretched across two logs at my side for a table. On
the board was a turnip in which I had dug a hole and
placed a candle. The fire cast its glare of light about
the room, while the candle flickered a mellow accom-
paniment to the sterner rays.

Until reaching this neighborhood of the lllth meri-
dian, although whatever other interests may and evi-
dently have bespoken a glorious future for Arizona,
the traveler may claim a lack of any general system of
continuous mountains with its Yosemities, its Niagaras,
or its canyons of a yellow-stone. But here, about two-

320 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

thirds the distance across the State in this latitude,
the general features change, and as you proceed east
still further the full change has taken place. From a
land of the richest meadows and plain, you ascend by
a system of mountains in an altitude where snow
abounds in July. Lieut. Geo. M. Wheeler, of the
United States surveys, said to me on one occasion
while at his house in Washington, that he had rarely,
if ever, beheld a more wonderful and beautiful range
of country than that witnessed from the heights of
some of the mountains of eastern Arizona. What
water-falls, what peculiarly wonderful valleys, what
canyons exist unknown in this yet unexplored coun-
try, is difficult to conceive. What natural topographi-
cal curiosities lie hidden in this " marvelous country "
can only be surmised ; and the surmises be equalled
only, by the suppositions founded on the most justifi-
able demonstrations. What there is to satisfy the
more curious sight-seer and tourist in nature's realms
alone, is perhaps but poorly demonstrated, compared
to her sterner and more useful qualifications, and yet
she is not wanting even in these.

In the more northern part of the Territory alone,
the famous Colorado is known by the reports of Major
J. W. Powell of the United States Geological and Geo-
graphical surveys, to possess features grand enough,
and thrilling, to warrant the Territory a passport

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 321

in this respect. I will first give some of the topo«
grapical features to support my theories, and then re-
fer to the grand canyons of the Colorado Kiver, and to
the river itsel£

CHAPTER XXIII

THE MEETING OF THE MOUNTAINS— ARIZONA'S NATURAL WON-
DERS—THE MICROCOSM OF THE WORLD— THE COLORADO —
ITS CANYONS— ITS PLATEAUS— ITS CAPRICES— A HOME FOR
THE " REPEATER" — THE INDIAN GUIDES OF THE COLORADO
— A RIVER THAT " TELLS NO TALES."

IN Arizona is centered the three great mountain sys-
tems of the North American Continent. The
Rocky mountains, the Sierras, and the great metal
bearing Cordilleras of Mexico come together here, and
cast themselves in her very midst. Here the series
of metalliferous mountains to the north in Nevada,
which has created so much furore over the whole
country, and the mountains of untold wealth of So-
nora in Mexico, come together as though they had
some great difficulty to settle ; and in the upheavals
it seems as though they had spent all their force in the
contest. What are the effects yet to be discovered, of
such a clashing? In the very demonstrations of the
conditions already known to exist, — that of the min-

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 323

erals — will the interesting and more wonderful features
of Arizona be brought to light.

By refering to a map of Arizona it will be noticed
that a succession of mountainous regions find their
way from the extreme southeastern part of the Terri-
tory, to the northwest where the great Colorado bends
on its course east and south. In this succession or
system is located the famous Santa Catarina and Santa
Rita mineral districts of the extreme southeast ; the
great silver bonanza district of the " Stonewall Jack-
son " mine and the McMillen district ; the rich mines
in and around Prescott, in its high and beautiful
mountain elevation ; and lastly to the northwest, the
rich and noted location of the McCracken mine, near
the great bend of the Colorado, at which place, for
natural wonders, Arizona may not be jealous, even of
her sister State, California. In these higher regions
platinum, too, is already traced.

Col. R J. Hinton in his hand-book, says, in allud-
ing to the peculiar and interesting mineral effects and
phenomena in the highly charged electrical locations :
" Similar phenomena from this cause have been ob-
served in the Libyan desert, and on the Congo and
Orinoco Eivers, which with other circumstances as to
climate, etc., indicate that the Pacific slope is a micro-
cosm of the world, where Italy, Egypt, Arabia, Tim-
buctoo, Kamschatka, Brazil and the ' gem of the sea '

324 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

can aJl be found within a week's travel of each other -
more especially when the ' missing links * of railroad
are complete."

The Colonel could not have missed it, if he had
used this similitude to all conditions of Arizona alike.
In the great Marble canyon of the Colorado River, is
a section where the walls rise to a height of six thous-
and feet. Imagine yourself standing by the side of the
mighty El Capitan in the Yosemite Valley, increased
to double its height Can you conceive it ? Hardly ;
you are entering the grand canyons of the Colorado.
From the summit, inland, extends an immense plateau
with its meadows, lakes, etc. Being in a high altitude
eight thousand feet above the level of the sea, snow
can be found late in the season ; and yet sections of
verdant hills and meadows are found in luxuriance.
Immense herds of deer rove here at will ; and as well
as destined to become a retreat for the sight-seeing
tourists in its grand canyons and gigantic walls, the
huntsman's gun will " crack " in these regions with
most profitable results for ages to come. This is the
land of the Eai vav-it Indians. Pine forests are abun-
dant. It is said there is one place in these canyons,
where the walls are so high and so close together, that
it makes the place just dark enough for one to see the
light of the stars in the heaven at day-time. It seems to
me this must be the location referred to in the latter

BUTTE IN THE UPPER COLORADO CANYON— COLORADO BIYER, ARIZONA.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 32*7

part of the sixteenth century, by the early Spanish
conquerors from Mexico, in their explorations to the
north. They reported great and wonderful rivers,
" the banks of which were three or four leagues in the
air." Imagine walls nine to twelve miles high. This
was the report of the expedition of Don Garcia Lopez
de Cardenas, under direction of Coronado, in 1540.
Either they, in their continued enthusiasm of the new
country grossly exagerated the height, or we have
failed to retain a knowlege of the location referred to.

At one place there is a' succession of these plateaus,
each one of which is lower than the previous one, un-
til from a plateau of country embracing all the cli-
mates of a temperate zone, you approach to that of a
semi-tropical. Each one of these plateaus end with an
abrupt break or wall descending to one below.
Sometimes the drop from one plateau to the other
will measure many hundred feet, and even approach
to the thousands.

In one place, by a manoeuvre of the river, two
plateaus are thrown in such a relation to each other
that you can stand on one where snow is not an un-
common thing in July, and where pines live and pota-
toes grow, and throw a stone into a little semi -tropical
valley where the sub-tropical plants grow luxuriantly,
and the fig and the orange ; and the sugar cane and
rice are being cultivated now by a sparse population.

328 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

New "El Capitans," new "Fort Rocks" and "Bridal
Veils," and other Yosemite freaks will, we may sup-
pose, be opened at no very distant day to the sight-
seer and the tourist.

