Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-05-23
LIS Vegas and Vicinity n
American Shepherds Bulletin


n IN curr~n, isSp@ of she American shepherds Bulletin. Il
noashly p<rod,.I paelished = Boston ~ he interests q Ne
xhsepmen, twenty I'VE pages are devoted 70 N exhaustive Wit
mp Of the sheep industry in The vicinity Of Las Vegas, toeesh~r
with . description Of this community and mention Of some Of NE
prominsat residents
The .s,ory i profu&ely Illustrated, containing hall tone -
usyw - pacsuring scenes on several of The near ny sheep ranch
- The article II one of ! series BY The Old Observer, !" = con
sdbntor 10 the magazine Who travels from place 10 place m me
and incidentally working in some advertising for the wool buying
firms
tn descriptive ~riie ~. % ar ait pertains 10 this locality
II IN part - follows:
Given ! sanshiny day. which in April in the Rio Grande
yalley. 10 aps % BE- on the weather programme three or four times
per week. the ride out from Albuquerque, north over the meadows
! Aendins - n do@s The vide spread 81 prairie with miles cfverdsni
j alfalfa fields crossed nv innumerabe canahtoes: adobe villages BY
! the core-colleciions or dwellings, with sometimes adobe outdoor
oveas nearby. adobe corrals and stables, On adobe church conspie-
nous among ell The houses. and perhaps, on the outskirts OF the
ltfIs pueblo, : cemetery enclosed by an adobe wall In which re-
pose the ashes ii the forefathers Or the hamlet; the river ~ the
vest, IL course denoted BY ths rip<rian tree fringe the graylsh.
brown hills on either side Of the valley; the snow. wreathed crowns
Of the Sandia II the east and the circling white capped range at
The north toward which We are speeding Our way Is up the Rio
GrAnde. and on the river. sixteen miles from Albuquerque. we
pause at BernailIo. spread ont upon the prairie - though the IN.
tent were Vi cover the maximum ares that the existing number
81 families can occupy. How delightful The air II. It's an out
door day: even the women and girls seek the open. groups Of them
1nrlhnndsd and lightly clad. are reveing in the sunshine. There
1e todsv. anM : recent rain, 10 Be . snperabundance Of
mois< 4. To- In noms or the streets were streams and lakeleis-a
~momS1sAry surplus which I dare nv will BE- regretfnlly remem'
= WFkWN WGtkM HGHWX XNtuN NAlHpIa tou ~ N@G ftNbu SHai& nav
fince rerd>r>d IS Unavailable. The peach trees are in bloom.
moods 1esved out. and ciumps of feathery foiaged
are more or less in evidence On the outskirts Of the
r<1lude of Bernailo Il 300 feet md The elevation
EFeAsss ~ NJ move On 10 Domingo where one may
~ fAepapy painted faces, decked In most fantas.
& nportuh4e pressing upon the attention OF tho pale
- vfsH93 theh pottery and trinkets. Twenty four miles north we
rs1koueh Los Cerilos IN the valley q. calisteo, in q mineral
nktrnt IN which tis said large quantitesRf pay ore, lead, copper
and even gold, have been taken out When We reach Lamy, sixty.
Ave miles south Of Las Vegas The little local train from Santa Tp
eighteen miles west, comes sliding down q gentle slope to the
junction Of hesanta Re Central with the Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fe. Lamy i in . little valley among the cedar grown foot.
hills into which drop little canyons, through one Of which, ut the
II north east, w pass into . narrow valley, In the floor OF which are
deep washes. Snowy mountains are In view on either hand, and
II tfe fpot Of those in the east range . hundred green hills.
= IT'S aten mile drive ~ slow pace from Lamy 10 G lorietta, at
thetcp Of the divide, in q mountain basin, rugged green hills its
inner walls, beyond which are frosty, polled peaks. This il a
high table land, over which We ride four or i've miles 10 Rowe,
eighty SIX miles northeast or Albuquerque. Thenceforth our
path s . serpentine descent into the valley Of the Gallnas river.
A great mesa beyond. and below which are the winter grazing re.
! large portion Of the sheep owned in both counties, bounds
this vale On the east and southeast. On the west are the ooth hills
ola Rocky mountain spur, and atthe south Is ! low divide which
sharks the parting ofthe ways between the waters or the Rio
Grande and the Mississippi. For the Galinas is q tributary Of
the Pecoa while the Sapelo is in the Canadian water shed.
In the heart Of this valley, at an altitude Of 6s40O feet, Is
LAs Vegas, the second New Mexican town in Importance, with,
according 70 the last census report, = population Of 1900. Like
Albuquerque. Santa Fs and Santa Rosa It's : composite. or rather
complex, city, one section having . history reaching back TO the
eighteenth century, the other being type Of that growth in .