Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1890-06-07
WATER AND WEALTH.
Roswell, the Queen City Of the Southern
Plains, and Something of Her
Institutions.
Many Irrigation Enterprises Magnificent
Farms-An Inviting Country and
Hospitabe People.

Roswell, n. NJ, June l, lS90.-The
growth of the western country during
the past few years has been almost
phenomenal; it whould seem to the aver
age reader that almost any opportunity
had been seized and nothing left but the
routine OF businesslife that characterlSes
the older countries, yet it can be safely
asserted that this country is in its infancy,
comparing it's present with its future. 1t
is surprising that right here in New Mex
CO, which furnishes every variety OF eli
mate and atmospheric condition, from
a sand storm to Neapolitan moonlight
night, there are large numbers OF persons
unaware of the possibilities of a large
portion of the territory, and more partic-
uarly speaking OF
THE rECos VALLEY,
which contains an area Of tens OF thous-
ands of square miles, and which, for sew
eral years past, has been controlled prin-
cipaly by range cattlemen. Twenty
wears ago, where the town OF Roswell
now stands, may have been seen one
small adobe building, in which was kept
scanty stock of goods and d postoffice
At a somewhat later date the situation
was not much changed. Southeastern
New Mexico, in what is now known as
cHAvEs COUNTY
was nothing but vast bleak plain as far
as the eye could reach, inhabited princi-
pally by Indians and few adventure
some men, who had begun the somewhat
arduous but profitable business of cattle
raising,
Until about six years ago the entire Sec
ton traversed by the Pecos was the bovine
paradise of the southwest. To say that
this is grand country would be but q
modest expression. 1t is country that
has in the past two years had the human
tide poured over its surface from almost
every nation. Only few short years ago
vast cattle range, the home of the lndi-
an and the grazing ground for the buffalo
and antelope To-day, dotted for humid
reds OF miles, with windmills, barns,
houses, orchards, stock-yards and corrals,
which tell the story OF the transition. No
more IdNOIdDlt SpCl llh5 ycV Dccu
in the great west for the carrying on OF
every agricultural industry known since
the days OF Abraham. From the north
ern boundary OF Chaves county to the
Texas line on the south, and from the
mountains on the west to the eastern
boundary of the territory, the prairie rolls
off ia green, billowy waves, clothed with
.sne long, succulent grasses, which have
made it for years the ideal range for the
cattle of dozens of large companies. In
fact its late development in the shape Of
LARGE AND SMALL FARMS
for the raising OF cereals, vegetables and
fruit, has been by the affection the latter
1 felt for the country which supplied such
\ unlimited feed for their herds. The cat
tie companies we're on the ground first
II Their herds roamed over vast acres with
| out let or hindrance, and the grasses
which grew in rich and rank profusion
promised wealth to every one who cared
to turn two-year old loose.
TIE FARMER
came into Texas, peeped over the line and
saw the cattlemen were monopolizng q
rich and fertile country which could be
made to pay thousand times more by
cultivation than by the ranging Of cattle
in the grass. The farmers heart, always
eager to realize the most, lonsed for this
vineyard, and In such 4 practical, busi-