The length of the Colorado River is two thousand
miles. About four hundred miles from its mouth,
the river takes an easterly course, and extending a dis-
tance of two hundred miles in the northern part of
Arizona; and running up into Utah are the great
Marble, Glen, and Grand canyons of the Colorado.
In these canyons exist the glories of this river. The
lower portion of the river is mainly on a level with
the sea ; but in these canyons the river and plateaus
range from four to fourteen thousand feet above the
level of the sea; and in this distance of two hundred
miles, the river falls five thousand feet. After leaving
the region of the canyon the river takes a direct south-
erly course and opens out upon a broad stretch of al-
ternate flat lands, prairies, and deserts. The grand
gorges of the upper Colorado and its ponderous can-
yons have been passed, but you have entered a river,
which, for its whims and caprices, can scarcely be
equaled by any navigable stream. Lacking the po-
tent, ponderous stability of its upper portions, the
lower, like a man jealous of his defeat in love or
accomplishments, tries how far he can hate, or \vhat a
distorted compound he can make of himself, seems to

BLE CANTO* OP THE COiOIL^DO BIVEB.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 331

glory in its very caprice and its contrariness. Run-
ning through a region often of sands and disintegrated
earth, the river will often change its entire course in
twenty-four hours. Boats coming down the river this
week will find, in going up next week, the channel of
the river has been completely changed, and that new
islands have been formed, old ones washed away ; bar-
riers, where before there had bee.n plain sailing. To-
day this or that piece or strip of land, will be in Ari-
zona. To-morrow in California. Land speculations
along the banks of this river at present would puzzle
the brains of our shrewdest lawyers. To-day the river
would take a sweep around a section of land upon
which had settled some thrifty farmer, cutting his
farm in two, taking part of his land over to Arizona,
and the next day continue its incursions and take the
rest of his land, house and all, over with it. One day
he lives in Arizona the next in California, This
would be a good place for a "repeater "'to live; or a
sorry place for a good honest voter.

These conditions, it will be seen, necessitates a con-
stant changing of the course of traveling. Each sue.
cessive trip is an exploration for " a new passage to
the north " or south. Each steamboat, as it plys the
river, and on each and every trip, has stationed at its
bow, with lead and line, or pole (the river for the most
part over these plains being very shallow), a stalwart

332 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

Indian measuring the depth of the water as tlie boat
proceeds. In quaint accents of the true American
Indian, and decidedly broken English, this half-clad
Zuma or Apache will shout: "Three I" "Three and
a half ! " " Two and a quarter ! " " Two ! " " Two and
a half ! " etc. etc. It sounds as though he said : " Thee ! "
" Thee 'n ha ! " " To ! " etc. etc. ; and as his voice
goes forth smothered, by the deadening sound of the
steamboat, and in the stillness of the surroundings,
you will fancy you are on a voyage up the Nile to
discover its source.

This again calls to mind the number of experiences
all through Arizona, that will so thoroughly act as
substitutes for distant travels in foreign lands, or
among the different people and nations of the earth.
Not only is this river whimsical in its course, but es-
pecially capricious in its actions. Often some new
feature of its unruly nature will be told. It is a river,
they say, that does not give up its dead. A story of
one of its manoeuvres was told me while at Yuma.

It seems that in the river there will often appear on
the top of the water a sort of air bubble ; after remain-
ing a moment it bursts with the noise of a pop gun.
Then commences a vociferous action of the water, as-
suming a circular motion resembling a whirlpool.
These are very powerful at first, but decrease as they
become larger and finally die out. For a goodly dis-

THE GBEAT CANYON OF THE COLODOKA KIVER— ARIZONA.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 335

tance, however, their power is sufficient to take a
small boat within their grasp, when it and its freight
is never heard from more, for the bodies never rise.

CHAPTER XXIV.

REMARKABLE RUINS IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA— THE FOUNDERS OF
THE AZTEC AND TOLTEC SYNDICATES OF MINES— THE
GRANDEST PECUNIARY SUCCESS ON RECORD — THE BOLLAS
DE PLATA (BALLS OF SILVER)— COL. J. D. GRAHAM.

MEXICAN tradition, relating to the Primeria Alta,
being that portion of Arizona Territory embraced
within the Gadsden purchase, is full of statements in
relation to rich lodes, deposits and old mines, whose
sites are now lost. The chief of these locations ure
placed in. the remarkable mineral region by which on
either side the valley of the Upper Santa Cruz is sur-
rounded. The Planchas de Plata, or places of silver,
around which has grown a well authenticated story of
Mexican enterprise and Spanish greed and tyranny,
has always been placed by the tradition within the
borders of Arizona, but close to the Sonora line and
to the east of the Santa Cruz valley, and the Oro Blan-
co Mountains. Within the past few months it is

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 337

claimed that these extraordinary deposits have been
re-discovered, and are now being quietly worked by an
American miner and his associates. Chief among the
traditional mines, for the re-discovery of which, the
most daring and vigorous of search has been made
since the occupation of the Primeria Alta by Americans,
is the famous Jesuit mine, known by the name of the
Old Mission, whose ruins have been so fully described in
these pages — The Tumacacori Mine. Since Charles D.
Roston, Herman Ehrenberg and their comrades first
located an American mining settlement at the old
pueblo of Tubac, six miles from the Tumacacori Mis-
sion, there has been more of endeavor, enterprise, dar-
ing and courage displayed in the attempt to re-locate this
old mine, so famous in the mission annals for its rich-
ness, than in all the other efforts made to hold the
country against Cochise and his Apaches. Tradition,
besides statements of its richness, almost fabulous
in character, has left no other indication of its where-
abouts than the declaration of one of the mission his-
trorographers, — that the mine lay directly east of St.
Joseph's Church (the Mission of Tumacacori) a morn,
ing's walk, or as elsewhere stated, about fourteen miles
distant. Recent investigation in the Sierra Santa Rita
growing out of the renewed activity induced by the
enterprise and speculation, which organized the
already successful Aztec Syndicate, and has made this

338 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

beautifnl mountain range, the last stronghold of the
Apach6 Napoleon, Cochise — the scene of vigorous ex-
ploring efforts, opened numerous mines, established
Toltec Camp and aroused a general interest in this re-
gion, has also been able to definitely establish the
existence and site of the lost Tumacacori mine.

Following the milpas, or secondary mountain bench,
from the farm of Joe King in the Santa Cruz valley
which embraces the mission ruins) for some eleven
miles, the traveler will reach the ruins of the old Ha-
cienda del Santa Rita, where Wrightson, Grosvenor,
Hopkins and Slack, lost their lives, and part of the
defence of which in 1861, is so graphically described
by Professor Raphael Pumpelly, now of Harvard Uni-
versity, in his book " Across America and Asia" A
well defined road evidently long used, and now made
quite easy and accessible, is the route from the valley.
To the north, Salero Hill looms up boldly, and the
explorer in search of the old Tumacacori mine will fol-
low a rough but still good road for a couple of miles
to the Salero House, used by the Tyndall Company
since 1875. From this point for another mile or so
the explorer will follow a rude bridle path to the
Jefferson mine, one of the most valuable of those now
worked by the Aztec Syndicate. To the north and east
of the Jefferson for less than half a mile, an old mule
track, evidently once heavily used, may be traced.

