Arizona weekly citizen., 1895-05-11
THE COLORADO.
The Nile of ths Great Southwest. Early Explorations and Un-
 fOrseen Greatness.

A New Railroad to Open up Its Grea
 And Unending Wealth in
 Mineral and Agricultural
 Products.
 EDITOR CITIZEN:
 The Colorado river, the Nile of thu
 west, IS the grandest stream in the grea southwest. It drains south westerI
 Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico south eastern Idaho; eastern Utah auc California, northern Sonora and all o Arizona; an area of more than 5OO,OOi square miles; water shed of more thar 300, ,000,0 900 acres, and carries this drain age into the Gulf of California, sixty five by land and 160 miles by water, below Yuma, Arizona; the heavy rains ano perpetual snows of the northern mount ain ranges always furnishing an ID exbaustible supply of water.
 While the lower portions of the Colo rado river country were among the firs sections explored in America, but very little is even yet known Of that vast almost impenetrable regions, hemmed in by the wonderfully magnificent Crane | Canon of the Colorado and its environs
 Less than half century after Columbus discovered America, the old Padres, missionaries, explores and Spanish soldiers were crossing this grand old stream from Yuma up and, even from the mouth of the Grand Canon to the Gulf
 Then for more than three centuries, th.t whole country WAS a sealed book except to the wsrlike tribes that in- hsblted the regions adjacent to it. ID l540 Vasquez de Coronado crossed over the lower portions of 1t in quest of gold and the "Planchas de Ia Plata" of the "Montezumas." He was soon followed by Capt. Fernando Alarcon, who cams for the same purpose. One of his capt aius, Cardinas, went further north and reached the Grand Canon. These were followed by the missionary Padres in TIA. in 1776 they began the great work of ChristianIzing the Indians along ths river, with little or with varying success, for half a century suffering the privations incident to frontier life.
 In 1859 came the army of gold hunt CTS. During the period from May 49 to September 50 inclusive, more than lOO,- 900 men, women and children crossed |. nol- T AID,- way to the land of gold, upawares that along the gay trails and roads they travelled, were the richest gold and silver mines in the world. The discoy- cry of gold in California led the United States government to begin the great work of careful aud scientific expiora- ton of the UNKNowS SOUTHWEST.
 ID 1851. Capt. Sitgreaves and party went from Santa Fe, N. M., via Zuni and west to Bill Williams Fork, thence down that strsam to the Colorado and to Yuma.
 Ia 1864 Lieut.. Whipple with 6 hun dred men explored the route for a rail- road on the 35th parallel to the Colorado, but it was lefg to Lieut. J. c. Ives and his party with their little steamer the Explorer, to make the first thorough exploration of the Colorado river from it's mouth up to the head of Black Canon, to the mouth of the Virgin river and the old Los Angeles and Salt Lake emigrant wagon road. This was in 1857 more than 300 years after Diaz and his little party of 9 men had discovered the Colorado.
 Little did Lieut.. Ives and his party think, that within half century, the richest and most extensivs gold and silver belts in the world, would be dis co, cred in the very hills, and mountains, washed by the Colorado, and which formed one of the objects for their ex- ploration and thought, and over which day by day they were passing. Little did they imagine that the Purple Hills at Pot Holes and grey old Castle Dome in the distance would roll ont so much gold, silver and lead; or that GRAND OLD CHIMNEY PEAK, wIerd end sublime as it stood, held atlts feet the millions of Picacho gold, which since then has been taken out, leaving yet tke richest free milling gold section in the world; or that Barrier Rocks. near Picacbo where their little steamer could not stem the current, although it was tbe lowest water of the year; would become the foundations for the largest electric plant ever built, or that the great level plains of La Paz and Ehrenburg, would yield millions of gold or that Eureka and White Hills were rock ribbed with silver; or that a great line of railroad would be. built tione, which would not only tap the HalI1 of supply every railroad and river point in the south west with coal at 8 per ton, but would also supply the rich mining districts in southern Utah, southeast ern Nevada, eastern and southern Call fornia and western, central and south ern Arizona, as we'll as the coming sea- port city of the Pacific coast, San Diego. and giving A new competing line to the east. Of these facts the enthusiastic explorers never dreamed.
 THE NEW RAILROAD.
 It is down this very stream that the new line of railroad from Cedar City. Utah, via Yuma, is to be built to San Diego. There is nothing to prevent it. The route is feasible. No such difficult ies will attend its construction as those which the Pacific roads, the Denver & Rio Grande and other roads have en- countered. The Utah Southern will connect with it from San Francisco, and the Denver & Rio Grsnde Southern from Marysville, Utah. The line from Durango, Colorado. will be extended to connect at Cedar City. No line ever opened on the continent will have such a local mining traffic. From Cedar City to Yuma, on both sides of the Col orado, is one perfect network of mines of gold, silver, lead, manganese, onyx,