Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1884-12-22
ARID ARIZONA.

could be desired. [ think more gold |
and copper are being taken out this
year than ever before and less silver, |
the latter on account of a strike Of the
miners. There is less talk about
gold and gold hunting, as the men
who own paying claims do not care
to say much about them, and are not
at all anxious to sell out. They 90
plodding along, and whenever they
visit the town bring considerable a.
mounts of shining gold with them.
Mining is not dead in this country
by good deal, and there are more
houses being built in Prescott this
season than ever before in one year.
The cattle business, too, is receiving
good deal of attention, and many
fortunes have been made in it, thongh
not as large and satisfactory ones as
will be made in the next few years.
If you say cattle to an Eastern man
| nowadays he Immediately runs his
hand in his pocket to bring out mon
ey if he has any money to invest.
There is no tagging back in this mat
ter at least, and now that Indian
troubles are settled in this Territory
vast herds are being raised 10 every
country.
People sleep out Of doors here with
perfect impunity = some from choice
Others to overcome the effects of
bad whiskey. | have seen several ly-
ing under bushes while the sun was
shining brightly, and upon inquiry
found they were "night herders,' -
or men employed by the freighters to
look after the mules to prevent their
straying off. The wagon they use
for freighting in this country are i'm
mense, and frequently there are ten
span of mules in front of them. Two
or three wagons are drawn along at
once, one behind the other, after the
manner of a railroad train. The
wagons behind the first one are called
"back-action' wagons, and are com
| plete, each one having a barrel of
water on either side. Loads of cop
per from the mines are thus hanled to
the railroad stations, the trains taking
back merchandise from the States. 1t
seems to me that one of these wag-
| on boxes will hold as much as a small
house. Of course. freighting in this
way is slow, but it is very sure, and
the miners are bound TO get their
goods in time, but frequently good
deal of patience is required. Every
thing costs good price in mining
regions necessarily, and fruits brings
a sum of money that Eastern farmers
could scarcely realize. In the shell
tered hooks many of the old settlers
are turning their attention to fruit
raising in which they are remarkably
successful, and raise apples, grapes,
and melons, in considerable quaint
| ties.
The Ava-Supi Indians come in
once in q while from their secluded
homes IN a valley near the little Col
orado river, which is almost inaccess
ible. The trail leads down the sides
of a mountain which is very steep
and rocky. In this valley the abort
gines have nice home, where they
raise good crops and remain unmo-
Tested, our troops never having found
it necessary to beat up their habita-
tions or war upon them in any way.
These habitations are mostly in Il
deep canyon of Cataract creek,
which rises in the Bill Williams noun
tain. These Indians are very peace
ful elect their own chief, and seem
to progress we'll enough. There is
considerable strip of good farming
land along the creek on which they
live, which is cultivated most success
fully by the Supies. They some
times leave their secluded retreat for
the purpose of bringing in dried peach
es and dressed bear skins, which
they barter for cotton goods and OF
her stuff. Especially do they drive
good bargains with the Moqui In
dian, whose pueblo is above them in
Arizona. Any one who supposes for
moment that red man does not
know how to make a good trade is
mistaken. From early youth he is
trained to make the most of their
worldly goods and look out for their
own interests. A buckskin in their
| hands has value which white man
never dreamed of, and it is astonish-
ing to see how soon they learn the
value of money.
Tucson, which a few years ago was
a poor Mexican village, has become
a respectable-looking city of some
10000 inhabitants. The world moves
and this Territory moves with it, and
Notwithstanding the heat in many
portions of it, and other drawbacks,
| will soon make itself felt in the great
body polite. Our surplus population
in the older States must find homes,
many of which will be in this arid
zone. Metals are essential to the
happiness of the human family as any
thing else. and here, where there is
such an abundance and so great va
rity, we may look for branches of in
dustry which will give employment to
a great many men Prospectors are out
in the mountains all the time search
ing for mines, and a hardy class of
men they are, too. They take their