Bent County register., 1886-12-04
BENT LAND DISTRICT.

of opening until the choicest lands
IN the district are taken. The past
sixty days have each found new
party of home-seekers in Lamar, and
it is safe to say they are only few
among the great number that are
coming, and among the first ques-
lions asked are, what are the boun-
daries of the district, what is the
nature of the soil and water, have
you building stone, and timber and
are there indications of coal. These
questions are not only asked daily,
hut many times day. and it would
be difficult to answer all the enquiries
in one issue of a paper. For the
benefit of the enquirer, we will say
that the act established the Bent
Land District reads:
9Th at all that portion of the State
of Colorado bounded and described
as follows: Commencing at a point
on the eastern boundary line of said
State, where the second correction
line, south, intersects said boundary
line and running thence on said
second correction line, south, TO the
line dividing ranges numbered fifty-
two and fifty three; thence south on
said range line to the southern boun-
Diary line of said State; thence east
on the southern boundary line of said
State to the eastern boundary line of
said State; thence north on the cas-
tern boundary line of said State to
the place of beginning, be, and is
hereby, constituted new and >epar-
ate land district, to be called the
Bent Land District, the land office
for which shall be located in the
town of Lamar, county of Bent, in
the said State of Colorado"
In this district are the thriveing
towns of Holly, Granada, Carlton,
Lamar, Las AnImas and La Junta,
all surrounded by good country
and will make good towns. The
surface of the country is principally
rolling prairie, covered with buffalo
and gramma grass. The soil is most
ly a rich sandy loan, and changes
in localities, to dark heavy soil all
of which have been tested in the old
settlements and found to be perfect
in production, about Las Animas, La
,Iunta and Rocky Ford, where farm
ing has been carried on for years,
the yield per acre would be won
der to the farmer OF the most produc-
tive lands in the east, and no more
has been accomplished about those
places than will be throughout the
entire district. The Atchison Topeka
Il Santa Fe railroad follows the Ar
kansas river from Pueblo to the east
line of the State, along the river is a
heavy belt of timber, ranging from
4 half To mile and half through
There are a number of streams in
the district that are nearly all lined
with timber. AT present we get our
coal from Canon and Trinidad at a
cost of from five dollars and seventy
five cents a ton, to SIX and quarter,
but we expect to keep our fuel mon
ey at home, at no distant day, as
there is without question, great
body of coal underlying this section
of country, shown by the cut crop
pings ir the creek bluffs dozen
miles south of Lamar. There is an
abundance of building stone within
two miles of Lamar, and quarries
handy to almost every locality in the
district. Excellent water is obtained
at a depth of from ten to fifty feet,
but it is our climate that all unite on
being perfect; and all, the new and
the old settler, appear to be satisfied
with each day as it comes. We oc-
casionally have windy day, but as
rule there is rarely more than a
light breeze. We have winter storms
that are cold, and have some snow.