The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-18
Have Established Another Col
Ony in Southwestern Colo.
10000 ARE EXPECTED.
Advance Guard is Already on
the Ground.
d. & r. g. Promises to Build
a Branch Lines

]
| western Colorado.
| The settlers are Croatians, a sturdy race
of European people of whom there are
10000 in the United States. Their point
of destination is the valley of the Shen-
andoah, a region, a region seventy miles
south of Grand Junction, in Montrose
| and San Miguel counties. This region is
! described by those who have visited it as
| the ideal agricultural district of Colorado,
| unsurpassed in soil. climate and irrigation
| possibilities and destined to make itself
! known throughout the land as population
increases and the natural advantages of
various portions of the continent are more
fully recognized.
The nine settlers now en- route to south
| western Colorado are a small contingent
of the great army which. is expected to
follow Already 125 settlers are upon the
ground and their reports have stimulat-
ed hundreds of their brethren, who look
with longing eyes toward a region which
they expect to make their future home
The movement is the largest immigra-
ton enterprise Colorado has ever known.
1t contempIates the settlement in south
western Colorado of at least 1900 families,
comprising 10000 individuals, within the
next twelve months. This aggregation Of
energy and muscle proposes to found in
one of the most beautiful valleys of the
word, an 1ueal community IN W0lCn eacn
member will retain the rewards of his own
exertions and in which all labor for the
general advancement of the community.
1t is proposed to build houses, schools,
churches, factories, irrigation canals and
catchment basins, establish newspaper
and to carry forward all the operations
of providing for the wants of the whole
community, Independently, if necessary,
of the busy world beyond the mountains.
4I,s,
federal laws as relating to entry upon
government land and every head of
family will file upon homestead No
man is received into the colony who is
not citizen of the United States. or at
least has not taken out the first papers
necessary for citizenship
The management of the Denver & Rio
Grande railroad is in hearty sympathy
with the movement and for months past
has been in communication with the pa
rent society which has selected south
western Colorado as the location of the
great colony. The railroad company has
made rates and granted terms which are
perfectly satisfactory to the special COM
mittee in charge of the movement and the
society has the pledge of the Denver &
Rio Grande that if settlers are located
in the valley as promised a branch road
will be built to the valley from d point
on the Rio Grande Southern, twenty miles
away
Charles Kuharich, secretary of the so
ciety and one of the leading Croatians of
the United States, is in the city. Mr.. Ku-
harich was in consultation yesterday with
Major Hooper, general passenger agent
of the Denver & Rio Grande road, and
later in the day was seen at the office Of
the GurIey Investment company, on the
eighth floor of the Cooper building. The
visitor was engaged in looking through
voIuminous mail which had been forward
ed to him from various parts of the coun-
try. The letters were from prospective
settlers; railway land agents, railway pas
senger representatives, and individuals
who have axes to grind whenever new
enterprise is fairly launched.
Yes" said the secretary in answer to
inquiries, what you say is true. We are
locating the largest colony ever under
taken by the Croatian Colonization society
and we are locating the colony in this
state. I visited all parts of the country,
north, south and west, but when my eye
fell on the beautiful valley which we
have chosen as our home, Immediately
felt that the end of my long journey had
been reached. 'Banat,' exclaimed one of
our party, and ,Banat is the name which
we have given the valley. 1t is named
after the most beautiful valley of the
country in which we were born. While
we never expect again to see our native
land, for we have become American citi-
zens, we viii constantly be reminded OF
the scenes of our childhood
The secretary of the colonization society
is a man of marked personality. He
speaks half a dozen languages, and the
present Colorado society is the
third attempt he has made in establish
ing his countrymen in agricultural pur-
suits. A colony of 500 in Livingston
ago by Secretary Kuharich and later he
established a colony of 1,4O0 in Russell
county, Kansas. The Georgia colonists
are engaged in raising grapes and making
wine and the Kansas colony employ them
selves in farming and fruit raising. Both
attempts have been highly successful from
a financial standpoint and the colOnists
are satisfied and prosperous. Newspapers
of Kansas have recently been telling of
the peculiar methods of banking employ
ed by the Croatians of Russell county.
The failure of several banks in that por-
ton of the state warned the settlers and
they now bury their cash in the ground
instead of entrusting it to the banks
Mr. Kuharich has visited Denver a
number of times, but he never met a
newspaper representa- tive in the city un-
til yesterday "One of the first enterprises
we expect to put upon its feet" said he.
s'is a newspaper. The plant is now in
San Francisco and will be moved to the
Shenandoah valley in short time. We
expect TO establish a cannery and to go
into the cultivation of the sugar beet on
a large scale. Our people are not afraid
of getting down on their hands and knees
in the fields and our women and children
are as active in outdoor work as the men.
In fact, the women are often more ener-
getic than the opposite sex. We are a