Migration of a Saguaro.

DECEMBER. 1936 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 13 Migration of a Saguaro A Noted Arizona Author Relates Some Vicissitudes Connected with Cacti Transportation

MR GUIREY'S interesting article in the April, 1936, issue of Arizona Highways, entitled "How to Get There," in which he describes, by pictures and words, some of the work done by the State Highway Commission towards beautifying our state highways, through the planting of native trees and shrubs and the establishment of roadside parks; brought to mind an incident of the long ago, which seems in this connection worth the telling.

One of the illustrations accompanying Mr. Guirey's article shows the removal, by a crew of highway workmen, of one of Southern Arizona's huge giant cacti, otherwise and officially known as the Saguaro (Sah-warrow), from its desert home near Tucson to a new location along the highway. The crew are shown work ing with chain hoist and block and tackle to load the desert monster onto a large truck.

The incident referred to occured dur ing the preliminary work of beautifying and parking the World's Fair grounds in Chicago, Ill., in 1893, celebrating the discovery of this country of ours in the year 1492.

The Territorial legislature of 1892 passed a law appropriating thirty thou sand dollars to finance Arizona's appear ance at Chicago. Under this law the governor was authorized to appoint a world's fair commission, which was to gather up and send to Chicago a suitable collection of Arizona's many natural resources.

The members of the commission appointed by the governor were as follows: Price Behan of Prescott, president; Will C. Barnes of Holbrook, vice-president; L. C. Hughes of Tucson, secretary; R. C. Brown of Tucson, treasurer; George F. Coats, member at large.

Buckey O'Neill of Prescott was originally the president but resigned when the Spanish war broke out to accept an appointment as an officer in the so-called "Rough Riders."

In March, 1893, I was sent to Chicago by the commission to start the erection of a suitable building on the fair grounds, where visiting Arizonans could meet their friends, receive their mail and telegrams, and look over the files of the territorial papers.

While arranging for the building (that, as some may recall, was finally erected and occupied jointly by the three terri tories of Arizona, Oklahoma and New Mexico), John Thorp, representative of Chicago Jackson park, sent me word to drop into his office and talk over some matters with him. Mr. Thorp, a ruddy faced English gentleman, was in charge of the parking and beautifying of several hundred acres of land on which the fair was to be located. He had spent his life in the class of work he was now carrying on for the world's fair commission.

Mr. Thorpe showed me several photo graphs of our giant cactus and admitted that, while he had never seen a specimen in nature, he was very anxious to get a number for planting around the territor ial buildings, as well as in special gard ens and parking places set aside by the commission in which to display native trees, shrubs and plants from all parts of the United States.

"We want at least a carload of your giant cactus," Mr. Thorpe told me. "Some to plant around your territorial buildings and a few to be planted inside some of the huge green-houses the commission plans To build, in which the more tender plants and trees can be located for a permanent exhibition. Will the Arizona commission secure these specimens for us and ship at least a carload just as soon as possible, so they may get a good start before the fair opens?"

He assured me the general commission had plenty of money to pay for the work involved, as well as freight to Chicago and other necessary expenses. Naturally he was promised we would be only too glad to undertake the job of getting the collection together and starting it towards Chicago.

Mr. Thorpe assured me that if we would do this he would take care of all details of unloading at Chicago, transplanting, etc., without further cost to the commis sion Back I hastened to Arizona and at Tucson discussed the matter with Mr. Hughes (later Governor Hughes) and R. C. Brown, the two Tucson members of the commission. They were both much impressed with Mr. Thorpe's plans and generosity and, as Secretary Hughes was a busy man at that time, the job was turned over to Mr. Brown.

At a meeting in Tucson Mr. Brown out lined his plans for the work. He had se cured several huge lumberman's trucks from a lumber camp in the nearby Cata linas, which were to move the Saguaros from their desert home to be loaded on the cars at Tucson. These trucks or carts were the usual type used by saw mill men and lumbermen in transporting logs from the woods to the mills. They had ordinary wheels in front but the rear wheels were not less than eight feet high, the logs being swung under the rear axle by means of heavy log chains. The front wheels were fastened to the rear ones by a heavy wooden "reach," which helped hold up the log swung under it.

On the desert the rear wheels of these great carts were backed against a Sa guaro, its heavy reach tipped up to full length alongside the erect body of the cactus. Then with ropes the specimen, wrapped from end to end in gunny sack ing, was fastened securely to the reach. When it was thus made fast men were set to work cutting a channel in the ground around the Saguaro and under its roots, (Continued on Page 23)