The weekly Arizona miner., 1877-11-16
CHANGE IN THIRTEEN YEARS.

Thirteen years ago, to-day, the writer cf this first placed foot upon the soil within the limits of the corporation of Prescott, and where now stand some of the finest residences and business houses of our viii lage, then waved the stately pine in beauty and grandeur; and where now Is being erected the magnificent and costly County buildings we passed our first evening by
 the fire of a huge pine, that had grown and
 lived its time out and finally lowered its once towering form to earth, and there we spread our first cot and passed the first night in the town we had adopted for our future home for all time to come. Prescott. at that time, contained but few houses: the population probably numbered two hun dred, all told. Still, every perscn felt as though they had found the Golden Apple. and were busy trying to gather in the fruit Small parties could be found se lecting lots upon which to build, others getting out timberS, of which an abundance could be found adjacent to town. while some were busy at this or that, and the camp presented a healthy appearance; and, from that time until the present, ''Onward" has been the motto.
 The commencement of Prescott's history was during the dark and bloody days of the Apache's cruel deeds, and none other save the heroic American frontiersman could have maintained themselves against the onslaught and incursions of the red de mons who infested every mountain trail and canyon from the extreme northern b0un- darv line of the Territory tO the settle 1 ments of Sonora on the South, and from the 1 Rio Grande on the East to the civilized dis i tricts of California on the West. However. | during the long years that the Indians made | inroads upon the pioneers, who had sacri- l feed the comforts of civilization, parted | from relatives and dear ones in far off land, | to reclaim the Nations wealth from a bar | barous foe, our town has continued to grow, | slowly and surely until now, we can boast of the largest and finest town east of the City | of the Angels, in California, until some of the older cities are reached bordering on | the Missouri. Our population has contiE- l ued to gather in, of the best material, and, | from a handful, as 1t were, we now have | over three thousand souls, and it would be | a safe assertion to say that net twenty-five l idle persons can be found within the corpo- | rate limits of our fourishing mountain vil- | lage. Three saw-mills are busy molding | 
 surplus of lumber remains at the wards of the mills; quartz mills are up, and the busy | stamps are doing their bidding to the power | of steam, others are Tn tine course of cree ton and soon will be reducing the ores from | the vast and unknown rUcesses Of the earth | churches, with tine,chool-hause adorn our | village; library building, a bank, and | city hall, have been added during the last | .f. T1,l around, and hardly week passes but what l additions are being made of a permanent and worthy nature: a steam factory. where is ! manufactured every kind of building ma i terial, rests in tie southern portion of the | village, while, on the west, a foundry has | just been completed; large mercantile | houses surround the plaza; saloons and res taurants are Tot lacking, and. in fact. it | would be difficult to enumerate an industry | but what we have here a: home. Our val l veys that surround us on every side are set | tied with hardy farmers. where can be found | some of the fairest sons and daughters | Herds of innumerablc numbers now graze | upon the hill-sides, and in the valleys, un- | molested by the former terror of the white | man-the pets of Vincent Colyer and Com | pany no longer reign supreme. Crook, | with his gallant followers, opened the road | to progress and civlation, and the way off future, where We cannot see, seems To be I bright. Our mines are yielding largely of the precious metals, although works on the | silver chains that bind our hills and noun | talns together are yet in their infancy, still, | the benefits are great, and when once these | massive bodies shall be wrenched from their l dormant state and shown out to the view of the outside world, means will be inaugura- | ted whereby the yields will be doubled ! many fold. However. during these long 1 years that our town and Territory have been progressing, many of our friends have bought what VIC now possess, with that which Is deareT than gold and silver-their lives. Mothers have lost sons in the noble undertaking of settling up the wilds of Arizona for others who come at later day. ! All that was once mortal Of those dear and near, now lie in our rcharnel yards, or sleep in their lonely cell where the treacherous hand of the Apache cut them down without warning or the chance of defence
 Progress Is the very thought and action of the American pioneer Settlements spring mp in the most remote corners and desolate portions ofAmerican territory, and soon fol- lows the lightning line, and it in turn is soon followed by the iron horse Already from the West the shriII whistle is head as the iron monster passes the chasm of the Colorado, now spanned by the iron rail, and we predict that from the East, our fair and inviting land will be visited soon by similar improvements, while on the northern boun- diary of Arizona rests jealous eye watch
 ing and waiting the time to push the iron spiked rail on through our Territory. to find terminus at the sea-shore, on Mexican soil.