Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-06-04
THIS LOCALITY
Las Vegas, the Chief City
of New Mexico Some
of Her Resources,
Attractions and
Advantages.

AhoDibuILcs
1t has water works, street cars, arc an,
incandescent electric light plant, ~telephon
exchanges, Territorial agricultural expert
ment station, headquarters OF the Atchi
son railway system, Now Mexico division
together with railroad machine shops an,
tie preserving works, stock yards, and tn
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, crooked
streets, native people and customs, handi,
crafts and occupations; but the plaza ant
all OF the new town, east of the river, con,
stitute q distinctive American city. The
streets are wide and well graded, Will.
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 we'll filled
stores, beautiful residences, and innumera.
BILE lawns, set in grass ard 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 II Territorial
Insane asy lum 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
dcrgarten, 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
urel 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 Ia pure, dry, rariied, and highly cleo
trided-a certain cure for consun ption, If
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 hosiery 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 Ia about the same as that OF
central Tennessee, while the altitude is
nearly $500 feet. This combination gives
u peculiar, but most happy, result In the
winter, during the day, the thermometer
catI4,. fn1fp - SIa ehoIa IafDux forfxr 1n-
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 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,
rolling down from the pine-clad noun
tains; the large amount of electricity in
the air, and the consequent ozone, result
ing from theaititude; and the location OF the
town, and-iocked by mountain and mesa
these all conspire to produce an atmos-
phere which Is 3 balm to all diseases of the
respiratory organs. The percentage of
death from consumption is lnwer In New
Mexico than 1t Is any where else in the
United States; n no other place 10 New
Mexico excels Las Vegas in the salubrity
VI I'D Oitthotu OnO
and permanent relief, in this
altitude.
In the way of health and pleasure re-
sorts, Las Vegas liz unrlgalej. In q radius
OF twenty miles, 10 romantic mountain
glens and beside babbling mountain brooks,
are the Las Vegas Hot Springs. Harvey's,
Ell Poryenir, Sandovals Mineral Hill, ko,
nero Ranch, Blake's, Sparks, Sapello,
Rociada, and other places, too Numerous
to mention, where health eau be recovered,
and life becomes a pleasure to the ennuye,
the invalid, the O~ver-worked business man.
LAS VEGAS has two daily and ave weekly
papers, three banks, " building and loan
associations, three hotels, many boarding
houses, nine churches, a number of clubs,
tiss; a roller flour mill, capacity, fifty bar
rels per day two wool-scouring establish
ments, cleaning 1900, 900 pounds Of wool
annually; a well-equipped brewery and
bottling ests blishment; a mandatory of
mineral and c~arbonated waters; two wag-
on and carriage factories; Q saddle and
harness factory; a foundry eiec-
tric light plant, three planning mills
There are eight large wholesale houses,
whose trade extends throughout the Ter
ritory, and into the adjoining sections;
while the volume of this trade, and the
value of the stocks which they carry, can
not be duplicated west Of Kansas City and
south of Denver. Three merchants brok.
ers have selected the city as their distrib-
uting center, the mount of their yearly
sales exceeding, in the aggregate, the com
bined sales of all other such brokers 10
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 and California on the west, and Texas
and Old Mexico on the south. Besides
the Sc, she has more stage lines, connecting
her with tributary territory, than has any
other town In New Mexico. This territory
the entire section east and south
of the mountains, and comprises the coun-
ties OF Lolfax, Mora, Taos, San Miguel,
Santa Fe, Socorro, Dona Ana, Grant.
Chaves, Lincoln and Eddy, with parts OF
Valencia and Bernalillo-a country larger
than all New England. This takes in the
70 mous Valley ofthe Rio Grande, 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, 30 that
in each OF these prime articles Of
this city is the best market Ia New Mexico.
She handles more wool than all the other
10 the Territory combined, while
her 10 hiies is truly
In the same way, she stands pre-eminent
and other farm products; while her trade
10 ice, gathered In the n~eighboriug noun
tain o extends east into Kansas,
west i1to Arizona, and south into Old
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