Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-06-06
CITY OF CONTRASTS
The Old and the New, the Historic
and the Present, Mingle at
Santa Fe.
TINE HAS BROUGHT
A City Unique In History and In Appear
ance-Its Climate Is Perfect and Its
Surrounding Scenery Is Mag
nifcent.

research, Santa Fe is by far the most
interesting city of the American CONT
nent, and despite the encroachments of
a new and exceedingly matter-of-fact
civilization, it will always remain rich
in the treasures of a semi -barbarous
but picturesque and splendid past. A
halo of romance clings about this grand
old town, not to be wholly dissipated
even by the spirit of industrial and
commercial progress, infused into the
dreamy life by the stern hand of the
Anglo-Saxon during the early days Of
the American occupation.
No more fascinating study could be
imagined than that furnished by the
gradual blending and i~ntermingling Of
these two opposing e~lements-the mod
city lin America is the result of this
strange amalgamation so marked. -
Separated only by a narrow street, a
modern brick building. heated by steam
ed with everything that goes to make
for comfort and convenience, looks out
upon the old palace Of h~istory-the pal
ace Of Onate, De Vargas, Escobar, Pc
rea, Peralta, Chavez. Baca, Armijo, Or
tiz, Sandoval, Vigil, and half a hun
dEed other historic leaders in the series
Of strange vicissitudes through which
New Mexico has passed in the varied
m%odulations under which a Spanish
province finally became a territory of
the United States.
What a long train of tragic events,
stretching back into the dim regions of
antiquity, is m%arshalled for review by
a thoughtful inspection Of this old adobe
pile. beneath whose roof the armor-
clad soldiers discussed the DEGREES of
the Spanish inquisition!
About it's windows one evening in Au-
gust Of a later day, many dark, stern
faces gathered to see the setting sun
cast it's last rays upon the first Amel-
lean flag given to the breezes of New
Mexico, as an emblem of authority-to
them no doubt a sign of hateful con-
quest-but in reality the harbinger of
the brightest day that ever came to
New Mexico.
Passing through one of the narrow,
winding streets of this old town, with
its irregular row of picturesque adobe
huts on either side, like the frayed
binding Of a WOrn-Out garment, one al
most expects to see a Spanish soldier
step forth, his dark eyes cleaning un-
der polished helmet, and his heavy
sword clanking against the cumberous
armor of the medieval period. From
such a thoroughfare, through which
occasionally a burro train load
ed with firewood or vegetables. and
herded by a slow-moving mar Of Span
ish or Mexican descent, who perchance
will sell his produce standing under an
electric light, 1t is easy to look out up
on the old plaza and see in imagination
travel-worn caravan Of the Santa Fe
trail, unloading its freight as in the
days of yore. But this pleasant reverie
is likely to " rudely shattered, for
adown another street leading into the
plaza dashes a smart turnout. The
harnesses of the sleek-coated animals
are mounted with silver. A coachman
in livery sits straight and dignified up
on the box, and the occupants Of the
carriage, two richly attired ladies, smile
and bow as they pass a gentleman
dressed in the latest fashion. A group
of natives lounging in the sun about the
palace front gaze in wonder after the
swift passing equipage. and on an ada
cent corner a bright-eyed newsboy Is
the daily paper, the New Mexi-
can.
Thus the elements of Santa Fe's IN
vironments meet and mingle. The dust
stained caravan unloaded long ago for
the last time in the plaza, and the
warriors of Coronado have long
since gone to their reward, but their
memories are ever green to the fanci-
full, and the Imagination is given to
strange flights, in an environment
heavy with the dust and cobwebs of
lIdl L IlO OIC ulopCIICu Wy hC
of the locomotive and the whis-
tie of the steam engine running the
power presses at the New Mexican
Printing Company.
The Rio Santa Fee, which Is one Of the
historic streams of the United States,
pours its water into an immense mod
ern reservoir above the city that holds
450, 900, 900 gallons Of water, and which
has replaced the primitive methods of
irrigation still to be seen here and there
and has transformed Santa Fe and sur
roundings into a garden spot that Is
fair to behold. Barren, sunbaked lands
have been changed by the magic touch
of water into orchards that bloom with
subtle and yet all-pervading fragrance
in the balmy days Of spring, and are
laden with luscious fruit when come the
golden days of autumn.
From a large power plant the electric
current is sent to business houses, to
in every part of the city, and
lights the streets at night. Yet there
are homes to be found in the city, and
there are churches f%requented by wor-
shippers where candles, the same as in
the days Of the forefathers, furnish the
only illumination. Thus on every side,
on the streets, in the s~anctuaries, IN the
homes, are found contrasts that appeal
to a 1t is here that the bygone
centuries and the twentieth century