Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1903-04-15

| ooNb AolllliS Selllly dlOIlS the upp'
e edge, except on the southeast where tt
o low hills are more rugged and thel
/, has been an upheavaI of several stor
/ dikes. The center is absolutely fla
. I he Santa Fe Central Railway cut
f through the middle of the plain frol
' Progreso to the Galsteo, that is sout
3 to north.
FINE TIMBER LANDS.
In the Manzanos the timber is yer
heavy and there the Santa Fe Centra
! Railway has bought 1000 acres of fin
} timber land from the territory. From
) the Manzanos, Sandia and South noun
tains eastward, vegetation changes. II
the foothills there is a dense growth O
sturdy pinon but toward the plain
this disappears. Several cottonwoo,
trees at Estancia, two balm of Gileat
trees at Antelope Springs, the Mortar
ty orchard and the orchard set out b,
Frank Dibert this week at Antelop,
Springs, are the only trees on the 5,0O
| square miles. But gramma and othel
grasses grow luxuriously, the cacti dis
appears entirely and prairie dog hole.
are few. After crossing the railroad
going east, there begins a thick growth
of chamiso brush, and further east
beyond the alkali and salt lakes, vege.
| tation disappears entirely from the hill
sides which are either bare gypsum OF
| fine sand while in the valleys the
grass is coarser and more bushy than
to the west of the railroad.
SOFT WATER SECURED.
The Santa Fe Central Railway has
bought the Bergere ranch at Estancia
and it's valuable springs and lakes. An
alysis shows that the spring water is
the finest and softest boiler water in
New Mexico. And then to think that
the same kind of water is to be found
at any point only a few feet below the
surface all the way from Estancia to
Antelope Springs and beyond. At Es-
tancia station. 200 yards from the Es-
tancia Springs, a tank has been erec-
ted for locomotives and James Catan-
ach of Santa Fe, has just completed a
pipe line from the springs to the tank
and left for Hagan today. David Con-
zales y Borrego of Santa Fe, Is at pre-
sent in charge of the ranch house. The
lakes and spring are being fenced in by
the company to keep out stock. The
lakes have been cleaned out and several
filters and tanks have been built.
THOUSANDS OF TIES.
At Estancia thousands Of ties have
been piled by the freighters Of Eugenio
Romero who is cutting them in the
Manzano mountains to 16 miles away.
Under these ties hundreds of rabbits
have made their homes recently. The
store and depot at Estancia are SUBJ
stantial buildings. From Estancia Is
also the shortest wagon road to the al
kali and salt lakes which Professor
Keyes of the New Mexico School of
Mines at Socorro, will visit tomorrow to
solve their mystery and to look inciden-
tally for potash, saltpetre and other
minerals.
ALKALI AND SALT LAKES.
The first alkali lake Is five miles from
Estancia. To see one of the alkali likes
is to see all 30 or 40 of them, although
they differ in size and shape and no
visitor should fail to visit Laguna de
Perro or Dog Lake, with it's wonderful
Coyote Springs and its pretty islands.
It is IA miles long and about Is miles
drive from Estancia. These lakes are
not depressions in the plains. They are
located in the bottom of big bowls set
in promiscuous fashion on the plains.
Their rim is generally precipitous and
the traveller has to climb up on the out
side and then down on the inside. They
look like big craters partly filled with
water, but there is no indication what |
ever of volcanic origin. Sometimes
these lakes are almost entirely dry,
leaving but marsh or bog. In years OF
heavy rains they are 10 to 30 feet higher
than at present. No salt can be taken
out of the Salt Lake, either when dry or
when very high. Along the shore or
rather beach, Of the alkali lakes, lie the
cadavers and bones of animals who
came to drink the waters and died OF
their poisonous effects. In the dog
Lake, along the northern shore, Is a Dig
spring, Coyote Spring, with clear, sea
green water, which is little less aka
line than the lake waters, but still un-
palatable and deleterious to man.
The great Salt Lake, about 1000 acres
in extent, is situated about II miles
from the south end Of the Dog Lake. A
corduroy road about half mile long
has been built to the center Of the lake
and on 1t the wagons are driven for the
salt. This road Is continued on piles
and planking to the center Of the lake.
This body Of water is almost circular in
shape with high cliffs surrounding it. |
These high banks are filled with poe
kets Of white sulpher. The area cover
ed by the lake is about a square mile.
Hundreds Of tons Of salt have
been annually taken out of the
lake from time !nmemorial and
freighted to Las Vegas. Santa
Fe, Afbuluerqns and the indian
pueblos besides the salt used in this I'M |
"a