Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-03-20
LOCALITY
Las Vegas, the Chief City
of New Mexico Some
of Her Resources,
Attractions and
Advantages.

Ht WHIT" M -
LAS VEGAS, meaning 'The Meadows
n is the county seat Of San Miguel count
9 lies on both sides of the Gallinas rive
and, with its suburbs, has about 100
s Inhabitants.
1t has water works, street cars, arc an
~incandescent electric light plant, teiephor
: exchanges, Territorial agricultural exper
ment station, headquarters OF the Atch
son railway system, New Mexico division
together with railroad machine shops an
tie preserving works, stock yards, and th
largest sheep shearing and dipping plar
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, handl
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 well graded, Will
sidewalks abound. shaded with growing
trees. Three parks, filed with grass an,
trees, add to the beauty and healthfulnes
Of the place. Handsome and well flle'
stores, beautiful residences, and innumera
BILE lawns, set In grass and adorned witt
shrubbery and flowers, combine to pro
claim a cultured community, possessed 0
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 edifces
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 high
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. s
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 or
cold, no gnats, rats or mosquitoes. The
air is pure, dry, rarified, and highly cleo
trified-a certain cure for consumption, IL
the disease be taken in time. The hot
waters are q specific for liver, skin, rheu-
matte and blood disorders. Her Montezu-
hotel Is the finest hosiery between
Chicago and California, and is situated in
a beautiful canyon, five miles from town,
mn khn Hat Aratroo fnrkr L. rrr1,A
come boiling to the surface.
The latitude Is about the same as that OF
central Tennessee, while the altitude is
nearly 9 500 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, swhileit often runs, in thessnnshine,
TO sixty-fve degrees-or 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 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 r~esinous aroma,
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, and-locked by mountain and mesa
~ COnSRitO w OduO al
phere which Is q balm to all diseases OF the
respiratory organs. The percentage of
death from consumption Is lower in New
Mexico than It is anywhere else in the
United States; and no other place In New
Mexico excels Las Vegas in the salubrlty
of Its climate. AsthmatIcs experience
immediate and permanent relief, in this
altitude.
In the way of health and pleasure re-
sorts, Las Vegas il unrivaleu. In q radius
OF twenty miles, in romantic mountain
glens and beside babbling mountain brooks,
are the Las Vegas Hot Springs, Harvey's,
Ell Porvenir, S~andovais Mineral Hill, Ro-
nero Ranch, Blake's, Sparks, Sapell0,
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 ive weekly
papers, three banks, two building and loan
associations, three hotels, many boarding
houses, nine churches, a number OF clubs,
ties; a roller -four mill. capacity, fifty bar
rels per day; W wool-scouring establish
cleaning 1900. 900 pounds of wool
annually; a well-equipped brewery and
bottling ablishment; q mandatory Of
mineral and carbonated waters; two wag-
on and carriage factories; a saddle and
. hsrne ISL. factory m'.1; thrss f0u u1sniyo m eisc-
GEIC llkuu pldub3 PAanAuA u
and other enterprises of less importance.
There are eight large wholesale houses,
whose trade extends throughout the Ter
ritory, and into the adjoining sections
the volume of this trade, and the
value OF the stocks which they carry, can
not be duplicated west OF Kansas City and
of Denver. Three merchants' brok.
ers have selected the city as their distrib-
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
and better stocks Of goods than do
the retail merchants OF any other town in
this Territory or Arizona.
LAS VEGAS is the distributing point for
nearly all New Mexico. By the Atchlson
she has connection with Kansas
the east, Colorado on the north, Arizo-
ia and California on the west, and Texas
and Old Mexico on the south. Besides
these, she has more stage lines, connecting
her with tributary territory, than has any
other town In New Mexico. This territory
Of the mountains, and comprises the coun-
Of Colfax, Mora, Taos, San Miguel,
Santa Fe, Soc0rr0, D0na Ana, Grant,
.haves, Lincoln and Eddy, with parts of
Valencia and Bernalillo-A country larger
than all New England. This takes in the
famous. Valley ofthe Rio Grande, and the
famous, but not less excellent, Valley
Of the Pecos-the finest fruit sections Of
The west.
This Territory is rich 10 everything that
constitutes the Wealth of Nations. Iron,
coal, lead, silver, gold, mica, limestone,
sandstone, marbles, gypsum, soda In end
ess variety and ~exhaustless quantities.,
are among the several products Of the
which Las Vegas commands.
Sheep, cattle and lumber abound, so that
In each OF these prime articles OF commerce
this city Is the best market 10 New Mexico.