Durango semi-weekly herald., 1906-07-02

H.
quite so many where YOU can rails
nothing
1t would probably be worth 5000
600 to the Durango country to hav
the Animas river take a straigh
course through the valley and il tn
government could do this for $500, 90
1t would be gracious act, quite a
necessary as the river and narbo
bills with which congress is fraught
Speak to II. NJ. Hogg about it
There appears now to be lane
price craze. One good old fellow
said he wanted $50 an acre for s,
| acres and when he had shown tn,
fellow VINO might show him a buyer
what he had, 1t rounded up to abou
25 acres that you grow anything Al
all The balance was overflow from
the Animas river where nothing bu
wire grass. cured in the liquid OF al
kalia grew, a product which has balk
ed the burro and starlpeded the goat
The prices Of land will remain un
der dicussion.
When you go up the valley to study
the general situation some new things
will occur. The T. A. Kerr ranch
which has no rival in the south nall
OF Colorado, might have been barren
waste II Mr.. Kerr had not been there.
He employs many people but none of
them do as much work as he does.
and none of than cn,,iJ J;ra,t ~, ,,.a1t
and Mr.. Kerr is peculiarly fortunate
to have found so good an opportunity.
But talking about orchards with
gardens between the trees, there
are other places quite as good as the
place Mr.. Kerr has. Rasmus Hanson
bought a place which the old-timers
had regarded as rock pile. because
1t was at the river side where little
girl could dip from the flow and irri
gate the garden while her father
slept. This place will raise the ap-
pie, and every rauchman who sets
the tree on the higher ground. away
from the wire grass swamps will get
an apple, a cherry or almost anything
In the fruit line which he will desire
to have.
Selling ranches along the Animas
river in future will engage economic
thought, all the way from Bakers
bridge to Pennington The buyer is
now looking for a place where he can
grow something. else he would stay
in town and drive slop wagon, for
they are all out for the coin.
The upper Animas valley, however,
has the best stand of oats. wheat and
alfalfa between Sllverton and the San
Juan river, and this will be found or
the old Reid ranches now owned By
the Mccormick brothers, and the Nc
Grew ranch,
The late spring and succeeding
weather that baffied Satan has kept
everything back. and out of this you
will take your change. IL hits them
all alike and everybody mas agreed
not to "holler."
The price of hay this fall will be
higher than 1t has been for years and
potatoes will be so shy that the San
Luis valley will have chance to do
business again.
But there is always something that
looks good. The orchards and vine
yards had good start In spring, and
the wormiest orchard will have some
thing to sell.
Living nearer to Durango where
they can get the daily paper by rural
free delivery one would not suppose
that the upper country would suffer
from the cleverness of the nursery
agents as much as the poor fellows
have done away down in the Navajo
country, but all have Jared alike.
Don't try to sell a. washing machine
to woman whose husband has been
cheated by the tree Deddler.
Go out and talk to the farmers and
you will learn more than you have
known since the Christmas time, and
get better idea of the Fourth OF
July.
The farmer tells you just where he
is at and this would be revelation
to many Of the townspeople who never
did an honest days work In their
lives.
1t has taken 80 years TO make the
Animas valley beautiful and graves
stand as monuments to effort, so deal
kindly with them.
In the other years TO follow those
who will come will find homes cheap
enough.
When the first settler came he got
as close TO the river as he could so
he would not have to carry water too
far to make his coffee. 1t has been
learned since that the higher lands
will give the farmer mis- first money.
Irrigation of the still higher lands
Is the theme now and the better sal
vation of the country. Leave the riv
er to the mosquitoes and frogs. No
Aztec ruin mas been found near a riv-
er bank. The modern Indian carries
water on his head to camp on the
higher. ground The river was a mod
ern sewage before the Aztecs appear
ed, t
FRANK HARTMAN
WEAZEl SKIN THE UTE