Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-04-16
THIS LOCALITY
Las Vegas, the Chief City
Of New Mexico Some
of Her Resources,
Attractions and
Advantages.

I Ai0o VI putu uiuoo VI INC 0hiIiuus tive
and, with it's suburbs, has about 10,0(
Inhabitants.
1t has water works, street cars, arc an
~incandescent electric light plant, telephon
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 th
largest sheep shearing and dipping plan
In the United States.
West of the river, the old town has tn
quaint and picturesque Mexican appear
ance adobe houses, narrow, crooke,
streets, native people aud customs, handi
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, filled with grass ant
trees, add to the beauty and healthfulnes
OF the place. Handsome and well fllet
stores, beautiful residences, and innumera,
BILE lawns, set In grass and adorned with
shrubbery 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 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
America. Her thermal waters are the
equali of the Hot Springs of Arkansas,
while her climate IL infinitely superior.
There is no malaria, nc 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-
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
seldom falls, In the shade, below forty de-
grees, while It often runs, In the sunshine,
to sixty-fve degrees-or wen 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
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 10
the air, and 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-
phere which is q balm to all diseases Of the
organs. The percentage of
death from consumption is lower Ia New
Mexico than it 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
altitude.
In the way OF health and pleasure re-
sorts, 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 Porvenir, Sandoval's Mineral Hill, Ro-
nero Ranch, Blake's, Sparks, Sapsllo,
Rociada, and other places, too Numerous
to mention, where health can be recovered,
life becomes a pleasure to the ennuye,
the invalid, the over-worked business man.
LAS VEGAS has two daily and five weekly
papers, three banks, two building and loan
associations, three hotels, many boarding
houses, nine churches, a number OF clubs, |
aud all the leading civic and social socie-
ties; a roller -four mill, capacity, fifty bar
rels per day two wool-scouring establish
ments, cleaning 100000 pounds of wool
annually; a well-equipped brewery and
bottling establishments; q mandatory OF
and carbonated waters; two wag-
on and carriage factories; q saddle and
factory; a foundry. cleo
trio light plant, three planning mills.
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-
uting center, the amount of their yearly
sales exceeding, In the aggregate, the com.
sales of all other such brokers In
New Mexico. The retail merchants, Of
T m Ua-ao prnaro,.c orI ,rv- |
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
On the east, Colorado on the north, Arizo-
na and California on the west, and Texas
and Old Mexico on the south. Besides
she has more stage lines, connecting
her with tributary territory, han has any
other town in New Mexico. This territory
the entire section east and south
IF the mountains, and comprises the coun-
Of Colfax,' Mora, Taos, San Miguel,
Santa Fe, Socorro, Dona Ana, Grant.
Chaves, Lincoln and Eddy, with parts of
than all New England. This takes in the
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 In everything that
the Wealth Of Nations. Iron,
,oal, lead, silver, gold, mica, limestone,
sandstone, marbles, gypsum, soda in end
sss variety and exhaustless quantities,
ire among the several products Of the
which Las Vegas commands.
Sheep, cattle aud lumber abound, so that
each OF these prime articles of commerce
city Is the best market in New Mexico.
She handles more wool than all the other
In the Territory combined, while
ner 10 hides is truly enormous.
In the same way, she stands pre-eminenr
Tor her trade in grains, hay, vegetables,
other farm products; white her trade
ice. gathered in the neigbboring noun
canyons, extends east into Kansas,
Rast intn Ariznna and saufh intn OLD |