Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-04-13
This LOCALITY
Las Vegas, the Chief City
of New Mexico Some
of Her Resources,
Attractions and
Advantages.

d lies on both sides OF the Gnlllnas river
Q and, with its suburbs, has about 1000
inhabitants.
8 1t has water works, street cars, arc an
i~ncandescent 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 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. Tht
streets are wide and we'll graded, whil'
sidewalks abound, shaded with growing
trees. Three parks, filed with grass and
trees, add to the beauty and healthfulnest
of the place. Handsome and we'll filled
stores, beautiful residences, and innumera
BILE lawns, set in grass int adorned with
shrubbery and flowers, combine to pro-
claim a cultured community, possessed OF
all modern comforts inc 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 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, 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
trified-a certain cure for consumption, IL
the disease be taken In time. The hot
waters are o 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 Is about the same as that OF
centred 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
grees, while it often runs, in the sunshine,
to sixty-fve 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 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 thealtitude; and the location of the
town, land locked by mountain and mesa
all conspire to produce an atmos-
pnere which is a 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
States; and no other place In New
Mexico excels Las Vegas in the salubrIty
of its climate Asthmatics experience
immediate and permanent relief, in this
altitude.
In the way OF health and pleasure re-
sorts, Las Vegas " unrivaled. In o radius
OF twenty miles, in romantic mountain
glens and beside babbling mountain brooks,
Ell Porvenir, Sandoval's 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,
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,
and ali the leading civic and social socie-
ties; a roller fiuur mill, capacity, fifty bar
rels per day; two wool-scouring establish
ments, cleaning 100000 pounds Of wool
annually; a we'll equipped brewery and
bottling establishment; a mandatory OF
mineral and carbonated waters; two wag-
on and carriage factories; a saddle and
factory; q 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;
Wnli0 the VOlume VI ILLS tTuucy duu tu6
value of the stocks which they carry, can
be duplicated west of Kansas City and
south 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 u brokers in
New Mexico. The retail merchants, of
Vegas, are more numerous, and carry
and better stocks of goods tina do
the retail merchants OF any other town in
his Territory or Arizona.
LAS VEGAS Is the distributing point for
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
AMI Old Mexico on the south. Besides
these, she has more stage lines, connecting
with tributary territory, than has any
other town in New Mexico. This territory
includes the entire section east n south
of 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
Valencia and Bernaliilo-a country larger
than all New England. This takes In the
famous Valley ofthe Rio Grande, and the
less famous, but not less excellent, Valley
of the Pscos-the finest fruit sections Of
the west.
This Territory is rich 10 everything that
constitutes the Wealth Of Nations. Iron,
coal, lead, silver, gold, mica, limestone,
marbles, gypsum, soda in end
ess variety and exhaustless quantities,
are among the several products of the
which Las Vegas commands.
Sheep, cattle and lumber abound, so that
In zach Of these prime articles of commerce
city Is the best market In New Mexico.
She handles more wool than all the other
towns in the Territory combined, while
her m 10 hides is truly enormous.
In the same way, she stands ~pre-eminent
for har frane IN praina. hav. Vegetables |