Arizona weekly citizen., 1884-07-26
YUMA.
The Place Where a Hot Fire Cooled the
 Atmosphere.

Atmosphere.
 From the CITIZEN Correspondent.
 YUMA, July 18th.
 The recent misiortunes of the South ern Pacific Railroad Company have re- suited favorable to the interests ot Yuma uod the town k to-day perhaps the hvelIest 10 be found in the Terri tory. Unfortunately for the place, how ever. this prosperity Is only temporary. l and .s only a question of few months | when the people here will have 10 re- sort to political discussions in order to manifest any enthusiasm.
 Al present the place presents an animated and interesting appearance both day and night. The railroad company has small army Of men on both sides of the river transferring freight, and the steamer "Gila" Is kept running night and day. On the west side of the river eight OF nine long side tracks have been put in and they are full of cars loaded with freight for the east and south and each day brings m one or two more tralns. On the east s'ds the side-tracks are all full of cars loaded with freight for California and each day adds to the bulk here also. Much of the freight on the east side IS from foreign countries and consigned to merchants in San Francisco. Tins IS being rushed across the river just as i rapidly as II can bs handled though the boat Is loaded each way. Before the fire which destroyed tine depot, freight suede. gang ways and platforms, they were transferring on an average thirty cars a day and still the quantity dId not seem to dimIDIsh. Within fOr,y- eight hours after the fire the boss carpenter with gang Oi fifty-eIght assistants had a new depot up and more and better platforms and ggngways completed than We're m exist euce before the fire. In fact, It was nec- essary to put force of men to work re- moving the burning timbers m order to permit the carpenters to do their work. With their present facilities they will be able to transfer forty car loads of freight a day, but even at this rate II IS thought by many that It will be impossible to entirely raise the blockade until new bridge Is put Tn aud trains are run through. In addition to what freight there is now stored here there IS a 1 blockade of west bound freight below Fl Paso and one of east bound freight the other side of Los Angeles. There are also twelve steamers now at New | Orleans dischaIgng freight consigned N 4. merchants. IL is certainly the largest ! freight blockade ever known on this coast. The cost of transferring each car load Is sixty five dollars, which will certainly leave the company very little margin.
 A gentleman who holds high posi- ! ton m the employ of the company sad ! to me this morning that just as soon as | the rlver falls six feet the work of re- | building the bridge would be com menced. They propose to leave both eud spans of the old bridge and the draw stand and put in two spans of the | Howe truss patent, each l6O feet m | length.
 At first there was some conflict of au- | thority among the bosses and foremen, | but I believe Superintendent Muir's visit here has settled that difficulty and the work ot transferring the immense bulk of freight lying on both sides of | the river will now proceed more rapidly. ! 4 track has been laid m the edge of the river on the east side, and hereafter cars will be run down to the waters edge and the freight dumped out of the cars onto the steamer and barges.
 The steamer Is always m readiness on the arrival of passenger trains and the force ot men being large there Is de lay ot less than an hour in transferring passengers, mail, express and baggage.
 There Is unly one hotel here, the Southern Pacific, which k perfect fac simile of Porter's Hotel in Tucson and it is full and running over" all the time. On the cool and cosy yerandas each night may be found from one to two hundred men sleeping some of them with no other bedding than their coats and many of them may be seen dreaming happy hours away heath the gRuzy fold of a Tucson blanket. When I arrived here at the hour of Pa. m. and glanced over the lay out on the yerandas, l at once jumped to the conclusion that the whole town had been on a drunk, l found out other wise. however, before giving expression to such belief.
 Yesterday afternoon in company with Brother DorrIngton, of the Sentinel I crossed over the river and had a view of the picturesque Yuma Indian in his and her-natIve jungle. Their costume which consists of very narrow "ti'' string and bead necklace may be some what brief when viewed from the stand point of modcsty, but l cannot deny the fact that they have Yuma weather down pretty fine.
 Among the men employed ID transfer ring freight I notice n large number from Tucson, and Gm told that many otheTs-thUse known as chronic stiffs- were given transportation here on the promise that they would work, who skipped ont for California as soon as they arrived here. Most of those who did go are characters which Tucson can well spare.
 Ire officials of the road are eXertinC every effort to ascertain the names O; the parties to whom the goods destroyed by the recent fire were cOnsianed, but the task is q difficult one. J.J. C.