Arizona weekly citizen. [volume] (Tucson, Ariz) 1880-1901, 1893-12-16
ARIZONA OR CALIFORNIA.
Have We q State Prison or has CAL
ifornia Two?

! The following from the Sentinel will
be read with deep interest by Arzonans:
The press of the state of California
is somewhat agitated over the question
whether or no portion of the town of
Yuma is in Arizona or California. 1t
is tempest in teapot; there is moth
ing in it. Gen. Geo. b. Tolman has
submitted to an interview by reporter
of the San Francisco Chronicle, and
the result thereof has been published
in that enterprising journal. The
General, with refreshing positiveness,
states that beyond all doubt the portion
OF Yuma IN controversy is in California,
but the facts stated in his interview do
not bear him out As a matter of fact
he gives himself dead away. The
General was a member OF the boundary
survey of 1549-50, and states that the
monument marking the boundary line
between Mexico and the United States,
was placed on the south eide of the
Colorado river on high bluff near the
ella. He is right, snd the monument
is there yet. He is also right when he
states that monument marks the
lihCs iiIC5DcCJlNc VI buO CAdnGCo VI tAC
rivers, but it must bs understood that
the channels of the Colorado and Gila
rivers, at their junction, never change,
owing to the above mentioned high
bluff So that the situation may be
clearly understood by those unacquaint-
ed with the topography of this section
it is necessary t state that Yuma lies
within bend of the Colorado river, the
course of which is nearly due west,
running by this point. At Pilot Knob,
nine miles below Yuma, the Colorado
takes its general course south, crossing
the boundary line of 1880.
Having fixed the permanent monu-
ment marking the boundary line Of
1880 at Yuma, and the point where
that line is crossed by the Colorado
river, it becomes essential to determine
the boundary line of the State of
California in order to show how Yuma
is affected. The eastern boundary line
of California commences at the forty
second PARALLEL of latitude, and runs
southerly until it strikes the Colorado
river at about the thirty fifth PARALLEL;
thence it follows down the channel of
the Colorado river until it ntersects
the boundary line of 1880. So it |
Will be observed that everything
depends up n the location Of the point |
of intersection. If Gen. Tolman will
come to Yuma, and by the by we
will treat him bospitable if he does. |
and extend the boundary line of 1880 |
east from the monument upoo the |
bluff, he will find that it will not |
the channel of the Colorado, |
but if he will follow that boundary line |
west, DC will discover the fact that the |
only point where it does intersect the |
channel is at Pilot Knob, where it |
crosses the river. Hence the only |
of the eastern boundary |
lire of Cali iornia, with the channel of !
the Colorado is at Pilot Knob. Upon |
the basis of this point of intersection, |
the land in controversy was IN 1875, by |
the Secretary of the Interior, decided |
to be in Arizona, and it has been so |
decided judicially since.
There is one other fact of which Gen. |
Tolman has an erroneous opinion: The |
boundary line of 1919 90 is not drawn |
from the junction of the two rivers, but |
from the mouth of the Gila
Ii however, by any hook or crook,
the disputed portion of Yuma shall
be placed in California, we Can
our neighbor in the /
to its population of all the |
Arizona convicts. There would be one
however, Yuma county /
could hardly bear; the county treasurer
resides across the boundary line of |
1849- so and all the county money is |
with nim- 1t would be tough on US il /
we should wake up some morning and !
find California richer by one Arizona |
treasurer and some thousands of dollars |
OF our good money. However, we do |
not expect to lose much sleep through |
any apprehension of !; IS of territory.