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 MOWRY 
 ARIZONA AND SONORA 
 
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 BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 o 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
THE 
 
 GEOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES 
 
 OP 
 
 ARIZONA & SONORA : 
 
 BY HON. SYLVESTER MOWRY, 
 
 OF ARIZONA. 
 
 , Jdbnwrjj 3, 1850. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY 
 
 WASHINGTON : 
 
 HENET POLKINHORN, PRINTER. 
 
 1859. 
 
anb enilnutt df t\t 
 Geographical anb Siaiiatical 
 
 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: 
 
 
 
 The word Arizona is undoubtedly derived from the Aztec* 
 In the original it is Arizuma, and the change is a corruption 
 into the present word, which is accepted as Spanish. We have 
 no decided information as to its meaning, but the impression 
 among those who have been curious enough to investigate, is 
 that it signifies "silver-bearing." This impression gains 
 strength from the fact that the Arizona mountains are very 
 rich in silver, and that a tradition of a silver mine, called La 
 Arizona, of incredible richness, still exists among the Mexican 
 people near the frontier of our newly-acquired Territory. The 
 proposed Territory of Arizona is bounded on the north by the 
 parallel of latitude 33 40' ; on the east by Texas ; on the 
 south by Texas and the Mexican States of Chihuahua and 
 Sonora ; and on the west by the Colorado river, which separates 
 it from California. This great region is about seven hundred 
 miles long, with an average width of about one hundred and 
 forty miles, and contains nearly 100,000 square miles. It is 
 twice as large as New York ; embraces within its borders three 
 of the largest rivers on the continent west of the Mississippi, 
 viz : the Rio Grande, the Gila, and the Colorado of the West. 
 The Colorado is the only navigable stream, and by its waters 
 and those of the Gulf of California, Arizona is placed in easy 
 communication with San Francisco and the Pacific coast. The 
 natural outlet for the productions of Arizona must be through 
 a port on the Gulf of California, and the acquisition of Arizona 
 necessitates the possession of Sonora. That portion of Arizona 
 now occupied, and to which public attention is now attracted 
 in so remarkable a degree, has been better known heretofore 
 
as the Gadsden Purchase. It was acquired by purchase from 
 Mexico, during the mission of General Gadsden, at a cost of 
 ten millions of dollars. In the original treaty, as negotiated 
 by General Gadsden, a more southern boundary than the one 
 adopted by the Senate of the United States in confirming the 
 treaty, was conceded by Santa Anna. The line at. present is 
 irregular in its course, and cuts off from our Territory the head 
 of the Santa Cruz river and valley, the Sonoita valley, the 
 San Bernardino valley, the whole course of the Colorado river 
 irom a point twenty miles below the mouth of the Gila river, 
 and, worse than all, the control of the head of .the Gulf of 
 California, and the rich and extensive valley of Lake Guzman, 
 besides a large and extremely valuable silver region, well known 
 both to Mexicans and Americans the Planchas de la Plata. 
 General Gadsden's line included nearly all the territory south 
 of the Gila river to the thirty-first parallel of latitude all the 
 advantages above mentioned and gave us the mouth of the 
 Colorado river. 
 
 The Gadsden purchase is attached by act of Congress to the 
 Territory of New Mexico. At the time of its acquisition 
 there was scarcely any population except a few scattering 
 Mexicans in the Messilla valley, and at the old town of Tuc- 
 son, in the centre of the Territory. The Apache Indian, su- 
 perior in strength to the Mexican, had gradually extirpated 
 every trace of civilization, and roamed uninterrupted and un- 
 molested, sole possessor of what was once a thriving and popu- 
 lous Spanish province. 
 
 In the possession of the writer of these notes is a map drawn 
 in 1757, over one hundred years ago, presented by the Society 
 of Jesuits to the King of Spain. The original of this map is 
 now in the archives of t the Mexican Government. It was 
 copied, with the notes relating to the Territory, and to Sonora, 
 Chihuahua, and Sinaloa, by Captain C. P. Stone, late of the 
 United States Army. The map bears the inscription, " Carte 
 levee par la Societe des Jesuites, dediee au Roi d' Espaqne en 
 1757." 
 
The copy of the map and the accompanying notes are certi- 
 fied as accurate by the officer of the Mexican Government in 
 charge of the archives. 
 
 My information, therefore, upon the early history of this 
 comparatively unknown domain, is accurate and reliable. As 
 early as 1687, a Jesuit missionary from the province of So- 
 nora, which, in its southern portion, bore already the impress 
 of Spanish civilization, descended the valley of Santa Cruz 
 river to the Gila. Passing down the Gila to its mouth, after 
 exploring the country, he retraced his steps, penetrated the 
 country north of the Gila river for some distance, and ascended 
 the Salinas or Salt river, and other northern branches of the 
 Gila. The explorations of this energetic priest did not stop 
 here. Proceeding east, he explored the valley of the San 
 Pedro and its branches, thence along the Gila to the Mimbres, 
 and probably to the Rio Grande and the Mesilla valley. Filled 
 with the enthusiasm of his sect, he procured authority from the 
 head of the order in Mexico, and established missions and set- 
 tlements at every available point. 
 
 The reports of the immense mineral wealth of the new coun- 
 try, made by the Jesuits, induced a rapid settlement. There 
 are laid down on the map before me more than forty towns and 
 villages. Many of these were of considerable size. There 
 were a few north of the Gila, and several on the lower Gila, 
 near the Colorado. The Santa Cruz and its tributary valleys 
 teemed with an agricultural and mining population. Thousands 
 of enterprising Spaniards cultivated the rich valley of the San 
 Pedro, and scattered settlements flourished at every suitable 
 stream and spring at the foot of the mountains towards the Rio 
 Grande. The notes before me say : 
 
 "All these settlements and missions were founded in fertile valleys, and by 
 streams and springs, which produced luxuriant crops of wheat, corn and 
 beans, and in many parts grapes and other foreign fruits were cultivated." 
 
 In the western part of the Territory were the missions of 
 St. Pierre, St.' Paul, St. Matthias, St. Simond, St. Francisco, 
 Merci, the ranches of Eau Cheri, Eau de la Lune, and others ; 
 
6 
 
 on the Santa Cruz the missions of San Xavier del Bac, Santi- 
 ago, San Cayetano, and San Philipe, the towns of Tucson, 
 Tubac, Regis, San Agusta, and manj others. San Xavier del 
 Bac is still in existence. It is a mission church of great size 
 and beauty, magnificently ornamented within ; forty thouand 
 dollars in solid silver served to adorn the altar. Upon the 
 San Pedro river where the missions of St. Mark, San Salva- 
 dore, San Pantaleon, Santa Cruz, and the towns of Quiduria, 
 Rosario, Eugenia, Victoria, and San Fernando the latter at 
 the mouth with many more. To the east some small settle- 
 ments were found on the Valle del Sauz, on the Mimbres, at 
 the copper mines north of the Mimbres, and to the south the 
 immense grazing and stock-raising establishment of San Ber- 
 nardino, where since have been raised hundreds of thousands 
 of cattle and .horses. The Indians in the vicinity of the mis- 
 sions were reduced first to obedience by the Jesuits, and then 
 to slavery by the Spaniards. 
 
 The notes referred to above contain the names and localities 
 of more than a hundred silver and gold mines which were 
 worked with great success by the Spaniards. The survey of 
 the Jesuit priest about 1687 was repeated in 1710, with renewed 
 discoveries, and consequent accession of population. From 
 this time up to 1757 the conquest and settlement of the coun- 
 try was prosecuted with vigor, both by the Jesuits' Society and 
 Spanish Government. 
 
 The missions and settlements were repeatedly destroyed by 
 the Apaches, and the priests and settlers massacred or driven 
 off. As often were they re-established. The Indians at length, 
 ihoroughly aroused by the cruelties of the Spaniards, by whom 
 they were deprived of their liberty, forced to labor in the sil- 
 ver mines with inadequate food, and barbarously treated, 
 finally rose, joined with tribes who had never been subdued, 
 and gradually drove out or massacred their oppressors. A 
 superior civilization disappeared before their devastating career, 
 and to-day there is scarcely a trace of it left, except scarcely 
 visible ruins, evidences everywhere, of extensive and hastily- 
 
deserted mining operations, and the tradition of the country. 
 The mission of San Xavier del Bac, and the old towns of Tuc- 
 son and Tubac, are the most prominent of these remains. 
 
 From 1757 down to 1820, the Spaniards and Mexicans con- 
 tinued to work many valuable mines near Barbacora, and the 
 notes in my possesssion speak of many silver mines, most of 
 which contained a percentage of gold. " The San Pedro gold 
 mine in 1748 was worked with extraordinary success." Among 
 the mines anciently worked, as laid down in the authorities 
 heretofore referred to, were the Dolores, San Antonio, Casa 
 Gordo, Cabrisa, San Juan Batista, Santa Anna, (which was 
 worked to the depth of one hundred and twenty yards,) Rosa- 
 rio, Cata de Agua, Guadaloupe, Connilla, Prieta, Santa Cata- 
 rina, Guzopa, Hurstano, Arpa, Descuhidara, Nascosare, Ar- 
 guage, Churinababi, Huacal, Pinal, and a great number of 
 others, which it would only be tedious to mention. 
 
 Every exploration within the past few years has confirmed 
 the statements of the ancient records. The testimony of living 
 Mexicans, and the tradition of the country, all tend to the 
 same end. Colonel A. B. Grey, Colonel Emory, Lieutenant 
 Michler, Lieutenant Parke, the Hon. John R. Bartlett, late of 
 the United States Boundary Commission, all agree in the 
 statement that the Territory has immense resources in silver 
 and copper. Colonel Emory says in his report : 
 
 " On account of the gold mania in California I kept the search for gold 
 and other precious metals as much out of view as possible, scarcely allow- 
 ing it to be a matter of conversation, much less of actual search. Yet 
 enough was ascertained to convince us that the whole region was teeming 
 with the precious metals. We everywhere saw the remains of mining 
 operations, conducted by the Spaniards, and more recently by the Mexi- 
 cans." 
 
 The report enumerates at considerable length the various 
 localities examined by Colonel Emory's party, and others, of 
 which there could be no doubt. 
 
 The Hon. John R. Bartlett says of the " Salinas," one of 
 the northern branches of the Gila, that it alone will supply 
 
food for a great State. It must be recollected, in this connec- 
 tion, that the great mineral wealth of Arizona will call for and 
 amply repay for the redemption and expensive cultivation of 
 all the available lands, and that irrigation produces immensely 
 greater crops than the other method of planting. Throughout 
 the whole of Utah, irrigation has been resorted to with the 
 greatest success. The soil in Utah, in no place that the writer 
 saw it, could in any way be compared to that of the bottom 
 lands of Arizona. 
 
 Captain Whipple, in his valuable report of exploration for 
 the Pacific Railroad, published by order of Congress, crossed 
 the upper part of the region alluded to, and which is watered 
 by the Rio Verde and Salinas. He fully sustains me in my 
 remarks on those rich valleys. 
 
 " 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 Salina 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 once populous, 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 above 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 Colonel Bonne- 
 ville. Many of the ranches, deserted by the Mexicans on ac- 
 count 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 
 
9 
 
 the ruins remain, having been destroyed by the depredations 
 of the Indians, or by the heavy rains of succeeding years.* 
 
 The country east of the Rio Grande is a great plain, broken 
 only by the Sacramento and Gaudalupe mountains. Except in 
 the towns on the river there is no population. The Mescalero 
 Apaches have until lately made settlements unsafe. The estab- 
 lishment of Fort Stanton, and the activity of the United States 
 troops, have, however, reduced this once formidable tribe innum- 
 ber and spirit, so that an early settlement of the fine country 
 in the vicinity of the Sacramento mountains may be expected. 
 I have not visited this portion of the Territory, but from per- 
 sons in whom I have perfect confidence, I learn that there is a 
 large and valuable district, offering great inducements to stock- 
 raisers. A number of bold, clear streams, alive with trout and 
 other fish ; a good proportion of arable land, and an inexhaust- 
 ible supply of oak, pine, hackberry, and other timber. In the 
 Organ mountains, opposite the Mesilla valley, there are silver 
 mines of great value. One of these, the old Stevenson mine 
 now known as the Fort Fillmore mine has been purchased by 
 New York capitalists, and preparations are making to develop 
 its undoubted wealth. 
 
