The Arizona sentinel., 1898-09-17
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 its re
 sources are known to the world at large, ant
 how slightly developed is the natural wealtl of the county. This is owing partly tt
 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 prospeotors 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 ont 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 sunstroke. Our climate, taken iii time, never fails to cure pulmonary complaints of any description. Disease such as smaIlpQx, cholera, etc., rarely visit us, and then oLly in very mild form, and are never fatal ex- cept through the perversity of patients
 Contrary to the belief of the uninformed,
 the dry heat of the summer months is es-
 pecialy conducive to good health and ex-
 ceptional vigor, acting naturally upon the
 human system with the same effect as the
 artificial result of a Turkish bath-purefy-
 ing and renovating it. As further matter
 of fact, this county has never been even
 superfcially 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 traversed for 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 lE Co.'S Express, are steadily increasing in value. From 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- nition.
 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 to new life and vigor. Money IS being attracted in this direction. and on all sides can be distinguished that indefn- able stir which is the precursor of an indus trial awakening. Even within these last two years of financial stringency and de- presslon there has been steady if slow in crease In agricultural development and l wealth. A greater area of old farms has been put under cultivation. and new lands have been inclosed and new fields started. A large section of Blaisdel 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 the Mohawk and Farmers canals have been made to yield heavy crops o2 every variety of agricultural products, as in other sections Of the Gila valley. and the gardens of Yuma have been added to and 5eautitied in fruits, flowers and shubbery to ! more than appreciable extent. Altogether We may feel proud of our progress during these astmonths of business depression and IL speaks well for the in- iustry and pluck of our people, and the 'howiHg made constitutes the best evidence 'f the merits of our soil and climate and the 1chness of our mineral resources. Nature las done everything for our county, and all hat is needed is a touch of the wand of cap- tai to have our hills and valleys spring into n active life Of remunerative industry that i'll stand endure forever.
 Some three years ago, through the energy i ,f H. W. Blaisdell, the Yuma Water and light Company was incorporated, and by i means of it's large pumping plant, at the oot Of A--. n street, the town is abundantly implied vi:h water at reasonable rates, and here have grown into existence new and lrgo gardens and orchards,