The Arizona sentinel., 1897-07-17
THE VILLAGE OF YUMA.

Although the town of Yuma is the seceud oldest community in the Territory Of Ari- zona, it is astonishing how little its re- sources are known to the world at large, and
 how slightly developed is the natural wealth of the county This is owing partly to i Yuma's reputation for unbearable heat, and partly to the fact that, lying next to Cali fornia, is has been assumed that the county has been thoroughly prospected for mineral wealth, and prospectors have, in the main, kept the travelled highways in crossing its Territory. As matter of fact one suffers less from the heat here than in almost all of
 the settled communities of the east. owing
 to the dryness of the atmosphere, and there
 is no healthier climate on Gods footstool.
 People labor out of do,rs from the rising
 to the setting of the sui, and suffer no in
 convenience There has never been known,
 in this section of country, an authentic case
 of sunstroke. Our climate, taken iii time,
 never fails to cure pulmonary complaints of
 any description. Disease such as smallpox,
 cholera, etc rarely visit us, and then only
 cept through the perversity of patients. Contrary to the belief of the uninformed,
 the dry heat of the summer months is es- pecialiy conducive to g.od health and ex-
 reptional vigor, acting naturally upon the
 human system with the same effect a. the
 artificial result of Turkish bath-purefy-
 ing and renovating it. As a further matter
 of fact. this county has never been evon
 superficially suspected, and it is only now
 that people are beginning to search its hills
 with any degree of systematic enthusiasm
 for the mineral wealth hidden there, 0w-
 ing to the falling off in the price of silver, deposits of gold only are being sought for;
 and the present result is little short of mar
 velous. In all sections of the county from
 the Sonora line to Williams Fork discoveries
 are daily being made, and the greater the
 development the greater the wealth dis
 played. Wherever the prospector plants his foot, leJges of gold confront him or are brought to light by the invest gating strokes of his pick.
 Portions of the country traversed for years by commonly traveled trails are devei-
 opiug into rich storehouses of golden wealth. New and rich rlacers are constantly heinz
 discovered, and shipments of placer gold . from this point through Wells Fargo X Go. $ Express, are steadily increasing in 5 value From a mining standpoint Yuma County is rapidly leading the Territory, and yet as far as that industry Is concerned,
 this section has received but little recos. nItion.
 Agriculturally the country is vastly i'm proving Enterprises that have lain dos: mant the last two years, owing to tte gen eral financial depression and consequent
 dearth of moaey for investment purposes are waking mp to new life and vigor. Money ' is being attracted in this direction, and oI all sides can be distinguished that iadehn
 able s5;r which is the precursor of an indus trial aHakenizg. Even within these las two years of financial stringency and de pression there has been a steady if slow in . crease in agricultural development aaC wealth 4 greater area of old farms ha been put under cultivation, and new land
 have been inclosGd and new fields started t A large section of Biaisdell Heights has beer |. planted to fruit trees; fields of cereals an( lo1f olJ %o ha tof ? area on the Colorado river below town; tht lands lying under the Mohawk and Farmer F canals have been made to yield heavy crop
 of every variety of agricultural products, a $ in other sections of the Gila valley, and tn, S gardens of Yuma have been added to anC e beautified in fruits, flowers and shubbery t e more than appreciable extent. Altogethe $ we may feel proad of our progress during e these last moaIhs of business depression an,
 Encouragement. It speaks well for the in e dustry and pluck of our people, and tn 6 of tine merits of our soil and climate and th 3 richness of our mineral resources. Natur :, has done everything for our county, and q. l. that is needed is a touah of the wand of ca p y ital to have our hills and vaile, spring int d an active life of remunerative industry tha D will last and endure forever.
 Some three years ago, through the energ. d of H. w. Biaisdell, the Yuma Water anC n Light Company was incorporated, and b, e means of its large pumping plant. as ,h Il fo5t of Main street, the town is abundantl
 supplied with water at reasonable r..tes, an,
 there have grown into existence new ah,
 large gardens and orchards.