 The Rio Grande valley, including the well known Mesilla, 
 contains a large extent of unocc.upied arable land, with plenty 
 of water for irrigation. Until lately, the protection afforded 
 by United States troops has enabled the people to cultivate in 
 safety, and during the last year nearly one hundred thousand 
 bushels of grain were raised in the valley, besides a large num- 
 ber of cattle and horses. It is worthy of remark, that the 
 settlements here, although mostly Mexican, have been made 
 since the United States acquired the Territory, and that the 
 lands are held under American title. The population is quiet, 
 well behaved, and thoroughly American in feeling. It is esti- 
 mated, and I believe correctly, that at least 50,000 people can 
 be settled on the Rio Grande within the Arizona boundaries, 
 and there are many attractions for the farmer and stock-raiser. 
 West of the Rio Grande the country is a succession of mesas 
 
 * See Memoir of Arizona, by Lieut. Mowry. from which the foregoing description is taken. 
 
10 
 
 or table lands, ascending gently for nearly ninety miles to the 
 Sierra Madre, and thence westward For five hundred miles r 
 gradually descending until they reach the Gulf of California. 
 This extensive plateau south of the Gila, is broken by two 
 well defined ranges of mountains, the Chir-aca-hui and Santa 
 Rita, and by a number of isolated peaks, which assume some- 
 thing the form of a sugar-loaf, and are called by the Mexicans 
 Picachos and Peloncillos. 
 
 The sun never shone on a finer grazing country than upon 
 the three hundred miles west of the Rio Grande. The traveller 
 has before him throughout this entire distance a sea of grass, 
 whose nutritious qualities have no equal, and the stock-raiser in 
 January sees his cattle in better condition than our Eastern 
 farmer his stall-fed ox. Ninety miles west of the Rio Grande 
 is the Mimbres river and valley. Passing over the dividing 
 ridge of the Sierra Madre, with so gentle an ascent and de- 
 scent as to make it almost imperceptible, you descend into a 
 wide and beautiful valley, which at no distant day will support 
 a large population. The banks of the river are covered with a 
 fine growth of cottonwood, and above the usual crossing for 
 emigrants, wild grapes and berries are found in great profu- 
 sion. The Santa Rita del Cobre copper mine, of ancient fame, 
 and a little to the northwest. of the Mimbres, has lately been 
 re-opened by a capitalist, who has already began to reap the 
 reward of his enterprise. One hundred and thirty thousand 
 pounds of this copper were sold a few months since to the 
 Chihuahua mint for thirty-five cents per pound. A quantity 
 has been sent to London and to New York to be experimented 
 on. It is claimed that the superior malleability and ductility 
 of this copper must make the demand for it very great. The 
 Mimbres river sinks before reaching the line of Mexico. Some 
 statements, which I have never been able to authenticate, make 
 it flow in very rainy seasons into Lake Guzman. The Suance 
 or Valle de Sauz is the next valley on the line of the emigrant 
 road. The waters of this stream are very limited and inter* 
 mittent. As it approaches the Gila the valley becomes better, 
 
11 
 
 but it will never be available for extensive agriculture. The 
 San Pedro river and valley, two hundred and fifty miles west 
 of the Ilio Grande, is par excellence the agricultural district 
 south of the Gila. The valley is wide, very rich soil, and ia 
 considerably ovor one hundred miles in length. Owing to the 
 depredations of the Apaches, no settlements have yet been 
 made in this valley. There is, near the junction of the San 
 Pedro with the Gila, and at the mouth of the Arivypa, a most 
 beautiful and fertile region. A fine growth of ash covers the 
 valley. The Santa Rita mountains, which separate the San 
 Pedro and Santa Cruz, contain inexhaustible supplies of pine 
 ind oak, besides untold millions of the precious metals. A 
 military post of four companies at the mouth of the Arivypa 
 would open this entire country to settlement. 
 
 Still following the emigrant and mail road fifty miles, brings 
 us to the old Mexican town of Tucson and the valley of the 
 Santa Cruz. Like most of the stream?, the Santa Cruz is inter- 
 mittent, sinking and rising at irregular intervals. A portion of 
 this valley is covered with a heavy growth of cottonwood. The 
 mountains in the vicinity contain pine and oak, and the ex- 
 tensive tracts of grazing lands south to the Mexican line, are 
 covered thickly with the nesquit the best fuel in the world. 
 The town of Tucson now contains about a thousand inhabitants 
 It once had three thousand, but the Indians, who desolated the 
 whole of the Territory, had driven away all but about two hun- 
 dred at the time of the Gadsden Purchase. Nine miles from 
 Tucson, as you go up the valley of the Santa Cruz, is the old 
 mission church of San Xavier, to which I have alluded else- 
 where. It is stilll surrounded by a Papago Indian village, a 
 few tame Apaches, and a few whites also live under the shadow 
 of its towers. Incredible as the statement may seem, the 
 church of San Xavier, with its elaborate facade, its dome and 
 spires, would to-day be an ornament to the architecture of this 
 great metropolis. No better evidence is needed of the resources 
 and former prosperity of Arizona than is to be found in the 
 now deserted missions of San Xavier and Tumacacori. 
 
12 
 
 The town of Tubac, fifty miles southeast of Tucson, which 
 now boasts a population of several hundred, was entirely de- 
 serted up to 1855, when it was re-occupied in part by the 
 Sonora Exploring and Mining Company. They claim the 
 town, and have given permission to a number of emigrants to- 
 occupy the old houses, and build new ones. Over what 
 was once the towers of the barracks of the Mexican 
 troops, now floats a banner bearing the arms of peace 
 a hammer and pick, the insignia of the company ; and in the 
 rooms beneath, which once echoed to the tread of the successful 
 Apache fighter, are now sold the calicoes and cotton goods of 
 Lowell, and all manner of Yankee notions. The great Hunt- 
 zelman mine, the mines of Arivaca, Sopori and Santa Rita are 
 within a circle of twenty miles from Tubac. Three miles from 
 Tubac is the mission of Tumacacori. Its venerable walls now 
 shelter political exiles from Sonora, and a few enterprising 
 Germans, and its rich lands are cultivated by the American 
 squatter. Twelve miles further up the Santa Cruz is the 
 Bancho of Calabazas, claimed as the property of the Gandara 
 family, of Sonora. The extensive buildings are occupied by 
 American families, and the blacksmith's forge is installed in 3 
 room once dedicated to more delicate uses. The Sonoita 
 valley, which opens into the Santa Cruz, near Calabazas, is 
 the only one in any degree protected by the United States- 
 troops. It is about fifty miles long, in no place exceeding a 
 mile in width, and generally much narrower. When I passed 
 up it to Fort Buchanan, the whole valley was golden with grain. 
 In one field there were one hundred and fifty acres of corn. 
 I counted upon four stalks eighteen full-grown ears, and the 
 average height of the stalks was fifteen feet. When it is borne 
 in mind that this land was but just turned, the corn planted, 
 and neither hoed or suckered, I am sure it will be conceded 
 that there is some agricultural land of value in Arizona. On 
 several of the farms two crops were raised last year, wheat 
 and corn, wheat and beans, and other vegetables. The 
 farmer during the past year found a ready market for his- 
 
IB 
 
 produce, his purchasers being the troops and the Overland 
 Mail Company. This valley is almost entirely taken up by an 
 intelligent and adventurous American population ; and here is 
 almost the only place in Arizona where you find that greatest 
 of all blessings on the frontier, American women. 
 
 The Santa Cruz and San Pedro approach each other near 
 the Mexican line, and by way of Santa Cruz, a Mexican 
 town at the head of the valley in Sonora, you can 
 pass from one to the other with ease. The whole region 
 between the Rio Grande and the Santa Cruz is broken with 
 conical-shaped hills and mountains, called by the Mexicans 
 peloncillos. At the foot of these hills are found springs, which 
 afforded water to the immense herds of cattle and horses which 
 once covered the country ; and at many of these springs are 
 found the ruins of buildings occupied by the herders. The 
 hills are covered to the top with the gramma, and other nutri- 
 tious grasses. 
 
 Twenty miles east of the Sonoita valley, and just north of 
 the town of Santa Cruz, is one of the richest silver regions of 
 Arizona. 
 
 The Wachupe mountain is believed to be inexhaustible in 
 silver. The San Antonio and Patagonia mines, lately opened, 
 promise a rich yield to their owners. One of these is of 
 especial value, yielding, besides a large percentage of silver, 
 53 per cent, of lead, which is purchased readily by the sur- 
 rounding mining companies, to be used in reducing their ores* 
 
 The once celebrated Compadre mines, lately re-discovered, 
 are in this vicinity. The present fortunate proprietors found 
 them after long and painful search. The shafts were found 
 carefully concealed, partially filled with rubbish ; and thirteen 
 furnaces in tolerable preservation, prove how extensively the 
 mines were once worked by the Spaniards. Here, as in the 
 whole of Arizona, the work of prospecting and exploring has 
 but just begun. The ores of this district are principally argen- 
 tiferous galena. 
 
 West of the Santa Cruz, and south of the valley of the Gila 
 
14 
 
 to the Colorado river, the territory is generally an irreclaimable 
 desert. Its mountains abound in the precious metals, and a 
 sufficiency of water for mining operations can usually be ob- 
 tained without exorbitant expense. The celebrated Ajo copper 
 mine, now known as the Arizona copper mine, is in this 
 district. 
 
 Mr. Edward E. D unbar, whose facile pen has lately pre* 
 sented to the public, through the columns of the Daily Times, 
 some lifelike sketches of this portion of Arizona, was formerly 
 the director of this mine, and the first I believe to demonstrate 
 the fact that water could be obtained. I take much pleasure 
 in bearing testimony to the conscientious regard for truth which 
 characterizes Mr. Dunbar's statements; and although I am 
 forced to differ with him in some of his conclusions, his 
 knowledge of the country, gained by a long and painful expe- 
 rience, entitle his opinion to much respect. The Arizona mine 
 will one day prove of immense value ; like the rest of the 
 mining companies, it needs the outlet on the Gulf of Cali- 
 fornia. The valley of the Colorado is fertile, and will produce 
 all the tropical fruits, as well as the cereals. The Indians, 
 favored by the annual overflow, raise abundant crops of wheat, 
 corn, pumpkins, melons and beans. The remains of extensive 
 irrigating canals ehow that at some day long past, a large 
 agricultural population lived here. The extreme heat of the 
 climate in the summer months will prevent white labor from 
 agricultural pursuits to any great extent. Rice, sugar and 
 cotton are best adapted to the soil of the Colorado bottom. 
 There is, in places along the bank, a fine growth of cotton- 
 wood, and the whole valley abounds with the mesquit. This is 
 the only portion of the territory where the heat is excessive. 
 
 The valley of the Gila river, whose waters, k flowing from 
 east to west, divide the Territory nearly in the centre, four 
 hundred miles long, can in most places be brought under 
 cultitivation to a greater or less extent. 
 
 Since the discovery of gold, a number of farms have been 
 opened, and hundreds of acres of rich land put under cultiva- 
 
15 
 
 tion. The Gila empties into the Colorado, one hundred and 
 twenty-five miles above the head of the Gulf of California. It 
 is well to observe here, that the diiference in soil in different 
 latitudes has not been sufficiently appreciated. The same soi} 
 which under the climate of Oregon is barren and worthless, 
 becomes under the more genial sun of Arizona, fruitful, and 
 when irrigated produces the same extraordinary crops as are 
 found in California. 
 
 The land cultivated by the Pimos on the Gila seems inex- 
 haustible. Year after year they cultivate the same crops on 
 the same land with nothing but water to enrich it, and^there is 
 no sign of failure. 
 
