ARKANSAS. 



21 



down. The mining counties most noticeable in 

 Territorial newspaper reports are Gila, Mohave, 

 Pima, and Yavapai. In Mohave one mine was re- 

 ported to be "producing so much $100 gold ore 

 that there are not teams enough to haul it." The 

 production of copper is said to be attracting as 

 inuch attention as that of gold. Hubernite, a va- 

 riety of wolfram, used in preparing steel for fine- 

 edged tools, has been discovered in the Dragoon 

 mountains. 



Agriculture, etc. The report of the Governor 

 states that the aridity of the Territory does not 

 prove a bar to high agricultural development The 

 farming lands embrace about 1,000,000 acres, more 

 than 260,000 acres of which are under canal irriga- 

 tion, the only obstacle to the extension of the irri- 

 gating system being the lack of water. Lands are 

 being brought under cultivation as rapidly as the 

 development of water will admit. The notable in- 

 crease in population during the past few years in 

 the Salt River and Gila valleys, a population con- 

 sisting almost entirely of fanners, is expected to 

 result in great agricultural development. Among 

 the most promising products new to the Territory 

 are sugar beets, canalgre, ramie, cotton, dates, 

 tobacco, sugarcane, and peanuts; corn is a staple. 

 It is estimated that 40,000,000 acres are suitable for 

 grazing, a large part of which is used. It is said 

 that in portions of the Territory corn and other 

 cereals thrive without irrigation ; that corn planted 

 at the right season and properly cultivated ought 

 to mature without irrigation in any part of the 

 Territory ; that the Papago and Navajo Indians have 

 long been successful in this system of cultivation. 

 It has been demonstrated that certain grains, such 

 as the Egyptian maize, and certain forage plants, 

 will come to maturity with the natural rainfall. It 

 is contended by investigators that much more water 

 is now used in the raising of crops by irrigation than 

 is necessary, and that in the near future double the 

 present irrigation area will be worked with the quan- 

 tity of water now used. A great advance in agri- 

 culture and horticulture is looked for from the in- 

 troduction of growths requiring comparatively little 

 water, such as dates and olives. At the last meet- 

 ing of the Arizona Agricultural Association it was 

 shown that many varieties of the grape can be 

 successfully raised. About 100 varieties are under 

 cultivation at the experiment station. The sugar- 

 beet is extensively raised, and cauliflower is begin- 

 ning to be largely cultivated. In the raising of 

 strawberries " smudging " has been resorted to to 

 keep off frost. When freezing weather comes, piles 

 of old straw and dry manure are set on fire about 

 the vines, which are thus covered with a fog of 

 smoke, and at the same time ditches around the 

 vines are filled with water. Attention has been 

 called by a newspaper to " the largest sweet potato 

 ever raised, the weight being 40 pounds." 



Statehood. The question of statehood for the 

 Territory was settled for the present at Washington 

 in January, 1898, by the House Committee on Ter- 

 ritories rejecting the Arizona, New Mexico, and 

 Oklahoma bills. 



Onyx. A block of onyx of the translucent sea- 

 green variety, weighing 13,150 pounds, has been 

 taken from the Big Bug quarries. 



ARKANSAS, a Southern State, admitted to the 

 Union, June 15, 1836 ; area, 53,850 square miles. 

 The population, according to each decennial census 

 since admission, was 97,574 in 1840; 209,897 in 

 1850: 435,450 in 1860; 484.471 in 1870; 802,525 

 in 1880 ; and 1,128,179 in 1890. By estimates based 

 on the school census of 1897 it was' 1,302,185. Capi- 

 tal, Little Rock. 



Government. The following were the State offi- 

 cers during the year : Governor, Daniel W. Jones ; 



Secretary of State, Alexander C. Hull ; Treasurer, 

 Ransom Gulley ; Auditor, Clay Sloan ; Attorney- 

 General, E. B. Kins worthy ; Sup'erintendent of Edu- 

 cation, Junius Jordan, who resigned, Sept. 9, and 

 was succeeded by J. W. Kuykendall, who served till 

 J. J. Doyne's term of office began, Nov. 1 ; State 



DANIEL W. JONES, GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS. 



Land Commissioner, J. F. Ritchie, succeeded, Nov. 

 1, by J. W. Colquitt ; Commissioner of Mines, Manu- 

 factures, and Agriculture, W. G. Vincenheller. suc- 

 ceeded, Nov. 1, by Frank Hill ; Adjutant General, 

 A. B. Grace : Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, 

 Henry G. Bunn ; Associate Justices, S. P. Hughes, 

 C. D.'Wood, B. B. Battle, J. E. Riddick. All are 

 Democrats. 



Finances. The valuations of taxable property 

 this year show the total value of real estate to be 

 $117,873,253, of which $12,747,515 is railroad real 

 estate, $73,934,207 is the value of farming lands, 

 and $31,191,531 is the value of town and city lots. 

 The valuation of personal property amounts to $59,- 

 552,873, of which $8,562,479 is of rolling stock of 

 the railroads. The number of persons liable to pay 

 poll tax is 263',685. 



An agreement was reached this year by which 

 the debt of the State to the United States is to be 

 settled. (See " Annual Cyclopaedia " for 1897. pages 

 30, 31.) The State is to pay $572 at present and 

 provide for the payment of $160,000 in 1900. The 

 bill provides that the State shall release to the rail- 

 road companies or their assigns all title to the 273,- 

 000 acres of land that have been in dispute, thus 

 quieting the titles of settlers. It became a law by 

 the signature of the President in April. 



A suit involving the right of the State to assess 

 the Western Union Telegraph Company, Pacific 

 Express Company, and Pullman Palace Car Com- 

 pany for taxation, was decided in favor of the 

 State, Nov. 18, 1897. The amount the State will 

 recover is about $62,000, which will be distrib- 

 uted one third to the State, one third to the 

 counties in which the three corporations do busi- 

 ness, and one third to the school districts. 



The disbursements of the State Treasurer from 

 Sept. 1, 1897, to Sept. 30, 1898, amounted to $1,387,- 

 887.42. 



Pensions ranging in amount from $25 to $100 a 

 year are given by the State to 1.178 Confederate 

 veterans. 



Education. The annual enumeration of the 

 school population children between the ages of six 

 and twenty-one years as published in December, 

 1897, shows an increase of 2$ per cent, over that of 

 the preceding year. In enrollment in the schools 

 there is an increase of 3 per cent., and in the aver- 



