OCR Text |
Show 122 It is certainly within the limits of safe prevision to assert that, as this portion of Arizona and the adjacent parts of New Jdexico are rendered more safe from Indian depredations, and more accessible to the immigrant, settlers, attracted by its soil and climate, will flock in to occupy it. From the summit of Sierra Blanca, looking to the east, mountains of low altitude, with fine valleys between them, rise, one beyond the * other, for at least sixty miles; and'most of the territory embraced in the area represented a combination of valuable timber, grazing, and farming lands. Above 7* 000 feet we can hardly expect that agriculture will become a dominant interest. Above this, however, is just where the best timber and summer cattle- range is found. At Willow Spring ( altitude 7,195 feet) the snow occasionally is several feet deep, and hence wintering stock there is out of the question, except in an unusually open winter. It is a safe assertion that there is on the Sierra Blanca of Arizona enough of good pine timber for the whole Territory for many years. Pinus ponderosa attains a height of 70 feet, and some of the firs reach a greater height. An oak, ( Quercus undulata,) in general appearance somewhat like our white oak, grows abundantly over this region. ( See Plate VIII.) It does not exceed 25 feet in height, and the trunk is much branched. The wood is " close- grained7' and solid ; hence it may be of considerable service in the future of the country. Bunch and grama grasses, along with others, the nutritive qualities of which are not so thoroughly recognized, grow luxuriantly everywhere, and it would be hard to overestimate their importance in a Territory the general reputation of which for fertility is as bad as that of Arizona. Lest I should be misunderstood, I will qualify these statements on the Sierra Blanca district by saying that I do not speak of its resources as compared in general with those of the surrounding regions, but intend my remarks to be taken absolutely ; i. e., the district would in any portion of onr dominion be regarded as one of unusual promise. It is one of the most inviting portions of our country yet remaining for civilization to occupy. A large portion of the hay for winter- use of Camp Apache comes from the vicinity of Willow Spring. The mesas on either bank of the White Mountain Creek, and in sight of the post, furnish all the pasturage requisite for the Government animals, to say nothing of the hundreds of Indian pouies, whose owners belong on the reservation. Good crops of corn are grown on the alluvial flats in the valley, even under the slovenly culture of the Indians. The post garden is an exponent of the capacity of the soil under better treatment. It furnishes to the troops stationed there the ordinary vegetables of our eastern market. The altitude of Camp Apache is 4,925 feet. My attention was called at the camp to one of the spreading euphorbias which grow so abundantly on the dry ground. It is a reputed remedy for the bite of the rattlesnake, and the Indians appear to place implicit confidence in its virtues. It is evidently one of the prostrate forms known to the natives as Yerba de la Golondima. It is used, in the form of tincture, as a local application in snake- bite by the Mexicans. I have had no opportunity of testing its efficacy, nor do I know of any reliable observations bearing on this point. It is weH, however, to remember that popular ideas that are so widely spread and generally believed have usually enough of truth in them to commend them to the serious attention of competent observers. In this special case, however, it is somewhat difficult to understand how a mere topical use of the remedy is to act on a poison which has already gone into the general circulation. The region from Camp Apache for thirty miles south, either by the San Carlos trail or the Camp Grant wagon- road, is largely mesa- land, with an average elevation of 800 feet above Camp Apache. The lava overflow darkened the surface everywhere until we approached the Gila Valley. Grass, though by no means abundant, was of good quality. The same pines and oaks we have before alluded to in connection with the Sierra Blanca were still common, and grew to a good size. The small walnut { Juglana rupestris, var. major) was first seen at Rocky Canon. In the same region the Nezundo was first observed, usually standing alone out on the dry plain. The button wood ( Platanu* racemosa) grows quite abundantly along the sandy water- courses, becoming a beautifully- branched tree, a foot or more through, with a height of 40 feet. Between Camp Apache and the Gila River water sufficient for irrigating purposes was only seen at Prieto fork. It did, however, exist at several poiuts abundantly enough for herding. In almost all the numberless canons which cut up the surface of the conn-try it remains standing in pools, pure and fresh, though warm, the year through, and for a portion of the year, at least, flowing streams course down many of them. Crossing the divide between Ash Creek and the Gila, a marked change comes over the scenery as we go south. One by one the familiar forms of plants disappear, and in their stead we have the mescal, ( Agare Parryi and Palmeri;) mesquite, ( Algarobia glan-dulosa,) from which the mesquite gum is derived ; Dasylirion, creosote- plant, ( Larrea Mexicana ;) Fouqui era, and giant cactus, ( Cereus gigantus.) A more forlorn- looking vegetation can hardly be imagined. It was observed, in descending the divide to the Gila, that the giant cactus grew by choice on such ground as gave an eastern exposure. Cottonwood trees of fair size grew quite abundantly along the Gila River, where, with w illows, bulrushes, and the large reeds, an almost impenetrable thicket is formed. |