DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/resourcesattract01unio_0 COLORADO _ fl Complete and comprehensive Description OF THE AGRICULTURAL, STOCK RAISING hnd MINERAL RESOURCES OF COLORADO. Also Statistics in regard to its Climate. Complied from tlie Latest Reports. Compliments of the Passenger Department. e j.% ggg^g ? 0 c s -^Essi* C : V n - - THE RESOURCES AND ATTRACTIONS COLORADO HOMESEEKER, CAPITALIST, AND TOURIST. FACTS ON CLIMATE, SOIL, FARMING, STOCK RAISINC, DAIRYINC, FRUIT CROWINC, LUMBERINC, MININC, SCENERY, CAME AND FISH. COMPLIMENTS OF THE PASSENGER DEPARTMENT. A COMPLETE AND COMPREHENSIVE DESCRIPTION OF THE AGRICULTURAL, HORTICULTURAL, STOCK RAISING AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF COLORADO; ALSO STATISTICS IN REGARD TO ITS CLIMATE, ETC., COMPILED FROM THE LATEST REPORTS. Omaha, 1899. Copyright 1899, BY Union Pacific Railroad Co., Omaha, Neb. EIGHTH EDITION. AN OUTLINE In the diversity of her natural resources Colorado is unequaled by any State in the Union. In the extent of these resources she is possessed of immense wealth, and in their adaptation to the wants of man her capabilities are unlimited. Colorado is a mining State, producing the precious metals and the useful minerals; it is an agricultural State, producing in great abundance the products of the farm and garden; it is a stock-growing State, with unbounded possibilities; it is a broad and promising field for the in- dustries, the arts and the sciences. Colorado possesses great wealth in her natural scenery, her pure air and her places of attraction for health and pleasure. Geographically, she is a great rendezvous upon the highways of commerce and travel between the two oceans and between British America and the Gulf of Mexico, the center of the new Western civilization — the central ground upon which is gathered the combinations of all the forces of mind and matter to make a great and powerful State. Colorado is twenty-two years old. It is a vast health resort. The production of precious metals was $47,109,562 in 1898. Petroleum is found in all parts of the State. It has 40,000 square miles of coal. And produced about 4,000,000 tons in 1898. There are in Colorado, on an average, fifty-six cloudy days in a year. It has 32,000,000 acres of arable land. The assessed valuation for 1898 was $192,243,0S0. CONTENTS Page. An Outline 7-9 Climate and Health 92-97 Climate and Soil 90 Coal and Oil 36, 37 Coal Lands 17 Colorado by Counties 43-89 Colorado Condensed 42, 43 Cost of Living in Colorado 38, 39 Dairy and Poultry Products 27 Educational Advantages 39, 40 Farms and Farming in Colorado 19, 20, 21, 22 In Southern Colorado 7 22 Fruits and Fruit Growing 28-31 Government Lands 41 Health Resorts and Attractions 98 Cottonwood and Hey wood Springs 102 Idaho Springs 99 Morrison Springs 102 Hunting and Fishing 103 Important Relations of the Union Pacific R’y to Colorado 14, 15 Irrigation 18, 19 Location and Area 42 Manufacturing 37, 3S Mining and Precious Metals 31 Advantages of Railroads and Smelters 44 Character of Ores Found 33 Deep and Extensively Developed Mines 33 Gold Placer Mining 35 Phenomenal Ore Bodies and Dividends 34 Present and Future Opportunities 36 The Nature of Veins and Deposits 32 Total Yield of the State 32 6 CONTENTS. Mountain Grandeurs 112-114 Mountain Lakes 104 Chicago Lakes 106 Clear Lake 165 Cottonwood Lake 167 Elk Lake 1° 5 Evergreen Lakes .... •- 106 “Gem of the Cordilleres” 105 Green Lake 105 Twin Lakes 106 Parks of Colorado 107 Estes Park HO Middle Park 107 North Park 107 South Park. HI Physical Features 7 Railroad Lands 40, 41 Soils of Colorado 16, 17 Stock Raising in Colorado 12, 16, 14 Timber and Tree Culture • ■ 42 Trips for the Tourist 97, 98 WaterCourses 15 Waste Lands 17 Wealth, Progress and Resources 9 Wool Growing 13-26 COLORADO LOCATION AND AREA. Colorado is situated between latitude 37° and 41° north, and longitude 102° and 109° west. It is bounded on the north by Wyoming Territory and Nebraska, on the east by Nebraska and Kansas, on the south by Indian Territory and New Mexico, and on the west by Utah. The State has an area of 104,500 square miles, and is divided into forty-two counties. Its average length, east and west, is 380 miles, and its breadth, north and south, 280 miles. That their readers might realize in some degree the vast extent of this area, it has been frequently stated by writers in their descriptive ac- counts of Colorado that it is larger than all the New England States com- bined, with the State of Ohio added; it is larger than the four Middle States, and larger than England, Scotland and Wales combined. A glance at the map shows the many advantages of its location in relation to the commerce and the industries of the western half of the republic. Oc- cupying a central position in the community of Western States and Terri- tories, forming a great portion of their agricultural area, and exceeding each of them in natural resources, it is the land to which all the industrial regions of the West will come to pay tribute and exchange the products of their labor and their enterprise. PHYSICAL FEATURES. In its general aspects Colorado has two natural divisions— mountains and plains. To the mountains belong the park system and the foothills. The broad mesas and extensive valleys of the western slope are also included in the mountain division, while upon the plains there are to be seen some promi- nent and peculiar elevations. Over one-third (about three-eighths) of the eastern part of the State is plains, the western part containing an area of 230 by 280 square miles, principally mountainous. The plains, with the exception of a strip of undulating country varying in width from fifteen to twenty-five miles eastward from the foothills, are generally level and arid, broken only by the depressions which form the natural drainage of this vast expanse of treeless land. These become actual and sometimes exceedingly vigorous water-courses in rainy seasons, and they are dignified with the names of creeks and rivers; but for the most part it is a river or creek without water. Starting from the foothills in El Paso county, and running through El Paso and a portion of Bent counties eastward to the Kansas State line, is a range of hills which is known as the “Divide.” It is an important feature in Colorado’s physical structure, and serves the purpose of dividing the east- ern, or plains, portion of the State at its center. It is partly covered with valuable timber, and comprises rich agricultural lands, which are watered by rains throughout the crop season. At the summit of this range is the 8 COLORADO. famous Palmer’s Lake, a beautiful body of crystal water, springing clear and cold from the mysterious depths. Prom this point the waters flow north and south down through the plains, as do all water-courses of the plains, northward toward the Platte and southward toward the Arkansas, till the southern counties are reached, when the streams flow northward again to the Arkansas. To the mountains belong physical features of varied and peculiar interest. The Continental Range crosses the State nearly north and south, near its center. Here the Rocky Mountains attain their greatest elevation— 200 peaks nearly 13,000 feet high, and about twenty-five peaks from 14,000 to 14,400 feet high being visible from Mount Lincoln. Between latitudes 30° 30" and 40° 30", which is nearly the central portion of the State, the chain is about 120 miles broad, consisting of three parallel ranges, running nearly north-northwest. The east one, called the Front, or Colorado Range, as seen from Denver, appears to rise abruptly from Ihe plains, stretching with snowclad summits from Pike’s Peak on the south to a group twenty miles north of Long's Peak, a distance of 120 miles. Six of its peaks — Long’s Peak, Mount Torrey, Gray’s Peak, Mount Rosalie, Mount Evans and Pike’s Peak — are from 14,000 to 14,340 feet high, the latter altitude belonging to Mount Rosalie. At best advantage of clear atmosphere and prominent position, there is a view of mountain scenery of 200 miles in one sweep from Denver. Pike’s Peak towers aloft in giant greatness away to the south; westward, beyond and above the shadowing forms and snowy crests of other mountain grand- eurs, Gray’s Peak raises its venerable form and bathes its silver-crowned head in the clouds. Long's Peak, the beauty of the range, rises from the midst of the foothills, with the symmetry of a cone, to an altitude of 14,271 feet above the sea. West of this range lie the parks — North Park in Larimer and Routt counties, Middle Park in Grand county, and South Park in Park county. Almost in a direct line north and south with these parks is San Luis Park, in Southern Colorado, the largest in the State. It is known under its recent agricultural development as San Luis Park, or San Luis Valley. The west boundary of the first three parks is Park Range. In this range twenty peaks exceed 13,000 feet in height, and two peaks are over 14,000 feet above sea-level. The Blue river group lies twenty miles north, having many peaks over 13,000 feet in height. South Park is bounded on the east by Rampart Range, at the foot of which is Pike’s Peak. On the west it is bounded by Park Range. West of the south part of the Park Range is the Arkansas Valley, and west of this the Sagauche Sierra Madre Range, or Natioral Range, dividing through nearly its whole extent the waters of the Atlantic from those of the Pacific. This range is the most important as well as the most prominent feature in the mountain system of Colorado. It is the dividing line between two sec- tions of the State, having different peculiarities. Not only does it mark the distinction between the eastern and western slopes, but it divides a country differing in physical structure, in peculiarities of climate and soil, in its industries and its sources of wealth. It is parallel with, and about sixteen miles west of, tlie Park Range, terminating soine forty miles northwest of Mount Lincoln in the Mount of the Holy Cross, 14,176 feet high. The high- est part of this range is at the Grand Mount lin, about 14,200 feet above the sea, twenty miles south of the Holy Cross, from whence, for fifty miles far- ther south, the whole range averages 13,000 feet high, with ten peaks, rising at intervals of from five to eight miles, to a height of 14,000 feet or over. The principal summits are Mounts Elbert, La Plata, Harvard and Yale. West of the National Range are the Elk Mountains, thirty-five miles dis- tant. The most elevated peaks form a ridge thirty miles long and nearly parallel with the National Range. COLORADO. 9 West of this group there are no high mountains, the ridges changing within twenty miles to plateaus, which fall off to the Colorado river. The Raton Mountains, running in an eastern direction from the main range, form the southern base of Colorado. The Spanish Peaks are notable features. The Sangre de Cristo Range and the Culebra Range form the eastern front of the Rockies in the southern portion. Sierra Blanca, in the Sangre de Cristo, is the highest peak in the State, having an altitude of 14,464 feet. The Uncompaghre and the Sierra San Miguel Mountains form the range system of Southwestern Colorado. West of the main range, in the southern portion, the Sierra San Juan extends nearly north and south, form- ing the west wall of San Luis Park. The Rio Grande forms the northeast limit of this range. The Sierra La Plata extends west from the San Juan Range to the southwestern boundary of the State. WEALTH, PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. Within a period of less than a dozen years the people of America have lealized that Colorado is one of the greatest States in the Union. The gold- seeking pioneers of ’59, and, later, the railway pioneers of ’70 and ’72, were the prophets of Colorado’s future, and many of them have lived to realize their most extravagant dreams. In the abundance of her resources consists the greatness of the .State; and so abundant are these resources that, taken singly, with but few excep- tions any one of them would be an abundant source of wealth to a large population. Combined, as they are, there was never in the history of civil- ization a country where the provisions of nature and the requirements of man were more happily united with the intelligence and enterprise of a people to make a country great. The phenomenal development of Colorado from a crude existence as a Territory to the dignified position of Statehood, only twenty-two years ago, and her precocious growth since that time, has spread her fame from shore to shore upon the American continent, and today brings to her the admira- tion of the world. Colorado is no longer the domain of wild adventure or mystic wonder, but a land of peace, abundance and beauty, whose many charms are drawing within its boundaries people from all sections of the civilized world in their rational pursuit of wealth and happiness. 10 COLORADO. ASSESSED VALUATION OF COLORADO BY COUNTIES. The following table shows the returns of the Assessor of each county of the State, and is a transcript from the records of the State Auditor for 1898. In the stock column allowance must be made for large additions of cattle which are driven in after the count has been made by the Assessor. Counties. Horses. Mules. Cattle. Abstracts of Assessment. 1898. 1898. 1898. No. of Valu'n. No.of Valu'n. No. of Valu’n. 1897. 1898. Arapahoe 17,123 8235,465 431 $6,910 28,124 $422,195 $72,271,985 $69,299,542 Archuleta 1.030 10,816 26 362 5,465 53.385 428,825 426.591 Baca 1,981 12,248 57 741 26,649 110,521 254,382 252,410' Bent 2.488 17,(585 165 1,608 8,429 54,174 929,580 899,819 Boulder 6,934 108, 2! 'C 347 5,425 11,045 128,485 4,994,934 5,384,312 < haffee 1,352 18,620 50 920 3,894 31,130 2.214,942 2,200,920 Cheyenne 678 2,691 10 77 4,252 26,648 1.133,075 1,046,7*71 Clear Creek. . . 828 23,320 27 610 464 7.275 2,156.068 2,122,922 < 'onejos 4,119 43,434 102 1,490 9,359 103,265 1.833,474 1,751,819 Costilla 3,251 29,590 97 1,416 5,556 68,645 1,248,401 1,230,545 Custer 2,497 38,705 44 825 10,205 103,483 633,135 625,474 Delta 4,019 44,601 142 1,935 13,330 115,013 1,005,534 1,109,055 Dolores 148 2.915 12 280 664 8,715 542,223 466,284 1 'ougias 3,103 42,100 99 1,610 12.550 129,095 1,811.608 1,853,256 liable 2,311 25,230 30 309 10,018 129,171 1,105,692 1,173,331 Elbert 4,058 41 ,385 154 2,720 18.710 209,770 1,776,871 1,857,856 El Paso 8,732 92,160 427 5,960 20,943 252,135 14,097,130 15,164,130 Fremont 5,798 49,470 189 3,635 14.913 149,320 3,957,746 4.143,108 Garfield 2 503 10 125 54 685 14,656 104,795 3,176,877 2,082,539 Gilpin 809 29,945 31 1,120 ■712 11,940 1.805,209 1^910,479 Grand 1,677 26,199 22 342 11.472 92,957 315,425 307,747 uunnison 2,602 17,633 96 1,335 19,599 159.821 1,349,078 1,919,072 Hinsdale 332 5,560 21 455 258 4,189 520,011 430.635 Huerfano 3,247 33,327 197 4,637 9,557 117.487 1,665,144 1,696,870 Jefferson 5,494 74,925 113 1,620 11,502 110,916 4,008,504 3,996,205 Kiowa 932 7,493 13 137 6,743 46,343 3,063,406 1,092,204 Kit Carson 2,073 12,160 40 382 8,880 49,713 898,479 933.990 I.ake 1,729 46,980 67 2,190 998 17,373 3,874,738 3.914,679 La Plata 2,085 27,890 183 2,887 5,161 53,992 2,334,877 2,245,480 Larimer 12 089 1 43 205 269 5 700 48,748 465 915 4,211 449 4,374,026 Las Animas. . . 7^295 85,205 595 15^110 22,105 284,217 5,370, 505 5 259,824 Lincoln 1,290 9,700 22 130 7,519 56,235 1,353,331 1,260,572 Logan 3,627 20,730 59 475 17,062 134,770 1 ,499,209 1,518,774 Mesa 4,188 35,269 120 1,232 16,050 124,250 2,304,523 2,291,093 Mineral 587 8,555 4 115 1,202 11,168 305.128 494,561 Montrose 2,871 24,752 76 725 10,089 74,516 1.255,479 1,153,867 Montezuma . . 1,686 31,466 41 1,095 4.171 56,348 729,374 714,041 Morgan 2,394 30,210 83 926 12,374 124,105 1,073,369 1,302,353 Otero 6,909 57,445 436 5,050 17,275 171,485 2,241.475 2,475,676 Ouray 1.415 16,248 99 1,249 3,064 93,659 1.085,685 1,162,265 Park 2,978 26,420 91 1,615 16,336 231,370 1,019,035 1,544,153 Phillips 1,218 10,997 31 440 2.544 24,150 651,883 659,561 Pitkin 1,693 29,645 83 1,435 3,371 35,545 2,573,940 2,387,015 Prowers 2,367 10,460 174 1,595 12,810 77.940 1,351,023 1,348,235 Pueblo 6,491 105,179 338 8,622 31,763 351,398 12,372,538 13,655,150 Rio Blanco 5,268 59,214 42 645 23,440 307.300 673,668 771 ,044 Rio Grande . . . 3,258 52,040 103 2,150 5,903 59,705 1,598.545 1,578,464 Routt 8,774 79,604 45 695 41,199 521.302 1,105,023 1,240,578 Saguache 4,709 47,407 131 2,303 25,835 210,820 1,936,062 1,990,977 Wan Juan 274 5,175 63 975 137 1,860 1,381,653 1,305,387 San Miguel 1,659 20,055 188 2,600 5,525 50,100 1,314,042 1,312,586 Sedgwick 862 7,629 24 228 2,507 21,051 689.423 664,971 Summit 773 13,930 12 180 1,396 17,044 967,614 953,372 Washington . . . 1,285 13,457 30 470 5,882 80,807 749.848 741,778 Weld 13,997 197,410 595 11,195 28,092 355.555 7.489.540 7,771,638 Yuma 2,294 19,235 80 850 8,304 78,365 881,229 907,074 Totals 196,189 82,306,694 7,089 $120,468 667,686 $6,827,152 $199,234,940 $192,243,080 COLORADO 11 ASSESSED VALUATION OF COLORADO BY COUNTIES. Continued. i Counties. Abstracts of Assessments. Increase. Decrease. Arapahoe . . Archuleta. . Baca Bent Boulder. Chaffee Cheyenne . . Clear Creek Conejos Costilla Custer Delta Dolores. Douglas. — Eagle Elbert El Paso Fremont Garfield. Gilpin Grand Gunnison . . Hinsdale Huerfano . . Jefferson Kiowa Kit Carson . . Lake La Plata Larimer Las Animas. Lincoln Logan Mesa Mineral Montrose — Montezuma . Morgan . — Otero Ouray Park Phillips Pitkin Prowers Pueblo Rio Blanco. . Rio Grande. Routt Saguache . . . San Juan — San Miguel. . Sedgwick . . . Summit Washington. Weld Yuma $989,378 103,521 41,648 67,639 80,985 1,467,010 185,362 105,270 69,994 31,726 28,798 35,511 39,941 162,577 19,565 189.432 228,984 54,201 76,580 7,678 682,612 97,376 135 550 66,015 282,098 25,845 $9,972,443 2,238 1,972 29,761 14,022 86.304 33,146 81,655 17.856 7,661 75,939 94,338 ' 7,678 89,376 12,299 89,397 610,881 92,759 13430 101,611 15,333 74,882 145.925 2,788 20,081 16,266 1,456 24,452 14,742 8,070 Totals $4,676,201 $11,758,061 Total decrease $7,081,860 No. Mili- tary Polls 1898. 199 81 515 2,760 362 80 258 1,654 779 342 479 109, 321 496 433 4,736 2,256 204 270 94 645 220 913 1,122 76 204 1,454 891 1,387 1,618 175 344 1,156 531 200 334 381 1,426 355 475 185 1,570 273 3,819 425 569 560 723 243 825 110 389 170 1,797 120 42,123 Acres Agricultural Land. Mining Property and Gross Output 1898. Coal Land Valua-. tion. 1898. No. of Yaluat’n. 359,899 16,078 $4,006,175 24,232 $13,360 84,460 120,923 13,581 320 172,308 950,375 97,665 320 S424,795 138,330 54,955 431,725 10,490 2,529 14.330 254,997 158,069 7,681 69,917 2,745 18,889 11.697 599,425 58,225 47.200 17,640 145,079 420,304 46.668 346.078 7,929 76,385 57,323 601,003 460.800 410,000 98,280 220,273 1,910,260 45,000 8,200 300,000 58,610 417,587 15,404 30.094 1,770 29.128 66,749 2,500 560 23.153 14,674 152,019 76,610 113,553 71,032 2,020 95,639 1,585,368 2,500 1.085 62,037 116,884 986,670 274,144 153.510 160,605 228,615 76.830 18,940 1,492,799 34,594 27,100 62,112 556,339 412,790 62,594 980 120,083 15.432 40,611 67,160 11.065 24,269 293,406 14,462 126,519 37,965 57,470 67,202 27,264 71,230 554,310 536,002 5,300 402.411 76,806 119.359 416,690 43.690 109,201 377,076 64.580 540,860 394,725 150,352 350,225 166.282 320,535 7,248 246,749 825 499,246 67,956 13,445 537,820 64,420 40,284 32,370 38,950 690.461 475,320 3,551 20,061 1,4)5 257,126 341,723 240,830 8.875 56.043 7,097 172,790 2,421,785 271,950 421,922 12,290 4,519,815 $19,398,800 $8,602,217 $1,515,648 12 COLORADO. Recapitulation. Abstracts of the Assessment for the Tear 1898. 1898. No. of Valuation. Acres of agricultural land Acres of grazing land Acres of coal land Improvements on lands Improvements on public lands Town and city lots Improvements on town and city lots Mining property and gross output Miles of railroad and other property as returned by the State Board of Equalization Miles of telegraph and telephone lines as returned by the State Board of Equalization Average value of merchandise Amount of capital employed in manufactures Horses — Mules Asses Cattle Sheep Swine Goats All other animals Musical instruments Clocks and watches Diamonds, jewelry, gold and silver plate Amount of money and credits Carriages and vehicles of every description Household property All other property Bank stock or shares in any bank, or stock or shares in any corpor- ation or company 4,519,815 9,194,303 120,644 4,575 4,256 196,189 7,089 1,393 667,686 822,176 35,373 11,498 2,506 15,229 14,214 64,169 $19,398,800 9,780,417 1,515,648 7,032,347 660.014 44,970,443 30,390,362 8,502,217 33,900,129 663,713 7,513,416 1,325,002 2,306,094 120,468 5,395 6,827,152 840,647 75,693 11,009 10,311 671,104 159,706 1:33,408 4,224,320 1,248,861 921.263 6,638,059 2,396,262 Grand total valuation of County $192,243,080 Amounts Charged the Counties for State Taxes, Fiscal Year 1898. For State purposes (general revenue and interest on bonds) — 2 8-30 mill tax. .$435,796 46 Mute and blind fund 1-5 mill tax.. 38,452 50 University fund 1-5 mill tax.. 38,452 50 Agricultural College fund 1-5 mill tax.. 38,452 50 School of Mines fund 1-5 mill tax.. 38,452 50 Insane Asylum fund ... 1-5 mill tax.. 38,452 50 Stock Inspection fund 1-15 mill tax. . 12,817 52 For Capitol Building and Interest on Bonds fund 1-2 mill tax.. 93,259 24 Normal School fund 1-6 mill tax.. 34,917 09 Interest on insurrection bonds, authorized by decision of Supreme Court 1-10 mill tax. . 20,064 64 Military Poll fund, $1.00 per poll on polls 42,123 00 Total tax levied $831,240 45 LIVE STOCK IN COLORADO. Among the Rocky Mountain States and Territories, Colorado ranks first in cattle population. Montana is a close second, but Colorado has a few thousands more. In sheep population Colorado only ranks seventh, but it has been from choice the range-destroying sheep have been kept out of the State. For some years Colorado ranked away down the line on cattle popu- lation. That was when the settlers were coming in, stretching the barbed wire and plowing up the ground. Today, with her thousands of acres of alfalfa fields, Colorado is able to take care of more cattle, and do it better and at less loss than any of her sister States. As great as was the mineral production of the State for the past year, all of it would have been required to purchase the live-stock interests of the State, and they are increasing at a rate that is most satisfactory and promises much for the future. The fol- lowing figures are taken from the government reports and estimated for 1899: COLORADO. 13 Total live stock in Colorado January 1, 1899, with comparisons: CATTLE. 1899 No. Head. 1,075,850 Av. Value. §24 20 Total Value. §26,035,671 1S98 935,826 26 07 24,392,775 1897 926,560 17 17 15,910,331 1899 MILK COWS. 96,440 34 50 3,327,180 189S 85,669 32 50 2,784,242 1897 79,975 25 00 1,999,375 1899 SHEEP. 1,784,365 2 53 4,514,443 1898 1,623.089 2 38 3,869.445 1897 1,319,049 1 71 2, 251, SSI 1899 HOGS. 29.600 5 05 149.4S0 1898 22,035 5 10 112,379 1897 23,419 5 72 133,957 1899 HORSES. ■ 25 50 3,999,420 1898 151,721 22 86 3,469,095 1897 164,645 21 98 3,618,349 1899 MULES. 8,590 46 80 412,012 1898 8,753 43 14 377,687 1S97 8,888 45 56 404,907 1899 • RECAPITULATION. 3S,438,206 1898 2,827,093 35,005,623 1897 2,522,536 24,318,800 FACTS ABOUT SHEEP FEEDING. Feeding lambs and sheep for the market has become one of the leading industries in the State. It was only a few short years ago that it was acci- dentally discovered that New Mexican lambs fed on Colorado alfalfa in Col- orado and finished here on corn, made the best mutton that could be found. The demand for Colorado-fed lambs became so strong that Eastern markets offered a premium above the regular market price to secure them, and even now Colorado-fed lambs are quoted on all markets at an advance of from twenty-five to fifty cents per hundred pounds higher than the best offerings from other Western States. The products of the Colorado feed lots are shipped principally to Chicago, and many are sent abroad on the hoof, and compare favorably in the London market with the best English-fed lambs. While the industry is still comparatively new in Colorado, it is rapidly being established on systematic lines, and each year the number of lambs fed is larger than the preceding year. O wing to the high prices demanded on the range for lambs last fall, it looked for a time as though there would be a decrease this year, but while some who fed last year kept out this year, there were enough new men in the field with the old feeders to bring the 14 COLORADO. total up to a handsome increase. The following figures, compiled from reports of the railroads, show very closely the number of lambs and sheep on feed in the State. The State is divided into two districts, the Northern Colorado and the Arkansas Valley. It will be noticed that the Northern District still leads, but the Arkansas Valley is gaining at a remarkable rate, showing a larger increase than the Northern District: County. Larimer Weld Morgan .... Boulder Logan NORTHERN DISTRICT. 1898. . . 210,600 . . 73,122 . . 2,550 5,584 , . 10,088 1897. 193,200 75,000 9,100 3,000 10,839 301,944 291,139 ARKANSAS VALLEY. Otero Bent Prowers Scattering . 65,900 . . 11.600 . 10,265 . 15,500 51,350 14,200 15,000 Grand total ...... Increase 103,265 . 405,209 . . 33,520 80,550 371, 6S9 IMPORTANT RELATIONS OF THE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD TO COLORADO. The Union Pacific Railroad in Colorado bears an important relation to the State in all her material interests. A glance at the map of the State, where the railroad lines are clearly defined, gives a general but comprehen- sive idea of what the nature of such relations may be. It is seen that these lines stretch through the plains, compassing the richest* and most populous agricultural sections; penetrating the depths and climbing the heights of the Rocky Mountains, and reaching in all directions to the most populous gold and silver mines in the State; beyond these reaching toward the pros- pective fields of industry and population, and incidental to the more substan- tial purposes of its progress, establishing some of the finest health and pleasure resorts on the continent. In these relations the past, present and future of the Union Pacific Rail- road are of equal importance. Its record is of the greatest interest, and shows, peradventure, that its presence and services have been indispensable to the wonderful progress and grand achievements of the State as a factor in the general civilization of the West. The Union Pacific was the first rail- road to lay its tracks in Colorado. The Denver Pacific branch of the Union Pacific reached Denver June 24, 1870, connecting Denver with the main line of that great transcontinental highway at Cheyenne. This connection was established with the East and the West and all the world. Eastward it runs two lines, viz., one to Omaha via Julesburg, passing through the rich agricultural section of the South Platte Valley, and through the State of Kansas to Kansas City, through the great cattle ranges and the “rain-belt” agricultural section of Eastern Colorado. The other lines of the Union Pacific Railroad in Colorado are via Brighton, Evans and Greeley to Cheyenne, where it is the great highway of commerce and travel in the most important agricultural part of the State, and the Denver & Boulder branch reaches the great coal mines of Boulder county. COLORADO. 15 The Union Pacific Railroad has been a great factor in the development and progress of Colorado in all its industries. It has not followed in the wake, but has been the leader, of population and enterprise in all the sec- tions of the country where it has reached. Besides affording the most ample facilities for commerce and travel between Colorado and the rest of the world, its mission has been to scatter population, locate settlement, promote the mining industry, extend the cattle trade and develop the rich agricul- tural "sections of the State. In these things its record in a few years past has been that of one of the grandest achievements in railroad operation. Wherever it has reached it has aided in building towns and cities and open- ing up new sections for the settlement of industrious people. To these people it carries articles of commerce and brings away the products of their toil for the markets of the world. Its lines are the favorite routes for tourist travel, and in all seasons of the year visitors to the State make the circuit of several mountain lines, while in the summer the trains are daily filled with parties from home and abroad on pleasure excursions amid the unrivaled grandeurs of Rocky Mountain scenery. While the services of the Union Pacific Railroad have been of incalcu- lable value to the present day, they are not to be compared to the great achievements that lie in its future in the work of developing the resources and the industries of the State. It has contributed a great share toward making the country great, and now stands ready to further aid the people in building monumental fortunes on the foundations they have laid. WATER-COURSES. Within the mountain division of Colorado there is an abundance of water in its numerous rivers, creeks and springs, which, starting in little rivulets from the snow banks at lofty altitudes, or percolating through the rocks from miniature lakes lying between the peaks, ripple down the steep inclines and unite their forces in the valleys below, to course their way in rock- bedded crystal streams to the seas. Thus the eight principal rivers — the Arkansas, the South Platte, the Rio Grande, the San Juan, the Gunnison, the White, the Yampa and the Grand — are found, together with their innumerable tributaries, which form the greater part of the river system of Colorado. None of the rivers of Colorado are navigable. They are important in their uses for irrigation, for water-power, and as a general source of water supply. They have been especially useful in marking out the lines of pioneer travel and leading the way to the great gold and silver discoveries of the State, and especially indispensable in recent years in affording routes for the railways through the mountain canons to the mining camps, and beyond these to the new fields of industry in the State and to the markets of other States and Territories on the Pacific slope All the principal streams have their source in the central portion of the State, flowing east, west, north and south. Their tributaries are the creeks and smaller streams that rise along the mountain sides throughout the entire system. The South Platte has its numerous sources in the mountains that border South Park, and flows northward and eastward through the plains to its confluence with the North Platte. As with all large mountain courses, the aggregate contributors to its waters comprise hundreds of springs and small streams, of which even the smallest brooklet that meanders unknown and unseen down the mountain side is taken into account. Its principal tribu- taries are Clear creek. Bear creek, St. Vrain creek, Big Thompson and Little Thompson creeks and the Cache a la Poudre river, all flowing eastward from the mountains. 10 COLORADO. The Arkansas has its origin in the mountains that surround Leadville, in Lake county. Flowing eastward toward the plains, its main tributaries are the numerous mountain streams and the Huerfano and Las Animas rivers on the plains. It passes through the range in Fremont county, forming the canon of the Arkansas, and waters' the greater part of that splendid agricul- tural region, comprising many millions of acres in Pueblo and Bent counties. The Rio San Juan has its source in the San Juan Mountains, and flows south into New Mexico and westward through Utah, having many impor- tant affluents, which serve the miner, the cattlemen and the farmer. The Gunnison river rises in the Saguache and Uncompaghre Mountains, and pursues a northwest course through a continuous series of valleys and mountain chasms to is confluence with the Grand near the western boun- dary. It has numerous tributaries, consisting of small creeks from the mountains, the principal streams being Tounchi creek, the Cimmaron, the North Fork of the Gunnison and the Uncompaghre. The White river rises in the eastern end of Garfield county, flowing westward into Utah. Its principal tributaries are Douglas creek and Pi- Ceance creek. The valleys of this river and its tributaries, until within five years ago, constituted the choice hunting grounds and stock range of the White River Utes, whose returning to their old home upon a hunting expe- dition in 1887 was the cause of a collision between them and the State troops, the fracas being dignified by the term of an “Indian war.” The Yampa river has myriad sources in Routt county, and flows west- ward into Utah. Its main tributaries are Little Snake river, Fortification creek, Elk creek and Elk Head creek. The country through which these waters flow is a favorite hunting and fishing ground. The Grand river has its origin fx-om all the mountains which form a wall around Gi'and county. Flowing westward, it is joined by Eagle river, the Blue, the Roaring Forks, at Glenwood Springs, Elk creek. Roan creek, and numerous smaller streams, till its career is ended in its confluence with Gunnison river in the agricultural section of Mesa county. The South Platte, the Arkansas, the Gunnison and the Grand are what may be termed agricultural streams. But there are other streams without name and without number that are useful in this capacity. There are streams of importance belonging to every section of the mountain division, which, like useful men in the undercurrent of life, are unknown to fame. Beginning in the extreme southwestern corner of the State, to name a few of these, the Mancos eixxpties into the Rio Sin Juan at the point named. One might stand on the western bank of the stream at this point, and with one hand touch Arizona, LTtah, New Mexico and Colorado. From this point eastward on the south the Rio La Plata, the Rio Las Animas and the Rio Piedra are tributaries to the Rio San Juan. The Alamosa river. La Java creek, Rio Conejos and Rio Culabra are tributaries of Rio Grande Del Norte. The San Miguel and Dolores rivers flow westward into Utah from the San Juan country. The single stream of importance flowing northward is the North Platte, which, rising in the Northern Mountains, if of little impor- tance as a river of Colorado. In every section of the mountain division are to be found innumerable springs, many of them mineral of fine medicinal value, which are named in the department of “Health and Pleasure Resorts.” THE SOILS OF COLORADO. Whether you journey across the plains, or make a toilsome trip through the valleys and mesas of the mountain division of Colorado, the eye rests continually upon a dry, sterile-looking surface. But the appearance is deceiving, almost without exception. The surface is but a thin deposit of sand. Just underneath, at the grass roots, is a deep, rich soil, productive of COLORADO. 17 every variety of vegetation known to the temperate zone, the only notable exceptions being found at high altitude s, where the soil is rich, buc where only the small fruits and the grasses are successfully grown. In the valleys and on the plains near the water-courses, the soil is often found to be two feet in depth. There is one general proposition, the truth of which has been verified by experiments upon all kinds of land in Colo- rado: That wherever the land can be reached by water the soil is abundantly productive. The soil varies slightly, according to the section of the State, with but little difference in the average yield, and scarcely any difference in the variety of products, except as to fruits. One of the earliest and oldest of Colorado’s settlers, a scientific gentle- man who was for years the State Geologist of Colorado, in expressing an opinion of the soils in general terms, uses this language: “I regard the soils on the eastern side of the mountains as the most judicious mixture possible of silica, aluminum and calcium, lacking only an adequate supply of phos- phates. The latter can be acquired by fertilizing when needed. The soil is the very best for wheat and other cereals, especially on account of its favorable proportions of silica and calcium. But on account of its siliceous nature, and probably also on account of climatic influences, the plains land is not so good for corn.” It is a fact for which Colorado has become famous that in all arable lands the soil is wonderfully productive of potatoes and all other vegetables. Familiarly, the general character of the soil is known as adobe, clay loam and sandy loam. On the western slope these soils prevail, differing in their proportions according to location. Gray ash and red soil in the valleys are mentioned as an addition, the gray being adapted to vegetables and the red to fruits. To the latter, in part, and in part to the milder climate, is ascribed the virtue of growing peaches and other stone fruits, which are not successfully cultivated on the eastern side. Corn is also cultivable on the western slopes, and will become one of the staple crops. “WASTE LANDS.” The most authentic map of Colorado is a recent issue by the Denver Chamber of Commerce, which gives the proportions of agriculture, grazing, mineral, coal and waste lands in each county of the State. In each of the counties west of the range it indicates considerable areas (some of them covering as much as a third of a county) of what is classed as “waste lands.” The lands appear in spots and strips along the mountains, in the hills, upon high mesas, or in low, sandy bottoms, some of them also appearing in level places remote from water, and though of good soil, are regarded as waste land because at present not available. It is noted that on the eastern side of the mountains comprising the great -agricultural body of the plains none of these waste lands appear, while the entire surface is indicated as agricul- tural and grazing lands. COAL LANDS. The Chamber of Commerce map also gives the outlines of all the coal measures in the State — or at least where coal is known to exist and where indications of deposits have been found. It shows that the coal strata underlie about one-half of all the plain lands, embracing nearly all of Weld county, one-fourth of Washington, more than three-fourths of Arapahoe, two-thirds of Elbert, one-sixth of Bent, a third of El Paso, two-thirds of Las Animas, and one-fourth of Huerfano. On the western side of the range it shows large coal areas, distributed between Garfield, Routt, Larimer, Grand, Gunnison, Montrose, Ouray, Archuleta and La Plata counties, and in Park and Fremont counties in the mountains on the eastern side. 18 COLORADO. IRRIGATION. The people of the Far West are so far familiar with the subject of irri- gation, and so well understand the value of its uses, that it is unnecessary to offer them any information concerning it; but when people abroad learn that there are great States and Territories in America containing a population of many hundreds of thousands of people who are almost wholly. dependent for the products of the soil upon a water supply as it must come down to them by ditches from the mountains, there is quite ail eager curiosity to know what irrigation is and how it is done. A few years ago so many wonderful stories were related about Colorado, especially through the medium of news- paper correspondents, that the State won an unenviable reputation. Among the standard yarns so often repeated in the East was the declaration of many that they had seen water running up hill in Colorado. There are repu- table people there who will still swear this is true. One can scarcely doubt his senses when he walks along in the valley beside the stream and sees it gradually rise from the base and go rippling and winding along up the side of the mesa till it reaches the level plain far above. Such is one of the para- doxes in the topography of the country, and as such is simply one of the skillful feats of civil engineering in the irrigation system of Colorado. As this pamphlet will fall into the hands of people in all parts of the country who may be curious to know what irrigation is, a more concise description of the methods applied could not be given than the following, from the pen of Orange Judd, in the Prairie Farmer: “Irrigation in the present use of the term means the artificial application of water to the soil by several methods. There is the ‘main canal’ or ditch, which brings water taken from streams that may be a mile or two or scores of miles away. A ‘lateral’ comes out of one side, and extends several rods or even miles to the upper side of a field, into a plow furrow nearly on a level, and the water in this case spreads out each way. From this head furrow very small ones are made with a hoe, or quicker with a small single-horse plow. They are run in such direction required by the- lay of the land as will give them only a slight descent. A hoeful or shovelful of earth into the plow furrow at each entrance of these little ditches keeps them closed. When the land needs water, the little ‘gate,’ or sliding board at the canal, is raised as far as needed to let in the required amount of water. This is raised or lowered from time to time, as seen to be necessary. The large plow furrow being filled with water, the irrigator opens or closes the upper ends of the small furrows by taking out a shovelful or hoeful of earth. The operator walks over the field, and where water enough is not flowing out iu any place, he, with a shovel or hoe, clips off a bit of earth from the side of the small ditch or furrow; or he can stop the flow at any point by throwing in a trifle of soil. In this way he can, in an hour or two, give an entire field what would be equal to a heavy, soaking rain, and this may be done so deep down — one or even two feet — that the growing crop may flourish through the hottest season or drouth without another irrigation. “Where water goes deep down, it is only very slowly evaporated from the surface, while the roots of the crop grow downward so far as to find a good deal of natural moisture in the soil. Usually only two, or at most three, such irrigations are needed on a wheat crop, grown on a soil which is liter- ally a dry ash heap. The number of irrigations and the amount of water at each flowing depend a good deal on the character of the subsoil. Some land requires only a single flowing, along in May or June. Sometimes a flooding about the heading-out time will produce very heavy grain kernels. Some- times the ground is well flooded before the seed is sown, and once or twice afterward, unless there -is an unusual falhof rain. Most farmers using irri- gation rather prefer no rain. Having a supply of water in the canal to use whenever needed, they prefer continual, hot sunshine, which pushes growth forward most rapidly. COLORADO. 