Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-03-26
THIS LOCALITY
Las. Vegas, the Chief City
Of New Mexico Some
of Her Resources,
Attractions and
Advantages.

and, with its suburbs, has about lO,C
Inhabitants.
. 1t has water works, street cars, arc al
incandescent electric light plant, telepho|
exchanges. Territorial aoricnItnra A~ae
|, ment station, headquarters OF the Atch
! son railway system, New Mexico divisio
together with railroad machine shops al
tie preserving works. stock yards, and ii
largest sheep shearing and dipping plai
In the United States.
, West of the river, the old town has Il
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, cor
~stitute u distinctive American city. Th
streets are wide and we'll graded, Will
sidewalks abound, shaded with CROWN
. trees. Three parks, filed with grass an
trees, add to the beauty and healthfulnes
of the place. Handsome and we'll file
stores, beautiful residences, and innumera
BILE lawns, set In grass and adorned wit
shrubbery and flowers, combine to pro
claim a cultured community, possessed O
all modern comforts and co%nveniences.
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 edifce,
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 In
America. Her thermal waters are the
equal OF the Hot Springs of Arkansas,
while her climate is infinitely superior.
There is no malaria, M excessive heat or
cold, no gnats, rats or mosquitoes. The
air is pure, dry, rarified, and highly cleo
" Il WI tkAh aA0 " ohou pLlOu. u
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, in the shade, below forty de-
grees, while 1t often uEs in the sunshine,
TO sixty-dve degrees--or even more. On
the other hand, in the summer, the heat is
never oppressive, IN the shade, and no
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 drypess of
the air, caused by the very slight pfecipi-
tation of moisture; the r~esinous 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, land locked by mountain and mesa
all conspire to produce an atmos-
pnere which is a balm to all diseases of the
organs. The percentage of
death from consumption is lower In New
Mexico than II is anywhere else in the
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
In the way of health and pleasure re-
sorts, Las Vegas IL unIivaled. 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, n 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 ave 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-
lies; a roller Hour mill, capacity, fifty bar
rels per day two wool-scouring establish
cleaning 100000 pounds Of wool
annually; a w~ell-equipped brewery and
establishments, a mandatory Of
mineral and carbonated waters; two wag-l
On and carriage factories; a saddle and
light plant, three planning mills,
and 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
value OF the stocks which they carry, can
lot be duplicated west Of Kansas City and
,outh of Denver. Three merchants brok-
,rs have selected the city as their distrib-
lting center, the amount of their yearly
'ales exceeding, in the aggregate, the COM
sales of all other such brokers in
New Mexico. The retail merchants, of
Las Vegas, are more numerous, and carry
/, ~ and haitian ckooko nf Unndc than do |
The retail merchants OF any other town in
his Territory or Arizona.
LAS VEGAS is the distributing point for
nearly all New Mexico. By the Atchlson
Iystem, she has connection with Kansas
N the east, Colorado on the north, Arizo-
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
,ther town in New Mexico. This territory
ucludes the entire section east n south
# the mountains, and comprises the coun-
les Of Colfax, Mora, Taos, San Miguel,
Fe, Socorro, Dona Ana, Grant,
Jhaves, Lincoln and Eddy, with parts of
7alencia and Bernaliilo-a country larger
Valley ofthe Rio Grande, and the
ess famous, but not less excellent, Valley
Il the Pecos-the finest fruit sections of
he west.
This Territory is rich In everything that
constitutes 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
ountry which Las Vegas commands.
sheep, cattle and lumber abound, so that
n each OF these prime articles Of commerce
his city is the best market 10 New Mexico.
,Le handles more wool than all the other
owns in the Territory combined, while
n the same way, she stands pre-eminent
or her trade In grains, hay, vegetables,
nd other farm products; While her trade