The weekly Arizona miner., 1871-09-23
Ghe >~ aniner.
EXPLORATIONS IN ARIZONA.

ordlnarlly accurate not only aS TeGards tue geography of the country in it's most minute particulars, but, likewise, as regards the sec. tions which at present contain white pop ulation and those from which the inhabitants have been expelled by the ravages of Indi ans. The article was evidently written with care and much information regarding this Territory may be gathered from its perusal
 The United States has owned the Terri l tory of Arizona for seventeen years, and 1t | remains to day almost as much an unknown | country as 1t was fifteen years ago The | Prescott and Ell Dorado canyon settlements are of American origin, but all the older and more thriving ones between the San Fran | cisco mountains and the Santa Cruz country are Mexican, and not a whit more flourish | ing than they were in lS49 The explora- tions so far conducted under our guidance have developed some gold mines on the Col orado river and in the Santa Cruz region, and some fine valleys of small size in the i'm mediate neighborhood of Prescott. This is about all. Struggling parties have hastily | passed over the table lands between Prescott and the Rio Grande, reporting the existence of some fine timber and grazing ground with indications of gold, but no settlements of any consequence have been planted there, and nothing like thorough exploration of that part of the Territory has yet been made. This year there is likely to be something done in the matter of more consequence than anything hitherto attempted. The Illinois party, under Captain Powell, will descend the Colorado and tell us something about what exists upon the southeastern or Arizo- na tributaries of that stream, including the Little Colorado, which takes its rise in lati- tude 34 and B, away off in New Mexico. and which traverses an unknown region as large as the State of Ohio. Besides the Powell party, the Governor of Arizona has organized one for exploration, and there is another un- der command of Lieutenant Wheeler of the U. :: Army. The Governors party started out from Tucson on the l7th instant He will penetrate the Final and Mogollon noun talns. The first range runs northeast and southwest and is but fifty miles northward from Tucson. The route of the party must be either up the Salt and Rio Verde or up the San Carlos river to where it takes its rise m the Mogollon range. These mountains run parallel with the Finals and extend into So- nora Both are infested by Apaches. Cross- ing the Mogollon range the Governors party will strike the southern tributaries of the Little Colorodo, and connect their explora- tions with those of Powell. Lieutenant Wheelers party will penetrate southern Ne vada by way of Death Valley in this State, thence to the Armagosa river to Callyille at the great bend of the Colorado Thence they will cross into Arizona, but the route they will take after that is not indicated. They will probably penetrate through the northern part of the Territory and into the unexplored region of Southern Utah. At all events from these three parties. added to what the troops under General Crook will do in the way of marching and incidentally exploring, we may anticipate that the world will soon be furnished with some new and valuable information as to the geography, geology, and agricultural resour- ces of Arizona.
 Ihis Territory contains over 100000 square miles. So far as its physical geography is known, its central region from northwest to southeast is cut up by mountain ranges near ly parallel with the course of the Sierra Ne vada- and having greater breadth, with a greater number of separate ranges, and a lesser altitude. The valley lands are to the southwest and northeast of these mountains. The river system on both sides is tributary to the Colorado. The valley of the Gila is well known. It is small, hot and not very healthy. The Santa Cruz region, south of the Gila, has better and more agricultural lands, but they are uninhabited on account of the Apaches. Of the valleys that may lie along the northern tributaries of the Col Orado nothing more is known than was known slxty-tve years ago of the upper Mis- sour and Columbia rivers, and even less. If is only presumed that there are large tracts Of good farming lands on these rivers. Oi course the vast region traversed by the noun talns, which must embrace at least third of the Territory, is terra iRcogRita. Where ever its edges have been settled by whites, they have found gold mines that will pay to work, and the reasonable presumption is that the ranges have unlimited resources of pre- clous metals. If the table lands which tra- verse these mountains Tn the center, and the valleys to the north and south, can once be made secure to settlers from the forays of h. dians, there is no part of the continent where mining, farming and stock breeding can be conducted with greater profit.
 The latest startling meteorological phe- nomenon on record is reported from the Ar. genuine Republic. We have read of many singular occurrences within the past six months and regarded nearly all such reports as decidedly tough" but this is worse than tough--it is hard Ut was about half pas, Tour P. m, the glorious lumnary of day cas, ms reSplendent beams upon the grateful earth
 me azure of heaven was undimned " etc. etc when suddenly nasty black cloud popped