19 “In most of the irrigable arid regions these canals are taken out high up a river or stream which is fed by the melting of snow on the mountain tops in May, June and July, just the time when plenty of water in the canal is much needed. The canals are carried along with a descent of one and one- half to two feet per mile, winding around hills or uneven ground to maintaiu a uniform grade. If the ground and the stream descend rapidly the canal may thus be carried scores of miles, and at its end be twenty, fifty, 100 or more feet above the parent stream. The side canals are taken out at dif- ferent places, and similarly carried over or around uneven land, so that a single main canal may irrigate tens or hundreds of thousands of acres; for example, a canal from a stream in the Rocky Mountains, by following the sides of knolls, valleys and hills, may take water hundreds of miles to supply the parched farms in Eastern Colorado.” FROM COLORADO’S PRODUCTIVE VALLEYS. No single industry in Colorado is more firmly established or destined to a larger development than agriculture in all its branches. Rich soil, abundance of product and speedy returns from markets close at hand are the strongest attractions to the farmer seeking a new location. •Colorado offers unrivalled advantages in all these requisites. Until recent years very little was known beyond the eastern border of the State concerning its immense agricultural possibilities. But it has come to pass that the riches of the soil are no less an attraction to the immigrant than the alluring treasures of gold in the mountains of Colorado. Large additions have been made to the population in all the agricultural divisions -of the State during the past year. Many thousands of acres of new land have been cultivated for the first time, and there has been a marked in- crease of production over all former years, notwithstanding a less favorable season and a decreased average of crop. SOIL RICHER THAN GOLD LEDGES. To those abroad who have not learned that the business of farming is an important factor among the wealth-producing industries of this region, it will hardly be credible that for twelve years past the value of the product of Colorado farms has exceeded that of the output of the mines, but care- fully-collected statistics demonstrate the supremacy of the farming interests. However great the achievements or the progress that has been made, that which now becomes of more importance is the future of the industry and the conditions that assure its greater possibilities. In the first place, it should be understood that while there is considerable farming in scattered areas for crops of a restricted variety, though profit- able, without artificial irrigation, the strictly agricultural areas lie within the irrigation system, and without irrgation agriculture in the true sense -does not exist in Colorado. For this reason the State is divided into six large irrigation divisions, arranged according to the natural drainage of the principal streams. On the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, spreading out upon the plains, are the Valley of the Platte, with its numerous tributaries, the oldest and consequently the best developed and cultivated portion of the State, and the splendid Valley of the Arkansas, a land of fruit and grain, of wonderful productiveness and inviting beauty. The San Luis Valley in the south, comprising the water-shed of the famous Rio Grande, unsurpassed as a grain-growing region. The Monte- zuma and other valleys of the Animas and Dolores rivers in the southwest, new, undeveloped and superb in productiveness. 20 COLORADO. The valleys of the Grand, the Gunnison and the Uncompahgre rivers form the great fruit and agricultural division of Western Colorado, espe- cially noted for the excellence of its horticulture. TWO GREAT FRUIT DISTRICTS. Thus in the west and upon the eastern front, in the Arkansas Valley, in> connection with vast areas of general agriculture, Colorado has two great divisions of horticulture that are fast becoming the rivals of the orchards, and vineyards of California, producing varieties of fruits that challenge the world for excellence and beauty. Fruit is also grown in the Platte Valley, in Southwestern Colorado, in the valley of the Yampa in the north, and, in fact, more or less in all parts of the State. In all these divisions sheep and cattle raising becomes a part of the business of the farmer, while the larger herds of the cattlemen thrive upon the vast ranges outlying and skirting these fertile valleys. Within these six divisions, embracing an arable territory larger than the- State of Illinois, 4,500,001) acres of land are under the irrigation system and over 2,000,000 acres are cultivated. It might be enough to add that these cultivated acres yield an average of $15 per acre for all products combined, and that every cereal and grass root and every variety of fruit from tree or vine, native to the femperate zone, are grown to perfection and in abundance in this State. But a great deal more can be said. It is well known to expe- rienced Western farmers that by adopting the most scientific methods of farming under the irrigation system, this average could be doubled for nearly every department of agriculture. The official average of Colorado wheat, as stated from Washington, is twenty-three bushels per acre. For the larger part of the crop the average is twenty-seven bushels per acre, which is the highest average in the United States. By reason of the natural fertil- izing elements of the water, by the rotation of crops alternating with alfalfa, and by the tendency to smaller, closer farming and more diligent attention to its fertilization by various means, there has been an increase of fertility rather than exhaustion, and during the past three years there has been an increase of averages, which are stated as follows: Wheat, twenty-seven bushels per acre; oats, forty; barley, forty-two; potatoes, thirty-two; alfalfa, four tons; fruit, $75 per acre, including young trees; full-bearing orchards, $125 per acre. These averages, it is estimated, are fully maintained by the- enormous general yield in large areas of the several divisions. SAMPLES OF BIG CROPS. In the Platte Valley, particularly in Weld county; in the Arkansas Valley, especially in Otero and Prowers counties, wheat ranges from twenty-five to fifty bushels per acre. Certain orchards under especial cultivation have yielded $300 to $500 per acre in varieties of fruit. Returns of sixty to sev- enty-five bushels of oats and barley are not infrequent. Potatoes yield from 100 to 400 bushels per acre, and 200 bushels for an entire field in Northern Colorado is not unusual. Alfalfa, the crop of greatest money value in the State, yields three to six tons per acre, selling at $2 to $3 per ton in the field. The crop of 1898 is valued at $10,000,000, and that of other- grasses at $2,000,000. All kinds of vegetables of delicious Haver and splendid form yield aston- ishing results. They grow upon all the cultivatable land. The same is true of all the small fruits, and many people in the towns and cities raise strawberries and vegetables at their doors, while the country surrounding the larger cities becomes a continuous encircling garden spot, furnishing all the luxuries and necessities of the seasons. So COLORADO. 21 great are the possibilities of vegetable production that half a dozen or more factories have been established in the State out of the profits of careful gar- dening. The value of vegetable products packed in Colorado canning fac- tories, chiefly tomatoes and peas, exceeds a million dollars. This branch of industry is extending, and already a large part of the fruit crop is preserved. There is a department of a large manufactory in Denver especially devoted to canning beans, the product of home culture. There is room and reason for a dozen more of such establishments. POSSIBILITIES OF DAIRYING. One of the greatest institutions of Colorado agriculture, which has still greater possibilities, is the dairy farm. About $3,000,000 worth of butter is made annually, and yet this represents only about one-fifth of the amount consumed in the State in the same time. Corn is one of the profitable crops, and promises a future of great wealth in fattening hrgs, sheep and cattle for the market. The fat-stock industry has made a wonderful growth in the last few years, but is considered only in its infancy, as there is apparently no limit to the market demand for Colorado mutton and beef, while the margin of profit is large. COLORADO'S WORLD-BEATING CROP. Again, concerning the possibilities of production from the soils of Colo- rado: In 1893 the farmers of Colorado were called upon, as were the farm- ers of all agricultural States, to raise specimen crops of all varieties in their kind for the World's Fair at Chicago. These sample crops were raised on the ordinary farms of the several divisions of the State. The experiments developed 277 varieties of wheat, fifty of oats and 125 in native grasses. The results in yield were amazing. Oats seven and one-half feet high, yield- ing 112% bushels to the acre, and weighing forty -eight pounds per bushel. The largest yield of oats was 136 bushels per acre, and the heaviest oats weighed fifty-two pounds to the bushel. The most surprising display was that of wheat. Specimens taken from a 40-acre field yielded ninety-four "bushels per acre. The largest average yield wes from a farm of S00 acres, fifty-two bushels to the acre, weighing sixty-two pounds per bushel. Out of 371 exhibits made by Colorado, eighty-one special premiums were awarded, covering wheat, oats, rye, barley, potatoes, flaxseed, plants, flowers, grasses, wool, woods and soil. The wheat exhibit attracted especial attention and admiration, and twenty-five awards were given to it alone, the largest number received by any one State or country. RICH, DEEP, MELLOW SOIL. In its general nature the soil of Colorado is a sandy loam. This is varied In some parts by clay, adobe and other constituents. It is everywhere rich, and in the valleys it reaches an incredible depth. Its constituent of clay has a remarkable porosity and retentiveness for water, for ammonia and most ■soluble salts. The sediment of slime and mud from the overflow which made the soil of these valleys so rich and so deep is nothing less than the silt of ■decomposed rock and mineral, mixed with organic matter, which is itself a mass of decayed vegetation, serving the purposes of a fertilizer and a soil- builder. Hence it may be relied upon that it is responsive in an extrava- gant degree wherever water can be applied. The spread of scientific knowledge concerning these soils, the fame of its rich productiveness and an enlightened understanding concerning the su- perior advantages of irrigation are the elements of the leaven that is work- 22 COLORADO. ing among the people abroad and attracting them to these new fields of promise. In all these divisions of agriculture there is a renewed effort and energy in production and an activity in the work of preparation of increased acreage for the new people that are coming in and occupying the land such as has never before been witnessed in Colorado. To the people east of the Mississippi this quick transformation of the sandy desert is amazing and beyond belief. To the people of Colorado it has now become a matter of passive recognition of a prophecy uttered more than fifty years ago by an eminent explorer in what was then the wilderness of America, “that he would live to see all this wild waste of country come under the dominion of civilized Americans; that the plains would be cultivated and bring forth fruits and grain; that the mountains would yield great treasures of silver and gold, and that the very ground upon which he stood would become the site of a great city, the center of commerce and the metropolis of the West.” Such are the changes of mountain and plain and such is the magnificent city of Denver. The work of the past year and its results m the several great divisions show the nature and extent of progress being made. The gigantic propor- tions of new enterprises of irrigation, as shown in an article under that department, bespeaks the wisdom and foresight of the promoters in thus meeting the growing necessities of changing conditions. SAN LUIS VALLEY. The year 1898 adds another one of progress and prosperity to the mount- ain empire of San Luis Valley. In no period of its history has greater advancement in settlement and in general substantial improvement taken place. Immigration has increased, and the usual bountiful crops have been raised. in this garden spot and granary of the State. This valley comprises an area about equal to that of the State of Connecticut, and is capable of supporting several hundred thousand people. Lying between the east range of mountains and the continental divide, its sheltered position gives it a mild, pleasant, equable climate. The surface of the valley having a gentle- slope, irrigation is especially easy and inexpensive, and there is one section of the valley (known as the “grain belt,” from the wonderful crops of grain produced), which is unique in irrigation experience. This is the famous sub- irrigating belt, lying adjacent to and north of Monte Vista, and comprising six or seven townships of land. Like the wick of a lamp, the soil in this district draws up its needed supply of water from the ditches without care or labor on the part of the farmer. The subsoil becomes quickly saturated, and moisture rises by capillary attraction, and feeds the growing crops. The crops grown on these lands are certainly wonderful. After the land is once wet up, one man will easily irrigate 500 to S00 acres of this land during: the wdiole season. The crops grown are wheat, oats, barley, peas, potatoes, alfalfa and native hay, and all the root crops. The wheat crop of 1898 is variously estimated at 1,250,000 to 1,500,000 bushels. The largest part of the v'heat produced is milled in the valley by four mills having a combined capacity of about 1100 barrels a day. San Luis Valley flour has an excel- lent reputation for its quality, and the Colorado Milling & Elevator Co. ships large quantities as far east and south as Memphis, Tenn. San Luis Valley wheat is also shipped for milling to the mills at Canon City, Grand Junction, Montrose, Durango, La Vela and Littleton, and considerable is exported to Galveston. Native hay is an important product, and commands the highest price in the markets. It is estimated that at least 12.000 to 15,000 tons were shipped during 1898. Great quantities of oats, barley and potatoes are also shipped. Here are great areas of the finest kind of potato ground. In quality the valley potatoes are unsurpassed, and the quantity produced is capable of indefinite expansion. COLORADO. Statistics of the fruit production for the year are given in the annual horticultural report. The water commissioner for that division reports the number of acres that can he irrigated at 225,884; cultivated in alfalfa, 57,954; seeded grasses, 9571; natural grasses, 5313; other crops other than fruit, 37.548. The people of the valley are self-sustaining, as they have been for years, from stock-raising and cultivation of their fields by limited irrigation. This year will witness the beginning of an extended system of irrigation. There are 100,000 acres that can be brought under cultivation and soon that section will be adding its millions of dollars of farm products to the present grand total. These products will be fruit and hay and grain and vegetables of all varieties. As it is now, 48,000 acres are cultivated, the larger part in alfalfa and other grasses. One of the most profitable branches of industry dependent upon agricul- ture in Colorado is that of feeding sheep and cattle for the market. For the most part the cattle thus fed represents the number of beeves slaughtered in Colorado, while the lambs go to the Eastern markets, principally Chicago, where they command the highest prices. The profit in feeding per head is estimated at eighty cents, though it often reaches one dollar. To November 15 the lambs thus feeding were reported at 305,137, distributed as follows: Larimer county 165,109, Weld 55.122, Otero 50,960, Bent 7000, Logan 10,088, Morgan 1550, Boulder 3584, Prowers 10,265, other counties 1459. The total given is undoubtedly too low, since on one farm near Sterling there is recently reported the feeding of 25,000 head of lambs, while the business is carried on more or less in most farming sections. LIVE STOCK INDUSTRY. While Colorado has always been classed as one of the leading live-stock States of the Western country, it is only within the past two years that the industry has advanced to a position second only to that of mining and smelt- ing. This sudden advance has been due to a variety of causes, chief among which has been the large increase in farming and alfalfa raising, thus fur- nishing an ample supply of rough feed for winter use. The location of the State between the wonderful breeding grounds of the South and the great open ranges of the North has made it a sort of stopping-place for the cattle in transit from one section to the other. Formerly the great movement of cattle in the West was from the southern breeding ranges to the northern grazing ranges, but during the past three years the enormous quantity of feed produced in the so-called corn States of the Missouri Valley has created a demand for these cattle and advanced prices to a point where the grazier was unable to compete with the farmer feeder. The result was that the flow of cattle through Colorado has been diverted into the territory east of this State, and many thousand were stopped in Colorado to spend a few months eating alfalfa hay and becoming acclimated. Thus incidentally it was discovered that the dry, bracing winter climate along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, together with the thousands of tons of cheap alfalfa hay, made a combination that was both attractive and remu- nerative to the stockman. The net result was an increase from 2,522,000 head of live stock in 1S96 to 3.007,000 head of cattle in 1898, and the indica- tions are that the end is not yet. Colorado is a State composed of magnificent, well-watered valleys and broad, arid uplands. The valleys are rapidly being filled with farmers who are each year extending their cultivated farms and producing more and more of the succulent alfalfa, which depends upon plenty of live stock at hand to eat it. for its value. The uplands are of no use whatever except for grazing cattle during the summer seasons. The great cattle syndicates of a few years ago, with their thousands of head roaming freely over the uplands in summer and through the valleys in winter, have almost entirely disappeared, 24 COLORADO. and in their place are small herds from 100 to 500 head, which are allowed to graze on the uplands while the farmer waters and reaps his harvest of alfalfa, run in the fields during the fall and eat the alfalfa during the winter months, reaching spring in the best possible condition. This is a combination that is building up the, live-stock industry in Colo- rado far beyond what it ever was before. As the valleys are settled up new farms opened and more alfalfa produced the demand for cattle is increasing, and it is a far different proposition from the old open-range plan of stock- raising. By the modern methods the losses are reduced to practically noth- ing, where formerly the stockman had to figure on from 10 to 30 per cent, of loss. By the new method the stockman is able tc use thoroughbred bulls and control his breeding, while formerly he was content with whatever Providence gave him, just so it had horns and hoofs. Where formerly one man owned or controlled all the cattle in one district, today the herds are divided among a hundred. In short, the industry has been placed upon a business basis and the uncertain element, so popular with the gambler, has been almost entirely eliminated. What is true of the cattle industry is equally true as regards sheep and hogs. With the improved price on wool and the increased demand for money, Colorado has made a long jump to the front as a sheep State, and as with cattle, alfalfa is the principal cause. Almost through an accident it was discovered that alfalfa was the hest feed when used in conjunction with corn for finishing mutton for the market that could be found. The farms of the Arkansas Valley and of the territory lying north of Denver, which is one of the richest farming sections of the State, every fall are filled with thousands of lambs, brought in from the ranges of the West and South to be stuffed during the winter with alfalfa and corn and sent away to the mar- kets in the spring, rolling in fat and commanding the highest prices paid in any market of the world as “Colorado-fed lambs.” The rapid growth of the live-stock market at Denver attests more than anything else to the rapid growth of the industry in the West, and particu- larly in Colorado; The demand at this market for fat cattle for slaughter is far greater than the supply, and the farmers are only just discovering that the dry climate and winters filled with sunshine, together with the rich alfalfa, enables them to feed cattle for market and finish them in a much shorter time than can be done elsewhere, and, with a market for all they can produce right at their door, the time is not far distant when “Colorado beef” will be known in the markets of the world as well as “Colorado mutton.” It is only within the past year that the hog industry has attracted any considerable attention. At present the demand on the Denver market for Colorado hogs is far greater than the supply, and those that are raised bring the top of the market and are considered equal, if not superior, to the bes*: Kansas and Nebraska product. Here again alfalfa is the principal factor in making the industry successful and remunerative. The hogs are allowed to run in the open field, and are grown on the alfalfa until within a few weeks of time to market them, when they are finished off bn corn, and it is generally admitted by packers that the Colorado alfalfa hogs are the finest flavored and make the most marketable product of any hogs known. In addition to this, the dry climate and bright sunshine seem to be an enemy to that dreaded scourge of the hog-raiser, cholera, and losses from this cause are almost unknown. The following comparative figures on the movement of live stock through the Denver market during the past thirteen years will convey a fair idea of the growth of the industry, although the figures do not represent the total number of head moved, as large numbers find their way to other markets and are consumed locally: COLORADO. 25 Horses and Cattle. Hogs. Sheep. Mules. 1886 54,229 23,461 25,969 4,955 1887 38,412 53,578 36,879 5,260 1888 105,792 63,807 108,582 7,125 1889 177,031 74,955 157,648 6,645 1S90 113,664 107,025 177,898 5,720 1S91 141,204 80,060 165,616 8,630 1892 143,211 83,413 134,398 11,938 1893 154,739 62,111 130,373 7.987 1894 147,506 94,099 138,990 6,009 1895 47,598 156,412 3.051 1896 202,013 56,537 180,639 2,537 1897 248,888 75,065 308,661 2,246 189S* 291,566 79,264 292,508 3,060 *Last month of 1S9S estimated. The complete evolution that has occurred in the live-stock industry has •opened a new era which as yet is but in its infancy. For the next five years at least the opportunities in Colorado and the West for the farmer stock- raiser will he such as to attract thousands of farmers from the crowded dis- tricts in the East to the more profitable openings in the West. The clever farmer needs only to investigate to be convinced. HORSES. Until recently the cattle business has absorbed nearly all the attention and the capital for stock-raising purposes. The change in the cattle business has become a great benefit to the horse-raising interest. Coincident with this change it was discovered that the climate of Colorado was exceedingly well adapted to horses, and that they could stand the rigors of winter upon the range much better than cattle. Five years prior to 1888 the number of horses in the herds was not taken into account. According to statistics for 1897. there ars 172,000 head of horses in the State, valued at $6,020,000. Special attention is paid to the importation of the large foreign draft horses for breeding purposes, and it is said these horses find a larger market in Colorado than in any State of the Union. Thoroughbreds are also raised there in considerable numbers. A steady improvement in quality is noted, and many of the well-known racers on the American turf today are native Colorado animals. SHEEP. The total number of grown sheep in the State in 1897 was 1.700,000 head, valued at $4,250,000. The best-conducted flocks have paid not far from 20 per cent, on the money invested. The wool per capita averages a fraction over six pounds. Spanish merinos, bred up from native Mexican ewes, pre- dominate. There are comparatively few of the Downs, or mutton breeds, in the State. This branch of the industry is now receiving attention. The sheep flocks are to be found in every part of the State, but mainly east of the mountains, though herds are to be found in every park and valley of the mountains as well. The recent introduction of alfalfa and other improved hay grasses insures the successful raising of sheep and production of wool without limit. Of the wool-growing industry a more extended notice is given under that heading. 2G COLORADO. HOGS. The hog has had an existence in Colorado more in the role of a domestic animal than an article of commercial value, except as he has appeared in disjointed form at the market stalls and at a very high price. The spng in Colorado might have been, “Everything is Lovely, and the Hog Hangs High.” But now, with the new discovery that the soil of Eastern Colorado is marvelously productive of corn, the hog will henceforth be expected to be fruitful and multiply, and to be diligent in the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. There were, according to the returns for 1S9T, in the State, 35,000 hogs, valued at $263,500. In either of the first three named branches of the stock industry there are abundant room and opportunities without limit for the investment of capital, or for individual enterprise in the business. The location of farms and the building of towns and country homes along the lines of railway bring about, a constantly-increasing demand for lire stock, as well as all other native products, and also render the business of stock-raising a more attractive occupation. It must not be inferred that the change which is taking place in reference to cattle threatens in any imminent degree to destroy the range business. Such a change can only come when the plain lands are generally taken up by actual settlement. There are many millions of acres of unclaimed gove- ernment lands, embracing the range on the eastern sides of the mountains, and many millions on the western sides, where the great herds may roam and browse and fatten, increasing in numbers and enriching their owners for a generation to come. The range cattle business in Colorado, when once well started, is the most profitable of all enterprises when the labor and cost of conducting it, at least according to the past methods, are compared with its productiveness. The recent efforts that have been made to aid the herds in passing through the winters have incurred some expense, which has been remunerated in less mortality and in more valuable stock. Should there be any that are curious tc know how to start in the busi- ness, there is this simple suggestion: Any person who can purchase a dozen head of cattle can in time become the owner of a great herd. Some of the wealthiest cattle kings in Colorado began as cow-boys, having nothing in the world but cow-boy wages. With these wages they bought cattle from their employers, putting their own brands upon them. In the course of years, by additional purchases and by breeding, their herds grew large in numbers, and the owners became rich. These opportunities are still open to all new settlers. WOOL-GROWING. It has been discovered by live-stock men in Colorado that sheep-raising can be made more profitable than cattle-growing. This knowledge comes with the results of good keeping, better feeding and better breeding. The facilities for all these things are daily on the increase. The increased value is found both in mutton and wool. To the latter product belongs the future value of Colorado sheep, inasmuch as the State is in the center of the great- est wool-growing section of the United States, with all the territory requisite and natural advantages sufficient to supply the warp and wool and the fabric to all the West. Three million sheep yield a clip of nearly twenty million pounds of wool. It is estimated that Colorado is susceptible of carrying 25.000,000 sheep. At the rate of present yield, the clip would be 150,000,000 pounds of wool. The outlook for lamb-feeding next winter, as usual at this, time of the year, is very much in doubt. In Colorado next fall the majority of breeders will seek to secure New Mexican lambs, as it has been shown COLORADO. by experiment that this class of lambs do better and bring a better price finished than any other kind. The reason generally attributed is the fact that lambs from that section are of medium grade, not thick-pelted, and the flesh has not the oily taste of the finer grades. Many of the Colorado feeders ai’e raising sugar beets this season, and will combine them -with the alfalfa and corn, using corn only to finish and give the proper color. While the feeders report satisfactory returns for last winter, showing an average profit of fifty cents per head for feeding, there is a growing sentiment against paying as high prices as were paid last year. A number of contracts have already been made in New Mexico for fall delivery at prices ranging from $1.90 to $2.25 per head, and these are about the prices that the feeders are willing to pay. In the Fort Collins district it is claimed that unless prices are lower than last year, 15 per cent, of the feeders will decline to take the chances but will turn their attention to cattle-feeding. There is a movement in some quarters in favor of buying lambs on the range by weight instead of by. the head. Some contracts have been made in this way already, the prices being quoted at $3 and $3.50 per hundred pounds. Most feeders estimate that they must buy lambs to feed at not to exceed four cents per pound with freight paid to river in order to succeed. It is too early yet to correctly estimate the wool crop, but from reports received from many sections the crop is fully equal to last year and an increase of 10 per cent, is a conservative estimate. Prices being paid are very much higher than last year, and flockmasters will net handsome profits. Prices have been ranging from fourteen to eighteen cents per pound on the range. The quality of the wool is rather above the average. DAIRY AND POULTRY PRODUCTS. These are two, among the many, industries of Colorado that offer great opportunities to persons seeking a place for profitable investment or pro- gressive employment. The farmers have ~he capacity for unlimited pro- duction in these lines; but being absorbed for the most part in extending their farms and improving the methods of farming, little attention compara- tively speaking is paid to these branches of money-making business. The figures represent a large revenue, that could as well be made within each agricultural community of the State, and no better evidence could be furnished of the grand opportunities offered to enterprising men and Vomen to come into the State, buy a small farm and engage in raising poultry and eggs and in butter-making for Colorado towns and cities. For these pur- poses there is no better field in the world than Central Colorado. It cannot be said, however, that these branches are neglected. Consider- able attention is paid to the dairy business, especially in the vicinity of Denver, and both in the breeds of cattle used and the manner of their keep- ing, the effort is almost uniformly toward the production of superior butter. In this connection it is worthy of remark that the prices which prevail would compare favorably with Eastern markets. The best grades in winter sell nominally at forty cents per pound, and in the spring and summer nymths at from thirty to thirty-five cents, much of the home product being sold at twenty-five cents per pound, retail. Ranch, or native laid, fresh eggs com- mand from twenty-five to thirty cents per dozen the year round, except in late fall and midwinter, when they sometimes reach thirty-five to forty cents. It is perhaps the poultry business which needs the greatest attention of these three branches in Colorado. A greater number of fowls and lower prices are the two things greatly to be desired. Chickens of all sizes are always high in price. Spring chickens, when the time comes for them, are a luxury that is entirely too expensive in this country. A poor little baby of a chick that is just weaned from its mother, about large enough to make a man hungry after he has eaten the whole of it, sells at the market stand for 28 COLORADO. thirty-five cents. But this wee mite of a chick is not the little rooster to be complained of. It is the standard-gauge spring chicken, a few feather- weights larger, a few days older, aDd with a little more experience, that gives one a religious sort of yearning for the good old-fashioned camp-meeting days, in the land of our pious fathers beyond the plains, where chickens grow spontaneously, and are given almost without price. In Denver, for instance, this cliippery young fledgling, having only the superior merit of being a Colorado product, before he is old enough to crow over his self- importance, commands a half a dollar, head, feathers and all. But if he is cooked and served upon a plate at a restaurant table, one dollar is his uniform price. Such prices place these luxuries beyond the reach of the masses. There is sufficient room and opportunity and adaptation in Colorado for such an increase in this business that every man, woman and child in Colorado could have a spring chicken for breakfast every day in the year — “at prices to suit.” FRUITS AND FRUIT-GROWING. The growing of fruits in Colorado on a large commercial scale has been Introduced within the last very few years, but is already acquiring a stand as one of the leading industries of the State. Practically all of the State, wherever water can be secured for irrigation, is capable of producing the most beautiful fruits, and certain sections are particularly favored in the way of location, climate, soil, etc., for special fruits. Within a radius of fifty miles or so of Denver there have been planted many hundreds of acres of apples, and there are already being produced within this section sufficient fruit not only for home consumption, but for sending to other markets. So far as there is any record, the first fruit grown in the State of Colorado was planted about the year 1863, but no striking impetus was given to the business until within the last decade. A firm well known in Missouri secured some years ago, near the city of Denver, a few acres of ground on which to try an experiment in the way of growing fruit trees, especially apples, for orchard purposes, without irri- gating, and thus by a system of frequent and thorough cultivation succeeded in procuring results which are little short of marvelous. In their orchards, and these conducted along similar lines, there have been grown thousands of bushels of fruit without the use of a single drop of artificial water. What the future has in store for Colorado in the way of the growth of fruit in this particular way no one can foretell; but while that is being demonstrated there is an absolute certainty that all fruits of the temperate zone may be grown in one place or another with the greatest success. APPLES IN COLORADO. The varieties of apples grown in Colorado are about the same as those most commonly grown in the trans-Mississippi country, including such varie- ties as Ben Davis, Wine Sap, Jonathan, Willow Twig, Grimes’ Golden, Wealthy, ete., and the beauty, quality and size of these apples is equalled by those of very few apple-producing sections in the entire world. From the first planting in the northeast part of the State, not very- far from Denver, the growth of the apple has extended, until today there is practically not a valley in the State in which it has not been clearly demonstrated that apple- growing can be successfully and profitably carried cn. COLORADO. 