Arizona republican., 1904-02-01
FINALS CAPITAL SURRENDERED.
To an Invading Army of 1000 Salt
 River Valley People.

| for the blessed privilege of going over to the Gila valley and shaking hands
 with the Florence brethren, and incl i dentally participating m the consecra- ton of the new Phoenix & Eastern rail- road to the purposes of a new indus | trial era opening up for central Ari- zona. And it was worth the money, every cent of il, to look into the beam-
 ing faces of the Florence people, that
 were wreathed in smiles, the gladsome | fruitage of the hope eternal that springs from the Arizona breast. For surely the residents of that bailiwick ! have put eternal hope toaa crucial test and failed not. None were more joyful perhaps than Mir. Spinas, a Mexican and one of the Wealthiest men of the | town. He had a four horse hay wagon at the depot to meet the eXcursionists and from the time the train arrived till 1 il departed his horses were in a lather going or coming. When proffered coin
 for his favors he spurned it with of tended hospitality and said Thirty | four years l have waited and toiled to witness this glorious occasion: your moneys no good There were others
 many of them. whose teams were at the l disposal of the visitors, and others who made the usual charge for hack hire, | fist, because t is their business, and | second. because the boom has no. struck Florence yet and they were de- serving of the few two bit pieces the days hilarity brought them.
 The train left Phoenix about half an | hour after the advertised time, for it
 was appalling how the people swarmed
 10 the depot in the early morning hours | lt is difficult to prepare for such a crowd. for there is no telling what the | demands of the day may be. Only a l hundred or so tickets were sold the Say ! before, though everybody was talking about going. It was, therefore, nece ss-- | fly something of q guess till the crowd | beGanN to gather. At starting time | it was apparent that all the available equipment would be needed. and when
 the train rolled up to the depct there
 were nine big coaches yawning to be
 filed. They didn't yewn long, for in a
 jiffy every seat wac filled and the
 wheels rolled east toward Tempe. At
 that south side metropolis were other
 hundreds of the populace. and no tInie
 was lost in attaching to the train three
 empty freight cars while the crowd was piling in. At Mesa d similar addition
 to the number was made. It was esti-
 mated by the railroad officials on board
 that between 800 and 500 went from PhoeriX and about 200 each from the
 south side towns. making between 900
 and 1000 people altogether.
 ! The excursion from its beginning to
 its ending was as successful one as
 was ever run on any railroad Not the ! slightest accident occurred to mar the
 -'easure of the day. and the only un- | expected delay was about five minutes ! spent on the desert during the return trip administering a cold bath to q hot l box MT J. Fl. Emmert, assistant to
 President Murphy; H. r. Anewalt. gen
 eral freight and passenger agent. and l L. H. Eandis. general agent. all ac- companied the excursion, and each was
 busy doing everything possible for the | comSort of the eXcursionists and to fla
 ciitate the work of the large train
 crew detailed to handle the throng.
 But, best of all. the throng did not need
 a great deal Of handling. For the most
 part t knew how to take care of it. self, and it had its Sunday manners
 along. There was no disorder either on i the train or in Florence, ard if there
 Is police force in that village nobody | found it out. The purveyors Of hop
 connections were all or guard. but their l wares were used mainly for the ouench- ing of thirst and not fer internal baths.
 Aside from a couple of sunburned GIia
 valley natives, none were seen to walk
 unsteadily and they were nc doubt in toxicated by the sight of so many peo- ! Dle. On the train there was general
 good humor. no quarreling and TO dis turbance. while due courtesy was aI-
 ways paid to the women and children. Many who had to stand were restless
 on their feet and trotted backward and | forward through the cars only because
 they had nothing else to do. It was fun to roll over each other
 | The train left Mesa about 10:15 and
 arrived in Florence a little before 12 | o'clock after a delightful ride across
 the desert. Fortunately the dust that had been a bugbear to many was scarcely noticed, for # was but little in | evidence. and those who had seats at
 the windows never tired of looking over the vast level plains and wondering when the good day would come that
 there would be ample water to reclaim
 the hundreds of square miles of the prettiest agricultural land that ever | lay before an army of appreciative eyes yearning to have its back
 scratched with the blow of the hus- 1 bandrnan.
 And then the town burst into view. a
 mile or so away across a rolling, dish
 shaped plain in the center of which the placid Gila theoretically wends It's way
 But it had "done wended' earlier in the
 season, and there was nothing left ex-
 ce2t an excellent ground plan. If
 Mother Nature ever wants to build an-
 other river In those parts she will find
 no eNcaveting necessary, and if she
 wants to be accommodating she can
 run the next stream under the single span of the old bridge that still stands
 as noble monument to an honorable and upright past. before Arizona rivers
 had defaulted in their duty and when Florence reveled in the sunshine of prosperity.
 Arriving at the depot the train was deserted as rapidly as it had been filled
 a few hours before. There was TO
 waiting to ask questions. An army of
 men women and children pIowed away