Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-09-13
THE COLORADO.
What is Seen From the
Banks of the River.
A PIONEERS "REMINISCENCES.
Scenery Unsurpassed in the World.
The Indians Twenty-Five
Years Ago.


Years Ago.
Strange to say even the old-time resi-
dents of Southern California know very
little about the Colorado River country
and as such an opportunity was given tt
HERALD nan yesterday he gladly
availed himself of it. Captain ]. A
Mellon, of the Colorado Steamship Com
pany, was his informant, and the gentle
man named was seated in the Southern
Pacific ticket office when the scribe
dropped in in search of news.
81 have been on the river for the pas
twenty-five years." said the Captain
in response to query by the
reporter, "antedating of course
by long period the railroad
movement in the southern country. In
those days there was lively times on the
river and all of the commerce for Ari.
zona, that end of California and South
ern Nevada passed up it. There were
ITO men employed then and we had
ship yards and dry docks at Port Ysabel
at the mouth of the river from which
place the steamers Newbern and Montana
piled up and down from San Francisco.
We used to carry the troops, and in fact
everything needed in that part of the
country, but all is changed now. The
Southern Pacific surveyors came along
and then the first thing we knew we
were hauling up railroad material and
and snsn with i0ng It Vams Hent the biggest epsaa
slice of our business. Just about that
time Governor Torres, of Mexico, came
up on trip on our boats and wanted to
know if we paid taxes on our docks at
Ysabel. Mind you they had been there
thirteen years and the Mexican authori-
ties had only just discovered the fact. OF
course we had not paid cent taxes on
them and by the time the demand came
in we had no further use for the docks,
80 we took them up and the Mexican
government never got penny out of us.
The Southern Pacific bought out the
steamship company, but of course it was
not in their interest to operate the boats
in opposition to the railroad, so they let
the trade fall through as much
as possible, and two years
ago my partner Polhamus and
I bought out the company's interests on
the river, and we are now building up
the trade again. We have got two boats,
the Mojave and the Gila, and with these
we run up to Rio Virgin, in Lincoln
county, Nevada, distance of 44O miles
above Yuma. Below Yuma there is
splendid stretch of country, reaching al
most down to the ocean at Port Ysabel, a
III cto of lax y,,i1oc ffor loo fho
Southern Pacific bridge
GOING SOUTH,
There is one OF the largest valleys in the
world on the Lower California side, it
being 12O miles long by forty miles
broad. 1t is occupied now by Cocopah
and Yuma Indians, 5000 in number,
who are perfectly peaceful and raise
pumpkins, watermelons and corn
for their own support. lThe soil of this
valley consists of alluvial deposits and
is good for rice, cotton or cane. Millions
of acres are covered with wild hemp,
which attains the height of twelve feetin
three months. l took an excursion down
to see it last year from Petaluma, and
fifty-three of the party dubbed together
in syndicate and bought 100000 acres
from General Andrada for twenty-five
cents an acre, they depositing the money
for the land with the Mexican Consul in
San Francisco. On the Arizona side,
with the exception of about twenty-eight
miles south of Yuma, the soil is equally
good, and although it can be home
steaded very little of it is taken up. The
temperature for four months of the year
averages 100 deg. to ia deg, but the
heat is not as perceptible there as it was
in Los Angeles last Friday. From
Yuma northward small valleys or
cafions run for the first 70 miles, and
then comes valley 120 miles long by Is
miles wide. This is occupied by the
Mojave Indian Reservation, where so, 900
acres are set aside for 800 Indians, who
do not cultivate 500 acres. There is also
in the valley the Blythe estate. and the
balance is Government land. Mr..
Blythe was just having the water diverted
onto his land when he died, for he recog-
nized the worth of his property, which,
as we'll as the surrounding country, has
large tracts of cottonwood, willow and
mesquite land on it. After this valley
comes the williamson Fork Caf1on,
forty miles in length, and the mountains
there are teeming with undeveloped
copper, gold and silver. A valley fifteen
miles long by seven miles wide, occupied
by the Chimewara Indians, comes next,
and then there is the Mojave Cafion of
Is miles, where the scenery is magnificent.
The Mojave Valley, ten miles through, is
next reached, and then after passing un-
der the Atlantic and Pacific bridge at the
Needles there is run OF twenty-four
miles to Fort Mojave, which is at the
head of body of superb land. At Fort
Mojave is stationed Captain Bowman
and a regiment OF the First Infantry,
and here, on the west side, is reached
the Nevada State line. A Asixty-five mile
steam up the Ell Dorado Canon brings
the trip by water to an end. Except for
about three months in the year, June,
July and August,
WHEN THE SNOW MELTs
In the Rockies and we can 60 up
seventy-five miles above the Ell Dorado
Canon. We carry large quantities of
hay, grain and salt from the Mormon
settlements in Southern Nevada to the
mining camps in the Ell Dorado, where
prospects have been worked since 1862
with excellent SUCCESS"
"What sort of a channel has the
river?" asked the scribe.