The Arizona sentinel., 1899-05-06
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, and
 how slightly developed is the natural wealth
 of the county. This Is owing partly to 1 Yuma's reputation for unbearable heat, and
 partly to the fact that. lying next to Cali | fornia, is has been assumed that tha county
 has been thoroughly proSpected for mineral wealth, and prospectors 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 l the settled communities of the east. owing
 to the dryness of the atmosphere, and there
 is no healthier limaUe on Gods footstool. People labor cut of door from the rising
 to the setting of the sun, and suffer no in l convenience. There has never been known,
 in this section of country, an authe2tic case
 of sunstroke. Our climate, taken ir time, never fails to cure pulmonary complai.-'7 '7 of any description. Disease such as smallr X,
 cholera, etc rarely visit us, ana then or-ly ! in a very mild form, and are never fat;.l cx- ] cept through the peryersity of patients ! Contrary to the belief of tho uninformcd,
 the dry heat of the summer months i> es- 1 pecialy conducive to good health and ex-
 ceptional vigor, acting naturally upon the l human system with the same effect as the artificial result of Turkish bath-purcfy- ] ing and renOvating it. As a further matter of fact, this county has never been even
 superfcially suspected, and it is only now
 that people arc beginning to search it's hills
 witk any degree of systematic enthusiasm 1 for the mineral wealth hidden there Ow- ] ing to the falling of 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 l the Sonora line to Williams Fork discoveries
 are daily being made, and the greater the 1 dcvelopment 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.
 1 Portions of the country traversod for years by commonly trareIed trails are deyel-
 oping into rich storehouses of golden wealth. 1 New and rich placers are constantly being i discovered, and shipments of placer gold i from this point through Wells Fargo x
 Co.'s Express, are steadily increasing in
 va're Fr"nr q 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- nltion.
 Agriculturally the country is vastly i'm proving. Enterprises that have lain dor
 nlant the lat two years, owing to the gen. cral 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 indcfin- able stir which is the precursor of an indus trial awakening. Even within these last two years of financial stringency and dc pression there has been a steady If slow in crease i'll agricultural development and wealth. 4 greater area of old farms has
 been put under cultivation, and new lands have been iaciosed and new fields started \ large section of BIaisdel Heights has been planted to fruit trees; field of cereals and alfalfa have been added to the cultivated area on the Colorado river below town; the 1 lands lying under tic Mohawk and Farmers canals have been made to yield heavy crops of every variety of agricultural products, as in other sections of the GiIa valley, and the gardens of Yuma have been added to and beautifed in fruits, flowers and shubbery to a more than appreciable extent. Altogether we may feel proud of our progress during . these last months of business depression and Encouragement. It speaks well fo, the in dustry and pluck of our people, and the 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 orr county, and all that is needed is touch of the wand of cap- ital to have our hills and valleys spring into an active life of remunerative industry that will last and endure forever.
 Some three years ago, through the energy of II. w. Blaisdell, the Yuma Water and Light Company was incorporated, and by means "t its large pumping plant, at the foot of l. n street, the town is abundantly supplied T..h water a t reasonable rates, and there have grown into existence new and large gardens and orchards,