The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-01-29
The Arizona Country.

The following extract of letter
from D. w. Savage. Of Holden, Mil
lard County, who started from home
for the San Juan region, bat who hes
landed in d section Of country to
which a number Of the friends OF cur
readers have travelled, is worth
pefusiDg. and We give the extract en-
tire. 1t is dated Rio Perks, Deem
Der 18th, with a postscript from Hol-
brook, December 21st. After penning
few items OF family nature he
writes:
We had good weather and excellent
luck, and a good time coming
through. We never les! hoof OF
stock, nor broke thing. not even
log chain. My oxen came through
without shoes or grain, and are IN
good order now. From Johnson,
Kane County, to Little Colorado.
100 miles, the feed ia not very coed,
bot you never saw such grass as
there Is up that river. When We bad
travelled forty miles up the Little
Colorado We came to the prettiest
country I evsr saw. Looking east
as far az the eye can see, is a level
plain covered with the best Of grass,
the river flowing west is lined on each
side with cottonwood trees. Here l
cav the sun rise; it Gss grand sight
to see r large, round ball of FIRE
coming up out OF the level ground.
Il is hardly light in the morning be.
fore the Gun is up and it does not set
till nearly dark; the Gays are two
hours longer than in Utah.
Looking south we saw a smooth
plain, about seyenty-fVe miles
across it. There the tops of the
Mokahone mountains are visible.
In the west, twenty miles, is the
San Francisco Peak, "a mountain
somewhat like Nebol, the top
IL already covered with snow; it is @
mountain on a plain. There are no
bills between us and it. There is a
large forest of long leafed pine, grow
ing 90 the level all around the noun
tain, in which there are hundreds OF
deer and antelope, some elk, bear
and panther. There have been some
of the latter killed that measured
eight feet from end of nose to tip of
tail. All over this country there Is
more and better grass than l ever saw
before. l had no idea that there
could be IS much grass as there is
here.
It has been storming for three
days; the ground is just covered with
Snow, but as there Is no frost in the
ground it will not lay long. have
not found place to euit me yet;
water is too scarce for me in this
part of the country. l have travelled
over 800 miles in Arizona and have
not seen q place that | would advise
anyone to stop at to make home,
but if they wanted to raise stock they
could not find better place. l am
going 10 stay here this winter and
then see the rest O! Arizona, and if /
do not see q better place than l have
eeen l will try Mexico.
Times are quite lively here. Eight
of US have taken three miles Of rail
road to grade at 16c. per yard. I
think We will DO well. as we work our
oxen and do not feed any grain. |
work one yoke one day and the other
yoke the next day, aud they are
getting fat. 1 have built a
houee and sc are quite comfortable.
Messrs. ]. w. Young, Brigham
Young, Erastus Snow and ]. N.
Smith are the contractors. They let
US have all the store pay and provis-
ions We want. I think we will do first
rate, my horses LOOK well. My COWS
give a good mess of milk; we have
had butter ever since We left Utah
and are now making all We want to
use. I could do better right here
than st Holden, but / think I can
End better place than l have seen
yet.
J. ". Young & Co. have large
contract here. twenty-five miles from
our camp on Rio Perka. 1 have
come down for supplies. Flour is 70.
per pound; beans 7c.. sugar 20c..
denims from 18c. to Csc. per yard;
calico from So. to loo per yard; duck
zoo. to 30c.; coffee &c. per pound;
soda 20c.; boots from 81 to IS per
pair. Everything is oeming down in
price as the railroad gets nearer. We
do not have to feed any grain. 1t is
quite warm now, the snow has all
gone Of. Ne can do all cur work
with 8 pillow and scraper. 1t is scit,
loamy land and not rock in the
whole place.
P. S.-We had a feast on water
melons and green squash on the 10th
Of November.