Semi-weekly herald., 1912-04-25
DURANGO.

Durango, city of 5000 people, is
the metropolis of the San Juan basin.
The permanent prosperity of Durango
rests upon a very solid basis. 1t is
bounded on three sides by gold, silver,
copper and lead mines, and one of
the largest and most complete smelter
plants in the west gives steady en-
ployment to hundreds of men. I'm
mense deposits of coal begin in the
city limits and extend west and south.
The coal is of the finest quality for
steam or domestic use, and the provid-
ing of a rail outlet to the Pacific
coast, which is one of the probable
developments of the near future, will
produce greatly increased activity
in these coal fields.
Durango also has an almost un-
limited supply of cheap power from
the mountain streams in the canons
above. Electric energy is SO cheap
in Durango that it is used not only
for lighting but for cooking and heat
ing in houses. 1t is estimated that
the present supply of power could
be increased ten-fold at other sites
for power plants within twenty-five
miles of Durango.
Besides coal and precious metals,
the hills about Durango are laden
with clays suitable for all kinds of
bricks and pottery, with cement rock,
building stone, marble, granite and
onyx, forming the basis for a future
manufacturing industry of large
range. Durango is prominent rail-
road center, being the terminus of the
Denver & Rio Grande main narrow
gauge system, its Silverton branch
and the Pennington standard gauge
branch, also of the Rio Grande South
ern, all having union depot. The
altitude is $500 feet. Other features
of the city are an electric street car
line through the business center; pure
water without stint, supplied from the
Florida river; a modern sewer system;
broad streets; cement sidewalks;
splendid schools; churches; Carnegie
library; public buildings; banks; ho-
tells; wholesale and retail stores; two
flour mills; La Plata hatchery, from
which the trout streams are stocked;
United States land office; headquar
tiers for San Juan forest reserve, and
a fine new government building for
which the last congress made the
initial appropriation.
Silverton, forty-five miles north of
Durango, at the head of the AnimaS
valley, is the center of what has been
called "The most permanent mining
district in the United States" Dis
covered in 1874, its mines have made
score of millionaires and have en-
riched hundreds of families, besides
supporting thousands of miners and
face has only been SKINNED and the
high grade ores taken, leaving enough
low grade gold ores to form the basis
Of milling operations for a good many
which is reached by branch of the
Denver & Rio Grande, radiate several
snort railway lines to different mines.
y he whole district affords a large and
permanent home market for great
deal of the meat and pi Nduce raised
on the lower lands of the San Juan
basin.
West of Durango is the La Plata
range, with the Rio Grande Southern
railroad following along its lower
slopes. Here are other immense de-
posits of ore, some of which, recently
discovered, are fabulousup rich. In the
Needles mountains, northeast of Du-
range is still another prosperous
mining district, with great future
probabilities. All these developments
are of direct interest to the pros
pective settlers, because mines mean
markets, right at hand, and at high
prices, for the products of the fields.
Fertile Lands of Colorado.