Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-04-24
THIS LOCALITY
Las Vegas, the Chief City
Of New Mexico Some
of Her Resources,
Attractions and
Advantages.

w
Inhabitants.
1t has water works, street cars, arc m
incandescent electric light plant, telephor
exchanges, Territorial agricultural exper
ment STATEN, headquarters OF the Aich
son railway system, New Mexico divisiol
together with railroad machine shops an
representing works, stock yards, and til
largest sheep shearing and dipping plar
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 aud customs, handi
crafts and occupations; but the plaza an
all OF the new town, east Of the river, con
stitute a distinctive American city. TIL
streets are wide and well graded, Will
sidewalks abound. shaded with CROWN
trees. Three parks, filed with grass an
trees, add to the beauty and healthfulnes
of the place. Handsome and well-flle,
stores, beautiful residences, and innumera
BILE lawns, set in grass and adorned witt
%shrubbery and flowers, combine to pro
claim a cultured community, possessed o
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 edifcel
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 a specific for liver, skin, rheu-
matte and blood disorders. Her Montezu-
ma hotel is the finest hOStelry 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 10 about the same as that OF
central Tennessee, while tine 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-five degrees-or even more. On
the other hand, in the summer, the heat Is
never oppressive, IN the shade, and NO
night is too warn 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-cl la mou
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-
pierre which is a balm to all diseases of the
organs. The percentage of
death from consumption is lower In New
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. Asthmatics experience
and permanent relief, in this
In the way of health and pleasure re-
sorts, Las Vegas IL unrivaled. In a radins
OF twenty miles, In romantic mountain
glens and beside babbling mountain brooks,
are the Las Vegas Hot Springs. Harvey's,
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,
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 loan
associations, three hotels, many boarding
houses, nine churches, q number OF clubs,
and all the leading civic and social socie-
tiss; a roller -four mill, capacity, fifty bar
rels per day; two wooi-scouring establish
annually a well-equipped brewery and
establishment; q mandatory OF
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
value of the stocks which they carry, can
aot be duplicated west of Kansas City and
south of Denver. Three merchants brok. |
,rs rave selected the city as their distrib-
ltipg center, the amount of their yearly |
,ales exceeding, in the aggregate, the COM
sales Of all other such brokers In
New Mexico. The retail merchants, of
-. JT---n 49, Aw 2o-w- 1
arger and better stocks OF goods than do
The retail merchants OF any other town in
his Territory or Arizona.
LAS VEGAS is the distributing point for
nearly all New Mexico. By the Atchlson
IysteIn, she has connection with Kansas
N the east, Colorado on the north, Arizo-
la and California on the west, and Texas
Old Mexico on he south. Besides
'hese, she has. more stage lines, connecting
,ther town in New Mexico. This territory
includes the entire section east and south
# the mountains, and comprises the coun-
les Of Colfax, Mora, Taos, San Miguel,
Fe, Socorro, Dona Ana, Grant,
Chaves, Lincoln and Eddy, with parts of
Valencia and Bernalillo-a country larger
han all New England. This takes in the
Valley ofthe Rio Grande, and the
ess famous, u not less excellent, Valley
II the Pecos-the finest fruit sections OF
he west.
This Territory is rich 10 everything that
the Wealth of Nations. Iron,
,oal, lead, silver, gold, mica, limestone,
andstone. 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
n zach Of these prime articles Of commerce
citv Ia the best market in New Mexico. |
She handles more wool than all the other
owns in the Territory combined, while
Ter In hides is truly
the same way, she stands pre-eminent
or her trade in grains, hay, vegetables,
other farm products; while her trade
n ice, gathered In the neigbboring noun
iain canyons. extends east into Kansas,