MAP OF THE ANCIENT PROVINCE OF
TUSAYAN, ARIZONA.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 341

It leads directly to a strongly defined lode of the same
general character as the Jefferson and Georgia mines,
and terminates at what is evidently an old shaft, now
filled with debris, and from the mouth of which a vig-
orous mesquite tree maybe seen growing. The evi-
dence is abundant of old workings, and those best in-
formed in the Mexican and Gaqui Indian traditions,
like Professor Thomas Davis, who has resided and
worked among them for more than a quarter of a cen-
tury, have no doubt whatever, of the identity of the
Bushell, as this location is now termed, with the long-
lost site of the famous Tumacacori mine.

The Bushell forms one of a group of ten valuable
mines now being developed under the management of
the 'Toltec Syndicate, an organization of experi-
enced mining experts and operators, who have already
proven their knowledge of the metalliferous richness of
this region, and their confidence in its development,
by their successful organization of the well known
Aztec Syndicate.

The Aztec Syndicate having passed into the hands
of eastern capitalists by purchase, the original project-
ors with the added experience which their wide knowl-
edge of the Santa Rita and its mineral treasures has
given them, have selected a group of ten locations,
and commenced a thorough system of development and
working. This project is not set up as a speculation,

342 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

but as an investment, to be honestly developed into
an affluent enterprise. The fact that Colonel John D.
Graham, the successful organizer and Secretary of the
first Aztec Syndicate, has been appointed Managing
Director of the To! tec Syndicate, is proof sufficient to
all interested in Southern Arizona, of the success that
will attend the enterprise.

The Toltec mines are admirably located both for
their present accessibility and the richness of the lodes
on which they are situated. The Bushell and the
Saint Louis Mining Companies have recently been
incorporated in California, and the balance will speed-
ily be put in the same shape. The offices of these
companies and of the Toltec Syndicate, are located at
No. 302 Montgomery Street, San Francisco. The first
efficient Superintendent of the Aztec mines and prop-
erty, John E. Magee has assumed the duties of Kesi-
dent Superintendent of the Bushell and Saint Louis
mines, on both of which work is being energetically
pushed. He also has charge of the general interests of
the Toltec Syndicate in the Territory.

The Bushell, or old Tumacacori mine is now being
opened, new shafts are being sunk, and the old one
already described is to be cleared out at an early day.
The ore developments are all excellent. The Saint
Louis mine is located on the famous Empress of India
lode, in the southern portion of the Aztec district It

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 343

promises the richest developments of any location on
that very remarkable lode. Banging to the east and
north of the Saint Louis, on the same lode and its spur,
the Toltec Syndicate, own and are about to work the
following locations: The Knoxville, Webster and
Velasco — making a group of four valuable locations,
on a remarkable lode that has been described in Hin-
ton's Hand Book to Arizona, as " cropping out boldly,
sometimes in high cliffs or with a general width of
from eighty to three hundred feet. The lode is over
two hundred feet wide, and shows metal the full width.
In these shallow old workings, some three or four feet
deep, we have picked out ore that will assay $800 per
ton. The character of the whole lode is the same, and
streaks of metal can be found of green and black sil-
ver mixed with manganese from one end to the other;
in some places yellow chloride. The vein matter is
porphyry, gneiss and quartz, strongly colored with
iron ; general formation incasing the lode is granite."
To the north and east of the Empress of India lode,
and of the Inca mine, (one of the best locations em-
braced in the Aztec Syndicate) the Toltec own the
Eickard and Ojero mines, both located on bold ledges,
with croppings that indicate rich veins. The Bickard,
so named after the well-known English metallurgist,
chemist and assayer, now living at Tucson, is located
on the Bickard lode near the Colorado. The Forsyth

,'N4 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

another valuable mine belonging to the Toltec, adjoins
the famous Hamilton mine to the east of Salero Hill
in the Tyndall district, while " La Purissima " is a lit-
tle south and east of the Bushell mine on the northern
side of Salero Hill, and on th? eastern end of the great
Napoleon lode. The character of these mines — The
Bushell and La Purissima — can be seen in part from
the following moderately worded report on the latter
location made August 13, 1877, by John E. Magee to
Col. Graham :

" The Purissima mine is on the Napoleon lode, one
half mile from the old Salero mine. This lode crops
out for over two miles showing good mineral at many
places all the way. In 1875, Messrs. Ryan, Mansfield,
and rnyself took up what we named the Jefferson mine
on this lode and had some of the croppings assayed.
The vein shows on the surface four to five feet, con-
taining a great deal of galena. On the- Purissima
mine, tons of mineral can be taken right off the surface,
which shows better than the Jefiferson did. The Pur-
issima is not so easy of access " (at that time occasional
Apache raids made it necessary for miners to have an
easy way of retreat. Their rendezvous then was the
adobe building known as the Salero House.) " or we
would have taken it in preference. On the Jefferson
we now have a shaft sixty-five feet deep " (It is now
much deeper.) " with a wonderful showing of ore. The

PH'TURESQUK ARIXOXA. . 445

vein in the bottom is nine feet eight inches, solid good
ore of fair milling quality, which assays $187 per ton
average."

This lode is all now taken up from one end to the
other. It has an easterly and westerly direction. The
vein in the Jefferson shaft pitches slightly south —
hanging wall pure granite — foot wall syenite granite
and some porphyry. A clay gorge lies along the foot-
wall, sometimes against it and then again four to five
inches away from it. The formation is perfect and if
there is such a thing as a true fissure in mining, this
vein is certainly one of them. The old Santa Rita
Mining Company owned and prospected this lode un-
der the name of the "Bustillo," and in their reports
put it down as a "fine rich vein." * * * . Mr. Ma-
gee thinks thst the ore from LaPurissima " will give a
higher assay than the Jefferson, for it certainly has a
finer appearance." He adds that " he knows it is an
excellent mine — a first class property of good average
ore with a true fissure vein." J. Boss Browne des-
cribed the lode on which La Purissima is located as
quite rich, showing silver sulphuret and galena. Mr.
Wrightson, superintendent of the Santa Rita Mining
Company, writing in 1859 of the ores on the Napoleon
lode then known as the "Bustillo" says: — "The ores
are suited to both smelting and amalgamation. The
smelting ores are those in which there is a very large

346 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

admixture of lead, or very rich sulphurets of silver
and copper. The amalgamation ores — those where the
culls of silver and copper predominate. * * * *
The Bushell and the Ojera mines yield ores which by
assortment can be treated by both processes." Of the
Hamilton lode, on which the the Forsyth mine is situ-
ated, Professor Davis says in a report made May 1877,
that he found thereon " four old shafts and workings
from ten to twenty-two feet in depth ; height from
tide water at upper shaft, 4,600 feet. This is an im-
mense vein, or rather two veins exactly parallel and
nearly contiguous. Are all of a higher grade; should
judge would yield two hundred dollars per ton ; vein
well defined, from eight to ten feet wide and growing
wider as you go down— metal the whole width of the
vein, and all of the works show the same."

