The Arizona sentinel., 1897-07-17
picked froo tAe open garden ot Christmas
Is r 4 LAwLEss COUNTRY?

[ A Il L.
 The man who goes to any considerable Arizona town with the idea of the South
 west derived from novels, or from ''The Arizona Kicker, will be greatly mystitied.
 He will End as many churches ss in towns Of corresponding size in Pennsylvania 1ri 1 Ohio; aad probably more schoolhouses. H.
 will ind plenty of iiq nops. too. anu gambling houses. and dancehoases, and yet
 he will see little disorder unless he hunts
 late at night for it, and lie will be apt to
 hnd--as at PhoeniX-a community of ten
 thousand people requiring in the daytime
 only one policeman, and hardly requiring
 him. During my winter there 1 did not
 see single disturbance in the streets, or
 half dozen drunken men, all told. Min. ing men and an occasional cowh boy certainly
 had quarrelS, sometimes, in the disorderly
 quarters at night; and there were stories
 of the nse of the knife among Mexicans;
 but the visitor who went about his own
 business had as little trouble as on Board.
 way or Chestnut street. The Pima and
 Maricopa Indians, who are encountered
 everywhere. have been friendly with the
 whites for generations, and there isn't an
 Apache within some hundreds of miles.
 WHICH TOWN IS THe BEST?
 Primarily that is question for the phy
 sician, if there is a physician in the case
 if not, try them all. If a mountain region,
 considerable altitude and com paratively
 low temperature is desired, Prescott is in
 a picturesque region, near great mining
 districts, and has the social advantage of an army post, whipple Barracks. Flag , staff Is still higher, Is in a region of dense pine forests, and is within a hard days journey of one of the wonders of the world, the Colorado Canyon. Oracle Is a pretty mountain nook, embowered in splendid live oaks, like those of California, and is also near an important mining district. If lower altitude and distinctly semi tropical climate are desired, the three Ylaces . most likely to b: considered are Yuma, g Tucson and Phoenix The first is near the r sea level; is the warmest and probably the
 driest of the three, has the least population,
 and the smallest provision for visitors. Q Tucson is the oldest town in the Territory, !; and, after Santa Fe, perhaps the oldest in n the Southwest. Its adobe houses give it a g Mexican look and are thoroughly comfort s able. Its newer houses are of a handsome s building stone, found in the vicinity. The Territorial University is here, and it was
 formerly the capital. Its elevation being
 more than double that of Phoenix, 1t is somewhat cooler, and as there is next to nc irrigation near it, the air is a little drier ' Phoenix is the centre Of the greatest irriga- ton in the Territory. The country for ;; miles around smiles with green fields, cover Il ed with almost countless herds of cattle "a " and it is everywhere shut in by low mount a;ns It is the Territorial capital, has the II Government Indian School, the Territoria Il Lunatie Asylum, and other institutions, ; and is the general focus for the Territory T Like Tucson, it has it's occasional wind an6 7 sand storms perhaps not quite so often
 At either place visitors who know how tr
 adapt themselves to circumstances can be a entirely comfortable, and in each they vii l. find an intelligent, orderly, @nterprising and IT most hospitable community. They vii J. find country full of mines, full of rich s agricultural lands, aboundng in cattle anC IT hor es, in vineyards and orchards and the " beginnings of very successful orange grove .s "a country, in fact, as full of promise fo e hardy and adventurous men now as Califor n nja Nas in the 'ffties. Above all, it ha: e beer their lot to search for health in fa 1T countries, they will revel in the luxury o ' being in their own land, among their owr lcountrymen, within easy reach of thei Q friends by telegraph or rail, and i'll 8 climat' | as good of its kind as any in the world.
 - LANDS AND SOILS.
 c TAe lands of Yuma County comprise the rive h bottoms and valleys and the uplands or mesas Tn
 bottom ands are moster and slightly mere fertile VI if, indeed, it is possible to m ke comparison
 where all are so wonderfully productive and prolif ,, The uplands or mesas are warmer and, perhaps
 
 vuma contains a vsrety of Soil The valley Ian,
 of 5hel Gila and Colorado rivers have for the mos
 part deep sedimentary soil of brownish, grs J sandy loem, resting, in most places, upon 8 gra e clay subsoi at epth Of from ten to twenty fee Us below the surface, The clay subsoil forms hard F pan which is impervious to water These soils hav
 been slowly formed by the decomposition of shades
 sandstOnes, marls. hmestones, etc, mixed with or U glnic and vegetable matter, washed down by tn ,r mighty rivers and have been gradually deposite m turing tke course of centuries. The fertilizin L. brownsh mud held in the wat 'Iof the ColOrad
 and Gila rivers resembles that from the Nile. an it's quantity varies from O.1 to 0.5 per cent. Il though the water when considerably discolor i ed by mud is good to drink resembling in this res q pect the Missouri river water. chemical analysi
 of the sediments of the Colorado and of the Nil } exhibits wonderful similarity in the constituen ID parts of each. That of the Colorado exhibiting er riho less potassa, most phosphoric acid and car le bonade of limestone beds through which the Colo
 rado pass"s. In other respects tn, sediment of tn
 Colorado is almost identical with tbat of the Nile
 It will be noticed therefore, that when this water
 used for irrigation it is superior to artesian water t. since it is constantly supplying the land with tn , richest fertzing clements The soil of the valley is extremely rich in dedomposed vegetable matte " and unco bined carbon, readily absorbing tn aerial gases, such especially, oxygen which en )r tering the soil, decomposes the organic matters ,s that they be taken up an nourish the plant a which may he considered leading featur; in It
 fertility. It also readily takes up and retain moisture, while the rmness of it's particles afford every facility for percolation and the activity