29 PEACHES. Until within the short time mentioned above, viz., about a dozen years, the growth, of peaches in Colorado was extremely limited, but on the western slope of the mountains, which is in the vicinity of Grand Junction, Montrose, etc., there have been planted within a very recent time not only dozens, but hundreds and thousands of acres of orchards of this noble fruit, the product being equal in quality, color and size, and all necessary qualities for suc- cessful competition in the markets of the world, with any peaches grown anywhere. A few years ago the very acme of perfection was thought to have been reached in the Salt Lake region of Utah, but at the present time in any great markets of the United States the Grand Junction peaches will “hold their own,” not only with those of Utah, but with those of New Jersey, New York or elsewhere. There has never been, since trees begun bearing in that section, a complete failure, and there is every reason for believing that the entire western slope of Colorado, and much of the eastern slope, as well, will rank very soon as equal to the best peach-growing section in the world. The particular reason why peaches are more satisfactory to plant for fruit than other tree fruits is that they bear at such an extremely early age. It is no uncommon thing in Colorado to find trees three or four years planted bearing up to a bushel of splendid fruit each, and one such crop as this will easily pay for the tree and all the care which it may have received down to that time, leaving all future crops for profit. PEARS. Many pears of various varieties are grown, and these, as well as the peaches and apples, take the very highest rank wherever they are placed upon the market. SMALL FRUITS. Not a small fruit can be named that is not entirely successful in the greater part of the State of Colorado; the entire range of grapes, from the native American sorts to the splendid Italian varieties, can be grown with the greatest success. Persons not familiar with the subject are entirely overcome with surprise when hearing that nearly all of the best desert grapes, which they have heretofore supposed to grow only in California or the extreme South, reach the highest perfection in Colorado, especially in the western part of the State. All the leading varieties of blackberries, raspberries and strawberries grow, bearing abundantly and the fruit being of the very finest quality. Of the other tree fruits, such as cherries and prunes, scarcely too strong a setting forth of the adaptability of Colorado to their growth can be made. Not only do the native prunes grow and bear well, but many of the European varieties, including' the prunes, are especially adapted to the conditions, and bear most abundantly. The sweet cherries, so popular in the East, but which grow sparingly in all the prairie States in the West, do extremely well in many porties of Colorado. COLORADO FRUIT AT THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI AND INTER- NATIONAL EXPOSITION. Colorado covered continually, and with great credit, a space of nearly 2000 feet, the fruit being a continual source of admiration and wonder to the visitors from outside the immediate section where grown. The universal comment of the hundreds of thousands of visitors who passed through the- 30 COLORADO. beautiful Horticultural Building during that period was that Colorado fruits were equal in every respect to those coming from any other place. When it is considered that practically every trans-Mississippi State was represented in the fruit exhibit, it will be understood what a high rank Colorado took. There is probably no better opening in the United States today for the making of a comfortable living, as well as the laying aside of a good profit, than in the growth of fruits for the markets which may be reached from Colorado. Anyone contemplating locating in Colorado can scarcely go wrong, so far as the ability of the land to produce fruit is concerned, and' there is no reason why every owner of land, even if it is but a small parcel, should not have all that he may need for his own use and that of his family of as good fruit as gladdens the palate of anyone on the face of the earth. Of course, it is true that the growth of fruit in large tracts and for the market requires more or less knowledge of the selection of the varieties, packing for shipment, preserving or drying, in order to care for the surplus, and many other points, but this is a business easily acquired and pleasant to carry on. There is room within the borders of the great State of Colorado for thou- sands of people who might remove from places where their environments are not pleasant to this healthful section, where pleasant and profitable outdoor occupation may be entered upon with every probability of success. MINING AND THE PRECIOUS METALS. The record of the mining industry has been one of steady increase of production from the first discoveries to the present day. While the territory embraced within the present State boundaries marked the scene of several exploring parties of earlier date, not until the year 1858 were the white pioneers strong enough, numerically, to establish a settlement. The inhab- itants even at this late date were mainly Indians of various tribes. White hunters and trappers were sparsely scattered over this section and had for years plied their vocations to advantage. Later they were joined by the prospectors in search of precious metals. In 1858 credence was given to earlier rumors by a small party of prospectors, who reported the discovery of gold in paying quantities. The result of this report was the concentration of the white inhabitants in sufficient numbers to establish the first mining camp. This camp was located near the present site of the city of Denver, and called Montana. The development of the gold deposits soon demonstrated the same to be of little value under the economic conditions existing at that time. The prospectors began to disband, and the search for gold was continued in the more mountainous sections. At this time Colorado was far inland, and communication was only pos- sible by wagons “crossing the plains.” In this 1 manner the reports of the gold discoveries were conveyed to the Eastern States; the value increasing, and the difficulties to be overcome decreasing, with repetition, time and distance. The people of the Eastern States, still suffering from the financial crash of 1857, were ready to grasp at any opportunity for retrieving lost fortunes, so the inflated reports of gold in Colorado were accepted as received. This was productive of a tide of immigration which soon made the “Pike’s Peak Country” famous. On January 7, 1859, George A. Jackson discovered gold in paying quan- tities at a point near the present site of Idaho Springs. Following this, dis- coveries which yielded fair returns were made in several sections, and the mining industry fairly launched. In February, 1861, Colorado was organized as a territory, with an esti- mated population of 65.000. The wisdom of this act of Congress was con- COLORADO. 31 siderecl questionable even to as late as 1S70. This year marked the advent of a railroad, and was practically the first assurance of a permanent indus- trial establishment in Colorado. Aided by railroad connection, the development was more rapid. In 1S76 the territory of Colorado was admitted into the Union as a State. While the record of mining in Colorado has been one of increase of pro- duction, the product has been variable. The early mining was for gold alone. The demand for “pay placer beds,” under primitive conditions, ex- ceeded the supply. The lodes or veins were discovered to carry gold values, and the oxidized ores near the surface found to yield a profit. Silver at that time was considered detrimental. The opening of gold-bearing veins soon developed the necessity for mills. Their introduction followed with variable success. The establishment and successful operation of the Boston and Colorado Smelting Works, at Black Hawk, in 1868, marks one of the most important events in Colorado history. Silver and copper began to have some intrinsic value; a new era in the State's mining progress was opened. Ores which prior to the establishment of this plant were worthless, under new conditions were found to possess intrinsic value. More activity in mining followed. Silver became a commodity to be sought rather than avoided. Following the advent of a railroad, in 1870, reputed rich finds of gold and silver in the San Juan section, in 1872; the discovery of lead carbonates, carrying silver, in Leadville, in 1874, an era of building railroads and reduc- tion works began, which reached a climax in 1879. By this time the army of prospectors had stopped the search for gold and turned their attention to the discovery of lead-silver properties. In an incredibly short time the mines yielded silver in excess of gold, and the State stood at the head of the list as a producer of silver. From 1879 until 1889 the search for silver mines continued. Through adverse legislation the market price of silver declined until the demand for new silver mines was practically at a minimum. Prospectors again turned their attention to a search for gold. As a result Colorado, for gold produc- tion in 1897, stands the recognized leader. The transition of the State's production of precious metals from gold to silver, and later from silver to gold, is not only a tribute to the limitless resources of the State, but also to her citizens. It not only demonstrates the ability of both to meet the demand, but to take the lead in supplying the metal demanded. For more than a decade past Colorado has led all other States and Terri- tories in the Union in the value of her precious metal productions, and since the first settlement of the State, in 1859, no other natural resource has con- tributed so zealously to the support and prosperity of the people of the Rocky Mountain region. From the early days of placer mining to the present time, mining has been one of the chief industries of the people of the State, and the steady development of new mines and ore deposits has kept pace with the continu- ally-increasing population; and even today, with the thousands of producing mines scattered throughout the length and breadth of the State, less than the one-hundredth part of Colorado’s mineral wealth is known. Vast lodes of silver and gold ore seam almost e'very mountain, and, in obedience to man’s energy and industry, have yielded up their treasures in a steady stream, until the amount so far realized aggregates an almost incredible sum. In addition to the fissure vein or lodes, the State is also very prolific in immense deposits of argentiferous lead ores, and beyond the production of silver and gold, Colorado has a most remarkable record for the yield of lead. Since the opening of the Leadville district the State has annually produced from 40 to 60 per cent, of the entire lead output of the whole country. COLORADO. TOTAL YIELD OF THE STATE. Since the beginning of mining in Colorado to the close of the last calendar year, the production of gold and silver alone has been as follows: 18G9 to 1870 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1S76 1877 1878 1879 1880 18S1 1882 1883 1884 1SS5 1886 18S7 1888 1SS9 1S90 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1S96 1897 $27,543,801 00 2.856.000 00 3,029,046 24 3.740.000 00 3.935.000 00 5,098,510 00 5,284,382 02 6,041,907 82 6,875,086 88 9,282,191 17 13,989,233 70 21,821,500 00 20.480.000 00 15. 880. 000 00 21.470.000 00 20.300.000 00 17,990,351 00 22,655,823 47 20,792,624 31 26,061,546 00 29,935,477 00 29,880,734 00 33,548,934 00 32,342,571 00 27,732,785 00 24,188,427 00 25,243,186 00 29,725,770 00 32,272,085 00 Total $546,750,281 72 THE NATURE OF VEINS AND DEPOSITS. Probably no other portion of the globe presents greater diversity in the characteristics and peculiarities of its mineral veins and deposits. Ores are found under all conceivable conditions, and yet with all, as a rule, in suffi- cient quantities to admit of their practical and profitable extraction. In the metamorphosed granite mountains of the main ranges, the typical fissure veins, with well-defined and nearly perpendicular walls, are found, often aggregated in great numbers, and universally mineralized to a profit- able degree, while not infrequently they open out to from ten to forty feet of fine silver. and gold-bearing quartz. In the trachytic and porphyrytic districts rich fissures also prevail, run- ning very high in silver, as a rule, while occasionally the precious metals are associated with such quantities of lead or copper ore that the base metals more than pay all cost of mining and treating the ore. In other sections again where there have been large overflows of por- phyry upon the carboniferous or Silurian limestone, great deposits of silver lead ore are found, often covering many acres of ground, like vast coal beds. To this latter class belong the mines of Leadville, also the mines about Rob- inson, Red Cliff, Aspen, Monarch, White Pine and Rico. COLORADO. 33 CHARACTER OF ORES FOUND. Almost every known kind of mineral is found in Colorado in greater or less quantity, and a complete list would fill many pages of this pamphlet. As a consequence, attention must be confined only to ores containing economic values. In this class the pyritiferous iron ores and the argentiferous lead ores predominate. In tbe mines of Gilpin and Clear Creek counties the ores are mostly quartz, containing iron pyrites, which carry the silver and gold; the former as a sulphide, and the latter in its native state. Quite generally also these ores contain galena and zinc- blende. The latter, while often richer in silver than the pyritiferous ores, usually runs very little in gold. In some of the deposit mines where depth has been obtained and the ore has not been subjected to great atmospheric or changing aqueous influences, the ore also exists as a sulphide, the matrix of the rich mineral being very generally a mixture of iron, zinc, galena, and frequently copper, in its various composi- tions. Near the surface the ore in the limestone and horizontal veins is changed from sulphide to carbonate and oxides. The gangue then is an oxide of iron, sometimes associated with a great deal of manganese, and often very rich in silver. The lead is transmitted into a carbonate (cerussite), also an oxide and sulphate, with frequent masses of gelenite, the lead evi- dently yielding less readily to oxidizing and carbonizing agencies than the iron ore. The zinc is generally absent in such ores, as upon losing a portion of its sulphur it becomes soluble, and consequently susceptible to the leach- ing influences of percolating waters. The removal of this zinc, which is so troublesome in smelting, is the main cause of the desirability of carbonate ores for reduction in furnaces. In the carbonized ores the bulk of the silver exists as a bromide of chloride of silver, known as horn silver, when found in large aggregations. Not infrequently the decomposition of bromo-chloride of silver results in magnificent productions of native silver. DEEP AND EXTENSIVELY-DEVELOPED MINES. Although Colorado cannot boast of mines having such enormous depths as the Comstock or some European mines, still enough depth has been at- tained in many portions of the State, and in all classes of lodes and veins, to prove conclusively that the veins descend as deep as it will be found prac- ticable to work them. The California Mine, near Central City, has attained a vertical depth of 1900 feet, and discloses very large and rich ore masses in its lowest levels. Other mines through Gilpin and Clear Creek counties, by means of tunnels and shafts are extracting ore at distances from the surface of 1000 to 2000 feet. Very considerable depth has also been attained in many mines in the southwestern and central portions of the State. In the matter of extensive workings, probably no place can show the equal of some of the carbonate mines. The ore bodies are large, and sub- terranean chambers are frequently excavated that would contain a very large business block. In the Stone Mine of the Iron Silver, ore body attained a maximum thickness of 130 feet, a width of 250 feet, and a length of about 500 feet. Millions of cubic feet of timber are consumed annually in support- ing the roofs and walls of the mines of the State. PHENOMENAL ORE BODIES AND DIVIDENDS. There are so many remarkably large ore deposits and veins in this State that one is at loss to select fair representatives Smuggler vein, in Marshall Basin, in the San Juan country, shows a profitably mineralized ore chimney for over 4000 feet without a single interruption. The thickness of this ore streak ranges from eight inches to six feet, with a depth unknown, and the ore, which is a quartz, carrying native, ruby and sulphide of silver, runs 34 COLORADO. from forty to 600 ounces and over per ton. On this vein are located the Mendota, Sheridan, Smuggler and Union Mines, all in Bonanza. Another marvelous ore body is that opened in the Minnie Mine at Lead- ville, where there is estimated to be over $10,000,000 gross in sight. Adjoin- ing this mine are a number of others opening up a continuation of the vein, and calculated to disclose over 3,000,000 tons of ore, averaging about ten ounces in silver per ton, 25 per cent, of lead, and about 20 per cent, iu zinc. The Maid of Erin Mine, in the same district, shows an ore body several hun- dred feet wide, of great thickness, and extending through a number of adjoining claims, and which, it is estimated, wi'l yield not less than $5,000,000. Among the extraordinarily large productions made in the past may be mentioned the output of the Robert E. Lee some years ago, when $11S,500 worth of ore was produced in seventeen hours. The large shippers at the present time are very numerous, and not a few mines send to the smelters of the State from 100 to 300 tons of rich ore daily. Some enormous profits are realized from the working of Colorado mines. The more productive properties, however, are not listed stock companies, and consequently the public know little of the net earnings of mines. Gov- ernor Tabor’s Matchless Mine has yielded him over $1,000,000; the Small Hopes Mine paid over $3,000,000 in dividends in two years, and not a few mines have paid from $750,000 to $2,500,000, and are still yielding hand- some returns. ADVANTAGES OF RAILROADS AND SMELTERS. The great success of Colorado mines and the rapid development of the mineral resources of the State are attributed largely to the great number of railroads in operation in the State. The Union Pacific, as well as other companies, have lines running into almost every mining district in the State, and ores are transported at a minimum rate. This system prevents the pool- ing of issues between local production works, and brings the output of the mines into the markets of the State, giving the miner the advantage of strong competition. It obviates the necessity of building smelting or milling works for individual mines, and insures better prices and lower smelting charges by enabling works to secure the necessary mixtures of ore for cheap and rapid reduction. The smelters of Colorado lead the world in the efficiency and thorough- ness of work. There are now in the State smelters with furnaces in blast, averaging at least forty tons a day per furnace. These smelters purchase the ore they reduce outright, paying New York quotations for silver, and the highest prices possible for lead and copper. By this method of doing busi- ness the miner is enabled to realize on his product a few days after it is shipped, and no delays or risks are known. Throughout the State there are a lumber of sampling works, which de- termine the gold, silver, lead and copper contents of ores, and then offer them to the smelters. The ores are always sold to the highest bidder among the smelters, and in this way very good prices are generally obtained. In addition to the smelters there are a great number of quartz mills, and at least 1200 stamps are continually dropping on silver and gold-bearing rock, resulting in very large yields of fine bullion. GOLD PLACER MINING. In the early days of mining in this Sate operations were confined entirely to placers and the shovel; the gold pan and the sluice box were the only equipments necessary. It was the simplest, most profitable and most direct COLORADO. o5 'way of securing a valuable metal. Nearly $30,000,000 were secured from the gulches of this State during the first ten years of work, and many valu- able placers were subsequently abandoned to work less valuable lodes. Later pn the craze for deposit mining set in, and placers were again neglected; but in the past few years this character of mining has been more justly appre- ciated, and considerable successful placer mining is now in progress in this State. Park and Summit counties contain endless acres of valuable placer ground, and the gulch mines about Alma, Fair Play and Breckenridge have annually shipped their hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of gold dust to the Denver branch mint. In Lake and Chaffee counties are the Twin Lakes and Cache Creek Mines, operated by an English company at large profits. In the southwestern part of the State placer mining is still in its infancy, although the stream beds and contiguous bars are known to be very rich. Among the most extensive and richest auriferous bars are those along the ■San Miguel. river, which have but recently attracted attention, but are now being improved with the view to extensive working in the near future. The San Miguel Gold Placers Co. is spending several hundred thousand dollars in miles of ditches, 48-inch steel pipe lines and large giants preparatory to working about eight miles of the richest bars ever discovered in North America. Other companies are also engaged in the same district in making judicious improvements, while some are already at work and are securing most satisfactory returns. PRESENT AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES. While many good mines have been found and opened in this State, the resources of Colorado are by no means exhausted, nor all the valuable min- eral deposits taken up. For the prospector the State still presents the finest field known in the wide world, as is fully proven by the new discoveries made daily, and the constant. sales of prospect properties at large figures to mining companies. Not only are the chances of finding good veins better than in the majority of States, but properties can be disposed of with greater ease, and the prospector with a promising lode need never search long for a buyer or capitalist who is willing to advance the funds necessary for the develop- ment of a good vein. For parties with means desiring to engage in mining, or wishing to secure mines to place in the Eastern market, no better section can be found than Colorado. Good mines abound almost everywhere that can be had at rea- sonable figures; not mere holes in the ground, but shafts, showing profitable streaks of ore of good grade. In addition to being meritorious, they gen- erally possess the advantage of being near railroads, and with the prevailing low freight rates and exceptionally good ore markets of Denver, properties that would prove valueless in many portions of the country yield handsome profits here. Ore in Colorado is as much of a commodity as wheat or corn in Kansas, and there is no more need of a miner operating his own smelter or mill than there is of a farmer reducing his wheat to flour or corn to meal. There are in this State, also, a number of districts not yet provided with railroads. Many of these insure to the investors at the present time good returns with the advent of a road. There are not a few opportunities of this character which are destined to enrich those who take advantage of them in time. The future of Colorado as a mining State is now assured beyond perad- venture. Order has been brought out of chaos, metallurgical science has revolutionized the primitive methods formerly employed in the extraction of precious metals, and has enabled heretofore worthless ores to be worked at good profits. A transformation has taken place, incidentally to the intro- duction of large hoisting and reduction plants and railway shipping facilities 36 COLORADO. and local tramways. Ores are mined at an expense of cents where it for- merly cost dollars, and are transported for a song where in the past the ex- pense was often equal to the gross value of the product. The industry has- assumed a practical, rather than a speculative character, as is shown by the large annual yield, and it is beginning to be recognized as an honorable, legitimate pursuit, rather than one of chance and great risk. The wealthiest manufacturers, bankers and capitalists of Colorado are men who amassed their fortunes at mining, and who are making fortunes out of it, and are the moving spirits in all great enterprises. The industry is no longer regarded as one affording a precarious sustenance to a horde of nomadic adventurers, but as the life and support of a million people, and the backing of the great transcontinental railway lines. It has built cities in the mountains and on the plains; has developed the coal and iron resources of the State; led to the establishment of manufactories and brought prosperity to the farmer and ranchman of Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska. It has enabled this country to discharge its obligations in coin, has helped our people to a firm financial basis, and benefited the whole world in innumerable ways. COAL AND OIL. The most candid statement that could now be made concerning Colorado’s- supply of coal would seem an enormous exaggeration. Comparison with other States of the Union is out of question, in view of the constant new discoveries. By scientific explorers it is said that there is a supply for all the United States and Territories for a century. A reputable geologist says that if all the coal veins underlying Colorado were spread in adayer upon the surface they would form a carpet three and a-half feet thick, covering the entire State. Official geological surveys in the past few years give a coal-bearing strata of 30,000 square miles. But there have been many recent discoveries so enormous in their nature that the State Inspector of Coal Mines declares the area to be not less than 40,000 square miles — over one-third of the entire area of the State. To dwell upon the grand purpose of nature in placing this great supply of fuel here would be little less than an attempt to fathom the reason why the Creator has reserved through all the ages until this day the advance- ment of civilization into this great wealth-stored country. It is easy to- comprehend one fact, however, which is recorded in the history of man in all ages of the world — that the discovery of these supplies of Providence are made only at the time when they are needed for present 'use or for the apparent requirements of the future. The lesson is, that this enormous fuel supply is not only provided for the ages to come, but that it may perform its part in meeting the requirements of a numerous people in the near future — a great industrial population that is abundantly provided for in all the other natural resources of the State. As to the location of this coal, it is not everywhere, but it is found in every quarter of the State; from the foot-hills far out upon the plains to the east; in the middle counties of the mountains, and in the valleys, and upon the mesas of the western side of the range. There is one fact more conspicuous than all else, except the abundance of the coal supply itself, and that is. these coal strata, whether upon mountain or plain, are to be found invariably within easy reach of every town and city, and often at the very door of the farmer, who is away from timber upon the mesa or the plains. There has been a steady increase in the coal product of the State since 1873, when the first record was kept. Each year shows a marked advance in the number of tons, save 1884, when there was a slight decrease, caused by extended strikes during a portion of that year. The following table shows; the coal product of the State from 1873 to 1897, inclusive: COLORADO. 37 Tear. Tons. Tear. Tons. Year. Tons. 1873 69.977 1882 1.061,479 1891 3,358.496 1874 87.372 1883 1,229,593 1892 3,771.234 1875 98.S38 1884 1,130,024 1893 3,947.056 1876 117.666 1885 1,398,796 1894 3,021,028 1877 160,000 18S6 1,436,211 1895 3,339,495 1878 200,630 18S7 1,791,735 1896 3,371,633 1879 322,732 1888 2,185,477 1897 3,565,660 1880 375.000 1889 2.373,954 1881 706,744 1S90 3,075,7S1 PETROLEUM. Evidences of petroleum are found in several sections of the State, but the ■only developed field is at Florence, in Fremont county. The first well was bored in 1883. For a number of years prior to that time “oil springs” had been worked in a small way for local consumption. More extended opera- tions were instituted in 1887, and from that time until the present the pro- duction has gradually increased. There are three companies in operation and two refineries, with a com- bined capacity of 2000 barrels per day. The crude oil yields about 35 per "Cent, of illuminants and occurs in a shale bed of unknown thickness, appar- ently in reservoirs at depths ranging from 1100 to 2400 feet. The pressure In none of the wells is sufficient to bring the oil to the surface and pumping in all cases is necessary. The residue of the refined pi'oduct is partially made into lubricants, but the present demand for it for steam-making purposes is in excess of the supply. About ten square miles of territory have been developed, and thirty-five wells are producing at the present time, employing an average of 100 men. The production for 1897 was 650,000 barrels (forty-two gallons), which will probably be increased by the new wells now sinking. There are a number of wells producing gas under good pressure and this is used locally for domestic purposes. MANUFACTURING. It cannot be said that Colorado is a manufacturing State. Its industrial life is of too short duration to expect great works in this department. Her abundant advantages, however, in mineral resources give promise of great achievements in the future in the production of iron, steel and lead wares. Situated, as the State is, in the center of a great wool-growing country, and within easy communication with the timbers and cotton fields of the South, it is predicted by those whose prophecies have more than come to pass concerning other great developments, that there will in due time be woolen mills, cotton mills and furniture factories in all important towns of the State. With the exception of the numerous smelters at various points, Denver and Pueblo are the only places where manufacturing is carried on to any con- siderable extent, and the importance of the works of these two cities is not a little surprising. All in all, Denver has, from the greatest to the least, 315 establishments that are classed as manufactories. Principal among these are brass works, building materials, carriages, wagons and street cars, fire-clay wares, lead works, flouring mills, foundry and machine shops, making engines, boilers, and all descriptions of mining machinery, furniture, iron works, pickles and vinegar, tin, sheet iron and copper works. The Pueblo Manufacturing & Smelting Co. produces, in large volume, lead pipes, sheet lead and lead bullion. COLORADO. Trinidad, the representative city of Southern Colorado, in Las Animas county, is surrounded by immense beds of iron, coal and all other natural resources that insure it as a future manufacturing point of importance. A large rolling mill has been erected, the plant of which cost $100,000. The city of Golden, situated at the foot-hills, fifteen miles west of Den- ver. can also lay claim to some importance for its glass works and as the manufacturer of pressed brick, fire-brick and other fire-clay articles. With the resources at hand, and the facilities of railroad and water- power available, there is no limit to the possibilities of manufacturing in Colorado. COST OF LIVING IN COLORADO. Rent in the larger cities is about the most extravagant item of living in Colorado. This is an evil that is being fast remedied by the widespread building of dwellings. As for the rest, the ample facilities afforded by the rail- ways and the recent great increase in the home supply from agriculture and other resources, has rendered the matter of living a problem of no greater difficulty than in the Eastern States. The daily market basket, it is true, is- a. little more costly, but this is compensated in the fact that the average rate of wages is higher. A family of five persons, if they are not too extravagant in their notions, can supply the table (in the cities) with $10 a week. Rent in Denver — taking it as the representative among cities — ranges from $18 to $35 per month for cottage of four or five rooms, according to location. Storied dwellings rent from $35 to $75 for family, according to location. Hotel rates, according to their classes and accommodations, range from $25 to $50 and $75 per month; table board, $5 to $12 per week. Regular meals can be obtained at restaurants from twenty-five to seventy-five cents. Table board at bording-houses can be had — first-class, $8 per week; second class, $4.50 to $5. Board and room at boarding-houses range from $7 to $12 per week. In smaller towns in or near agricultural districts the prices of rents, table board and market stuffs range lower, while in the mountain districts there is nearly a correspondence in the prices with those of the cities. Of course the figures given do not apply in all respects to the laboring classes, whose earnings are irregular and limited to the legal rate of $1.75 per day, with a possible $2 per diem. They necessarily pay less rent, and provide more economically for the table, without, however, necessarily stinting themselves or their families. In this connection it is surprising that so. many of these people, as well as the skilled workmen, clerks and other wage people, in all the towns and cities, have homes of their own. This is one important fact about Colorado that offers great encouragement to people of all callings to come to this State. The opportunities of securing a home are offered to all who come, and to the man of occupation and enterprise a home in Colorado is itself a good foundation for his fortune. EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES. No State in the Union possesses better educrtional advantages than Colo- rado. In the conduct of the schools, whether in the city, town, hamlet or country district, the people of the State manifest a deep interest and peculiar pride in the education of their children. If there is a reason that can be added to the common interest of humanity in the welfare of their offspring, it is in the fact that the civilization of Colorado is an aggregate of wealth, refinement and intelligence, representative not only of the people of the United States, but from all parts of the world. There are two features which bespeak the liberality of educational advan- tages: First, the excellence of the school buildings; second, the fact that COLORADO. 39 these buildings exist in every community wherever ihere can be found chil- dren in a sufficient number to make a class, and everywhere the buildings are made to suit all requirements. The organization and system of public schools are as follows: Officers— State Superintendent of Public Instruction, State Board of Education, County Superintendents, District Boards. System — Ungraded district schools, town and city graded schools, high- school courses. Institutions — State University, at Boulder; School of Mines, at Golden; Agricultural College, at Fort Collins; Mute and Blind Institute, at Colorado Springs; State Industrial School. Associations — Local Institutes, State Teachers’ Associations, County Teachers’ Associations. School age is between six and twenty-one years. To the wise provisions made by the State is mainly due the excellence of school advantages and the abundance of facilities. Besides the annual per capita tax, the State owns about 3,000.000 acres of school lands, from which there is an annual income by sales and leases. Hence there is nothing lacking in the matter of finances to meet every requirement of the present and anticipated necessities of the future. Nothing can be more convincing of this fact than the splendid architectural features of the school buildings, of which Denver, especially, furnishes a pleasing example. It is a surprising fact that the new high-school building in Denver, now nearing completion, is the largest in the United States, excepting only the high school at Boston, and in the points of grandeur, beauty and thoroughness of appointment, is said not to be surpassed by any school building on the continent. The common schools comprise eight grades, and the high-school system comprises four courses of one year each. The teachers are admitted upon a high degree of merit, and the pupils pass under them after the most searching and thorough examination. WHAT THE REPORT OF MRS. PATTON-COWLES SHOWS FOR 1S97 AND 1S9S. The appended statement prepared by Mrs. Patton-Cowles indicates that during the final year of her incumbency in the office of State Superintendent of Schools there has been an increase of nearly 5000 scholars. There has been a corresponding increase in the number of teachers employed in the State. While the receipts have increased appreciably the assessed valuation of school property has decreased in the last year. The comparison between the two. years is as follows: 1S97. School population 130,362 Total enrollment 100,882 Normal school 367 Teachers •• 3.120 State funds apportioned $S9,664 67 SCHOOL BUILDINGS. Sod, adobe or log..... 338 Frame 1.066 Brick or stone 346 Total - 1,690 Number of schoolrooms 2,962 Valuation of school buildings $6,093,304 00 Receipts 2,775,117 77 Expended for teachers’ salaries 1,355,470 28 Assessed valuation 200.356,028 00 40 COLORADO. 1898. School population 135,007 Total enrollment 104.733 Normal school 502 Teachers 3,306 Average attendance, 95 per cent. SCHOOL BUILDINGS. Sod, adobe or log 371 Frame 964 Brick or stone 369 Total 1,704 Number of schoolrooms 3,053 Valuation of school buildings $5,987,702 78 Receipts 3,420,173 33 Expended for teachers’ salaries 1,46S,694 91 Assessed valuation 192,263,085 00 RAILROAD LANDS. The Union Pacific Land Co. has 2,054,000 acres of land in Eastern Colo- rado, which is unexcelled in any portion of the West for grazing purposes. The price ranges from seventy-five cents to $2.50 per acre. The Union Pacific Railroad Co. has 375,000 acres within the land-grant belt, north of Denver, a large portion of which is under constructed irriga- tion ditches, the balance grazing lands. That which can be cultivated range in price from $5 to $15 per acre; the grazing land from $1.50 to $2.50 per acre. Those desiring information regarding either of these tracts should write to B. A. McAllaster, land commissioner, Union Pacific Railroad, Omaha, Neb., or S. .T. Gilmore, 1756 Larimer street, Denver, Col., regarding farm lands, or C. E. Wantland, 1025 Seventeenth street, Denver, special agent for the sale of grazing lands. The peculiar adaptability of this section of the country for stock-raising is so well known that extended comments are unnecessary. Being located east of the Rockies, no severe winters are experienced, and the climate is healthful and invigorating; very little, if any, snow falls during the winter months, and cattle are able to graze the whole year round. The plain is covered with Buffalo grass, which is very nutritions and cures standing on the ground. Abundance of water can be had at all times, besides, it is ad- jacent to the great grain-producing State of Kansas, and is only a few hours’ journey by rail from the leading stock markets of the United States. The stock-raising industry has always been a leading feature in the West, the past year exceptionally so, on account of the recent war. It insures larger returns, in proportion to the amount invested, in comparison with almost any other, and the only advice that can be given those contemplating an occupa- tion of this kind is to select a range without unnecessary delay, while the price remains as it is. The companies referred to sell on ten years’ time, one-tenth at time of purchase, the second year interest only on the deferred amount at 6 per cent., and each year thereafter one-tentli with the accrued interest. COLORADO. 