Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-02-11
In ARIZONIAN CLIMES.
Another Interesting Letter from
MIR. A. G. Dart.
"Reminiscences OF Country, People and
Business In the Southwest, ~
Viewed by Rock Islander.

Special correspondence of the Argus.
Rock ISLAND. Feb. love arrived
at Phoenix. Ari.. Feb. o. Farming and
fruit raising In the desert of Arizona and
New Mexico Is the question of the day in
that section. To reach the Salt River
valley In southwestern Arizona we went
to Ell Paso. Texas. where we spent day
and crossed the Rio Grande river to the
old Mexican town OF Paso del Norte.
Here everything Is Mexicau-narrow
streets. old adobe buildings. old Mission
church. said TO be three hundred years
old. custom house, garrison of Mexican
soldiers, all very interesting TO northern
people who see IL for the first time. Here
are large dry goods stores with other
lines well represented. The ladies In our
party had great sport shopping, finding
all kinds of dress goods and fancy arti-
cles much cheaper than on our side of
the river. The Mexican merchants In
Del Norte import their goods from Eu-
rope free of duty. and consequently Can
III dersell the Ell Paso merchants. The
Del Norte dealers do thriving trade
with their American visitors, and enjoy
the situation.
The custom house regulations are
strictly enforced as to smuggling goods
over the line. out do not interfere with
little articles purchased for personal use
or as curios.
FL Paso and Del Norte are thriving
cities, being the principal gateway to and
from old Mexico. The Ell Paso people
are looking anxiously for the great Rock
Island road TO come their way, and fully
expect to get it, From Ell Paso to Mari>
copa, Ari., is a twelve hours ride
by rail through a barren desert. noth>
ing to see except high mountains
and the giant cacti thirty to forty feet
high looking like huge lamp posts or tel
egraph poles. Thirty miles north Of
Maricopa. by rail, brings us to the city Of
Phoenix in the famous Salt river valley,
which from a desert has blossomed
into rich farming country with green
fields OF growing grain, rich green
Alfalfa pastures, fruit orchards with
peach trees In blossom. nice houses, every
thing lively and busting. everybody
busy. certainly an agreeable change from
the desert only few miles away. The
Salt river valley is f1f,y miles long. aver
aging fifteen miles in width and contain
ing two thousand acres of tilable land
watered by four great canals that take
the water from the Salt river at different
places near the head of the valley. The
water is conducted along the higher side
of the valley which has a slope of about
eight feet 10 the mile to the lower side
The surface of the valley is smooth as
house floor with just enough slope to
90 ha 90 sr.;n Al Al
lateral and sub-latersl bitches without
washing the banks. The canals are con.
trolled principally by four companies, the
Arizona, forty-one miles long; the Grand,
twenty-seven miles, Nj ricops. twenty
four miles; Salt, twenty-six miles. The
capacity of the Arizona canal Is 40. 600
inches; Grand. 5000: Salt and Maricopa,
4, 900 each. The canal companies claim
TO have enough water TO supply the
whole valley excepting when the water Is
very low Ia the river. when great econ.
omy Ia its use is necessary The canal
companies contemplate building storage
dams Ia the mountains TO provide a sup
ply OF water against times of drouth.
The land In the valley Is owned and
controlled by the Arizona Improves
ment company, and by people who
filed on the land under the desert
land law. The land is offered for sale
TO parties who want TO improve It
at very reasonable figure when COM
pared with the price of fruit land In
southern California. The same fruit and
grapes grown In southern California are
grown here. maturing about four weeks
earlier. An orange orchard we visited
was growing nicely, showing no trace of
injury by frost. The weather Is very
fine-days warm; nights cool For peo-
pie wishing to engage in fruit raising and
farming. there Is as good an opening as
can be found anywhere, with prospects of
making good money.
The city of Phoenix has a population
Of about seven thousand, good hotel,
street car lines, waterworks. gas, electric
lights. etc. The only thing we missed
was Hello. Central"-no telephones.
The valley Is under the control of wide.
awake. lively northern business men, who
are satisfied they have good thing and
invite investors to come and see for
themselves. II lie wonderful TO see what
water will do when scientifically applied
to land; that without it will grow Moth
Ing out sage brush aud greese wood.
Eastern capitalists are investing heavy
in irrigating canals in the Rio Grande
and PacOs river valley in New Mexico
and all over Arizona. where there are
running rivers of water. With plenty of
water the farmers are sure of a crop. The
great question TO be solved is priority of
right to the waters. The first corners
claim the water. IL is n question of
great Importance to the country and 10
likely to cause litigation and trouble UNI
less settled by act of congress.
For kind attention while at Phoenix.
We are under obligations 10 Mr.. James
Mcmillan, superintendent of the Arizona
Canal Co., r. Fl. Green. merchant, both
from Peoria, ILL.,, and NJ. III. Sherman,
capitalist and old settler of Arizona.
A. G. DART