The weekly Arizona miner., 1872-01-20

buildings. Inis- tooy are gathered toee'he!
 m.ny energetic people, who think 'na', "' | last they have "struck IL, anu "ho ae'
 eordingiy. From Peenlx we went up 'ne Oi,ar three r.i,es to Mill City, the seat of a-a,;o,s of W. B. Heliings & Co, where .PS evidences of more thrift, enterprise and 'nercr were presented. Verify, Hellings < Co are men who believe in going ahead, re- rardless of obstacles. Being quite dusty, ia tigued and hungry upon our arrival, our iirst efforts were to relieve our poor frame, after which. in company with the senior Helings, his brother and Major Veil, we examined the premises. consisting of large, we, furnished adobe store. comfortable residences for own CTS and employees, and last, but not least, the Touring mill-which is a large, three story building, well roofed with lumber and shingles brought all the way from our own mountain home. Prescott. The walls of this building. excepting the portions upon which tbe heavy timbers rest, are of adobe, and of great strength and thickness. The wood work is strong. and the machinery is the best that could be procured in San Francisco. To drive this machinery they have 4S-borse
 power engine. The mill has two run oi stone, and, for days work, can make, at least, 30 OOU pounds of flour. It Ina. taken over a year to complete 1t and the two granaries adjoining, and has cost Its
 proprietors at least S50,O00. The granaries
 in question are built to store, each, I5,OOOl lbs. of grain. The entire work has been accomp- lished by Arizonans, under the direction of I- Henderson, who has spent lifetime ID running and building Touring mills.
 After having beheld all these things, we clambered on the top of the roof of the mill,
 and from that elevated position, had good
 view of valley, river, mountains, etc. To the north, we beheld the Bradshaw range, wherein
 lies stored sufficient gold and silver to keep Bill Tweed's gang, with all other fast plum
 derers, for an age. To the east lay the Four Peaks, and the hills around Camp Mcdowell i; and. further south, Superstition and Pinal mountains were plainly visible. On the south, the valley is surrounded by barren looking range ofnountains, containing, we were told, gold mines of considerable rich ness, one of which was then being prospected. To the southwest, there stretched Maricopa Mountain, famous for the stone face that ornaments one end of it> Then, Salt River, which rises several hundred miles to the northeast, and whose waters come pouring down from thousands of springs in Apache land, comes under view, as it winds through
 q valley containing at least G0,O0O acres of good arabic land. And what noble stream it is, especially for dry Arizona. Being in
 width, between 250 and 300 feet; and in depth, about 2i, feet, it is estimated that, at it's lowest stage, it contains from 6O,OOO to
 lOO. .O0O inches of water-gOod, clear water,
 at that, which, rushing headlong over peb-
 bly bottom, between low, secure banks, offers no obstacles to those who would divert 1t in-
 to ditches, and lead it over the thirsty soil.
 Having fcasted our eyes upon all these charming things, we descended to terra frma,
 had a good nights sleep, and, next day, rode
 through portion of the great valley, visit
 ing friends and seeing new sights. Thanks
 to J. w. Swilling, the man who first settled
 permanently in the valley, who has labored
 hard for its settlement and development,
 splendid conveyance was placed at.our dls- opsal, and with Dr. Alsap, another pioneer of D the valley for companion, our movements
 were both agreeable and instructive. From
 Messrs. Alsap, J. B. McKinne, William Os-
 born. Mir. Gray, Mir. Hancock and many other prominent and ancient "salts," we learned that the soil of the valley was better adapted
 to the production of wheat and barley, than
 of corn, owing, we presume, to the want oi rain. at the proper time. Cotton, sugar-cane, sweet potatoes and all kinds of tropical trees grow to perfection. The only trees growing upon the river bottoms are cottonwoods and mesquite, and both these are plenty. In fact, the latter are too plenty, and have to be cleared off the land, in order to prepare it for cultivation. The estimated population of the valley is 300, and new settlers are every day arriving. Ruins of ancient buildings and canals are met with on every hand, telling us of the present that the place has past ms tory. unwritten and unknown, save to that Sunrcme Being, at whose bidding seas dry up and mountains disappear.
 Tn riding through the valley, we discov- ornd with pleasure, that almost every farmer had set out an orchard, vineyard. and long lines of shade trees, all of which appeared to he dourishing. Wheat and barley are put into inc ground at all times from the first of Oc- tober to the 20th of March, and, the ground being already wetted to receive these cereals, good crops, with little labor, are generally the result. The market has, so far, been good, yet, as many of the settlers started in poor, and have been somewhat careless and extravagant, they are yet poor. Over three millions of pounds of grain were raised last year, and it is confidently expected that as high as S,000000 pounds will this year be raised, which, with the vegetables, cane, cot ton and fruit, will enable "ihe valley" to SpiuiSc a ultle Idnu yet abundant and water to irrgate it is plenty, SO chat we know of no better place for poor but honest tilers of the soil to locate.. Then, after awhile, it is safe to conclude that the ! proposed 32d parallel railroad will pass through the valley, when naught can prevent Phoenix, or some other of its aspiring villages from becoming second Salt Lake City, not, however. in the great number of the wives its citizens will have, but for the position 1t will occupy as the largest interior city of Arizona.
 The people of the valley should see to it that inducements sufficient to persuade the Southern Overland Mail Company to run their stages ria PhGnix are speedily held out, as, just now, mail and travelling facilities are not sufficient for their wants. The next { thing for them to do, is to build road to our mountains, over the route already selected. which would confer two-fo benefit upon them, and be of great service to our miners 1 Tie Valley of Salt River is distant from Prescott, (by the old road) about leo miles. ]