41 GOVERNMENT LANDS. There are nine land districts in Colorado. Practically, these districts are •divided into tvro departments — agricultural and mineral lands; for so far as actual settlement is concerned, homestead and timber-claim pre-emptions mean one and the same thing. The price of the land, the nature and the use that is made of it are the same, the only difference being in the conditions by which it is acquired. This is true because the actual timber land of Colo- rado belongs almost wholly to the mineral department. As to the homestead, the law of actual habitation, cultivation and im- provement work is universal and familiar to e\ery farmer. The nine land districts are the Denver, Pueblo, Lamar, Central City, Gunnison, Montrose, Del Norte, Leadville and Durango Districts. Those that are principally homestead districts are Denver, Pueblo, Lamar, Mont- rose and Durango. The Denver, Pueblo and Lamar Districts comprise all the plains portions of the State, embracing at least three-fourths of all the agricultural area of Colorado. The Montrose District is principally agricultural, embracing the three agricultural counties of Montrose, Mesa and Delta. The Gunnison District is mostly mineral; the Del Norte and Durango Districts are about equally divided between mineral and agricultural lands, and the Leadville and Central City Districts comprise almost exclusively mineral lands. The Denver. Pueblo and Lamar Districts, while covering an agricultural area almost in their entirety, also include a vast area of mineral ground upon the same surface; for nearly one-half — more than one-third of all the plains lands — are designated as coal lands, and many of the coal mines of the State are worked underneath a homestead location. This is a technicality, how- ever, which thus far has worked but little, if any, inconvenience. The Pueblo and Lamar Districts together contain nearly an equal area to that of the Denver District, and there are probably as many unoccupied acres in the former as the latter, inasmuch as it is estimated that there are about 10.000,000 acres of unclaimed agricultural or plains land on the eastern side-of the mountains. The Lamar District, comprising the most of Bent and the eastern half of Las Animas county, was, prior to 18S7, a part of the Pueblo District. The Lamar land office shows that up to the close of 1889 over 2,000,000 acres of land in Eastern Colorado, in the Aikansas Valley, were entered upon by actual settlers, showing that there is unlimited confidence in the early future of this portion of the State as an agricultural district. However, it is not a matter of confidence; the facts of a wonderful yield of the soil from year to year bear the best possible testimony. From the rest of the land districts the reports of agricultural entries are -small, the lands filed upon in these being mostly mineral, except in the Del Norte District, which comprises the San Luis Valley. This entire valley is being settled by an agricultural people as fast as irrigating ditches can be provided. TIMBER AND TREE CULTURE. There are five government forest reserves in the State of Colorado: The White. River Plateau reserve contains an estimated area in acres of 1.198,0S0. This reservation is situated in the northwestern part of the •State, in Route, Rio Blanco and Eagle counties. The Pike’s Peak reserve has an estimated area in acres of 184,320. This l'eservation is situated in El Paso county. 42 COLORADO. Plum Creek reserve has an estimated area in acres of 179,200. It is situ- ated in Douglas county. The South Platte reserve has an estimated area in acres of 683,520, and is situated in Lake, Jefferson and Park counties. The Battlement Mesa reserve has an estimated area, in acres of 858,240, and is situated in Garfield and Mesa counties, with a small portion in Pitkin and Delta counties. All of these reservations possess large and heavy bodies of timber. The timber is spruce, aspen, maple, oak, elder, birch and mountain ash; also pos- sessing large quantities of small growth of sargas berry, gooseberry, currants and raspberry. The parks, which are small and numerous in these reserva- tions, are covered with a heavy vegetation. All of these reservations contain the sources of numerous streams within this State that feed the larger streams and reservoirs, thus furnishing the necessary water for irrigating purposes. The Battlement Mesa reserve and the White River reserve are filled with the game of this State, such as elk, deer, mountain sheep, bear, together with the smaller game. Also, these reservations are the home of the trout. These reservations are much sought by the sportsmen of the different States of the entire country. Aside from these reservations, which are under the management of a graded force of government officers for their protection against fires and timber trespassers, there are other heavy bodies of timber in the western and southwestern and northern portions of the State. GEOGRAPHY. Colorado is situated between latitude 37° and 41° north, and longitude 102° and 109° west. Its average length east and west is 380 miles; its breadth north and south, 280 miles. The State is divided into fifty-six counties. A glance at a map of the United States shows its advantageous location. It occupies the central field of travel and traffic between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, east and west, and between Mexico and British America, north and south. COLORADO CONDENSED. It is twenty-two years old as a State. Its area is 104,500 square miles. It is located in the center of the great Rocky Mountain region of the West. It is the leading mining State in the Union. It is a great stock producer. It is becoming one of the finest agricultural States in the West. It has the most agreeable climate to be found on the continent. It is a vast health resort, the climate in eVery part being beneficial to- invalids, especially those affected with lung diseases. The soils are everywhere rich, and successful farming is carried on upon the plains wherever water can be obtained, and in the mountain valleys at an altitude of S000 feet. The timbers growing on the mountains are abundant, and comprise the varieties that are useful in building. Colorado has all the natural resources, water-power and capabilities for extensive manufacturing. COLORADO. 43 A flood of farming immigrants is pouring into the State, and settlements are being so rapidly made that the land offices are incapable of performing the current clerical work. The tendency of stock-raising is toward thoroughbred animals. Colorado is the center of the great wool-growing West. Colorado is abundantly supplied with natural parks, water-courses and mineral springs of the finest medicinal qualities. It has some of the most charming health and pleasure resorts in the world. Within the past few years it has become an oil producer. Petroleum is found in all parts of the State. The only developed field produces sufficient oil to supply the State of Colo- rado and the Territories of Utah and New Mexico. The coal strata underlying Colorado is estimated at an area of 40,000 square miles. All kinds of fruits grow successfully in Colorado, and orchards and vine- yards are found in all agricultural sections. Six trunk lines of railway, with their numerous branches, traverse the State. The average number of cloudy days in Colorado is fifty-six a year. All the cereals and vegetables grow abundantly in Colorado. Wheat, alfalfa and potatoes are the most profitable as well as the most prolific products. There is no better fruit country anywhere than Colorado, nor any in which a more varied assortment may be grown or fruit of better quality. Alfalfa yields from three to six tons per acre, dry in the stack. The total assessment valuations for Colorado in 1S90 was $220,544,064.62; in 1891, $231,405,296: in 1892, $236,884,449. Artesian wells of chemically pure and also of mineral waters are found on the plains. Denver alone has over two hundred of these wells. The number of miles of railway within the State is 4368. The production of gold and silver from Colorado mines in 1S97 was $32,272,085. Colorado school facilities are equal to those of any State in the Union. The total arable land in Colorado, accessible to water, is 54,000 square miles, or 34,560,000 acres. Colorado possesses enough building stone, of the finest assortment, to supply all the West. COLORADO BY COUNTIES. Colorado has steadily progressed in her development during 1897. A sub- stantial increase in valuation is shown by the assessors’ returns. Capital has been more strongly attracted toward the State’s resources than ever before. Railroad construction has entered new sections. VALUATION BY COUNTIES. The following table shows the assessment of each county, with increase and decrease, for 1897 and 1898: 44 COLORADO. Counties. 1897. 1898. Increase. Arapahoe $79,271.9S5 $69,299,542 Archuleta 42S.829 426,591 Baca 254,382 252,410 Bent 929,580 899,819 Boulder 4,994,934 5,384,312 $389,378 Chaffee 2,214,942 2,200,920 Cheyenne 1,133,075 1,046,771 . Clear Creek 2,156,068 2,122,922 Conejos . 1,833,474 1,751,819 Costilla 1,248,401 1,230,545 Custer 633,135 625,474 Delta 1,005,534 1,109,055 103,521 Dolores 542,223 466,284 Douglas 1,811,608 1,853,256 41,648 Eagle 1,105,692 1,173,331 67,639 Elbert 1,776,871 1,857,856 80,985 El Paso 14,097,120 15,564,130 1,467,010 Fremont 3,957,746 4.143,108 185,362 Garfield 2,176,877 2,082,539 Gilpin 1,805,209 1,910,479 105,270 Grand 315,425 307,747 Gunnison 1,849,078 1,919,072 69,994 Hinsdale 520,011 430,635 Huerfano 1,665.144 1.696,870 31,726 ' Jefferson 4,008,504 3.996,205 Kiowa . 1,063,406 1,092,204 28,798 Kit Carson 898.479 933,990 35,511 Lake 3.874,738 3,914,679 39,941 La Plata 2,334,877 2,245,480 Larimer 4,211,449 4,374,026 162,577 Las Animas 5,870,515 5,259,824 Lincoln 1,353,331 1,260,572 Logan 1,499,209 1,518,774 19,565 Mesa 2,304,523 2,291,093 Mineral 305,129 494,561 189,432 Montrose 1,255,478 1,153,867 Montezuma 729,374 714,041 Morgan 1,073,369 1,302,353 228,984 Ouray 1.085,685 1,162,265 76,580 Park 1,619,035 1,544,153 Phillips 651,883 659,561 7,678 Pitkin 2,532,940 2,387,015 Prowers 1,351,023 1,348,235 Pueblo 12,372,538 13,055,150 682,612 Rio Blanco 673,668 771,044 97,376 Rio Grande 1,598,545 1,578,464 Routt 1,105,023 1,240,578 135,555 Saguache 1,930,062 1,996,977 66,915 San Juan 1,381,653 1,365,387 San Miguel 1,314,042 1,312,5S6 Sedgwick 689,423 664,971 Summit 967,614 953,372 Washington 749,848 741,778 Weld 7,489,540 7,771,638 282,098 Yuma 881,229 907,074 25,845 Total $199,324,940 $192,243,080 $4,676,201 Total decrease, $7,081,860. Decrease. $9,972,443 2,238 1,972 29,761 14,022 86,304 33,146 81,655 17,856 7,661 75,939 94,338 7,678 89,376 12,299 89,397 610,681 92,759 13,430 101,611 15,333 74,882 145,925 2.7S8 20,081 16,266 1,456 24,452 14,242 8,070 $11,758,061 COLORADO. 45 THE COUNTIES. The detailed descriptions of counties which follow are extracted from the full and reliable report of the Denver Board of Trade. The figures quoted above are accurate in every particular. ARAPAHOE. The county of Arapahoe was organized in 1S61, and its inception occurred among all the stirring episodes o'f pro-slavery agitation. When territorial organization began Arapahoe played its part, and the opening chapters of the State’s history were enacted on its soil. The story of those exciting days is familiar to all. It is not, therefore, with the past that these pages have to do; it is with the present in its relation with the State at large and as a factor in future development. 'Arapahoe county extends from within a few miles of the foot-hills on the west to the Kansas State line, and embraces in its territory some of the vast domain upon which roved in undisputed possession the Indian tribe whose name the county bears. It is 160 miles long and thirty miles wide. The center of population is in the western end of the county, where Denver is located, and where the county’s enormous wealth is concentrated. In the center and the eastern part farming and ranching are pursued, and the soil for these pursuits is of the richest kind. The Ariekaree, Republican, Box Elder, all tributaries to the Platte river, enrich these vast virgin fields. The Platte flows through the western end, and has no part in the cultivation of the county except in the Platte Valley, and by irrigation from the vast canals which capital has built from the canon of the Platte in Douglas county. The Kansas Pacific division of the Union Pacific is the only line of railroad that extends to any distance towards the center of Arapahoe county. Denver is the county-seat, as it is also the capital of the State. It has 155,000 population alone, and because of its size and commercial importance it in a measure overshadows the great county of which it is a contributory part. A sketch of Arapahoe county cannot well be written without according to this splendid city the full measure of its glory. An eminent writer, who for fifteen years has specially studied the past, present and future of the trans-Missouri States, says: “ “Denver is the geographical, railroad, financial, commercial, smelting, manufacturing, live-stock, -educational and social center, and ‘general liub r not only of Colorado, but of the entire Rocky Mountain region. “The population of Denver has increased as follows: 1S60, less than 1000; census 1S70 (the year Denver was connected with the Pinion Pacific Rail- road), 4731; 1SS0 (census), 35,628; 1890 (census), 106,713; 1S9S (estimated), 165,000. “Colorado alone equals in area the whole of New England and the State of New York put together, with greater and more varied resources than any State in the Union, but the country tributary to Denver (and within which she has no possible rival for 600 miles in any direction) extends far beyond the State of Colorado and practically embraces the whole of the territory west of the Missouri river, with an area considerably greater than the whole of the German Empire. “In this vast region every new mine worked, every fresh acre cultivated, every new orchard planted, every new cjuarry opened, every herd of cattle or flock of sheep turned out to graze, and every manufacturing enterprise started, reacts beneficially on and sends new life-blood to the heart of Denver. “Recognizing the fact that Denver is the eastern gateway of the great gold-producing districts of Colorado and the whole Rocky Mountain region. 46 COLORADO. the United States government is now (1893) building at Denver a coinage mint to cost .$500,000, which will furnish local employment to a large number of people. The mining country tributary to Denver, including Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada, will then send all or most of the gold to Denver. The new coinage mint will inevitably be a government sub-treasury, and will probably result in Denver having a disbursing office of pensions. Such coinage mint will obviously have a very marked effect on Denver as a financial center. ‘‘Denver stands unrivaled in either hemisphere for its combination of advantages as a place of residence, as a field for investment, as a place of unusually rapid but solid growth, as a smelting center, as a city with unlim- ited and varied undeveloped resources at its back, as an increasing manufac- turing center, and as a cosmopolitan, energetic and enterprising community, while its past history, present position and certain future prospects undoubt- edly destine it eventually to be one of the four great cities of the United States. “Denver will go forward because she is the commercial capital of a State -that produces nearly one-third of all the gold and silver used in North America; because the world wants mines of precious metals and must come to Colorado for them; because she is the dividing line of the four commercial points of the compass, and therefore the natural cattle center of the Union, where the range-breeder meets the feeder, and where in the near future will be seen a great packing and wool-buying center; because Denver is the nat- ural clearing-house of every Rocky Mountain enterprise, East and West; because Denver people and Eastern capital have faith in her, and because her combined features, commercial, social and public spirit, mark her as the resistless candidate for future progress. “Denver is a thirty-nine-year-old city and covers an area forty-nine square miles, twice that of the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. It has an assessed valuation of $69,984,420, a real valuation of .$77,685,525, and a bonded debt of .$2,030,000. For the latter a sinking fund is created, and all interest is promptly paid. It required <$871,904 to conduct the city government in 1898. It has 1500 business establishments, giving employment to over 12,000 persons, who annually receive in wages nearly .$9,000,000. The wholesale and retail sales for the year 1897 amounted to .$55,000,000. The manufac- tories number 525; number of employes, 16,679; amount of wages paid, ,$10,990,7S2; value of product, .$43,451,705. “The clearing-house business for the last week of 1S97 amounted to .$2,127,165; for the week ending April 1, 1898, $3,378,056, an increase of $1,250,891. “The financial transactions of the postoffice aggregated $393,000. This department employs 100 carriers, who traverse 275 miles within the city limits. “During 1S97 the real-estate transfers represented, approximately, $3,000,000 in value. The number of new buildings erected cost $1,229,300. “Denver is the great smelting center of the West, treating a large per cent, of the ores of Colorado, and receiving large consignments from every mining State and Territory in the Rocky Mountain region. Three immense establishments, which have no superior in modern equipments or capacity in the world, are at the service of the miner. They are the Boston & Colo- rado Smelting Co., the Omaha & Grant Smelting Co. and the Globe Smelt- ing & Refining Co. “Denver is the greatest local and distributing fruit market between San Francisco and St. Louis, and Colorado is fast becoming the only rival of California in fruit production. The live-stock industry is a source of great wealth. COLORADO. 47 “Denver is fully equipped to handle in a satisfactory manner any large gatherings of a national character. This fact was proven during the con- clave of the Knights Templar in 1892, when 100,000 visitors were well cared for and entertained. In addition to its dozen leading hotels and upward of 100 boarding-houses, and double that number of lodging-houses, Denver has sixty-live first-class private and family hotels. The city has now a record of having entertained the largest crowd that ever gathered upon a single occasion in America, and while ready to do so again right now, yet prepara- tions are being made for the erection of an auditorium which, by its vast- ness of ground space and plan of construction, will forever set at rest any speculation as to the ability of the city to take care of any national or inter- national gathering that may be proposed. “Viewed from the health-seeker’s standpoint, Denver is his Mecca. The pure light air, the freedom from disease germs, because of the excellent sani- tary system, for which in great part its topography is responsible, make it a resort par excellence for hundreds whom disease has incapacitated from the enjoyment of the pleasures of life. Here, provided his case has not gone to the extent of his having one foot in the grave, typically speaking, there is a healing fount in the atmosphere that has returned hundreds of his kind to life and full vitality.” ARCHULETA. With soil good for all farm and garden products, susceptible of agricul- ture and available from the San Juan river and local mountain streams, Archuleta is rapidly taking rank among the thrifty agricultural counties. It is situated on the southern boundary in the southwestern portion of the State, and, heretofore, has been strictly devoted to grazing. Its 1S00 square miles show a diversified surface over which the San Juan, Navajo, Blanco and Piedra rivers and their tributaries form a network of streams valuable for irrigation. The forests of yellow pine are the finest in the State, and the deep black loam is found to be favorable for all sorts of tree culture, while stock-raising and farming are the chief interests. A great deal of mining is done with profit. In 1885, when the county was taken from Conejos, the character of its people was altogether Mexican, but since immigration from Eastern States set in the population has increased greatly. At Pagosa Springs there is a fine courthouse, and the county supports four well- equipped public schools. As may be seen, this portion of the State is yet undeveloped, and from the character of the soil, products and climate, offers for the future a fruitful field for capital. The mineral springs are numerous, those at Pagosa being especially so, and the waters are of high medicinal quality. In agriculture alone, the field is boundless. There are 10,000 acres under ditch, and the total number of acres devoted to grazing is 100,000. The ore, gold and silver, though low-grade, is abundant, and prospecting is still in progress with varied success. Both coal and iron are found in great quantities; in fact, fully one-third of the county is underlaid with large coal bodies running in veins of vast extent. The attention of capitalists is being drawn to these enormous beds, and coal claims are being rapidly located. In addition to these natural products there is a white sandstone suitable for building purposes. Petroleum is found in large quantities, and the lubri- cating fluid extracted equals the product of the oil fields of the Ohio Valley. For wealth of resources, salubrity of climate and the varied attractions that make up the sum total of all that is required to attract the eye of the coming settler. Archuleta county is bountifully provided. While agriculture and the products of the soil are now receiving most attention, the old industry, stock-raising, however, is not diminishing. During 1897 this county pro- duced about 36,000 bushels of grain and about 18,000 tons of hay, and shipped 6000 head of b.eef cattle. 48 COLORADO. BACA. Baca county is of recent growth, having been separated from Las Animas,, of which it was a part until April, 1S89. It receives its name from the first settler on Butte creek. The county-seat is Springfield, an ambitious town near its center. It contains a rich and fertile soil, covering 240,000 acres of what is classed as agricultural lands, and the total acreage for grazing is- 200,000 acres. Baca county offers great inducements for farmers. It is located in what is known a's the rain belt, where crops of all kinds are raised without irrigation. Agriculture and stock-raising are the only industries, and, though yet young, these are sufficient to support the thriving towns of Springfield, Brookfield, Yilas, Boston, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Stonington, Plymouth, Carriso and Carriso Springs. The population is 1500, and, as the nomenclature of the county indicates, the settlers are from the Mis- sissippi Valley and the New England States. They are thrifty and indus- trious, and under their husbandry the once arid waste is being rapidly reclaimed and made productive. For 1898 the assessed valuation was 8252,410. For building material there is an abundance of timber, and a light-colored yet durable rock is quarried from the hills. Coal is found in various parts of the county, and in the southwestern portion copper is being- mined on a small scale. Silver, of a low grade, is also found in the south- west, but no attempt has been made to develop this important discovery. The inducements to settlers in this county are many — a healthful climate, a rich and productive soil and plenty of water and timber. Though a young county, no complaint can be made in so far as educational facilities are concerned. There are public schools, with competent instructors, and church organizations as follows: Methodist Episcopal, Baptist, Catholic, Presbyterian and Lniversalist. The county contains a rich and fertile soil covering 240,000 acres of what is classed as agricultural lands, and produces excellent crops. Most of the farming is done without irrigation, and there are times when some very good crops are produced in this way. On account of its containing no large streams, irrigating facilities are limited. The grazing is excellent at all seasons, and the winters being mild stock can range all the year round without being fed. The principal crops grown last year were broomcorn and the family of corn known as rice, kaffir and milo- maize, with several varieties of sorghums as forage. BENT. Bent county has an area of 1511 square miles, situated in the southeast- ern part of the State, and watered by the Arkansas, Las Animas and other streams. It receives its name from Col. William Bent, an early pioneer. Otero county bounds it on the west, Prowers on the east, Kiowa on the north and Las Animas on the south. lias Animas, a flourishing city, with a 860,000 courthouse, is the county-seat. This city has other- large build- ings, a 812.000 hospital, a 81000 brick city hall, a 812,000 brick schoolhouse and other projected structures of equal size and importance. Bent is one of the counties of the rich Arkansas Valley, bountifully provided with all that contributes to the prosperity of a community. The prairie is level. There is plenty of cedar timber, especially along the Arkansas and Purgatoire rivers and in the hills in the southwest. In these valleys there is nothing in the temperate zone that will not grow. The population is 1313. Fort Lyon has one regiment of United States troops, and they contribute not a little to the general prosperity of the county. So long has Bent county been a cattle country that the first inhabitants are all wealthy, and the recent settlers find no difficulty in securing a livelihood. Stock-raising has always been the chief industry, employing vast capital, and with the coming of the immigrant farming has become almost as important as cattle-raising ever was. The great fields of alfalfa form a splendid feeding ground for the COLORADO. 49 bees. Bent county has for years led neighboring counties as a stock-raising and shipping section and the lead is maintained. Cattle-raisers are grading up their stock. In common with the other agricultural counties of the Arkansas Valley Bent county looks upon the past year as one of unusual advancement and prosperity. Sandstone is plenty in this county, and oil is generally supposed to exist, though no effort has ever been made to fird the oil. Bent county has plenty of streams for water, and while irrigation is not necessary to the extent, perhaps, that it is in other parts of this State for successive crops, yet it has about 100 miles of main irrigating ditches, besides thousands of miles of laterals. The following estimate is not far from the facts: Wheat harvested in 1S98, about 150,000 bushels, worth .$75,000; oats, 150.000 bushels, worth $4000; alfalfa hay, 50,000 tons, worth $125,000. There were other minor crops, such as fruit, sorghum, cantaloupes, potatoes, etc., of a value of $20,000. There have been raised in Bent county about 50.000 lambs, worth about $150,000: wool, about 400.000 pounds, worth about $40,000. Bent county has on feed about 50,000 lambs, mostly of her own raising. The cattle sold in 1898 will yield a revenue of about $50,000. Mineral springs abound in the county, and although little advertised they are growing in favor for their high medicinal virtues. The days are soon coming when Bent county will furnish the State with some of the finest resorts within her borders. In closing this sketch it will be of interest to state that Bent county has a good record in the manufacture of syrup. Ac- cording to the reports there were last year many acres of sorghum raised, out of which 100,000 gallons of syrup were made. The showing is that, side by side with live stock, there are sources of wealth in this county to which cattle-raising itself is no rival in any respect. Farming is destined to become a powerful factor in Bent county’s growth, a fact which the cattlemen themselves are not slow to recognize. BOULDER. Boulder county has a population of 20.000, and the county-seat is Boulder, with a population of 10,000, situated close to the foothills at the mouth of Boulder canon. The courthouse and grounds cost $125,000, and the city is otherwise beautified by well-shaded streets and a large number of hand- some residences. The county of Boulder has an area of 1133 square miles, and was organized in 1861. The people are largely from the Middle States. There is but very little actual poverty, and the wealth of the county is almost equally distributed. The industries are mining (coal and mineral), quarrying, mei-cantile and agriculture. The mineral districts are divided into Grand Island, Magnolia. Ward, Gold Hill, Sugar Loaf, Central Mining and Boul- der. The general character of the formation shows gold and silver (native), tollurides of gold and silver, pyrites of copper and iron, silver ore containing all the sulphurates of silver, galena and zinc blend. These are in fissure formations and placer claims. In 1S59 the native gold discoveries occurred, and ten years later silver was found at Caribou. The estimated output for the county during 1898 is, gold, $676,816; silver, $10S,834. In 1897 an aver- age of 1653 men were employed in mining and milling. The average number of mines working was 265, average number of placers five, average number of mills working ten. The county records show 784 mining claims, forty-one placer claims and seventy-eight mill sites, for which United States patents have been obtained. "Since 1871, 186 tunnel sites, 401 placer claims, 322 mill sites and 13.624 lode claims have been located and recorded. Lyons, a town in this county, has the most development in stone quarries. Other quarries have been opened at Gere canon and in the vicinity of Boulder. The quality of the stone is desirable for building, flagging and paving purposes. Along the foothills, through the county, there are vast beds of this stone, requiring 50 COLORADO. only the capital for excavation. At Longmont, a city of 2500 population, there is a flourishing canning factory and three flouring mills, and at Boulder an iron foundry. At the latter place there is also a flouring mill with a capacity of 150 barrels of flour per day. The seltzer and mineral springs of the county are remarkable. Those at Springdale are grateful to consump- tives, inasmuch as their altitude is but 6500 feet. These springs are tonic waters, helpful in debility, rheumatism, liver and kidney ailments; soda and iron are. their leading constituents. Perhaps the most noted of the springs is the Boulder water, which has a sale throughout this country and Europe. The analysis as made by Dr. J. A. Sewall of the Denver University shows these constituents: Carbonate of soda, .984; carbonate of magnesia, 6.020; carbonate of lime, 7.480; carbonate of iron, .081; chloride of sodium, 30.217; chloride of potassium, 1.100; sulphate of soda, 3.840; silica, .102; to the pint of mineral water, 49.824 grains; carbonic acid gas, 39 cubic inches. This analysis shows these waters to be a complicated medical prescription, con- taining various salts blended together, obtained from the strata of rocks through which they pass. The wheat output for Boulder county in 1898 was about 750,000 bushels, or an increase of 10 per cent. The average yield was about 5 per cent, less than last year, which was twenty-five bushels to the acre. The price ranged from seventy-five to eightyfive cents a hundredweight. The oat production was 25,000 bushels, and the market ranged about ninety cents a hundred. The barley crop was 25,000 bushels and commanded sixty-five cents a hun- dred. The corn yield was about 20,000 bushels, but the price advanced to eighty cents a hundred. The number of acres in orchards bearing fruit is 318; acres in orchards not bearing, 430. The small-fruit output was 250,000 quarts, but the prices received were high throughout the season. The total amount received was almost equal to the total of last year. Strawberries brought $1.40 a case, raspberries $1.40 a case and blackberries $2.50. The Union Pacific reaches all the important points in this county. Edu- cationally, the county is well sustained. There are fifty-two school districts, with fifty-seven public schools. At Boulder City is located the Colorado University and the Bendictine Academy. The Congregational, Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist, African M. E. Church, Presbyterian and Christian denominations each have their places of worship, and the build- ings are all fine specimens of modern architecture. The county is well sup- plied with newspapers. CHAFFEE receives its name from the Hon. Jerome B. Chaffee, and is a splendid monu- ment to his memory. It is one of the wealthy mid-state counties. The Con- tinental Divide forms its western boundary. On the north is Lake and Park i counties, on the east Park and Fremont counties, and on the south are Fre- mont and Saguache counties. The transportation facilities are unusually good, the county being traversed by three railroad systems. The important towns are Buena Vista, the county-seat; Salida, Maysfield, Garfield, Nath- rop, Monarch, Centerville and Poncha Springs. Chaffee county was created in 1879 from a part of Lake county. The population today is 8000. Lying within a sort of a park between the Continental Divide on the west and the Park Range on the east, the topogx-aphical aspect is that of a basin. But into this park this large population is gathered, and they are thriving and perfectly content with their lot. The county is exceptional in regard to climate; the beauty of its location and rapidly increasing importance as an agricultural and mining county give it added interest to the world in general. Through this vast park, or valley, the Arkansas river rushes and loses itself amid the picturesqueness and fertility of a smaller valley twenty-eight miles in length and twelve miles in breadth. It is here at Buena Vista the county- COLORADO. 51 seat is located. At various points, tributary streams from tie surrounding mountains cross this park and empty into the river. It has been estimated by the careful computation of an experienced engineer that there are within the confines of this valley 289,360 acres of land available, when under irriga- tion, for agricultural purposes, and 350,000 which furnish a good range for stock. Five miles westward of Buena Vista rise the celebrated trinity of college peaks, Harvard, Princeton and Yale, while the distant view southward is limited by the snowy summits of the Sangre de Cristo Range. In this vicinity are also the celebrated Cottonwood Springs. An analysis of the water shows carbonate of soda, carbonate of magnesia, carbonate of lithia, carbonate of lime, iodine, sulphate of soda, chloride of sodium and silica, and their efficacy in cases of rheumatism, lead poisoning, cutaneous diseases and general debility is now well proven. Nine miles from Buena Vista, in a southwesterly direction, are the Haywood Hot Springs, similar in nature to the Cottonwood Springs. Twenty miles from Buena Vista are the cele- brated Twin Lakes, of whose beauty many tongues have sung and many pens have written. Silver, copper and gold mines are located in the southern part of the county, and here are the quarries from which the granite for the Topeka State capitol was cut. Hancock and Pine creek have the gray granite quarries; Nathrop, the lava stone deposit, and the dolomite and marble at Calumet. All these stones have a fixed value in the market, and the demand is increasing as they grow in favor for building puiposes. A 100-ton smelter is in operation at Buena Vista. Much might be said about the agricultural and horticultural possibilities of Chaffee county. Wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, peas and rye grow here to perfection, wherever water can be obtained. S. J. Terry, just above Poncha, raised a piece of wheat this year which yielded at the rate of forty-four and one-half bushels to the acre. County Commissioner Mundlein plowed up a four-acre strawberry patch last spring and sowed it to wheat, from which he cleaned up 240 bushels. Alfalfa yields two, and, when properly seeded and watered, three tons per acre, and after cutting two crops grows splendid pasture for fall and winter. Very little snow falls in the Ai’kansas Valley, and cattle and horses range in the alfalfa pastures here all winter, with little feed from the stacks, and come out fat in the spring. There are some splen- did young apple orchards in the south end of the county. Varieties raised here are the Ben Davis, Duchess, Yellow Transparent, Alexander, Wolf River, Red June, Wealthy, McMahon, Delaware Red Winter and several more hardy varieties. Many farmers have apricot, plum and cherry trees in their yards. CHEYENNE. Like the counties of Bent and Elbert, of which Cheyenne county was a part, its million of acres are devoted to farming and stock-raising. It was created in 1892. Its eastern boundary is the State line of Kansas, and Kit Carson, Lincoln and Kiowa counties bound it on the north, west and south respectively. There are 1S00 square miles, and from its contiguity to Kan- sas much of its population is the overflow from the bordering counties of that State. There are a number of streams, the principal of these being the Big Sandy, which winds its way along a well-timbered valley. The population is about 500, of marked industry and an ambition to progress that promises well for the towns of Cheyenne Wells and Kit Carson, and the settlements generally. The assessed valuation on property for 1898 was $1,046,771. For a new county, Cheyenne has prospered fully as well as any of her recently- admitted sisters. There are good schools of three denominations, Catholic, Methodist and Baptist. There are 64S.000 acres, of which 575,000 are given over to grazing. The discovery of gas in 1887 has awakened interest in this direction, and the presumption is that underlying the most of the territory 52 COLORADO. there is an inexhaustible supply of natural gas. The Union Pacific Railroad traverses the county, and has opened up quite a prosperous section. Good soil, a healthful climate, plenty of water, free land in abundance, and an unsurpassed range for stock-raising are the inducements offered to settlers. Within the last year farming has obtained a firm footing. Being within the rain belt, the county has no irrigation, though water can be obtained very readily for reservoirs. The peculiarity of its numerous streams is that while superficially dry, there is a subterranean flow which needs only to be prop- erly tapped to give the count® all the irrigation needed. It is estimated that there are fully 1000 springs which assist in keeping the Big Sandy a living streams a distance of over 200 miles through some of the richest land in the State. The stock interests flourish. CLEAR CREEK. This is one of the wealthiest as well as one of the oldest of Colorado’s county organizations. Twenty-nine years ago it was separated from Jeffer- son county. The county-seat is Georgetown, and is provided with a palatial courthouse and a brick structure for jail purposes. As is generally known, mining is the vocation of the population, 'which exceeds 6500. The county- seat. has a population of 1500 people; Silver Plume, 900, and Idaho Springs, 2000. Being essentially a mining community, the population is distinctively cosmopolitan. They are drawn hither from mining countries the world over. The assessed valuation of the county is $2,122,922. Gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc and iron are mined. The great number of veins in this section precludes the possibility of indi- vidual mention. The county is divided into thirty-two mining districts, viz., Dailey, Upper Union, Queens, Argentine, Upper Fall Creek, Griffith, Ot- tawa. Lincoln, Mill Creek, Downieville, Montana, Trail Creek, Cascade,. Democrat, York, Lower Fall River, Morris, Empire, Banner, Trail Run, Coral, Jackson, Ohio, Gold, Spanish Bar, Independence, Virginia, Grass Valley, Iowa, Paynes’ Bar, Lower Union, Canon. A number of mines in the county have reached a high state of develop- ment and are equipped with fine plants of modern machinery. Other large properties are so located that development can be prosecuted through tunnels or by cross-cut tunnels. cutting the veins at a depth of several hundred feet. The advantage and economy of working through tunnels and avoiding ex- pensive plants of machinery and their maintenance is obvious. The year 1897 closed upon the active development of ten tunnels. Three of these have for their ultimate ending the large mines of Gilpin county, and will be be- tween three and four miles in length. Each will tap the Gilpin county belt at a different point and on route cut many of the strong veins of the district. The other tunnels are for tapping the properties owned by the different companies. The placer deposits along the beds of the streams still furnish remunera- tive employment to a number of men. The appliances used are little in advance of those used by the pioneers in 1859. While these beds have been worked over several times, the cradle and sluice-box, backed with hard work, will return fair pay and an occasional opening of a bar that more than makes up any deficiency for lean ground. The records of the county show 930 lode claims, sixty-two placer claims,. 