Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-04-03
LOCALITY
Las Vegas, the Chief City
of New Mexico Some
of Her Resources,
Attractions and
Advantages.

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1t has water works, street cars, arc an
incandescent electric light plant, telephor
exchanges, Territorial agricultural exper
ment station, headquarters OF the AtchI
son railway system, New Mexico division
together with railroad machine shops an
tie preserving works, stock yards, and tn
largest sheep shearing and dipping plar
In the United States.
West Of the river, the old town has til
quaint and picturesque Mexican appear
ance - adobe houses, narrow, crooke
streets, native people and customs, handi
crafts and occupations; but the plaza an
all OF the new town, east Of the river, con
s~tirute a distinctive American city. Th
streets are wide and we'll graded, Will
sidewalks abound. shaded with CROWN
trees. Three parks, filed with grass IN,
trees, add to the beauty and healthfulnes
Of the place. Handsome INT well file
stores, beautiful residences, and innumera
BILE lawns, set In grass and adorned witt
%shrubbery and flowers, combine to pro
claim a cultured community, possessed o
all modern comforts and c~onveniences.
A city hall, three public school buildings
courthouse, 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 In
America. Her thermal waters are the
equal of the Hot Springs of Arkansas
while her climate is infinitely superior
There is no malaria, no excessive heat OF
cold, no gnats, rats or mosquitoes. The
air is pure, dry, rarif1ed, and highly cleo
triied-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,
come 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, 10 the shade, below forty de-
grees, while it often runs, In the sunshine,
to sixty-five degrees-or even more. On
the other hand, in the summer, the heat is
never oppressive, in the shade, and nc
night is too warm for comfortable sleep,
under one or two blankets. The sun will
shine nine days out of every ten, the year
round. This, with the extreme dryness of
the air, caused by the very slight precipi-
tation of moisture; the resinous aroma,
rolling down from the pine clad noun
.tains; the large amount Of electricity In
the air, and the consequent ozone, result
ing from thealtitude; and the location of the
town, land-locked by mountain and mesa
these all conspire to produce ian atmos-
phere which is q balm to all diseases OF the
respiratory organs. The percentage OF
death from consumption ia lower In New
Mexico than it is any where else in the
United States; and no other place In New
Mexico excels Las Vegas in the salubrity
of its climate. Asthmatics experience
immediate and permanent relief, in this
altitude.
In the way of health and pleasure re-
sorts, Las Vegas IL uDrivaled. In a radius
OF twenty miles, In romantic mountain
glens and beside babbling mountain brooks,
are the Las Vegas Hot Springs. Harvey's,
Ell Porvenir, 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 a pleasure to the ennuye,
the invalid, the over-worked business man.
LAS VEGAS has two daily and dve weekly
papers, three banks, two building and loan
associations, three hotels. many boarding
houses, nine churches, q number of clubs,
and all the leading civic and social socie-
ties; a roller foul mill, capacity, fifty bar
rels per day two wool-scouring establish
ments, cleaning 1,500,0 900 pounds Of wool
annually; a well-equipped brewery and
bottling establishment; a mandatory Of
on and carriage factories; a saddle and
trio light plant, three planning mills,
and other enterprises of less importance.
There are eight large wholesale houses,
whose trade extends throughout the Ter
and into the adjoining sections;
while the volume of this trade, and the
v ILL u II VAAOh 9aOy tat O00
be duplicated west of Kansas City and
south Of Denver. Three merchants brok-
ers have selected the city as their distrib-
uting center, the amount Of their yearly
sales exceeding, in the aggregate, the COM
bined sales of all other such brokers in
New Mexico. The retail merchants, of
Las Vegas, are more numerous, and carry
the retail merchants OF any other town in
his Territory or Arizona.
LAS VEGAS is the distributing point for
all New Mexico. By the Atchlson
she has connection with Kansas
On the east, Colorado on the north, Arizo-
and California or the west, and Texas
ana Old Mexico on the south. Besides
her with tributary territory, than has any
other town in New Mexico. This territory
Includes the entire section east and south
Of the mountains, and comprises the coun-
ties OF Coifax, MORA, Taos, San Miguel, |
Santa Fe, Socorro, Dona Ana, Grant,
.baves, Lincoln and Eddy, with parts of
Valencia and BernaliIlo-a country larger
amous Valley ofthe Rio Grande, and the
less famous, but not less excellent, Valley |
the Pecos-the finest fruit sections Of
west.
This Territory is rich in everything that
constitutes the Wealth of Nations. Iron,
coal, ieao, silver, golus4 mica, limestone,
sandstone. marbles, gypsum, soda In end
ISIS variety and ~exhaustless quantities,
are among the several products Of the
which Las Vegas commands.
Sheep, cattle and lumber abound, so that
each of these prime articles of commerce
this city is the best market Ia New Mexico.
She handles more wool than all the other
in the Territory combined, while
ner in hides is truly enormous.
[n the same way. she stands pre-eminent
or her trade In grains, hay, vegetables,
md other farm products: while her trade
10 Ice. gathered in the n~eigbboriug noun