Deming graphic. (Deming, N.M.) 1903-1948, 1903-04-01
LUNA COUNTY
Its Resources and Future Prospects

Luna is a new county in the southern
part Of the territory Of New Mexico,
formed Of parts Of the counties Of Grant
and Dona Ana. Il is bounded on the
north by Grant and Sierra, two Of the
leading mining counties Of the terri
tory, on the east by DOna Ana, noted
from the earliest settlements of the
Rio Grande valley, for her agricul-
tural products, on the south by the
great state Of Chihuahua, belonging to
our sister republic of Mexico, with its
enormous wealth Of natural resources
as yet entirely undeveloped, and on the
west by the southern extension of
Grant county. Nestled in among such
illustrious neighbors as these, she par
takes to some extent of the natural
advantages Of them all.
To begin with, while not like Grant
and Sierra counties distinctively min
ing county, she has two mining districts
which are fast becoming noted as
among the leading mining districts of
the territory. OF these, one is situated
in the southern part Of the county in
what are called the Tres Hermanas, or
Three Sisters mountains. Some Of the
mines in this district have been worked
for many years and have yielded inn
mense quantities Of rich ore, consider
ing the manner in which the work had
to be done entirely by hand-on ac-
count Of the great distance from a
railroad. But now the FL Paso &
Southwestern, which was completed
during the past summer, brings trans
portatioh to their very door, thus
making it possible to handle ore which
has heretofore been Improbable, and
also facilitating the bringing of heavy
machinery for working the properties
on a much larger scale than they have
been worked in the past. In this dis
trict there are not only minerals such
as gold, silver, copper and lead, but
also caves containing large quantities
of guano of a high grade, and a citizen
of Deming, H. H. Kidder, is now work
ing these very successfully and has a
market in California, where he ships
one car load each week regularly.
There are now four or five companies
operating in this camp, with abundant
capital, and there will be an immense
amount of development work done
during the coming summer, some of
the companies having machinery already
ordered for conducting the work on
large scale. The other camp is at
Cooks Peak, a few miles north of
Deming, and this, while not being so
well developed as the other, is making
a very satisfactory showing both as to
the amount and quality of the ore being
produced, and it, like the other. will
advance rapidly during the next year
or two.
Turning from mining TO agriculture
we find that in the Mimbres valley near
the northern border of the county is
one of the finest fruit and farming re-
gions in the southwest. HI the an
pile grows to perfection. ' lie attain
ing the great size of the a, .es grown
on the Pacific coast the Mimbres valley
fruit retains all the rich color and de-
licious flavor of that grown in the north
or east, and are eagerly sought in the
markets wherever known. Here too.
grass and grain crops grow to such per-
lection as is seldom attained in less
favored localities, and the farmer of
this region may well feel that he has
reached the nearest point mortal man
is permitted to approach to paradise.
Outside of this valley and two or
three small groups of mountains the
county is almost entirely made up of
rolling prairie lands upon which i'm
mense herds of cattle find abundant
feed the year round, and on these
prairies the ranchmen of the county
cut thousands of tons of hay annually.
This Of itself is quite an important in
dustry, as will readily be seen by the
following figures of the amount of
shipments during the monthof February
OF this year. On the Sa..ta Fe railway
alone over one hundred cars were
shipped during the month, which, at
twenty tons to the car, would make the
very considerable amount of 1000 tons
from the one station of Deming. This,
with a similar amount over the Southern
Pacific and perhaps a less amount over
the FL Paso & Southwestern, with large
shipments from the many small stations
throughout the county, would make a
showing that could scareelv he halia,,ad