229 mill sites for which United States patents have been obtained. From 1864 to January 1. 1897, the records show 22,201 lode claims duly recorded. The average number of mines and prospects at work during 1897 was 276. The average number of men employed, 1712. Not only is it a mining county, but in its valleys and along the foot-hills there are some very rich agriculture lands, of which 1000 acres are available, and the remaining. 2000 suitable for grazing. Stone and lime are found here* COLORADO. 53 in quantities inexhaustible, and the facilities given for ready intercourse with the commercial world make Clear Creek county a desirable place for investment. The Colorado & Southern Railway traverses the county the entire length of Clear Creek canon, reaching all mining camps and resorts. As a place of health resorts it is second to none in the State, that of Idaho Springs especially having already achieved a world-wide celebrity. But mining will always be the chief industry. CONEJOS. In Spanish the word Conejos is “rabbit,” and to the fact that the county year's ago was overrun with these animals is due this application of the word when the county was organized at that time. The Rio Grande bounds Conejos on the east and north, and the summit of the Conejos Range marks the line which divides it from Archuleta on the west. At Conejos, on the south bank of the Conejos river, is located the county-seat. Timber is plenty, and the valleys of the Rio Grande, San Antonio, Conejos, La Jara and the Alamosa rivers are fertile in the extreme. The history of the hardships of the pioneers of this section is filled with thrilling episodes, the settlement of the whites being bitterly resented by the Indians. After a considerable sea- son of doubt as to who should gain supremacy, the Indians were compelled to fall back before the advance of civilization. There is a mixed population of Mexicans and Americans. The county has a population of about 10,000. The chief towns are Alamosa, Manassa, Antonio, Conejos, La Jara and a number of Mexican plazas. The chief feature physically of Conejos county is the mineral deposits, which are found in leads and placers, carrying gold and silver. The first discovery was made at Conejos camp in 1881, but the latest and most re- markable discovery since that of the Leadville carbonates was made in April of 1889 at the Antonio carbonate camp. It was a carbonate formation carrying gold and silver. The western portion being strictly a mineral sec- tion from Platora in the north to the Banded Peaks and Antonita Districts in the south. While prospected to a limited extent, it can properly be classed as one of the undeveloped reserves of the State, well worthy of careful investigation. The county records show 1094 lode claims recorded, sixty-eight being patented; three placer claims and three tunnel sites. Beyond annual assess- ment work little systematic exploring was prosecuted during the past year. An average of forty-six men employed during the year. The tract for agri- culture is about thirty by forty-four miles in extent, and the foot-hills and mountain sides are set down as the only grazing land. There are good schools in the county, which include the Conejos Academy and the Hunting- ton Seminary. The papers of the county are weekly, and are prosperous and widely read. Irrigating canals several hundred miles in extent are constructed. Wheat is the great staple, with oats, potatoes, alfalfa, peas and grasses following closely in importance. The crops are raised by irrigation. The stock range is unsurpassed, feeders being driven in from Arizona and New. Mexico yearly to fatten. Over 1000 cars of cattle were shipped the past fall, besides several hundred carloads of sheep and lambs. Along the foot-hills and in the mountains immense numbers of sheep are herded during the summer months. COSTILLA. Happy and contented are the people of this mountain county. San Luis is the county-seat, and has a population of 700, where is built a courthouse and a jail made of adobe years ago. The population of Costilla county is 54 COLORADO. 5500. In the eastern part are great mountain forests, and the water supply comes from the San Luis lake, the Saguache, San Luis, Cotton and Dead Man’s creeks on the north, and the Trinchero creek flows through the central part of the county. The soil is a rich sandy loam that responds bountifully to the touch. Lying for the most part in the San Luis Valley, the agricul- tural interests of Costilla county are of the first importance. Wheat is the great staple product, with oats a good second. Some of the yields have run up to eighty bushels of wheat an acre. Potatoes yield well. For wheat the Defiance is most sown and gives the best results. Mammoth Pearl and Delaware are the favorites with potato-growers. Alfalfa has been tried with success and will be largely grown in coming seasons. It is too high for any but the most hardy fruits. Garden vegetables grow to astonishing size, while sugar beets have given a large yield wherever tried. The irrigation system is being brought to a state of perfection. The wheat yield of 1897 exceeded that of any former year by 400,000 bushels, and a new mill has been built at Hooper with a capacity of 100,000 bushels. The farmers of the county are engaged in building a railroad of their own. The stock-growers have given great attention to the improvement of their cattle, the Llerefords predominating. There are many thousand head of fine sheep in the foot-hills. The history of the county reveals several mining excitements. None of these until within the past few years resulted in any systematic exploration of the mineral deposits. During 1896 and 1897 a systematic effort has demonstrated an ore body in the El Plomo District that bids fair to make mining one of the leading industries of the county. At Placer, a camp near Veta Pass, on the headwaters of Sangre de Cristo creek, many improvements have been made during the past year. The placer bars that have been the seat of several excitements were again worked and yielded fair returns from the sluice-box. On Mount Blanca a small number of properties have been operated steadily, and produced small shipments of ore. During 1897 the entire mountain section has been better prospected than for many years. The results of this labor indicate a bright future for this section as a mining district The county and grant records show 215 lode claims and forty placer claims recorded. During the summer months 200 men were employed and eleven properties working. CUSTER. Custer county was taken from Fremont in 1877. It is named in honor of General Custer, killed by the Indians at the Big Horn disaster. Greenhorn,. Wet and Red Mountains are the ranges. The county is forty by thirty miles in extent, and within this area there is consideable mineral. Of the thirty mines in the county, seven are producing, the product being gold and silver. Lead, however, is the chief staple article, aggregating in value last year $71,015.19. The total output for the county for 1897 was $89,247.22. For its size, Custer is one of the most thickly populated of the counties, and the people are prosperous. Silver Cliff, Rosita, Querida and West Cliff are the principal towns, the latter being the terminus of the eastern branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. Antelope, Grape and other creeks furnish water for the fertile area devoted to agricultural purposes. The live-stock industry is the principal support of the county, doubling in valuation that of the mines. The prosperous condition of this industry is due to the exceed- ingly favorable climate, the abundance of water and the other natural ad- vantages of Wet Mountain Valley, in which about 60,000 acres are under cultivation. Canon City, Coal Creek, Rockvale, Florence and Leadville have furnished a market. COLORADO. 55 The hay crop yielded 900 tons; oats, about 50,000 bushels; -wheat, 17,000 bushels. Barley and rye will tall some short of 1897 yield. A fair estimate of this season’s crop of small grain would be 70,000 bushels. Alfalfa in Wet Mountain Valley and the east end of the county is fed to cattle, horses and hogs. The vegetable product is amply sufficient to supply the home market. The farmers are paying attention to diversification of crops. There are about 15,000 cattle being fed on the public domain. The reason there are not more may be attributed to the fact that quite a number of the cattle-growers of the county are pasturing and feeding, since they get more for their hay in this way than giving it to the market. Between 3000 and 4000 head of this class of cattle have been shipped this year, many of them going to Nebraska and Kansas. Experiments with sheep have resulted favorably, and this industry is on the increase. Hogs fed on alfalfa and peas fatten rapidly, and are found to make as palatable meat as those corn-fed. While the mineral resources of the county have not been developed very extensively within the last few years, there is, however, a vast quantity of mineral. Capital is required for development work, and money so expended will not fail to bring satisfactory returns. DELTA. In 1883 this county was formed from a part of Gunnison, and took its name from the county-seat of Delta, so called from its peculiar location at the junction of the Gunnison and Uncompahgre rivers. The population is S000, of which Delta has 2000. The soil is adobe and a sandy loam. Horticulture, agriculture and stock-raising are the principal industries. The valley lands comprise about one-fourtli of the area of the county, and are noted for their productiveness. The altitude varies from 4500 to 6500 feet, and the land slope is good for ii-rigation. The Gunnison river . and numerous tributaries drain the county, furnishing ample water for irrigating purposes. It possesses some of the finest and most noted orchards in the State, and is especially famous for the excellence of its apples, peaches, pears and grapes. The county has vast ranges that aie unexcelled for live-stock, and an abundance of unoccupied agricultural land under ditch. The total area now in farms is estimated at 65,000 acres, an increase of 25 per cent, for the year. The estimated value of the fruit crop of 1898 is placed at over •$500,000. There will be an increased planting of trees this year, and hun- dreds of new orchards will come into bearing. Ranchmen are beginning to raise sugar beets for feeding purposes. The yield per acre is fully up to the average on this side of the range, and the percentage of sugar extremely satisfactory. If a beet-sugar factory is estab- lished at Grand Junction a large acreage of beets will be planted here. Many farmers are feeding sugar beets this winter in connection with alfalfa to lambs and hogs for the purpose of ascertaining whether they will produce good meats. The north boundary line is formed by the Grand mesa, and has an eleva- tion of 10,000 feet above sea-level. This section is covered with the rem- nants of a flow of basalt. In the eastern and southeastern parts of the county spurs and buttes from the West Elk Mountains occur, composed of volcanic rocks. With these exceptions, the county is made up almost entirely of Cretaceous and Tertiary sedimentary stratas. The mineral resources are practically undeveloped. Coal beds of seem- ingly good quality outcrop throughout the county, but are not worked beyond supplying local demand. The same is applicable to the building stone. Met- alliferous mines occur in the eastern portion of the county, but remain unde- veloped and practically not prospected. COLORADO. 56 Delta is the county-seat and principal business center. It occupies a south-central position, and is located on a delta at the junction of the Gun- nison and Uncompahgre rivers. DOLORES. Here the agricultural interests have but a weak foothold, although in the western part there is a large quantity of fertile land. The county is one- third mountainous, and consequently the chief source of wealth is the mining industry. In the eastern portion there are forests of quaking asp and spruce timber. The valleys of the East and West Dolores rivers are rich and well populated, and, like the average of mountain counties, there is an abundance of water in the creeks. Rico, the county-seat, is the most important town, and has an altitude of 8500 feet. In extent the county has 1000 square miles and supports a population of 1498, mostly from the Easteri) States, and composed largely of a class of people who drift to a mining country. Dolores was created in 1SS1 from the southern part of Ouray county. The valuation at that time was $345,000. For 1898 the valuation was $466,284. The gen- eral character of the mineral formation is lime, porphyry and some quartzite. The veins are fissure and contact. In 1878 the first ore discovery was made, and the product now is mostly silver. There is some gold in the ore. The Pioneer and the Lone Cone are the mining districts, with six well-developed mines. The output of gold, silver, copper and lead this year is $191,915.12. There is one concentrator and one reduction works, and the prospect for mining is flattering. Coal is found in the sandstone formation, and the iron that abounds is only used for flux for smelting. Coal mining is yet in its infancy. There are great beds on both sides of Dolores river and in the vicinity of Rico. The banks at Grand View and at. Pasadena are the only extensive developments thus far made. West of Rico are the unoccupied public lands, all of which are available for agriculture. Brick clay is plen- tiful, and there are immense quantities of lime and good building stone. The Hot Springs on the West Dolores, about twelve miles from Rico, are medici- nal, and the virtues that have made the waters of other watering places in the State celebrated are claimed for those of Dolores. The climate is de- lightful. Upon the construction of the railroads the lumber interests will become a strong inducement for investment. DOUGLAS. Douglas is a well-watered and wooded county lying between Arapahoe county on the north and El Paso county on the south. Platte river bounds it on the west, and on the east lies the flourishing county of Elbert. The soil is a sandy loam adapted to farming and stock-raising. At the organiza- tion of the Territory, Douglas county was created and named in honor of Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois. The population is 3500, the principal towns being Castle Rock and Sedalia. The people are prosperous and happy. At Russellville, on Cherry creek, is where gold was discovered in early days, and the placers have only been worked spasmodically since. The ore is well distributed, and will not pay to be worked. There are good public schools in the county. Denominationally, the community is evenly distributed among the Methodist, Episcopal and Catholic churches. Three-fourths of all the lands are available for agriculture, and the remaining fourth is grazing land only. Irrigation ditches are not much in demand, owing to the frequent falls of rain. Douglas is one of the counties to which the rain belt theorists point as an exemplification of the fact that crops can be raised successfully in Colorado without irrigation. Fruit culture is becoming a success, espe- cially the apple and other temperate zone varieties. Raspberries, grapes, currants and strawberries are also raised with profit. Plenty of soft coal is COLORADO. 57 found in the different parts of the county, but it is not extensively worked. Lava stone of different colors is quarried. It is a fine building material. The Highline canal runs through the 'county on its way toward Denver. The Colorado & Southern Railway crosses the county. There is no alkali, the water is pure, and the elevation is such as to make Douglas a desirable sanitarium. Dairying has increased, and there are six separators in opera- tion and a cheese factory. The number of pounds of butter produced in the county was 550,000, which, at an average price of twenty cents, yielded -$110,000. Of cheese there was 125,000 pounds, worth $12,500. There was 20,000 gallons of sweet milk and 1000 gallons of cream shipped. The hen produced 225,000 dozen eggs at an average price of twelve cents per dozen. The total of the dairying interests and eggs makes $155,000. One thousand calves were sold for veal at an average price of $15, and 2000 steers and fat cows were marketed at an average of $38. Fifteen hun- dred hogs at an average of $3 per head were marketed, swelling the revenue from the sale of stock to almost $100,000. The following is taken from the books of the county assessor and shows the amount of grain and farm pro- duce: Eight thousand tons of alfalfa, 9000 tons of hay, 10,000 bushels of oats, 30,000 bushels of wheat, 25,000 bushels of rye, 2000 bushels of barley, 9000 tons of fodder, 60,000 bushels of corn. The assessor’s books show that there are 13,320 head of cattle of all kinds, an increase of 1170 head. There are 3183 head of horses and mules, an increase of seventy-one head. The inducements for settlers are a splendid farming and dairying country, a healthful climate, with soil and water unsurpassed. The markets in Den- ver are easily reached, and the social conditions of the community are desirable. EAGLE. The county takes its name from the Eagle river. It has 2000 square miles and 3725 inhabitants. The Eagle and Grand rivers and their tributaries water the soil abundantly, hence the heavy growth of timber and the adapta- tion of the valleys for agriculture. The soil is a fertile, sandy loam, with a subsoil of gravel. Red Cliff, the county-seat, has 384 population. The other important towns are Gilman and Mitchell. Since 18S3, when it was created from Summit, the county has prospered. The assessed valuation is #1,173,331. Gold, silver and lead have been mined successfully since 1879. In 1897 the estimated output was $101,132.02. Never in the history of the county has there been such an activity in mining as at present. The future for Eagle is full of encouragement and hope. Mining and stock-raising have doubled over their value in 1S97. Hundreds of acres of new land have been brought under cultivation, and the crops produced under the thorough system of irrigation have been very abundant. The Battle Mountain mining district has made great progress. The rich strikes made by lessees on the Ground Hog and other mines recently at- tracted attention to such an extent that the visits of mining men are of almost daily occurrence, .new capital is being invested and there is more ground at present being worked — principally under lease — than ever before in the history of the county. The other districts of Taylor Hill, Holy Cross, Fulford, Lake Creek and the Gore Range are also receiving attention. The mining revival in Leadville and here has given an impetus to the mine timber business, and that industry has trebled in the last six months. Some timber-cutters have contracts with Leadville mines to supply them with timbers for a year to come, and the coming year will witness an amount ■of activity in' this line and a demand on our forest reserves unprecedented in the history of the county. Already it is hustling the woodmen to supply the market. 58 COLORADO. ELBERT. Elbert has 1854 square miles, about one-tliird of which is railroad land. It was organized in 1874 and named in honor of Governor Samuel H. Elbert. Agriculture and grazing are the industries, the ranches are fine, the cattle fat and plenty, there is plenty of water, and timber grows everywhere in abundance. It is one of the promising counties of the great Divide country. The loam soil is rich and deep, the surface undulating and without irrigation crops are produced equal in size and quality to crops gathered in any part of the State. The population is about 4000, and the most important town is Elizabeth, a place of 500 population, located on the Colorado & Southern Railway. The other towns are Elbert and Iviowa, the latter being the county-seat. The peculiarity of the people is that residents of six years or more are all wealthy and the late settlers arc prosperous and contented. A reliable farmer, living six miles west of Elbert, states that the returns in cash from his potato crop, in a recent year, was $137.50 per acre. One field on the same farm this season threshed out sixty-two bushels of oats per acre. This was on land that has been under constant cultivation for twenty- five years, without a pound of fertilizer or manure and without irrigation. Prices of land range from $4 to $12 per acre, according to improvements and distance from railroads. The farm just mentioned changed hands lately at $8 per acre. Oats seven feet high are grown without irrigation. The Col- orado & Southern Railway runs through the western part of the county, furnishing shipping facilities. There is a ready home cash market for everything the farm produces. The export shipments, in car lots, for the past year are as follows: Pota- toes, 102; wheat, 101, oats, 81; corn, 26; cattle and hogs, 126. These figures cover only a narrow strip in the western part of the county. The figures from the eastern part are not available. Butter, eggs and poultry exported amounted to thousands of dollars. The stock interest is on a solid basis. The long-horned steer has long since taken his departure. His place has been taken by the Galloway, Hereford, Short- horn and other noted breeds. There is no county that produces a better class of horses. The little broncho is succeeded by the Clydesdale, Hambletonian, French coach, Nor- man and other breads. The altitude of the country above sea level ranges from 6000 to 7000 feet. Here is the most productive and enduring soil, the finest grazing land, the purest, clearest water, plenty of timber, hard roads, summer and winter, bright sunshiny days the year round; the summer’s heat relieved by cool, refreshing breezes, no malaria or fever and no snakes nor mosquitoes; win- ters mild and dry; an efficient public school system, church and Sabbath- school privileges and a kind, thrifty, intelligent people. The town of Elbert, the principal town in the county, is nearly midway between Denver and Colorado Springs. EL PASO. This is the county of Pike’s Peak, of Manitou and of Colorado Springs. It is one of the best advertised sections in the West, as may be seen by the volume of travel which pours constantly in from the East and South. No other county has such a wealth of natural attractions. What these are is known to the reading world by means of the railroad folder and by other railroad advertising. El Paso derives its name from the Mexican words “the pass,” which were more significant in the days of the county’s organi- zation than at present, when Colorado City stood at the very gate to the mystic region on the Western Slope. Colorado City was at that time the capital of the Territory, and when that honor was taken from it the town COLORADO. 59 sunk into apathy, and in a broken-hearted fashion barely existed until the completion of projected railroads, when the erection of shops brought new life and converted the dead village into a bustling city, rivaling in energy the promt --^ster-eity a few miles distant. Manitcu also has grown until now its jtioi^es are sung wherever . the English tongue is spoken. Here the soda sprffigs, the iron and the sulphur bubble up in the street, and through the summer months thousands upon thousands of tourists, invalids and sightseers gather to sip the healing waters. Colorado Springs is the sec- ond city in Colorado. It, too, is favored as a health resort, and is quite a sanitarium. Great wealth is concentrated here, to which is due, perhaps, the fact that Colorado Springs is one of the most attractive as well as most healthful cities in the country. It has opera-houses, magnificent hotels and railroad facilities in abundance. In many respects the county proper is similar to Elbert. The soil is rich, a portion of the middle half is well irrigated, and a part of the agri- cultural lands is located on the Divide. Here almost everything grows. Potatoes and corn yield enormously, and rye and sorghum are raised with profit. In the eastern part there is a great quantity of range upon which many head of cattle, horses and sheep graze. The Colorado & Southern Railway extends from the north to south through the center. The county is peculiarly rich in coal. At Franceville there are’ large mines operated profitably, and the supply is inexhaustible. In El Paso county there are many acres under irrigation, and . the aggre- gate for pasture is 1,200,000 acres. Prom 312 acres 6000 bushels of wheat have been raised; from 2892 acres, 59,000 bushels of oats; from 11S acres, 3000 bushels of barley; from 462 acres, 5165 bushels of rye; from 700 acres, over 20,000 bushels of corn; from 1979 acres, 158,975 bushels of potatoes; from 2S6 acres, 50S tons of timothy; from eighty acres, 119 tons of clover; from 870S acres 9152 tons of native grass; from 1037 acres, 3779 tons of alfalfa. Small fruits grow in abundance and the quality is finer than can be raised anywhere in the East. Over 100.000 pounds of butter were produced last year, and cheese 17,000 pounds; the honey produced by the apiaries exceeds 2000 pounds. Sheep and cattle raising form a great industry. FREMONT. Here is the chief source of Colorado’s great supply of oil. In other re- spects it is a prosperous county. Farming, stock-raising, horticulture, wells and refineries, and coal mining all add to its great wealth. It is one of the origial counties; has 1390 square miles, and was named in honor of General Fremont, the “pathfinder.” Its population is 20,000. Canon City, the home of the penitentiary and the county-seat of the county, has 6000 inhabitants. The public buildings at Canon City are built of stone, the county buildings alone costing $35,000. Two-thirds of the county is covered with forests of pine and spruce in the western part, and pinon, cedar and cottonwood on the river bottoms. The Arkansas river runs through the whole length of the county, which, together with the numer- ous creeks, is sufficient to water every foot of the tillable land. The soil is of sandy loam, excellent for horticulture. The county has 91.895 acres of agricultural land and 79.229 acres of coal and grazing lands. There are 5798 horses, 189 head of mules, 577 pigs, 14,913 cattle. The assessor’s valuation of city property within the county is $1,449,998. There are 130 miles of railroad and 100 miles of telephone lines. Wonderful progress has been made in the two leading cities, Florence, the petroleum center, and Canon City, the fruit metropolis. At the former place no less than 150 new buildings have been erected. COLORADO. 60 Among the manufacturing establishments is the great plant of the Colo- rado Electric Power Co. It cost $400,000. Its influence on mining methods are felt, and it is confidently asserted that within a few years transmitted electric-power will have entirely superseded steam in the CrippWilreek dis- trict. Ground has been broken for a $10,000 cold-storage and ic', tbant. The Canon City Cider & Pickling Co.’s plant is running full time. Two plants for the manufacture of brick are in constant operation, with a capacity of 1,000,000 a week. The petroleum fields of Florence yield about 400 barrels of refined oil a day in addition to the lubricants and crude oil used for fuel. In other words, this field produces 2000 barrels of crude oil per day. The coal mines’ output was about 680,000 tons, the heaviest for a number of years. Much attention has been given during the year to the development of the gold-producing area of the county, the northern end being a continuation of the Cripple Creek belt. Important discoveries of the precious metal have been reported at Bare Hills, Marigold and on Current creek. At Bare Hills a cyanide plant has been erected, and at Current the ore will be handled by the Beam process, five carloads of machinery having been ordered for the mill. . $ There are also three smelters for the treatment of gold ores in operation in the county — two at Florence and one at. Canon City. During the month of November the Florence smelters treated 12,600 tons of ore, with a bullion value of .$267,500. This is above the average monthly treatment for the year, but, placing the average at 10,000 tons per month, the two plants have handled 120,000 tons of ore of an average value of $27.50 per ton, giving a grand total of .$3,300,000. In horticulture Fremont leads the State in the production of small fruits. Strawberries and grapes are the strong point, while apples take next place. The strawberry crop amounted to something over 60,000 quarts, returning- an average of .$2 per crate to the producer. Eighty thousand baskets of grapes is the record, which exceeds any previous year by several thousand baskets. At no time did the price fall below fifteen cents a basket. The apple crop was not up to the average, and fell below 75,000 barrels. The increased demand and ruling high prices are making up for the short crop. Fruit brings into the county each year between .$300,000 and $500,000, and the producing area is constantly broadening. GARFIELD. In 1883 this county was created from the southwestern part of Summit county, and named in honor of President .Tames A. Garfield. It is two- tliirds mountainous and the remainder abounds in running streams and fertile valleys. The soil is a sandy loam, capable of a high state of cultiva- tion. With a population of 10,000, it is forging ahead as one of the most prosperous of the Pacific slope counties. Glenwood Springs is the county- seat, with a population of 1500. Garfield county has underlying it and extending across, the entire county an inexhaustible quantity of coking and other coal. Many thousand acres are owned and operated by the Colorado Fuel & Iron Co., giving employment to hundreds of coal miners and their families, the principal shipping mines being located at New Castle, Cardiff and Sunlight. A number of smaller corporations and individuals are also operating new mines. A new rival in the coal industry has recently developed in the Northern Coal Co., located and operating on Four-Mile creek in the southern part of the county, giving employment to about 350 miners. COLORADO. 61 The greatest increase in Garfield county has been in raising cattle. The sections showing the most increase in this branch are in the northwestern portion, in the vicinity of Rifle, from which town large shipments have been made. Carbondale, in the more southern part of the county, is also devot- ing attention to cattle. The increase in the county equals fully 25 per cent., the returns by the county assessor showing the number in 1S98 as 14,656, against 11,200 in 1897. Many stockmen have entered extensively in breed- ing horses. The most promising enterprise in irrigation is the contemplated building of a canal carrying water from White river in Rio Blanco county into Rifle creek, a section which has practically been without irrigation since the breaking of the Grass Valley reservoir a few years since. Its length will be .about thirty miles and its cost $35,000. Another important improvement which has been made is the building of a flour mill on the Roaring Fork river, two miles south of Glenwood Springs. The mill is turning out fifty barrels of flour per day. Glenwood Springs is one of the most noted resorts for invalids in the country, rivaling in popularity the famous Hot Springs of Arkansas. There are ten large springs and a number of smaller, the largest of which has an outflow of 4000 gallons per minute. From the ten springs there is an out- flow of 8000 gallons per minute. Yampa, the largest of the group, is located on what was once an island in the ri/er channel, but is n,ow con- verted into a garden, in the midst of which are the mammoth bathhouses. These springs are more than twenty times as copious as the Hot Springs at Arkansas. They are alkaline, saline, sulphuric, chalybeate, caloric and thermal. The extreme temperature of the water is 126.4 degrees. The number of grains of solid contents or minerals, to the gallon, varies from 1.243 to 1.254, while the next strongest spring in the United States is at Las Vegas, where there are 60% grains to the gallon. Thus it will be seen that these springs possess in a marked degree the qualities of six out of the seven classes of mineral springs in the United States. One of the most wonderful of the springs is that found in a natural cave in the mountain side. The cave is fifteen feet high, and forms a large chamber with solid stone walls. The hot spring in this cave furnishes a natural Russian bath which cannot be excelled. The sanitarium feature alone will make Gar- field a great county. GRLPIN Was named after the first Governor of Colorado, the Hon. William Gilpin. “The Kingdom of Gilpin” is the popular term by which it is known, so-called from its exceedingly richness in gold and its enor- mous mineral output from year to year. Geographically, it is located a little north of Central Colorado. Its boundaries are Jefferson on the east, Clear Creek on the south, Clear Creek and Grand counties on the west, and Boulder on the north. It is situated directly in the gold and silver belt. Its population is 12,000, of which Central City, the county-seat, has 5,000 ; Black Hawk, 1,067 ; Nevadaville, 933 ; Rus- sell Gulch, 673. The population is from all parts of the Union. Gil- pin was formed from the mountain territory of Jefferson county, work- ing under the provisional government, and was reorganized by the first Territorial Legislature in 1861. Russell Gulch, an unimportant place at present, was one of the objective points for the gold hunters, and later, after the county thereabouts became more thickly populated, as richer strikes followed, that section of the State became the scene of many excit- ing episodes. Miners’ courts promulgated all the law that was recognized at that time, and the justice then dispensed was of a character that demanded respect. Gilpin eofinty is the cradle of Colorado's progress. It was in Gilpin county that Greer Russell and his party, from Georgia, found G2 COLORADO. the rich placers in 1859, the discovery of which electrified the country and started westward the tide of immigration. John Gregory followed Russell, locating the placers on the north fork of Clear creek. Since that early day the gold output cf Gilpin is stated as follows in the official reports: 1859 to 1S72 1886 1872 1.389.286 1887 . . . . 2,479,187 1873 1,530,000 1888 2,695,157 1874 1,631,863 1889 3,334,300 1875 1,763,985 1890 1S76 2,240,000 1891 2,437,757 1877 2,203,037 1892 2,346,700 1878 2,257,000 1893 1879 2,431,291 1894 . . . . 2,844,851 1880 2,680,000 1895 1881 2,158,930 1896 1882 2,006,516 ■ 1897 2,197,384 1S83 2,208,989 1898 1 884 2,656,901 1885 2,374,175 Gi-and total... . . . .$87,507,581 In the above record an allowance of $6,000,000 should be made for silver, copper and lead, as these by-products were not separately accounted for in former years, when the smelters of the State nn.de little or no allowance on account of their presence in the gold ores. With this figure taken out it will be seen that Gilpin county has thus far added $81,500,000 to the world’s supply of the coveted metal. Gilpin county has a splendid school system. There are thirty-three pub- lic schools, not including the High School at Central and the Aloysius Acad- emy. All denominations flourish, and have large edifices for worship. The Colorado & Southern and the Gilpin County Tramway are the railroads, the former twelve miles in length and the latter seventeen miles. Farming, wherever pursued, is profitable. There are 18,000 acres of land. Many cattle were raised last year. The total valuation of the county, as assessed, is $1,910,479. GRAND Is the county of Middle Park, a magnificent stretch of country lying between the Continental Divide on the liorth, the Front Range on the east and the Williams River Mountains on the south, whilst on the west there opens, most inimitably, the “New Empire” of the Northwest. Grand county is about fifty by sixty miles in extent, dotted here and there with great peaks shooting up thousands of feet. The Grand river, with its many tributaries, finds its source in the northeast corner, the location of Grand lake, the scene of the tragedy, about fourteexx years ago, when several county officials were killed in a feud over the removal of the records of the county. In 1876 the county was organized from Summit county, and at that time the population was about 500. Since then it has prospered, and in the same ratio with other counties has increased its population till in point of valu- ation it makes a record highly creditable as a stock-raising county. In this respect alone the valuation for stock last year was $119,554. It may thus be seen to what an extent stock-raising is pursued. And the reason for it is that the Middle Park is one of the most favorable places in the State for stock-raising. Nowhere are the grasses more nutritious, the water better or more abundant, and nowhere in the State is the shelter more com- plete. Here the feeding-ground is protected by the high i-anges, which almost enclose the county in a circle, and for this reason severe winters are unknown. A lai'ger acreage of grain was sown in 1898 than for many years previous, and most of the grain matured and made good ci’ops. All vege- table crops produced a fair average. COLORADO. 