The Arizona sentinel., 1898-06-25
THE VILLAGE OF YUMA.

THE VILLAGE OF YUMA.
 | Although the town of Yuma is the second oldest community in the Territory of Ari- zona, it is astonishing how little it's re | sources are known to the world at large, and l how slightly developed is the natural wealth | of the county. This is owing partly to | Yuma's reputation for uabearable heat, ard partly to the fact that, lying next to Cali 1 foru.a, is has been assumed that the county ! has been thoroughly prospectcd for mineral wealth, and prospector5 have, in the main, 1 kept the traveled 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 door from the rising to the setting of the sun, and suffer no in convenience. There has never been known, in this section of country, an authentic case of sunstroSe. Cur climate, taken ii time, never fails to cure pulmonary complaints of any description. Disease such as smallpox, cholera, etc, rarely visit us, and then only in very mild form, and are never fati-i ex- cept through the pervcrsity of patients, Contrary to the belief of the uninformed, the dry heat of the summer months is es- pecially conducive to good health and ex- ceptional vigor, acting naturally upon the human system with the same effect as the artificial result of @ Turkish bath-purefy- ing and renovating it. As a further matter of fact, this county has never been even superfeially 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, Ow- 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- vicious. 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, lodges of gold confront him or are brought to light by the investigating strokes of his pick.
 Portions of the country traversod fol years by commonly travelled trails are devel. oping into rich storehouses of golden wealth. New and rich placers are constantly being discovered. and shipments of placer gold from this point through Wells Fargo & Co. .'s Express, are steadily increasing in 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 recog- milton.
 Agriculturally the country is vastly i'm proving. Enterprises that have lain dor mant the last two years, owing to the gen eral financial depression and consequent dearth of money for investment purposes, are waking up 10 new life and vigor. Money
 is being attracted i'll this direction, and on all sides can be distinguished that indefin- able stir which is the precursor of an indus trial awakening. Even within these last two years of financial stringency and de- pression there has been steady if slow in- crease in agricultural development and wealth. A greater area of old farms has been put under cultivation, and new lands
 have been inclosed and new fields started. \ large section of BIaisdeIl Heights has been
 planted to fruit trees; fields of cereals and
 alfalfa have been added to the cultivated area on the Colorado river below town; the
 lands lying under th2 Mohawk and Farmers canals have been made to yield heavy crops
 Of every variety of agricultural products, a. n other sections of the Gila valley, and the . gardens Of Yuma have been added to ana ]. boautitied in fruits, flowers and ehubbery tc a more than appreciablo extent. Altogether we may feel proud oi our progress during , these last months Of business depression and
 Encouragement. It speaks well for the in- } dustry and pluck of our people, and tine showing made constitutes the best evidence of the merits of our soil and climate and the ] richness of our mineral resources. Nature has done everything for our county, and all
 that is needed is 8 touch of the wand of cap- ital to have our hills and valleys spring into an active life of remuneratiyc industry that will last and endure forever.
 Some three years ago, through the energy of II. W. BlaisdcIl, the Yuma Water and
 Light Company was incorporated, and by means of its large pumping plant, at the foot of Main street, the town is abundantlJ supplied with water at reasonable rates, and there have grown into existence new and large gardens and orchards,