The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1883-01-27
farm Lands in the Nov Colorado.

The pioneering element in the West is
agrees We III the extreme In August, 1881,
the Ute Indians were in possession Of oyer
lS,OO0' square miles Of territory lying in
Western Colorado, reaching from the min.
ny rcnion of San Juan sto Utah IN Sep
tember of the same year the footprints of
civilization followed fast upon the retire
menL Of the red men to other reservations
further West.
The best watered portions OF Colorado are
in this new farming country, s.and in the
valleys of the GunnisOn, the Grand, the
Dolores and their numerous tributaries.
wait settlement when canals for irrigation
h ge bceu constructed. Land in Colorado
IS of little value to the farmer unless water
is assured; a quarter section (l60 acres) be-
comes worth at least $40 per acre when an
irrgating canal has been built. Water has
a commercial value Of $l5 per acre, when
in the shape of II Water Right, which is a
perpetual claim upon canal for certain
amount of water each year. When water
is rented by corporations to consumers it
has yearly average value of 81 per inch,
running continuously through the growing
season, which amount is capable of irrIgat-
.ug one acre Of grain land.
In New Colorado, there is territory
vice as large as the State of Massachusetts,
abounding in the precious metals and also
having deposits of iron and coal of unknown
extent aud of varying grades; there are also
within its limits vast areas of dense forests
of yellow and white pine and cedar. The
water supply is far beyond what can be
utilized tor irrigation, and in this respect
this region is superior to the eastern slope
'fthe Rorky Mountain range.
only one,third of what is consumed in
Colorado is produced there; hence high
prices prevail and ready market is always
at hand. Last year two million bushels Of
wheat, one and half million bushels Of
oats, six hundred thousand bushels o corn,
seven hundred thousand bushels of potatoes,
| three million pounds of butter, one million
| pounds of cheese, and other household
commodities in like proportion (iu all over
| 100000 worth of lood) were shipped in
/ the State. Only rich state can stand
/ such drain upon It's resources. Its yearly
| production of tweuty-three millions of bull
lion tells how it Is being done. The great
! Commonwealth in the heart of the Rock y
| Mnuntlius is looking forward To a future in
which manufacturing, as well as mining,
will make her an important factor in the
n ius'rial wealth Of the country. Wien
to this is added the attractions Of a pccuhor-
| ly healthy climate, a varying altitude Of
rom 3 500 to 5000 feet, the diverse Iro-
ducts Of the soil. ant the never cluying g
mountain scenery, whose magnifcence u,t
even Switzerland can surppss, We are pre-
seutel with a variety Of attractions hard to
b. eIralled by other portions Of the Great
West.
During he past fifteen yeors. the plains
egion Of Eastern Colorado has been changed
from barren prairie lands into prosperous
'arming communities. No large areas re-
main, capable Of being brought into culli-
vatIon by irrigation now being So extens-
lively practised. Public. attention Is being
rapidly drawn to this section # our country,
which. though two thousand miles from the
Atlantic seuboaid, and half this distance
from the warm waters Of the Pacific, still
has direct COMMUNICATION with each by a
railway system that brings it ON the high,
way Of travel across the Continent