The Holbrook news., 1912-04-26


 A the forty-eighth member of
 N the Union, and completed the IA ~ nation of states from ocean
 to ocean, has had history probably as turbulent and trying as any state in the Union. The struggles of the Pilgrims of Massachusetts, the Hollanders who colonized New York, the Quakers who settled Pennsylvania and the English who brought civiliza- tion to the Virginia shores were no hardier than those of the pioneers of Arizona They were killed by Indi- ans, robbed by lawless people of their own nationality, starved upon the des- erts, frozen in the snow-capped noun tains and bitten by poisonous reptiles.
 They had no government for many years and fought as hard to get terri torial rights as they have been fight Ing for the past ten years to get statehood rights. They were on the point of rebelling at one time and even went so far as to establish a ter ritorial form of government of their town despite the expressed desire of congress, exemplified in its refusal to grant a territorial government, that they should remain a part of New Mexico.
 Their nearest peace and judicial of dcials were then four hundred miles away. at Mesilla, N. M.. and their law was the law of the strongest against the weakest. At one time all of the present state of Arizona was the county of Arizona, attached to New Mexico for purposes of administration only.
 Gen. Nelson A. Miles. General Law ton, General Crook and many other. noted men of the United States army gained their first fame in campaigning In Arizona It was from Arizona that the only raid of United States troops was ever made into foreign country not then at war with us; the soldiers were after Indians who had been kill Ing and robbing in Arizona. The his tory of Arizona is thrilling from its Inception to the present day.
 The origin of the name Arizona Is not definitely known. Bancroft, the historian, and some others have in- sisted that the name is from a sup posed Pima Indian word, "Arizonac," although Bancroft admits that the aboriginal meaning of the term is not known" The historian treats as extremely absurd" the suggestion that the name is of Spanish deriva- lion, and he apparently bases that conclusion upon the fact that there Is no similar word in Spanish.
 But 1t is possible that Arizona" may have had its derivation from the Spanish words arida zona (arid zone). The well-known tendency of unedu- cated speakers of Spanish to leave on the last syllables of words ending In vowels and their tendency to run words together would easily trans form arida zona into Arizona"
 First True Exploration.
 It was about 1527 that Cabeza de l Vaca turned his wandering footsteps | to the Hopi and Zuni villages in the | northeast, gaining Mexico at last by | way of the friendly Pima settlements along the Gila
 It was in 1540 that Vasco de Coro- nado, governor of Mexico, lured by the golden tales of a monksh travel
  exploration of that mysterious land. He sought the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola, where gold and precious gems paved the streets. Though he did not find the object of his search his ex- petition led to Spanish settlements and agriculture, and mining had some development
 Back again into barbarism was Ari- zona plunged by the Mexican war for and not until the Gads- den purchase, in 1848, did the firm hand of governmental authority again take hold. Even then, however, all that was known of Arizona was a mar row strip within which the Southern Pacific railroad now runs and along which flowed the tide of travel from he eastern states to the gold fields of California
 Treachernous Indiana of Long Ago. When the white man first came to Arizona there were approximately 4O,- 100 Indians within the borders of the .erritority. The principal tribes were he Navajos, Hopis, Wallapais, Cheme- ,uevis, Havasupias, Mohayess Pimas, Maricopas, Yumas. Papagoes and Apaches, of which there were several rroups or divisions. The Navajos ,erpetrated several massacres in the ,arly days, but 1t was not long before Ill the Indians except the Apaches lad been subdued-