The Springfield herald., 1912-08-09

ZCud anu lne OluST Oue Ol Sall-
D fornia, they revel in the dis
tinction of possessing the hct-
test place under the stars and stripes.
When the rest Of the republic has been
gripped by winter. thermometers in
Yuma register 100 degrees. Just how
high they go In the summer no man
has as yet vouchsafed.
That Yuma is inhabited by human
salamanders goes without saying.
Only people who like such heat would
come there from choice, and would
try to get away after they do get
there.
There are several things at Yuma
that excite the attention Of the stran-
ger. 1t seems Just the sort OF place
you pictured 1t before you came. Most
interesting are the Indians. Here.
alone, of all places under the flag,
Uncle Sam allows polygamy, and the
Yuma buck is permitted to maintain
as many wives as he can induce to live
with him in the wigwam. The pris-
on at Yuma is different from any pris-
on west OF Gibraltar. and the only
counterpart OF the village jail, which
is a sort Of stepping stone to the pris-
on, is in the heart of Turkey. The
people of Yuma are otherwise SO typi-
cally Mexican that one wonders almost
II ones under the rule of the stars and
stripes
How to Get to Yuma.
To get to Yuma you leave Tucson,
Ariz., at $40 at night. At 6:15 in the
morning you're at Yuma. On the map
the journey seems nothing. but in the
west distances are startling in their
magnitude.
The hotel Is what Dickens might
have described as a depot restaurant,
built over the station itself. and with
its porches looking down into the tur-
gid Colorado river. There is a bridge,
with the Indian women trundling past
constantly. boat landing is near by,
while on the opposite bank is the gov
ernment Indian school. Everywhere
there are the Yuma Indians. The gay
garments and blankets they wear are
genuine, and not put on simply to at
tract the tourist. AS matter of fact,
the Yumas hate the whites, and while
they sell trinkets to them at the station
too few sightseers visit the town to
win themselves to affability. The
bucks, who squat along the changing
Jeans, idle the yeas round, are, in fact,
positively discourteous to the stranger.
After one has left ones belongings
at the hotel and started to explore,
Yuma is found to be interesting for
what 1t lacks in modernity. There is
practically but one long street. This
is lined with low one and two story
cottages, built of frame. and housing,
shops. in addition to the homes of the
householders.
There is fair public school build
, ing and a Catholic church. The latter
Is Interesting for it's Indian communi-
cahts, who come there as did the red
men to the missions in the PreMexi-
can days in California.
At the time of day that you are out
Yuma is still half in its slumbers
Aside from a flight of crows on the
main highway, the quiet of dawn reigns
supreme. You can walk over the en-
tire place in an hour, and you do SO
while you may, unobserved. There
are lemons growing in one garden. the
first YOU encounter. Today it is cold
until the sun has risen, but then, and
In summer, Yuma is, next to Death
valley, the hottest place in the world.
40 that you may look for tropical foli-
age.
You wonder at the foolish custom of
the milkmen of Yuma, who knock at
zach door until told by the tenants
to leave the milk outside, a custom
whose origin lies shrouded In mys.
terry. Two women, seemingly intoxi-
Gated, attract your attention. They
ure following a man. expostulating as
only Mexicans can.
1t is to the Jail that the women are
directing their footsteps. One is weep
ing. the other seems angry. Both be-
gin pleading with the jailer. Last night
the husband of the weeping woman
came home furiously drunk and began
using knife upon her. So the polce
were called and now he is here. She,
however. had no idea 1t was SO vile
nlace. and now she has come TO peg
his release. Finally she becomes con-
vinced that her pleadings are III VAIN
and she and her friends depart
The environs of the town attract
In the rainy season. when the narrow
dp-k brown, shrunken Colorado RACES
beneath the great iron bridge OF inc
railway, steamers run to the gun any,
nm river. Then one may take oiie "a