Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-05-12
This LOCALITY
Las Vegas, the Chief City
of New Mexic0--Some
of Her Resources,
Attractions and
Advantages.

lies on LOtn hiues Oh INC Ouiiihns i''oi,
and, with its suburbs, has about 10000
Inhabitants.
1t has water works, street cars, arc and
incandescent electric light plant, telephone
exchanges, Territorial agricultural expert
ment station, headquarters OF the Atchi-
son railway system, New Mexico division,
together with railroad machine shops and
tie preserving works, stock yards, and the
largest sheep shearing and dipping plant
In the United States.
West of the river, the old town has the
quaint and picturesque Mexican appear
ance = adobe houses, narrow, crooked
| streets, native people and customs, handi-
crafts and occupations; but the plaza and
| all of the new town, east OF the river, con-
| stitute a distinctive American city. The
streets are wide and we'll graded, while
sidewalks abound. shaded with growing
trees. Three parks, filed with grass and
trees, add to the beauty and healthfulness
of the place. Handsome and well-flled
| stores, beautiful residences, and
BILE lawns, set in grass ard adorned with
| ~shrubbery and flowers, combine to pro-
claim a cultured community, possessed OF
| oil modern comforts and conveniences.
A city hall, three public school buildings,
| court. house, Mas onic 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 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 or
cold, no gnats, rats or mosquitoes. The
| air is pure, dry, rarified, and highly cleo
trifed-a certain cure for consumption, II
the disease be taken in tune. The not
waters sre a specific for liver. skin, rheu-
matte and blood disorders. Her Montezu-
ma hotel is the finest hosiery between
Chicago and Califoi mia, aud is situated in
a beautiful v 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,
TO sixty-five degrees-or even more. On
the other hand, in the summer, the heat is
never oppressive, in the shades. 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 reslnous aroma,
| rolling DOWN from the pine-clao 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-,ocked by mountain and mesa
these ell conspire to produce an atmos-
pnere which is a balm to all diseases OF the
respiratory organs. The percentage o.
death from consumption is lower In New
Mexico than it is any where else in the
United States; and no other place in New
Mexico excels las Vegas in the salubrrty
of its climate. Asthmatics experience
immediate and permanent relief, in thii
altitude.
sorts, Las Vegas iS unrivalel, In a radius
OF twenty miles, in romantic mouotait
glens and beside babhlirg mountain brooks
are the Las Vegas Hot Springs. Harvey's
ii Porvenir, Sandoval's Mineral Hill, Ro
nero Ranch, Blake's, Sparks, Sapeilo
Rociada, and other places, too n1E1eroui
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 ive weekly
papers, three banks, two building and LOAF
associations, three hotels. many boarding
houses, nine churches, a number OF clubs
and ali the leading civic and social soc1e
ties; a roller flour mill, capacity. fifty bar
rels per day two wool-scouring establish
ments, cleaning $500, 900 pounds Of WOO
annually; a well equipped brewery ant
bottling establishments: a mandatory 0
mineral and carbonated waters; W wag
on and carriage factories; a saddle AM
harness factory; a founciJ. elsc
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
| W11.6 lUG NOiuthS Va thAS
value of the stocks which they carry, ca
not be duplicated west of Kansas City an
sou,h of Denver. Three merchants hrok
ers have selected the city as their distrib
uting center, the amount of their yearl
!, sales exceeding, in the aggregate, the com
bined sales Of all other such brokers ]
New Mexico. The retail merchants, Q
Las Vegas. are more numerous, and carr
!, larger and better stocks of goods than d
the retail merchants OF any other town
this Territory or Arizona.
LAS VEGAS is the distributing point fo
I nearly all New Mexico. By the Atchlso
system. she has connection with Kansa
OF the east, Colorado on the north, Arlzo
ma and California on the west, and Texa
and Old Mexico on the south. Beside
these, she has more stsge lines, connec,in
her with tributary territory, than has an
other town in New Mexico. This territor
includes the entire section east and sout
of the mountains, and comprises the cour
ties Of Colfax, Mora, Taos, San M,gue
t Santa Fe, Socorro, Dona Ana, Gran
Chayes, Lincoln and Eddy, with parts
i Valencia and Bernalillo-a country larg'
thar all Eew England, This takes in tt
famous Valley ofthe Rio Grande, and I'll
less famous, but not less excellent, Vale
of the Ptcos-the finest fruit sections
the west.
This Territory is rich In everything thI
constitutes the Wealth of Nations. lroI
s. coal, lead, silver, gold, mica, limeston
sandstone, marbles, gypsum, soda in en-
ess variety and exhaustless qunntitie
are among the several products OF q
country which Las Vegas command
y Sheep. cattle and lumber abound, SO thl
10 each of these prime ~articlss Of CONNER
this city is the best market 10 New Mexic
, SIZE handles more wool than all the 9th
towns in the Territory combined, Will
IL her m in hides Is truly eno:mou
% In the same way, she stands pre-emine
and other farm products; while her tra'
10 Ice. gathered in the ~neighboriug moui
q tain canyons, extends east into Kanss