Pleasantville weekly press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1890-1911, 1898-03-30
LETTER FROM ARIZONA.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA, March 10.
To the Editor of the Pleasantville Press

PHOENIX, ARIZONA, March 10.
To the Editor Of the Pleasantville Press {:
Phoenix, the territorial capital of
| Arizona, is situated in the center of Salt
| River Valley, and is surrounded on all
| sides by low barren mountains that
seem to rise abruptly from the plains.
| The nearest is six miles distant and the
valley is fifty miles long and has an
average width of eighteen miles. The
| Salt River affords abundant water for
irrigation, and the land seems perfectly
level, but has slope of ten feet to the
mile southwesterly which makes flow
for irrigation.
Alfalfa seems to be the principal crop,
and on which horses, cattle and sheep
| thrive. Barley and wheat do well.
Oranges ripen early but are not grown
extensively. The altitude at Phoenix is
1850 feet. On the plains in every direc-
ton stands the Suahra (giant cacti), the
| tallest said to be forty feet. No two are
alike. The stand straight, some with
out prong or limb, Others with from
one to eight prongs. They are from six
| to twelve feet through and about the
same size from bottom to top. This
cact or stunted shrubbery, with now
and then lone Indian or cowboy on
mustang, galloping across the plains or
perhaps an immigrant wagon is about
all one sees excepting the sky and distant
mountains for many miles before enter
ing Phoenix, when suddenly the scene
changes to green Alfalfa fields with
droves of fine cattle pasturing, and some
| fruit trees are passed. Before entering
the city, we were little surprised at
| finding it SO different from what we had
expected from the glowing accounts
probably written by interested land
holders. This whole country was once
the bottom of the sea. Sea shells are
found everywhere. The soil is deep aud
once was salt mud, and is very soft when
wet, and dusty when dry. The results
of irrigation are truly wonderful, but no
more so than in California.
Of the health-giving qualities we are
not able to write, but statistics show
big percentage of deaths from invalids
seeking health in its climate, who as q
last resort come here and die. A COM
petent physician in each of the large
eastern cities who is familiar with this
climate and knows it's benefits to con-
sumptiyes, to examine patients and ad-
wise as to the probable outcome of a
change might be the means of many
staying home where they could be cared
for by their own people in their last
hours.
Outside of the principal street the
houses are nearly all one-story, from
good brick houses to adobe and frame
buildings, some of them mere shanties.
The many neglected lots filed with rank
weeds. and scarcity of shade trees,
suggests state of negligence. In places
the malard along the cutters grows
three feet high. A noticeable feature to
strangers is the many idle men on the
sidewalk of the principal street, and the
stranger seems to be noticeable feature
to them. However they are orderly and
quiet. Many of them are cowboys ond
people who ride in from the country,
Last night [ visited one of the several
principal licensed gambling houses, out
of curiosity, and to get an item for the
Press.
These gambling houses are run here
day and night and Sundays. They never
stop. A liquor bar, and several different
appliances for gambling, music and
singing. usually by females, to draw
custom, make up the gambling house.
The one was in was the largest, and
considered frstclass. 1t was a fair
sample of several Others on the same
block. There were many people, the
different paraphernalia were in full blast,
silver dollars and twenty-dollar gold
pieces were in piles to bewilder and tempt
the poor dupes to elbow i'm their last
dollars. First was the roulette wheel.
You stake your money on certain
number. The machine Ia splendid ap-
|
ball was held on it's outer rim by centri-
fugalforce until the speed Stacked when
it rolled down in q pocket. If the num-
Der of the number of the pocket was the.
same as your number you would be
handed out perhaps ten fold more than
you put in. Next was the carp game
with dice, which was explained. Next
! the game of faro, which seemed very in
teresting but owing to the crowd
around the game | was unable to under
stand it.aA deputy sheriff and police
officer in citizen clothes were there and
all was orderly and quiet.
The principal fuel here is mesquite
wood. 1t is brought from the surround
ing country by Mexicans who gather it
from Government lands. Some arrests
have been made but no convictions, as it
iD d Qu65tlOu WuCb4cI III rs d Urco VI uOU
Lately it has been decided tree, and
Phoenix people are much interested as
the wood is worth about IS per cord
aud coal $40 per ton. Wood is much
the cheaper. 1t grows scraggly, similar
to our scrub oaks. A stick six footlong,
straight, would be q curiosity. Last
night meeting of citizens was held to
| discuss the subject, when a fellow got up
eosI hu1 <vo
| four feet in diameter and three feet tall.
The Mexicans abuse their horses, but
/ have not seen an Indian whip or beat
q horse. 1t is not uncommon to see
| two Mexicans or two Indians on q small
horse. The Indian women ride astride
| the same as men. Indians are super
stitions and avoid the kodak for fear it
may result in death. In a smallpox
epidemic many Indians died. Some of
| them had been kodaked and their
pictures are in the show window at a
picture gallery. They are pointed out
by the Indians as confirming their belief.
| or the many tribes in Arizona but two
frequent this city. They are the Pimas
| and Maricopas. The Pimas are basket
makers and the Maricopas make pot
| terry of fine clay shaped with the fingere.
They then paint and burn it. An urn
shaped vessel they make hangs under
the porches of nearly every household in
the city filed with drinking water. They
are called ola, and hold two OF three
buckets of water. They are porous and
are not entirely water tight. Water
continually oozas out. The rapid eva
poration by the dry air, causes the
water inside to be cool, principle used
in the manufacture OF artificial ice.s
Similar vessels are taken from the
ancient mounds in this vicinity. These
Indians find ready sale at the curio
stores for stone axes, arrow heads, and
any pieces of crockery or shell ware
taken from the mounds; and as govern
ment fluids them in agricultural tools
they have no use for the old implements.
The mounds consist of mud once formed
in to bricks and houses. Time has
crumbled them and in these ruins are
found old implements and pieces of