Arizona republican., 1898-03-10
THE NEWS OF PRESCOTT.
Signs of Spring-The New Railroad
 Old Hassayampers.

Signs of Spring-The New Railroad
 Old Hassayampers.
 
 Prescott. March 9-(Special cores pondence of The Republican .)-The greeting, "A fine day." however ap-
 plicable it may be to the truly perfect weather conditions that have pre-
 vailed in this city of the hills, has be- come somewhat monOtonous, and rather jars on one who appreciates the real need of a greater precipita tion of moisture than we have thus far had. The unusual features of the
 past winter months, creating as they have new weather records, have. rather
 sent the oldest inhabitants" into re- tirement and made them charry of
 venturing any predictions as to what
 we may expect from the heavens above. Anxiety is more for the future than for the present, and if one may judge from what he hears, the welfare of our neighbors in the Salt River val 1 ley is matter of quite as much con- cern as the prospective supply in our own hills. Faint indications Of change have been watched during the past few days with an interest com mensurate with the benefits hoped for, and I send this with full assurance that Maricopa valleys will soon be further enriched by generous wash ings from Yavapai's hills.
 l It may serve your readers there, in comparing their season with ours, to know that the grass is just showing l green, and the cottonwoods just swell 1 ing their buds. To Mrs. B. B. Gage | belongs the honor of showing the first | blossom out of doors-a tiny shrub | (name unknown to mel having pushed it's bright yellow flowers ahead of it's leaves with a spirit of enterprise in | keeping with the conditions that gen. orally prevail just now in this north ern country.
 Work on the Big Bug extension of the Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoenix rail- | way is naturally one of the leading | topics of discussion among us just now. R. N. Fredericks and Joseph Cook, ac- companied MT. F. M. Murphy on 1 trip along the line of the new road the other day and MT. Fredericks in speaking of the outing was pleased to offer his cordial indorsement of the enterprise as promising the best re- suits in fostering the growth of one of the most promising sections of the territory. MT. Fredericks laughingly relates their experiences as they were held up by the various parties whose land is crossed by the right of way, with narration of the ills that must follow, or on the other hand, the bene- fits that must ensue, from the prose- cution of the enterprise.
 It is source of no little pride with the residents of Yavapai county that we include more men whose names are linked with Arizona history than any other county in the territory, and no names are more familiar in that connection than those of J. l.. Marr, Uncle Dick Thomas, J. K. Hall, Joe Mayer and other residents of the Agua Fria valley and vicinity. It is cer- tainly to be hoped that nothing will drive such men from the territory They are too good men for any coun- try to lose. How good they are, phy- sically, at least, may be evidenced by the late experience of Uncle Jimmy Wing of the Point of Rocks. While pruning a tree he slipped and caught by his ankle, hanging so until released l by boy who happened to be working near. The strain was severe one, and would have incapacitated most | younger men. I noticed the old gen.
  | bling around Prescott streets, not able to work but still following the impulse to keep going and up with the pro cession. I learn, too, that 'Old Griz- | zly" (Hon. A. w. Callem) is getting ready to go to Klondyke. Well, he'll | get there, and make a showing, too. l It is a wholesome education for a young man to live among and learn to 1 know some of these old Hassayampers. l What they have done and what they are doing makes youngster feel that 1 he must keep hustling to be in it at all.
 We are going to have lots of oppor- | tunities this year, unless all signs fail | Our merchants are trying to tell in the papers of all the good things they propose to offer, increasing their store rooms, and preparing generally for the | inroads on their stocks that will be made by the consumption of the hun dreds of hungry mining camps all around them. Joe Wilson says he is preparing to break all records for stock and prices. Block says he will raise him one, and is building an ad- dition to his store to do 1t. The BashfordBurmister company will pit, 1 on another story if it is necessary 10 | accommodate their stock, and J. 1. Gardner will extend over another lot or two, if necessity arises.
 Even the ladies seem to have caught
 the spirit, if an experience social at I the Congregational church may be
 taken as an evidence, when the treas ury of the society was enriched by dol
 lars and dimes derived from channels
 that I warrant you no man ever
 thought of venturing into. Told in classic rhyme, these same business ex-
 periences sounded well and may yet
 find followers among the men. Each
 and every one of the fair contributors
 would be a valuable addition to a newspaper staff.
 Sicially, Prescott has subs ded some
 what from the unusual activity pre-
 ceding the Lenten season. I hear of
 nothing of special interest in this line that is likely to come off soon. The