The Toltec Syndicate property thus admirably loca-
ted is bonnd within a short time, under the energetic
management of its owners and the vigorous direction
of Col. Graham to become one of the very best in
Southern Arizona. I have been thus particular in de-
scribing it, because to the ability and energy of the
gentlemen engaged therein, assisted by the recognized
capacity for observation and statement of Col. E. J.
Hinton, whose journeys and descriptions of this region
are unquestioned for correctness of detail and pictur-
esque vivacity, belong very much of the credit which is

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 347

due the influences that have so recently made the mineral
wealth, climate, soil and romantic beauty of this region,
a subject of interest to the whole country, and so
brought about that present activity of labor, skill and
capital which bids fair ere long to make the Santa
Cruz Valley and the region of which it is the centre,
one of the richest and most enterprising mining dis-
tricts within the United States.

Persons desirous of more especial information rela-
tive to this section of country should address Col.
John D. Graham at 302 Montgomery street, San Fran-
cisco Cal, a gentleman who has done more to develop
and bring to the front the resources of Southern Ari-
zona than any other living man. The author of this
volume was the guest of Col. Graham in a remarkable
pleasant trip — from Yuma to the Santa .Rita Moun-
tains during last December and January, and it was
during this trip that the excellent views contained in
this volume were taken, being the first photographs
ever taken of these historic and interesting localities.
Knowing Col Graham and his associates in the enter-
prise above spoken of we most heartily recommend all
persons desirous of information relative to this subject
to put themselves in communication with him, and we
desire here to specially record our thanks for unlim-
ited courtesies and very valuable aid and assistance
during our memorable trip to Southern Arizona.

348 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

In dilating upon this region, it seems to me the rec-
ollections of facts and hearsays flash upon me faster,
and more prominently than usual, and than I can note.
In referring to this section, the versatile writer, J.
Eoss Browne, in describing Tubac which lies in the
Santa Cruz Valley, says : " It lies on a pleasant slope
in one of the most beautiful parts of the valley of the
Santa Cruz, and that it overlooks two of the richest
mining districts within the limits of the Territory."

Again ; the New York Mining -Record, in referring
to the same region, says : — " It is located in the heart
of the extraordinary metalliferous region of the Santa
Cruz River in Southwestern Arizona, where formerly
the Jesuit priests, with the Spanish inhabitants and
Indian neophytes mined with rich results though
scarcely breaking ground, and having, as the many re-
mains attest, but the rudest and most imperfect means
of smelting or converting the ore into bullion. The
fame of the * Bollos de Plata ' (balls of silver) of Ari-
zona in the beginning of the last century was such at
the City of Mexico and finally in Spain, that a royal
ordinance issued from Madrid, declared the district of
Arizona to be royal property as a Criadero de Plata:
that is to say, a place where silver was formed in the
processes of nature. There is also in existence a royal
paper of Philip V. of May 1741, charging among other

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 349

embezzlements of royal mineral property in Arizona
that of a mass of virgin or pure silver weighing two
thousand seven hundred pounds."

CHAPTER XXY.

FROM CAMP APACHE, NORTHEAST — A LAND FULL OF INTEREST —
A GREAT AGRICULTURAL AND MINERAL BELT COMBINED.

FROM Camp Apache one hundred and twenty-five
miles in a northeasterly direction, lies the pre-
historic land of the Moqui and Zuni of which we have
spoken. The immense tract of land enroute, promises
to ^be one of great interest at the opening of this region
in the near future to all classes of travelers— tourist,
emigrant, historian, philologist.

To the tourist, for the many rural phenomena which
such a diversified country must naturally open up ;
to the emigrant farmer, for its fertility of lands and
well watered valleys ; and to the historian and philol-
ogist, for the races of beings and their languages, which
have but recently attracted the attention of the world.
This latter class or features of attraction is in embryo.
It has simply dawned, to inflame the spark of inquisi-
tiveness in man for a further knowledge of himself,
and his connection with the races of men ; and inspire

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 351

him with as healthy a desire for investigation as ever
possessed the brain of a Darwin.

For a distance of about seventy-five miles toward
the Little Colorado which traverses Arizona in the
northeast, there seems to be a country that will vie
with any on the Pacific coast for attention from the
farmer. It is along and through a series of valleys
sloping from the many mountains of eastern Arizona
and extending into New Mexico. These mountains
extend in a north and southeasterly direction nearly the
whole length of the State ; and from my experience in
the actual distance traveled, and from reports from
pioneers and frontiersmen, I would conclude that the
same favorable conditions characterized them through-
out.

Cooling streams and shady rills where many a lively
plumed Indian spears his Dolly Varden trout, beneath
an inviting cluster of foliage or a hanging wall of rock,
makes up the panorama. The country is dotted here
and there, with numerous small valleys which form a
charming contrast to the "deserts "of the western
portion of the Territory. In riding along these natu-
ral garden spots, my mind was more than once taken
back to the time when California herself was dead to
the world, and when some were wont to discourage all
her claims to merits and virtues, by a reference to the
great deserts of the West. To our great trans-conti-

352 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

nental railroads it was said, " Oh ! you can't make it
pay to build such a road to the coast, even if the State
is all you claim for it ; for look at the deserts you have
to go through to get there. Good for nothing ; worth
nothing." The trouble to acquire, they thought,
though the thing be good in itself, would not be worth
the thing acquired. I claim that the valleys of just
the San Francisco mountains, and those combined in
the eastern third of the Territory would alone warrant
the building of a railroad. It must come. And it
will come shortly. Such articles as the one below,
clipped from a periodical, seems to strengthen my as-
sertions.

u A band of one hundred and fifty men arrived here
yesterday from Boston and took the first train by the
Pennsylvania Central road on their way to Arizona.
At the base of the San Francisco Mountains they intend
to establish a colony. Each man takes provisions for
ninety days, and his personal outfit of tools and clothing
to a total prescribed weight of three hundred pounds,
transportation for which and for himself to the end of
the long journey is furnished by the Arizona Coloni-
zation Company — a Boston concern — at a cost of $140
per man. At the end of the railroad the colonists are
to be joined by the company's engineer, Mr. G. B.
Maynadier, who went ahead about a week ago to pro-
vide transportation from that point. Mr. Maynadier

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 353

was the chief engineer of Henry Meigg's Andes rail-
road in Peru, and is said to be thoroughly acquainted
with Arizona.

