Arizona weekly citizen., 1882-10-15

The saddles and harness used are of ! the best quality, poor strap Is not allowed thrown across a horse. The active force in the saddle are but eight men, with twelve spare saddles for use
 ID case of emergency. The average 1 yearly expose in that direction foots up
 to a little less than Sl,UOO. Some of hls l harness, especially those for hls own
 and family use, are superb, some beng
 nickle, others gold and silver plated. One stable alone gives Imployment to three men who do nothing but care for, break and speed horses. Outside of the vaqueros the general ranch hands number about 10 or F men. The table is daily set for 2J, the writer himself counted 27 exclusive of the eight that sat down to the prIvate table. There IS
 q constant come and go of friends and | passing strangers, the latter being on their way to and from the mines at Globe, and for whom, without price the doors are always open. Those that are orderly and well behaved are always
 welcome, but roughs must pass on. On
 Sundays, generally, the family enter
 tam the officers from the post ten miles
 distant, who on such days make the
 ranch a general rendezvous.
 Of milk, butter and eggs there Is al-
 way an abundance for home consump-
 tiun. The average number of COWS
 mixed is about 20, which Is more than
 sufficient for all the wants, the surplus
 going to add additional lat to number of
 hogs that weigh over 400 pounds each.
 < short distance below the house the
 concentrated waters of the two ranges
 br ak out into a succession Of lagunas
 that extend for mile below, and they
 naturally are the favorIte haunts of
 ducks, curlew and snlpe so that when
 required htctable Is never short Of Its
 dishes of game. About 2U0 yards south
 of the house are the milk corrals and
 slaughter pen. On the north IS mile
 track used for racing and speeding
 horses. About four miles square are en-
 closed in a barbed wire fence, some sixty acres of the enclosure being used
 as a corn field, the balance for pasturage.
 The corn raised Is of several
 varieties, one of which is the large yellow { Iat produces one and two lm- mense ears to the stalk, a second variety while less in sIze of ear and stalk, Is perhaps q finer corn as 1t ls closer grained, natures earlier and bears to the stalk about four ears each. \ large acreage of Egyptian cOru, winch Is sald to possess remarkable fattenlng properties, Is also grown and Is con- sldered as profitable as any. It can be planted much thicker than the other, while the average weight of grain to the | stalk h about the same. The yield ln l beans, melons and potatoes IS also !. quite large. All the cultivated ground | on this rancn Is irrigated by water l brought through an acequia from | Camp Grant, as stated, ten miles away. !.
 THE SONORA RANCH Due east SIX miles and lyIng parallel . between the Home an-h and the Camp f Grant Reservation, Is at present used . for agricultural purposes. It IS fully . fenced and much oft under cultivation. ] The principal crop raised belna corn of 1 which there are some seventy five acres. | The soil IS loose and lOamy and while . perhaps not 50 heavy as that of the . Home ranch Is equally as productive. l The Camp Grant acequIa passing cen traNy through 1t its waters are dIstrl- buted at will. Since the first founding of the ranch IL has been in charge of . Mexicans, several families of that there making their per manent home, and because of that 1t . bears its present name.
 THE CIESEGA RANCH,
 due north from the Home Ranch, which in all cases IS to be con- sIdered the common center, and well up towards the head of the valley, has hitherto been used for general stock purposes. Its waters, winch are abun- dant, as may be inferred by its name, that section of the valley and foot hills on either side. IL Is the intention Of its proprietor tO convert IL into and use It exclusively us a mule breeding ranch, and for that purpose Is now eXpendIng Tn improvements of houses, cOrrals and fencing abont S3,O0O. When completed he will stock 1t with 100 mares and by breedieg to the best southern jacks that money can buy, he hopes to raise as fine q stock of mules as can be found the country over.
 One hundred acres will be fenced and broken for corn and an equal amount for cultivated grasses and oats, of which two crops yeariy can be raised. The present water surface has the appear ance of having once been a lake of ! magnitude, as in different places hard and sloping sides are uncovered and at the depth of eight and ten feet Indian petetes and other relics are frequently met with. The altitude of the water is possibly fifty feet, but not more, above those of the lagunas below.
 THE BOX SPRING RANCH,
 Ten miles west of the Home ranch, .4 waters and IS situated at the base of the GalIura mountains, Is more seclud- ad than those previously mentioned, be- cause of its low, rolling, grass covered lIlls and winding valleys, the latter picturesquely planted parks jf alisas and oak. It may be consid- ared Osteuslbiey q winter range, as here he cattle gather by the thousands for shelter from the raw January and De ,ember winds. Its waters are never aIIng and are, the year through, of sui icl, nt volume for the watering Of S,OU0 lead. IL was, becanse Of its many ad- -antages, a favorite resort for the Apache Indians before they were forced o the reservation, as the ruins of tn ir yickiups and abandoned cornfields .bundantly testify. About six acres , re under cultivation for garden pro- | luce which goes to supply the owners able. It takes its name from the 1 Of its waters. Deer, ante : ope and quail are abundat.
 THE MUD SPRINGS RANCH, ike the latter, Is sheilded from the TInds by a curve n the mountains, : 1hlch form q great rincon. Its area be- ! ng not less than 16 square miles. As natter of consequence the grass grows i arly. It lies about seven miles south i, rest of the Home Ranch and has an I ltiiude of GOO feet above the valley be- 1 )w, but the ascent is so gradual as to ', e almost lmperceptlble.
 Here improvements are also to be lade and the water which breaks ost % lear as crystal from the mountain base to be, in part, piped to a nelghborlug |, anyon m which there IS large acerage 70 pasture but DO water. Along the :, tream through the rincon the earth IS r, lade up of decayed vegetable matter Inch yielding under the pressure of ~ thousand hOofs was soon trOdden into ,j aud, which fact gave 1t its present not \ cry attractive name. Its waters are ~ alculated to serve about 5000 head of - tock. Like the Box Springs 1t was :, nee the favorite haunt of the Apache, ,I 8 from the overlapping hills they - ould build their signal fires, watch the q pproach of friends or foes in the val V sYs and on the plains below.
 THE RILEY RANCH Il he sixth and last of the galaxy, each | De complete in itself, that go to make O p in one great whole the Sierra Bonita # inch, of which every man within a b ldius Of lOO0 miles Is familiar, was first si sed as a stage station on the old emi- ( rant road between Eureka and Croton \ brings. As the nearest hills are dis k mt several miles 1t was considered E