The Arizona sentinel., 1897-02-13

hO A'iAO"4ASJ I1NOh AAOu1 6h~ Omaha Duly Bee. of Jan. 18th, is
 well worth reading, and it's cir culation will undoubtedly be pro
 ductive of great good:
 The ancient history of Arizona is no less interesting than is the modern. The cliff houses of the Rio de Chelly and the canyons ot the Colorado still present then problems to antiquarians, some oi whom believe the early Arizoniane to have been of the Pueblo stock, while others trace them to the Aztecs. There are fortresses, great systems of canals, which unques- tionably belong to the partly civillz- ed people who dwelt in Arizona six or eight centuries ago His torians say that 300,0OO persons then occupied the Salt River valley alone. Late in the sixteenth cent ury Jesuit and Franciscan mis- sioparies did great work in this heather land and founded many towns, but the civil z1tion that arose their train vanished before the forays of the Apache warriors, who reduced Arizona to savagery. In 1847 General s. w. Kearney marched his command through the G1la Valley and first trought this country to the notice of Americans. The Territory was not set apart from New Mexico until 1863. Be- tween 1864 and 1876 the Indians massacred more than 1000 whites in Arizona, but soon after the era of savagery and isolation came to an end. In 1882-3 the Apaches again took the warpath, but Gen. eral Crook held them in check. Another foray occurred in 1685-6, when Geronimo killed fifty per sons before General Miles could capture the red warriors in the mountains of Sonora, yet even in 1891 a number of Arizonians were killed by the Indians. Since the removal of many of the hostile Apaches and the incoming of the railroads, Arizona has grown rapidly. The area of Arizona Is 113,OOO square miles. The agri- culture of Arizona depends upon artificial irrigation, by whose aid crops of wheat and alfalfa are raised, as well as fruits and vegetables of almost every variety Modern ir- rigation in Arizona began in 1867, with the construction of the Salt River Valley canal. There were then no railroads within a thousand miles of Arizona. Other great canals have been constructed, and in 1889 the four principal canals were consolidated, thus constitut- ing the most complete system of irrigation in the United States. Within ten years upward of 4,O0O,- GOO has been expended in irrigation canals in Arizona. The area that can be irrigated by the water in sight in the canals iE operation cannot be less than 25O,O00 acres. The Salt River Valley presents one of the most favorable areas in the United States for the production of semi-troplcalfruits, such as oranges, lemons, grapes, figs, apricots, etc, There are thousands of acres of growing crops that rival in lux uriance those found in the famed valley of the Nile. Nearly every thing in the way of grains, veget- ables and fruits grown in the temperate and semi-tropical zones flourish. Wheat and barley grow with wonderful rapidity. Many varieties are produced the year round. All kinds of berries flourish. Apricot trees bear from thirty tQ 300 pounds each. The almond crop is large and profitable. Mar icopa county, it is estimated, con tains about LOCO acres of arable land. The heavier soil of the lower-lying land has been deemed especially suited to the growth ot cereals, while that contiguous to the foothills is preferred for both citrus and deciduous roots. The annual yield of wheat and barley is large.
 The grain yield averages 14,OOO pounds of wheat and 5000 pounds of barley to the acre. The total shipment of fruits aggregates about