63 As a pleasure resort Grand county has but few equals. The hot sulphur springs in the center of the park, and the numerous retreats among the timbered growth on the hillsides and by the river banks make it an at- tractive place to the lovers of nature in her most pleasing forms. Coal exists in great quantities. Considerable prospecting and development has been done on Park View Mountain and in a few other sections of the park, with the result that rich and promising leads have been opened up, and another year will witness the development of a number of rich properties. Every year Middle Park is attracting more attention from prospectors and mining men. This section is the richest mineralized territory in Colorado. Grand county is favored with good roads, a good school system, and the moral tone of the county is good. The people have push and vigor, and the outlook for the future is promising. GUNNISON. The Continental Divide forms the boundary line of this county on the east. Gunnison was organized in 1877 from a part of Lake county, and named in honor of Captain Gunnison. There are 3900 square miles, most of it mountains. That portion not rocky is rich in soil and very productive. Mining, ranching and live-stock growing are the industries, and these sup- port a population of 6000 people who are mostly settlers from the Middle States. The assessed valuation in 1898 was $1,919,072. Gunnison City is the county-seat, with large and attractive public buildings. There are ex- cellent schools, twenty-one in number. The county is a veritable store- house of all kinds of rich deposits, including gold, silver, lead, copper, iron, steel, coal, granite, marble, sandstone and other metals. Development of the county has been principally in its coal mines, although gold and silver mines have been opened up to some extent. The deposits of iron are enor- mous, but have not been thoroughly developed, although some of the hills in the iron district are literally mountains of iron. The county is one of the finest in the world in its scenic beauty, the climate in summer being mag- nificent, and the streams are swarming with trout. The most important of the industries of the county at present, of course, is its coal mines. These are situated at Crested Butte, Anthracite, Ruby and other points. The output from them during the year was more than $1,000,000. The coal output consists of both anthracite and bituminous, and a large amount of coke is also shipped. In the gold belt of Gunnison, which is about seventy miles long and ten miles wide, are some first-class producers. The development during the year has been steady and little was heard of them, but the prospectors, realizing that the best way to handle a mine is to develop it, have been steadily at work with good results. More capital has come into the district this year than ever before. The silver mines of the county are in the northern part. At and about Crystal some marvelously rich ore has been discovered. The marble beds are also in the Crystal district. According to experts who have examined these marble deposits, they contain the finest specimens of marble yet found in the United States. The granite deposits of the county are very fine. The State capitol building in Denver was constructed out of granite from Gun- nison county, and no better quality can be obtained at any place in the United States. Besides gold, silver, marble and granite, there are found iron, copper, lead and other metals. Agriculture, stock-raising, dairying and other kin- dred pursuits are important. There are about 30,000 acres of irrigated land in cultivation and the crops consist of wheat, oats, barley, rye, potatoes and native and tame grasses. The butter product for the year amounted to 50,000 pounds. There are about 20,000 head of cattle pastured on the ranges and 13.000 sheep. The output for the year- of the county is more than $2,250,000. 04 COLORADO. HINSDALE. Hinsdale county was created in 1875 from that portion of the Ute Reservation opened for settlement in 1874. The rich mineral counties of Gunnison and San Juan bound it on the north and west, on the east Saguache and Rio Grande, and on the south Archuleta. Mining and stock- raising are the chief sources of income. The valuations are $430,635. Hins- dale is the source of the Rio Grande, and the rivers of San Juan, Gunnison and Rio Piedra rise in the mountains of the San .Tuan, which range crosses the center. Lake City is the county-seat. It is populated mostly from the Central and Eastern States, who are moderately prosperous and confident of the future. While there are no extremely wealthy men, there are no paupers in the county. There are good public schools. Tire Presbyterian, Baptist, Christian and Catholic denominations care for the community’s morals. Total acres of land available for hardy vegetables and grain, 5000; the total acreage available for grazing only, 215,000. The county is divided into the districts of Lake, Galena, Park and Car- son, and the general character of the mineral formation is eruptive granite, gneiss, schist, porphyry, the ores being in quartz, lime and slate. The county’s output for the year 1897 was: Gold, $168,171.12; silver, $145,- 210.17; lead, $187,591.96 — a total of $500,983.25. There are in operation twenty- seven ^ mines, two stamp mills, and about 500 miners depend upon the industry for support. There are coal and iron, but owing to the lack of facilities no effort has yet been made to develop them. The advantages, though unimproved, are superior, and consist of hot and mineral springs, fine hunting and fishing. Uncompahgre Peak, near Lake City, rises in magnificent view from the railroad, and two miles distant is San Christoval, the most beautiful lake in the State. Unrivaled advantages for mining investments for the capitalist, and a, fine climate for those suffering from consumption and rheumatism, are the inducements offered settlers. HUERFANO. Of the population of Huerfano county, one-tliird is Mexican. Walsen- burg, the principal town, has 928 inhabitants; La Yeta, 361: Rouse, 580, and Picton, 300. Stock, agriculture and mining are the industries. The county was organized in 1860 from parts of Pueblo and Las Animas counties. “Orphan Butte,” on the banks of Huerfano river, is the derivation of its name. Walsenburg is the county-seat, and is provided with a courthouse and jail. The county cannot be beaten for grazing land. The best grazing lands lie along the Huerfano and Santa Clara rivers. In the valley of the former alone it is estimated that 10,000 cattle and as many sheep have grazed during the past summer, and probably as many in the valley of the Santa Clara. The value of cattle shipments during the year will reach $400,000, there being over 4000 cars. The raising of blooded stock is a new industry. In Middle Creek valley there is a herd of 350 thoroughbred reg- istered Hereford cattle, which are valued at $30,000. The value of the wool output for 1S98 was $75,000. The wool was of superior quality, being soft and white, and much sought after. There are 14,000 acres under cultivation along four streams, the Huer- fano, Santa Clara, Apache and Cucharas. These streams furnish abundant water for the cultivation of this land, but before much more can be re- claimed it will be necessary to build storage reservoirs. This county presents a profitable field for such enterprises. The production of wheat during 1898 was about 90,000 bushels, with about 40,000 bushels of other grain. There is a large quantity of alfalfa raised, the value being about $15,000. The yield is about two and one-half tons to the acre. Fruit-raising is being developed, although the orchards COLORADO. 65 are yet too young to produce large yields. Apple-raising is developing into a paying industry along the streams. Coal mining is the great industry of the county. The mines send out an enormous tonnage to Nebraska and Kansas, as well as to Colorado towns and cities. The coal tields cover an area of about 30,000 acres. Thirty- eight thousand cars of coal were shipped during the year. The mines em- ployed over 1000 men regularly, with an average pay-roll of about $50,000 per month, or $600,000 for the year. All mines are producing to their fullest capacity and cannot supply the demand. The widening of the narrow- gauge railroad over La Veta pass will give a still further stimulus to the coal industry. At the Walsen Mine new electric machinery has been put in and an electric-light plant has been established. This will enable a great increase of output. The Robinson Mine, situated one and one-half miles west of Walsenburg, has been reopened and is doing a good business. JEFFERSON. Jefferson county derives its name from Jefferson Territory. It is in the center of the State, half being mountainous country, and the other half foothills and prairie. The county contains 725 square miles, and is watered by the South Platte, north fork of the South Platte, and Bear, Clear and Ralston creeks. In the foothills many farms are cultivated where the ordinary cereals do well; these do not need irrigation on account of the rains. The soil in the eastern part is a rich loam, particularly adapted to fruit-raising. The population is 11,000, of which Golden has 3000. Mor- rison, Evergreen, Pine Grove, Buffalo Creek and Arvada are the principal towns. Mining of coal, the manufacture of brick, tile, pottery, sewer-pipe, gulch mining, farming, stock-raising, market gardening, the manufacture of paper, flour milling, etc., are the sources whence the people get their livelihood. There are no paupers; everyone appears prosperous and happy. Created in 1861, it was one of the original counties at the time of the Territorial organization. To this fact and to its natural resources are, perhaps, due its large manufacturing interests. The valuation at the time of its organization was $166,000. At present the valuation is $1,696,870. Jefferson county contains thirty-nine districts, with fifty-three public schools. The State Reform School and the State School of Mines are established at Golden. The State School of Mines has a faculty of fifteen, with 180 students. The school is the finest school of its kind in the world. All de- nominations flourish. There are 66,749 acres of agriculture and 213,471 acres of grazing. Silver, gold, copper, lead and iron are the minerals mined; gold in placer and quartz, and silver in lead and copper ores. Gulch mining began near Golden in 1859, and these placers were the scenes of great excitement during those early days. But Golden’s prosperity rises not from the mineral in its hills, but rather from its manufactures. The Gol- den Paper Mills, a smelter turning out $1,000,000 in bullion in a year, the brick and tile sewer works, a broom factory, two large and prosperous flour- ing mills, two brickyards, one of the largest breweries in the State, exten- sive coal deposits, building stone and lime quarries, limekilns, fire and other clays and cement are the sources of the city’s wealth. Golden is substan- tially built, has fine buildings, county and State; good water works and water system. The railway to the mining region of Central and Black Hawk is the Colorado & Southern. The city has seven churches, a good opera-house, a good hotel, a public park and every line of business usually found in a flourishing city is well represented and prospering. Iron was discovered in 1873 and coal as far back as 1859. The first exploration was at Coal Creek. Now four coal mines are in operation, with a total output during the year 1897 of 80,090 tons. The industry is doing well, and the prospect for the future is promising. There are seven large irrigating canals and many small ditches, the extent of the former being 120 66 COLORADO. miles. Golden possesses an iron spring of good quality. Bear creek is lined with summer resorts, and the Platte is also well provided. Prominent among these are Troutdale, Evergreen, Pine Grove, Buffalo Park and Beaver Brook. About $1,000,000 of raw material is con- sumed annually, the product of the country, and the markets for the goods manufactured are New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and California. The most natural advantages and nearness to market, a fine climate, picturesque scenery and a low rate of taxation are the inducements the county offers settlers. Grazing flourishes. Jefferson county is essentially an agricultural county, but has valuable mining prod- ucts, such as coal and clays. There are 18,000 head of cattle, 5000 head of horses and 1800 head of hogs, besides sheep and feathered stock. KIOWA. This is another of the eastern tier of counties, and lies between Prowers, on the south; Cheyenne, on the north, and Otero, on the west. It was created April 13, 1889. Kiowa is Indian in its derivation. The soil is a dark sandy loam, with a marl subsoil. The population is 600, distributed principally in the towns of Sheridan Lake, the county-seat; Galatea, Eads, Arlington, Chivington, Towner and Stuart. Agriculture is the chief de- pendency of the people, and will so continue. Not for ten years were crops so bountiful in Kiowa county as in 1S98. The rainfall was above the average. The stock industry is paramount, and the prevailing good prices of cattle, sheep and wool have been the principal element in the prosperity of this section. But little farming is attempted, but where crops -were planted the yield was good. One field of corn, near Sheridan Lake, one of the highest points in the county, averaged forty bushels to the acre, of course without irrigation. Hundreds of tons of wild hay were put up from the native grasses, chiefly gramma and buffalo varieties. There have been approximately 30,000 head of cattle, 20,000 head of sheep and 5000 head of horses grazed during the summer. The herds be- longing to the small ranchmen range from 50 to 500 head of cattle and 1000 to 2000 head of sheep. The sheep industry has increased largely, as have the holdings of small cattle ranchmen. A creamery is running, with skim houses at Towner and §tewart, although the high price of calves has reduced the patronage. The butter turned out is of the best quality and finds ready market. The opportunity for the man with small capital to invest in stock is good. Plenty of cheap grazing land, abundance of water, with short winters, make this a desirable stock county. The irrigated portions of the Arkansas valley are near enough to draw upon for alfalfa and grain in case of a shortage of native forage. The 'finest system of storing reservoirs and ditches in the United States is rapidly nearing completion in the south-central portion of the county. These are for storing the flood waters of the Arkansas river, covering an area of 14,122 acres. These reservoirs form a chain. Their combined water supply is 267,323 acre feet, or 11,644,589,880 cubic feet. The system will be available for use next season, and the county will derive development from this source. KIT CARSON. This is a new county, created in January, 1889, from the eastern part of Elbert county and a portion of Bent. It has 1800 square miles, well watered with the Republican, Frenchmen, South Fork, Little Smoky and Beaver rivers. The country is gently undulating in some sections and in others level as a floor. Farming and stock-raising are the industries that COLORADO. 67 support the growing population. Burlington, the county-seat, has 300 in- habitants; other towns are equally promising. The estimated school census is 1200. The total number of acres available for agriculture is 1,382,000. Railroad facilities are afforded by the Union Pacific. For richness of soil Kit Carson county is the equal of any western agricultural county. The taxable valuation is 8882,934.50, in which is included 2122 horses and mules, 88S0 cattle, 5587 sheep and 450 swine, etc., or a total of 17,039 head of farm animals. Many of the cattle are valuable animals, as farmers are grading their stock up as fast as possible. The export for the county in carloads for the year was as follows: Cattle, 146; grain, 76; broom corn, 4; hay, 32; mill products, 12; horses, 7, and wool, 1; total, 278 cars. These figures demonstrate the fact that instead of being in decline, the grazing interests are keeping pace with the general prosperity. At least, this is the 'fact so far as Kit Carson county is concerned. The Burlington Roller Mills has used 30,000 bushels of wheat, all of which was produced in the vicinity of Burlington, thereby producing 6000 barrels of flour and 200 tons of bran. The Burlington Skimming Station has received in round numbers 360,000 pounds of milk and distributed among its patrons $3000 during the year. Labor has bc-en in good demand at good wages. All build- ings are occupied and many had additions during the year. There are few ditches, but these were constructed by private capital. The bulk of the crops depend not upon irrigation, but upon the natural moisture. Rains are frequent, and the time is hot far distant when the county will be all under cultivation. It is a part of the “Great American Desert,” so-called, but the authentic record of crops to the acre practically shows how far the popular comprehension is from the truth when it condemned this portion of the State as worthless land. Situated as Kit Carson county is, the peo- ple of that section have the advantage of both Denver and Kansas City markets. They have not been slow in realizing this, as the receipts from the auditor’s office of the two trunk lines go to prove. The county was .named in honor of the famous government scout, Kit Carson. LAKE. This county, of which Leadville is the center geographically as well as in point of wealth, lies directly behind the Park Range of the Rocky Mountains. It is fifteen by twenty-four miles in extent, having a box- like conformation, with the county of Pitkin upon the east, Eagle county upon the north. Park county on the west and Chaffee county on the south, -all great deposits of mineral wealth; yet Lake county in the center yields to none of these the palm. Leadville is known the world over. Great fortunes have been made here in the past, and great fortunes are being made today by those developing its wonderful ore bodies. There is little else in Lake county save its mineral, and nothing else need there be, for out of her circumscribed limits has come a vast portion of the State’s wealth. Much of Denver's greatness is due the little county on the crest, an honor which Denver is not loth to concede. The discovery of carbonates and the stirring episodes that followed the Leadville excitement are known the world over; stories of those days are yet current topics of conversation, and the “stranger within our gates” so regales himself that to report them or traverse any of the ground would be superfluous. Suffice it to say that all that wild conjecture at that day predicted for Lead\ille has been even more than realized, and though seventeen years have elapsed, the camp still goes on developing with no signs of depletion. The supply is inexhaustible. The total production for the county in 189S was $2,400,338 in gold, $4,277,- 260 in silver, or a total of gold and silver of $6,678,598; the value of the lead realized was $1,015,952; copper, $410,515, or a grand total of $8,095,065. Up to the present time there is no blemish on the bright luster of Leadville’s 68 COLORADO. record. During 1S98 the output of all the Lake county mines, low grade and otherwise, was close to the figures which follow: Month. Tons, January, 1200 tons per day 37,200 February, 1200 tons per day 33,600 March, 1200 tons per day 37,200- April, 1200 tons per day 36,000- May,’ 1200 tons per day 37,200 June, 1200 tons per day 36,000 July, 1200 tons per day 37,200' August, 1400 tons per day 43,400 September, 1500 tons per day 45,000- October, 1600 tons per day 49,600 November, 1800 tons per day 54,000 December, 1800 tons per day 54, 000- Total tonnage for 1898 500,400' In arriving at the total value of the 1898 output, as given at the head of this article, no allowance is made for the iron and zinc by-products. These can safely be estimated at $300,000 to $500,000. The zinc is marketed, at Canon City, while the manganese iron goes to the Illinois Steel Works,, near Chicago, which took close to 40,000 tons during the past year. This iron ore carried less than one ounce in silver to the ton and no copper or gold. The demand for it exceeds the local supply. In both tonnage from the mines and in values extracted at the smelters- the year shows an increase of 25 per cent, over 1897. The gain in gold reads $480,267; the gain in silver $855,452; the gain in lead over $200,000, and the gain in copper $85,000, due iri part to the advance in prices of the metal. The gold-producing mines made an average output of 800 tons per month, or 96,000 tons for the year. This was mainly contributed by the Little Johnny, Resurrection, Dolly B., Big Four, Monarch, Penn, Fanny Rawlins, Garbutt, Lillian, Golden Eagle, Big Six and Sedalia. These are all located in the Breece Hill section, southeast of Leadville, which is known as the gold belt, where development has been active since 1893, when the drop in silver turned the attention of capitalists and miners to the gold, resources of the camp. Mining so overshadows the other industries that one supposes that noth- ing else is done. But this impression is erroneous. The assessed valuation on 23,153 acres of land with improvements is $3,914,679. There are several thousand acres under ditch, and nearly 10,000 acres of pasture. Many tons of timothy and of native grass were cut last year to supply the dairy interests. Leadville makes a good market for anything produced within her easy reach. Her population is 12,000; that of the county is 15,000. The Colorado & Southern Railway enters Leadville. The natural attractions are the Twin Lakes, a celebrated resort; Crystal Lake and the Soda Springs. Lake county is practically the crest of the great divide, too high for persons afflicted with, weak lungs or otherwise debilitated, but those who are ac- climated enjoy existence in the rarefied air and would not exchange it for any other. LA PLATA. This county adjoins the east line of Montezuma and the Territory of New Mexico on the south; Archulota and Hinsdale are located on the east, and San Juan upon the north. Durango, as the center, is the county-seat. The Las Animas, with its tributaries, waters the rich soil. There are numerous: other streams of Mexican names which flow southward. On the western boundary line are the La Plata Mountains, from which the county takes; COLORADO. 69 Sts name. There are numerous little towns along the line of the railroad, ■and the chief occupations of the people are farming and ranching. This county was organized in 1S74 from parts of Costilla, Conejos and Lake, and later was itself divided and subdivided till it has been cut down to its pres- •ent size, sixty by forty-five miles in extent. Its present population is estimated at 5509, and its assessed valuation is $2,245,480. There is summer range in the southwest for 500,000 head of stock, but only a small proportion of this area is used. Sufficient feed can be produced by the farms’for winter feeding as great a number of stock as the summer ranges will provide for. Durango is headquarters for 112,000 head of cattle shipped and driven from the Southwest during the year. About .80,000 head •of New Mexico and Utah cattle fed on summer ranges. It is estimated that 15,000 tons of hay was sold for stock feeding in the vicinity of Durango. The La Plata county hay product was 25,000 tons. The cattle business, which had been the chief industry of this sectiou from 1877 to 1S88, is growing rapidly. During 1898 71,000 sheep have been shipped, and there was sold $30,000 worth of mutton. The production of potatoes for 1898 was 1,250,000 pounds. Hay will lead all in a few years, as the demand for this stock-feeding article is rapidly growing. The saw mills cut 5,050,000 feet of lumber. Durango marketed and shipped this as well as the greater portion of 5,500,000 feet •cut by mills in the county of Montezuma. About $20,000 worth of fruit was marketed. The dealers in hides and wool have shipped 300,000 pounds. Coal mines have sold 105,000 tons. Considerable development has been performed. In one mine the present producing capacity is 1000 tons per •day. An altitude of 6500 feet and healthful climatic conditions, with pure water, makes Durango the home of many well-to-do people who are engaged in the industries of the Southwest. One of the largest smelting plants in the West is the branch Omaha & ■Grant Works at Durango, where about 300 men are employed. The freight paid annually on shipments to and from Durango is $750,000. It is the shipping point for a large area. There has been a great deal of development in the metalliferous mines, and while the production has not materially increased, there are ore reserves from which large value can be taken out at any time. LARIMER. Larimer is not an exclusively agricultural county, as is generally sup- posed. Only one-fifth is agricultural. The area of the county is over 4500 square miles. It is 150 miles wide and nearly 100 miles long east and west. A narrow strip in the eastern part is agricultural and grazing land, and this is well watered by the Cache a la Poudre and the Big and Little Thompson rivers, and that portion that is under irrigating canals and pen- etrated by the Colorado & Southern Railway has arrived at a high state of cultivation and produces immense crops. The remainder of the country includes a section of the Rocky Mountain Range. The foothills rise about three miles west of Fort Collins, and stretching westward to the western boundary of the county, iparked by the Continental Divide, is an immense mountain range, filled with a great variety of minerals and other natural resources. In mining there has been a substantial advancement. Camp Carter has shipped ore right along, while the Empire Mine, in Howes’ Gulch, has become a good shipper. The placer mines of Independence Mountain, North Park, are good producers. There has been no halt in prospecting and the performance of assessment work, and the number of mining-location (certificates being offered for record is large. The records of the county 70 COLORADO. show 2337 lode claims, five of which are patented; 968 placer claims and fifteen mill sites duly recorded. During 1897 an average of 147 men were actively engaged in mining and working assessments. Flanking the base of the mountains is a series of hogbacks or ridges with glades intervening, exposing a fine series of building stone of high grade and almost inexhaustible in quantity. This industry has received considerable attention. The Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf Railroad has a branch line running from Fort Collins to the well-known Stout quarries r which have furnished a large proportion of the stone for street paving to all Western cities. En route this branch passes through Bellvue and by the equally well known red sandstone quarries. This stone is of exceptionally high grade, and while pronounced “hard to work” by the builders, possesses- all the desired qualities of resistance, durability and beauty, and is through merit alone forcing itself upon the Eastern market. Numerous quarries more or less developed occur between Bellvue and Stout. Lying north of Bellvue various stratas of marble occur, but these are almost wholly unde- veloped. South of Stout are the Arkins quarries, which have provided large amounts of building and paving stone. These quarries are tributary to Loveland, the second town of importance in the county. The population of the county is 15,000, of which Fort Collins has 4000. It was organized early in the sixties and named in honor of General Larimer, who represented the Rocky Mountain region in the Territorial Legislature of Kansas. The assessed valuation is about 85,000,000, upon an actual value of not less than 812,000,000. There are sixty-one public schools; an agricultural college is established by the State at Fort Collins, and Love- land has an academy. There are numerous church organizations, each having its own place of worship. The Stout and Arkins stone quarries are among the largest in the State, and .from these fifty cars are shipped daily, mostly to Missouri river points. The railroad is the Colorado & Southern. The health resorts are Estes Park; Rustic, on the Upper Poudre; Elkhorn, on Elkhorn creek, and the mineral springs of North Park. The county has foundries, flouring mills, a cheese factory and several creameries. Three hundred thousand dollars’ worth of raw materials are consumed by the manufactories of Larimer county, and the market for the goods manu- factured is the entire State. The pursuits of agriculture and stock-growing, inaugurated with the- county’s organization, still maintain a supremacy over mining, although the latter has at all times received more or less attention. The geological structure is in many respects similar to that of Boulder and other counties- lying in the main upon the eastern slope of the Colorado Front Range. LAS ANIMAS. U The western half of this county is covered with forests; the eastern half is prairie. Trinidad is the county-seat, with a courthouse costing $15,000 and a jail $20,000. In the valleys and along the foothills the soil is a black loafy mold; the soil of the prairie is a clay and sandy loam. The popu- lation is 17,208, of which Trinidad has 5523; other towns are El Moro, Starkville, Engleville, Sopris and Victor. Coal mining and coke manu- facture, wool-growing, live-stock raising, farming and lumbering are the industries of Las Animas. Las Animas county was created in 1866. and takes its name from the river Las Animas, which flows through it. The Tillotson Academy and the St. Joseph Academy are the institutes of learning, with an adequate num- ber of public schools. Las Animas county has long been in the lead as to coal production, but during 1898 has mined on a grander scale than before. In 1896 it produced 1,331,115 tons, in 1897 the production grew to 1,424,196: tons, and in 1898 the output reached 1,750,000 tons. The coal fields era- COLORADO. 71 brace by actual survey 1050 square miles, and comprise from four to seven veins, varying in rhickness from eighteen inches to thirteen feet. The vein now being worked by most of the companies varies from sis to twelve feet in thickness. There is also an abundant supply of iron ore. About forty miles from Trinidad are large deposits of alum. The Chamber of Commerce has been in correspondence with capitalists, who may develop these deposits. Good building stone is of easy access. Las Animas county is noted for its sheep and cattle. The grass is ex- ceptionally good, and there is plenty of water. Stock fattened rapidly on the 500,000 acres of grazing lands owned by the ranchmen and the millions of acres of government land at their disposal. Stock of all kinds brings good prices. Farming is done on a larger scale every year. During 1898 crops were exceptionally good, except a small section on the Purgatoire river above Trinidad. The Purgatoire river for nearly fifty miles west of Trinidad is thickly settled with farmers, who raise various crops, mainly of grain and potatoes. Below Trinidad the main product has always been hay, but a greater variety of products is being raised every year. In 1898 the county produced 100,000 bushels of wheat, 60,000 bushels of oats, 20,000 bushels of corn, 15,000 bushels o-f barley, 200,000 tons of hay, 100,000 bushels of potatoes, 10,000 bushels of onions, 10,000 bushels of turnips and 175,000 pounds of cabbage. Fruit-growing is an important industry. New orchards are being set out every year, and now thousands of bushels of apples find their way to market. Peaches, pears, plums and all the smaller fruits do well. Bee culture is quite an industry, and thousands of pounds of honey are marketed every year. The Colorado & Southern Railway traverses the county. LINCOLN. Lincoln county was created April 11, 1889, from Elbert and Bent counties. It is distinctly a stock-growing county, agriculture having at- tained a hold. Hugo is the county-seat. There aie 1S00 square miles of territory, well watered by the Big Sandy, Rush creek, Adobe creek and many smaller streams and springs. The valleys are moist and the whole surface is covered with rich grasses. The soil is a rich loam and is highly productive. It has a population of about 1000, and th£ towns are Hugo, Arriba, Simon, Bovina and Mirage. The principal industry is stock-raising, yet the farm, poultry yard and the dairy are growing. Corn, wheat, barley, oats and potatoes make good crops, and millet, soi-gum, hirse and alfalfa make as good crops as in any part of the State. The area of the county is 1,168,000 acres, of which 598,380 acres are appropriated and 970,620 acres are vacant government lands. The exports have been 21 cars of wool, 95 cars of cattle, 39 cars of sheep. 1 car of bones, 125 cases of eggs and 10,000 pounds of butter. The imports were 23 cars of corn, 41 cars of merchan- dise, 18 cars of lumber, 19 cars of cattle and 41 cars of coal. The financial condition of the county is the best; there is no debt, no bonds and no outstanding warrants. All obligations are paid in cash and taxes are at the minimum. Windmill irrigation has been thoroughly tested and proven a success. An abundance of water can be obtained at depths of from five to fifty feet. Apples and all small fruits are grown successfully by irrigation, and are of the best quality, and a few years hence the valleys will show field, orchards and gardens equal to any, with upland ranges unsurpassed. For agriculture this is a virgin section with a million acres of available land. Now it is the stockman’s paradise, for the range is without limit and the wire fence of the farmers is confined. The Union Pacific Railroad passes through the county. The county derives its name from Abraham Lincoln. COLORADO. LOGAN. This county is one of the northern tier of counties, and is a part of what is known as the rain belt, where crops are raised without irrigation. Except in the vicinity of the Limestone Buttes, the country is rolling prairie, through which the South Platte runs in a northeastern direction. It is forty-two by forty-eight miles in extent. The county-seat is Sterling, on the Union Pacific Railroad. Numerous towns have sprung up within the last few years, and the condition of the country has become greatly im- proved. It has 63,000 acres under irrigating ditches and 30,000 acres for pasture. Crops of all kinds in Logan county were better in 1S98 than the average, and local conditions have made prices far above the average. Ilay has advanced in price, occasioned by incoming of large bodies of lambs for feeding purposes, 50 per cent, more having been shipped in this year than last. The incoming shipments of cattle for feeding and grazing purposes foot up 11,800 head, as against 9500 in 1897. Improvements in Sterling consist of buildings amounting to over $17,000, as against $13,000 the previous year. The Union Pacific, running through the county, has been a great and lasting help. The people are enterprising and thrifty, and the increase in the yield in crops promises hopefully for the future. The great agricultural county of Weld is on its eastern border, and the new counties of Sedgwick and Phillips on the east; Washington county is on the south. For farmers there are inducements here as elsewhere, and farming pays as well, if not better, in Logan county than anywhere west of the Missouri river: at least, that is the testimony of the settlers themselves. The solution of this lies in the fact that the county has the markets of Nebraska and Kansas, and is also in direct communication with the mar- kets in Wyoming and in Denver and among the mining towns of this State. Logan county takes its name from Gen. John A. Logan, the volunteer soldier of Illinois. MESA. Mesa, together with Delta and Montrose counties, was, prior to 1881, the Ute Reservation. Little was known of it, and that little was contrib- uted occasionally by some daring trapper who in a spirit of venture had crossed into the forbidden territory. But the massacre of Agent Meeker and the annihilation of Thornburg and his command brought affairs to a crisis. The result was a treaty by which the Indians gave up this section of the country and moved to what is known as the Territory of Utah. There are about 1800 square miles in Mesa county, through which the Grand river flows. The other streams are the Gunnison, Dolores, Plateau and Roan creeks, each with tributaries. The soils are of sandy loam, clay and adobe, extremely fertile and peculiarly adapted to fruit-raising. The population is 10,000, of which Grand Junction has 4000. Fruita is another important town. Live-stock raising, farming and coal mining are the industries, and all who are so engaged are thrifty. There are but few set- tlers who have not improved their condition since locating in Mesa. March, 1883, is when the county was cut off from Gunnison. Then the valuation was $965,600. Now the valuation is $2,291,093. As its name implies, a good portion of the county consists of high mesas or table lands. There are many public schools in the county, and the churches established are the Baptist, Methodist, Catholic and Congrega- tional. About 200,000 acres of land are available for agriculture, and for grazing purposes about 640,000 square miles. There are five bodies of bitu- minous coal and also beds of iron ore. Good building stone, lime and fire clay are found. For irrigation there are large canals and numerous small ditches. The productiveness of the soil for fruits of all kinds, proximity to large mining districts, assuring good markets for all produce, cheap fuel, COLORADO. 