 The valley known as La Florida, near the mountain of the 
 same name, in longitude 109, is worthy of especial mention, 
 as having at its head the ruins of a once flourishing town. 
 A large population will again occupy it at no distant day. 
 But little is known of the country north of the Gila ; it is 
 very mountainous, but contains several valleys of con- 
 siderable size, nearly all of which bear the impress of an 
 ancient and superior civilization. The principal northern 
 tributaries of the Gila, are the Salado, the Tuberoso, the San 
 Carlos, and the San Francisco, (sometimes called the Alamos.) 
 The Salado, according to my informant, Marcial, an Apache 
 Chief, has six small branches : four flowing from the east ; two 
 from the west. The Salado is the largest of all these streams, 
 and has its source about latitude 34 in the. Sierra Blanca 
 mountains. 
 
 On all of these streams the Apache Indian cultivates crops, 
 principally of corn. The band known as the Coyetero, Final, 
 or Sierra Blanca, cultivate most ; although they have had the 
 least intercourse with the whites. 
 
 The Indians of Arizona are best classed as friendly and 
 hostile. The friendly Indians are the Pimos, Maricopas, Pa- 
 pagos and Yumas, with a few scattering miserable tame 
 Apaches. The Pimos and Maricopas occupy a beautiful and 
 fertile tract on the Gila, one hundred and eighty miles from its 
 
16 
 
 junction with the Colorado. A brave and hospitable race ; they 
 live in villages, and cultivate the arts of peace. Their regular 
 fields, well-made irrigating ditches, and beautiful crops of cot- 
 ton, wheat, corn, pumpkins, melons and beans, have not only 
 gladdened the eye, but also given timely assistance to the 
 thousands of emigrants who have traversed Arizona on their 
 way to the Pacific. The costume of the Pimos is extremely 
 simple, only covering their loins, and a small straw hat 
 except in the case of the Chiefs, who wear a sort of pantaloon 
 of coarse cotton cloth. The Pimos and Apaches wage here- 
 ditary and fierce war ; in which the Pimos are generally the 
 victors. So high were their services valued by the Mexican 
 government, as a barrier to the incursions of the Gila Apaches, 
 that whenever they visited the Mexican towns, the authorities 
 treated them with marked hospitality and kindness, making 
 them presents of value, to be paid for by the public treasury. 
 Much as we pride ourselves upon our superior government, no 
 measures have been taken to continue our friendly relations 
 with the Pimos and to our shame be it said, it is only to the 
 forbearance of these Indians that we owe the safety of the life 
 of a single American citizen in Central or Western Arizona, or 
 the carriage of the mails overland to the Pacific. The Marico- 
 pas live near the Pimos, and by contiguity and intermarriage 
 have become similar in their customs. The Papagos resembla 
 but are inferior to the Pinos ; do not cultivate so much, and 
 live in scattered villages in the central and western parts of the 
 territory. The Apaches, tribe of fatal memory for Sonora, 
 and all northern Mexico, are best classified under their modern 
 names. The Mescaleros, east of the Rio Grande ; the Mim- 
 bres, Mogollones, Chir-aca-huis, Coyeteros or Pinaleros, Sierra 
 Blanca, and the Tontos. In the order I have mentioned them, 
 west from the Rio Grande, all of these have their homes north 
 of the Gila, except the Chiracahuis. Velasco says these tribes 
 have no fixed residence, no common society, no positive ante- 
 cedents ; they are best compared to the prairie wolf, sneaking, 
 cowardly, revengeful, quick to assassinate the weak, and to fly 
 
17 
 
 from or yield to the strong. It is impossible for one who has 
 not seen Northern Mexico, to imagine the desolation they have 
 made in a country where nature has done so much. The name 
 Infeliz Sonora most unhappy given by all the old writers, 
 is most painfully true ; from the Gila in latitude 32 30', to 
 Guaymas in latitude 28, their ravages are everywhere visible. 
 Horrible as is the statement, more than one-fourth of the 
 Apaches of to-day are Mexican captives, or their descendants. 
 Not only ranches, and villages, and towns, but whole districts, 
 have been depopulated, and the work is still going on. In 
 small parties, and by different mountain passes, they descend 
 into Sonora, surprise and attack a train of travelers or a 
 town, massacre the men, and carry off the women, with such 
 booty as they can hastily seize, to their haunts on the Gila. 
 
 I obtained from Marcial, a leading Apache chief, and still a 
 Mexican, much valuable information respecting these Indians. 
 He had been carried off while a child, and had become, like his 
 captors, savage. Velasco says, " without hesitation it must be 
 admitted, that under no good treatment does the Apache yield 
 his barbarism, his perfidy, or his atrocity; notwithstanding 
 the many treaties of peace made with the Pueblos, and the 
 constant campaigns against them, upon the first opportunity 
 they break faith, and become worse than before." 
 
 " Though it is incontrovertible that the Apaches are the 
 most ferocious tribe on our borders, yet the same may be said, 
 even of them who from the time of the conquest belong among 
 us; they call themselves pacific, yet have never, generally 
 speaking, had sympathy with the whites ; they have not adopted 
 our manners and customs, nor have we existing between us that 
 confidence which inspires a same race, when they profess the 
 same principles of social ties ; in fact, during the whole period 
 of time that they have been subordinates of our government, 
 they have followed a system of contradiction and opposition 
 against it as far as they were able. The unequivocal proof of 
 this truth has been the frequent assaults that they have made 
 3 
 
18 
 
 upon us under the pretext of foolish stories with which they 
 were misled, and sometimes without any causes at all." 
 
 The whole number of Apache warriors does not exceed two 
 thousand. I have investigated this subject with probably more 
 care than any other person, and am satisfied the number is 
 rather under than over the truth. 
 
 Being cowardly, they are afraid of Americans, and do not 
 murder. Their depredations in our territory are mostly con- 
 fined to stealing cattle, horses and mules. Arizona will have 
 no peace, and her great wealth as a pastoral region must remain 
 undeveloped, until the War Department sends a strong force, 
 and reduces them by fear to absolute submission, They must 
 be fed by the government, or exterminated. They know no 
 alternative but to steal or starve ; and Northern Mexico has 
 been their prey for too many years for them to learn the arts 
 of peace.* 
 
 The Navajoes are included by Yelasco among the Apaches. 
 They live in New Mexico along the 34th parallel, north lati- 
 tude. 
 
 The Yumas, the remains of a once powerful tribe, live on 
 the Colorado, near the Gila ; they are quiet ; sufficiently agri- 
 cultural to subsist. A few years will leave only their name. 
 
 The climate of Arizona, except on the Lower Gila and the 
 Colorado, is delicious ; never extremely hot, with cool summer 
 nights, it offers great attractions to those who desire more 
 genial skies than those of the North. Snow never lays in the 
 winter, seldom falls ; frost is rare, though the nights are often 
 cold, seldom freezing. The season for cultivating is long, 
 fruits blooming in February and March. Cotton, corn, wheat, 
 barley, tobacco, melons, grapes, peaches, and all the vegetables, 
 yield profuse crops throughout the territory. The grape of the 
 Rio Grande valley has no superior, and wine of good quality is 
 manufactured from it. The rainy season in Arizona is from 
 June to September, inclusive. 
 
 * Since this address, information has been received of the murder of several 
 Americans by the Apaches. 
 
19 
 
 Professor Henry has, I believe, demonstrated that no rain 
 falls in Arizona or Sonora. I have not seen his paper, but 
 understand it is a beautiful theory. It is much to be regretted, 
 for his sake, although not for the country, that the facts are 
 against it. Cultivation in Arizona is by irrigation. It is 
 believed by those who are capable of judging, that with subsoil 
 plowing, good crops can be obtained, and the results of one 
 year are quoted in support of the theory. It will take a series 
 of years to prove it satisfactorily to the farmer. The yield 
 throughout Arizona is two crops from the same land in each 
 year. 
 
 The population of Arizona to-day exceeds ten thousand souls, 
 exclusive of Indians ; two-thirds of it is established on the Rio 
 Grande, in the towns of Mesilla, Las Cruces, La Mesa, Don 
 Ana, Amoles, Santa Tomas, Santa Babara, Pichacho, and the 
 surrounding ranches.* The American population of the terri- 
 tory is not far from two thousand this is rapidly increasing, 
 and the ensuing spring will see it vastly increased. The gold 
 discoveries, the overland mail which runs throughout the 
 entire length of Arizona the large amount of capital invested 
 in the silver mines, together with the increasing movement west- 
 ward of our people, will add largely to the already vigorous 
 and enterprising population of the new territory. It must be 
 added that there is no law or protection from the government ; 
 every man redresses his wrongs with the pistol or khife, or 
 submits in silence. 
 
 The Gadsden Purchase was not originally an integral part 
 of Mexico ; it was acquired years after the Treaty of Gaudaloupe 
 Hidalgo, and was only attached to the Territory of New Mexico 
 as a temporary expedient. It must also be remembered that the 
 Gadsden Purchase, with the portion of New Mexico which it is 
 proposed to include within the limits of the Territory of Ari- 
 zona, is separated from New Mexico proper by natural bound- 
 aries ; that it derives no benefit from the present connection ; 
 
 * Including the floating population of the Gila gold mines. 
 
20 
 
 and that any opposition to the desired legislation arises from 
 the Mexican population, which fears the influence of a large 
 American emigration. Moreover, that New Mexico contains 
 upwards of 200,000 square miles, and that its organic act pro- 
 vides for its partition ; showing clearly that Congress antici- 
 pated, at no remote day, the settlement of the country by 
 an American population, and its erection into several Territo- 
 ries and States. The only effect of the present connection of 
 Arizona with New Mexico is to crush out the voice and senti- 
 ment of the American people in the Territory ; and years of 
 emigration, under present auspices, would not serve to counter- 
 balance or equal the influence of the 60,000 Mexican residents 
 of New Mexico. New Mexico has never encouraged Ameri- 
 can population. She is thoroughly Mexican in sentiment, and 
 desires to remain so. 
 
 As a matter of State policy, the organization of Arizona is 
 of the first importance. Situated between New Mexico and 
 Sonora, it is possible now to make it a thoroughly American 
 State, which will constantly exert its influence in both direc- 
 tions to nationalize the other two. New Mexico is at present 
 thoroughly Mexican in its character and vote. Sonora, if we 
 acquire it at once, will be the same. By separating Arizona 
 from it, and encouraging an American emigration, it will become 
 "the leaven which shall leaven the whole lump." By allow- 
 ing it to remain attached to New Mexico, or by attaching it to 
 Sonora, when acquired, the American influence will be swal- 
 lowed up in the great preponderance of the Mexican vote. The 
 Apache Indian is preparing Sonora for the rule of a higher 
 civilization than the Mexican. In the past half century, the 
 Mexican element has disappeared from what is now called Ari- 
 zona, before the devastating career of the Apache. It is every 
 day retreating further South, leaving to us, (when it is ripe for 
 our possession,) the Territory without the population. 
 
 The American population is mostly concentrated in the cen- 
 tre of the Territory, in and near the Santa Cruz valley, and 
 on the lower Gila, at the gold mines. The Overland Mail Com- 
 
21 
 
 pany, by the establishment of these stations at intervals rarely 
 exceeding twenty miles, have much facilitated intercourse and 
 travel ; and the emigration of this year will cluster around 
 these stations, pouring a line of villages across the continent ; 
 in the language of the President, " a chain of American citi- 
 zens which will never be broken." The establishment of the 
 overland mail is not only one of the great triumphs of the age, 
 but it is an element of civilization which none appreciates but 
 the frontiersman, 
 
 The ores of copper found in Arizona and Sonora, are usually 
 the sulphurets, principally grey. The ores of silver are aurifer- 
 ous galena, native silver, auriferous sulphuret of silver, black 
 sulphuret of silver, sulphate of silver, sulphate of iron com- 
 bined. The gangue is usually quartz or feldspar. I have be- 
 fore me many notes descriptive of various mineral localities, 
 even to minuteness, but the limits of this address will not per- 
 mit especial mention of them. 
 
