The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1889-01-26
Correspondence baltimore Comfy Union.
LETTER FROM DENVER, COLORADO.
1t is a Big and Wonderful State-Rich
Mineral Deposits-Great Agricultural
Wealth-The Benefits of Irrigation
What the Land will Produce
-Illinnitable Plains etc etc


2G5 SOUTH SHERMAN AVENUE
DENVER, COLORADO,
January 18th, 1889. !
Dear Union AS l suggested in my first letter
/ have many things that might be said that
am puzzled to know what to say and what to
leave out. So just take things as they occur to
me as write.
COLORADO
is called the Centennial State" because admit
ted into the Union in 1876. 1t is no small thing
in area. 1t is as large as New York, Pennsylva-
mia and Maryland combined. Its territory was
first explored by the Spaniards under Vasquez
Coronado about 1910. (Ihink of its vast treasures
of untold wealth remaining undisturbed for
more than three hundred yeaIs) The larger
part of its domain became the possessions of the
United States in consequence OF the Louisiana
purchase from France during the administration
of Thomas Jefferson in 1893, and the balance-a
small portion-in consequence of the Mexican
and the acquisitions resulting from it. The
first exploration made by the U. S. Government
was by an expedition under the command of
Gen. Zebulon M. Pike in 1906, when he discover
ed and named after himself Pixies Peak, that
lifts its towering crown above its comrades of
the Rockies-eXcept Longs which is about 300
feet higher. The next expedition was conducted
named Longs PEAK, the highest in the range
Then Gen. Fremont, in 1912 to 1874, made his eel
ebrated trip and became noted as the Path
Finder" The FIRST settlement was made by
miners in 1889 who rushed to Pixies Peak for
gold. have come in contact with number of
them who relate with interest and pride their
experience, hardshps, ventures and busted"
fortunes. They are the aristocrats of the State.
These people struggled for existence amid the
Indian scalping knife and musket. nave mad
related me some thrilling adventures by those
who were in them. The Territory was organized
by act of Congress in 1861, and being marked by
rapid growth in population and importance was
admitted as State August lst 1876. and now con
tains half million people and has the intrinsic
wealth, geographical situation and energy and
enterprise of its thrifty population and an UNI
rivaed climate, that are destined in the near
future to make her one of the greatest states in
the Union.
MINERAL. DEPOSITS.
1t possesses coal, oil. iron, copper and lead in
inexhaustible quantities, claims to have more
iron and coal than Pennsylvania and Missouri
both0 and has the largest and best precious metal
deposits on this continent. Its mineral wealth
is yet in its infancy and yet in the line OF mining
and working up the precious metals it stands
first i'm the Union. The smelling processes are
not yet fully understood and they are constantly
discovering new theories and methods in relation
to it moving towards the economy of material
and machinery. | shall say more in another let
ter about the smeters.
ITS AGRICULTURAL WEALTH
is quite as phenomenal as anything else con-
nected with its history. The eastern portion of
the State is slight incline plane. Kansas City
is 500 miles east of Denver and is 800 feet above
sea level, and from there to the Rocky noun
tains there is gradual rise, so slight that you
called to it, Yet there is regular ascent of
about eight feet to the mile until you get to Den
YER when you think you are stu IN IN the the valley
the sea- The land after leaving the western por-
ton of Kansas looks to a Marylander very much
Georges counties in his own State. Taking it at
its appearance alone you would not be disposed to
pay ten cents an acre for 1t for agricultural use
1t is covered with a dry buffalo grass about "a
inches long that does not hide the EARTH and
few cactus. You at once conclude that this
growth can be of no practical use. strange as It
with relish by both cattle and horses and both
will fatten on it. You can see COW sometimes
pull it up by the roots, shake the dirt OF the
roots and deYour it, This is what fed the vast
herds of buffalo that blacl1ened the plains years
ago and is what fattened the cattle of the ranch
men and does so to a large extent yet This
land has not been injured by soaking rains and
the most of it has not been accustomed to SHOWS
of any depth 1t has been almost entirely unac-
Quainted with water. But as soon as an irr1ga-
ting ditch brings the water from the mountain
streams and it is turned on-generally at cost
of 81 rs per acre per annum-thS seeming worth
less land blooms with crops and fruits OF all
sorts. Under the irrigation system it Will grow
from two to three tons OF alfalfa-a long hay
somewhat coarser than our timOthy-to the acre.
and will yield three crops per annum. Farmers
have been known to raise ten tons in one season
bales and sell it for $40 or S12 per ton. 1t will
also grow in season from four TO SIX tons OF
timothy per acre. which brings about SO 20 SiS
produced in large quantities. Apples as nne In
appearance and flavor as you can find anywhere,
and am informed all the smaller fruits in great
abundance and of excellent flavor are grown on
these seemingly barren wastes when moistened
with the dews of the mountains from these lrrl-
eating bitches. One in the East will say ii is an
expensive business to pay 81: 10 per acre for wa
ter to grow your crop. But here they say that
their crops are not injured by drought nor
drowned out by heavy rains, and then they lose
no time in consequence of rains. They work
every day in the week at their farm work with
out intermsson and they save three crops of
hay season and have no rain of any sort to
delay work or injure the hay; No damaged or
mouldy or black hay here: All That nave seen
PLAINS
are simply illimitable. You can get on an emil
nence of 80 to 100 feet and look as far the eye
eXDanSe
brown buffalo grass. slightly undulatlng, with no
wood or streams, dotted here and there at long
intervals with Squatty ranches generally one
story, with sometimes a long shed or stable
barns" they are called here-fOr the cattle IN
severe weather, and about the aforesaid barns
you see long large rickS, sometimes 10 or ~ of
them, of alfalfa and other species of hay stored
for food for the cattle. And it is astonishing the
distance YOU can see in this clear, rarltied air.
The nearest foothills of the mountains brown as
a buffalo himself, are IA miles away and they do
not seem to be more than three or four at the
greatest. And if you can in imagination forget
that you are looking at a Western plain that was
once put on the old maps as part of the Great
American Desert" you would conjecture that
you were looking at a mammoth toy shop that is
often presented to youngsters for christmas
gifts. Many places these ranches are laid of in
extensive fields by wire fences and some sometimes
tween here and Pueblo-120 miles south-there
are quite number of large ranches-some de-
voted to raising fancy stOck-cOmprlSlng as
much as 10000 acres, and on some you will see
respectable brick houses and large commod1ous
barns and stabling, with the adjacent lands
dotted with the fine herds that browse on the
buffalo grass or alfalfa stubble. One would infer
from this that
THE COW BOY
as understood in its generic sense is monarch
of all he surveys" But this is not true. The
COW boys day has departed. He has succumbed
to the inevitable influence of the march of civil
ization that now dominates Colorado and human
ICES and refines what it touches. The vast ma
jority of the ranchmen are now farmers and
stock raisers and not "cow boys"
S. PARKER BOsLEY
MARYLAND Is not the only State in which