Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1880-11-25
BEYOND THE ROCKIES.
A Iountainser's Ref ecti0ns -Wild sights In
Very Old Country. Life among the
Indiana
pleks. Post. Arizona \, Nov. 10. lsse

I Il
been sent here TO fad an owner, /
found copy Of The Grant County
HERALD. How il ever ntrsyed into
this far-off country | cannot tell.
What thrill Of gladness its old IA
miliar face sent 70 my heart. IL
looked end spoke t. IN 3 the same
as when | last bebeid i! years ago
Except little more portly). And
" ho can tell what o host of memo
ries the sight of so many familiar
names b-3ugh, back None can
tell better than tho hardy pioneers
who have penetrated this land, the
ancestral home of the fierce Apache.
and often cut off from communica-
ton with the outside world. 1t
came 90 me like messenger, and
in fancy carried me back 20 my
boyhood's home-to dear old Grant
that holds ell lfe's most sacred
treasures for me, father, mother,
WIFE ard children. and dear old
friends-aome. that dear name to
the wanderer
Take the bright smell from its home on
the lea
And, where'er it goes, it will sing of the
sea-
How often, travelling YEARLY
over ths trackless desert, beneath
the burning SUP, or following the
trail through the almost impossible
canyons and over the SUBMITS of
our grand old mountains, where
none but the will beast and fierce
Apache have beaten trail, do i
think of home. And as | stand on
the summit of some grand, gray cid
mountain, look to the far northeast
and ia fancy soc the smoke Gurling
up from your happy homes, a feel
ing Of loneliness and longing comes
over me that cannot define; and,
if not in the haant3 of the hostile
savage. | send shout after shout,
and, as tbs echoes die away, imsg
inc | can hear YOUR answering
shout TO this faro land And, as
around our camp fires. after song
and jest and story, we wrap cur
blankets around u, and sink to
sleep to dream Of cur far-off happy
homes ard of those that are wesrily
waiting to receive as. These hardy
pioneer prospectcrs sre bravo and
daring man carrying their pick and
shovel TO the very heart of tbs
Apache stronghold, prospecting ov-
cry mountain side, guloh and gulloy
and often paying with their lives
for their reckless daring; but their
hearts are true and tender, standing
by comrades side, Drawing death
rather than desert him., and their
bones are whitening on plain and
mountain side. They foothe the
dying with g touch as tender as a
woman's, shedding tears Of sorro W
80 they wrap their blanket around
them for winding sheet aad lsy
them 10 their last home, and care.
fully send their few treasures to
their friends that are waiting so
anxiously the coming that will rev
err De.
This is strange country, differ.
ing in every respect from the East.
ern slope of the mountains Every.
where signs of rivere and inland
seas and of immense r0lcanoes that
have been dried MP TO- sgcs--fivers
long since dry, volcanoes that We
mad no fires for centuries. All na-
ture seems to have been turned u0-
site down and inside out. Nothing
but giant cactus and rniskeet brush
grow on these vest deserta, unlesa il
Is kjotas which seem 10 spring
spontaneous from their mum bere
Rsttlesnakes, centipedes, tsrantulaa
and an occasional scorpion are
found, bat We bava but little fear Of
them. This is dry country, with
very li,t'o water, even in the noun
taine, and thas almost iVgriably
sinks before it reaches the plain. Ii
travelling we are compelled to carry
water with us except in winter and
then always on the desert as the
water sinks in the sand as fast as it
falls. TIE whole country, from
Gruannas, Mexico, Altor and Her.
mosea Sonora snow signs of having
been once densely populated, but no
place so mitch 80 Is hero in the
heart Of Arizona We come upon
the ruins OF anoien cities and towns
everywhere. BcGken crockery far.
cituliy painted seems to have stood
she test Of time beat of anythinp
except 4 few scattered building
here and there-such as the Cas- =
Graude (big house), built Of con.
crete and now 80 hard thai pick
axe will scarcely make an impress
sion. The finish en- the inside wal ;
although exposed to the action of
the weather for centuries, Is to-day
as hard and smooth as glass. New
er but in one instance have We found
any traces of occupants ant .hen
but family. In burying conrade
that had fallen in fghs With the
Apaches, We exoavated two bowlH,
one small and fanoifuily painted and
perfect, the other, large, crumbed
as soon as exposed to the sir, eso
on carefully scraping the bo,tom Of
the grave We could easily trsce th
figure of man, though no hing hit
dust. The news comes to us of the
killing of Victoria, the last rene.
gade chief of the Apscbes. He mas
in the last year killed. over three
hundred men in Arizona end New
Mexico, and devastated whole set.
Elements in Sonora, but his band il
broken up and We can pursue our
swing in peace We will astouish
the world 10 few years with au
immense mineral wealth of gold sill
YER, iron, copper and coal.
Yours tray,
JAMES NJ Sc TT.
P s i shall eat my Christmas
dinner ST home in old Grant.