The Weekly Arizonian., 1869-10-30
OCTOBER 30...............l8C9.
"A MIsTAKs DISCOVERED.


 Ever since the occupation of Arizona by Americans, from which event dates our first real knowledge of the Territory, it's inhabitants have labored under terrible mistake regard ing the manner in which they considered them. selves obliged to procure timber for building purposes. Almost all the timber th=s far en- ployed in building up the town of Tucson has been imported from New Mexico, and set doan here, at what cost we know not, but sold to con- sumsrs at the rate of twenty cents per foot And still this order of things continues. A few feeble efforts were made at different times to procure timber from our Territov. the most successful being those made in the Santa Rita mountains, under the auspices of officers of tho California volunteers, in 1865. The work was, however, at no time pursued with sufficient zeal to give it the character of an enterprise and until very recently appeared as. if it were about to be altogether abandoned But now, at length, tue jolly of hauling lumber from New Mexico, and the still greater folly of pur- chasing the same at rates so exherbitant are fully appreciated and determined efforts are being made to discover whether the trn bsred country of Southern Arizona may not be suc~ cessluliy speculased in, under proper manage ment TAis effort is being made by the busy, stirring and decidedly euterprising Frenchman A Lazard, vho has opened a road into the timbeTed country and erected a saw-mill right in the heart Of Apachedom and among the Santa Rita pines
 This project deserves to be successful one. Nothing hitherto attempted or accomplished here can heap so many benefits upon the peo- pie of this section as an abundance of lumber which may be cheapIy of reasonably procured. #e are sorry, however, that the ambitious 'lrencby, before throwing his energy and capital into the Santa Rita range, did not first 'aNe trip to the mountains which lie imme- aiately north from here. That they contain an 'ae1hausti5!e supply Of timber We can assure every one, from the fact during our recent tour among these hills we traveIed through q forest Of pine timber covcringan extent of more than o.e hundred square miles, where the trees will l average height of more than one hundred a The only objection offered 10 the project 1 a3:aiaiag timber from this soaIce. is that 1 fo2d to the tim6erei country cannot be opened. 1 l"e distance from Tucson is ouIg 2 miles. and Ae2ce t will be seen that so far as distance is coacerned its advantages over the Santa Rita. l winch is distant about 60 miles, will not admit Q. a question, The opening of Q road to tbis timber, its only fair to suppose, will beattend> ea "ith much difficulty, but it is preposterous io contend that it i5 an impossi6iIty. It has never been attempted for inc reason that nothing definite was known regarding these mountains or what they might contain. Now, 1 renchy's Santa Rita project should, lie Is numerous progen.tors prove abortive, we | VI. expect to see him make an effort in this l other direction Let whoever would under l take to open up the timber resources of these mp,a tains proceed first to Pueblo Vitio about cisa- miles beyond the Point of Mountain. on | the Camp Grant road and if at this poins ar l ascent cannot be effected to the timbered land a, the head ol Canada del Gro, then it may bo | somewhat difficult to fed point which will prove practicable but we feel almost safe in ] asserting that persistent efforts here will meet with the most complete success. It is worth trying whoever will be go fortunate as to dis cover route which w;ll tap the forests of iAs5e mOultaiEs will have struck the richest mine yet discovered in Arizona.