Arizona republican., 1921-04-13
Many Big Deals In The Early
 Days Were Made By Word and
 With Not The Scratch of Pen

It was in 1870 that Peter Moore wrote me at Eau Claire. Wis. advis- ing me to come to Arizona" relates James E. Golfer, guest at the Pio- neers' Home. He told me that there was plenty of good land and that the United States cavalry offered a steady market for all the barley l could raise at from to cents a pound and urged that l come in and bring a reaper and mower with me. I did just that in 1871, with some good horses and a fair all around farming outfit l settled where CouI- terville now is and the reaper and mower brought with me were the first to come to Arizona.
 Tt was no light job to get them in, either. We came down from Reeds Landing to Davenport, la, by water Then we travelled by rail to Atchison, Kan, which was as far as the Santa F'e went at that time. From there on the trip was overland.
 Peter Moore was a very good friend to me He is dead now, but his two boys, Frank and Fred, are in the cattle business in the south ern part of the state
 ''The land was rich and the sea- son was favorable. I had put in as DdIlCN 1S l tOQG0 SOOil <1S l arrived and we got a splendid crop. We threshed this first crop with sheep. We prepared a hard thresh- ing floor of heavy clay The barley was thrown on the floor and a lot of sheep were driven around and around until all the grain was threshed out Then we winnowed it by hand. It cost over s2,000 to freight in the first threshing machine.
 '.All northern Arizona was Yaya- pal county in those days Ed. Bow CTS, whose son is now chief deputy under Sheriff Davis, was then sher- if. He made me his deputy and il was my job to assess all the country between Prescott and Clifton. which was then in Yavapai county, and col lect the taxes, too. The country was pretty wild in those days and dep uty sheriff was kept on the jump.
 Bill Milligan was responsible for my first big deal with the Mormons He told me he was going to put in a grist mill to make flour and advised me to grow all the wheat I could and we would both make big money. So I put all of my land into wheat and got splendid crop. But Milligan did not get his mill and there was with a lot of fine wheat on my hands and no market. l sent sOl1e io soo- zorro. but the mill charges and the freight ate up all the returns
 "Then William Flake came to see me He was the head buyer for the Mormons and one of the shrewdesi traders I ever met People generally called him Old Bill Flake but not to his face. He came right to the point and explained that he under stood that I had a lot of fine wheat and that his people needed it
 T would like to buy your wheat MT. Colter." he said, and I think can offer you a good bargain. But haven't got a dollar in cash" He explained, though, that he had some fine horses and cattle. So l priced the wheat, and then together wt priced the horses and cattle. Ther he said:
 "'Mr OHlter. you never met me before, but if you can trust me thai far. I want you to save me a Ions emptyhanded trip back to the south west. If you win let me use these teams to haul my wagons loaded witt wheat to the settlement, I will re- turn them at once, with the cattle you are entitled to. and get the resl of the wheat