Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-03-16
This LOCALITY
Las Vegas, the Chief City
of New Mexico Some
Of Her Resources,
Attractions and
Advantages.

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} Las vEoAs, meaning "The Meadows,
is the county seat of San Miguel county
lies on both sides of tho Gallinas rive,
and, with It's suburbs, has about 1000
Inhabitants.
1t has water works, street cars, arc an
incandescent electric light plant, tsIsphon
exchanges, Territorial agricultural expert
ment station, headquarters OF the Atchi
son railway system, New Mexico division
together with railroad machine shops an,
tie.preserviug works, stock yards, and th'
argest sheep shearing and dipping plan
In theUnited States. Niy 4s.
West OF the river, the old town has tn,
quaint and picturesque Mexican appear
ance -adobe houses, narrow, crooked
streets, native people aaa customs, handi'
crafts and occupations; but the plaza ant
Ill of the new town, east Of the river, con
'titute a distinctive American city. The
streets are wide and well graded, whit
sidewalks abound. shaded with growing
rees. Three parks, filled withsgrass and
trees, add to the beauty and bealthfulness
II the place. Handsome and we'll filled
stores, beautiful residences, and lnnumera-
,le lawns, set in grass and adorned with
,~hrubbsry and flowers, combine to pro-
Lain q cultured community, possessed OF
Ill modern comforts and co~nveniences.
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,
IN surpassed in beauty by similar edidces
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, q commercial school and two
music schools, besides several private teach.
ers, ara among the educational advantages
and facilities.
LAS VEGAS 10 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 IL infinitely superior.
There is no malaria, nc excessive heat or
cold, no mats, rsts or mosquitoes. Tn.
air 10 pur dry, rarified, and highly cleo.
'trified-a certain cure for consumption, II
the diseas, be taken In time. The hot
waters are a spec fc for liver. skin, rheu
matte and blood disorders. Her Montezu.
ma hotel Is the finest hosiery between
Chicago an /. California. and is situated In
a beautiful canyon, five miles from town,
where the III u Springs, forty in humber,
come boiling o the surface.
The latitu lie Is about the same as that OF
central Ten lessee, while the altitude is
nearly $500 Feet. This combination gives
a peculiar. b most happy, result. In the
winter, durin the day. the thermome'e,
seldom falls, | ! the shade, below forty de-
grees, while IL often runs, In the sunshine,
to sixty-fve d .grees-or even more. On
the other hand, in the summer, the heat is
never oppressi ye, In the shade, n no
night is too warm for comfortable sleep,
under one or two blankets. The sun will
him 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 moist ire; the resinous aroma,
rolling down from the pine-clad noun
tains; the large amount of electricity in
the air, and the consequent ozone, result |
ing from thealtitu ie; and the location Of thu |
town, and-locked by mountain and mess
all conspire to produce an atmos. |
phere which Ia q balm to all diseases of the
organs. The percentage OF
death from consumption is lower In New
Mexico than II Il anywhere else in the
United States; an I no other place Ia New
Mexico excele Las Vegas In the saluhrity
OF Its climate. Asthmatlcs experience
and permanent relief, in this
altitude.
In the way of hsalth and pleasure re-
sorts, Las Vegas IL uuiivaled. In q radius
= 1870 Ill " r-.A
glens and beside bah ling mountain brooks.
are the Las Vegas Hot Springs. Harvey's,
Porvenir, Sando ,al's Mineral Hill, Ro-
nero Ranch, Blaks's, Sparks, Sapello,
Rociada, and other places, too numerous
to mention, where he 18th caa be recovered,
and life becomes . pl assure to the ennuye,
the invalid, the over worked business man.
LAS VEeAs has two daily and Ave weekly |
papers, three banks, t 70 building and loan
associations, three hosels. many boarding
houses, nine churches q number of clubs, !
and all the leading ct tic and social socie- |
ties; a roller -four mill, capacity. fifty bar
rels per day two woo.-scouring establish |
ments, cleaning 1900. 900 pounds Of wool
S Sotsing ;st = l wsl1os1 .ppen manaisetSrv e1 oi
mineral and carbonat d waters; two was-
on and carriage fact 'ries; a saddle and
n ls,c 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;
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 o Of their yearly |
sales exceeding, in the aggregate, the COM
bined eales 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
Territory or Arizona.
LAS VEGAs is the distributing point for
nearly all New Mexico. By the Atchlson
system, she has connection with Kansas
% the east, Colorado on the north, Arlzo-
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
includes the entire section east and south
Of the mountains, and comprises the coun-
ties Of Coifax, Mora, Taos, San Miguel,
Fe, Soc0rro, Dona Ana, Grant,
Cbaves, Lincoln and Eddy, with parts of
Valencia and Bernalillo-a country larger
all New England. This takes in the
famous Valley ofthe Rio Grande, and the
less famous, but not less excellent, Valley
the west. 4e. ~
This Territory is rlch In everything that
the Wealth OF Nations. Iron,
coal, lead, silver, gold, mica, limestone,
marbles. gypsum, soda In end
ess variety and ~exhauetless. quantities,
are among the several products OF the
country which Las .Vegss commands.