The Arizona sentinel. [volume] (Arizona City [Yuma], Yuma County, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1872-1911, 1909-09-09
POSSIBILITIES Of YUMA
REGION URFkTh0MED
The Soil Simply Marvellous in Its
Pr0auCtiYeHeSS
And the Climate is iRtOxiCaiineIy
SslRbriOES
BY GEORGE n. BURTON,
In liza Angeles Times.

nrst touched The waters of the western lleDiis
sphere ant. revealed the new world 10 the
eyes Of Europeans. 1t Is only little over
century since the United States OF America
sprSuz, so 90 speak, like Psillas Athene from
the hrat1 e{ Jove, q completely armed ad-
dillon 20 the family or nations. It is but
little ever half a century since California be-
came a part OF these United States OF America,
and Tess tSEu generation since the settle
r7sent of tho Great South vest began.
In all the I25 years since the Republic was
founded also In the half Gent1ry since Cali
fornia became one of the states of the Union.
and during every yeSr of the last thirty, re-
aliZation OF the vast riches Of the American
continent OF the territory OF the United
States and of this Great Southwest hrs been
more and more astonishing TO the minds of
men. One would suppose that by today we
knew pretty thoroughly what the undevelop-
ed resources of the Great Southwest might
reasonably lie expected TO become. We have
not reached the depths of this great ocean Of
wealth with our piunmet line yet.
In a residence of forty years on the Coast
Slss'wFiteT thogght he Knew little about
what there Is on the Coast, and as most of
rhese years have been spent in and around
Eos Angeles, he naturally had a little cow
ceit thst igc was pretty we'll acquainted With
the Great Southwest. Last 1eek trip 70 the
Colorado River bottoms Below 9snRa made
AsrD feel ~ tef9desfoos w;so had CUTE In ssS
She lssst train. Ee1 20 hisS. shis wonderful
SczitE ana It's possibilities SFs pFs$tJ VET
Known 10 & great THaTy festders cs Tbs TfHAe5
by the stories grs8Ishe,9, If H0s by dis esHs9-D
stratfcA cG sssff evER eSes.
Yuma lies 81 tbs En1p tdsS twelve EaRIes
from WHERE tlre government is puttifg m the
great IssgG1fa dam, at the confluence Of the
ella and Colorado Rivers. 1t is twelve miles
from Yuma down the river to the Mexican
Soundry line on the Arizona side OF the river
AT one point, Jsst below Yuma. the internae
saoDal boundry line rrns mp RlorF the river
which there tskes westerly trend and from
Yuma TO MeNicvis only few miles.
ONCE A MIGHTY STREAM.
Ages ago when fhe mountain ranges OF
Arizona and California lowered toward the
stars at least twice as high as they do now,
rains were very freduent and came down in
UOrrcntial volumes all along these mountain
ridges. The Colorado River in these past ages
was a mighty stream, sweeping down debris
in tons every second of its flow. The Colora-
do sink was at that time great inland sea,
which spread over the country on both sides
OF where the river now runs. AS the erosion
Of winds and storms, landslides and glaciers
wore down the mountain ridges year by year,
The great river carried down a vast amount
Of SILT erosion from the rocks full of phos.
pilates lines and dlsintergrated GRANTEES, RS
well as the vegetation aiong Its banks; and
this was all dspcs9Ted in what are peNF thv
sinks ofsJI1e Colorado,
As.tke mountain tops were Fora e15.-Gr sSc
/. rains became Iesssfrequent ana less h ss1asac
but the erosion. Of rocks and river isseh&ss sSe
trees and vegetable m1oula tozH fsS41 ssG
banks still came down and settled into Che
Bottom of the great inland lake This geogical
process went on from age to age to our time,
leaving The Colorado ab Yuma Il stream about
half a mile wide and being at the present
time about twenty feet deep ID the deepest
portion.
1t is not necessary to remind. Californians
that the Spanish missionaries and explorers
called this river the Colorado because of the
reddish color of its waters. 1t is the Colorado
up in the Grand Canyon in Arizona and
down past The Needles. But at this time Of
the year, after passing the mouth Of the Gila,
instead OF the red river it becomes the brown
river. 1t actually looks today if ten per
cent of its flow was silt and only ninety per
cent water.
RICHES OF SOIL WONDERFUL
But the object of this story is to call atten-
ton once more, and for perhaps the thou
sandth time, to the riches of the soil along
the Colorado on both sides, incident TO the
depositidg of this mass of debris during all
no
ON the Arizona side of the river, for several
miles below Yuma, one encounters the same
type of country and soil that is found in the
Imperial Valley country around Brawley,
Calexico and other points west of the river
The fertility of the black prairie soils of Illi-
nois hasastonished people engaged in agri-
culture for nearly one hundred years. The
Fertility OF the valleys Of the Nile has been a
matter of history for at least 5000 years. Those
who are familiar with Illinois prairie soil,
and those who know what the valley Of the
Nile is for agriculture know that this lower
Colorado River region. surpasses both of them
If you ask farmer along this stretch of
sountry If the soil is six feet, his eyes will
open with establishment al your ignorance
ae WIFI tell you no one knows whether it is
- feet, 800 5000 feet deep. 1t is practically
withoeg bottom. 1t is SO thoroughly well
Faixed with sand, disintegrated granite and
stRer r0etes that it never breaks. 1t is as
sssssa1 worked a heap Of ashes, and re-
aFo2a;s 30 cSitivation in way that is mar
Eel1zsss
est SEVEN CROPS YEARLY.
GTszoEc has established an experiment
staftv.g iqi. the heart of this big valley, which
y soIEcr tvscnty%fcu miles loRa, AID in spots
seS Sc twelve mites wide, down on the lower
byss1. The ressEsts ssrc lveuder1oA Last week
sTvy were cutting - crop OF alfalecn this ex-
Sers1zsRtal Esrns azai Cor seven consecutive
saoVssi2s theS xtit aa5 sueseedinlS arees. The
snly rzxssthe wBep.tbe crepls net spv fcrs. are
December and JanUary.
Cotton and tottscCo grow with the greatest
hxurianee, anGs this rich alluvial soil via he
acted in a very few gears as the IDEAL sfsg IN
ghe whole country for dairyng hog raising,
3he production Of poultry and vegetables. Which
3ne hesitates te call early or late as they viii
sc perennial. New potatoes VIII. he rr0tiucsd
n the middle Of January, tomatoes will Be
ripe by the first of March ripe grapes VIA be
gathered in the early days CT May. ar6p april
sotS by the middle of the same month Chic
Gems and turkeys flourish there in tie winter
SINE beyond all experience anywhere else:
The rainfall is exceedingly light and comes
only three or four t;slcs in whole winter.
With an abundance Of green alfalfa and veget-
able the dry and not oFerheated climate
prevailing in the wiSEter UOnths, chickens are
Gree from the disease Bnet make their raising
difficult elsewhere. There is 10 spot IN South
ern Illinois or Missouri so adapted to the pro-
apction OF corn as this valley along the CeloTa-
do River. With alflifa and corn, the butter,
cheese, eggs, poultry and pork to be raised a
twentv who're farm VIII arn;,Ze those WIN. haEa