Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-11-20
Las Vegas, the Chief City
of New Mexico Some
of Her Resources,
Attractions and
Advantages.

meut etnuous houuqunftofs VI uho Atcni-
son railway system, New Mexico division,
together with railroad machine shops and
tie prsservine works, stock yards, and the
largest sheep. shsaring and dipping plant
In the United States.
West of the river, the old town has the
quaint and picturesque Mexican appear
ance - adobe houses, narrow, crooked
| streets, native people and customs, handi-
crafts and occupations; but the plaza and
| all OF the new town, east Of the river, con.
| stitute q distinctive American city. The
streets are wide and well graded. while
sidewalks abound. shaded with growing
trees. Three parks, filed with grass and
trees, add to the beauty and h~ealthfulness
| OF the place. Handsome and weli-filled
stores, beautiful residences, and innumera.
| BILE lawns, set in grass and adorned with
shrubbery and flowers, combine to pro-
claim a cultured community, possessed Of
| 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, o IN
structed OF red and white cut sandstone,
unsurpassed In beauty by similar edihces
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.
LAS VEGAS is the natural sanatorium of
the United States, combining more nat
ural advantages than any other place 10
America. Her thermal waters are the
equal of the Hot Springs of Arkansas,
while her climate Is infinitely superior.
There 10 no malaria, no excessive heat or
cold, no gnats, rats or mosquitoes. The
air Is pure, dry, rariied, and highly cleo
trifed-a certain cure for consumption, II
the disease be taken In time. The hot
waters are q specific for liver. skin, rheu-
matte and blood disorders. Her Montezu-
ma hotel Is the finest hostelry between
Chicago and California, aud is ituated In
a beautiful canyon, five miles from town,
where the Hot Springs, forty In number,
come boiling to the surface.
The attitude IS about The same as that OF
central Tennessee, wlile the altitude is
nearly 6,5C0 feet. Th combination gives
a peculiar, but most happy, result. In the
winter, during the dey, the thermometer
seldom falls, In the shade, below forty de-
grees, while |. o'ren runs, In the sunshine,
to sixsy-ive degree--Or even more. On
the other bend, II the summer, the heal is
never oppressive, IN the shade, and no
night is too warn for comfortable sleep,
under one or two blankets. The sun will
shine nire days out of every ten, the year
round. THIS, with tie extreme dryness of
the air, caused by the very slight precipi.
tation Of moisture; the resinous aroma,
rolling down from the pine-cla 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 ard mesa
these all conspire to produce an atmos-
phere which is . balm to all diseases of the
respiT atory organs. The percentage of
death from consumption is lower in New
Mexico than 1t is anywhere else in the
United States; r 20 other place In New
Mexico excels Las Vegas in the salubrity
o. its climate. Asthmatics experience
immediate and permanent relief, in this
altitude.
In the way of health and pleasure re-
sorts, Las Vegas Is unrivaied. In . radius
Of twenty miles, in romantic mouptain
glens and beside babb,iug mountain brooks,
are the Las Vegas Hot Springs, Harvey's,
Ell Porvenir, Sandova,'s Mineral BILL, Eo-
nero Ranch, Blake's, Sparks, Sapello
Rociada, and other places, too Numerous
to mention, where health can be recovered,
and life becomes o pleasure I, the ennuye,
the invalid, tie over-worked b lsiness man.
A Unn O + nc fu.A 1osIr AvI Are ----Il-
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; q roller hour mill, capacity, fifty bar
rels per day; two understanding establish
mepts, cleaning / 5C0,0CO pounds of wool
annually; a well-equipped brewery and
bottling establishment; a mandatory of
mineral and carbonated waters; two wag-
harness factory; a foundry. cleo
trio light plant, three plsning mills,
and other enterprises of less Importance.
There are eight la-ge wholesale houses.
whose trade extends throughout the Ter.
ritory, and into the adjoining sections;
while tie volume of this trade, and the
value of the stocks which they carry, can
not be duplicated we stof Kansas City and
south Of Denver. Three merchants' brok-
ers have selected the city as their distrib-
uting center, the aL.oun 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
larger 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
system, she has connection with Kansas
on the east, Colorado on the north, Arizo-
ma ard California on the west, and Texas
and Old Mexico OF the south. Besides
these, she has more stage lines, connecting
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 Colfax, Mora, Taos, San Miguel,
Santa Fe, Socorro, Dona Ana, Grant,
Chaves, Lincoln and E2ay. with parts of
Valencia and Bernalillo-a country larger
than all New England. This takes in the
famous Valley ofthe Rio Graude, and the
less famous, but not less excellent, Valley
of the Pecos-the finest fruit sections Of
the west.
This Territory is rich In 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
country 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 In New Mexico.
She handles more wool than all the other
towns 10 the Territory combined, while
her commerce In hides is truly enormous.
10 the same way, she stands pre-eminent
for her trace In grains, hay, vegetables,
and other farm productsi while her trade
in ice. gathered In the neighboring noun
tain canyons, extends east into Kansas,
west i7to Arizona, and south into Old
Mexico