Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-05-15
FAIR RIO ARRIBA COUNTY
The Present Year Promises to Be One
of the Most Prosperous in the His
tory of the County.
THE SHEEPNEN ARE VERY BUSY
The Rio Grande Railroad Has Con-
tracted to Take $4,000 Tons of
Coal This Year from the Rio
Arriba Coal Company at
Monero.

Special Correspondence New Mexican:
Ell Rito, N. M, May 10, 1S97.-The pres
ent year promises to be one of the most
prosperous in the history of this,
Rio Arriba county. During the winter
much snow has fallen, and in the noun
tains the snow has hardly yet commenced
to melt. In addition this spring there
have been plentiful rains and the ranges
for cattle and sheep are in splendid con-
dition.
The cattle business in this county has
gone down great deal and sheep have
| taken the place of cattle, which your cor,
respondent thinks, is a great thing for Rio
Arriba county, as the sheep industry gives
EN- ployment to more men and at better
wages than does the cattle business.
The sheepmen of the county are very
busy these days lambing. They are with
their herds, supervising the Landing
and shearing and giving the business
their personal attention. The crop of
lambs will be great, from 80 to IS per
cent, and fully 80 per cent are being
saved, and in some favored localities the
lamb crop amounts to 100 per cent, OF
which IS per cent are being saved.
The principal sheep owners of this
county are Hon. T. D. Burns of TERRA
Amarillo, Hon. Reyes Gonzales of Abb
quiu, Hon. J. NJ. Archnleta OF Lumberton,
Hon. Venceslado Jaramillo of Ell Rito,
and Sheriff Perfecto Esquibel Of TERRA
Amarillo. These five men own between
125,00O and 10000 head of sheep and are
practical sheepmen, making success Of
the business. They are good citizens in
the best sense of the word and give en-
ployment at good wages to hundreds of
men herding sheep during the lambing
and shearing season.
Verify Rio Arribs county is coming to
the front as a sheep raising county.
Every one of the five men mentioned is
staunch Republican, as wool grower
and sheep raiser naturally should be.
The prospects for crops Of cereals are
| also fine, the best for years. The Ohama
| river contains vast quantity of water
and is not fordable below Abiguiu. In
the TERRA Amarillo country and that
part of Rio Arriba county traversed BY
the d. b r. G. railroad, excellent crops of
wheat, oats, and potatoes will be raised, in
the lower Chama valley and in the Rio
| Grande valley big crops of wheat, corn,
beans, alfalfa, garden truck and fruit will
be the rule.
The wool sheared in this county is
mostly marketed in and shipped from the
town of Ohama, this fact making Chama
one of the best stations on the Durango
division of the road.
Lumber and coal business on the Tier
ra Amarillo grant and al Monero is look
ing up, it being understood that the d. l.
r. G. railroad will take 900 tons of GOAL
this year from the Rio Arriba Coal com
pany at Monero.
The wool crop will be immense and the
best posted sheepmen in the country tell
me that they fully believe next year Rio
Arriba county will have double the num-
Der of sheep over this year within its
borders. That means wealth for many
people. Lambs for bntchers' use or for
feeders use are hard to get now at 81 a
head and are being held a. from $1.10 to
$1.15 per head. Later in the season
prices may still advance. RIO ARRIBA.