Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-10-24

Pennington" now. as twenty years
ago. when d. r. Locke used to send
the editors of the Colorado Farmer
glowing descriptions of the country
down there. sometimes accompanied
with samples" can hold its own as
against the new localities since open.
ed up.
+ s. Il. Koontz had, as the Durango
Herald reporter truly said. magni-
ficent display of farm products. num-
berirg over 100 varities, taking in
about everything that viii grow on a
farm in the temperate zone. His
corn struck me as particularly fine.
stalks measured twelve to fourteen
feet ears ten to twelve inches long,
very full and perfectly sound There
was pumpkin weighing 101 pounds,
the largest | have seen exhibited this
season. Fifty-four varities of vege-
tables. twenty seven grains and grass
es. two of corn and the balance made
| up of standard fruits, made an eXhib-
| 1t of which any farmer in the land
might well be proud. OF course he
carried off first premium for best
|
vidual prizes.
| noticed forage plant new to this
section of the country, but old else
where, especially in Canada, where IL
| is grown quite extensively 70, sheep.
1t was Essex rape. He grew it in his
corn field. and the specimens he had
We're three to four feet high. He
seemed to think it valuable fodder
plant for sheep feeding. 1t might be
well for those interested to give it
trial
La Plata ocunty vas ably :epr-,
sented by the model farmer of the
Las Animas valley, T. A. Kerr of Her
mosa, who made large display of
fruit and vegetables of the latter
there were more than fifty kinds. He
had the only novelty | have come
across this year-a Chinese pumpkin,
striped like some varieties of water
melons and very large: 1t must have
weighed over fifty pounds; but
-ould not find out whether it was good
FOR table use or for stock PURPOSES on
ly-probably the latter. His collec-
ton OF twenty-one boxes of apples
and ten of pears proved that favor
able conditions existed In his loca-
ton In pears | noted the Victor,
CARRIER. Clapp. Favorite. Bartlett. Ida
no and Rutler.
G. Il. Duly was also La Plata
county exhibitor; his fruit was well
arranged for display but novice
would have had to ask questions as
n, " ria OF Ia. ho ..
label any of them. A seedless peach,
however, carried off first premium,
while his apples seem to have con-
vinced the editor of the Herald that
the Animas valley would be a hard
one to beat in apple growing. With
which opinion | agree. as far as quail
ity as concerned.
There were Of course, other depart
ments and features having more or
less attraction to the thousands who
attended. The Woman's building
proved to be one of these. Here the
work of the fingers of women when
plying the needle showed excellence
in quality and quantity. The pantry
stores gave evidence of equal skill
in culinary work. In kodac pictures
and photos the collection was small
but good. There was also in this
building display of Navajo blankets,
trlnkets and pottery made by the Hyde
Exploration company of Pennington.
Which gives me an opportunity to
touch upon the presence of two In
dian tribes, making peculiar fea-
ture and one not usually seen at
county fair.
The directors of the fair, under
promise of providing for the wants
of the braves, the squaws, the pap
pooses and the other beasts of bur
den belonging to them, had brought
about 250 of the Navajoes and Utes
and established two Indian villages
within the enclosure. Here at mid
day and at nightfall groups of visi-
tors gathered to watch the wards of
the government cook and eat their
meals. A quarter of beef was quick
ly hacked into bits, dropped into fry
ing pans and cooked over scores of
little camp fires of wood about the
wagons of one and the teepes of the
other tribe. Loves of bread were dis
tributed by the agent in charge. and,
by the smell thereof, evidently the
coffee furnished had not the bean
mark upon the packages.
The difference in appearance and
environments of the two tribes was
at once noticeable. The Navajoes
were straight, slender, tall, intelli-
gent; the Utes. small, dumpy. slug
gish. The first are more or less in
dependent of the government, living
by themselves. providing their own
sustenance by farming and hunting
only aided by the government in the
way of implements TO-. farming The
Utes are careG for by the government
and hence have no incentive to work.
They get their grub. live in idleness
and dirt, and judging from the num-
| ber OF pappooses about the substan-
| tial teepees furnished them by the
| Great Father at Washington, are not
decreasing in number. They were
well clothed, and the ugliness of the