Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1884-03-02
THE ARKANSAS VALLEY.
A Glimpse OF the Garden Spot Of
Colorado.
Agriculture Leading Mia'ag as q Means Of
Acquiring wealth-canon City and
its Surroundings.


CANON CITY. COL, February 1.-THE
Arkansas Valley is perhaps the least ad'
vertised Of all the agricultural districts OF
Colorado. Why this is so, must for the
present, 60 far as your correspon dent Ia
concerned, remained one Of the unsolved
problems Of the p.oble matte West. Canon
City 10 situated at the lower end. or mouth,
of the Grand Canon Of the Arkansas river,
and at the beginning Of the valley proper.
II is safe to assume that thousands Of dol
lars are annually Expended in advertising
the Grand Canon with It's royal gorge
and rushing, roaring torreEt Of water, and
its bleak, bare and rugged mountain walls
which are. after all, merely gratifying to
the eve. When the traveller has
Feasted His Eyes
and satisfied the longings Of the outer man
on the sublime grandeur OF the Grand
Canon, he will feel the necessity OF satis-
fyipp the CRAVINGS of the inner man. He
will have vivid conception OF the truth OF
that elegant Western saying: Mountain
scenery and fresh tracks, are not good
things on which to fatten."
On either side Of the baby road, as the
Denver and Rio Grsn5eis Familiarity called,
between Canyon City and Pueblo, dis.
lance OF forfy.one miles, are splendid
homes end farms, with orchards and small
fruits in abundance, white hundreds OF
stacks of wheat and ost straw, clover and
alfalfa hay, and great fields OF corn In
the shock relieve the otherwise draary
waste. Fifteen years ago, and this valley
was practically barren one. Now IL is the
home of abundance, and school houses, and
thriving towns.
Ten Years Ago
and the people were beginning to under
stand that there was something in Colorado
besides gold, silver and lead. Men began
10 claim the land and build bitches, and to
raise here what they had been shipping
from Kansas and Nebraska. For a long
time capital fought sly OF the agricultural
interests and invested extensively in min
ing. These brown, dry prsiries did not in
spire them with the same enthusiasm as
the yellow, glittering gold There was no
music in the ginglipg OF two potatoes, such
as that produced by two geld eagles. There
was no mad rush and excitement attend.
ing the raising of field Of corn, and the
money nearly all went into the mountains.
Occasionally a mining man would become
stranded, financially. and as a last desper.
ste resort would come back 10 the valley
snd build small log cabin on
Government Land
and at the end OF two years find himself
again on the road to prosperity. His sue.
cess led others 10 try the experiment, and
20 they kept on coming back to the valley
md building more cabins and blowing
more ditch, aud finally capital discovered
that Of the two industries, mining and ag'
riculture, the latter was the safe invest
ment And what is the result? might
90 into O column or two Of dry statistic, to
answer the question, but very few psople
read statistics. Ten years ago twenty dol
lars per acre vas good price for land in
this valley, and in the immediate vicinity
OF
Canon City.
with a perpetual water right attached.
To day these same lands are worth from
$50 per acre near here to SIS per acre as
we 20 down the valley. What has been the
immediate cause Of advancing these lands
from 500 per acre to $50 per acre? There
are three immediate causes. The advent
of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway.
sflording the means OF reaching market,
and bringing into the valley other Undue
tries, and the sudden forward rush OF the
mining industry, and the glories OF the
climate in the Arkansas valley. which
taken the year round, cannot be excelled
on the continent. A more rugged, hearty,
eood-Dstured people do not exist than the
farmers in the Arkansas valley. They are
heppy because they are successful, aud
they are successful because IL Is almost
impossible for a man TO try and not be
successful, when even the clements con-
spire to aid him.
Every Variety OF Cereals
and vegetables; Indian, sweet and pop
COTE: clover, timothy and alfalfa hay; pea
nuts, melons and berries all thrive and
yield in abundance, with proper care, In
this valley. Fruits OF all kinds, from ma.
tive wild plums to the fuest varieties OF
apples ard pears, are all grown in this
valley. The market in tbis city is sup
piled with aprles grown in this valley, and
the flavor is unexcelled. The Arkansas
Valley will eventually rob California OF a
great portion Of her fruit trade. Hundreds
OF thousands Of dollars OF Colorado money
gees to California every year for fruit
This will not last much longer. There are
two or three hundred thousand acres OF
land along the Arkansas river, between
here and the State line OF Kansas, which
will give as good, IL not better. results
when under water. What Is true OF the
valley here 10 true OF the valley for two
hundred miles east. II is only que Stion
OF
Getting Water
on the land. The water is In the river In
superabun dance, and capital will carry 1t
out over those fertile fields, and they will
indeed blossom as the rose"
o. u PATTERSON.