 The development of the mineral wealth of Arizona has but 
 just commenced, yet enough has been done to give a brilliant 
 promise for the future. The Sonora Company, under the direc- 
 tion of Charles D. Poston, Esq., and more lately under that of 
 Major Heintzelman, of the Army, have expended a large capital 
 in opening and prospecting their rich possessions. The Heint- 
 zelman mine so called after the President of the company 
 bids fair to become more famous than any of the great mines of 
 old Mexico. From a late letter it is claimed that the ores thus 
 far smelted, yield the astonishing average of $950 per ton. I 
 saw this mine in September, of last year. About two hundred 
 tons of the ore had already been extracted, and the yield from 
 one small furnace was about one thousand ounces per week. 
 At a cost of $30,000 the company have brought from San 
 Francisco, and erected, amalgamating works, from which they 
 expect to obtain $3,000 per day a million a year. This mine 
 has the most extraordinary reputation throughout Sonora. I 
 found, in travelling through the State, that almost every shop- 
 keeper knew the value of the ore. It was obtained from the 
 
22 
 
 miners, who had stolen, and sold or exchanged it for goods. 
 The Sopori mine, which has only been worked in a small way, 
 promises also a rich yield. I have cut, with a penknife, native 
 silver from ore taken from the Sopori. 
 
 San Antonio and Patagonia have been already mentioned, 
 as well as the Compadre mines. Many others are known to 
 exist, and their owners are only waiting for the protection of a 
 Territorial government to commence work. Others are deterred 
 by want of capital. Several hundred thousand dollars have 
 been already invested in mines in Arizona, and several com- 
 panies are now forming. It is my profound belief that the 
 most colossal fortunes this country has ever known will be 
 made from the mines of Arizona and Sonora. The Santa 
 Rita copper mine, near the Mimbres, has already been men- 
 tioned, as has the Arizona. On the Colorado, forty miles above 
 the mouth of the Gila, on navigable waters, a copper mine is 
 being efficiently worked. It promises to be inexhaustible, and, 
 from its advantageous position, must be immensely valuable. 
 The ore contains a percentage of gold. Silver has also been 
 found on the Colorado, also gold quartz. On the Gila copper 
 is abundant. In fact, the Territory of Arizona seems inex- 
 haustible in minerals. Iron, copper, silver, and gold are found 
 in hundreds of localities. A plumbago mine was discovered 
 during the past year. 
 
 Quicksilver is the only metal of which no mention has yet 
 been made. I do not know of any in the Territory, though its 
 existence is probable. 
 
 Of the great extent of the gold region of Arizona there can 
 be no doubt. The late discovery of placers, or surface dig- 
 gings, on the Gila, has long been anticipated. Emory, in 1849, 
 expressed his belief in its existence. Many an emigrant, on 
 his way to California, has found "the color." Senator Gwin 
 informs me that he heard of gold on the Gila from emigrants 
 at San Diego in 1849. All the frontiersmen and trappers 
 unite in saying that coarse gold is found in the streams north 
 of the Gila. Marcial, the Apache chief before mentioned, told 
 
me the same. That gold, in quartz veins, exists in many parts 
 of the Territory, we know, not only from ancient record and 
 tradition, but from actual observation and experiment. A vein 
 has been opened, and, as soon as it is safe, will be worked, in 
 the Apache pass, four hundred miles east of the present pla- 
 cers. Almost every silver and copper vein yet opened shows, 
 by close analysis, a trace of gold. In the Sopori mine it has 
 gone as high as three per cent. At the Santa Rita del Cobre, 
 the Mexican miners, after their day's labor is over in the mine' 
 work the placers in the vicinity, making sure but small wages. 
 Tradition tells us that many years since the ores of this mine 
 were so rich in gold as to pay transportation to the city of 
 Mexico on mule-back. A gold placer is believed to exist near 
 a Papago village, south of Tucson. The evidence of rich gold 
 placers in northern Sonora is indisputable. Work in them has 
 nearly or quite ceased, on account of the Apaches, but the 
 record of their past yield is enormous. The facts in reference 
 to the present condition of the Gila gold mines in Arizona are 
 simply these : At a point on the Gila river, about twenty miles 
 from its junction with the Colorado, and in a succession of 
 sand hills, gold was discovered in September, 1858. The em- 
 igrants who were still on their way stopped, and, the news 
 reaching California, others came in. I visited the gold mines 
 early in November, and found about one hundred men and 
 several families. A town called Gila city had already been 
 laid out, and temporary houses of brush and adobe were in the 
 course of erection. I examined carefully for myself, and found 
 that several men could afford to pay laborers $3 per day 
 and their board to work for them. I saw more than twenty 
 dollars washed out of eight shovelfulls of dirt and this in the 
 rudest manner, and by an unpractised hand. I saw several 
 men whom I knew well would not have been there had they 
 not been doing well, who told me they had made from $30 
 to $125 per day each. I purchased about $300 in gold dust 
 out of a lot of more than $2,000. A portion of this dust is here, 
 if any one is curious enough to wish to see it. Several hun- 
 
24 
 
 dred men have come into the mines since I left Arizona. My 
 letters give me no reason to suppose the mines have given out 
 or shown any signs of failure.* The country at this point is not 
 inviting, and there are always, at any gold diggings, men who 
 do not and will not work, and who, if they cannot make a liv- 
 ing by gambling, or feeding upon some one else, depreciate 
 the country. Gold digging is the hardest of all work, and 
 very precarious in the richest mines. A man who is earning a 
 comfortable subsistence at home should hesitate long about 
 giving it up for gold hunting. The old discoveries of gold on 
 the Spanish trail from Utah to California in 1850, the later 
 ones in Kansas, at Pike's peak, and in Arizona, together with 
 the well-known placers of Sonora, establish conclusively the 
 fact of the existence of gold throughout a great belt of the 
 continent, from north to south. I am indebted to the Hon. 
 George Bancroft for a copy of a curious and rare letter, which 
 it is not out of place to mention here. It is dated at Madrid, 
 in 1769, and is addressed to the Duke de Choiseul, minister of 
 foreign affairs for France, by the French ambassador at the 
 Court of Spain. He says : 
 
 [Extract.] 
 
 MADRID, 6 fevrier, 1769. 
 
 M. Galves qui a passe dans les Californies, a aussi mande 
 qu'elles abondent en mines d'or et d'argent, et que ces pro- 
 vinces que 1'Espagne ne connaissait pour ainsi dire que de nom, 
 pourront, dans la suite, produire une augmentation de revenue, 
 fort considerable. 
 
 (Signe,) OSSUN. 
 
 The conclusions to be drawn from the facts I have thus 
 hastily set forth are these : That while Arizona cannot be 
 called an agricultural State, she has a sufficiency of arable 
 land to support a large population ; that as a grazing and pas- 
 tural region she has unsurpassed advantages ; but her great 
 wealth is found in her inexhaustible mineral resources. There 
 
 "* Since this address, I have received discouraging accounts from the mines. 
 S. M. 
 
25 
 
 can be no doubt that if Arizona to day did.not contain a single 
 acre of arable land, her gold and silver, her copper and iron 
 and lead, would some day make her one of the wealthiest 
 of the States of the Union. 
 
 Sonora, of which western Arizona once formed a part, is so 
 closely connected in interest with Arizona that a brief mention 
 of her resources and condition is necessary to my subject. 
 
 Sonora is bounded on the north by Arizona, on the east by 
 the Sierra Madre range of mountains, which separate it from 
 Chihuahua, on the south by the river Fuerte, which separates 
 it from Sinaloa, and on the west by the Gulf of California and 
 the Colorado river, which separate it from lower California. 
 Its capital is now Hermosillo, was formerly Ures, and, more 
 anciently, Arispe. The government of the State is at present 
 an absolute despotism, under a so-called constitutional Gov- 
 ernor named Peschiera. This State, which contains every 
 element of wealth and prosperity, is in the most miserable con- 
 dition. Its people look confidently to the United States for 
 relief. The belief in their annexation is entire ; and while it 
 is unpalatable to some, the great majority, satisfied that they 
 can be no worse off, are ready to turn to any source which 
 offers protection from the Apaches, and the exemption from a 
 monthly revolution, and its consequence pillage and mas- 
 sacre. 
 
 In the preliminary advertisement to Noticias Estadistacas 
 del Sonora, by Don Jose F. Velasco, a work from which I have 
 freely quoted, the author says : 
 
 " It is necessary to say, without equivocation, that if there 
 be any State among those which compose the Republic of 
 Mexico of which it is difficult, to present exact statistics, that 
 State is undoubtedly Sonora. Populated by an indigenous 
 people, disseminated over the whole State, without laws or 
 politics, and mingled with the nation of which it forms a part, 
 it is very difficult to ascertain its numbers from its chiefs. It 
 is for this reason that I have been only able to give approx- 
 imatively the number of inhabitants. I have only undertaken 
 4 
 
a work that at least approximates towards the truth, limiting 
 myself to certain notices which may give light to other writers 
 on the same subject." * 
 
 The State of Sonora, thus called by its earliest people of 
 whom we have any knowledge, derives its name, according to 
 the best authorities, from Sonot, an Opata Indian word, which 
 means Senora, or Madam. The Conquistadores were treated 
 with great hospitality by the Opata Indians while visiting their 
 rancherias or villages. As a mark of friendship, the Indians 
 strove to imitate the Spanish pronunciation Senora, instead of 
 using their own word Sonot, from which arose the corrupted 
 word Sonora. Sonora has been divided, by various writers, 
 into upper and lower Sonora into Pimeria Alta and Pimeria 
 Baja and still further, into the subdivisions of Arizpe Cien- 
 eguilla and Horcasitas in the north, with Hostimuri Alamos 
 and the Pueblas of the Mayo and Yagui in the south. The- 
 State formerly included Sinaloa, from which it was separated 
 in 1830. It is said to be a part of the plan of the present 
 Governor, Peschiera, to again unite these States as the basis 
 of a new confederacy. 
 
 The people of Sonora are generally docile, and, making al- 
 lowance for the bad system of government and the great mis- 
 ery in which they are found, are obedient to the constituted 
 authorities in fact, this remarkable docility amounts to weak- 
 ness of character, and which ambitious revolutionary chiefs- 
 have taken advantage of to forward their own views. At the 
 present date, the whole country is devastated by the Apaches. 
 Daily, from all parts, reports are brought in that the Indians 
 have destroyed ranches, killed the inhabitants, and depopulated 
 whole towns. This has been the case for many years, and y 
 after so much suffering an this account, without a prospect in 
 view for the better, it is not surprising that the Sonoranese has 
 lost his energy of character. He gambles, to divert himself and 
 pass away time, and, without hope for the future, he allows 
 things take to their course a perfect fatalist. Many become 
 desperate, and take unlawful measures to better their condition. 
 
It only requires a skillful hand and good government to make 
 the worthless Sonoranese of the present day a useful member 
 of society. Comparatively few educated men are found in So- 
 nora a common education, consisting of reading and writing ; 
 and I believe that in the whole population it does not exceed 
 five per cent, more, particularly in the frontier towns. A lea,d- 
 ing trait in his character is hospitality, and " let the morrow 
 take care of itself" is a common expression in their mouths. 
 He will share his last mouthful, and considers it a matter of 
 course for the stranger to take his place at his board. 
 
 The women are kind-hearted, obedient to their husbands, 
 who rule them generally with a rod of iron. Strong-minded 
 women are not known, and usually peace reigns in their homes. 
 
 Sonora, for the most part, is mountainous, watered by several 
 small rivers, abundant in mineral wealth ; in fact, is considered 
 to be one of the richest States of the Mexican Disunion. There 
 is a sufficiency of agricultural land to maintain a large popula- 
 tion ; but the true richness of Sonora consists in its mines of 
 siver and gold, and the great facilities for raising stock. The 
 mines at present are but little worked, owing to the Apaches 
 and revolutions, but laboring under all these disadvantages she 
 is still able to export annually several millions of dollars in 
 silver bars and gold dust, large quantities of stock to Califor- 
 nia and the Territory of Arizona; also flour to the adjoining 
 State of Sinaloa. 
 
 The most famous mines and mining districts (minerals) are 
 those of Alamos, situated in the district of that name, and 
 property of the Almadas, Gomez y Urreas ; mine of Jubiate, 
 near Hermosillo, property of the Verdes ; mineral of San 
 Xavier, San Marcial, St. Teresa de Jesus, property of Ynigo, 
 Cubillas & Co. The famous mine of mineral of Babacanora, 
 at present worked by a French company ; mine of Babamachi, 
 the richest mine discovered within the last two years, having 
 yielded $1,000 to the nine hundred weight of ore, and very 
 abundant in ore at present the yield is not so great ; mine of 
 
28 
 
 Corral Vieja, gold, silver and lead ; La Canensa, silver, copper 
 and lead ; La Guachuca las Planchas de Plata. 
 
