Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-07-05
NEW MENICO.
PEN PICTURES IN THE VALLEY OF
THE RIO GRANDB.
The Irrigated Farm Along the River pes
olation of the Interior-Mineral
Wealth of the Mountains.

Correspondence OF the Gazette.
Santa Fe, y. NJ, June 30.-After
travelling up the valley OF the Rio
Grande on the Atchison. Topeka <
Santa Fe railway from I'll Pdso to Wal
lace, distance OF over three hundred
miles, and stopping at.all the principal
stations on the road, your corresponds
ent is persuaded that said valley In
proper hands, and under proper
management, is susceptible of
"a high state OF cultivation.
Its hot dry climate and susceptibility
to irrigation from the Rio Grands,
renders ii Independent of the clouds u
a great extent, and thereby fits il bet
ter for vineyards, orchards and fruit
culture generally, than for farming on
an extensive scale. 1t matters little
how poor the soil may be naturally,
the Rio Grande generously fertilizes
il by depOsiting rich sediment every
time YOU turn its waters over your gar
dens and fields.
At Las Cruces, in the southern part
of the Territory, / visited the vine
yards of Judge NewcOnbe, the district
Judge OF bona Anna county. The
Judge assured me that the vineyard |
admired so much was, three years ago,
Il lot OF white sand hills That would
not even grow the cactus, but by level
ing down those sand hills by means Of
scrapers and turning the waters of the
Rio Grande over them by means of
bitches, he had produced the beautiful
garden spOt-about fifteen acres-be-
fore my eyes.
There are some very pretty wheat
aud corn fields on the line OF the rail-
road, but they are on small scale and
look sadly neglected. | was surprised
TO see crops look 50 backward Corn is
about six inches high. and wheat and
oats are just heading out. | inquired
the cause of thus, and was loil that the
lazr MeXicans never got ready to put
in their crops until the season for
planting was nearly past, and then did
the work in the easiest manner posi-
Bile.
The Rio Grande valley is bounded
by ranges of mountains on both sides
which abound with rich mineral depos-
its, and ii is useless To expect Anieri-
cans To content themselves with tilling
the soil, and waiting for things to
grow before they can realize the pro-
ducts from their labor, willie the pros
pect for sudden wealth is continually
before their eyes. 1t is like a lottery.
The lucky ticket is inside the wheel,
and each man hopes the ticket he
holds viii win the prize.
These mountain ranges are known
to possess hidden treasures, and all for
the service of man, but who shall be
the lucky man to find them? White
one man has found fortune by hunt
ing for it, millions have made one by
a lite of contcntnnnt industry.
AT Wallace the train stonped
twenty-five minutes for breakfast.
When we started out again the
road turned to tile right.
and by a tortuous course which a snake
could scarcely follow found its wav
through mountains and sand hills,
which are truly sublime in their pX-
IRENE desolation. The only signs Of
animal life | saw for about forty miles
were a few poor old cows ON The sides
OF the mountains grinding their teeth
Oh the rocks preparatory to eating
something should a lmercifdl Provi-
dence ever throw ii their way.
AT Laniy junction we changed car,
for Santa Fe, the oldest town i'll the
United states now celebrating her
first Tertio-Miliennial, which. when
translated, means the first third Of oae
thousand years Of her existence, and
for fear | might not live to see her
next tertio. | ann here to make sure of
this one. The festival commences on
Monday hcXt and will continue 80 Is
days. Every train coming to the city
Is loaded with 5 ght-seels even now,
and the railroads have not commenced
selling excursion tickets vet. The
GAZETTE correspondent is on the
ground and will report himself in his
official capacityat The grand MarshaI's
office next Monday morning at 10
o'clock, pencil in hand ready to tel
me world any smart things they may
say or do.