11 The part of the country in which the proposed
settlement is to be made is said to be very rich in the
precious metals and at the same time very advanta-
geous for agriculturists. A company is forming in
San Francisco with a capital of $10,000,000, to work
located mining claims on the west side of the moun-
tain to which these colonists are going. Within about
thirty days at least, eighty more men with the families
of some of those who have already gone will go from
Boston to join this New England Colony, whose or-
ganization was begun in August last by a company
of which Judge 0. W. Cozzens is President, J. M.
Piper, Secretary, and S. C. Hunt, Treasurer."

There is a gap between the western boundary of
Kansas and the Colorado River, east and west and
from the 41° of latitude down to the border of Mex-
ico that the whole country should lend its aid to open
up and bring before the people — not only of this coun-
try, but of those where their subjects are more op-
pressed. The land, in its very fatness, is gasping for
an outlet, while the people are crying for an inlet. I
have noticed that some of our greatest agricultural
belts extend in an indirect line from northeast to south-
west. Run from the middle of the State of Kansas,

354 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

across Iowa up into northern Illinois and Wisconsin
and see this theory verified. Strike out from the Gulf
of California at Gu}^mas, run northeast through eastern
Arizona and New Mexico, up through Colorado, and
nortl least to the Black Hills, and you have as com-
plete a system of rich agricultural and mineral lands
most harmoniously alternated together as exists within
the country's domain. Give the people the railroads
which rightly belong to them.

CHAPTER XXVI.

MY DEPARTURE FROM TUCSON — ADMONITIONS — THE JEHUS OF
THE PLAIN— BEN HILL— MIND AND MATTER— A TALE OF
LOVE AND WOE — ALL FOR GOLD — THE HIGHWAYMAN.

IT was on the afternoon of the 22nd of December,
'77 when I returned to the metropolis of Tucson on
" the home stretch." I bad left the camp of the Az-
tec company the day before with Col. Graham, and was
now waiting for the departure of the 2 o'clock stage
for Yuma on my return. The objects of my trip had
been accomplished, and my note book being replete
with Arizona lore, the activity with which my mind
reverted to home and friends was an amazing contrast
to my four months travel over mountain and desert.
As I would close my eyes at dusk, visions of the home
circle, of nephews and nieces crowding upon my knees
with eyes sparkling with the fire of animation, eager
to know of those "awful Indians" and those "great
big" robbers "out there," would soften the sterner
realities of life, and make the heart bow to the more

356 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

tender affections. These contrasts, I say, were very
forcible. In the mining camp on these occasions I
evinced some restless anxiety; and through the cour-
tesy and generosity of Col. Boyle and Col. Graham I
was escorted 10 Tucson where I was to await the next
stuge for California.

The afternoon came, and 2 o'clock P. M. saw me
seated on the top of the stage coach beside the driver.
There was only one other passenger — a soldier from
one of the forts. The street had many spectators to
our departure. Very few know, except those ac-
quainted with such cases and scenes, of the interest
attached to the arrival and departure of the overland
stage in a frontier town. All ready, the mail and ex-
press matter deposited, a crack of the whip, and we
drove off. As we did so, admonitions came thick and
fast, not to be scalped by the Apache nor taken alive
by the highwayman. I had often had such admoni-
tions given me before — in Mexico, and Central Amer-
ica they are the common warning to every traveler —
but at this time they came with a peculiar grating on
my ear. However, I accounted for this by the strange
desert dreariness I had imbibed on several occasions
during my tour, and by the knowledge that our way
lay in part through the Apache country. The start
was a cheerful one.

The next thing in turn was to find out- what kind

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 357

of a fellow my driver was, and to anticipate the asso-
ciations of the night.

It would be a thankless task for me, or any one, to
attempt to explain how one should go to work to find
out what the Jehus of our western frontier coaches
are. They are as varied as the minds and tempers of
men ; and one thing I might here pertinently put for
the guidance and safety of all travelers with these
sturdy guides of the plains and mountains. Be care-
ful how you set about to do it ; or else in trying to
find them out, they will beat you two to one, and
fathom you deeper than your own knowledge runs.
They are natural phrenologists or physiognomists.
Nor how, nor where, they know not ; but, as one con-
fidently said to me on one occasion, " We know a man
as soon as we lay our eyes on 'im." 1 found my com-
panion on this occasion, as a Jehu, an old and experi-
enced one; but as a man, in the very vigor of life.
His acknowledged cool and resolute character in all
cases of emergency, suggested in itse]f, a safe-guard, if
not absolute protection, and I at once set about to get
his consent to ride outside all night.

" Now ! Hill," said I, (Hill, was the name of the
driver) u Tell me what you know of this vast country,
through which you have been traveling night and day,
for years, as they tell me."

We had ridden along some distance and had, from

358 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

the first, according to my recollections, arid according
to Hill's own words, found in each other congenial
companions.

" Tell us of some incidents or experiences of your
life on tlie plains " continued I.

The trip I was now entering out upon, being to take
me away from my fields of labor and observation, my
mind naturally threw off a certain load. It felt a re-
lief from the sterner objects of rny travels, and partici-
pated more of the beaux esprit of a careless tourist.

Sitting on the top of the coach, as it jogged along in
the cool of the approaching evening, I could now see
a beauty in the vast stretching prairie and desert,
where before it had been an uninviting trackless waste.
Mind had assumed a new relation to matter. I was
verifying, it seemed, how the spirit matter made a ma-
terial thing what it is. A tree is a tree, thought I,
and yet what two entirely different things are, a willow
which hangs over a mother's grave, and the willow
that shades the happy angler, as he sits under its
branches by some cooling stream in the joys of recrea-
tion, playing with his cunning trout. Is there not as
much difference between these two trees, as between
incense and gall ?

"Well," said Hill, "I suppose you want to hear
about scalping scenes, highway robberies, or some
blood and thunder affair. I never met a traveler yet

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 359

who did not want something of this sort told to him.
For my part, I've got tired telling 'em. But" ejacu-
lated he, as if he had seized some happy thought, and
then, almost as suddenly, dropped his chin on his
breast and was silent for a moment. " Do you know "
said he, finally, " what I have named this country? "

" Give it up, Hill ! " said I

" Well," said he, looking at me sagaciously, "I call
it the country of disappointed lovers.''1

" Disappointed lovers, " quoted I ; and then laughed
heartily. " Why whatever put that in your head ? "

" Yes, Sir ! c that's what's the matter.' Disappointed
lovers ! Why ! every other man you meet here has
some story of this kind to tell you."

" I say Hill," said I, with an insinuating grin on my
face, " and are you one of these * every other' men?"
Hill has not to this day, answered my questions.

I am reminded here of an interview I had with
another of these frontiersmen, in the early part of my
travels in this land, that somewhat borders upon this
subject, and further exemplifies this theory of Mr.
Hill's. We were riding out upon the plain and in re-
ferring to the grotesqueness of the houses, the follow-
ing comparisons took place :

" You have noticed all through your travels, haven't
you, my friend ? " intervened Joseph (that was the
name on the occasion) with an air of having started

360 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

with some terribly convincing evidence. " You have
noticed how some of the old, broken down, dilapidated
mud houses throughout this whole land have a sort
of reviving spirit about them. They will have some
vines nicely trimmed up against the side of the walls,
or some tasty little curtain hung by one of the little
holes they call windows in this country; or a few
streaks of paint daubed in some conspicuous place on
the outside of the building, dashed on in some original
style of art, something after the Indian fashion of
painting."

