Weekly Phoenix herald., 1883-08-23
HISTORY OF MARICOPA
 COUNTY.
CONTINUED

The original butcher shop was kept by Pete Holcomb, in the little building that was doing duty at the same time as court house. justice office, store, etc. It was in truth an original meat market, for Pete mere> ly killed the steer, cut it in quarters and hung them up. All customers had to cut off what they wanted, fur, nishing their own knives and paying from 25 to 30 cents per pound for it. In those days only one beef was con- stunned in one week; now the butch' CTS of Phoenix have to kill twenty four or twenty-five, besides mutton and fresh pork.
 HOlcomb had started from Eastern Texas in '69, with a branding iron and a small bunch of cattle, all of them steers He says it was won derful thing how his herd increased especially in passing through the cattle districts of Western Texas and New Mexico. When he reached Tucson in 70 he had quite large band. Finding that his cattle were becoming tender footed, and fearing that they would be unable to travel much farther, he turned aside into Salt River valley and opened butcher shop. As an interesting fact regarding the relative prices of overalls and beef in those days, Pete states that he needed pair of over~ alls when he arrived and had to give six year old beef steer for them. MT. Holcomb is now one of the lragest property holders, and most successful farmers in the valley, and has made many better bargains than the above, since that time.
 On the 10th day of April, 1871, through the efforts of Hon. J. T. All sap, the then Probate Judge of Maricopa county, the towusite res ceived patent from the United States Government, at a total cost, in~ cluding all expenses, of five hundred and fifty dollars. Not bad specu- lation, considering that at the pres ent time it would take considerably over a million dollars to purchase the property contained within the same limits.
 Mr. Alsap himself took the census which was necessary in order to ob- tain a patent, also list of the lm- rrovements on the property. He found the number of the population to be six hundred and seventy-fve, and at meeting to which he sum moned several of the enterprising men of the town, the total valuation of the property ana improvements was estimated at fifty thousand dol> lars.
 Hon. J. T. Aisap visited this val- ley in the winter of 1868, being on his way to the Territorial Legislature at Tucson, as delegate from Ynvapai county. He also passed through the settlement on hls return from the Legislature Jan. 1st, 1869, noting well the natural resources of the country, and on this occasion he re- gistered a mental VOW to settle here at no distant day. This resolution he put into effect by arriving here during June of the same year. Since then he has been one of the most in~ f1uentihl and careful citizens, and 1 one of the pilots who have steered 1 PhoenIx, through calm US well as stormy times.
 The first deed given by the Pro bate Judge, under the patent, was to 1 Jake Starar, May 18th, 1875. This was lot 12, in block 10, and now oc. cupied by W. F. McNulty's private There were thirteen other additional lots and parcels of town deeded on the same day.
 The office of Probate Judge was rot au elective ono antil u an aci. of