The Florence tribune., 1895-06-15

In IJ40, when Coronado Hatie his celebrated reconnaissance of this sec tion, continued through New Mexico and Colorado, the plains of iSansas, halting at Topeka and ending at what is now Atchison, Kansas, he found the remarkable ruins of Casa Grande fSa~' Great House}, from which this-appei- lation is given to the entire valley south of the Gila river, but moro es- pecially that portion now watered by the resefvoir constructed by the Flor ence Canal company, about IS miles to the north and east of us. In the im- mediate vicinity of these ruins traces of an immense canal have been fol- lowed, which no doubt brought water to the ancient pueblo and irrigated the rich valley surrounding it, and carry ing it to the south for many miles, as the wonderful dimensions of the then constructed reservoir remain about miles north of this place, the modern Casa Grande on the railroad. From these evidences of thrift. man. agement and husbandr-s ss;eJf sls.s who have given the subject deep stAdy and research, estimate that from Ct, 600 to 10000 acres of land were under di- rect cultivation and that this valley teened with a powerful and progress sive population of over 100, ,000 souls. "Who were these people, that turned the desert into beehive? Whence came they, and what their fate ?" This problem cannot be solved to-day. Coronado found the ruins and the new race of Indians, known then as now as the Pimas. And they, over $50 years since, knew as little as to who their predecessors were, as is known at pres ent
 The advent of the railroad in 1880 opened this country to quicker and more satisfactory settlement. The cat tie and mining industries were fnore directly beneftadA Ihase--sessns
 
 along the Gila rivef, enjoying the7riv- ilege of water, were given over to az. riculture, supplying camps and towns with produce. A new era dawned i when the canal was completed. carry ] ing water forty miles to the south and west, affording ample opportunity for extensive ranching to the home-seeker , and the health hunter.
 , That it is unnecessary to dwell long upon the fact that things do grow. q is evident when the statement is made l that during the past five years not a : rancher has given up his holdings, nor 5 has one moved away, but each is ah- l nually improving and extending his l acreage, while new settlers and locat- ors are constantly coming in. s'Things
 do grow" or people would quit. No. , where else is as salubrious clinsate , found no other land in any otheA sse.
 tion produces as much to the acre, in a such abundance and variety and with f such ease. ''Sow and ye shall reap, j
 is the legend over the doorway which leads into the Casa Graasle valley Success has attended the efforts oi f every farmer. We have now under
 ownership and approaching cultva- , ton some 13,000 acres in the district named. As in other farming sections { all of this is neither fenced nor bro. D dueing, but is and will be used for pas. a trre. With few exceptions the hold s ings of individuals or firms range from
 80 acres to GAO acres, it being safe tc say that D per cent of such are home. ; steads, and that 60 per cent. have also . fu,l-paid water rights. This betoken. a healthy condition, and one that grad . ually bears it's own weight of prosper ity.
 3 Without individually particularizine q a few instances can be cited of what i e being done on some of the ranches : which gives an idea as to the scale or
 which farming is being carried. Tn,
 Bogart < DeGallyer ranch is owned bJ
 Chicago people. They have 16O acre,
 under cultivation and fence. Of this 90 acres is in alfalfa, 20 acres in figs
 15 acres in apricots, prunes and peach es, 15 acres in olives and 20 in grapes
 Wm. E. Reid owns GAO acres. a full
 water right of $40 acres. He has i. acres under direct cultivation and
 fence adjoining the town of Casa Grande; of this 10 acres is in fruit and ], vine and acres in alfalfa. He has kept accurate returns of this alf alfa field ard finds that last year he cut 30 tons of hay from the acres and ofs
 'ained an average price of $4 per ton
 The 14,000 people who recently made e grand rush into the Kickapoo country to scramble for 452 homesteads never obtained one that will raise 50 tons ol hay in the first five years on the one half of any quartcr-section.
 The Dunn & Logan ranch is owned by F. J. Logan and r. K. Dunn, of Chi cago, and under the able management of c. L. Scribner. This ranch is under a perfect state of cultivation, witt every convenience and improvement Ttf contains 320 acres all fenced nl