 On the opposite side of the mountain of Babacanora, at the 
 distance of about a league and a half, is found the Rial del 
 Carmen, celebrated for its great mine of that name, and which 
 has been worked to a great extent. It still yields a good profit 
 to the Gambussino.* Ores are still found which yield from ten 
 to twenty marcs to the batta. Ores native silver, auriferous 
 silver, gangue, quartz. 
 
 This mine was worked in the first years of the Spanish con- 
 quest of Mexico by Hernan Cortes, in later years by a com- 
 pany of Spaniards, who found a chart and description of the 
 mine in the archives of Mexico. It is remembered by the old- 
 est inhabitant of Sinoquipe that native silver, six inches wide, 
 was cut out of the vein, and melted in the refining furnace with- 
 out more treatment than a lead bath. This company, owing to 
 the changes which took place in the Mexican territory, stopped 
 work, carrying off with them several trains of mules loaded 
 with silver ; the mine then partly filled with water, and the 
 Gambussinos, who have been and are the cause of the destruc- 
 tion of so many good mines, commenced operations, cutting 
 out the upper pillars and supports, and in a short time the 
 mine fell in, leaving treasure to an enormous amount buried in 
 the ruins ; in later days shafts have been sunk on the same 
 lode, worked, and ores rich in silver have been encountered, 
 paying from fifteen to twenty marcs the nine cwt. In the rub- 
 bish which was thrown out of the old mine a comfortable sub- 
 sistence is gained by washing in battas quantities of grain 
 silver being found which, refined in the furnace, yield from 
 twenty-five to thirty per cent, pure metal. This, and several 
 other mines of Sonora, have been abandoned, not from the 
 ores having failed or depreciated in value, but from the want 
 of energy in the Mexican race. The mines in the hands of the 
 
 * The Gambussino is a sort of mining filibuster, who works regardless of 
 the future of the mine. 
 
29 
 
 Spaniards yielded enormous profits to the miner; they were 
 men of indomitable enterprise, who employed capital, science, 
 and spared no expense to succeed in their adventures ; whereas 
 the Mexican is poor, without energy, and too lazy to trust, or 
 help himself. Formerly Sonora the rich was a proverb ; now 
 Sonora the poor is a stubborn fact but not from the want of 
 the elements of richness. These once developed, she will once 
 more become Sonora the rich, and may be great. 
 
 " In the Rial of Babacanora a miner is enchanted, and his 
 hopes raised by seeing the beautiful formation which the whole 
 district presents, more particularly that portion which compri- 
 ses the ' Sierra del Oregano,' which, viewed from the houses, 
 presents a magnificent spectacle. My poor pen cannot do it 
 justice, so I shall content myself in stating a few facts con- 
 cerning it which have come to my knowledge : "Veins of ore 
 rich in silver are known to exist from the fact of ore being 
 found in several parts of the mountain. Many capitals have 
 been invested and lost in speculations utterly worthless ; where- 
 as a small one, invested in making a good search and prospect 
 of this mountain, would not be lost. This statement I* make 
 after many years mining experience ; myself and many other 
 miners who know the mountain will stake our credit on many 
 tons of precious metal being hid in its interior. The formation 
 clay state the richest in Sonora the fact of rich ore having 
 been found on its sides and ravines, and the number of rich 
 mines in the vicinity, all lead me to suppose such to be the 
 case. The mines on mines of El Oregano must wait until some 
 adventurous miner will expend a thousand or two to enrich 
 himself with millions. 
 
 " Mention has been made of an ancient population. On 
 making particular inquiries respecting them, I find that they 
 are common in all parts of the Sonora river, and even on the 
 river Gila. The river Sonora, from its length, quantity of 
 wanter and abundance of cultivable land, is peculiarly adapted 
 
 * John Denton Hall, Esq. 
 
30 
 
 to maintain a large population. Many of the ruins are of 
 great extent, covering whole table lands, proving that in 
 former times Sonora was much more thickly peopled than at 
 present. Undoubtedly some regularity was observed in laying 
 out these towns. In one I found what appeared to have been 
 a fort ; by its position it was well calculated for defence. 
 Unfortunately, no documents exist from which dates could be 
 taken, the archives and all belonging to the Mission having 
 been destroyed at the time the Jesuits were expelled. It is a 
 known fact here, and I believe in many other countries, that 
 the order of Jesuits have done more towards civilization among 
 the Indians than any other religious order in existence. It is 
 undoubtedly the case in Sonora ; the ruins they have left 
 behind them prove that they were equal to the task they 
 undertook ; and among the old people their kindness and wis- 
 dom is still remembered and talked of. * * * * 
 
 " The tradition is current here, and in all parts of the Opata 
 nation, that the great Montezuma was the chief of their tribe, 
 and a great warrior. After subjecting the other tribes to his rule, 
 he determined on building himself a city to live in on the river 
 Gila in Casas Blancas. He commenced operations ; not lik- 
 ing the situation, or being somewhat disturbed in his work by the 
 Apaches the only tribe which had not submitted to his rule, 
 joined to the bad omens observed by his priests he determined 
 to travel in search of a good location, favored by his gods. 
 At the time of commencing his new journey, an eagle was 
 observed to be hovering over the camp ; orders were given to 
 observe the bird's flight, and its resting-place ascertained ; hi s 
 commands were obeyed implicitly, and the eagle was found 
 in the Lake of Mexico, perched on a nopal, with a rattlesnake 
 in its beak. Here Montezuma founded the City of Mexico, 
 which would have remained in his possession up to the present 
 date, if Hernan Cortes and his gallant adventurers had not 
 disturbed his calculations in a most important manner. Such 
 is the tradition, and it is considered heresy among the Opatas, 
 
31 t 
 
 not to believe it. Eagle, snake and nopal is the escutcheon of 
 Mexico. Snake alone would be more appropriate. 
 
 " Humboldt mentions in his travels the having seen the ruins 
 of Casa Blanca, on the river Gila. Another tradition is current 
 also of Montezuma having told the conquerors of Mexico, that 
 it would be an easy matter for them to subject to their rule the 
 whole of the Indian tribes, but the Apaches never. We shall 
 see what Uncle Sam can do with them in a short time."* 
 
 The yield of the silver mines of Mexico, as computed by Ward 
 and Humboldt from the actual official returns to the Govern- 
 ment, from the conquest to 1803, amounts to the enormous 
 sum of $1,027,855,000, or more thon 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 c Gadsden 
 Purchase,' Chihuahua, and Durango,) will be thought exagger- 
 ated. 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 not always be within its reach." 
 
 Gold dust has been found in abundance in the placers of 
 San Francisco la Sienga, las Llanos, Ouisabaquita, St. Perfecto; 
 and Soni is famous for its gold mines, also Cocuspera and Baba 
 Seco ; in the district of the Pueblo of Cucurpe, gold is found 
 in abundance ; during the rainy season in Baquachi district of 
 Arispe, it is also found in quantities which pay well. In a 
 word, Sonora, considered in a mineral point of view, equals, if 
 not surpasses, the richest country in the known world, and only 
 requires capital, peace, and a liberal government. The new 
 Territory of the Arizona which formerly belonged to this State 
 is considered by the Sonoranese to be the richest portion of 
 their country. 
 
 The climate is good. The rainy season sets in in June, 
 
 * Notes of John Denton Hall, Esq. 
 
. .32 
 
 and lasts till the beginning of September; from this month 
 until March occasional showers fall. The cold is never 
 severe ; the weather being very similar to that in Cali- 
 fornia in the same months. From March until the rain sets 
 in in June is considered the dry season. The heats 
 are never oppressive, less so than in California. Two crops 
 are raised from off the same land in the year, and which for 
 abundance cannot be surpassed in any country wheat, maize, 
 beans, peas, &c., being the general grain that is cultivated. 
 Sugar-cane is planted in great quantities in Hermosillo, San 
 Miguel, Ures, Rayon, Oposura, Saguaripa, Huepaca, and the 
 Rio Yaqui. A coarse kind of sugar is made called panocha, 
 which yields to the cultivator an excellent return for his labor, 
 generally selling at $25 the cargo of three hundred weight. 
 In all parts of the State most excellent tobacco is raised. Cot- 
 ton is sown by the Indians in the Rio Yaqui, and the grub 
 (cotton worm) is hardly known in the crops. The average 
 price of wheat is $8 cargo of three hundred weight, beans and 
 peas 6. 
 
 The State is divided into nine districts, each being governed 
 by a Prefecto, who is appointed by the Governor, and is re- 
 sponsible for the good order of his district. The port of Guay- 
 mas, at present is the only port of entry. It is a small, but in 
 the business part, well built town, containing about six thousand 
 inhabitants. The harbor of Guaymas is the best on the Pacific 
 coast. Four miles long, with an inner and outer bay, it will 
 admit ships of the heaviest tonnage, and the commerce of the 
 world could be transacted at this port. The entrance is pro- 
 tected by a long island, which makes it doubly secure. 
 
 The principal rivers of Sonora are the Fuerte, the Yaqui, 
 the Mayo and the Sonora. The Yaqui enters the Gulf of 
 California eighteen miles below Guaymas. It has a dangerous 
 bar, but it is believed to be navigable for light draft steamers 
 to Buena Vista, eighty miles from its mouth. The Sonora 
 river flows through the Arizpe valley, and is called the Garden 
 of Sonora. It is almost wholly in the hands of the Apaches 
 
33 
 
 The desolation of the depopulated towns and ranches is melan- 
 choly beyond description. The valleys of the Yaqui, Mayo 
 and Fuerte, are the best sugar lands in the world. 
 
 Ures is a small city of about seven thousand inhabitants, and 
 is situated about sixty leagues from Guaymas. Hermosillo is 
 the largest city, containing from fourteen to fifteen thousand 
 inhabitants. It is the centre of commerce. It is one hundred 
 and ten miles north of Guaymas. The next in size and im- 
 portance is the Rial de Alamos, situated on the frontier of 
 Sinaloa ; it contains from five to six thousand inhabitants ; it is 
 the centre of a large mining district, as its name implies Rial 
 meaning town or city of mines. Oposura, Saguaripa, Rayon, 
 St. Miguel and Arispe, the ancient capital of Sonora, are large 
 towns, with populations of from four to five thousand each. 
 The entire population of Sonora does not exceed one hundred 
 and thirty-five thousand, comprising Mexicans, (hente de razon) 
 Opatas, Yaquis, Mayos, Taumales and Papagos ; this popu- 
 lation, instead of increasing is decreasing the Apaches, 
 revolutions and emigrations to California and Arizona produc- 
 ing this effect ; and in a few years, if some change does not 
 take place, Sonora will become depopulated. The friend to whom 
 I am indebted for many of these notes, says : 
 
 "After so many years residence among them, I naturally feel 
 an interest in their welfare, firmly believing that the grain of 
 gold in their character among so much dross is worthy of seek- 
 ing out, and will repay the finders. The United States could do 
 it, and would to God it should be so; and I and many others 
 will be found ready to co-operate in any just and honest mode 
 of bringing round a mutual good understanding."* 
 
 " But one conclusion can be drawn of the state of Sonora, and 
 that is, in order to redeem to the Sonoranese his character, life 
 and fortune, it is necessary to subject or utterly annihilate the 
 savage Apache who has served as the destroying angel to this 
 fine country. It is the most sure and ready way to gain the 
 
 * John Denton Hall, Esq., to whom I beg to make my grateful acknowl- 
 edgments for many of the facts in reference to Sonora. 
 
34 
 
 eternal gratitude and friendship of the people, and annexation 
 of one of the richest countries in the known world, which will 
 also serve as another connecting link of the great chain of 
 commerce with the Indies." 
 
 Velasco says, in concluding his review of Sonora and the 
 Sonoranse : 
 
 " In truth, this is a most sorrowful scene ; it horrors one to 
 consider the state of prostration which we are now in, by the 
 continued bad feeling of party, which keeps us savage in civil 
 war, and all the while forgeting our own interests. 
 
