, 1874-03-28
FARMING IN COLORADO.
A Reply to Alleged Misstnto-
e.; n1ents. ..
The Agricultural Resources OF the
Territory:

The Agricultural Resources Of the
Territory:
"a; :; Il ~. -. =. :: +.4: :.Y
..,. .D.SyEn, cn, March 10, 1874
q" Mo Editor Of Til chteaao Tribune:
SIN: Iii The OutoAoo In1nuSE Of Saturday,
tho 18th t'st, ia lottor tatet Canon City, COL,
IN which tho following passage orcnrs:
rnrfninl, in colorado In very uncertain t,,a1ncsa
and cannol lc lerenlct upoa tneans Of livelihood
Whaat oata. or corn canslot ho ratsul Without yaBs
If ts e. s1 sa sSs G ss III H. @ R.sa s
ready for seed ho. VIII find that IT. ia far eheapoa
than 70 nttempt to rctininl tho alliasosh and
m %rKan9an 81 SaT f TS
New Mexico. until lo Will find ou,y succession Of
Platte. y Tho e1pa,imea. wns maao; bns, with corn al
70 ysnts k pound, md wheat at 81 bushel, they
@ ssr axs eoaPry il ho sa aea proo IT,
narkss s 50 nro tlteao ranches
Ssss ssesa ta Sy s t . M na IT, g. s IL
up q t!o end Of SIX months ana engagea In mluiugo,
at0ok-rRibiDg2.' 49,. -.
.s: 30 MANY al1ssrArEMENTH ~ -.
TINT 1t must be tho wrtor haa boon in Colorado
but short time, or that ho il il.comroteiit to
5,agc s tne condition It Of tho farming,of Tic eo
L.
:: Now, 30 far from farming being m uncertain
business In Colorado, 1t is moro certain thnn In
any State cast Of tito Missouri, for tho reason
that, by mems Of irrigation, tho conditions are
kinda can DO grown with aa 1itto tabor as in the
statca, while the prices aro higher. 10 aay that
formers = failed to make their pnrsuit pay witt,
corn at Is 'conts 4 pound mid wheat 1t 81 a
btishcl IL wild absurGity; for thoro arc plenty
Of farmers becoming forohaudod who arc con
tent:svlt1 tilor lot by raisng corn md .wlhont at
loss thau 8 contB pound, Tho trntl is, yol1.
correspondent hos got things terribly miScl, aid
Let na have tho facts, for they will do oyory-
body good and tlobody hnrm Colorado received
its first immgrantsin 1860, who wcro gold-aoek-
ors Or speculative busincss.in and not ono
rich inn fow yenrs and Return to "Americn."
Tint anything could bogrovn !. that tho soll
was Of the lcnst value TINT tho country was i1l
tho lcast dog1ce flt for habitation, ,-ontorol no.
body's head, for it was part Of tho Grent Amer
lean Dosert, devoted to everlasting dosolatior.'
It waa hoped and believed that gold could to
found BY the ton; and tliat wax enough. I'll
kind OF. people coming to such z country, With
! Buch an object, iB easily conceived
80. NOR GOULD MUCH ne EXPECTED
from men Of Industrious habits III region thai
had Buch a reputation.
Who1 il was found that gold was hard to get,
and that fortunes were to bo acquired only al
thoy nro acquired elsewhere, by perseverance, and
downright hard work, there waB such q sta1npods
es, perhaps, novor was Roen. anywhere beforo. :
As many as 90 600 mon left Denvor during ono
woels, and the road down the rlatto was throngod,
night mud day. whilo many suffered and died ii
faet, the wllolo road to tile Missouri River NAV
bo said to havo been lined with gravoH. AIoan.
whilo somo wore 60 utterly destitute that thoy
and, as it had boon discovered, by an experiment.
made ut Golden City, that vegetables and grain
could DO grown by irrigation in enormous lua1,-
titles, most ofthose stranded men wcnt to-,
ranclling. At about tho 6ame tlnle it became
known that tile grass of the Plains had tho OK.
