Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-03-17
LOCALITY
Las Vegas, the Chief City
of New Mexico--S Some
of Her Resources,
(. Attractions and
Advantages.

and, with its suburbs, has about 1000
inhabitants.
1t has water works, street cars, arc ant
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 ane
tie-prcssrving 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, marrow, crooked
streets, native people and customs, hand
crafts and occupations; but the plaza aud
| all of the new town, east Of the river, CON
~stltuts a distinctive American city. The
streets are wide and we'll graded, Will
sidewalks abound. shaded with growing
trees. Three parks, III ed with grass and
trees, add to the beauty and healthfulness
OF the place. Handsome and filled
stores, beautiful residences, and innumera-
bic lawns, set in grass and adorned with
shrubbery and flowers, combine to pro-
claim a cultured community, possessed Of
all modern comforts and convenlences
"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 mauual training school,
Christian Brothers, institute, City high
school, three grad.d 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 wat rs are the
equal. of the Hot Springs Of Arkansas,
wnIie her climate IL inhoitelv superior.
There is no malaria, no excessive heat or
cold, no gnats, rats Or mosquitoes. The
air is pure, dry, rsrifed, and highly cleo
trified-a certain cure for cOnsum ption, ii
the disease be taken In time. The hot
y aters are a specific for liver, skin, rbeu-
matte and blood disorders. Her Moptezu-
ma hotel is the finest hosiery betweeD
Chicago and Califoi MIA, and is situated IL
a beautiful canyon, Ave miles from. town,
where the Hot Springs, forty In number,
come boiling TO the surface.
Tue latitude 10 about the same as that oil
central Tennessee. while the altitude is
nearly 6 800 feet. This combination eiv,s
a peculiar, but m st happy, result. In the
winter, during the day, the thermometer
seldom falls, 10 the shade, below forty de-
grees, while IL often runs, In the sunshine,
to sixty-fve degrees-or ven 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,
down from the pine-ctad noun
tains; the large amount of electricity IN
the air, and the consequent ozone, result
ing from thealtirude and the location OF the
town, land locked by mountain and mesa
all conspire to produce an atmos-
phere which is a balm to all diseases OF the
organs. The percentage of
death from consumption is lower in New
Mexico than it is any where else In the
States; and no other place In New
Mexico excels Las Vegas in the ~salubrity
OF ITS climate. .Astnmat:cs experience
and permanent relief, In this
In tue way OF health and pleasure re-
sorts, Las Vegas il uprtvaleL. In a radius
OF twenty miles, in romantic mountain
glens and beside babblipg mountain brooks,
are the Les Vegas Hot Springs, Harvey's,
Ell Porvenir, Sandoval's Mineral Hill, Ro-
nero Ranch, Blake's, Sparks, Sape.lo,
Rociada, aud other places, too Numerous
TO mention, where health can be recovered,
and life becomes q pleasure to the eunuye,
the invalid, the over-worked business man
LAS vEGAs has two daily and ave weekly
papers, three banks, two building n loan
associations, three hotels. many boarding
houses, niue churches, a number OF cluts,
and all the leading civic and social sncie-
ties; a roller -four mill, capacity, fifty bar
rels per day; two Woodworking establish
cleaning 1900, COO pouLd- OF wo
annually; a we'll equipped brewery and
biting establishments; a manufactory of
and carbonated waters; two wag-
on snd carriage factories; q saddle and
factory; a foundI., elsc-
trio light plant, three planning milis.
other enterprises Of less Importance.
There ere eight large wholesale houses,
trade extends through ut the Ter
a u AhtO buO ~ Aptd
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 amount OF their yearly |
sales exceeding, in the aggregate, the com
sales of all other such brokers In
New Mexico. The retail merchants, q
Las Vegas, are more numerous, and carry
and better storks Of goods than do
retail merchants OF any other town In
this Territory or Arizona.
LAS VEGAS il the distributing point for
nearly all New Mexico. By the Atcblson
she has connection with Kansas
on the east, Colorado on the north, Arizo-
pa and California on the west, and Texas
.nd Old Mexico on the south. Besides
th. Sc, she has more stage lines, connecting
her with tributary territory, than has any
town IN New Mexico. This territory
includes the entire section east and south
If the mountains, and comprises the coun-
u Colfex, Mora, Taos, San Miguel, |
Fe, Socorro, Dona Ana, Grant.
Valencia and Bernalillo-a country larger
than all New England. This takes in THE
famous Valley ofthe Rio Grande, and the
famous, hut not less excellent, Valley
Of the Pscos-the finest frn:t sections Of
the west.
This Territory Is rich 10 everything b q
constitutes the Wealth of Natl ns. Iron,
coal, lead, silvsr, gold, mics, limestone,
marbles, gypsum, soda in end
ess vpriety and e~xhaustless quantities,
among the several products Of the
country which Las Vegas commands.
Sheep, cattle and lumber abound, SO that
la each OF these prime articles Of commerce
city Is the bestsmsrket IN New Mexico.
Sic handles more wool than all the other
sowps in this Territory combined, while
her In hides is truly enotmoo
In the same way, she tands pre-em,nent
for her trade in grains, hay, vegetables.
and other farm PRODUCTS; viii Q her trade
~ ice. gathered in the neighboriug moun-
tain CANYONS, extends east into Kansas.