 " For parties to harrass each other mutually ; for brother to 
 slaughter brother to satisfy revenge, &c., in a moment, are 
 formed enthusiastic masses ; but the same does not happen 
 when the common enemy is to be punished, who are now with 
 gigantic strides destroying the country. Until the Sonoranese 
 shall know that as long as they do not bury in the fold of their 
 country, and each one give a brotherly embrace in good faith, 
 we shall continue to be the plaything of passions the most 
 strong and savage." 
 
 Having had considerable practical experience on the plains, 
 four journeys overland across the continent in the past' four 
 years, I was desirous of stating a few facts, showing the com- 
 parative merits of the different routes for a Pacific railroad. 
 The limits of this address will not permit, and I therefore 
 turn from the subject, with the prediction that the route 
 known as the southern, along the 32d parallel, is the only one 
 that will be built in this generation. Every exploration has 
 shown it to be, not only the most practicable, but probably the 
 only practicable route. The advocates of this route point to the 
 significant fact that the mail from San Antonio to San Diego 
 has never once failed in eighteen months of operation, winter 
 or summer. The great overland mail makes its best time on 
 the 32d parallel, and that portion of the route denounced as 
 the worst, from El Paso west, has proved itself the best. Thir- 
 teen hundred miles by stage in December or January in less 
 than eight days. Is there any other route on the continent 
 
35 
 
 where this can be accomplished ? Not on the Salt Lake route. 
 It is wholly impracticable. Not on the Albuquerque -route, else 
 Lieutenant Beale would not go into winter quarters. On the 
 32d parallel no winter quarters are necessary. It is useless to 
 attempt to evade this question of climate on so extended a route. 
 In addition, the 32d parallel is by far the most level, and 
 has the most water at all seasons of the year. (See Lieutenant 
 Parke's report.) The first terminus of the Pacific railroad will 
 be Guaymas, on the Gulf of California. rFrom El Paso to 
 Guaymas the distance is only about four hundred miles, at most 
 four hundred and fifty. It will run across the Guzman valley 
 through the Guadalupe or some more southern pass to Arizpe, 
 thence to Ures, thence to Harmosillo, thence to Guaymas. It 
 can be built most, if not all the way, for $10,003 per mile, and 
 put in running condition. It would pay to-day between Her- 
 mosillo and Guaymas in freight alone. It will traverse a rich 
 agricultural and mining country, and can connect with San 
 Francisco and all the Pacific by steamers. A branch from 
 Arizona down the valley of the San Ignacio would give Arizona 
 the .outlet she so much desires for her productions. It connects 
 with the Texas road at El Paso, and, notwithstanding all the 
 predictions to the contrary, the Texas road will be built. 
 Should it be deemed desirable to extend at once to the Pacific, 
 a steam ferry across the Gulf of California, and short railroad 
 across Lower California, to a roadstead on the Pacific, accom- 
 plishes the desired end. If these views were elaborated, they 
 could be supported by an array of evidence not to be over- 
 thrown. 
 
 In a report made to the Viceroy of Spain, during the early 
 settlement of the province of Arizona and Sonora, is found the 
 following words : "A scientific exploration of Sonora, with refer- 
 ence to mineralogy, along with the introduction of families, 
 will lead to a discovery of gold and silver so marvelous, that 
 the result will be such as has never yet been seen in the world." 
 The Spanish race have but just touched these treasures. It 
 remains for the American people to make good the prediction. 
 
3(3 
 
 With the organization of Arizona and the acquisition of 
 Sonora, a new impetus will be given on the Pacific. The 
 Mexican population will recede before the energy of American 
 career. At Guaymas a city will go up, which shall have no 
 parallel in the magic of her increase, except San Francisco. 
 The auri sacra fames is as strong to-day as in the days of 
 old. Allured by the story of the New Eldorado which is just 
 opening, tena of thousands of emigrants will hurry thither. 
 Our empire on the Pacific is just founded. Its growth in the 
 future will equal that of the past, if the United States seizes 
 the golden opportunity now offering. The wealthiest and most 
 delightful of countries will be redeemed from the barbarism 
 into which it is so fast falling. An immense market will be 
 opened for northern productions ; commerce will again be stimu- 
 lated as it was by California ; and the prediction of Humboldt, 
 that the balance between gold and silver would one day be re- 
 stored, will be made good from the treasures of Arizona and 
 Sonora. 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 The following summary of the advantages of the southern 
 route along the 32d parallel (which traverses Arizona) is from 
 the late conclusive speech of the Hon. Jefferson Davis in the 
 Senate of the United States. No one could deal more fully 
 and intelligibly with the great subject of a railroad communi- 
 cation across the continent than*has Senator Davis ; and I have 
 no comment to make upon his complete vindication of the 
 southern route, except to say that the officers of the army who 
 made these explorations are men who understand their duty, 
 and have no object to subserve except to gain an honorable 
 reputation by the fidelity and thoroughness of their reports. 
 I am able, from personal observation, to bear testimony to the 
 signal ability with which these duties have been discharged. It 
 is understood that Lieutenant J. C. Ives, Topographical Engi- 
 neers, who assisted Captain Whipple in his survey of the 35th 
 parallel route, called the Albuquerque, and who has since been 
 over both this and the 32d parallel, gives the most decided 
 preference to the southern route. 
 
 Extract from the Speech of the Hon. Jefferson Davis, of Missis- 
 sippi, on the Pacific Railroad Bill, in the United States 
 Senate, January, 1859. 
 
 I will now proceed to the consideration of the only remaining line 
 the route of the thirty-second parallel. I hope I am not expected to 
 make it quite smooth, or find water at convenient distances, culti- 
 vable land, and timber continuously along the route. I know of no 
 such route across our Territories. I wish I did. If there were a 
 route where it was thus made easy to build a railroad, we might feel 
 a more happy security for the future. It would bring in its train not 
 only the construction of such a work, but that continuous population 
 which is needful to bind the two parts of the country together. 
 Knowing no such line, I believe it is a herculean task to construct 
 the road, attempt it where you will. Go on what parallel of latitude 
 you may, all you can do is to take the least of most serious 
 
38 
 
 obstacles. I reached the conclusion that the difficulties were least 
 on the thirty-second parallel : not that they were light. This con- 
 clusion was based upon the information possessed at that time. Sub 
 sequent explorations have materially improved the location upon the 
 route, as I shall proceed to show, first describing the section from the 
 Rio Grande to the Pirnas Villages. 
 The Office Examination says : 
 
 " After ascending from the bottom lands of the Rio Grande, in traversing 
 the region examined by Lieutenant Parke between these two rivers, from 
 Dona Ana to the Pimas villages, one appears to be traveling on a great plain, 
 interrupted irregularly and confusedly by bare, rugged, abrupt, Isolated 
 mountain masses, or short ranges, seemingly, though not in reality, without 
 system* Winding around these isolated or lost mountains, or using a few- 
 passes through them, a railroad may be constructed with easy grades. Ex- 
 cept through the mountain passes, the surface is so smooth as to require but 
 little preparation to receive the superstructure of a railroad ; and even in 
 the two most difficult of the passes, (where in one case, deep cutting or a 
 tunnel at the summit, near the surface, in rock, with heavy side cuttings and 
 high embankments for i?hort distances, and in the other a short cut of sixty 
 feet prob ibly through rock are proposed by Lieutenant Parke, to attain 
 grades of forty-six-feet and ninety feet per mile, or less by increasing dis- 
 tance,) the natural slope of the ground may be used for a railroad for tempo- 
 rary purposes, and until the road itself can reduce the cost of materials and 
 supplies to the lowest rates." 
 
 The resurvey by Lieutenant Parke shows that these two most dif- 
 ficult passes may be avoided. 
 
 In i elation to the supply of water upon this part of the route, the 
 report of the Secretary says : 
 
 "The great difficulty experienced in crossing this district is in the long 
 distances over which no water is found at certain seasons. The survey by 
 Lieutenant Parke was made during the dryest season of the year, and, irre- 
 spective of the springs found at intermediate points, the whole distance 
 between the two rivers Rio Grande and Gila, may be divided into five 
 spaces, varying from eighty to fifty-three mjles in length, at the termination 
 of which, large permanent supplies of wate'r are found at the most unfavor- 
 able season of the year. 
 
 These spaces and points are 
 
 From the Rio Grande to the Rio Mimbres 71 miles. 
 
 From the Rio Mimbres to the stream of the Valle de Sauz . . 72 " 
 
 From the Valle de Sauz to the San Pedro 80 " 
 
 From the San Pedro to Tucson 53 " 
 
 From the Tucson to the Gila 79 " 
 
 Intermediate between these streams are permanent springs ; and 
 the new survey has improved the location in this respect. In his 
 last report, Lieutenant Parke states : 
 
 "The supply of water upon the pjateau is limited. Along and near the 
 proposed line it is found at the following localities, and from these the work- 
 ing parties can be supplied : at Neide's spring, at the southwest corner of 
 the Basaltic hills, east of Cooke's spring; Rio Mimbres; Agua Fria, Ojo de 
 la Vacca; Ojo de Inez; .Valle del Sauz; in the Puerto del Dado; Croton 
 
39 
 
 springs at the Playa de los Pimas; Castro spring, near the Railroad Pass 
 under Mount Graham; Pheasant creek; Antelope and Dove springs at the 
 base of the Calitro mountains; and at Bear springs at the head of the Ara- 
 vaypa. The distances, in direct lines, from one of these localities to another, 
 are as follows : 
 
 From the Rio Grande to Neide's spring ,....40 miles. 
 
 From Neide's spring to Cooke's spring 12 
 
 From Cooke's spring to Rio Mimbres 21 
 
 From Rio Mimbres to Agua Fria 15 
 
 From Agua Fria to Ojo de la Vacca 6 
 
 From Ojo de la Vacca to Ojo de Inez 12 
 
 From Ojo de Inez to Valle del Sauz 40 
 
 From Valle del Sauz to Puerto del Dado 23 
 
 From Puerto del Dado to Castro spring 30 
 
 From Puerto del Dado to Croton springs 30 
 
 From Castro spring to Croton springs 18 
 
 From Croton springs to Pheasant creek 12 
 
 From Pheasant creek to Antelope spring 3 
 
 From Anlelope spring to Dove spring 2j 
 
 From Dove spring to Bear spring 16 
 
 " On the San Pedro route water is abundant and convenient, at Chameleon- 
 spring and Prospect creek, and in the entire valley of the Rio San Pedro. 
 Besides these permanent supplies, water is found, after the rains, on the 
 playas and in depressions in the drains." 
 
 It Las been argued, and I think successfully, that if the road were 
 built, it might be worked from one supply of water to another : but 
 that has never satisfied my mind in relation to the difficulty which 
 presents itself in building the road Without tanks or wells I do 
 not see how the road is to be built, how working parties are to be 
 sustained, with the distances which are found upon every route which 
 has been surveyed. 
 
 The facilities for making such artificial reservoirs upon this part of 
 the thirty-second parallel route are thus favorably described by 
 Lieutenant Parke : 
 
 " For the working parties in the construction of the road, during the dry 
 season, water can be obtained from the several above mentioned permanent 
 sources of supply, but this will involve, of necessity, much haulage, the 
 maximum distance being twenty-three miles. But I am clearly of the 
 opinion that water can be obtained at other points along and near the line of 
 construction by sinking common wells. These playa formations are particu- 
 larly favorable. Being basin-shaped, they receive and retain the drainage 
 from the surrounding country, giving us natural reservoirs,* which require 
 only to be tapped to give a constant and plentiful supply." 
 
 I will next proceed to describe the section west of the Pimas Vil- 
 lages. The Office Examination states : 
 
 " We have now reached the Gila, seven miles above the Pimas villages, 
 the elevation above the sea being one thousand three hundred and sixty-five 
 feet. From this point to its junction with the Colorado, the valley of the 
 
 * New discoveries of springs have been made since Parke's report, and will continue to be 
 as the country is opened. 
 
40 
 
 river is highly favorable to the construction of a railroad. There will be no 
 necessity for embankments against freshets, but trifling occasional cutting 
 and filling; and, in those instances where the hills close in upon the river, 
 there is ample space for the road without heavy cutting. The elevation at 
 the mouth of the river being one hundred and eight feet, and the distance 
 between the two points two hundred and twenty-three miles, we have a gen- 
 eral slope of five and six-tenths feet per mile, which, from the favorable 
 character of the ground, may De assumed as the grade of the road. 
 
