The Coconino weekly sun., 1895-03-07
RESOURCES.

N Phoenix road decided advantage over any other route.
 RESOURCES.
 As resources from which to draw a revenue it will have the mineral belts of Durango and the San Juan; the ag- ricultural, horticultural and viticultu- ral productions of the San Juan and the Little Colorado valleys and tn. Moen Copie wash that will amount, approximately, to 100000 acres of as rich land as the sun ever shone on and susceptible of irrigation.
 Durango is city of some 1000 i'm habiiants, is connected directly with Denver over the Denver & Rio Grande railroad, a distance of about 450 miles by rail, but in the future it is expected that cutoff will be built reducing the mileage over 100 miles; another line runs tn Silverton and from there to Red Mountain runs the Silverton rail road. which has always been very profitable. By these lines all the ores of the San Juan are reached. The Rio Grande Southern also runs from Du- rango to Rico and Telluride, connect ing with the northern line of the Rio Grande at Ridgeway, and over this line are brought all the ores of the western San Juan.
 In either way the distance to Denver is practically the same. Our line would presumably connect with the Southern at Dolores or adjacent point west of Durango, and from that point would be choice of either route to the east.
 At Durango are the finest coal fields in the state, the coke ranking equal to any in this country.
 This proposed line would pass through the great Montezuma valley. in which has been expended $1 300. .00O in the building of the finest irrigating system in the state, covering q couple of hundred thousand acres of fine land, all as yet without railroad facilities, nearer than Dolores. sixteen miles dis tant from the nearest point of this val ley, on the Rio Grande Southern.
 The products of this valley would give an enormous tonnage to this line; as we'll southern California would then have direct transit for its products of all kinds into the mining districts of Colorado, even as far as Lpadville and Aspen. The coke of Durango would give a large tonnage to the south.
 The copper, silver. gold and other ores of the Grand Canyon and other mineral re. i,ns through which this line will pass, would open to great production through the advantages of railroad facilities, and the cleapness of smelling at Durango, recognized as the cheapest smelling point in the United States.
 This line would then pass adjacent to the Navajo reservation and would con trol every pound of the enormous amount of wool, hides, etc., annually purchased and sent to market from this region of country, amounting in total to over 5,000,000 pounds per annum. Through this traffic trading posts would be opened all along this part of the line, resulting in an equal tonnage of merchandise iu.
 At Bluff City and Tuba City there are already considerable settlements, where by primitive irrigation works large crops of cereals, vegetable and fruits nre annually harvested. There are also large areas of grazing land on inc higher zones. beyond the reach of artificial water. devoted to cattle. sheep and horses, where they roam and keep fat the year round. And it is safe to say the road will pass through q larger coal field, with deposits of better quality of coal, than any other road on the American continent. And il will furnish direct all rail route from every point of the compass to the worlds greatest natural wonder. the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. and the Grand Canyon of the Little Color r9do, and many other natural wonders of great beauty and iutcyest