Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1921-02-06

their animals With them was an
other family, who left the valley sew
eral years ago.
Came Before Town Existed
When they arrived at what was des-
tined to be the site of the city of
Phoenix, there were, in Mrs. Gray's
words, only a few bachelors there.
The irrigation ditch through which
they watered their scanty crops was
hardly as big, Mrs. Gray says, as the
little furrow that brings water now
to her garden. and it was some time
before the number of inhabitants be-
came sufficient to dignity the settle
ment even with the term village"
Mr.. and Mrs. Gray Immediately took
up 800 acres of land near the river,
where Mr.. Gray farmed and raised
horses and stock Speaking of this,
Mrs. Gray said yesterday that in all
the So years during which there have
been horses on her ranch it has not
been until the last week that she mad
lost one through theft. her driving
mare having been stolen from the pas
ture only 2. short time ago. and she
could not refrain from using this fact
and the recent series of major crimes
in and near Phoenix as the basis for
a comparison between the days Of 10
and the present decade.
I'VE had few Indian and Mexican
horse thieves" she said, but we had
u tOtlll lack OF Sucn crimes as Q1SIln-
Fuish the news of today"
The one fear in the heart of the
early settlers was of the Indians, she
said. The only journey that was not
dangerous was from Phoenix to Mari
copa Wells, trips in all other direc-
tons being made at the peril of run
ming across marauding bands of
| Apaches. These Indians lived to the
north of Phoenix, while on the south
| We're tribes friendly to the whites and
| in fact, subsidized by the American
| government as soldiers. They were
| under a kind of agreement, Mrs. Gray
! said, to engage the Apaches in battle
about once a month--and this agree
ment was lived to so faithfully that
| 1T seemed as If the series of sched-
uled conflicts was to continue for
ever, for the friendly Indians, on the
appointed day. would raid the Apaches
| take few scalps and a few prisoners
and then Immediately return home
with no thought of following I'D any
success they had achieved. Punctual-
| ly on the following month they would
make another raid, and SO on inter-
| minably.
In the Early Days
! AT that time there We're only foul
counties in the territory. These were
Yavapai, Yuma, Pima and Mohave-
Maricopa county not yet having beer
formed out of Yavapai There was
also the rather ghostly county of Pa.
hute, taking in the territory north OF
the Colorado river, which had an ey.
anescent existence and sent a repre-.
sentative to the legislature for only
one term
Mrs. Gray remembers PARTICULAR,
the struggles between Tucson anc
/ Prescott for the capital and how i
was moved from one town to tn,
other. the object being to keep Phoe
nix from having it--a state of affair,
which continued until Gov. c. M
Zulick simply gathered UP the Iegis
lature and moved it bodily to Phoenix
Wickenburg was the chief suppl,
center for Phoenix in the early DAYS
and the currency for all this part 0
Arizona was the gold bars from tn
Vulture mine and mill, the inhabitant
using scales to portion out varfou
amounts. AT Maricopa the trader
called a dime a bit with eight 'ebits
making a dollar and thus collected III
neat sum of 20 cents on every dolla
that came their way.
Mrs. Gray, who is rs years of age
is still an active and interestin
woman Despite her age, there was no
"a gray hair in her head until 81
months ago, and she has never wor
spectacles. She still retains a mar
of her original homestead, and live
{ with nephew in a house built with
in a short distance of the adobe resi-
dence built for her and her husban
90 years ago.