The Arizona sentinel., 1900-02-21
THE VILLAGE OF YUMA.

HE lI1IAOE UT ! U MA.
 Although the town of Yuma is the second oldest community in the Territory of Arl- 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
 Yumas 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 lrospected for mineral wealth, and prospectors have, in the main, kept the travelled highways in crossing its Territory. As a 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 suu, and suffer no in convenience. There has never been known, in this section of country, an authentic case
 of sunstroke Our climate, taken in time, never fails to cure pulmonary complain 5 of any description. Disease such as smallp2x,
 cholera, etc., rarely visit IS, and then orly in a very mild form, and are never fat5,i ex- cept through the pelversity of patients. Contrary to the belief of the uninformel, the dry heat of the summer months is es- pecially conducive to good health and ez- ceptional vigor, acting naturally upon t!!.o human system with the same effect as the artificial result of a Turkish bath-purefy- 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 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 velous. 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 tine wealth dis played. Wherever the prospector plants his fopt, 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 & Co., Express, are steadily increasing in yatna. 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 to new life and vigor. Money is being attracted in this direction, and on all sid"s can be distinguished that indeGn- abe 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 a steady if slow in- crease in agricultural development and wealth. 4 greater area of old farms has teen put under cultivation, and new lands nave been inclosed and new fields started. A large section of Blaisdell Heights has been planted to fruit trees; field of cereals and alfalfa have been added the cultivated area on the Colorado river below town: the 1 lands lying under tho Mohawk and Farmers | canals have been made to yield heavy crops of every variety of agricultural products, as in other sections of the Gila valley, and the | gardens of Yuma have been added to and | beautified in fruits, flowers and shubberv to | 3 more than appreciable extent Altogether we may feel proud of our progress during these last months of business depression and | It speaks well fol 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 our county, and all that is needed is a touch of the wand of cap- tai to have our hills and valleys spring into m active life of remunerative industry that will last and endure forever.
 Some three years ago, through the energy # H. w. Blaisdell, the Yuma Water and light Company was incorporated, and by means ot its large pumping plant, at the cot of Ai. in street, the town is abundantly uDplied with water at reasonable rates, and here have grown into existence new and lrge gardens and orchards.