73 ■fine climate all the year around and 100,000 acres of government lands .available for agriculture are the inducements offered settlers. The wool output in 1898 amounted to 165,000 pounds, which brought a trifle over fourteen cents per pound. Four thousand head of sheep were shipped, valued at $16,000. The summer ranges support 25,000 head of mixed cattle, which on the approach of cold weather are turned down to the lower slopes in the pink of condition. The alfalfa harvested in the mountain valleys, as well as in the valley of the Grand, make winter feeding practicable and profitable. Most of this hay is sold and fed to buyers’ cattle for $2.75 per ton. The Plateau valley, in the eastern section of the county, leads all other regions in this newly-developed industry and yearly turns off thousands of fat beeves fpr the markets. Shipments for the year aggregate 11,000 head of a value to the growers of $363,000. In the way of native scenery Mesa county is not far behind other counties in the State. The Unaweep is its scenic valley, and is formed by a break in the Uncompahgre plateau, the great divide separating the Grand and Gun- nison valleys from the Dolores. This valley is destined to become famous for its rich copper and silver ores. Some very promising prospects have already been discovered. Assays made of the ore near the surface give 50 per cent, copper and 25 ounces of silver. A very fine quality of iron ore has also been discovered in the district.. The word “Unaweep” is an Indian word, meaning “split rock,” and for centuries the valley has been a famous hunting-place among the Indians. Grand Junction is the principal city on the Pacific Slope. Favorably situated at the junction of two great rivers, and midway between the cities of Pueblo and Salt Lake, its advantages are apparent. In due time it will become a railroad center. In fact, it is already the objective point of all the trunk lines that have thus crossed the range. Mesa county mines its own coal, with the exception of a limited amount •of anthracite. The number of tons shipped to the adjacent towns and mining camps was 21,000. The number of tons mil ed was 32,000. In 1S97 there were mined 28,000 tons, 18,000 of which were shipped out. Coal brings $1.75 at the mine. In Mesa county are the finest copper veins in the State. The mines are twenty-three miles south of Grand Junction and twelve miles from Whitewater. MINERAL. Mineral, although one of the youngest, is one of the most important mining counties in the State. It was created from Saguache, Rio Grande and Hinsdale by act of legislature, approved March 27, 1893; forms a por- tion of the “San Juan Country;” has an area of about 860 square miles and occupies a southwest position in the State. The adjoining counties are Hinsdale and Saguache on the north, Saguache and Rio Grande on the east, Archuleta on the south and Hinsdale on the west. The county has an ex- treme length north and south of forty miles, and is twenty-four miles wide. The east, south and west boundaries follow the cardinal points of compass; the north is outlined by the Continental Divide. Creede is the county-seat, with a population of 2000, and is the main commercial center of the county. The other leading towns are Wagon Wheel Gap, Wason, Jimtown. Teller, Spar and Antelope Springs. Wagon Wheel Gap is one of Colorado’s scenic attractions, and is located at the mouth of a gorge or gap that barely affords room for roadbed beside the stream, and has perpendicular walls rising several hundred feet on either side. Near Wagon Wheel Gap are the somewhat famous hot and cold springs. These springs are well improved and provided with good hotel accommodations, and are a favorite resort for Colorado people who know their virtues. The Antelope Springs, in Antelope Park, is also becoming a great resort on account of the hot and cold waters and romantic sur- roundings. 74 COLORADO. Although a comparatively new county, it has added many millions to the nation’s wealth, and contains today the richest silver mine in the United States, if not the American continent. The director of the United States Mints, in his revised report for 1897, placed the output of Mineral county as follows: Gold Silver, market value Lead Copper $40,380 1.927,296 203,476 154 Tc.al for 1897 $2,171,306 The gain in 1898 equaled $21,805 in gold, $1,060,012 in silver and $111,- 911 in lead — an average of 55 per cent. This calculation is fully backed up by the carload shipments as shown by the books at the railway station. In 1897 the record of shipments reached 72,352 tous. The increase in 1898 was, therefore, 38,960 tons, or in excess of 53.8 per cent. The largest day’s shipments in the history of this camp was on the first of June, when forty fully-loaded cars went out. Previous to that date the largest single day’s shipments was in 1892 — the year of the excitement — but it stopped at thirty-six carloads. It may be judged from this that the Creede of today — barring the excitement, the town-lot sales and the gambling — is more than a match for the Creede celebrated in story and song. It is a growing, pro- gressive camp, giving steady employment to 625 men in connection with its mines and mills. The number in 1S97 was 423. MONTEZUMA. If the history of this county could be written, what a wealth of pre- historic story would be unfolded! As it is, from the ruins that dot every cliffside the student of archaeology catches but a fain glimmer of that remote past. The county takes its name from the “Father” of the Aztecs, the ruins of whose homes, though dumb, speak so eloquently. The people of the county have entered into the spirit of their association, and, so far as nomenclature can, have preserved the memories of the ancient race that once peopled its valley, by giving to the things of this century the names so identical with the past. Cortez is the county-seat, and Mancos and Dolores are principal towns. Montezuma was created from Dolores county, and has a population of 1529. It has 2112 square miles, watered by the Dolores, Mancos and San Juan rivers. The valleys are the Mancos, Dolores and Montezuma, in which the soil is of the most fertile character, and varies from the rich pinon red soil to the equally fine quality of silicious adobe. But the surface generally is undulating with occasional rocky points and ridges. Agriculture, cattle-raising and mining are the vocations of the inhabitants, who are largely from the Missouri and Mississippi valleys. The people generally are well-to-do and in easy circumstances. The county has thirteen public schools, with an estimated census of 543 scholars and $S500 in school property. There is a Congregational church at Cortez. The total acreage of land available for agriculture is 300.000. There are 127,400 acres of land available for grazing and 60,000 acres of agricultural land now under ditch. Building stone is abundant everywhere, consisting of red and white sandstone, but there is not much demand for these at present, due to the lack of railroad communication. The quality is very good. Limestone is plentiful and makes a strong quality of lime for building and plastering. Brick material is abundant. There are three canals for irrigation in the Montezuma valley, and twenty farmer’s ditches in the Mancos valley. In the former the number of miles of completed and projected canals is 130. The whole county is a vast health resort, abounding in good springs, pure COLORADO. 75 air, and possessing even temperature both winter and summer. Fishing on the Dolores is excellent. While the mountains in the eastern and northern portions abound in good hunting of, large game, smaller game is common in the valleys and canons. There are in Montezuma county 680,000 acres of government land open to settlement, which is now occupied by the herds of the cattlemen. The estimated number of stock is 9000 in the county. The future of Montezuma, however, is in the agriculture, and it is only a matter of a very short time when its valleys and prairies will all be taken up and cultivated. MONTROSE. In this fertile county, which was an Indian reservation thirteen years ago, there are upwards of 100,000 acres of grain and 200 acres in fruit. This is but the beginning of a great agricultural triumph on the Pacific Slope. This is not only confined to cereals, but there is a promising outlook for fruit. The live stock, horticultural and agricultural products are the leaders of wealth. In 1898 the wheat crop fell short, as the grain did not head well. The threshers report about 183,000 bushels of wheat and 152,000 bushels of oats, while the hay crop amounted to something over 100,000 tons. The peach and pear crop amounted in round figures to 330,000 pounds, while apples run up to 8000 boxes. The soil is fertile and is watered by the Uncompaligre, San Miguel and Dolores rivers. The Piedra and the Uncompahgre are the valleys. The population is 5000, of which Montrose, the county-seat, contains 1800. The inhabitants are a thrifty, enterprising class from the Mississippi valley. Montrose was organized from Gunnison in 1883. There are about twenty-one schools in the county and three churches. The Paradox copper fields in western Montrose county, which attracted wide attention in 1897, have been demonstrated to be a permanent feature. A smelter has been erected on La Sal creek, and the ore is rich in silver and gold. It is not reduced to copper matte, but is shipped just as it is mined, without sorting. Along the various stream beds placer locations are numerous. For many years hand sluicing has been spasmodically indulged in and small amounts of gold, appreciable in the aggregate, produced. During the past year a few of the placer beds along the San Miguel river have been equipped with hydraulic appliances and larger returns are anticipated in future. In Paradox valley a number of locations have been made upon fissure veins, cutting vertically through the sedimentary beds. The value of the ore found is principally in copper, and its economic importance is not yet determined. An average of ninety-four men were employed in mining during 1897. MORGAN. Arapahoe forms the southern boundary line of Morgan county; on the east Washington and Logan, and Weld county on the north and west. March 19, 1889, was the date it was organized, and Weld is the county from which it was taken. It takes its name, as does also the county-seat, Fort Morgan, from Col. Christopher A. Morgan, late of the United States Army, who died in 1866. This was the country formerly known as ‘IFort Morgan flat,” a wide stretch of rolling prairie land. Through it the South Platte river flows, the banks of which are lined with a luxuriant growth of cotton- wood trees. This valley, as with the Bijou and Beaver valleys, is rich in grasses, and is thickly settled. The population of the county is 3000, and the important towns are Fort Morgan, Brush, Corona and Orchard. Farming and stock-raising are the sources of wealth. The inhabitants are an intel- ligent class of people from Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, New York and Penn- sylvania. As to wealth, there is uniformity; all are prosperous and no extremes exist. In 1898 the valuations were assessed at $1,302,353. There 76 COLORADO. is no county debt. There are seven public schools; a school census of 350, and public school property aggregating $19,000. The Presbyterian, Episco- palian, Methodist and Baptist denominations have places of worship. The total number of acres available for agriculture is 600,000; for grazing pur- poses, 325,000, and the total acreage under ditch is 200,000. Unoccupied public land available for agriculture is about 300,000 acres. About fifteen canals have been constructed for irrigating purposes, aggregating 200 miles in extent. The Union Pacific system furnishes the facilities for transporta- tion. Morgan county is within the 100-mile belt from the Rocky Mountains, declared to be the best for lung troubles. The total acreage in grain this year is 15,000, which from the productive nature of the soil will produce abundantly. OTERO. Otero is an old Spanish family name, and its present distinguished repre- sentative is ex-Senator Otero, after whom the county is named. The county was organized May 3, 1889, being taken front Bent. The population is 20,000, of which La Junta, the county-seat, has 4000. The other towns are Rocky Ford and Fowler. Otero county, being on the Arkansas aud Las Animas rivers, has plenty of water for the 2052 square miles which con- stitute its area. The alluvial and sandy loam soil is rich and agriculture and stock-raising pays. There is considerable cottonwood timber. The school census gives 1000 children, with eight schools and $35,000 worth of school property. All denominations flourish. From superficial indications there is coal in abundance, but no mining has yet been done, though companies for that purpose are now being organized. A fine quality of limestone good for building purposes has been uncovered, and the quarries that have been developed are being operated with profit. There are in this county between 60,000 and 65,000 acres of land irrigated and under cultivation. Fully one-half of this is sown to alfalfa and pro- duced in the last growing season an average total in three cuttings of five tons to the acre, so the alfalfa crop was about 150,000 tons during 1898. Nearly all this hay is being fed to 80,000 lambs and some 25,000 head of cattle. Wheat, corn, oats and other field crops likewise yield bountifully. To orchards is devoted an acreage of 7500, part of which is bearing, and in- cludes apples, peaches, pears, cherries, plums, grapes and other small fruits. The cantaloupe and melon crop of the county for the year 1898 was simply immense, and in spite of some adverse conditions in the market more than $125,000 was returned to the growers. The year 1898 has proved con- clusively that the cultivation of small garden tracts and fruit farms is more profitable than large farms for men of small capital. While good farming lands bring from $25 to $40 per acre, small fruit and melon tracts near Rocky Ford and La Junta cost from $60 to $80 per acre. From the blossoming fields the bees produced in Otero county 240.000 pounds ©f honey. Twenty thousand pounds of wool were, clipped. OURAY. Ouray county receives its name from the chief of the Uncompaligre Utes, a friendly Indian who rendered the early settlers of Western Colorado much service in frequent quarrels with the people of his tribe. On the north of the county Montrose is located, Gunnison on the east, San Miguel and San Juan ou the south, and Montrose and San Miguel on the west. Ouray is the county-seat, a flourishing town dependent largely upon the mining industry for support. The principal streams are the Uncompahgre river and Canon, Red Mountain, Bear, Oak and Dallas creeks and the Dallas fork of the Uncompahgre river. All over the county there are timber forests of yellow pine, spruce, balsam and quaking asp. The surface of the county generally is mountainous. The population is about 8000, engaged almost exclusively in mining. COLORADO. 7/ The general character of the mineral formation is gold and silver allied with baser metals, and is found in vertical fissure veins, in the rock known locally as trachyte, and is from 3000 to 4000 feet in thickness. The precious metals are also found in veins which cut through the sedimentary and metamorphic rock. The product includes gold, silver, lead and copper, and the districts in which mining is done are Sneffels, Poughkeepsie, Red Mount- ain, Paquin, Uncompahgre and Camp Bird. The first discovery was made in 1875 in the Fisherman and Wheel of Fortune mines, and the good luck of the camp has continued ever since. Whilst mining is the chief occupation, some attention is paid to farming. There are 30,000 acres under ditch. The crops last year were wheat, oats, barley, rye, potatoes, strawberries, cur- rants; butter, 1500 pounds; cattle, 1700 head, and horses, 400 head. The assessed valuation cf Ouray county is $1,162,265. Ouray now has its own concentrators and steam jigs for lead ores, its own lixivitation works for the gray copper and chloride deposits, its own stamp mills for gold ores, and owners of low and medium grade properties have a market for their production which does not consume the bulk of their labor in railway and smelting charges. The output for last year was $3,025,393, of which $566,435 was in gold, $1,882,059 in silver, $325,873 in lead and $256,026 in copper. The production this year will be largely in- creased by the gold discoveries which have occurred in Camp Bird. In this respect the mining industry of Ouray is extremely flattering, inasmuch as in the past attention has been almost wholly directed to the silver- producing mines. The hope that there may be another Gilpin county in the State is one of the chief causes which enter into the existing condition of things and give to the people of Ouray the benefits of a substantial im- provement in every walk of business life. PARK. In 1860 the county was organized, and since that time has been pros- perous. It is named from South Park, which forms the center — a most picturesque and a highly fruitful section of the State. The population is 3500, from the Eastern States. The towns are Fairplay, the county-seat, Alma, Como, King, Howbert, Jefferson, Webster, Dake, Bailey and Hartsel. Stock and hay raising, lumbering and mining are the industries. There being no debt, the rate of taxation is low, sixteen mills for all purposes. There are good public schools. Three denominations flourish, Methodist, Catholic and Presbyterian. Three hundred thousand is the acreage of the arable land; grazing, 600,000 acres. In 1859 Buckskin Joe made the first discovery of precious metal in Buckskin district. The other districts are Horseshoe, Mosquito, Sacramento. Montgomery. Pennsylvania, Hall Val- ley, Tarryall, Beaver Creek and Weston Pass. The ores are lime and lead, carrying gold, silver, copper and lead. The output for the entire county this year is $309,496. Thirty mines are in operation and eight smelters, stamp mills, etc., the whole industry sustaining 3000 people. The future of mining promises well. Both coal and iron exist, the coal running in vertical veins. The transporting facilities are good and reach nearly all the com- mercial centers and mining districts. The Colorado & Southern Railway enters the county near the northeast and pursues a southwest course to Como. At this point the Leadville branch is sent out via Breckenridge. The main line extends south into Chaffee county and at Garo sends out branches to Alma and Fairplay, the county-seat. At Fairplay a branch is- operated to Leavick, in the Horseshoe district and from Alma a branch to the London mine. The south end of the county is traversed from east to west by the Colorado Midland Railroad. Along the whole of Platte Canon there are fine resorts, plenty of scenery and a wealth of shade. The Hartsel Hot Springs afford great attractions. In fact, the whole county is unex- 78 COLORADO. celled as a summer residence. For scenery, fine fisting and hunting, South Park receives favorable attention everywhere. Next to mining, grazing takes place. This year there are 20,000 head of cattle on the hills; 2700 horses, and sheep aggregating 19,500, raised mostly for wool. Farming receives considerable attention. Every product for home consumption, is raised, and the farmers are flourishing. PHILLIPS. Phillips couuty was taken from Logan county in March, 1889. It borders on Nebraska. It derives its name from R. O. Phillips, who has been instrumental in settling up the county. The population is 2700, mostly from Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska and the Southern States. There are good public schools. The Methodists, Presbyterians, Evangelical, Baptists, Christians and Dunkards have flourishing congregations. Nine-tenths of the entire county is available for agriculture, but in the absence of ditches the county is yet mostly devoted to the range interests. Thus far the suc- cess met with in the growth of cereals and fruit is flattering. The farmers have been blessed with an increase of 100 per cent, in products over 1897. The amount of all kinds of grain raised is at least 200,000 bushels. Only one real estate mortgage was placed on record during the year, but a number have been released. The merchants claim trade is 50 per cent, better than last year. A large creamery has been built in Holyoke. More laud changed hands during the year and at better prices than for several years past. Settlers have come from the East, bought land and gone into the cattle business, and there are many inquiries about the price of land. The Burlington Railroad’s Cheyenne branch enters the county at the northeast corner; thence to Holyoke, the capital of the county, in the center, and thence westward into Logan county. Frenchman’s creek flows from west to east, passing Haxtum, Paoli and Wakeman on its way. Amherst, Everson and Bryant are small towns in other portions of the county. Inas- much as the character of Phillips county is the same as the flourishing counties to the west and south, the presumption is that next year the people will see a greatly increased population. It is in the direct track of immi- gration and it requires only a few good crops to attract the eye of the settler. PITKIN. Pitkin county lies east of Lake county, from which it is divided by the Saguache Mountains. North of Pitkin are the counties of Eagle and Gar- field; Mesa and Gunnison form the eastern and southern boundary lines. The Elk Mountains range the western portion, and between these mountains and the Saguache Mountains the Cimarron river flows, fertilizing a rich valley. Aspen in the center is the county-seat, and is the competitive camp with Leadville in the production of precious metals. From a mining camp Aspen has within a very short time been metamorphosed into a beautiful city, built upon the mines that were opened in the town’s early history. Its store of wealth is in a contact in lime formation represented upon Hayden’s chart by the line of Silurian upheaval and outcrop. The contact between the lower lime, known as magnesian lime or dolomite, and the overlying stratum of pure carbonate of lime, is the mineral-bearing zone. The lode is known to be forty miles in length, and is traced in a north and south course entirely across Pitkin county. Development begun on the mountain sides near Aspen, has been extended northward to the top of Smuggler Mountain and southward to Tourtellotte, making a producing area of three and one- half miles. It can be readily understood that vast possibilities lie before Pitkin county. Besides the resources of this lode there are the mines of COLORADO. 79 Maroon creek district, the fissure veins in the Conundrum gulch and about Ashfort, the rich leads of Lincoln gulch, the valuable gold deposits of Inde- pendence, the copper-ore beds on Snow Mesa and the undeveloped sections on Rock creek. To give in detail the great wealth that has been extracted from Aspen and vicinity within the year would fill many pages. Take a mariner’s compass, stand in the center of this city, and the points and quartering points on the dial will each point towards rich mineral de- posits. There is mining territory within this distrct that, if opened up and vigorously operated, would give employment to 30,000 men. Since the slump of 1S93 the total number of men working in the mines here has been gradu- ally decreasing with the dawn of each new year until 1898. There are 125 more men, leasers and company employes, reporting for duty today than there were a year ago, although the greater portion of these are leasing. During the past year the total output of the camp is about 84,000,000, the tonnage being close to 350,000. One of the largest veins of coal in the world has its beginning in the edge of Pitkin county. It runs to Castle Gate, Utah, a distance of 600 miles. It is from two to five miles wide, from five to 120 feet thick, with an occasional stratum of slate or shale between. It is the same vein that passes through New Castle, where extensive mines are in operation. Sunshine is the brand of coal taken from the head of the vein in this county. The coking coal used at the coke ovens at Cardiff is taken from Pitkin county. The county contains clay for pottery purposes that is not excelled any- where. The coming summer may see some development along this line. Ma- terial sufficiently fine can be had for the most dainty of pottery, while coarser may be had for tiling, etc. This material is within easy access of Aspen. Some of the best arranged and equipped cattle ranches on the Western slope are in the Roaring Pork Valley, where hundreds of feeders can be seen grazing. An abundance of everything has been harvested on the farms, and not only the entire local market has been supplied, but 300 cars of potatoes, grain and hay have been shipped to Leadville and other consuming points. The abundance of early snow in the hills insure plenty of water for irrigation. The city of Aspen itself has an altitude of 7700 feet, which fact enables the work of development to proceed throughout the year without loss of time to the wage-earner. The present population is 9000, and the city is supplied with electric lights, efficient water works, banking houses, public schools, churches and ample railroad, telegraph and telephone facilities. The Roar- ing Fork river can be made especially valuable for its water-power, and at a no distant day this power will be utilized for manufacture and for mineral development. The completion of the tramway to Tourellotte Park aided materially to Aspen’s progress, as in its construction all the mines in the vicinity were afforded the facility of a cheap and expeditious transportation. Pitkin county receives its name from Governor Pitkin, now deceased, and if its future is to be judged by its past record it will continue to be one of the'greatest wealth-producers in the State. PROWERS. Prowers county is in the extreme southeastern part of the State, and is bounded west by Bent, north by Kiowa and south by Baca. On the east is Kansas. Being less than a year old, there are no county buildings. It has an area of 165S square miles, through which runs the Arkansas river. The surface is slightly undulating, of a sandy loam and fertile, especially in the valleys. The population is about 5000, and the principal towns are Lamar, the county-seat; Grenada, Holly, Carlton and Mulvrane. The people 80 COLORADO. come from all portions of the country and engage in farming and stock- raising. From the time of John Prowers, the’ first white settler, after whom the county is named, to 1S89, when created, it has ever been a fine grazing section. The assessed valuation is $1,348,235. There are good public schools, with 1200 pupils. There were fully 5000 acres of wheat harvested, which averaged thirty bushels to the acre. There was a large increase in the acreage of alfalfa,, and a number of new orchards came into bearing in 1898. The total product of this county — alfalfa, hay and seed, wheat, corn, oats, cantaloupes, fruits and live stock — aggregated, in 1S98, $2,000,000. This sum divided among a total pouulation of 5000 makes a respectable per capita. The most important public work in the county has been the prosecution of the big enterprise begun last year, whereby sufficient flood water can be impounded to irrigate 1S2,000 acres of land in addition to that now under ditch. Seventy-two miles of canal have been built to connect the various reservoirs. There is plenty of water in the Arkansas, the soil is fertile upon the plains, and the construction of irrigating ditches will take from the cattle- men these wide feeding grounds and convert them into beautiful and well- paying farms. The second town of importance is Grenada, on the Arkansas and at the mouth of Grenada creek. It is but eight miles from the Kansas line and is already receiving additions to its population, drawn from that State into the Lamar land district. This county has grown within the last ten years. Prior to that time it was but a dreary waste, indeed. PUEBLO. Pueblo in population is the second city of Colorado, but in business, pel- capita, she stands today first of the entire West. Her situation at the foot of the great passes to the mountains and at the gateway to vast regions of territory, all around, makes her the natural mar- ket, shipping and supply point. Gold, silver, copper, lead, iron and coal mines, producing millions of dollars annually and giving employment to thousands of miners; hundreds of thousands of fertile acres, producing such crops of cereals and fruits as are without superior anywhere; cattle and stock that demand the highest mar- ket prices of the country; raw materials that await to be manufactured into commercial products, are the basis of Pueblo’s growth and prosperity, a foundation as steadfast as the laws of nature. The city already has a population of 40,000, with these great support- ing resources but in the infancy of their development, and hardly touched upon. Pueblo has an altitude of 4713 feet above sea level — not too high and fully high enough. It is surrounded by an unbroken range of mountains which protect it in the winter time from cold winds, and a warm tempera- ture prevails. The chief characteristics of the Arkansas Valley are: Free- dom from extremes of low temperature, an abundance of sunshine, an at- mosphere with a low percentage of humidity. All these are favorable to the cure of diseases of the respiratory organs. From May 1, 1889, to May 1, 1898, a period of nine years, the average of cloudy days for each year was fifty-seven, the average balance. 30S days, being for the most part bright,, cheerful days of sunshine. In addition to this excellent climate, Pueblo possesses mineral wells and springs that contain great and even marvelous curative properties. Kidney affections in all stages and forms have been treated here with uniform suc- cess. Liver, skin and blood diseases of all kinds meet with speedy relief.. COLORADO. 81 f Hundreds of references and testimonials from all parts of the United States can be furnished on request. Pueblo has twenty-one public school buildings, valued at over $500,000. The most modern and approved methods of teaching have been introduced. High-grade principals are engaged. The average salary paid teachers is $98.09 per month. All denominations have places of worship in Pueblo. There are thirty- four church buildings, representing an investment of over $250,000. The significance of Pueblo’s railroad business may be more fully under- stood by saying that forty-eight passenger trains and 102 freight trains were handled every day in the year of 1898. A union depot, costing nearly $400,- 000, accommodates the travel of all the roads entering the city. The following figures, furnished by the assessor of Pueblo county, will give a fair idea of the extent of the farming, fruit and stock interest. They are from the verified statement for the year 1898: Acres under irrigation 37,965 Acres pasture lands 489,517 Acres wheat 2,998 Oats, bushels 35,445 Barley, bushels 41,619 Corn, bushels 106,022 Potatoes, bushels 1.746 Alfalfa, tons 60,451 Orchards, acres ; 2,036 femall fruits, acres 95 Butter, pounds. 86,085 Honey, pounds 48,471 Wool, pounds 2,500 Cattle, number 31.619 Sheep, number 9,614 The county embraces an area of 2377 square miles, or 1,500,000 acres. Only about one-fortietli part of this vast domain is under irrigation and one-fiftieth part under cultivation (30,000 acres). It will be seen that the main and most valuable crop consisted of alfalfa, of which there was produced a little more than 60,000 tons. This was valued at $240,000 Alfalfa seed 71,000 Corn 85,000 Cattle 632,000 Sheep 38,456 Wheat 19,500 $1,085,956 The alfalfa and corn were fed principally to the cattle and sheep and yielded about four tons to the acre, a fair average for this valley. RIO BLANCO. Rio Blanco, or the “White River” country, is the northern half of Garfield county. It was here the late Ute trouble occurred at Rangely, sixteen miles from the Utah line, and Rio Blanco, then Garfield, was also the scene of the Ute uprising, when Agent Meeker was massacred and Thornburgh and his command annihilated. Until within a few months the earthworks, the bones of animals and the trappings and paraphernalia of the troops were heaped upon the ground where Thornburgh was ambushed, COLORADO. but the rapid increase in population and the settlement of the county have converted the battlefield on White river into fruitful farms. A rough monu- ment, erected by the United States government, alone marks the place. Rio Blanco county contains 3141 square miles. It was created in 1889 from Garfield county, and the assessed valuation this year is $771,044. The popu- lation is 1500, of which Meeker, the county-seat, has 500. The towns of White River and Thornburgh have been laid out and platted. At the heads of all the streams and in the valleys there are forests of pine, spruce, hem- lock and fir. The coal hog-back runs from south to north, and at the head of White river there are some mountains. In other respects the surface is rolling and affords excellent opportunities for ranching and stock-raising. The total acreage of land available for agriculture is 150,000; for grazing, 1,280,000; agricultural land now under ditch, 25,000; unoccupied govern- ment land available for agriculture, 100,000. Rio Blanco county possesses large mineral resources, but up to the present time is best known on account of its stock ranges, agricultural products and as a paradise for sportsmen. In the east portion of the county low-grade silver-lead ores exist and have been prospected in a desultory manner for several years. The ore occurrence is in many respects similar to that at Aspen, and there is little doubt that with railroad facilities this region will receive more careful attention and prove productive. The coal measures cover a large area, and the coal is of good quality, but undeveloped beyond the demand for local consumption. Practically each coal consumer has his own mine and does his own mining, and removes the amount needed when wanted. In building stones, marble, gypsum and fire-clay beds the supply is almost unlimited. Dr. Hayden’s corps report large veins of asphal- tum and other hydro-carbons in the west end of the county, but these, like other resources, are undeveloped and must await transportation facilities to become valuable. Rio Blanco is one of the few counties in the State without a railroad. Several lines have been projected, surveys made, but none as yet constructed. This region is comparatively easy of access from New Castle, and there is little doubt that sooner or later this northwest region will have its railroad and development will be as rapid as in other counties when provided with transporting facilities. The climate is about the same as in Denver, and springs of salt, iron and soda abound, though undeveloped. Just now, among sportsmen, Rio Blanco is the favorite county for game and fish. It is a remarkably rich county because of its loamy soil. The agricultural lands equal any in the State. Here the grazing is perfect, and there being an unlimited supply of water, the attention of uewcomers is directed to Rio Blanco as a desirable place for settlement. It is believed that the population this year will be doubled. RIO GRANDE. The county of Rio Grande receives its name from the river which flows through it. On the north is Saguache county; on the east Costilla and Conejos; on the south Conejos, and on the west Hinsdale. Del Norte is the county-seat, with a population of 800. On the west side of the river are heavy forests of pine. The soil is a rich, sandy loam and very produc- tive. There is a population of 3500 in the county, and the other impor- tant town aside from Del Norte is Monte Vista. Farming, stock-raising and mining are the industries, and the people are prosperous. Rio Grande county was created from Conejos county in 1874, at which time the valu- ation was $327, S65; the assessed valuation today is $1,578,464. The Cath- olics, Methodists and Presbyterians have churches and one Sabbath-school for each denomination. Summitville and Jasper are the principal mining districts of the county, and the ores mined are gold, silver and lead. The COLORADO. 83 first discovery was made in 1869 at Summitville. These were followed the next year by a rush, but the field was not thought good and comparatively few remained. During 1872 a number of locations were made, and the fol- lowing year the region was again more densely populated. The introduction of mills during 1871-1875 followed. Development and production kept hand in hand until 1S83, when this region gained the prominence of being the third largest gold producer in the State. At this time nine stamp mills, with an aggregate of 155 stamps dropping, was the record. The saving made by these mills is reported to have been by far the minor part of gross values. The appreciation of this fact, the failure to discover new ore bodies phenomenally rich, which up to this time had been frequent, and various other reasons, caused a gradual but ever-increasing cessation in development and production. The mining districts that attracted so much attention and yielded large returns in 1S83 were practically deserted until 1893. Follow- ing the search for gold instituted in the State that year, a few prospectors returned to this section in 1894, and their numbers have been gradually increased from that time up to the present. ROUTT. This magnificent stretch of country is ninety by fifty miles in extent and is situated in the extreme northwestern portion of the State. The Park range of the Continental Divide is the eastern boundary; upon the west lies Utah; upon the north Wyoming, and Rio Blanco and Eagle counties on the south. It is the largest grazing county in the State and the last foothold of the cattle barons before the advancing hosts of farmers and less pretentious ranchmen. Routt county takes its name from the assistant Postmaster-General under Grant, who subsequently became governor of Colorado, Hon. J. L. Routt of Denver. No other county is so well watered. The multitude of springs forming creeks in the eastern part, and increasing in volume to rivers in the center, empty into the Yampa or Bear river. The largest of these tributaries are the Green and Little Snake rivers, and so well watered is the county that hardly a foot of the rich prairie is not capable of growing good crops. The highlands are the Danforth hills, Pinon and Midland ridges on the south, the Escalante hills on the west and the Elk Head Mountains on the northwest. The principal town is Hahn's Peak, the scene of excitement over the gold discoveries in that region. Upon the broad acres there is room for those who come and plenty of land for all. This county is the least developed of any of the counties, and in natural resources is the equal of any in point of future development. The assessed valuation for 1S97 was 1.240,578. Among the resources may be mentioned the wonderful mineral springs; the gold, silver, copper and lead mines just developing; the largest body of coal land in the State, comprising 1,250.000 acres, with coal of every grade, from the best anthracite to lignite; springs of crude petroleum; highly vitrified Dakota sandstone; a deposit of onyx, the largest on the continent and of fine quality; marble, undeveloped, but known to cover a large area; grazing lands, wide and fertile valleys, with plenty of water for irrigation and water-power; scenic beauty and a health- giving climate. The past year has witnessed an influx of desirable citizens. Each year sees a larger area brought under cultivation. Wheat is becoming a popular crop, and with two flouring mills there is a cash market. Hay is always a good crop. There are about 60,000 head of cattle, but the range is sufficient for many times that number. A few miles northwest of Independence Mountain, and just over the divide, are the Hahn’s Peak, Whiskey Park and Columbine mining districts. These are reached either by the Laramie and North Park or the Laramie, Gilman, Hahn's Peak and Grand Encampment routes. 