Memoir of the Proposed Territory of Arizona | Page 7

"We are in the pleasantest region we have seen since leaving the

Choctaw country. Here are clear rivulets, with fertile valleys and forest
trees. The wide belt of country that borders the Black Forest, and
probably extends along the Rio Verde to the Salinas and Gila, bears
every indication of being able to support a large agricultural and
pastoral population. The valley of the Rio Verde is magnificently
wooded with furs and oaks, affording excellent timber. Ancient ruins
are said by trappers to be scattered over its whole length to the
confluence with the Salinas. We, therefore, seem to have skirted the
boundary of a country oncepopulous, and worthy of becoming so again.
Besides the advantages already enumerated, the mountains in this
vicinity bear indications of mineral wealth. Vol. 3, p. 93."
The notes before referred to, in the possession of the writer, speak of
great farming and grazing establishments scattered over the whole face
of the Territory, between 1610 and 1800, which produced abundant
crops of cereals, fruits, and grapes. These statements are confirmed by
the testimony of Major Emory and his report, where he enumerates
several of the most extensive--by Gray, Bartlett, Parke, and Col.
Bonneville. Many of the Ranches, deserted by the Mexicans on account
of the Apache Indians, have upon them large, well-built adobe houses
which must have cost the builders thousands of dollars. Many of these
have been occupied under squatter titles by emigrants within the last
few years. Of others, only the ruins remain, having been destroyed by
the depredations of the Indians, or by the heavy rains of the succeeding
years.
The greater portion of these lands on the Santa Cruz and San Pedro are
covered by Mexican titles-©and many of these again by squatter claims.
It is absolutely necessary that Congress should by some wise and
speedy legislation settle, upon some definite basis, the land titles of
Arizona. Until this is done, disorder and anarchy will reign supreme
over the country. The present condition of California is in a great
degree to be attributed to the want of any title to the most valuable real
property in the State, and the millions which have been spent in
fruitless litigation should teach a lesson of great practical value. Let
those Spanish grants and Mexican titles which have been occupied in
good faith be affirmed in the most expeditious and economical manner
to the claimants, and they will immediately pass into American hands,
and become productive. The remainder of the country should then be

thrown open to settlers. No better code of mining law exists than the
Spanish, adopted in the Senate bill introduced by the late General Rusk,
and passed at the last session of Congress. A judicious and liberal
donation law, giving to the actual settler a homestead, and to the
enterprising miner and "prospector" a fair security for the fruit of his
labors, will at once make of Arizona a popular, thriving and wealthy
State, affording new markets for the productions of our Atlantic States,
and yielding annually millions in silver and copper.
In addition to the produce of Arizona, the immediate vicinity of the
agricultural region of Sonora affords an abundant market for all
necessary supplies, including sugar, which is manufactured by the
Mexicans in great quantities from the cane. Guyamas, which one day
will be ours, is one of the largest ports for the export of flour on the
Pacific coast north of Chili. She also exports several millions in silver
annually, which finds its way direct to the English market. Under an
intelligent system, the Sonora mines would yield a hundred millions a
year, and the supply is inexhaustible. If any reader doubts this
statement, refer him to the statistics of Humboldt, Ward, and Wilson,
most unquestionedand valuable authorities. Both Humboldt and Ward
note the fact that the silver deposites grow richer as they are traced
farther North. There can be no doubt that the most extensive and
valuable mines, both of pure silver and silver mixed with copper and
lead, are within the limits of Arizona.
The yield of the silver mines of Mexico, as computed by Ward and
Humboldt from the actual official returns to the Government, from the
conquest to 1803, amounts to the enormous sum of $2,027,955,000, or
more than two BILLIONS Of dollars. Again, Ward says: "I am aware
that many of the statements in this and the preceding books respecting
the mineral riches of the North of New Spain, (Sonora, including the
'Gadsden Purchase,' Chihuahua, and Durango,) will be thought
exaggerated. THEY ARE NOT SO; they will be confirmed by every
future report, and in after years, the public, FAMILIARIZED WITH
facts which are only questioned because they are new, will wonder at
its present incredulity, and regret the loss of advantages which may