Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1897-03-20
This LOCALITY
Las Vegas the Chief City
of New Mexico-- Some
of Her Resources,
Attractions and
Advantages.

Las VEGAS IL 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 IL infinitely superior.
There Is no malaria, no excessive o or
| cold, no gnats, rats or mosquitoes. The
air 10 pure, dry, rariied, and highly cleo
trihed-a certain cure for consumption, II
the disease be taken In time. The hot
waters are a specific for liver, skin, rheu-
ma hotel Is the finest hostelry between
Chicago and California, n 10 situated In
. beautiful canyon, five miles from town,
where the Hot Springs, forty In number,
come boiling to the surface.
The latitude " 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 10 often runs, In the sunshine,
to sixty-hve degrees-or even more. On
the other hand, In the summer, the heat 10
never oppressive, In the shade, and no
night is too warm for comfortable sleep,
under one or two blankets. The sun viii
shine nine days out Of every ten, the year
round. This. with the extreme dryness of
he air, caused by the very slight prccipi-
tation Of moisture; the resinous aroma,
rolling down from the pine clad our
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 a balm TO all diseases Of the
respiratory organs. The percentage OF
death from consumption is lower In New
Mexico than II Is anywhere else In the
United States; and no other place In New
Mexico excels Las Vegas in the salubrity
immediate and permanent relief, In this
altitude.
In the way of health and pleasure re-
sorts, Las Vegas Is unrivaled. In q radius
or twenty miles, in romantic mountain
glens and beside babbling mountain brooks,
Ell Porvenir, S~andoval'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 Ave 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-
ties; a roller -four mill, capacity. fifty bar
rels per day; two w~ool-scouring~ establish
ments, cleaning 100000 pounds Of wool
annually; q ~well-equipped brewery and
b~ottling establishment; mandatory Of
mineral and ~carbonated waters; two wag-
on and carriage factories; a saddle and
harness 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;
.uLsf~ 4Lo .~r,,,A - fhfu Tad. Axd fka
value of the stocks which they carry, can
not be duplicated west Of Kansas City M
southo 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
larger and better stocks Of goods than 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 Atchlson
system, she has connection with Kansas
ma and California on the west, and Texas
and Old Mexico IN the south. Besides
these, she has more stage lines, connecting
her with tributary territory, than has any
other town in New Mexico. This territory
the entire section east and south
OF the mountains, ana omprlse tn0 cOun-
ties Of Colfax, Mora, Taos, San Miguel,
Santa Fe, Socorro, Dona Ana, Grant.
Chavss, Lincoln and Eddy, with parts of
Valencia and Bernalillo-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 Pecos-the finest fruit sections Of
the west.
This Territory Is rich In 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
country which Las Vegas commands.
Sheep, cattle and lumber abound, so that
In each of these prime articles OF
this city is the best market ia New Mexico.
She handles more wool than all the other
towns in the Territory combined, while
her In hides Is truly enormous
In the same way, she stands p~re-eminent
for her trade in grain, hay, vegetables
aud other farm products; while her trade
In ice, gathered In the n~eighboring noun
tain canyons extends east into Kansas,
west into Arizona, and south into Old
Mexico