Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1893-12-30

at once how conservative is the above es
innate of possible reclamation.
The Nambe creek runs about four times
the water of the Santa Fc, and will con.
sequently irrigate G0,0G0 acres, and the
storage basins on its course are very
numerous.
The Tesuque has an aggregate flow
about the same rs tho Santa Fe, and the
Galisteo runs about half as much.
This includes an area of 10000 acres
as possibly reclaimable, without taking
into consideration the Rio Grande, which
at the Embudo canon has n strong ani
constant flow. The problem of irriga
ton from an engineers standpoint il
easy, but capital is lacking. The valley
plains are sheltered by the mountains
the soil is porous and fertile, the air dry
and the elevation just suited for perfect
sanitarium Men for whom the eastern
climates are too severe may come to thi.
county, secure ten acre fruit farm ant
enjoy health and prosperity. Labor
secured from undue worry and anxiety, ii
the surest road to perfect physical ex
istence. With good water right the ar
nual returns from a fruit farm here sur
prise the easterner. Deciduous fruits
pay from $500 to $500 per acre, and
often more. If the owner desires to cul
tivate vegetables between the rows of his
trees the returns will be even larger.
The prices of land are very reasonable
The settler may locate 32O acres of desert
land, and if well selected it will pay to re-
claim these places by wlnd.mills or cheap
steam pumps. Experience has shown
that this is moro economical even thar
buying water from corporations. If {
fair we'll can be found a good steam
exhaust pump can be purchased for frou
$500 to $1,000, capable of raising cubic
foot of water per second. If sufficient
flow of water can Ire got at not greater
than twenty feet this will make a big
saving. water right from corpora
ton of the same amount would not cost
less than $1,000, and is worth at the lowest
estimate to the user $4,000. These are
very low figures. In the older irrigated
sections this last figure is about $4,000
1t will readily be seen that it will pay to
develop water from wells wherever pos
sible. The pumps of greatest service
consist of cheap boiler, two cup valves
and a simple mechanism to cut off and
open the valves alternately. A child can
run one and the expense is not more
than so or GO cents a day, and this would
be necessary for not more than ninety OF
100 days.
Unimproved land with good water
right is worth from $40 to 500 per acre
Improved land is valued at from $500 to
$500 per acre. This latter figure is for
land planted to bearing trees. In most
instances it is hardly more than one
years purchase.
ARTESIAN WATER.
Many good geologists hold the opinion
that flowing artesian water can be devel-
oped on the Santa Fe plains. Without
disputing the correctness Of this asser-
ton as to isolated and somewhat lucky or
accidental cases, the writer does not be-
Iieve that it is possible to develop flow
ing water on any large area. The 'senti-
mel rocks that here and there break the
level plain would indicate that the bed
rock surface Of tho valley is very irregular.
This would mitigate against the general
success of artesian bores. There could
be no security but that the drill were run
ming down onto the crest of sub-surface
butte or ridge. The basins therefore
are probably too small for great, flowing
artes ian wells.
Mineral wealth is found all over the
county, but especially in the southern
part. The Old and New PlaceYs are ia
nous sources of wealth. From these
beds the early Spaniards extracted sew
eral millions of gold by the crudest
methods. They took the snow in the
canons, on the mountains, and melted
it by means of heated rocks, and with the
scanty supplies of water thus obtained
washed out the precious metal. At San
Pedro and at Kelly's deep bored wells
have been sunk and Knowles and Dean
pumps attached. These wells furnish an
unlimited supply of water for washing
the dirt. At Golden another scheme has
been started, but as the we'll was sunk in
a deep intrusion of shale, no sufficient
amount of water was found to warrant
the company beginning operations. The
well borers, however, say if the drill was
put down 1000 feet instead of 439, the
present depth, sufficient volume of water
could be found to answer all purposes.
The lode mines are not behind the placers.
The Ortiz mountains and the dividing
range between the Pccos and Rio Grande
basins are filled with ore. The territory
ranks fifth in the Union in point of pre-
cious mineral production; but when the
gold mines are brought to their best out
put it will take a much higher place,
The coal measures around Cerrillos are
alone capable of supplying the west for
several generations to come. Experts
who have examined these mines
report to the owner that the supply
seems inexhaustible; in fact, shat the
next five generations of men will not see
perceptible decrease in the quantity"
In matter of variety no coal fields show
greater range. Here are soft, free cox
ing veins andnon-coking bituminous, also
semi-anthracite and anthracite. Natural
beds of coke arc found in some places,
and besides this bituminous and anthra-
cite veins are found in alternate strata in
the same mines. This phenomenon puz-
zles all the biologists, but it is probably
a corollary of the natural coke beds, and
caused by the heat of the porphyric
dykes that intrude into the general for
nation: The certainty is that southern
Santa Fe county will not take second
place with the famous coal fields of Penn
sylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee or
Illinois. The territory in which the fuel
is found in compact, and the different
varieties are contiguous. Indeed, one
trunk line of railroad could serve all the
mines. To accommodate the demands a
$4,000 coal crusher has been erected dur
ing the summer.
Not alone in precious and industrial
minerals in Santa Fe county pre-eminent,
but in the production of precious stones
it has high standing among the experts
of the world. At Turquesa, northwest
fran. Carrillos 70 fnnnd Tho l,nsk A..