The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1880-11-25
New Mexico Letter.

past season. A heavy New York Com
pany are expanding $4,000 in bringing
water to the New Placer dlgings, which
are said to be very rich. A Boston Com
pany are also engaged in like enterprise
near Besnalillo. The city of Las Vegas
is said to be over two hundred and fifty
years old. The buildings are built OF
Adoba brick, (brick made Of straw and
mud and dried in the SUM- and only one
story high. In the center Of the town,
(as in all Mexican towns there is plaza,
or square, one fourth Of milo across,
around which are all the principal bust
ness houses, and many Of the most
wealthy peoples residence. You open,
as you suppose, the front door to a
residence, and find yourself in hallway
leading to beautiful courtyard, or
square, with shade trees, nice gravel walks
among howerbeds, and entrances to dit
ferent parts of the building leading off
from this small private plaza. veranda
runs around the entire square, protecting
sun, and making one of the most enjoya-
BILE places to spend hot summer evening
that ever saw. A little over one year
ago this sleepy old town was awakened
by the shrill scream of the locomotives
whistle. And today her streets fairly
| throb with the tread Of busy feet. Heavy
teams bring lumber, wool, and other pro
duce from the country to market, and
take back other merchandise in return.
! The sound Of the carpenters hammer,
the ring of the mason's trowel is now
plainly heard from any of its streets, and
the busy hum of steam machinery makes
the very air vibrate, Four large planning
mills making sash, doors, and other build
ing material, are run up to their full Ca
pacity, and still cannot fill all their Or
ders. Old buildings, built two hundred
years ago, are being torn down and large
two story, brown stone fronts are being
pat up in their places. New Mexico, l
think, has the best brown stone quarrles
in the world. 1t is easily quarried, works
easy, and makes some of the most beauti.
full carved work ever saw. On the route
from here to Santa Fe, as you ascend the
Appacha Mountain, you can see 1t from
the car window, one layer upon another,
for sixty feet, up on the mountain side.
The scenery along the Atchison, Topeka
s. Santa Fe Railroad in the ascent and
descent OF this mountain, is the most
grand ever saw. The grade is said to
be one hundred and sixty feet to the milo
AID the road all the way up is series of
reverse curves, first to the right and then
to the left. Freight trains are drawn up
up heavy ten wheel locomotives, and one
can jump on board of them at almost any
point for thirty miles, as they slowly tug
along. Passenger trains glide around
these curves at the rate OF twenty miles
per hour. Leaving the summit at this
season Of the year when the ground Is
covered with snow, and in two hours you
are in tie Rio Grande Valley, where ap-
Piles, pears and grapes, are ripening in the
autumn sun. ] his valley is cultivated
mostly by the Pueblo Indians, remnant
Of the old Azcta Indians, who still keep
their fires burning awaiting the coming of
| Montazama. but whit gave them the
name of Pueblo, l do not know, unless it
is because they call their town Puebloes
They have an irrigating ditch thirty miles
long, said to have been constructed by
government, and it is strange to contrast
the beautiful fields Of waving grain, grape
vineyards, and fine orchards to the bar
rem, sandy, sage bush soil, just above the
line of their ditch, and plainly shows
what Irrigation will do for this country.
They have the rudest kind of farming i'm
plements, and seem only to care for a
living. They have fine horses and large
tlocks Of sheep and goats: they all live in
villages and odd looking towns they are
Most of the buildings are two story, the
second story seceeding back far enough to
form wall outside they ascend from the
outside with ladders, and at night take
them up with them, and by slipping
key they all come apart This presume
is to prevent surprise from an enemy
during the night. There are many Mex
ican towns along the Rio Grande River,
many of them very wealthy. Very fine
grapes are raised here IN abundance,
which are so near like the Sonoma coun
ty California grape that they could not be
told apart. The Benal:lle wine is the
same in rich ness and favor as California,
and can be had for one dollar per gallon.
The climate here is delightful, and it is a
very healthy country generally, but were
l seeking home, 1 should by far prefer
Dakota, and when prairie chickens are
ripe next August, think of paying that
country visit Yours, L. W. FIVE.
Gen. Sherman is now sixty years of are