" Yes ! I have," I answered.

" Well ! Do you know what they remind me of?
They remind me of some of these old bachelor codgers
— these cock-a-doodles — who wanting in their old age,
some congenial spirit (a wife, I mean), put on them-
selves all the trimmings mortal man can conceive of—
yellow neckties, kid gloves, have their hair cut twice
a week and properly greased — or rather improperly
so, as it would soil any silk dress it chanced to come
in contact with ; who, with one hand in his pocket
jingling his gold, and in the other, a bunch of roses,
he seeks and marries a girl not yet out of her teens.
A sweet sixteen as he would call her."

"Well ! isn't that all right enough ? " I enquired.

"Yes, of course it is," said my companion. "Of
course it is, even if Cupid goes back on him; for

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 361

when a man has outlived what little sense and reason
lie ever had, and has never been able to find a sensi-
ble girl that would have him, I suppose it is all right
enough for him to start out and allure some young
and inexperienced girl, before she is old enough to
know her own mind or realize the dangers of the step
she is about to take."

" But I don't see what bearing this has upon the
houses, or the disappointed lovers," said I.

"No! but some of these odd and ridiculously fes-
tooned houses remind me of these ridiculously be-
decked human structures. As for the disappointed
lovers, why they are the ones that get out and come
here ; for if the young girl has some one that she
likes, you know, why the old fellow tells her either
that she is too young to have company as young as he
is ; or else she must drop him, or chuck him over-^
board on some dark night, and that he has got money
enough to heal her sorrows and hide crimes alike."

Another case still had I pointed out to me which
would seem to defend both of these gentlemen in their
theories and surmises. I was shown in the extreme
southern part of the Territory, a certain crude log hut,
in which dwelt a man of some fifty years. We were
passing through the canyon in which it was crested
cosily on the borders of a clear mountain stream, and
beneath the brow of picturesque hills. It was covered

362 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

with moss and creeping vines seeming jealous to pro-
tect their inmate's happiness. The story of this old
man, as told me by the driver of the coach, was, that
while quite young, this "party" had under very pe-
culiar circumstances and of necessity been placed in
absolute charge of a young lady whom he thoroughly
loved. As jealously and sturdily had he guarded and
protected his charge, as he would his own life, or as
only a person who honestly, nobly, and unselfishly
loved, could have done. The girl was placed under
the man's protection by her parents ; but a rich uncle,
under whose charge the girl afterwards was put, be-
came so morbidly jealous of the good character the
young man was known to possess, forbade the girl
from recognizing him at all. The girl had learned so
thoroughly to look up to and respect her companion,
that she nobly refused to obey her uncle's commands.
Seeking to accomplish his end, to his commands he
afterwards added offers of large amounts of gold. Be-
ing thus tormented by her uncle, the girl sought refuge
with her parents, who had recognized the great services
rendered by the young man, and from whom she ex-
pected defense in favor of he who had been her chosen
companion. But the parents being also swayed and
influenced by the uncle's gold, and what they conceived
to be their daughter's interest (short-sighted interest),
the same dire case of " all for gold " was enacted over

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 363

again ; for the girl afterwards married against her will,
and died a poor drunkard's broken-hearted wife. The
man it is said became temporarily deranged, but finally
retired to the land of the Apache, remarking, as it is
said he often does, to this day, that the land of the
savage is preferable to a society which buys and sells
honest virtue with gold.

Darkness finally overcame the land, and at six
o'clock, we arrived at Desert station. This meant
"supper." Supper taken, and horses changed, we
mounted our box seat, and, tucking our robes about
us (for the nights were getting just a little chilly) we
were off again. We had tucked ourselves in as snugly
as those children did for a " long winter's nap " on a
famous Christmas eve, although we did not expect to
nap much on this occasion. Darkness was well spread
over the earth. The moon had not yet risen, but the
stars shone forth in all their brilliancy ; and by the aid
of the limpid atmosphere, lent an interesting vision to
the unaccustomed scenes about us. Before us, behind
us ; to the right of us, and to the left of us, stretched
the boundless desert, sprinkled here and there with
small clumps of grease wood and bunch grass, and
boarded in the distance by a gray outline of the inter-
minable mountains of Arizona. Not a sound was
heard save the smothered tread of our animals in the
sand — except our own voices, which would seem to

364 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

have a ring and re-echo in the dreary stillness. Never
did my own voice attract my notice so much. As we
looked into open space we would sometimes be inter-
ested with the phenomenal light peculiar to Arizona,
which would break the monotony of our long and
tedious ride. On these occasions we would watch the
slight flickering of light pass through the atmosphere.
These wave-like effects were very slight and pale, re-
sembling, somewhat, the "milky way/' but seeming to be
between you and the sky — not in the sky. They were
often so pale that one might suppose it was some effect
of the vision, passing, as they did, before you in a thin
gauze or mist. I defined it to be some effect of the
heat of the desert upon the cooler atmosphere of the
evening.

Thus we rode along, not a leaf stirring and not a
sound audible save the martial tread of our dumb
beasts. What a contrast again, to our lively after-
noon's conversation. The gentle jolt of the vehicle
had cradled me into a dreamy mood. We had not
spoken for some minutes, when suddenly: "Halt!"
thundered upon our ears, accompanied with vocifer-
ou-s oaths and calumnies. The echo had scarcely died
away when, "Hold up your hands! " " Throw down
your arms!" followed the imperative "Halt!" in
quick succession. All was done in less time than it
takes to tell it. Our blood rushed to our faces. We

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 365

were over-awed by fright, and baffled by surprise.
Like one aroused from his slumber, we were for a mo-
ment lost to all senses, and did not know our beatings.
In front of us stood two men — one with a rifle and the
other with a large revolver — levelled directly at' us.
The horses had undergone some emotion, and had now
quieted in a tangled harness. We had no sooner
realized our position than : " Hold up your hands ! "
thundered forth with increased force.

We now thoroughly comprehended our situation.
We were in the hands of the highwayman — perhaps
of the assassin.

CHAPTER XXVII

SPIRITS OF THE DESERT— THE AUTHOR ROBBED — PENNILESS —
THE MEETING OF M'MILLEN AND FLOURNOY— THE PROVER-
BIAL SYMPATHY OF THE PIONEER.

