The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1859-03-10
Important from Arizona.
THE GILA GOLD MINEs-HUMBUa EXPLODED.

We clip the following from the correspon'
dence of the st. Louis Republican. The
letter is dated Tubac, January 30th. This
account, it will seem, is very different from
that of the Texas.maD, who certified to
blocks Of the precious metals, "muny tons
weight"
The President, in his late message to Con.
gress, says, referring to Arizona "The
population of that Territory, numbering, as
is alleged, more than len thousand souls, &c.
Now, whoever alleges this, alleges what is
not true. Raking and scraping together
every human being within the proposed linn
its OF ACCOMMODATIONS Mexcans, and
Indians, white, black, yellow, and red--you
cannot make total Of eight thousand in
habitants. The Indian population cannot be
estimated with much certainty, but every
tribe is greatly over-estimated, as is usual in
such cases. The Mexican population at
this end of the Territory is very small, not
over one hundred end forty men, women, and
children OF Tubac, and perhaps twice that
number at San Xavier and Tucson.
An old resident of the Mesilla Valley, who
knows everybody, declares that there are
not more than forty American residents in
the valley, and not one solitary American
woman There are exactly sixteen Ameri-
can ladies' in Arizona. | have the names
now before me on slip Of paper, and know
the place of residence Of each one Sum
ming up the entire American population, in.
GLIDING the men employed at the overland
mail stations, and allowing largely for tran.
sent persons, aDe barely make two hundred
and fifty. think this is very liberal esti-
mate. Some of the "oldest inhabtants'
hereabouts declare that it is impossible to
find even two hundred American residents
in this territory. The vote for MIR. Mowry
10 no criterion of the population, for to quote
the Presidents language, sit alleged that
everybody voted-men, women, children, In
dians and Greasers." do not pretend to
say that such ia the case-I only give the
common rumor hereabouts.
In regard to the Gla gold mines, the Re
publican's correspondent says:
We have bad news from the Gia gold
mines. Every few days some ''seedy," dead
broke, and haIEstarved individual strays in.
| to town with the usual story-"No gold
there-all ID humbug !" One fellow
told me might judge of the state of things
at place where fifty cents was big bet at
monte ! Provisions and clothing command
the most extraordinary prices. Flour $l6
per hundred, sugar $3.50 per pound, and
coffee s. per pound. Everybody that can
get away is leaving, and fresh fools arrive
constantly. alured By the false reports publish
cd IN th2 newspapers.
There has been an enormous amount Of false
hood altered and published concerning hi'
country and ats resources. As an agriculture
country ii is worthless. Rain seldom falls
and there is very little permanent water
Were it not for the Indians, something nigh
be done at stock raising, but under the ex
sling order of things, there would be fa
more loss than profit. Silver mining will
eventually be very profitable, as no country
in the world is more abundant in silver ore:
and metals. Several silver mining compa
nies are now in operation, with fine pros
poets.