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

exchanges, Territorial agricultural expert
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. Th'
streets are wide and well graded, Will
sidewalks abound, shaded with growing
trees. Three parks, filed with grass ant
trees, add to the beauty and healthfulnes
of the place. Handsome and we'll flllet
stores, beautiful residences, and innumera
BILE la WINS, 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 edifce,
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 higl
school, three graded public schools, a kin,
dergarten, a commercial school and tive
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 iDfinitelv 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, II
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
q 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 it often runs, In the sunshine.
to sixty-fve degrees-or even more. On
the other band, 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
oun This, with the extreme dryness of
the air, caused by the very slight precipi.
tation of moisture; the r~esinous aroma,
rolling down from the pine-cIad 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
these all conspire to produce an atmos-
phere which is q balm to all diseases Of the
respiratory organs. The percentage of
death from consumption is lower In New
Mexico than it is any where else In the
United States; and no other place 10 New
Mexico excels Las Vegas in the salubrlty
of its climate. A~sthnatice experience
immediste and permanent relief, IN this
altitude.
"a the way of health and pleasure re-
sorts, Las Vegas il unrivaled. In a radius
OF twenty miles, 10 romantic mouptaiu
glens aud beside habbling mountain brooks,
are the Las Vegas Hot Springs, Harvey's,
Ell Porvenir, Sandoval's Mineral Hill, Ro-
mere Ranch, Blake's, Sparks, Sapeilo,
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 ive weekly
papers, three banks, two building and loan
associations, three hotels, many boarding
houses, nine churches, a number of clubs,
and all the leading civic and social socie-
ties; a roller -four mill, capacity, fifty bar
rels per day; two wool-scouring establish
ments, cleaning 1900. 600 pounds of wool
annually; a w~ell-equipped brewery and
bottiing esta blishment; a mandatory of
mineral and carbonated waters; two wag-
on and carriage factories; a saddle and
harness factory; foundr 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
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
bined 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 thar do |
the retail merchants Of any other town in
this Territory or Arizona.
LAS VEGAS is the distributing point for !
nearly all New Mexico. By the Atchlsop
system, she has connection with Kansas
the east, Colorado on the north, Arizo-
IA and California On the west, and Texas
Old Mexico on the sonth. Besides
these, she has more stage lines, connecting
ner with tributary territory, than has any
other town in New Mexico. This territory
the entire section east and south
# the mountains, and comprises the coun-
lies Of Colfax, Mora, Taos, San Miguel,
Santa Fe, Socorro, Dona Ana, Grant,
Jhaves, Lincoln and Eddy. with parts of
Valencia and Bernalillo-a country larger
Valley ofthe Rio Grande, and the
ess famous, but not less excellent, Valley
II the Pecos-the finest fruit sections Of
be west.
This Territory is rich ia everything that
constitutes the Wealth of Nations. Iron.
'oal, lead, silver, gold, mics, limestone.
andstone. marbles, gypsum, soda In end
variety and exhaustless quantities.
IRE among the several products of the
ountry which Las Vegas commands,
'heep, cattle and lumber abound, SO that
2 each OF these prime articles of commerce
his city Is the best market in New Mexico,
handles more wool thar all the other
in the Territory combined. while
Ier commerce 10 bides Is truly enormous.
n the same way, she stands pre-eminent
or her trade in grains, hay, vegetables. /
nd other farm rroducts: while her trade
p Ice. gathered In the neighboriug noun
ain canyons, extends east into Kansas.
rest ioto Arizona, end south into Old