INANGAHUA v. ARIZONA.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 8 October 1880, Page 2

INANGAHUA v. ARIZONA.

[COKTIpBFTED.] Gold-mining communities have been . noted for possessing a resiles nnd uneaav - spirit-, liable to be easily agitated and dis turbed l>y news from any fresh tniht-rn .lisc wory. Even rumor, licars,-jy, anf particularly m-wspiper reporls receive ;» ■ aiao^it oi 1 ccedcnce tejoad their oiftits

md the beliaf in the superiority of the lew Dorado is usually proportionate to Lhe distance of the locality, and the difficulties to be encountend. But should an authentic, veritable, living letter from any resident contain glowing accounts from any far away inhospitable region, then the commotion hpcomes intensified into a most exciting furore, for a while absorbing every other consideration in its feverish thral £neb at present is the state of I?eefton and district, caused by a letter, received in town from Mr D. Stewart, late of the Energetic mine, now of Tombstone, Arizona, and published in voar columns last week, Row, the address itself sounds gloomy and dismal and should inspire serious thoughts in the mind of the reader, even without regard to revolver and bowie knife, ref. rence to which is made in the last of the letter— the free use of which probably account for the name of the place, hnt instead of growing melancholy and think* ing of their sins, people are going Tombs stone mad and Arizona crozly, and the chances are that we will have to regret some Pacific slopers from oar midst. The letter, above referred to, gives a description of the mineral dis* eoveries in Arizona, which were mad* some eighteen months ago, and judging from the proximity <( old and now renowned gold and silver mines, the place is likely enough to torn out well.- Admitting all this, I still fail to see why the probability should affect this community in a manner it has done, turning the poor heads of, in some respects, otherwise sensible people. To prove the fallacy of any undue excitement about the new field let us coolly and calmly analyze the contents of the letter, taking it as it stands, without evpn making allowance for overcoloring. The description of the routs proves the journey to be arduou* and ex« ppnsiye. The climate is very hot and almost unbearable. The country is stated to be the " driest in fhe world " and the wnter is 90 scares that not a drop can be had exeppt by purrh^se at per gal'on. The uttpr absence of wnoJ and timber is another drawt>nck. 'Hip society is " dis-< o^canised nnd lawless, the knife and pistol <n fnqufnt use" ProspecMng is stated ti be eisy, exip< t the t ifling inom< rcnienre of bavin? to carry your wool and water along with you, wherever you g•. The c'imate is cer ainly said to be healthy, with a very emphatic assertion as to any contrary opinion, but it is diffi* cut to reenci'e that sMi-ment with the fact of tl c illness of the child end the sn' spqupnt death of the wife, no dnobt attributable to the chronic epidemic, prevalent in those latitudes and known as ihe mountain fever. Now, thus fnr, I need not contrast our own superior advantages of corresponding conditions, as they are self-apparent, hut with ra'erpnce lo the reported richness of the mines, the i-urrent wages, etc,, I shall merely make some comparisons and leave the conclusion* to be drawn by ycur readers. We are told that the writer is earning 2301015. per month. He rpceived about the same amount of waeps hfro. Carpenteis pet 6?o!s. per clay, hut as timber is not to be had, except by "' fighting for it," the probability is that their time will be very much broken, let nlone their heads. Our carpenters demand very little less fora day's work, and nerd not fear being rMdied in the scramble for material. It is said that a good b'acksmith can get " any money he likes to ask " for shoeing mul s. Well, this is rather indefinite, with nothing certain except the kick«, whereas our blacksmiths average about the same pny as our carpenters without apprcben« sinn of vicious treatment from their clients. The cost of living is not tiven, pprhaps because lining itself there is so precarious that it is not taken lßto account, but anyhow if life can be maintained there at all it will hive co be done i\l far grea'cr expense than here. The vt'ue of claims i<» sta'ei at from 600 lo 16<">.000 'o's— vp>-y cord for Ariz inn, cera'nly, if trn". but we mint not forgpt i that we hnvp plenty of <-l >ims, ranging in va'up bptwpn those fi-nires ad (nr hevotid them. anH T wonder if the Tom's »tone ppoph? would set Inancshua on the 1 rain were they to lea-»-n that, bnsHe "tmierous other instances of ''lmo«t oqu-il s ews«, on^ 1 sh'Tpholder al^ne in out* roe r s hod the value of his in'prest incroased upwards of 100 0riO'ol«. in a »h >rt time owin r to Mp imp'ovpmpnt in . mi' ing Vpnrn'P". Tin's wp knoio- *o hp •rue. In' nrverlhele=s it d ips not move u« ns it w< uld d ■•> wpre the fncts reporti-d. ;'s Imving occurrod thousands of miles away. .Turk-ing from the pnucify of crushing milts nnd 'heir limitpfl e^pacitv for sue l ) j -I arpn! fivll us reportpd, it is n<->t unrpasonable t<"> infer that the mineral vein' ; are only of small d''mensi> ns, limited ex» : tpnt and uncertain durability, as against our own nvny anrl lsr-p rppf', provpd to h^ permanent and Tiishl'y r^" unerativp. Carefully ponsirlpr'ng the relative ronrli tions of the two places, as nllpgnd to 'xi<t in Arizona. I'Uf wplt-known toolit in here, the impression must forrp itself on thftraind of a cro' reasonpr, proof against undue exfitemen', that we need not np« prehend a comparison, ami that, whilst ndmitting the probable importance of the discoveries in Arizona, the prevailing Tombstone fever is still unwarrantable. : s \he pathology of the case distinctly shows that the disorder has resnl'ed in proportions far beyond legitimate cm*e*, now as many a time before, on the dig* ginys.