St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1902-02-26
In the Land of "Poco Tempo"

River Junction, sacred to the memory o
the late Mr.. "Penty of Time" and g
two hours delay at Buffalo where the
big Lake Shore engine couldn't make
steam in below zero weather, were only a
foretaste to what happered near Chi
cago. Here our train was delayed ten
hours on a temporary track where the
old experiment had been tried of two
trains passing each other on the same
track. Like the tramp, this wouldn't
work, and one engineer was taken out OF
the wreck with an arm and leg broken
after being buried under six tons of coal
for three hours.
The land of POGO tempo" is also, as
Mr.. Lummis we'll says, 1.-THE land OF con-
trasts.' The great railway system
which owns 10000 miles of track be-
tween Chicago and San Francisco is the
Santa Fe line in the West and the Atchi-
son in the Boston and New York
markets. 1t is one of the longest systems
in the world, tho there are half a dozen
Others whose mileage is neatly as large.
Just as the development of Southern
| California can be attributed to the en-
terprise OF the Raymonds, so we'll known
in our section. so this section has been
opened up by the Santa Fe line. | know
little about the natural resources of New
Mexico and Arz )na, but | shall see some
OF the greatest scenic wonders OF the
world aud interesting reminders of the
oldest civilization in North America.
| Eastern tourists are just beginning to
appreciate the attractions of these terri
tories, and where there are hundreds to-
day FIRMLY believe there will be thou
sands within the next few years. And
why not Here is our oldest civilization,
the ruins of the Cliff dwellers and the
rocky homes of the Pueblos still occupied
by rich Indians. And Arizona is natures
wonderland-the petrihed forest and the
grand canyon of the Colorado. All that
| have just mentioned lies within easy
access of the main line of the Santa Fe,
and passengers on the "California
limited" in their fevcrish haste to reach
the Pacific coast pass by all these Won
derful sights at As miles an hour, and
refer to this section as the most uninter-
esting portion of their trip. Passengers
with through tickets on the overland
train are not only gwen stopovers for
Las Vegas Hot Springs and Santa Fe,
but are carried to both places on branch
Tires free of expense.
said this was the land OF contrasts,
and | have onl " to look out of my win.
dow to prove nv statement. The mer-
curry stands at 65 on the broad piazza,
the sun shines from a clOudess sky So
bright that cOlored glasses are quite use
full, and from this window can see tour
ponds where the ice is Is inches thick.
Wild flowers are blooming on the walks,
the bluejays ard buntings sing not too
sweetly, and three of our guests have
just come in from skating. A few DAYS
ago one OF the gentlemen skated on the
largest pond willie his good vile sat in
the sun on the bank crocheting and wear
ing shirt waist This spirit of contrast
even pervades the hotel, for the signs in
the park read use the walks" instead of
keep OF the grass
The ice crop at this place is not men
| toned in the attractive booklets sent to
eastern tourists, but it pays bt tier than
! anything else here. The CANYON of the
river Las GalIinas lies east and west and
the warm rays Ct the sun only touch
| the water for short time each day. Be-
meath these high cliffs a syndicate has
built a dozen cams and three crops of ice
are harvested every winter. They have
been sending so carloads day to poin S
hundreds OF miles away and their total
crop this season will be 10000 tons
This is the only place in the territory
where ice is harvested for trade purposes,
and the spirit Of contrast is again in evil
dence, for the manager of the ice syudi-
cate is Kentucky colonel
AS my knowledge of agriculture is
limited to the fruitIess task OF raising
vegetables in my own garden from gov
erument seed, | can hardly speak with
authority OF the resources Of this region.
The guide book speaks of broad ranges,
where hundreds of thousands of sleek
cattle and countless focks OF sheep
browse upon nutritious grasses" In a
territory as large as New England there
must be some fertile spots, but the cry
ing need OF this whole section is water,
and the people irrespective of party con-
hdently expect that President Roosevelt
will favor their great irrigation scheme,
1t only rains in the spring aud at Las
Vegas the rainfall from September to
June is only small fraction of an inch
monthly. The man that has sleek cattle
feeding on nutritious grasses has to pay
well for his water privileges, while
{ around Las Vegas dried up mesas
(pIateaus) and barren hiIsides can be
bought for rs cents an acre Lean
cattle, merino sheep and goats seem to
thrive all about here, and are driven to
pastures green some forty miles away to
be fattened for their ultimate destiny. |
asked an ex-ranchman what breed of
goats were raised here and he dryly re-
marked, just goats" This is quit a
profitable industry and vies with sheep
raising in this immediate vicinity. When
the landlord told me that be bought his
potatoes in Colorado and his fruits in
California needed no further evidence of
the barrenness OF the soil tor agricultural
purposes. Yet the same ex-ranchman
whom | have recently quoted said the