The Parker post., 1912-03-30
RACE OF GIANTS ONCE PEOPLED
ARIZONA.
Historian Claims That New State
ilad Double Present Population In
10th and 18th Centuries-Origin OF
Name.

hundreds or millions OF uOllarS WORTH
of gold, silver. copper and other
metals. Arizona has thousands of live,
wide-awake hustlers and workers who
will develop her great resources, ad-
vertise and eternally boost" their
land, and of which title she is de-
serving, is becoming an agricultural
state and has already attained the
distinction of being the greatest cop
per producing state in the union.
There are different theories as to
the origin of the name of Arizona.
The name certainly is not Spanish
and one writer claims that it was
derived from two Indian words tAri"
and "Zonac" meaning "the place of
of massacre or chastisement. Ac-
cording to a Tucson historian We
have this plausible theory. He says
There is an ancient Aztec tradition
that the earth is born of the sky"
There were giants in those days,
of course, but they did not find their
environment satisfactory, and died
off, leaving the sky-born earth unin
habited After a while it happened
that celestial virgin, daughter OF
one of the 13 great deities, fell into
decline (probably brought on by
high hvingl and the court physician
recommended that she be sent to the
Santa Cruz valley, where the climate
was so excellent that it was able to
revive the gods
His advice was followed, and the
virgin was the sole inhabitant of the
earth until one night, while in a deep
sleep, dron of dew feH upon her
and she bore two children, son and
a daughter, from whom have sprung
all the dwellers upon earth. The
name of the virgin was AriZunna.
The above seems romantic and
overdrawn but it is a theory and a
tradition
Arizona probably had double hcl
present population in the 18th and
18th centuries, when the Aztecs and
their ancestors inhabited the country
The wonderful Casa Grande, in the
valley of that name, which the Pima
and Papago Indians who yet live there
allude to as ruins" Padre Pedro
present condition in 1777 and des-
cribed the castle as having the
dimensions of 430 by 800 and others
have calculated that it had height
of twelve stories. Around the castle
are many ruins, almost indistinguish-
able, of small adobe houses.
Many writer's state that Southern
Arizona was once densely populated
This they claim was before the seq.
regation of the higher types who lat
er founded the Aztec empire, which
was ruthlessly overthrown by the
Spanish.
After the passage of centuries the
civilizations of the Zulni and the Oqui
were founded. Many cliff dwelling
and ruined missions indicate the ex
istence of prehistoric races who car
ried the cross into a savage country.
The first American pioneers enter,
ed Arizona in 1924 from the state OF
Kentucky. Passing Through New
Mexico, after a most adventurous trip
they took up winter quarters at the
head of the Gila river Later they
passed down the Gila to the Colorado
to the point where Yuma now stands
and thence by canoe they drifted tt
the gulf of California and crossed by
land into San Diego
Paul Weaver, Tennessean, visit
ed the Casa Grande, near where Flor
ence stands, in 1882. The cession of
Arizona and New Mexico, north OF
the Gila occurred in 1848, and the
remainder of the territories was ced.
ed under the Gadsden purchase in
December, 1853.
In 1857 an effort was made to Sc
cure civil government, but did nc.
succeed Capt Hunter, at the head
of band of Texas guerillas, took
possession of the puebla of Tucson In
February, 1862, but was routed on,
during the year by the California col
umn.
Then came the Apache period. d.
1863 union rule was established. Sine
that time Arizona has been the scene
of many and serious struggles with
bandits and Indians and the pioneers
who settled there fought until the
savages were finally completely over