OCR Text |
Show -5- supplies to the interior of the adjacent territories. Shipments were made from San Francisco to the head of the Gulf of California, and the supplies were then transferred to the steamers belonging to the Colorado Steam Navigation Company for delivery at various points along the river, and hauled thence overland to their destinations. With the completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad to Yuma, and the Santa Fe system to Needles, the greater part of the freight intended for interior points in Arizona was diverted from the river, and this river traffic has dwindled down to an insignificant amount compared with former times. This business is now confined to the carrying of a limited amount of supplies for the small mining camps and landings along the river and to the Indian agencies at Colorado Valley and Fort Mojave. The recent abandonment of this latter post by the War Department has tended also to decrease the amount of material transported. There are two small steamers, the Gila and the Mojave (each drawing about 23 inches light) engaged in this transportation. Either one or the other makes a trip once a month from Yuma to up-river points, depending upon the stage of the river and the amount of freight offered. At Hardyville, 12 miles above Mojave, there is a small mining camp with a five-stamp mill, and at El Dorado Canon, 48 miles further up, there is another with a fifteen-stamp mill. Trips to these latter points are made only for the purpose of carrying fuel and other supplies for these mills. During the high-water stage, the freight is carried upon the steamer. In low water it is placed upon a barge, which is towed astern by a long line. Navigation is very difficult during low water, especially in the valley sections of the river, the boat grounding many times during the day. |