Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-05-24
THE HORIZONS.
The People of Tempe Think well These
 Industrious People.
Femme Corr phenix Gazette

Tempe Corr. Phenix Gazette.
 We hear much these days about the Mormons, and their habits, indus try, etc, but not many people under stand them.
 The writer was here when the Mesa Mormons arrived at their now beau tiful surroundings.
 The handful of Mormon emigrants, who located the Mesa as the site of a colony, had keen insight into the future. The little band consisted of but nine families, and few camp followers. After pitching their tents on the river bottom, and making an inventory of their worlds goods, which was comprised chiefly of few head of stock, they went to work with thorough appreciation of the adage that labor conquers all things. Doc. Jones, an old timer and civil engineer, surveyed the route of their proposed canal. This done, the work Of cut ting it through rock, cement and soft earth for a distance of nine miles, commenced in dead earnest, in the month or FeDruary, lSIS.
 The total force that mustered on the canal for the first few months never went above twelve men, yet in the face of almost insurmountable obstacles, laboring under the midday blaze of tropical sun, without the shadow of shade, with insufficient food at times for men or beasts, that handful of wanderers, in search of a permanent abiding place, kept on day by day, working out the problem of turning a barren desert into a vast orchard and vineyard.
 To a wealthy company, such an undertaking would be but a trifie in the annals of it's transactions; but to those twelve, hardy sons of toll, who mustered on that February day, on the banks of the Salt river to dig and delve for many a weary day and month, it was an undertaking on their part, fraught with the veal or woe of their future destinies. Pluck and perseverance, however, triumphed over all obstacles, and the final result of nine months labor, was the proud
 
 over our present town site. The flow of water was then but d mere trickle to what we have now, and what with breaksges and rat holes, 1t required two or three shares of water the first two years of settlement, to irrigate a five acre patch in d week. Taking this into consideration, and the fact hot "a of faxU foo left after their long and weary task, as well as the little band, being finan- cially down to bedrock, it is no cause for surprise that but little progress was made in improving and cultivat- ing their holdings, during the first three years of settlement
 Soon, however, well-to-do settlers began to arrive, and with the usual generosity so proverbial among Nor mons, of aiding one another, combined with what the younger members oi the family could bring in by freight ing, the elders managed to start little patches of fruit trees and grape vines which have since, and now are being rapidly developed into immense or chards and vineyards, and which be fore many more seasons roll by, will be proof positive of the Mesa being the best fruitgrowing portion of North America. It will be seen from the above, that the Mesa was almost at g standstill during its first three years of colonization; with canal that re quired continual repairs, a broken exchequer, and without permanent leader, such as they had been used tC in the hills and valleys of Utah. it i: surprising indeed that they did mol disperse, family by family, until they had scattered far and wide over the coast.
 The early teachings of the found CTS of their creed-frugality, sobriety industry and patience-came in righ here to their aid, and grit worthy of the cause.-the colonization of tht desert, and the spread of their creed they kept on right manfully improv ing and enlarging their canal, unti they have now one that Is capable 0 irrigating 35,000 acres of land. The results of the labors, of these pioneers, can now be daily seen iii tn, grain and hay fields, in our orchard loaded down with fruit of every des cription, in our vineyards bearing fiv' to eight tons of luscious grapes to thu acre; in our bees, producing our hon ey; in our sorghum mills, turnin, out syrup; in our strawberry beds yielding ad libatum; and, on ever, rancher's table fat looking "spuds" o his own raising; and at this season 0 the year, neat cottages on every hand fronted by mazy walks and Howe beds scenting the air for rods with , fragrant perfume, until one imagine he is in some fairy land, instead c quietly smoking his cigarette unde P his own cool fig tree.