Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-04-23
LOCALITY
Las Vegas, the Chief City
of New Mexico Some
of Her Resources,
Attractions and
Advantages.

49, TETT"
and, with Its suburbs, has about 100
Inhabitants. Sft&
1t has water works, street cars, arc an
incandescent electric light plant, telephor
exchanges, Territorial agricultural exper
ment station, headquarters Of the Atch
son railway system, New Mexico division
together with railroad machine shops an
tie representing works, stock yards, and til
largest sheep shearing and dipping plal
in the United States.
West of the river, the old town has th
quaint and picturesque Mexican appear
ance adobe houses, narrow, crooke
streets, native people and customs, hand
crafts and occupations; but the plaza an
all Of the new town, east Of the river, con
stitute a distinctive American city. Tn
streets are wide and we'll graded, Will
sidewalks abound, shaded with GROWN
trees. Three parks, filed with grass an
trees, add to the beauty and heslthfulnes
OF the place. Handsome and well file
stores, beautiful residences, and innumera
BILE lawns, set In grass and adorned witt
s~hrubbery and flowers, combine to pro
claim a cultured community, possessed o
all modern comforts and conveniences.
A city hall, three public school buildings
court house, Masonic temple, opera house
Territorial Normal school and Territorial
Insane asylum are public buildings, con
structed of red and white cut sandstone
unsurpassed in beauty by similar ediice
in any town, Of equal size, in the States.
An Academy, Seminary, Jesuit college
Convent school, Presbyterian Mission
school, Methodist manual training school
Christian Brothers institute, City higl
school, three graded public schools, a kin
dergarten, a commercial school and two
music schools, besides several private teach
ers, are among the educational advantages
and facilities.
LAS VEGAS is the natural sanatorium Of
the United States, combining more nat
ural advantages than any other place Ia
America. Her thermal waters are the
equal. OF the Hot Springs Of Arkansas,
while her climate IL infinitely superior.
There is no malaria, no excessive heat or
cold, no gnats, rats or mosquitoes. The
air is pure, dry, rarified, and highly cleo
trified-a certain cure for consumption, II
the disease be. taken In time. The hot
waters are a specific for liver, skin, rheu-
matte and blood disorders. Her Montezu-
ma hotel is the finest hostelry between
Chicago and California, and is situated in
a beautiful canyon, five miles from town,
where the Hot Springs, forty In number,
boiling to the surface.
The latitude is about the same as that OF
central Tennessee, while the altitude is
nearly $500 feet. This combination gives
a peculiar, but most happy, result. In the
winter, during the day, the Thermometer
seldom falls, In the shade, below forty de-
grees, while it often runs, In the sunshine,
to sixty-1ve degrees-0r even more. On
the other hand, in the summer, the heat IS
never oppressive, IN the shade, and no
night is too warm for comfortable sleep,
under one or two blankets. The-suH wifi
shine nine days out of every ten, the year
round. This, with the extreme dry ness of
the air, caused by the very slight precipi-
tation of moisture; the resinous aroma,
down from the pine-clad noun
tains; the large amount of electricity in
the air, n the consequent ozone, result
ing from thealtitude; and the location Of the
town, and-locked by mountain and mesa
all conspire to produce an atmos-
pnere which is q balm to all diseases of the
organs. The percentage of
death from consumption is lower In New
Mexico than 1t is anywhere else in the
United States; and no other place in New
Mexico excels Las Vegas in the salubrity
Of its climate. Asthmatics. experience
and permanent relief, in this
In the way of health and pleasure re-
Las Vegas il unrivaled. In a radius
OF twenty miles, in romantic mountain
glens and beside babbling mountain brooks,
are the Las Vegas Hot Springs, Harvey's,
Ell P%orvenir, Sandoval's Mineral Hill, Ro-
nero Ranch, Blake's, Sparks, Sapello,
Rociada, and other places, too numerous
TO mention, where health can be recovered,
and life becomes q pleasure TO the ennuye,
the invalid, tina over-worked business man.
LAS VEGAS has two daily and ave weekly
papers, three banks. two building mi loan
associations, three hotels. many boarding
nine churches, a number OF clubs,
and all the leading civic and social socie-
ties; a roller flour mill, capacity, fifty bar
rels per day two wool-scouring establish
ments, cleaning 1905 900 pounds of wool
establishment; a mandatory Of
and carbonated waters; two wag-
and carriage factories; a saddle and
;ric light plant, three planning mills.
other enterprises of less importance.
There are eight large wholesale houses,
whose trade extends throughout the Ter.
.itory, and into the adjoining sections;
the volume of this trade, and the
7alue OF the stocks which they carry, can
lot be duplicated vest OF Kansas City and
Iouth Of Denver. Three merchants brok.
RS have selected the city as their distrib-
lting center, the amount of their yearly |
exceeding, in the aggregate, the com
lined sales OF all other such brokers In
New Mexico. The retail merchants, of
las Vegas, are more numerous, n carry
and better stocks OF goods than do
he retail merchants of any other town in
his Territory or Arizona.
LAS VEGAS is the distributing point for
lcarly all New Mexico. By the Atchlson
ystem, she has connection with Kansas
N the east, Colorado on the north, Arixo-
la and California on the west, and Texas
Old Mexico on the south. Besides
hese, she has more stage lines, connecting
Ter with tributary territory, than has any
the entire section east and south
# the mountains, and comprises the coun
les Of Colfax, Mora, Taos, San Miguel,
Fe, Soc0rro, mi Ana, Grant.
Jhaves, Lincoln and Eddy, with parts Of
7~alencia and Bernalille-a country larger
han all New England. This takes in the
amous Valley ofthe Rio Grande, and the
eSS famous Dut nOL 1888 exCotlenC, Vdu6y !
the Pecos-the finest fruit sections OF
west.
This Territory is rich In everything that
the Wealth Of Nations. Iron,
'oal, lead, silver, gold, mica, limestone,
andstone, marbles, gypsum, soda In end
'ss variety and exhaustless quantities,
re among the several products of the
country which Las. Vegas commands.
sheep, cattle and lumber abound, so that
- oonb ~ th.co nrsra n~f1rlao - nrxr -. - - |
his city is the best market Ia New Mexico.
Ste handles more wool than all the other
owns in the Territory combined, while
Ter m 10 hides is truly enormous.
the same way, she stands pre-eminent
or her traoe IN grains, hay, vegetables,