The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1902-07-02
Supported BY Pension.


His support for several years had been
/ from a pension Of $35 a month conferred
upon him by the Legislature Of Arizona.
/ he being the only beneficiary of that ma
ture. The last Legislature saw fit to
| enumerate the reasons for the bestowal
Of its bounty. The act recites:
Charles D Poston, January, 1854, pros
pected the Ajo mines, in what is now
| Pima county. Ariz., and in the same year
| organized in said mines the first mining
company to invest capital and to do de-
velopment work on mines in what is
now Arizona after its transfer to the
United States under the Cadsden Pur-
chase. and was. from 1856 to 1851, depu-
ty clerk and recorder of Dona Ana coun
t.. that then embraced ali Arizona, and
in 1863 gave Arizona her name. and Oh
tanned President Lancoln's signature 10
the act that. together with the then Del
egate to Congress from New Mexico, he
had drawn and obtained Congressional
enactment thereof, creating the Terri
tory OF Arizona, and in 1854 was elected
the first Delegate to Congress from Ari-
iona. and from 1867 to 1880 was register
of the United States Land Office Of Ari-
IONA. and, from the above ana many
other well-known facts, Charles D. Pos
ton. among all other pioneers, was pre-
emfnentIy the moving spirit, and. in
fact. may truly be said to be the Father
of Arizona"
Once a Washington Exquisite.
The last check from the Territorial
auditor was found IN the pocket Of the
stricken pioneer. SO it cannot be said
that he died in want. Yet the scene was
one Of restitution. OF furniture there
was almost none, and the wardrobe OF a
man who had been one Of the exquisites
of Washington in his day would have i'll
satisfied a tramp Yet there were evil
denees Of a time Of mental vigor and
ability. There were heaps Of papers,
mainly comprising matter descriptive OF
Arizoua's early days, and evidently pre-
pared for the Arizona Historical Society,
of which he had been founder and the
first president. There were a few cop
les Of his published writings, inclusive
Of q volume Of poems, several small vol
umes he had written upon his travels IL
Europe and in the Orient, and many ref
erences to magazine and newspaper ar
ticIes, one OF them Of considerable
length on The Building of q State in
Apache Land" having been published
in THE Overland Monthly"
His Own Form Of Theosophy-
He had written unanimously, as well,
upon philosophical and religious sub
jects. He had his own modified form of
theosophy, and had conceived the idea
that it was the same form OF religious
worship practiced by the prehistoric
Toltecan inhabitants OF Arizona. Near
Florence. Ariz.. rises conical hill Of
considerable height, solitary on the
plain, not far from the ruins Of Casa
Grande. and itself covered with pots
herds and with the ruins left by a for
gotten people For more than thirty
years this hill has been known as pos
tons butte Around and up the butte.
at considerable expense. Poston had
built a road Upon the summit It was
his dream TO erect q temple wherefrom
the diety should be worshiped with sol /
emnity on the uprising OF the sun, to
him the glorious manifestation and rep
reseutatiye Of celestial omnipotence-
Post0n was q native OF Harden count
~. KY At twenty-five he was admitted
to the bar and p-acticed for several /
years in his native State and IN WASH /
ingtCn. He outIived the wife Fad sew
eraI children Of an early union A /
daughter married Dr. Benjamin = Pope.
OF the regular army Pope won distinc- (
ton as chief surgeon of the Fifth Army /
Corps in the advance CT Santiago. and /
died at his post in the Philippines. with |
the rank of deputy surgeon general. |
Mrs. Pope died on the Pacific while re-
turning home with the body OF her hus- /
band.
Went West to Seek Gold.
After several years IN Washington, /
Poston went to California as & goldseek-
er. and later, from Guaymas. he headed
a parry into the land acquired througn