Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-03-24
LOCALITY
Las Vegas, the Chief City
Of New Mexico Some
of Her Resources,
Attractions and
Advantages.

, 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 and customs, handi
, crafts and occupations; but the plaza ant
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, filed 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
s~hrubbery and flowers, combine to pro-
claim q 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, con
structed of red and white cut sandstone,
unsurpassed in beauty by similar edi6ces
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 is no malaria, no excessive heat or
cold, no gnats, rats or mosquitoes. The
air Is pure, dry, rarffied, and highly cleo
trified-a certain cure for consumption, IL
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 hosiery between
| Chicago and Califoini 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 it often runs, in the sunshine,
- .t-k~x IT, lA-rnna - nua ~.
the other hand, In the summer, the heat ls
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 resinous aroma,
rolling down from the pine ella 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 and mesa
-these all conspire to produce an atmos-
phere which is q balm to all diseases Of the
respiratory organs. The percentage Of
death from consumption is lower In 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 it's climate. Asthmatlcs experience
immediate and permanent relief, in this
altitude.
In the way Of health and pleasure re-
sorts, Las Vegas H. 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, SandovaFs Mineral Hill, Ro-
nero Ranch, Blake's, Sparks, Sapello,
Rociada, and other places, too Numerous
to mention, where health can be recovered,
and life becomes a pleasure to the ennuye,
A. g---ls1 IL ~ L.~-s---- -
LAS VEGAS has two daily and ave weekly
papers, three banks, two building and loan
associations, three hotels, many boarding
houses, nine churches, o number OF clubs,
and 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
bottling establishments; q manufactory Of
mineral and carbonated waters; two wag-
and carriage factories; a saddle and
trio light plant, three planning mills.
and other enterprises Of less Importance.
There are eight large wholesale houses,
whose trade extends throughout the Ter
the volume Of this trade, and the
value OF the stocks which they carry, can
be duplicated west of Kansas City aud
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.
bined sales of all other such brokers In
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
she has connection with Kansas
On the east, Colorado on the north, Arizo-
ma and California on the west, and Texas
Old Mexico on the south. Besides
she has more stage lines, connecting
her with tributary territory, than has any
other town in New Mexico. This territory
the entire section east n south
If the mountains, and comprises the coun-
les Of Colfax, Mora, Taos, San Miguel
Santa Fe, Socorro, Dona Ans, Grant.
Jhaves, Lincoln and Eddy, with parts of
Valencia and Bernalillo-a country larger T
han all New England. This takes In the
'amous Valley ofthe Rio Grande, and the
ess famous, but rot less excellent, Valley
i the Pecos-the finest fruit sections Of
he west.
This Territory is rich In everything that
the Wealth of Nations. Iron,
,oal, lead, silver, gold, mica, limestone,
Aandstone. marbles, gypsum, soda In end
,ss variety and exhaustless quantities,
ire among the several products OF the
country which Las Vegas commands,
Sheep, cattle and lumber abound, so that
d each Of these prime articles of commerce
city is the best market 10 New Mexico.
She handles more wool than all the other
owns in the Territory combined, while
Ter commerce In hides is truly enormous.
the same way, she stand pre-eminent
or her trace 10 grains, hay, vegetables,
ind other farm products: white her trade
o Ice, gathered in the ~neigbboriug noun
canyons, extends east into Kansas,