Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-04-14
THIS LOCALITY
Las Vegas, the Chief City
of New Mexico Some
of Her Resources,
Attractions and
.g Advantages.

1t has water works, street cars, arc Al
! i~ncandescent electric light plant, telephor
exchanges, Territorial agricultural exper
ment station, headquarters OF the Atch
son railway system, New Mexico division
togosnvt with railroad mucnine shops an
tie preserving works.. stock yards, and I'll
largest sheep shearing and dipping plai
In the United States.
West OF the river, the old town has th
quaint and picturesque Mexican appear
ance = adobe houses, narrow, crooke
streets, native people and customs, hand
crafts and occupations; but the plaza an
all Of the new town, east Of the river, con
stitute q distinctive American city. Tn
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
s~hrubbery 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 edifces
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, 10 gnats, rats or mosquitoes. The
air Is pure, dry, rarified, and highly cleo
trified-a certain cure for consumption, if
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 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 1t often runs, In the sunshine,
to sixty-fve degrees-or ever 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, AN d-locked by mountain and mesa
all conspire to produce ar atmos-
phere which is q palm to all diseases OF the
respiratory organs. The percentage of
death from consumption is lower In New
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
and permanent relief, in this
In the way of health and pleasure re-
sorts, Las Vegas IL 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, Sandoval's Mineral Hill, Ro-
nero Ranch, Blake's, Sparks, Sapello,
Rociada, and other places, too Numerous
10 mention, where health can be recovered,
and life becomes a pleasure TO the ennuye,
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
nine churches, q number of clubs,
and all the leading civic and social socie-
tiss; a roller fiour MILL capacity, fifty bar
rels per day two wool-scouring establish
cleaning 100000 pounds Of wool
annually; a well-equipped brewery and
and carbonated waters; two wag-
On and carriage factories; a saddle and
factory; a foundry. cleo
tric 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
the volume of this trade, and the
value of the stocks which they carry, can
1ot be duplicated west of Kansas City and
south of Denver. Three merchants brok-
,rs have selected the city as their distrib-
,ting 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
Las Vegas, are more numerous, and carry
and better stocks Of goods than do
he retail merchants OF any other town In
Territory or Arizona.
LAS VEGAS is the distributing point for
nearly all New Mexico. By the Atchlson
she has connection with Kansas
N the east, Colorado on the north, Arizo-
Ia and California on the west, and Texas
nd Old Mexico on the south. Besides
hese, she has more stage lines, connecting
Ter with tributary territory, than has any
,ther town in New Mexico. This territory
the entire section east and south
# the mountains, and comprises the coun-
les Of Colfsx, Mora, Taos, San Miguel,
Fe, Socorro, Dona Ana, Grant.
Jbaves, Lincoln and Eddy, with parts of
Talencia and Bernalillo-a country larger
han all New England. This takes in the
amous Valley ofthe Rio Grande, and the
ess famous, but not less excellent, Valley
Il 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,
andstone. marbles, gypsum, o In end
'ss variety and exhaustless quantities,
ire among the several products Of the
which Las Vegas commands.
sheep, cattle and lumber abound, so that
n each of these prime articles of
his city is the best market In New Mexico.
,be handles more wool than all the other
owns in the Territory combined, while
Ter 10 hides is truly enormous.
or sher trade In grains, hay, vegetables, !
ind other farm products: while her trade
o ice. gathered in the neighboring noun
ain canyons, extends east into Kansas,
vest jato Arizona, and south into Old