The Arizona sentinel., 1873-11-29
SATURDAY, NOV. 80, 1878
DESERTS ARTEsIAN WELLS

doubtless many persons at a dis
lance have been led to believe
that a large proportion of the
lands of Arizona are worthless
for agricultural purposes. This is
a great mistake, as we are pre-
pared to show, switch the same
we will rise to explain" gf
Webster defines a desert to be
ian uninhabited tract of land ;
a region in its natural state; a
wilderness; a solitude; particular
ly a vast sandy plain, as the des-
erts of Arabia and Africa" Ac-
cording to this definition, desert
is not always necessarily, a barren
waste. Bnt people, generally,
when they hear of a desert, think
of a sterile, uninviting, unin-
habitable region, where no yege.
tation will grow to sustain life,
and where desolation reigns SUI
preme.
Now, it is well known that
Arizona has vast plains, called
deserts; where water upon the
surface, occurs sometimes at long
intervals. But there is not one
rod Of all this land that is sterile.
On the contrary, the soil is rich
in all the elements of productive
ness, except water. This is
evidenced wherever water has
been procured and brought
upon these so. called des-
erts. Then the growth Of
vegetation is astonishing. All
kinds of plants and trees grow
with rapidity and luxuriance
unknown to other regions. Look
at the settlements on the Salt
River and the ella, where those
streams have been tapped and
the water led upon the land. Did
any man ever see such a rapid
growth? We doubt it. And the
climate is 30 favorable, that fire..
quently two crops are raised in a
year. ALI the grains, and vege-
tables, and all the fruits of the
temperate and semi = tropical
climates, grow with the utmost
luxuriance. Then it Is plain that
all that is wanted to make our
vast plains TEEN with agricultu-
raj wealth, is water. Can water
be procured? We believe it can.
No man has ever yet sunk an ar
tesian well, to any depth, in Ari-
iona. When this is done, the
man who has the enterprise to
accomplish it, will assuredly
reap rich reward. That it can
be done there can be no doubt.
Leok at what has been done in
the southern counties of Califor-
mia, adjoining us. There, many
places that had lain unproductive
since the foundation of the world,
and deemed worthless wastes,
have, within the last few years,
been made productive, valuable
and beautiful by artesian wells.
Flowing water has been obtained
innearly every place where ener-
gy and capital have been brought
to bear. The same thing can be
done in Arizona. The great
chains ofmountains that overlook
these vast plains, contain in their
bosoms the necessary reservoirs,
and all that is needed, is to bore
deep enough to strike the veins
y proceeding from these reservoirs,
and the work is done. Nature,
by the well-known law which
causes water to seek the level OF
its source, does the rest, and 9
flowing well is the result.
We look upon this subject as
one Of the greatest importance
Both fame and fortune await the
man who first obtains flowing
water from an artesian we'll ir
Arizona. Who will be the frs
to do it, Cur territorial Legisla
ture at its last session, passed al
act to epcourage the sinking o
artac;o@S walls. IT reads as fol