The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-08-12


a miserable species of salt weed OF
bush, and dwarf palm, and as we
move westward the worthlessness
of the country is intensified. The
palms became scarcer, and show a
less thrifty growth the mountains
are more abrupt and rocker. the
plains are broader and more arid,
and the heat increases. And so the
tram moves along kour after hour,
until late in the afternoon, when we
reach Benson, the point of departure
of the Sonora railroad to Guaymas,
on the gulf Of California; and later,
Tucson, the chief town OF Arizona
and where are met the first striking
evidences of American thrift
and enterprise. The last named
is a town of proportions and pre-
tensions, and being the shipping
point for a considerable area Of
mining country, is steadily growing
Ii is fast losing its Old Mexican fea-
lures and characteristics, and while
the native Inhabitants appear to
have advanced in the scale of mod
ern civilization and towards COM
plete AUGMENTATION much faster
than their fellows in New Mexico,
they are set in the background, be-
ing incapable of holding their own
in the struggle with the more pro-
gressiVe race. 1t should uo re-
marked that between Demipg and
Tucson we pass Llany stations Dear
ing names that are familiar to
newspaper readers as points from
which news of Indian 1u5rages is
sent and accounts of shooting and
cutting incidents are telegFa phed.
For instance, Lordsburg, NM,
is one of these that will be
Immediately recognized. 1t is a
little burg containing 400 or 800
inhabitants, and having the other
paraphernalia of a frontier paradise.
A gentleman at the station boast
ingly exhibited a newspaper para
graph stating that the people of
Lore sbarg were supplied with int0X
icants from thirty five drinking
saloons, and that besides these the
town maintains a choice collection
of dance houses and gambling dens.
Since July of last year, fourteen
persons have died in the town, the
causes of death being classified as
follows: Lynched, one; murdered,
three; suicides, six; smallpox, three;
doubtful, one. Lordsburg perhaps
taxes the cake as the liveliesg town
in the vicinity. It was in this
neighborhood that one incident
occurred which relieved the monot-
Ony of the uninteresung ride, and
illustrated the pleasing characLeris-
tics Of the people. Three of those
festive units of Southern Now Mex
lean and Arizona society, known
as cowboys, boarded the train for
few miles ride, and with pro-
fessionaI ilnpudence, invited
themselves TO seats in the
smoking compartment of the
sleeper. A mild-mannered Hebrew
from Alabama happened TO be in
the room at the same time enjoying
his Havana, One of the cowboys
unbuckled from MS waist a broad
leathern belt, to which were hang
ing two Yici0us-looking revOlveFs
and a mnrderOus-appearing knife,
and throwing the battery in q heap
on the seat by the side of the Jew,
remarked with true cow boy polite
ness, 81 hope these things won't be
in your way. stranger" The tTem-
bling, bleached descendant of
Abraham endeay0red to smile, but
1t was a CHASTITY failure, and in a
moment he left the compartment,
muttering in IN under5one, "They
are not in my way, but I'm in
theirs [ thought So toe. Our cow
boy friends rode for an hour, and
left, much to the relief and accom-
mediation of the smokers on the car,
but before departing each handed
the porter dollar, though the fell
low had done nothing for them, and
was as glad to be relieved OF their
presence as anybody.
I am not sorry that the $50 miles
OF territory between PuscOn and
Yuma is gone over by night,
for my eyes fairly ache from the
long hours of gazing at this dreary
prospect of sand, dust and mountain,
relieved only now and then by
forest of cactus or stout growth Of
mesquite. Two kinds of cactus
grow here to perfection. One is the
candeIabria, whose corrugated trunks
grow fifteen or twenty feet in height,
the freak-like ornamental arms pro-
jecting at right angles. g or s feet;
the other is bushy, but without foil
age, the shoots-from to II feet
in length-covered from base to
tip with sharp, stiff spines. Fifteen
or twenty of these shoots come
from one root, branching out in the
shape fa'funnel, and looking vicious
enough. Imagine the body of the
octopus buried, and the feelers
rigid and spiked, pointing in the air,
aud you will have a fair picture Of
a small cactus plant. Hereafter,
please doubt all these stories Of the
rich and beautiful fora of this
country. They are hoaxes and
r0mances of th8 most reckless
character. The palm mentioned
above bears a white flower that is
in no sense beautiful. and the cacti
all have charming bloOm-petals Of
glorious Indian red and waxy yei-
q