Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-04-10

| completed Atlantic and Pacific Road
through New Mexico and Arizona
We arrive at Deming early in the
morning and eat hasty breakfast
and check our baggage, and a DAYS
ride over the Southern Pacific brinos
us to Tucson. This little CITY was
founded some 800 years back bv the
Spaniards who came north from Mex
leo in search of gold A little stream.
the Santa Cruz, finds its wav out mn,
on the deserts from a rugged noun.
tain range about 100 miles to the
south, and, after turning the wheel of
an ancient mill, and irrigating a few
acres for the people of Tucson. loses
itself IN the sands few miles bevond
the city. There are probably ). 600
inhabitants, four-ffths of whom are
Mexicans, the Spanish language being
spoken altogether by them. Since
the Southern Pacific has been built
through the Territory, about three
years now, Tucson has grown and
improved rapidly, most Of the Ameri-
cans living here having come since
that time, but the Indifferent Mexican
refuses to'advance. They live in the
same primitive style that their ances-
tors did 100 years ago. Many of the
houses are without windows, few have
wood floors, and the ordinary Mexi-
can household has no use for furni
ture of any kind. The kettle of
BEANS AND RED PEPPERS,
the staple article of food, is cooked in
an open fire place in a corner of the
hut and placed in the center of the
room, or rather house-for they sell
dom contain but one room-where-
upon the family gathers around, each
individual being armed with a wooden
spoon and partaking without further
ceremony. The Mexican never sits
IN a chair, preferring his heels. A
Mexican family will arrange them
selves along the side of the house With
their backs against the wall and their
heels tucked up under them and
smoke cigarettes from morning till
night without a change of position
the whole day. Their necessities are
few and they do just enough work to
keep from starving. They chop lit
tie wood occasionally when pressed by
hunger and bring it into town to sell.
fastened in bundles to the back of a
shaggy donkey. The houses are
built of squares of earth baked in the
sun and pIastered together with mud.
A few poles across the top with foot
or two of mud spread over them form
the roof, and as it seldom rains, these
houses stand for years. Americans
here find the ''abode" houses, as they
are called, preferable to frame or brick
as the thick walls and roof keep the
interior cool, while a frame house
would be unbearably hot during the
long months of summer. Although
the temperature sometimes ranges as
high as 100 in the shade at midday in
July and August, the nights are al
ways comparatively cool and
TO SLEEP OUT OF DOORS
during the summer is of one of the
Injuries Of the glorious climate. The
winter climate is perfect. No snow,
no cold winds, but month after month
of drowsy still days that remind one
OF Northern day in June. Many of
the Americans here are interested ia
The mountains throughout the
Territory nearly all contain mineral
in some form, but owing to the exor-
bitant freight rates charged by the
Southern Pacific Railroad Company,
and transportation of ore
are so expensive that only mines pro-
ducing ore of very high grade can be
worked. Much attention
has also been turned to cattle-raising
within the last few years. 1t is found
that while cattle here do not weigh
as heavy as cattle raised in Kansas
and Colorado, the loss from cold win |
ters, which forms such an important |
item in the North, is altogether escap- |
ed. An abundance of good range is to |
be fOand in the mountains, but water |
is scarce and the possessor of a good |
spring need have no fear of lack of |
grazing land. Many acres of land |
along the ella and Salt Rivers arc
under cultivation, water being taken
from the river in canals and land irri- |
gated,
THERE BEING VERY LITTLE RAINFALL
the greater part of the year. All fruits
and other products grown in, Cali
fornia can be successfully raised in
Arizona. Much damage has been done
to the irrigating canals throughout
the Territory the past month by
floods. The season has been remark
able one, and rainfalls already much
exceeding the usual amount. There
is no question but that Arizona has a
great future before her as mining
and agricultural country, and if the
several thousand United States troops
in the Territory could keep the few
hundred Apaches from going out in
the war-path every spring, Arizona
might soon be admitted as state.