The weekly union record., 1866-01-06
Letter from Company 4.
FoRr WHrrrrx T. Dr.. -. IL

10 the Weekly American Flag, over the signs
ture of @Carbine, which was copied. in part,
into your columns, and which gave to my mind
picture OF this Territory, 30 completely over
drawn, that II is possible some persons might
be induced to come hiiher, expecting to find
Arizona the Eden. the Paradise, the Ell Dorado
of the world. To disabuse the minds of such
persons, and the public, take the liberty of
writing this epistle. l have Travelled over a
large portion of the Territory. and have con-
versed with intelligent persons who have been
in every section of it with scarcely an exception.
and from the concurrent testimony of Others,
and what have seen myself, l feel confident
that can speak safely of the country and its
resources, present and prospective. To speak
Of Arizona as an agricultural territory is
superbly ridiculous. There are, it is true, some
fine valleys Of excellent lands but the aggregate
area of them all, if combined in one, would, in
comparison with the balance of the territory.
appear like small oasis in the midst of great
desert. Probably one tenth Of the whole ter.
ritory land l think this large estimate) may
be called fair pasture land of its knd-that is,
land which affords pasturage for about four
months during the year. OF this one-tenth, at
least one half will fall far below the average Of
the grazing lands of California, and will not
afford one tenth the amount of feed per acre,
annually, as compared with average pasture
lands in the Atlantic States; nor would it
produce sufficient small grain to pay for the
seed sown. Here, then, is nineteen twentieths
of the whole territorial area. of no value for
agriculture, not worth fencing for pas,urage
and, being composed of vast sandy plains in
the lowlauds and volcanic deposits in the uppe.
basins, presents to the eye of civilization no
inducement for settlement OF the remaining
one twentieth, not more than one half can ever
be pro6tably cultivated in grain or vegetables;
the balance could be used fer pasturage, or, if
the altitude be not too great, could be cultivated
for the vine. The man, therefore, of limited
means, who wishes to locate on land for farming
purposes, has little inducement TO settle here
especially as the farming lands are not suscep
tible of affordipg that close proximity of neigh
bors, so essential to the carrying out of that
educational system which is at once both the
foundation and pillar Of an enlightened and free
people. The timber of Arizona, painted in
such glowing coors by the explosive imagina-
tion of "Carbine," is confined to the highest
portions of the mountain ranges, limited in
quantity, and common at best in quality. The
best pine timber here does not exceed that of
the foothills Of California which borders on the
lower edge of the sugar pine region. Oak and
blackwalnut are neither of them abundant, nor
valuable for any purpose but frewood, being
generally short and scrubby. There is some
cedar in the mountains, short, scrubby, with
limbs down close to the ground, and of little
value except for fuel So much for agriculture.
Next, the mipes-and of them We speak what
every soldier and citizen in the territory knows
to be true, when We say "Of their richness.
durability, or value, all is conjecture" True.
some few placers have been found and worked,
which were said to have been very rich. Other
prospects have been found which, in country
where constant supply of water could be
depended upon, would be very attractive, to
say the least; yet, situated as they are, they
are more vexa,ious than profitable, for, with
few exceptions, water to work them to advan-
tage cannot be depended upon to exceed four
weeks per annum, and, generally speaking, ten
days would let miner out entirely. Add to
this the fact that, when there is water, it
usually comes in torrents which sweep every
thing movable before them, and you will see
that, by the time dams and reservoirs are
rebuilt, bitches repaired, fumes and sluiceboxes
replaced, the water has generally ceased TO flow
on top OF the ground, and the poor, anxious
miner is badly euchred-sold-i Impoverished
played out and disheartened. As to mineral
found in ledges of quartz and other rock, no
doubt there is good supply and great variety
Prospects of brilliant character are numerous
on the top, but none have been proven TO any
great depth, with one or two exceptions, and
the "Mowry Mine," which has had the best
practical test Of any one to great depth, has
proved to be fine opening for man Of capital
to get rid of his surplus cash, and nothing better
as any one knows Of The "Vulture Lead
near Wickenburg has an immense quantity of
loose rock on top, which is said to pay from
fifty to one hundred dollars per ton, but they
are obliged to haul the rock fifteen miles to get
it to water sufficient to work it. There have
been no extensive discoveries of silver lodges
that have heard of, although silver has been
found to exist in small quantities in several
places. Indications of copper are numerous,
but, at present, no valuable discoveries have
been made. have seen some rich specimens
of iron ore, similar 10 character to the iron
found along the foothills east of the Sacramento
valley, but have not heard of any extensive
deposits. A few lodes Of quicksilver have been
discovered, but, how extensive or valuable, no
one has taken the trouble to ascertain. The
impression is clear TO my mind that the northern
and eastern portions of the territory are by far
the most valuable for either mining or agricul-
ture. for these sections are crossed by regular