Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1883-11-30
Across the Range.
Leadville Chronicle.

The country which lies to the west of
Leadvllle, is to many of our readers
an unknown region. 1t has been look
ed upon for long time as part of the
state possessing uncertain resources,
and whether it would ever be extern
sively developed or not was a question
which but few persons could answer
In the country to which we refer is in
cluded all that part of Colorado which
is bounded on the east by the Rocky
mountains, on the south by what is
generally known as the San Juan
county, on the north by the divide be-
tween the White and Bear rivers, and
on the west by the Utah line. From
the above we will except Middle park,
which lies too far to the east. A very
large portion of this country was in
cluded in the Ute Indian reservation
In 1880 it was almost as little known
as the interior of South America, and
there were all kinds of runors atiOat
as to its possibilities and resources. In
this vast region is embraced a large
part of the state of Colorado, and as
yet, but a small part of it has material
ly added to the wealth of the state
Upon the future of this great undevel
oped portion of the state depends
largely the increased prosperity of Col
Orado.
The region described embraces two
distinct valley systems. One of these
is the valley of the White river, which
is very small compared to the other,
and by no means SO important. The
other is the valley of the Grand, which
extends from where that river forces
its way through the Gore range to
where it crosses over into Utah. Trib-
utarv to it are the valleys of the Blue
the Eagle, the Roaring Fork and Guu-
niSon rivers. Each one of these small
err valleys constitutes separate coun-
ty iii itself. They vary considerably
in their characteristics, but each pos
sesses some natural advantages, which
can be utilized to the good of the state.
The Grand river valley proper is
chiefly an agricultural and grazing re-
gion. The only mineral to amount to
much which had been found in it is
coal. An abundance of coal exists all
along the river, and there are strong
indications of the existence of petro-
leum in some parts of it.
The Blue river flows down from the
vicinity of Breckenridge, and in the
mountains which congregate about It's
head, there are thousands of vet UNI
developed assure veins. The mines of
Summit country are adding each year
to the wealth of the state and of the
world The grazing resources of that
valley are also very large, and some
of the finest stock ranches in Colora-
do are found on the river below Dill
Ion.
The valley of the Eagle is the next
in order going westward. 1t is a re
glon of great and varied resources. 1t
includes the Holy Cross and Battle
Mountain mining districts, and the
latter is considered in some respects
the best mining section of the state
outside of Leadville. The lower val
lev is, so far as development shows,
ch ~ agricultural country. In
this IT ect it possesses great advant-
ages. The water supply for irrigation
is inexhaustible, and the fall of the
river is so great that it will greatly re
/ duce the cost of the construction of
| bitches. Near the mouth of the river
there are large deposits of what is said
to be very fine iron ore. The Eagle
river valley in at least the lower por-
ton of it is hardly developed at all.
Its period of prosperity lies before it
Very much the same as what we
have said of the Eagle can be said of
the valley of the Roaring Fork. Some
/ of the most promising mining camps
in the state are situated near the head
waters of this stream, notably the
towns of Aspen and Ashcroft. Agri-
culturally, the valley of this stream,
is one of the most desirable parts of
Colorado. There is about the ranches
an appearance of thrift which is some
| times not seen IN q new country At
the mouth of the river there are i'm
mense beds of coal, which have hard
~ been touched in the work of devel-
opment At the same point the new
town of Glenwood Springs is situated.
In that town probably the very larg
est and best hot springs in Colorado
are TO be found They are very strong
and possess anquesGonabie curative
| powers
| Farther to the south and west is the