Miriam McFate Travel Journal - 1926

Sat, Nov 20, 1926

Did not start early this morning. Got our gasoline here 25 cents. Drove on. Have more mountain road ahead of us. These are steep grade and sharp curves. This road is not very wide. You always have to be on the look out for cars ahead. These are longer grades than any we had yesterday.

They are building a new road thro here so we have a great many bridge detours. These are not a bad as we have had. They are putting in all cement bridges. The rocks thro here are large. Some of them look like they had been burnt. Some have holes in them just like sponges. Have made so many hills on low our brake band is to loose to do much good, so had to stop and tighten it up.

The road gang is working here, so we had a chance to see them drilling a cut thro the rocks. This is done some way by air pressure. Had a tractor engine running to make this pressure. It looks more like an auto-truck. It sure does the work. Will have quite a number of deep cuts on the new road.

Where the road is finished it is good and wide, and is well graveled. We had good roads before we had to make our longest climbs. We went round and up ever so far. Still we can see Mts. above us.The very peaks of these mts. are solid rock. Mts. all around us, can’t see out in any direction. Gila Mts. on one side and the Santa Teresa Mts. on the other. Where there is no real steep mountains there are foot hills. Arizona is most all mountains. They have to make these roads wind or they never could get up them. Lots of places thro here we could wind around in the shape of U, M or S’s. A great many deep cuts thro the rocks. We stopped when we were way up on the mountain top and picked some flowers. Little yellow daisies and red mt. poppies grow right in among the rocks. You can find these in big clusters.

There has been a great number of purple asters, but they were about gone. We have seen bluebirds and butterflies today. The sun shines so hot. The road is awful dusty. It sure is hard for us to believe Thanksgiving and Christmas is so near. When we pass thro the towns and see all the Christmas display it sure seems funny.

We have drove 30 miles from Duncan. It has been mts. all the way. We drove on to a camp at Solomonville Ariz. and ate our dinner. Drove on at 12:35. Lots of Mexican in this town. We left here on pavement. This little town lies in the Gila Valley. Thru here the people farm again. Have nice fields of green alfalfa. they have great large sheds with open sides. The alfalfa is baled and stored in these. Lots of cotton and some corn. Signs along here for cotton pickers.

We saw row after row of lettuce growing is some ones yard. They have lots of cotton gins thru here. The towns are close together, 4 or 5 miles apart. We passed thro Safford Ariz. This is the nicest town we have passed thro since we left Texas. Lots of nice big shade trees, and good crops. Where ever they can get water things are more prosperous. This land thro here is all watered from the Gila River. Off to the left lies the highest mountains we have seen yet. These are the Graham Mountains. These Mts. in the distance look just like a heavy storm cloud coming up in the west. Have seen it look this way lots of times back home. After we left Pima Ariz. we left the best part of this valley. We came out into the hills and mountains again. We left the pavement here. On sand and gravel again. We have a 37 mile strip thro the Gila Mts. now. We have seen lots of Mts. burros grazing in the draws thro here. Have passed several little settlements of Indians. These are the true southern Mexican Indians. dirty and ragged, long hair stringing down over their shoulders. They look just like pictures of the Mexican Indians in our geographys. They live in Wig wams or huts made from willows and sticks. We saw an indian cradle hanging on the fence, just like they used to carry on their back. Do not know whether it had a baby in it or not. There was several little tots playing around it. We were to far away to see very good. Do not know how they make a living unless they do it by hunting or fishing. They live right near the Gila River.

We crossed the bridge a short distance from here. This is another shallow river. The river bed is wide and sandy, but has only a small stream of water flowing thro it. The people keep it pretty well drained. They take a lot of water for irragation. The bridge is a wooden structure 50 or 60 rds. long.

We drove on into the Mts. Up and up till we could see hundreds of feet below into deep canyons. Drove on till we spied a big jack rabbit sitting about 8 rds. from the road. We stopped. Grover shot at him 5 times with a rifle. He missed him every time. He was so mad to think he could not hit it, he threw his gun just as far as he could send it. It sure made us laugh. So some day dome one will find a perfectly good rifle and wonder who lost it. We hurried on as the sun is getting low. Sign board on our way kept reading only a few miles till the next town. We drove and drove. Finally it got dark, and on we drove.

Coming up a very steep grade the old bus stopped. Out of gasoline again. We knew we were getting low, but kept watching those blooming sign boards. Thot sure we could make the next town. Got out our emergency gas again. Just about time we were ready to crank the Ford here come another car about 40 miles and hour. No two cars could pass in this place. Our hearts leaped into our throats. Thot sure he would hit us, but he did not. Pulled up to the side and stopped. There they boys had a real argument about driving after dark. Things got pretty warm.

Grover hasn’t hardly cooled off yet over his rabbit deal. Guess he has to take a little spite out on some one else. Nevertheless we drove on finally came to a camp ground about 9 miles further than we expected to find one. Pulled in and got our supper. 4 other parties here tonight.