El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-05-14
OUTLOOK IS BIC
FOR ALPINEITE5
Openings Plentiful for the
Farmer. Fruit Grower
and the Miner.

! Alpine. Texas. May 1.-THE section
Of the country surrounding Alpine, the
/ county seat Of Brewster county. is in
| the same situation. as pertains to its
! agricultural and mineral development
| as is. almost without exception. the
/ case throughout the entire western
I and southwestern portion Of Texas
/ The town itself is located near
/ spring which in pioneer days, was used
| as a camping place for frelghters VINO
| hauled overland supplies from Inulah-
/ ola, then the principal port on the
/ Texas coast. to Chihuahua, Mexico
OF course the general appearance
Of the country is vastly different rom
WHAT II was in the pioneer days the
town Of Alpine now being progressive
little civ OF some $500 Inhabitants.
and the country adjacent being dotted
with homes Of ranchmen. and or set
tiers who are rapidly taking up and
improving the more desirable pu1llc
school lands now on the market The
last named class OF settlers are termed
locally, "sQuatters.' and the lana 50
taken Up by them squat.
Until now. however, practically all
Of the development is directly due 70
the "cowman'' and the "sheepman,
and it yet remains for the farmer and
the miner to come into their own
thereby making Of the fertile and pro-
ductive valleys and mineral bearing
mountains a means of providing for the
wants of and furnishing employment
which it is capable
Mining Outlook Good.
Several mines producing silver and
quicksilver are already operated IN
Brewster county and pay large diVl-
dends on the amounts invested IN
them. but the mineral possibilities OF
this section have never been systemat-
Ically or scientifically investigated and
prOspected. and when it is taken into
consideration that this county Is Tar
greater in extent than several Of the
smaller states, and that indications OF
the existence of the more yaluabl min
erals are known TO exist throughout its
entire extent. some idea OF what awaits
the prOspectOr and mining man may be
had.
Interspersed and scattered among
the mountains which largely enter into
the topography of the county. are TO
be found many valleys varying in eX-
tent from a few miles in length and
mile or two wide, TO some the area Of
which is equal TO that OF some Of the
smaller counties OF the state. Alpine
is located in one OF the larger valleys
Water Easily Reached.
In most If not all Of these valleys,
surface wells with a good flow Of wa
ter can be had at a depth of from 30
out from the mountains into these fer
tile valleys could, by means Of dams,
be utilized as storage reservoirs with
storage capacity sufficient TO irrigate
county. Two such dams are now IN
der construction. and when completed
Will irrigate in the aggregate some
$4,000 acres Of land.
For the growing of apples and ber-
ries, and in fact all kinds Of fruit
which can be grown in a temperate
climate, west Texas notably offers
greater inducements than any other
pare OF Texas. This industry Is being
rapidly developed in the immediate vi
cinity Of Alpine. and is destined to be
come a large factor in the growth and
development Of the entire section.
Modern School System.
In addition TO the advantages Of
fered to the farmer, hortiCulturist and
miner. the little city OF Alpine may
well boast OF having one of the best
equipped and most modern public
school systems in the entire state. its
high school building having been con-
at cost OF $4,000 and there
being available as maintenance fund
the sum OF $4,000 annually.
Everything considered. its undevel-
oped natural resources, its public
school system. adequate church build
lngs ideal climate and picturesque 10
cation. Alpine may justly lay claim
TO the title Of The Roof Garden OF
Texas"
The Kansas City. Mexico & Orient
railway is expected to be extended to
Alpine during the present year. and il I
Is now contemplated that this point /
VIII remain the terminus OF that rail- !
road