The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-11-08
POOR OLD ARIZONA


The moon behind cloud whose edges
were tipped with silvery radiance, the
stars blazing through the darkness, the
distant mountains with purple sum-
mits stretching upward to the very
gates of heaven, plains brown and
drear, scanned with bending orchards
and wales like the lawn of Paradise, the
upper ella tumbling in cascades, the
Colorado foaming through gorges a
mile in depth, giant cacti uplifting
their ghostly arms in the gloom, the
electric air, the indescribable charm of
the desert, and then, as the night skies
began to be pencilled with the dawn
the song of the lark, 1.-The herald of the
morn" dubbed up in matchless melody
over the rim of the dark, and it was
morning in Arizona.
Poor old Arizona. For twenty-five
years her matchless resources have
been almost untouched and her people
have growled little, and hoped a good
deal and waited with longing and i'm
patience for the toga virilis of state
hood, whose enfranchising touch will
inyigorate the life and spur the ener-
gies of Arizona, and bring to her CAPT.
tai and people to develop her wonderful
resources of field and forest and mine.
Yet for the delay in achieving local
self-government, AriZonans themselves
have been not altogether blameless.
when there was democratic majority
in Congress they would elect repub-
lican delegate to Congress-, and when
Congress was republican, they would
hasten to roll UP a democratic major
ity. Before 1880 parties were not Or
ganized there and all candidates were
independent" for the people regarded
both political parties much as the
South Sea islander looked upon the new
born twins, of which he was the father.
They were too small to fight, and too
lean to be eaten, and so he neither
loved nor respected them.
Other cities of 'the sun kissed land"
may have a grander future than Pres
colt, but none have greater beauty OF
location. It is nestled in a charming
mountain valley, girt with pine clad
hills and boasting of a stream-the
Hassayampa-which, unlike some other
streams in Arizona, very otter has wa
reaches it has deprived it of it's former
charm of isolation, when it was a little
{ world of itself. And a world that was
I'D to the times. 1t was adjacent to
Fort Whipple, the headquarters OF
military department. There was a
brilliant coterie of officers and their
families and there was always "some-
thing doing" Private theatricals,
masked balls, dinners and other func-
lions, kept the military bands busy and
the young men in an impecunious con-
dition. The citizens were enterprising
and liberal, the mines were rich, money
was plentiful, and a little theater,
costing nearly ten thousand dollars
was erected by voluntary subscription.
Waits of all kinds drift into mining
camps. We found lawyer, who had
once been scene painter at wal
lacIec, a bankers assistant, who was
an ex-stage carpenter, and amateur
actors were as plentiful as frogs in
April A Colonel at the Fort was as
clever light comedian as ever walked
the boards, his wife was renowned
washington beauty and a clever
actress. A Signal Service operator
proved an excellent character actor
he has since gained fame and fortune
in New York as the author OF MY
Friend From India ''The Man From
Mexico and other dramatic successes.
Murat Masterson, not only was an ar
fist with the brush, but he played
Joseph in Richelieu, and Damon in Da-
mon. and Pythias, and the violin, and
the Oasis saloon with equal success,
He was a many sided genius, for ne
had been first officer of Confederate
cruiser, had taught mathematics in a
Kentucky academy, and was Leading
lawyer in Arizona and member Oh the
legislature. The best furniture ana
draperies and bric-a-brac OF PRESCOTT
houses adorned the stage on occasions,
and when we needed a Cardinals guard
for Richelieu, we had at our service
a company of real soldiers from Fort
whipple, who dropped to their knees