traortnnry quality Of furnishing rich food every
day in tho year unl tho B:ool busness was
commenced. Tor several years all kinds Of farm
products
BROUGHT FABULOUS pn1cEs, " .
aud it WAS not uncommon for a few aoreB to
bring in several thousand dollara. Whether
allch rewards hlvo u favorable influence upuu
tho farmor 1nny bo discussed. II H. certain that
nuch habits. OF oxtrayuganco wore established
thai it was itumaterial whether ra,clman re-
caivcd $500 or s,5,u00 for ls crops -ho was
BOON in debt; but it is eqnlly certain that others
saved their money, which MAS Invested in irn-
provemonta md in business, and to-day thoro
aro thousands Of rich men, constantly growing
richor who first got Btatt with those igh prices,
--mon who, In 80, go md 81 wcro not worth q
dime.
THUS it wan farming aettled down as regular:
pursuit. but a!11,oHt always it was connected witt
Btock-grownS rs il still il aud may say that
all Of those original ac.tlors-" ify-ninors" AZ
IheF aIc chlleA--Huo posscsscu ordinary Abllsy
and ocononly
their farn's being; in,nci.sly. productive, and
their herds numbering By tho thousand, j..
The other Htatemcnt, about deserted ranches,
IS in Tie Honse " t. is made with9nt tho 1east
there Iii hardly ranch in Colorado, with only,
moderate improvements but what will sell quick
lNat $40 por acre. That country along tile Ar,
lianHas Valley; which is sud to be so coserted.
}tnue Ssh111 nj. nfY1}- ~
titlo to a large body Of uni1nproyod lind by the
Denver Ring, in m undorland way, which led to
the removal OF Gov. ElIert and the nomination
Of Gov. McCook, az we'll aa to the overthrow Of
thero is not q single acro OF land in tho Arkansas
Valley, wl,lcl, cAn be Irrigated, that eau bo
bought for less than $40 an aero, aud this re-.
gardlcss Of fences Or buildings There ia u acc.
Valley Of tho Fountain, whore only part Of tho.
fnrnls arc cultivated, for tho REASON that thore IL
not water enough in tho stroam, which s small
one. to rrigato NIL the land md tue proprietogs
hayo turned tAoIr attention to Btocl,- growing.
Indeed, ssoe]t-growing is NO profitable TINT ii IL
proForrea to farming by groat 1nhny, providing,
thoy lave capital. This Valley Of the Fountain
THE ONLY SECTION
Of Colorado wl1ero iarmB hayo ceased to 10 cui-
tiynted, md for the simple reason tim. tho farm.
erB misju lged as to thor water-aupplY, On thu
IRtto, from the caon to the: mouth Of tho
Cache 10 Io'1uro, not q single ranch hns been
doaorted; on tho contrary, improved farms nre
held at from $40 to s2D, $50 md 800 an acre Be.
low the Cache Ia Pol1lro, no farms ever we.a !,
opened to be deserted. Formerly there were a
groat many stage-stations and tayorns, for tha
was tho great line OF travel; but, whou tha
Union Pacific was completed. all travel ceased,
and tho Indians baiiiE troublesome the whole
valley was desel ted for distance OF 150 miles;
and It may be said that, from 1869 to 1871, not
single wagon went through on this ouco most
Important thoroughfaro. Within two years.
however, men hayo yentured in, mud largo llerda .:
Jnosburg Railroad Is to DO built up this valley to
Denver, Settlers are crowding in, disulles arc he,
Ing dug, towns laid out, and the tnost fertile
valley IN America is to bo speedily brought into
cultivation.
Tho writer referred to speaks Of tho necessity
for recaflning = q; !, :
"A1KAL1-soI1s AND pEsEnr-sANps ~ 49,:
in almost the samo words that EASTERN writela =
use who have mover baen here and, to residents
Of Colorado tho idea Is simply ridiculous. The ;:
alAali-rogion is not ia Colorado at all, but in
Wyoming, commencing frat i'll tho Dttar 1loot