Bent County register., 1886-09-25
COLORADO.


country or commonwealth depends
upon the material interests furnished
by nature and their combination, ar
rangement and working into being
by intelligence and energy with the
use of capital. Colorado, which, as
state, is not yet eleven years old,
and which only became territory
in 1856, is one of the most conspic-
uous examples of industrial advance
ment in the world. Each succeed
ing year is marked by new evidences
of improvement and the new devel-
opment of new features in industrial
economy and progress. The miner
al resources of the Centennial state
are boundless, unsurpassed and in
exhaustible; the climate and scenic
attractions the finest on the CONT
nent; but when to these are added
the gradual adaptation of the area
outside the mountain regions to ay-
riculture, horticulture, the building
up of homes and transforming the
arid plains of the great American
desert to producing soil, with
BOUSDLEsS CAPACITY
for supporting Il dense population,
the high stage development has APP
parently been reached. This state
of affairs has been produced by n
variety of means, all of which have
worked for common purpose until
in every section of the state we find
striking evidences of the wonder
fully productive nature of the soil
aided by an artificial application of
water by skill, experience and ex-
penditure of capital TO divert the
streams from their original courses,
and to store the fluid at times when
not needed for time of want.
Gradually, year by year, TO extend
the area devoted to agriculture until
the whole face of the country is be-
ing brcnght under direct and per,na-
nent control.
In the early years of the settle
ment of the country, only the valleys
of running streams were thought
valuable, the expense of building
canals, reservoirs and bitches was not
available. 1t was only by uneduca-
ted, inexperienced main strength
that the values of water where prop
erly applied to the soil were gradual
ly learned, and the value of the land
living above the valleys became APP
parent. At this time came the en-
abling aid of the government, which
provided means for the construction
of the trins-continent;ll railroads by
the donation-at that time-useless
and unavailable land The owner
ship of these lands enabled the COM
panv controlling them to dispose OF
them IN bodies to parties controlling
the ali important adjunct capital
who thus combined land TO be re-
claimed, water aud money to execute
the work. Thus it became possible
to reclaim the cactus plains of Weld
by the Greeley colony; the arid foot
hills of Boulder by the Longmont
colony; the sterile sheep walks of El
Passo by the later colony at Colora-
do Springs and hundreds of smaller
tracts by small combinations and
learned capital the advantage of de-
voting it to this method of develop
ing the state 1t has been demon
strated that there is
NO BETTER INVESTMENT
than of capital in enterprises to pro-
vide means for irrigating tracts of
arid land. While it is not the prov
ince of these notes to discuss the va
rious questions arising from the use
of water, of priority of rights and
sale of privileges it is proper to
claim that it is due to the action of
congress in the grants to railroads,
to capital which has built canals,
reservoirs and bitches that millions
of acres of land in Colorado are now
cultivated and thousands of people
have found homes in climate that
has restored to them health aud en-
abled them to create comfortable
homes and gain a competency.
These combinations have in time
attracted attention from the profess
sions, various avocations and fines
of business until there is scarcely
one of the many pursuits of life that
is not represented in agriculture,
live stock and kindred branches of
industry. Experience, talent and
capital are combined in extending
the area of cultivated. land and i'm
proving the products of the soil and