Arizona citizen., 1876-01-29
THE LITTLE COLORADO.
Interesting Letter-Ranches and Settlements In Eastern Arizona Camp Apache-StOck and Crop Prospects.
CAMP APACHE, January 10, 1876.

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 natures to the petition for a mail route from Goodwin to Fort Wingate, have ridden about 450 miles, and having visited every ranch and settlement en route to the Little Colorado, I send you a few items of interest of this country aEd people. In the Little Col orado district there are l65 qualified voters, and of these I have obtained, to the petition for a mail route, 40 signatures, every one of them genuine and residents of that precinct
 1 left Camp Apache oa Christmas day, and started for Cooley's place, dis tant about 40 miles, arriving there on the 26th. What a great change has taken place during the past few years In 1869, c. E. Cooley. H. Wood Dodd and myself passed through this coun- try, just below where Clark and Cooley's ranch now is. In those days there was no Camp Apache, or roads or settle ments or anything else but a wilderness.
 Messrs Cooley & Clark have fine ranch, and will this year SOW about 25O acres of barley alone. Leaving this ranch on the morning of the 2Sth. l started across the high mesa that lies between the Rio Solo and Concho creek. Midway of the mesa one ob- tains fine view of an extensive rangel of country. To the northwest, at al distance of 159 miles, rises the lofty San Francisco, the highest mountain in Arizona, and now covered from peak to the base of vision with snowy shroud. To the southeast, about 60 miles away, stands in its ghastly shll- ness the White Mountain, being the next loftiest peak in the Territory. Having crossed the mesa, I arrived at the ranch of Peter Moore, at what is called Mineral Springs" distaRt from COoley's 25 miles, and from Camp Aba che 50 miles. Mir Moore is a family man, having an American lady for a wife and three interesting children. At the time of my visit, two of the chil- dren, Ida and Frankie, were sick with the scarlauiBa gr, Moore was prepar. ing to put in a big crop of barley Last year he raised about 5000 pounds, put put t ihe sYGg GSmlngs cfessopn R igfGP666r on the 29th, with terrible wind blow ing, 1 passed the Nal Pals spring and arrived at Col J. C. Hunts ranch, just as the rain began to fall From Hunts I went to the COncho, and spent part of two days at that settlement At Concho 1 found 29 men and 56 women and children, 83 people in all. COnchO is quite 8 settlement and has little "Molino," for grinding corn. There is considerable stock, belonging to various parties, in the vicinity,
 Oa New Years day 1 pulled out for up the river, and that same day reach ed San Juan or St. Johns. This valley contains some thirty families. It has two stores, one belonging to J. B. Bro phy and the other to Col. Hunt l have mentioned St Johns in a former letter, and I will now pass it by with the remark that the people, One and all, have sn abiding, and 1 believe, we'll grounded faith in its future pros perity.
 Leaving St. Johns on cold frosty morning, I struck out for Milligan settlement, or as the people in the VI emily call it, "Round Valley" The road follows directly up the valley of the river, and past the ranch of James ChisweI, This gentleman has a good many cattle, but more boys. To tell the truth, I never before saw such lot of boys in one family in my life. Mir Chiswell evidently means well by his country. After a ride of B miles I ran up against the house of one of the iolliest fellows in Round Valley or any other valley, in the person of P. w. Mccullough. Milligan Is perhaps the oldest settlement Tn the Little Colo rado valley, and everything around in dicates permanency. The farmers all have good water ditches, and have built comfortable log houses. Wm. R. Milligan appears to be the daddy" of the settlement. He is now putting upl a good grist mill, water power, with an eighteen feet wheel MT. Milligan believes in giving his children an edu- eaton, and to that end has school house of his own and employs teach CT, Mir. Otto Ahrens, all at his own ex- pense. His schooi closed the day I arrived, owing to the fact that all theI children were down with the scSrlatina. The people of this settlement expect to raise about 100000 pounds of bar ley this season. Milligan has several notables. Among these are " Perpetual Motion " and the " best single handed talker" in the Territory. Quite an item here is the killing Of tiger,-aI genuine North American tiger, spots
 
 and all,-by George Heller,
 was detained some time in Round Valley, by heavy rain storm in the mountains. But the third day thcl weather cleared up and I left for Camp Apache. Here 1 found the late Indian