 " Water and iuel for working parties are sufficient, though no grass. Logs 
 may be driven down the Gila from the Mogoyan mountains, at its source, 
 from the Final Lleno, and down the San Francisco and Salinas rivers, from 
 the pine forests on the former, and the mountains at the source of the latter. 
 
 " But it may be found more economical to receive all the supplies of lum- 
 ber needed for the western portion of the road, either from the San Ber- 
 nardino mountains and Pass, or from the harbors of San Pedro or Diego, or, 
 should it be found desirable to establish one, from the depot near the mouth 
 of the Gila." 
 
 Senators will perceive that I am here explaining the basis on 
 which I formed the opinion which governs my vote in this case. I 
 have no controversy with anybody. I du not expect to satisfy gen- 
 tlemen that their routes are not as good as they wish them ; but I 
 am dealing with the facts as they are contained in the reports, to 
 justify me in the opinion which I have officially expressed, and on 
 which I am now acting in my proposition to grant a given s im to 
 make a railroad. I have not encountered all this labor in a mere 
 spirit of controversy. 
 
 "The most favorable point f< r crossing the Colorado is at the junction of 
 the Gila, where the river is narrowest, six hundred and fifty feet wide, and 
 has bluffs OB both banks." 
 
 " The direction that the road should take across the desert intervening 
 between it and the foot of the Coast range depends, in part, upon the posi- 
 tion of the pass by which it crosses this mountain chain. Tnere are two 
 passes known and explored. Warner's, the more southerly of the two, will 
 require five miles of excavation in granite and mica slate for the full width 
 of the road, the grades varying from one hundred and thirty to one hundred 
 and ninety feet per mile." 
 
 " The distances from the mouth of the Gila, over the desert, to the en- 
 trance of this pass, is eighty miles; thence to San Diego is one hundred and 
 fifty miles. The San Gorgonio or San Bernardino Pass, on the contrary, is 
 remarkably favorable. It is an open valley, from two to five miles wide, 
 the surface, smooth and unbroken, affording in its form and inclination every 
 facility and no obstruction*to the building of a railroad." 
 
 This plain, eighty miles in width, has been treated as a desert 
 Jornada, although there are springs and wells upon it, and the water 
 of the Colorado sometimes overflowing or rising in the middle of the 
 plain, forms what is called New river. The plain is certainly defi- 
 cient in water ; but it is evidently a delta formation, and not a desert 
 in the sense of being unproductive because of its constituent ele- 
 ments. It is all of alluvial formation, clearly once belonging to the 
 Colorado, and habitually overflowed by it ; but the deposit on the 
 banks of that stream, having enough moisture and tenacity to catch 
 the sand driven upon it by prevailing winds, at last became a natural 
 
41 
 
 levee or barrier sufficient to restrain the floods; and long drought 
 rendered the alluvial plain west of the river entirely sterile. Thus, 
 1 am informed, it is now along the llio Grande. When the cultiva- 
 tion of a field is abandoned, left for but a few years without irriga- 
 tion, sterility ensues, but it can be restored to fertility by again sup- 
 plying it with moisture. 
 
 The supply of timber upon this whole route is deficient. The 
 points where it may be obtained are thus stated in the Office Exam- 
 ination : 
 
 " Let us assume the most unfavorable case for supplies of ties and lumber 
 over that portion of the route between the eastern limit of the Llano Esta- 
 cado and the summit of the San Gorgonio Pass, 1,052 miles that is, that 
 they must be brought from either end of the road, say three hundred miles 
 from the eastern limit of the Llano Estaoado, and from the port of San Pe- 
 dro on the Pacific, one hundred miles from the summit of the San Gorgonio 
 Pass, making the points of supply 1,400 miles apart: the greatest distance to 
 which they must be transported from each end is, therefore, 700 miles by the 
 road, the point of junction of supplies from the east and west being about 
 110 miles west of the Rio Giande. Lumber can, undoubtedly, be procured 
 in the Red river district for $30 per 1,000 feet. The additional cost lor trans- 
 portation to the Llano, 3UO miles by the railroad, at three cents per ton per 
 mile, (double the usual cost on eastern railroads) is $13^, and its cost there 
 $43> per 1,000 feet; the cost per 1,000 feet for 450 miles additional trans- 
 portation is $20, and hence the cost per 1,000 feet at this extreme point will 
 be $63j^. The mean cost over these 400 or 450 miles from the eastern limit 
 of the Llano Estacado will be $52 j^ per 1,000 feet. From Fulton to the 
 Llano it is unnecessary to estimate its cost. 
 
 " Lumber may be delivered at San Pedro or San Diego from Oregon for 
 $30 per 1,000 feet. Abundance of it can be got out from the San Bernardino 
 and other mountains near the line of the road at that cost, and it may be as- 
 sumed, therefore, to be supplied at San Pedro or San Diego at that price, 
 and at a mean cost over the road (the road supplying itself, as it must do, 
 sections of 40 or 50 miles being built at a time) of $46 per 1,000 feet. 
 
 " The worst case having been discussed, it remains to be said, that good 
 ties and lumber can be obtained from the Guadalupe and Hueco mountains, 
 from the head-waters of the Rio Mimbres, from the Final Lleno, Salinas 
 river, and head-waters of the San Francisco, and from the San Bernardino 
 mountains, of the Sierra Nevada or Coast range, which sources of supply 
 may be found to materially obviate the necessity of transporting lumoer from 
 the two ends of the road." 
 
 In fine, it may be said that the route of the 32d parallel from the 
 Mississippi river to the Pacific ocean is the shortest of those ex- 
 plored, its length being from one to four hundred miles less than the 
 shortest of the other routes ; it is likewise the shortest route to San 
 Francisco, being one hundred miles shorter than any other. The 
 vast uncultivable belt through which all the routes must pass is 
 crossed by the route of the 32d parallel where the width is least, its 
 length through this region being two hundred miles shorter than 
 upon any other line. 
 
 The mountain region on this route has the least elevation, and the 
 table lands preponderate to a greater degree than on the other 
 routes. 
 
42 
 
 It is the most economical route ; the estimated cost to the Pacific 
 being from eighteen to twenty million dollars less than that of any 
 other, and to San Francisco $10,000,000 less ; the cheapness of con- 
 struction being due to the great extent of plains and table lands,, 
 where the road-bed preparation required is slight. 
 
 The mountain passes are open, and their natural slopes admit of 
 temporary use without costly preparation. The winters are so mild 
 that no difficulties, impediments, or dangers from snow and ice are to 
 be apprehended, and this admits of the use of steep grades, and 
 greatly facilitates construction. 
 
 On all the routes unusual means must be resorted to for supplies 
 of water at the distances common on railroads. The intervals be- 
 tween the large permanent supplies on the route of the 3'2d parallel 
 are not too great for the working of a railroad, but additional sup- 
 plies, at shorter distances, may be collected by tanks or wells. 
 
 In the uncultivable belt that separates the Mississippi valley from 
 the Pacific slope, occasional areas of arable soil are to be found. The 
 route of the 8'2d parallel is neither less favorably situated in this 
 respect, nor in mineral wealth, than those in other latitudes, nor is 
 the supply of building materials and timber materially less on this 
 route than on the others, excepting an interior portion of the route 
 near the forty- ninth parallel. 
 
 In confirmation of the opinion expressed in the Secretary's report 
 upon the comparative advantages of the thirty-fifth and thirty-second 
 parallel routes, 1 wish to refer to the testimony of a civil engineer 
 who has traveled over both, and looked at them with a view to the 
 construction of a railroad; Mr. Albert H. Campbell. He was first 
 connected with Capt. Whipple's party for exploring the route near 
 the thirty-fifth parallel ; subsequently with that of Lieut. Parke 
 when re-examining the route near the thirty-second parallel. I in- 
 tend to read from a letter which I find addressed by him to the Hon. 
 GUY M. BRYAN, of Texas, in relation to the Pacific railroad, pub- 
 lished in 1858. On the first page he sets forth his total indifference 
 as to which of the two routes may be selected, and the absence of 
 any pecuniary motive to influence him in one way or the other. He 
 says : 
 
 " I have no pecuniary or landed interest in the El Paso route, and conse- 
 quently have no motive for my preference, except an honest conviction, de- 
 rived from personal observation, that it is emphatically the most practicable, 
 cheapest, and shortest route between the Mississippi river and the Pacific 
 ocean; and the country through which it passes, as a whole, will compare 
 favorably with any other route in agricultural and pastoral resources, and in 
 mineral wealth, and that it is the only route that can be successfully worked 
 during the entire year." * * * * 
 
 " It is practicable to construct a railroad along the Albuquerque route, as 
 reported by CaptainWhipple; but I maintain, andam willing to leave it to the 
 decision of the ablest impartial railroad engineer in the country, that it can- 
 not be done without an immense outlay of treasure in preparing a road-bed, 
 and exceeding, by at least twenty-five per cent., the cost of constructing a 
 road of equal length over the thirty-second parallel." 
 
43 
 
 Of the climate, he says : 
 
 " In regard to the climate of winter, on the Albuquerque route, I am satis* 
 tied that it will be found too cold to work a railroad successfully for at least 
 three, if not lour months of the year. The recorded experience of six win- 
 ters at Fort Defiance, only twenty miles in latitude north of Campbell's Pass, 
 and about the same elevation as I observed when I went to that post in 
 November, 1853, through Campbell's Pass, though the Army Meteorological 
 Register, page 641, puts its down (or rather up) to '7,200 (?) feet ' albove 
 the level of the sea must be taken as conclusive of the fact of it being at 
 times extremely cold. 
 
 "At Albuquerque, according to the meteorological report of the medical 
 department of the United States Army, the maximum and minimum temper- 
 atures respectively were, for the winter months of 1849 and 1850 in Decem- 
 ber, 53 'leg., 5 deg.; January, 49 deg., 12 deg. below zero; February 57 deg., 
 17 cleg-. For 1850 and 1851 in December, 52 deg., 5 deg. belov/ zero; 
 January, ,57 deg.., 8 deg.; February, 59 deg., 7 deg. For 1852 and 1853 in 
 December, 65 deg., 21 deg; January, 65 <leg., 19 deg.; February, 6G deg., 
 13 deg. For 1853 and 1354 in December, 66 deg., 20 deg.; January, 63 
 deg., 5 deg.; February, 67 deg. 15 deg.; and in December, 1854, 58 degrees, 
 19 degrees. 
 
 "At Fort Defiance, about twenty miles north of Campbell's Pass in lati- 
 tude, and from three to five hundred feet higher, the maximum am" minimum 
 temperatures respectively -were, for the month of December, 1851, 62 deg., 
 4 deg; eighteen inches snow. For 1852 and 1853 in December, 50 deg., 
 2 deg.; January, 55 dei;.-, 7 deg.; February, 56 deg , 6 deg. For 1853 and 
 1854 in December, 57 ueg,, 6 deg.; January, 49 deg., 20 deg. below zero; 
 February, 54 deg., 2 deg. For 1854 and 1855 December, 65 deg., 10 deg. ; 
 January, 59 deg., 17 deg. below zero; February 61 deg., 13 deg. For Id55 
 and 1856 December, 56 cleg., 25 deg. below zero; January, 54 deg., 8 deg. 
 below zero; February, 51 deg., 3 deg. below zero. 
 
 A great error has been committed in supposing that because the 
 thirty -fifth-parallel route is iti a southern latitude, it must be in a 
 warm country. Temperature depends as much upon elevation as upon 
 latitude ; and fertility results not from the constituent elements of 
 the soil alone, but from the meteorological conditions of the atmos- 
 phere also. Here is an elevation of seven thousand feet above the 
 sea, and a country of extreme aridity. The air from the ocean depos- 
 its the moisture it possessed in passing over the mountain ranges, 
 before it reaches this plain. Over it broods a forbidding sterility, and 
 across it the winter winds sweep with a degree of -cold scarcely less 
 intense than that found in any portion of our country. At the close 
 of this table, the writer says : 
 
 " The table above will give a fair idea of the climate of the country. The 
 winter of 1855 and 1856 was more severe than any one known for many years. 
 The wintry weather commenced on the 1st of November, 1855, and has con- 
 tinued up to the present time, (March 14, 1856.) The Rio Grande, at Albu- 
 querque, was frozen over, and with ice. sufficiently strong to bear a horse 
 and carreta. Those Indians who live habitually to the north of Fort Defi- 
 ance, were obliged to abandon that portion of the country and move south, 
 with their flocks and herds, in quest of grazing, on account of the depth of 
 snow, which, in the mountains, at whose base the fort is situated, was over 
 two feet ii. depth in March, 1856." (Correspondence J. Leatherman, assist- 
 ant surgeon United States Army; Smithsonian Report, 1855, page 2a7.) 
 