WE have said the men were there. How they
came there in the position we now beheld them
we could not tell. Like spirits of the deep springing
up from the bowels of the earth by some invisible trap^
door, or dropped down from the heavens. They were
simply there and that is all we knew — and enough.
A very few moments elapsed between our seeing
them and the commencement of the excitement which
was to be the terror of our midnight ride. But in this
moment a volume of horrible visions ran through my
mind, the most terrible of which was that we were now
in the hands of the highwaymen positively and se-
curely, and barred out from all the world by a collosal
wall of dreary mountains, upon a wide stretch of an
arid, fruitless, uninviting desert.

I sat on the left of the driver. To the left of the
horses' heads and facing us, stood a goodly specimen

purrrKKsijuE ARIZONA. 369

of physical man with a large revolver levelled at our
heads. It was about the size, I should judge, of those
used by the "Horse Marines." To the left of the
stage, on a range with me, was another " six-footer "
with a hat, which, had it been mid-clay, I would sup-
pose was used to keep the sun off him, spreading out
on all sides, and slouched down over his face. He
held in his hands, and levelled at my breast a rifle.
In the next moment, what a volume, what a life of
thought intervened! In the very stillness of the des-
ert there was noise; your very soul talked aloud to
you ; and as for spirits — why, the whole world, seemed
to be composed of them. And then, breaking the
silence, came the demand for "your money, or your
life ! " and the voices of these men seemed to echo
from mountain to mountain. I was ordered to get
down from the coach and stand before them ; while
the soldier inside was ordered "to the front" to hold
the horses' heads. Being a soldier, and one of his es-
sential duties being to " obey ! " he was constrained,
in his good judgment, to do so. Nobly did he per-
form his duty in this instance. Now, I had never
been a soldier ; yet, I obeyed orders in this case!quite
as well as he did. However, it was perhaps the stern
force of " duty " that actuated him to obey, whereas
mine was by force of persuasion. A rifle at your
head and a six-shooter at your breast are terrible per-

370 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

suaders. I was thwarted, however, in my willingness
to obey, by the " tucking in " that w.as done when
leaving Desert station ; and when I came to unloose
myself from under the lap robe, it was obstinate, and
I remembered that the buckle of the strap which held
the robe to the seat was broken and I had tied the
ends together strongly and securely. This called forth
execrations from the robbers.

"Why the d 1 don't you get down off that

coach ? "

" Gentlemen, said I, (which of course cut the grain
acutely, but I swallowed it, and repeated) " Gentle-
men, don't shoot ! and if you will allow me I will
explain "

"Hold up your hands!" interrupted one, with
which command both Hill and I readily complied.
And when once in this position again, I was instructed

to explain " what the d 1 " I was doing. And

inquired of whether I had " any arms " at my side.
Upon answering in the negative, I was allowed to pro-
ceed, and after extricating myself was ordered to "get
down off of there."

Of course I complied. Once down, the following
dialogue ensued :

Highwayman — "Who are you? What's your
name?"

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 371

Having told him, and after a silence of a moment,
lie replied :

" Well ! I'll take your money, and be quick about it
or I'll blow your brains out."

I complied again ; and at this instant, and while
turning my possessions over to them, a " click " from
the " Horse-Marine " pistol broke the silence of the
desert. But fortunately it broke nothing else. It was
either u miss-fire" or the thing was done for effect —
which, I am unable to say. At each interval the si-
lence seemed to increase. ft£*^}!T 3jUJDU8g

Our positions were now as follows : — The soldier at
the horses' heads to prevent them from running ; the
driver standing up on the coach, and I on the sandy
ground at the left side of the coach. Still further to
my left stood one of my molesters with his rifle ; and
in such a range that by simply elevating or lowering
his piece either the driver or myself could be cleared of
all responsibility in this life without it costing us one
cent. In front of me and up at the side of the horses'
heads where stood our soldier, was our other facetious
friend, with his six-shooter still pointed at my breast.
We had all been ordered to put our hands above our
heads ; and there we were, as if practising calisthenics,
and waiting for further drill. This is. the common
mode of the highwayman on our frontier, of securing
your submission. With hands up, you can of course

372 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

make no resistance; and if you take them down, nine
to one, you will at the same instant be pierced with a
bullet. No wiping of noses now, nor drying tears.

The first order given to the driver was to "Pass down
Wells, Fargo & Co.'s express box!" The driver
stooped, picked the box from beneath the seat, and
threw it from the coach. It landed with all its treas-
ures, upon the sand directly in front of me with a
heavy thump, which made my frame shudder and my
veins contract like a headless chicken in its last death
struggle. Each hair on my head was a porcupine
quill. The next order was for the " United States
mail sacks." These the driver also tossed upon the
ground. There were three in number. They then or-
dered out some pouches of quicksilver, which were in
the bottom of the stage; which demand the driver
also complied with. This over, and fearing their
booty would not reach their desires, they made a slight
change of venue, and placing me in front of the treasure
heap, demanded to know again who I was, and all
about me. Having told them, there was a reign of
silence — a terrible reign of about thirty seconds.
Imaginations concerning this silence ran through my
mind as rapidly as the reflections and thoughts of a
drowning man is supposed to crowd themselves upon
him; and as rapidly did I come to the conclusion that
it must be they were disappointed in their man. They

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 373

had expected some one else on this stage in my place.
They then made a second demand, however, for all my
papers, and any other " matters " I had about me, all of
which I cheerfully relinquished. Had they known I
was but a poor newspaper man, and, as they soon
found out, all they were to get for their trouble was
fifteen dollars, it seems to me they might have saved
a good deal of valuable time and — " let me alone."

It was worth the amount, however, to get an excuse
to take down my arms, which all this time had been
held above my head in an upright position. This was
an uncomfortable one, to say the least ; and all the
more so, as I stretched them high and straight to
evince to these " spirits of the desert," my disposition
to obey orders. Having secured my money, and evi-
dently taking it for granted that the driver and the
soldier had none (or being now satisfied with what they
had obtained) we were told to resume our places on the
coach. Having done so, the fire-arms being kept
steadily upon us the while, we were ordered to drive
off; and as we did so, the two men cried out alter-
nately, " Good-night ! " " Good-night ! ***$*$

I have been aroused by sudden changes; I
enjoyed the ecstatic effect of contrast; but never had
any experience so forcibly struck upon such opposite
sentiments in my nature as the contrast between these
soft salutations " Good night ! " " Good night I " and the

374 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

terrible " halt" only a few minutes before. The form-
er transactions were accompanied with sonorons tones
of the deepest gntteral effort, and re-echoing as we fan-
cied, in the distant mountains around. The latter
tones were uttered in the gentlest simplicity and even
savored of mellowness. It had such a pleasing and
soothing effect upon us as to almost put us off our
guard ; and made me feel like turning around and say-
ing : "Oh! you won't hurt us, will you?" I inti-
mated to Hill, that if we should ask them now to give
the things back, they would probably do so. I say
this was the effect their " good night " produced upon
me. But a moment's reflecting and a slight remons-
trance from Hill, convinced me that I was permitting
my better judgment to be swayed by their blandness,
and apparent civility. A little consideration brought
me to my senses and I was amazed at my own credu-
lity, as the result of their words.

