Arizona republican., 1907-09-26
THE PAST RECALLED
 BY AN OLD PRINT
Board of Trade curios Dug up in the Overhaulins for Still Greater Arizona.

Secretary Cowgirl of the board of trade is busy giving the board room a general overhauling. digging up the dirt and garbage that has accumulated during the summer. and getting things in order for the rearranging of the dis play as soon as the new show frames are ready. In doing this work he has come across a number of old curios. at least two of which are interesting and worth preserving.
 One of them is an old Autograph stone on which is engraved letter head for the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. It is the block from which great many years ago. was run the stationery for the organization of which the board is the lineal descendant. Its value is only that of a curio.
 Another and more interesting curio is a pamphlet of about twenty-fiv pages entitled Arizona, Its Resources and Prospects" IL is a reprint from a letter to the editor of the New York Tribune published in that newspaper June 26. 1865. The writer was Richard C. Mccormick the first secretary Of the territory of Arizona The pamphlet was printed the same year by D. Van Nostrand. No. l92 Broadway. New York. This is probably the oldest pub licatiOn in the city on the subject of AriZona's resources, the initial effort perhaps to authoritatively call atten- tion in print to the great undeveloped wealth of the territory. The cover is illustrated with the old territorial seal showing a miner in the foreground and a range of mountains behind.
 The publication shows the enterpris- ing nature of the Tribune management in those days for it begins. "I have the pleasure in responding to your re- quest" etc. indicating that the Tri- bune had requested Mccormick to write the letter. A map accompanying shows that at that time the southern corner of Nevada. that portion lying south of a western extension of Ari- zonl present northern boundary. was then a part of Arizona. The territory then had but four counties, Mohave. Yuma, Pima and Yavapai of which the latter was by far the largest. The map shows five forts: Mohave on the upper Colorado river, Fort Yuma Fort Whipple. Fort Bowie. now abandoned. and Fort Goodwin. named after the first governor who reached the terri tory no doubt. The latter was on the upper Gila river and was abandoned long ago. The only towns in Arizona that were then of sufficient importance 10 find a place on the map were Har- dyville near Fort Mohave. Callville. further up the river. Aubrey at the of xt-ifh | ha Colorado. La Paz further down the river. now marked only by few adobe ruins. Castle Dome a little further down. Arizona City which is now the city of Yuma, Gila City a few miles up tfre-Giia. Prescott. Wickenburg. and Weaver near the latter place. Pima near the present Gila crossing south of Phoenix. Tucson and Tubac on the Santa Cruz. the HeintZelman mine a little to the southwest in the Papago country and the Mowry mine down near the present Nogales. Many other settlements however are described in the letter which is optimistic in tone dwelling with the wonderful possibl- ities of the mining sections and almost every town named was slated for a prosperous future.
 Gila City. twenty miles up the Gila river from Yuma was laid out in 1858, after the discovery of gold at that point. T. may be said that historic town is still laying out town lots which are probably available at the buyers price. La PaZ is referred to as the business center of western Arizona and. the let ter says. has some stores that would not do discredit to San Francisco. The main highway of travel from the Colorado to central and northern Ari- zona was due east across the desert to Wickenburg and Weaver The charge for transportation of ore from the Colorado river points. by steamer. 10 the San Francisco reduction works. was from s20 to s25 per ton
 Concerning the ore values and char acteristics. Mir. Mccormick quotes as authority Prof. Blake. Of all the names of persons mentioned in his letter in one way and another. as having some thing to do with the country. Prof. Blake is the only one who has survived the changes of the years and is still considered leading authority on min ing matters in Arizona.