 Speaking of the immense exposure encountered on this elevated 
 plain in winter, Mr. Campbell says : 
 
44 
 
 '< The imagination can readily picture the terrible calamity which woulcJ 
 inevitably befall a train-load of passengers en route for the Pacific, if an acci- 
 dent of a similar kind should stop their progress midway upon one of those 
 desolate artemisia districts between the Ojo de Gallo and the Little Colorado,, 
 and between the valley of the Big Sandy Fork and the sink of the Mohave, 
 where no human habitation can ever exist between the permanent water 
 stations." 
 
 He treats of the supply of water in the same manner a& the authors 
 of the official reports. He notices the fact that Capt Marcy, having 
 traveled over the thirty-fifth, and then over the thirty-second-parallel 
 route, testified in favor of the latter as an emigrant route. Citing 
 the opinion of Major Emory as to the route on the thirty-second 
 parallel, he says : 
 
 " In an allusion to the subject of the railroad, (on page 51, first volume of 
 Mexican Boundary Report,) he [Major Emory] emphatically declares, of the 
 advantages gained by the last, or Gadsden treaty, that it ' has secured what 
 the surveys made under the orders of the War Department demonstrate to be 
 the most feasible, if not the only practicable route, for a railway to the 
 Pacific. ' " 
 
 The comparison instituted in the office, when the field-work of the 
 various explorations was reported, was to fulfil the requirements of 
 Congress, to find the most practicable and economical route for a 
 railroad from the Mississippi river to the Pacific ocean. I am not 
 engaged now in the investigation of that exact question, the problem 
 being merely that of crossing the Territories ; but as the practicabil- 
 ity of effecting a connection between the Mississippi and Pacific may 
 control in any action of Congress, a table has been prepared which 
 presents in a condensed form the distances and the comparative cost 
 of each route from the Mississippi river to the Pacific ocean. Whe- 
 ther this estimated cost be too high or too low, it is not for that pur- 
 pose needful to inquire. The object was to approach as nearly as 
 possible to accuracy of comparison, not to give an absolute statement 
 of the cost. This is all that has ever been claimed for the office esti- 
 mates of cost ; and this is the reason why the estimates of chiefs of 
 parties have been modified, so as to bring them to the same compar- 
 ative scale. I submit the table to the Senate : 
 
45 
 
 Table showing the lengths, comparative costs, #c'., of the several 
 routes explored for a railroad from the Mississippi to the 
 Pacific. 
 
 
 railroad | 
 
 escents. 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 CO 
 
 z 
 
 2 
 
 l|| 
 
 a of the 1 
 route. 1 
 
 ROUTES, 
 
 1- 
 
 'C 
 
 | 
 
 7 ' 
 
 i-? 
 
 
 ^ 3 
 
 
 11 
 
 J2 
 
 t ^ 
 
 -T 1 
 
 >>'J 
 
 s o 
 
 ^ -^ 
 
 
 s, o 
 
 B 
 
 o 2 
 
 C !Z 
 
 Q: 5 ,/ 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 > 
 c 
 
 1 
 
 ^ ci 
 I 5 
 
 li'l? 
 
 J E 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 'c 
 
 Hi 
 
 II 
 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 o - S g 
 
 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 
 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Route near forty-seventh and forty-ninth 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 parallels, from St. Paul to Seattle 
 
 1,955 
 
 18,654 
 
 $135,871,000 
 
 535 
 
 1,490 
 
 6,044 
 
 Route near forty-seventh and forty-ninth 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 parallels, from St. Paul to Vancouver- 
 
 1,800 
 
 17.645 
 
 125.781.000 
 
 374 
 
 1,490 
 
 6.044 
 
 Route near forty-first and forty-second 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 parallels, from Rock Island, via South 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 y OQQ 
 
 29.120* 
 
 122.770,000 
 
 899 
 
 1,400 
 
 8,373 
 
 Route near thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth 
 parallels,from St. Louis,via Coo-che-to- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 pa and Tah-ee-chay-pah passes, to San 
 
 2G25 
 
 49,9S5t 
 
 Impracticable 
 
 %5 
 
 1,460 
 
 10,032 
 
 Route near thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth 
 
 f9&f 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 parallels, from St. Louis, via Coo-che- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 to-pa and Madelin Passes, to Benicia 
 
 2,535 
 
 56,514$ 
 
 Impracticable. 
 
 915 
 
 1,620 
 
 10.032 
 
 Route near thirty-fifth parallel, from Mem- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 phis to San Francisco 
 
 2,366 
 
 48.521t 
 
 113,000.000 
 
 916 
 
 1,450 
 
 7.550 
 
 Route near thirty-second parallel, from 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 090 
 
 48 862t 
 
 99 000 000 
 
 690 
 
 1 400 
 
 7,550 
 
 Route near thirty-second parallel, from 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Gaines 1 Landing to San Francisco by 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 174 
 
 38 200 
 
 94.000.000 
 
 984 
 
 1,190 
 
 5 717 
 
 Route near thirty-second parallel, from 
 
 4, i/t 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Gaines' Landing to San Pedro < 
 Route near thirty-second parallel, from 
 Gaines' Landing to San Diego 
 
 1,748 
 1,683 
 
 30,151* 
 33,454* 
 
 72.000,000 
 72,000,000 
 
 538 
 534 
 
 1.190 
 1,159 
 
 5.717 
 
 5.717 
 
 * The ascents and descents between Rock Island and Council Bluffs are not known, and 
 therefore not included in this sum. 
 
 t The ascents and descents between St. Louis and Westport are not known, and therefore 
 not included in this sum. , 
 
 t The ascents and descents between Memphis and Fort Smith are not known, and therefore 
 not included in this sum. 
 
 The ascents and descents between Gaines' Landing and Fulton are not known, and there- 
 fore not included in this sum. 
 
 In volume seven of the railroad reports, a tabl e will be found with 
 which this very generally corresponds, the difference being that some 
 of the surveys having commenced at anterior points one for instance 
 at Council Bluffs, and another at Fort Smith the estimates of the 
 reports are made from those points. Here they have been extended 
 to the Mississippi river. The table in volume seven is also here mod- 
 ified by the supposition that the reported practicability of the Cceur 
 d'Alene Pass is correct ; and thus the total sum estimated for the 
 route near to the forty-ninth parallel has been reduced. No addi- 
 tions have been made for those difficulties which, in addressing the 
 
46 ? 
 
 Senate, I have stated had come to my knowledge since the prepara- 
 tion of my report, because information not derived from instrumental 
 survey is not accepted as the basis of estimate. 
 
 I have only to add, that looking to the grant of land and of money 
 with which Texas has endowed her railroad company, and to the 
 interest which would be brought to bear for the extension of the Texas 
 road to the llio Grande, by a company formed to build a road from 
 the Kio Grande to the Colorado, I believe the sum of money and the 
 grant of land contained in my substitute, although the smallest pro- 
 posed by any one, will secure the construction of the road across that 
 intermediate territory, will insure the extension of the road of Texas 
 to the Rio Grande ; and that having reached the Colorado, Califor- 
 nia will charter a company to extend it to San Diego, to San Pedro, 
 or to Sari Francisco. Most probably a company, if incorporated to 
 build a railroad from Fort Yuma to San Francisco, would first con- 
 nect with the Ocean at San Pedro, and thus command a more prompt 
 return for their investment in the road than if they awaited its final 
 completion to San Francisco* 
 
 I have endeavored, during 'the progress of this debate, to ascer- 
 tain how much of the land in the valley of the Santa Clara and the 
 Salinas might inure to the benefit of a company undertaking to built 
 a road. It is all known to be of the highest fertility, and blessed 
 with a climate not inferior to any within the limits of the United 
 States. If it is possible for the company to obtain near to that line 
 even one-half of the amount of land proposed to be granted, I rely 
 upon the accuracy of Lieutenant Parke's estimates to establish the 
 fact that the road might be built there for the land grant alone. 
 Whenever California shall charter a company to build this road with- 
 in her own limits, and that company shall ask Congress for a grant 
 to construct it, I cannot doubt that the interest of the United States 
 will warrant Congress in making such a grant. Thus is reached the 
 conclusion that the Texas road will be drawn on to make a junction 
 with the road built in the Territory, and that the latter, when built 
 to the Colorado, will certainly be extended to the Pacific. The east- 
 ern terminus of the Texas road will be available to all the roads which 
 ramify throughout the United States, and be connected, in a very 
 short time, with every important point from St. Paul to Galveston. 
 
 If the facts which have been thus imperfectly grouped and pre- 
 sented to the Senate, sustain the conclusion that this result is to be 
 attained by so small a sum of money, it may reasonably be claimed 
 that all who desire the construction of a a road across the Territory 
 with complete connections throughout the States are bound to sus- 
 tain the proposition which I have submitted. 
 
 My position is, that the completion of this great work is necessary 
 to the due execution of the functions of the general government, that 
 it will not be achieved by private capital alone, therefore that we 
 should strike off every shackle which impedes its execution ; should 
 abandon the right to collect duty on the iron employed ; give the 
 
'47 . 
 
 whole limit of the United States from which to select a route ; extend 
 every aid we can constitutionally afford, and to insure the construc- 
 tion of the road somewhere, be it where it may, so that it is on the 
 soil of the United States. If by haggling over petty sectional con- 
 troversies, if by sticking in the ark dand destroying the energy of the 
 constitution, politicians shall defeat the efforts which have been made 
 from session to session, shall prostrate the last hope for this road 
 across the continent, and thus unprepared should we become involved 
 in a war with the great maritime powers of Europe, they may, when 
 it is too late to avert the disasters which have been so often foretold, 
 have cause to pray for the mountains to fall upon and cover them 
 from public indignation ; to them may attach the blame, on us all 
 may press the shame and the sorrow of having lost to the country a 
 territory worth innumerable treasure, of having forfeited that, the 
 value of which cannot be pleasured by money the prestige of sta- 
 bility, progress and invincibility, and the right to inscribe on our 
 national shield, EQUAL TO THE PROTECTION OF A CONTINENENT- 
 WIDE REPUBLIC. * 
 
48 
 
 The following letter is from the head of the well-known 
 mercantile house of Juan A. Robinson, of Guaymas, Sonora, 
 San Francisco, and other points. It was written during my 
 visit to Giriymas last year. It is proper to say that the ac- 
 tual export is nearer five millions than^ three a large amount 
 of bullion .bejng exported yearly without going through the 
 custom-house. The trade of Mazatlan is nearer twelve mil- 
 lions than nine. 
 
 GUAYMAS, October 12, 1858, 
 
 DEAR SIR: In reply to your inquiries regarding the trade of this port, 
 I would observe, the merchandize principally consumed are from England, 
 direct, and occasionally from the United Stales, including goods from the 
 European continent and the East Indies. The amount cf imports may be 
 calculated at about three millions per annum of foreign goods, besides a con- 
 siderable amount of the different manufactures of this Republic. Returns 
 are made in gold and silver bullion. And, lastly, wheat and hides (the exports 
 of the former) may be calculated at about three millions per annum, and say 
 half a million of the other articles, including copper. Our trade is evidently 
 on the increase. Regarding Mazatlan, from personal observation, I should 
 judge that the business done there is about three times more than that of 
 this port their exports being in coined silver and gold, Brazil wood, and 
 hides, principally. 
 
 I remain, dear sir, in haste, your obedient servant, 
 
 JUAN A. ROBINSON. 
 Hon. SYLVESTER MOWRY, 
 
 Delegate from Arizona.