This whole affair was performed so quickly — began
and ended so suddenly — was such a succession of sur-
prises, that it was not until after all was over and we
had resumed our journey that we thoroughly realized
that anything had actually occurred. Now was the
"winter of our discontent." As the horses began to
trot off at a faster pace, Hill and I began to shake in
our seats. We repeatedly looked around and won-
dered if they were coining after us. How often did

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 3 75

we inquire of each other if we saw " anything of them?"
We suffered more in the following few miles from an
anticipation of a renewal of the attack than we did
from the whole genuine affair. There was something
so weird in our ride now. Every bnsh we approached ;
every cactus we saw, seemed to be possessed with life.
When we stopped talking, the stillness increased. It
increased until it actually became noisy ; for the spir-
itual man then kept up a clatter with the mortal man,
and talked to us of things we never knew (or those
that we had once known but wanted to forget), and in
some respects annoyed us with its clatter. If one
wants to get an idea of what a perfect quiet is, it seems
to me he must go to Arizona to do it. These deserts,
with nothing inviting, devoid of any noisy insects, or
creatures whatever (except the coyote whose occasional
distant whine or howl only contrasts with the stillness
to make it greater), are suggestive places for intense —
for penetrative meditation.

" Well ! Now then ! " said Hill shortly afterward, as
he spurred up his horses, " now you've had it. Now
you've had your robber story better than I could have
told you one, and I hope you're satisfied."

I did feel quite satisfied, and I wanted to know of
Hill, whether this was the kind of sociable (?) Arizona
tendered to strangers.

" Sociable ! " quoted Hill. " That's pretty good."

376 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

"Yes!" rejoined I, " They are what I would term
midnight sociables of the deserts."

Thus we rode along leaving, these " spirits of the
desert," we hoped, far behind. It was about 7 o'clock
in the evening when our robbery took place. It was
just before the time for the moon to rise, and the at-
mosphere wore that peculiar haze suggested by the
old proverb " Tis darkest just before dawn."

Hill, who was an old pioneer in the stage business
of our west, had many experiences (either personal or
otherwise), to. relate of the highways and the red man.
I had one myself, having suffered a like engagement
once before. Between us both, we consequently lis-
tened to many hair-breadth escapes and midnight rev-
elries. We must have been intuitively prepared for
this one from the systematic manner in which we
went through the drill. At the very instant of the
word "Halt!" and before we had been ordered to
" Hold up your hands ! " which is always the next com-
mand, my hands went up high over my head. Misery
liking company, I looked to my right with one eye to
see how it fared with rny brother Hill ; while the other
I kept on my desert friends. Hill had his hands up
too. In short we wanted to get through with the
midnight drama as quickly as possible. I remember
how anxious I was to get back on my box after I had
been robbed. But being commanded to " Halt ! " with

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 377

at the same time, a click from the six-shooter, I al-
layed my impetuosity somewhat, and seemed to feel
willing to stand there all night rather than attempt to
get back to my seat again until I had been ordered to
do so. I was encouraged all the way through by
Hill's calm and politic manner in dealing with the
case at hand.

This little narrative will give a general idea of the
robberies of the overland stage coaches on our western
highways. Of course, depredations are governed bv
no law, and these " sociables of the desert " are gov-
erned by no set or established routine. They take
you how and where they find you and are governed in
their actions accordingly. Many variations there are
then, to this system of aggression, although this is the
average modus operandi. In a former robbery of a
coach upon which I was a passenger, the coach was
simply stopped by two men running out from behind
a bush ; and one grabbing the horses' heads, while the
other stepped to the side of the coach and ordered the
driver to " hand down Wells, Fargo & Co.'s express
box." The driver having complied with the request,
he was told to drive on, which he did ; and the stage
and its load drove off, and on to its destination as
though nothing had happened — except that when we
arrived there the box containing all the treasures was
not with us. There is shooting at times, and often

378 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

loss of life, but this is generally the result of disobe-
dience to their commands or wishes; and if ever the
reader has an occasion to fall into the hands of these
" spirits of the desert," we would advise him to simply
accept the situation with a calm and .quiet grace, and
obey as you had been taught to do in your youth. In
nine times out of ten, you will come out of the battle
unscathed; although it is admitted that there are men
bloodthirsty enough to love to kill for the glory of it,
and without any provocation.

Some, there are, who may not understand why re-
sistence is not the better part of valor, and not oftener
resorted to in these instances, on the part of the stage
companies or the passengers. We simply say to those,
that to attempt to explain, would be a thankless task,
as they would only look at you as one trying to ex-
cuse your own cowardice, and vaunt their own bravery
at you, by asserting what they would do if they were
" caught that way." Many have I had talk with me
in this way while attempting to satisfy their curiosity
as to the situation in such cases, and the conditions
governing it. But when they are " caught" them-
selves, they are agravated to find, in turn, that a no
better portrayal of the situation can be found in them.
The safest plan is, never to carry but a mere paltry
sum of money — enough to pay your way from point
to point, where you can replenish.

PICTURESQUE ARIZONA. 370

"We reached Florence at 4 o'clock in the morning.
It was on this occasion that I met the great prospec-
tors, Capt. Chas. McMillen and Josiah Flournoj. As we
were about to leave Florence, two men approached the
stage and took passage on it for Yuma. Their dress
consisted of a pair of overalls, sand shoes, a huge
blanket strapped across their back, a pair of large six-
shooters — one at each hip ; a bowie knife in their belt
behind, a rifle strapped across their back, and a big
slouched hat ornamented with holes, which covered
the whole structure from rain. They greeted me ju
true frontier style wanting to .know if "I was the man
who had been robbed out on the desert — whether I
was hurt any, and whether I had any money left.
When I had answered their questions, and informed
them that all my money had been taken, each put his
hand in his pocket, and passed carelessly over to me a
twenty dollar gold piece, telling me they guessed that
would see me through to Yuma, and that the twenty
dollars would be as good to them at some other time.
When I offered to give them " my note," they looked
displeasure that human nature had fallen so low, that
a piece of paper was worth more than a man's honor,
and said : " a man's word is his note in this country,
my friend."

I subsequently learned that these two men were
McMillen and Flournoy, and were then on their way

380 PICTURESQUE ARIZONA.

to San Francisco and New York to incorporate the
"Hannibal " mine, then recently discovered. * * *
A ride of three days and nights in the overland
stage coach brought me back to Yurnn. In passing
Los Angeles on my way north to San Francisco,
I was reminded of the attraction the orange groves of
that district had held for me, and of the famous beach
at Santa Monica, only fifteen miles to the sea side. I
left the main road here and ran down to Santa Monica.
Here, after a refreshing sojourn at the Santa Monica
Hotel, and a few invigorating surf baths in the Pacific
Ocean in the dead of winter, I diversified my trip by
taking one of the magnificent steamers of the coast,
for San Francisco.

THE END.