The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-08-16
LIFE IN COLORADO.

Mr.. D. W. Selleck has received the
following letter from w. J. Love, who
recently removed from this city to
Rocky Ford, COL, much of which will
of interest to his old friends here.
Well, we arrived here all right Sum
day noon and went to work Monday
morning in a grocery and restaurant;
my boy is delivering goods for the
grocery and my wife helps in the
restaurant. The proprietor is my
son-in-law. We have furnished
rooms over the restaurant and take
our meals in the restaurant.
My son-in-law, Mr.. Rocker, is bak-
er by trade and does his own baking.
l run the grocery with what assistance
he and my boy can give. He has an
immense trade the ranchmen come
from twelve to twenty miles, and
some further than that, and load up.
with groceries. Mr.. Rocker does not
carry as large stock as Young &
MunsOn, but [ think he sells as many
or more goods. He is crowded for
room at present but he is building an
addition, 30X6O, which will give US
better facilities for handling the
goods. Rocky Ford is a very pretty
little town, it has a row of shade
trees around every block which gives
it very pretty appearance. The
trees were set out and taken care of
by the city eight years ago and have
attained growth of from six to eight
inches in diameter, which gives a
comfortable homelike appearance. [
do not like the water here. Until
three days before we came all the
water the people had Was from the ir-
rigating bitches, which comes from
the river and is very muddy and
warm. The citizens of Rocky Ford
sunk an artesian well and struck a
flow of water three days before we
Games, which flows about eighty gal
Ions per minute, but the water is soft
and cannot get to like it, but it is
much better than ditch water that
the people are overjoyed over their
water supply. The climate is as fine
as you could find anywhere. The sun
is hot in the middle of the day but
the nights are cool so that you need
plenty covers to sleep comfortably.
There is no black soil here. 1t is
more like the soil in West Virginia or
Pennsylvania, kind of a yellow clay
soil. After being used to the black
soil of Minnesota one would think
nothing would grow here but they do
raise immense crops. For hay
and pasture they raise alfalfa, which
beats anything for hay 1 ever saw;
when it is cut and dried it is as green
in color as fresh cut grass in MinnesO-
ia, and everything eats it and keeps
fat on it, even the hogs, this is fact.
They can keep their hogs on alfalfa
hay. They cut four crops year and
haven't room to spread it on the
ground to dry. This is the greatest
country for melons 1 ever struck, they
raise them by the acre; some have fif-
teen and twenty acres in melons.
The 4th, 9Th and 9Th of September
they have fair here and the fifth is
watermelon day and every man, wo-
man and child has all the watermelons
they can eat. The ranchmen bring
them in by four horse wagon loads.
Last year they had fifteen thousand
in one pile outside the fair grounds so
you do not have to go into the fair to
get all the melons you can eat. They
have tables and men who butcher
them and slice them up and the crowd
does the rest.
l have been kept so busy in the store
that l have not been around through
the country very much. The crops
are fine and the orchards loaded. 1t
is great country for fruit of all kinds.
Apples, peaches, pears, plums, grapes
and all kinds of berries. l like the
people very well, they are rough, good
natured, kind hearted people.
The Madison Lake fire company
will give a dance at that place on