84 COLORADO. Hahn's Peak is situated eight miles south of the Wyoming-Colorado line and about 100 miles west of Laramie. During the summer of 1865 placer gold was first discovered around Hahn’s Peak. Today it is known that every gulch heading in and around the peak will pay to work for placer gold. A hydraulic plant has been in operation for several years, often net- ting the owners $40,000 a season. About 8000 acres of placer ground has been located in the district. The lode claims in the district are equally as rich and extensive as the placers. Nearly all the discoveries are phenomenally rich for surface ores. The center of the gold region seems to be Hahn's Peak itself. It is upon that mountain that some of the best locations have been made, and the presence of great quantities of rich float leaves but little room for doubt that as the lodes are developed an abundance of rich ore will be encountered. Columbine is situated on the northern slope of Hahn’s Peak and extends to the Wyoming-Colorado line. It is an extension of the Hahn’s Peak dis- trict, the formation and characteristics being the same. Active operations have been going on in the district for the past three years, and many valuable claims have been discovered and are being developed. Mill tests made of ores from different claims give from $50 to $1000 per ton in gold and silver. Whiskey Park is situated some ten miles northeast of Columbine aud on both sides of the Wyoming-Colorado line. The ores of the district belong to the sulphide group and demonstrate beyond a doubt that the rich sulphide belt that passes through Clear Creek, Gilpin and Boulder counties in Colorado- continues unbroken along the backbone of the Continental Divide. A great deal of development work is being done in the district, and a large amount of ore has accumulated on the dumps awaiting transportation to reduction works. The shortest route to Llahn’s Peak is via the Union Pacific to Rawlins, Wyo., t lienee via daily stage line to the peak. SAGUACHE. Saguache is one of the oldest counties in the State. In 1870 its popu- lation was 800; ten years later the population had increased to 2000. It is now estimated at 6000. Mining, stock-raising and farming are its indus- tries. The Sangre de Cristo or “Blood of Christ” Range forms the eastern boundary; on the south are Costilla and Rio Grande counties; on the west, Hinsdale and Gunnison counties, and on the north, Gunnison, Chaffee and Fremont counties. A large portion of the county is a fertile valley, through which the Saguache river runs, and drains the mountain ranges- on either side, only to disappear in the mysterious lake of San Luis, six miles below the boundary line. Saguache, in the center of this valley, is the county-seat. Bonanza is an important town. In the southeastern part of the county is the “Luis Maria Baca Grant No. Four.” a tract of land 930,000 ac^es in extent. The mining industry is promising, though devel- opment is slow, owing to the dearth of facilities. In 1897 the output was $15,S51. Agriculturally the county is prosperous. The assessed valuation on lands and improvements in 1898 was $996,977. The scenery of Saguache is notably fine. Whilst there are no established resorts for invalids, the entire county is desirable, and in the valleys are found an abundance of shade, mineral springs and a condition climatically calculated to prolong life to a good old age. Just now the cattle industry is the most thrifty of the three industries upon which Saguache county depends for support. There are coal and oil, but undeveloped, and in the hills a fine quality of building stone is excavated. There is no dearth of timber and natural resources in other respects, and it only requires capital and railroad con- nection with the markets to make the county exceedingly wealthy. COLORADO. 85 SAN JUAN. Tlie “Silvery San Juan” has been a theme for a long time in the guide- books of the State, but not without merit, however. It not only sounds well rhetorically, but in verity the country is all that the title implies. Located as it is in the center of a rich mineral deposit, the development in this respect has been rapid. Gold and argentiferous galena are the metals, and the formation is porphyry, trachyte, granite and schist. The first discoveries were in 1860, but being remote from railroad facilities the county's devel- opment has been slow. As this difficulty has now in a measure been over- come, progress has been more satisfactory. The estimated output for the county this year from the districts of Eureka, Las Animas and Red Moun- tain was $2,973,712. The county records show 11.900 lode claims, 293 placer claims, 268 mill sites and 151 tunnel sites of record, and 1003 lode claims, fourteen placer claims and eighty-four mill sites recorded as patented in the county. During 1S97 an average of 996 men were engaged in mining, and an average of 168 mines and prospects were operated. The population is 3500, of which Silvertown, the county-seat, has 2500. The people for the most part are foreign-born, from England, Wales, Ire- land and Germany, and, as a rule, they are thrifty. San Juan county was created in 1S76, -the year Colorado became a State. The assessed valuation is $1,365,387. The county is situated in one of the richest mining districts of the State, and the resources of the county are derived entirely from mining, gold, silver, lead, copper and iron being found in inexhaustible supplies. There is some iron, a great deal of building material, but no shipments of either are made. The peak of King Solomon is north of the center, and the peaks of Sultan and Engineer mountains rear their heads in the southwest. The whole county cannot be excelled in picturesque beauty. There is a quantity of arable land upon which hardy grains and fruits may be grown, and in the valley and among the timbered land there is excellent pasture. There is plenty of water and ample room for a large colony of settlers, and it is more than probable this year that the San Juan will make some effort to fructify this virgin field. SAN MIGUEL. San Miguel takes its name from the river, the source of which is in the valleys southeast of the San Miguel plateau. The county is about sixty miles in length and twenty miles in width, with Utah as its western boun- dary line, and Ouray and San Juan counties bounding it on the east, Montrose upon the north and Dolores county upon the south. Its population is 4000, of which Telluride, the county-seat, has 2000. The other important towns are Ophir and Placerville. Mining, stock-growing and farming are the industries. The county was created in 1885 from Ouray county. At that time the assessed valuation was $16,841; in 1897 the valuation was $1,312,586. In 1876 mineral was first discovered, and the county has since been organized into the districts of Upper and Lower San Miguel, Turkey Creek. Iron Springs, Trout Lake and Mount Wilson. The resources are gold, silver, lead, copper and coal. Last year the output from these mines aggregated $3,308,361. of which $2,416,079 was gold. $696,538 silver, $155,228 lead and $40,471 copper. This year it is estimated that the output will reach $4,000,000. In 1881 discoveries of coal were made, and as development has progressed great bodies have been uncov- ered. The total acreage available for agriculture is great, and double this is the acreage for grazing. This area is well watered, has plenty of timber and a soil remarkably rich. The cattlemen report many head of cattle upon the grazing grounds and horses and sheep. In the northern part of the county is a tract known as the Shenandoah Valley, embracing 32,000 acres. 86 COLORADO. Its soil is of a reddish brown of great depth and exceeding richness, and is being rapidly filled with a thrifty class of settlers. The whole county, as a matter of fact, is rapidly developing, and the stock industry is especially thrifty. The assessment on cattle alone last year shows $50,100 on 5525 head, the minimum figures. The placers of the San Miguel river are won- derful. They ax-e rich in the extreme. As the industry progresses under the improved condition of a more thickly populated community this supply is rather increased. Farming, though yet in its infancy, is making satisfac- tory progress. "Wheat, oats, barley and rye grow well, and potatoes are especially productive. Several large ditches ai-e in course of construction, and the projects, when completed, will bi'ing under cultivation the entire territory between the Uncompahgre Plateau and the Utah line. SEDGWICK. In the extreme northeast is situated the new county of Sedgwick. The area is 576 square miles, with Julesbui’g the county-seat. The county was created in 1889 from Logan county, and named in honor of General Sedg- wick. The population is 1500, of which Julesburg has 500, composed mostly of settlers from Nebraska and Iowa. Agriculture flourishes here, the soil being a sandy loam, with a gently undulating surface. The county has good public schools, a census of 500, and public school property to the value of $15,000. Denominationally the people suppox-t the Congregational, Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic and Evangelical churches. The Denver Short Line of the Union Pacific Railroad runs through the county a distance of forty miles. For phthisis the climate is excellent, the atmosphere being dry and invigorating. A portion of it is well watered by the Platte x-iver and many fine springs, making one of the best counties in the State for grazing. Cattle three and four years ago were scattered here and there, where now are thousands. There are no lax-ge herds, but many small bunches i*anging in number from fifty to 500, and every man living outside of town limits is laying up money on cattle and sheep. Farming, when tried by natural rainfall, was a failure with few excep- tions. The same land now under irrigation is bx-inging forth forty to fifty bushels of wheat per acre and other grains in proportion. The grain buyers have done a good business this year. There are ten ditches in the county from foxxr to eighteen miles in length. Alfalfa is selling for $4 per ton and wild hay at about the same price. Many cax’loads of fat cattle and feeders are being shipped; also hogs and sheep, which find ready sale in Denver. Potatoes are raised in abundance. Fruit-raising is not extensive. Only those who have windmills have raised any qxxantity. Strawberries, cherries and other small fruits have been in abundance for home demand, and straw- berries have been shipped to Nebraska points. The town of Julesburg, the eoxxxxty-seat, has undergone many improve- ments. A $15,000 schoolhouse has been built which will hold 200 scholars. A grain elevator has been built. The Union Pacific Railroad Co. has built new coal chutes. New chxxrches and residences have been built, and not a saloon or clubrooxn can be found inside of the coxxnty. The county has only about $4000 indebtedness. SUMMIT. With an altitude of over 7800 feet for the whole county, there is little else to do in Summit except to mine. As the name implies, and the geo- graphical location confirms, Summit county is upon the top of the moun- tain range, with Gray’s Peak at one end and Lincoln Peak at the other. It was one of the original counties, and even in 1860, a year or more after the COLORADO. 87 gold deposits were discovered, was rated as a great mineral section. The minerals are gold, silver, lead and copper. Gold is found in veins in con- nection with other minerals, also in native purity varying in size from the brightest flakes to nuggets of eight or ten pounds. The placers themselves are great producers. Silver is found with lead and copper deposits rather than in fissures and contact veins. The principal districts are Blue River, Ten Mile, Snake River and Rock Creek. The output last year was approxi- mately $831,538, of which gold will value $337,320, silver $403,967, lead $72,480, copper $17,771. There are about eighty-six mines in operation and about twenty mills and concentrators. The population dependent upou mining, for employment exceeds 3500. The people are from every section and are for the most part active and enterprising. Being mountainous, the scenery is picturesque; in summer the weather is pleasant; there are plenty of drives and good fishing; the highest peaks and ranges accessible; good ytater and good hotels — all in all the entire county is a most attractive resort for the tourist. For the invalid, however, the altitude is hardly suitable, and sufferers should keep in the val- leys and lowlands generally. Railroad facilities are afforded by the Colo- rado & Southern Railway. Down the Blue river ranchmen feed their herds. Here grass most nutritious is found, and, there being plenty of good water, stock is fattened upon the range for the market. The public school system is good. Three denominations flourish — the Catholic, Methodist and Con- gregational. The assessed valuation for the year was $953,372. WASHINGTON. The county of Washington, in the northeastern portion of the State, is in the rain-belt area of Northern Colorado. It was organized in 1887, with an assessed valuation of $900,000. In April, 1889, it was divided, and from the other portion Yuma county was created. The assessed valu- ation of Washington county for 1898 was $741,778, with less than one-half as much territory as in 1887. The soil cannot be excelled by any State in the Union. It consists of a top soil of a light brown, turning darker after being broken, and a subsoil of an inexhaustibly fructifying nature. The Platte river and tributaries have an abundance of water, and for wells a copious supply is obtained at a depth of thirty feet. Besides, there are natural springs. The crops of small grain have done splendidly this year, and the large quantities of trees that have been planted are very promising. The population of this county is 1200, of which Akron has 500. The people are all of a thrifty class from the New England States and Ne- braska. Akron, the county-seat, is a bright town, with a good hotel and a large railroad population. In addition to farming, there is the cattle indus- try, from which the people derive great benefits. For this business the county is especially adapted. The soil is covered with a medium growth of buffalo grass, with hills extending along the southern border of the county. Among these hills are valleys, in which large quantities of grass are cut each year, and they afford excellent pasturage for stock. There are four church organizations in the county — Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic and Christian. The Presbyterians, being the first to organize, have already a fine church building costing $3000. The Methodists have also erected their place of worship. Since May 1, 1898, there were shipped and driven in thousands of cattle and sheep, and at a very low estimate there were, on September 1, 1898, 2500 head of horses, 18,000 head of cattle, 25,000 head of sheep and 1000 swine. Prosperity of this sort has the elements of permanence, and though its rate of progress may seem slow the advance is more rapid than appears, because there is no danger of a backset. There were raised 10,000 bushels 88 COLORADO. wheat, 15,000 bushels oats, 20,000 bushels corn, 20,000 tons hay, millet and other forage, this being all fed to stock last winter. While Washington is not a mining county, the prospects are bright for one of the largest placer mines in the State. Ore sent to London retains an assay of one ounce of gold to the ton. This mineral can be worked by the electric process at a cost of $1 per ton. There is a good opening here for men of money to open up these resources. There is no section where the conditions are more favorable for breeding and raising live stock than this county. The essentials for success in this business are cheap grazing lands, a suitable climate, good water and a good market. This territory being within a short distance of Denver and the great corn-producing States makes it valuable to the stock-raiser. WELD. Thus far in the progress of agricultural development Weld is the ban- ner wheat and potato county of the State. It is also famous because of its prominent associations with the history of Western settlement. The Platte, the Cache a la Poudre and their numerous tributary streams flowing through the western portion of the county form a large area of fertile valley land, possessing many beauties of physical feature, with the richest of soils and a most agreeable climate for every season the year round. Situated in the midst of these charming valleys is the queenly little city of Greeley, the county-seat of Weld. It was under the fostering care of the renowned Horace Greeley that the Greeley colony in 1870 made a settlement here and laid out the town site of Greeley. It was this identical spot which Horace Greeley held in his mind’s eye when he wrote the familiar but famous admonition of “Go West, young man, and grow up with the country.” Weld county formerly embraced all the territory now comprising seven counties in the northeast corner of the State. It is bounded on the north by the State of Wyoming, on the west by Boulder and Larimer counties, on the south by Arapahoe and on the east by Morgan and Logan counties. It was one of the original Territorial counties. It is the oldest and richest agri- cultural county in the State, and is famous especially for its abundant pro- ductiveness in wheat, potatoes and garden vegetables. It takes its name from Louis Landgard Weld, the first Territorial Secretary, and was organ- ized in 1861. The county covers an area of 4104 square miles, and has a population of 50,000. The entire county is generally level, with no forests, only the several streams being fringed with trees, with here and there well- shaded lines and lawns about the farms. The streams are the South Platte and Cache a la Poudre rivers and the St. Train, Boulder, Lone Tree, Box Elder, Big Thompson and Little Thompson creeks. The soil is a rich, sandy clay loam, well watered by a thorough system of irrigating canals, and yields all manner of farm products. The principal towns are Greeley, with a pop- ulation of 4000; Plattville, 400; Evans, 300; Windsor, 300; Eaton, 400; Lup- ton, 150; Erie, 800. Chief occupation of people, agriculture and coal mining. The first assessed valuation of the county was 8240,000; the last, $7,771,638. The county has 100 public schools, including the Greeley Business College and the State Normal School. There are eight weekly newspapers in the county, several church denominations, twenty church buildings and thirty Sunday-schools. Total acres of land available for agriculture, 2,000,000; total acres available for grazing only, 626,560. There is a great abundance of coal in the county, the coal-mining industry giving employment to about 2000 people. The first discoveries were made in 1865, and there are now about twelve mines in operation. The largest veins are located about Erie, in the southwest corner of the county. It is estimated that there is sufficient coal in the county to supply Colorado for 100 years. There are a number of main irrigating canals in the county, having an aggregate length of 375 COLORADO. 89 miles. The railroad running through the county is the Union Pacific. There are no health resorts, but the maximum death rate is about 2 per cent. Among the resources of the county are large bodies of building stone, which have not been extensively quarried. Brickmaking, pickling, canning and factory for vacuum pump for irrigation constitute the principal manufac- tories at Greeley. The values of crops for 1898 are as follows: Wheat, 900,000 bushels at fifty cents per bushel; oats, 100,000 bushels at thirty cents per bushel: corn, 50,000 bushels at forty cents per bushel; potatoes, about 4000 carloads, which, at the present prices, are worth something like 8600,000; value of horses and mules, 8276,000; value of cattle, 8700,000; value of sheep, $165,- 000; value of swine, $20,000. There are about 75,000 sheep and lambs brought into this county for feeding, as well as a large number of calves and steers now being fitted for the market. Plenty of good agricultural lands, cheap homes, good schools, good churches, good climate and numerous undeveloped industries are the chief Inducements for settlement in Weld county. YUMA. Yuma is one of the new and progressive agricultural counties in the northeastern portion of the State, in the rain-belt area, where all kinds of farm produce are raised abundantly without irrigation. It is, however, provided in part with irrigation from the Republican river. The county was organized in 1889. The population is 1700, composed mostly of immi- grant farmers from Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, and a majority of them are well-to-do and prosperous. It has an area of 1440 square miles. For- merly it was the eastern extremity of Washington county. In its general ■description it is a slightly undulating prairie, with broad stretches of level plains. Yuma county is bounded on the north by Phillips county, on the -east by Nebraska and on the south by Arapahoe county. The Republican river and Chief creek are its only streams. The town of Yuma is the tem- porary county-seat, having a population of 300. Robb, Eckley and Laird are farm villages of about fifty inhabitants each. The soil of the county is a rich, dark sandy loam, with a black joint clay subsoil. It is strongly retentive of moisture, and thus it is productive of vegetation in dry seasons. The assessed valuation of the county for 189S is $907,074. There are good public schools in the county, with an estimated school census of 800. The Catholics, Methodists and Presbyterians have churches in the county, with three Sunday-schools, and a church membership of about 250. Total acres of land available for agriculture, 914,820; total acres available for grazing only, 6780; total acres of land now under ditch. 10,000; unoccupied public lands, 80,000 acres, nearly all available for agriculture. Among the resource’s of the county other than farming is a large area of fine sandstone, two miles from Wray. As yet the quarries are undeveloped. The principal in- ducements for settlement in Yuma county are a rich soil, an abundance of available government land, and easy access to the markets for all manner of produce. Farm products find a ready market in Denver, Yuma and Akron. The extensive development of Yuma county, when its brief existence as a center of population is taken into consideration, gives promise of a great future for its leading industries, while its situation and natural advantages render it an eligible site for the settlement of the great host of immigrating people who are moving West in search of homes and occupations. 90 COLORADO. CLIMATE AND SOIL. A word or two more on Colorado considered agriculturally. Colorado is a large State, containing over 104,000 square miles of arable and mountain land, nearly half of which lies on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. Three decades have not yet passed since the plains that comprise the half were among the things that were unknown and undesirable in every re- spect. The plains were a desert, arid and as uninviting as the savages that roam over them. They were not only arid, but elevated from 5000 to 8000 feet — so high that it was supposed nothing could be grown. So small has the rainfall been in the past time the soil seems never to have been thoroughly wet, much less leached by rains; hence its fertility, not only on the surface, but to any depth where shale and rocks do not intervene. Since meteorological observations have been recorded in the State the an- nual rainfall has never exceeded twenty inches, and in some seasons it has fallen as low as nine inches. For twenty-nine years the average rainfall has been less than fifteen inches — a third of the amount of rain necessary to make crops in rain sec- tions. Under these conditions, without any knowledge of the quality of our soil, the influence of climate and irrigation, the agricultural outlook was by no means inviting, but a single trial dispelled all theory and all fears as to the possibilities of success in agriculture. The soil was found to contain every element of fertility necessary to produce all plants adapted to this latitude. The climatic influences were even more congenial and favorable to vegetation than elsewhere, and irrigation afforded advantages and insured success no other State East or West enjoys. In Major J. W. Powell’s report to the Government on “The Lands of the Arid Region” great stress is laid on the fact which has been uniformly observed that in the first years of settlement" the streams have steadily increased in volumes. This fact is noted in California, Utah and Colorado, where irrigation has been extensively practiced. Major Powell does not attribute this to the laying of railway tracks or the construction of tele- graph poles, or altogether to the cultivation of the soil — three active agents usually quoted — but rather to the artificial changes wrought by man on the earth’s surface. The destruction of forests, the cropping of the grasses, the treading of the soil by cattle, the destruction of beaver dams, causing a draining of ponds, the clearing of driftwood from stream channels, the draining of upland meadows, all conspire to increase the volume of water in streams, and all this is added to the supply of water to be used in irriga- tion. Of course, an increased surface of water produces increased rainfall in this dry atmosphere. This view is cheering to the agriculturist, it being based on the observation of years that with the advance guard of the farmer comes a steadily sure increase both in rainfall and increased volume in every stream. THE ALTITUDES OF FARMING LANDS in Colorado range from 3500 to 8000 feet. From all the mountain streams and watercourses on either side, canals and ditches are projected for miles, covering immense tracts of rich and productive land. So soon as water is applied to them they produce wonderful crops with much less labor than the land in wooded sections. The soil varies and is represented by the grav- elly, sandy, clayey, loamy, calcareous, peaty and adobe soils of the best grades, suitable and remarkably well adapted to the production of small grain, grasses, vegetables, fruits and trees of all kinds that grow elsewhere in this latitude. In growing wheat, oats, barley and rye our soil and climate, aided by irrigation, are so much better suited to them than they are found to be in rainy countries and sections that the grain is much heavier, better feed and COLORADO. 91 more prolific. So improved are they in every way that when compared the seed and the grain raised from it the first year are so different as not to be recognized as the same. Our dry climate has a tendency to make all white grain whiter and all colored seeds much more clearly defined in color. The wheats received from all countries for trial here become much better in milling properties after being raised two or three years. The bran is thin- ner and the gluten more abundant and of better quality. WHAT CAN BE RAISED AND WHAT IT COSTS. All the cereals except rice grow to perfection, making more than the common average crop reported elsewhere. The cost of raising wheat per acre varies on account of the yield and difficulties attending its cultivation. The average cost of putting it in, irrigating, harvesting and preparing it for market, sacked, is about $12.50 per acre. Many farms lay So well and have water so convenient that some crops are produced for half that amount. The largest yields recorded in the State are forty-eight, fifty-four, sixty-six and seventy bushels per acre, field culture. The average yield per acre over the State in 1886 was twenty-three bushels; in 1887, 26.5. Oats yield much more and weigh from forty to fifty-four pounds per bushel. Our dry climate, the strong mineral soil and the timely application of water at the time the crops need it have a tendency to make all grain heavier and of a better quality. BARLEY AND RYE exceed themselves from the same causes in weight, color, quality and yield. They are nearly double the size of the seed received, and the common winter rye becomes in many instances, a perennial, producing crop after crop from the same roots. A ready market is found for all the cereals at a fair price. Unlike small grains, CORN for some years was not a success on account of cool nights and high altitude. But for the past few years certain varieties have been so improved and acclimated that in nearly all portions of the State they are as successfully grown as elsewhere, producing as high as twenty-five, forty and even sixty bushels per acre, and the fodder is of a superior quality. Corn requires much less water than the small grains. It is often raised without a single irrigation, and has been successfully matured at an altitude of 6000 feet without water. The flint varieties of corn are remarkably well adapted to this climate, ripening always before frost and making a large yield. The dent corn is longer in maturing and is often caught by early frosts; how- ever, several varieties have been so improved as to ripen in 100 days all over the State. So much is now raised that it has become an important factor in feeding. The cost of raising corn in Colorado varies, as does the cost of other products. The average over the State is about $11.50, and the fodder is estimated to pay for the work of cultivation, that is, when the corn is cut up, cured and housed at the proper time. THE GRASSES, both tame and wild, are becoming the most important of all stock foods. The tame grasses are successfully grown, make large yields of very nutri- tive hay, and, as shown by analysis, are nearly double in valuable albumi- noids when compared with the same grasses in rainy sections. Timothy, orchard and bluegrass make two crops a year, producing one and one-half to COLORADO. 32 two und one-half tons per acre. By forcing them by irrigation in some soils they will make three crops of hay. When sown with clover and alfalfa timothy and orchard grass make but one crop. The three wild grasses, viz., gramma, buffalo and blue-stem, constitute from 75 to 90 per cent, of the entire grass product upon which the range stock subsists. The comparative analyses of these grasses show their nutri- tive value to be superior to all others elsewhere, and certainly the condition of the stock that feeds upon them verifies this assertion. The first two are strictly pasture grasses, while the blue-stem grows tall and thick enough to be cut for hay. Until within a few years the public domain has been used in pasturing immense herds of cattle, horses and sheep the year around. At this time cattle brought paying prices, making the stock business one of the most lucrative in the State. Now that the most of this land is fenced and the price of beef cattle is low fewer herds are seen on the range. Instead of increasing, stockmen are making their herds much smaller and of better blood, whith they find pays as well as large herds of poorer stock. The clovers are among our best forage plants. They make our largest paying hay crops, and are most admirably adapted to the soils and climate of this arid region. The common red clover makes three crops of hay a year, and, what seems strange to Eastern people, the second and third cuttings make as good hay as the first. This clover makes two crops of seed in the same season — a thing never heard of in any other section. In July the first crop makes five or six bushels of seed per acre, and in October the second crop turns out one and one-half to two bushels more. Clover, as yet, has not been affected by any disease, nor has it even in any locality been killed out where it received the proper treatment. Mammoth, white and alsike clovers, like the red clover, grow most luxuriantly, making large ■crops of hay and seed. ALFALFA IS KING of all clovers. It is an all-purpose plant, being relished by all kinds of stock. Up to this time no known forage plant has been found to equal if. Its growth, with and without water, is simply enormous. Having once a good stand, it tenaciously defies all effort to eradicate it. Plowing in, turn- ing it over, only makes it grow and produce, better. It makes three, and sometimes four, cuttings a year, averaging from one and one-half to three tons per cutting. In some portions of the State it is cut every month, from June to October. For milk and meat, with bran and meal, no forage plant does better. The cost of raising it is quite small, as it needs no attention except irrigation, cutting and curing. On being turned over in the fall it makes a fine soil for small grain, and will of itself come from the roots, pro- ducing in the grain a ton or two of hay and seed along with the grain. CLIMATE AND HEALTH. The superiority of Colorado climate for all lung diseases has long been recognized in the scientific world, and the State has become the Mecca of consumptives. In all countries high altitudes and dry atmosphere are the healthy places for residences. The purity and peculiar qualities of the at- mosphere is the main reason ascribed. One important reason is the in- crease of the breathing capacity by the rarified air, the expansion of the chest and the power of the muscles used in respiration. Standard medical authorities give abundant reasons why the rarified air of high altitudes is efficacious in the arrest and cure of pulmonary diseases, and there are thous- ands of individual experiences in Colorado today which confirm their theo- ries. In an exhaustive discussion of this subject an eminent physician of Denver, who has devoted his professional life mainly to this study, illustrates his argument by showing the climatic or physical causes of purity of atmos- COLORADO. 93 phere as well as by evidence of experience. The relative attributes are pre- sented as follows: Dryness, as opposed to moisture. Coolness or cold, preferable to warmth or heat. Rarefaction, as opposed to sea-level pressure. Sunshine, as opposed to cloudiness. Variability of temperature, as opposed to equability. Marked diathermancy of the air, to be preferred to the smoky atmosphere of cities or the dense air strata of moist currents. Radiation and absorption of heat by rocks and sandy loams better than latent absorption. Mountainous transfiguration contrasted with flatness of level sections: Frequent electrical changes of atmosphere, also moderate winds (except in quite cold weather) preferable to continuous stillness of air. Inland altitudes contrasted with sea air. Without presenting the arguments and technicalities of a tedious scien- tific discussion, it is sufficient to show conclusively that in Colorado all the conditions of health are met. There is a sufficient altitude to cause lung and chest development; there is the dry, exhilarating mountain air, with an almost absolute absence of malaria; there is the tonic effect of a bracing climate, without its rigors; an atmosphere filled with ozone; cool nights in summer; a bright, sunny sky almost every day in the year, conducive of cheerfulness, and bringing a new pleasure every morning. It naturally fol- lows from these conditions that both mind and body are constantly stim- ulated in their functions. The most powerful argument that could be presented in favor of Colo- rado as a general health resort would be the testimony of the many invalids,, who, years ago, having despaired of life in the East, are now strong and actively engaged in the business affairs of the West. Everywhere in the State are to be found persons by the scores who came to Colorado suffering with asthma or consumption who now claim to be much improved or entirely restored to health. That the climate is in itself a preventive of phthisis is evidenced in the fact that consumption does not originate there. The few cases said to have originated in Colorado can almost always be found to have been inherited or brought in incipiency from the East or lower altitudes of the West. The pocket diary of a well-known citizen of Denver, who was cured of asthma, showed a record of only thirty-three days in twelve years in which the sun was not visible during the twenty-four hours. This record is an im- portant and leading factor, which, besides carrying with it all the peculiar attributes to be ascribed to a pure atmosphere, presents a most important fact, which is not overlooked by the medical profession — the curative in- fluence of atmospheric electricity. It is affirmed that the increased elec- trical influence of high-altitude atmosphere is one of the most valuable aids in the battle against consumption. With a clear sky the electricity of the air is always positive. Continued mediumship of the human body between the positive air and the negative earth is a constant renewal of vitality. For this reason camping out and “roughing it” as much as possible in dry and elevated countries is advised. The places of peculiar advantage in seeking health are the cities and towns on the plains and the park and pleasure resorts of the mountains. Fatients should not go to the mountains until after they have spent some weeks on the plains. The summer is the more favorable time for mountain resort. In many instances the plains are the most beneficial for a perma- nent residence. In this respect Denver is a notable example, and while it is the commercial metropolis of the State, it has also become famous as a 94 COLORADO. health resort. Situated upon an almost level plane, twelve miles east of the foot-hills, at an altitude of only 5200 feet, or a little less than a miles above the level of the sea, with a clear, bracing atmosphere, a high and dry loca- tion, an abundance of shade from the foliage, with a fine supply of pure artesian water, and all the conveniences of life at hand, it cannot be less than a sanitarium for all the ailments the flesh is heir to. The beneficial effect of Colorado climate upon consumptives is best illus- trated by the result in 202 cases under the care of one of Denver’s most eminent physicians within a period of five years, all the persons having come to Colorado while the disease was in progress, and classified as fol- lows: First stage (deposit), 75; second stage (softening), 42 ; third stage (excavation), 85. The first-stage cases averaged one year and eight months sick before coming. Results: Much improved, 64; slight improvement, 10; advance of disease, 1. Second stage: One year and five months be- fore coming. Average: Much improved, 16; slightly improved, 12; fav- orable resistance to disease, 6; advance of disease, 8; now known to be in the State, 26. Third stage: These cases averaged two years and eight months sick before coming, and one had eight months’ residence in the State. Result: Much improved, 15; slightly improved, 22; favorable resistance, 17 ; extension and advance, 31. At the International Medical Congress, held in Washington, D. C., in 1887, Dr. Charles Dennison, of Denver, regarded as the highest authority on the treatment of consumption in the high altitude of Colorado, was assigned to that subject and made an exhaustive report from which the following general conclusions are extracted: “1. In the treatment of ordinary consumption, cool and dry climates very generally give more favorable results than those that are warm and moist; and both coolness and dryness are increased by elevation above the sea. “Conversely. As atmospheric humidity promotes an equable temperature, by the capacity moist air has for absorbing the heat of the sun’s rays and preventing the radiation of the same when once absorbed, therefore, too much importance has hitherto been given to equable temperature, since it decreases with coldness and dryness and generally presupposes a very humid atmosphere or a continuous moist wind. “2. As the most favorable climatic qualities, the coolness, diathermancy and dryness of the air, the amount of sunshine and atmospheric electricity, are increasingly found with increasing elevation and distance from the sea, the localization of the ideal climate we have been seeking is rendered easy in the Rocky Mountains and foot-hills, between the altitudes of four to eight thousand feet. This localization is further favored by the conformation of the country, the perfect drainage, the gradual approach to and the pro- tection of the mountains, the character of the soil, the dx-yness of the winters, the scanty rainfall coming in health-giving showers during warm weather, the abundance of room and fa voidable localities, both within and outside of the foot-hills — altitude and exposure to the sun, rather than latitude, deciding the question of locality. “3. The modus operandi of the curative effects of atmospheric pressure, lessened by one-sixth to one-fourth of that at sea level, seems to be that it acts upon diseased portions of the lungs through the increase of the res- pirations and the muscular action of the heart, thus promoting hematosis and a freer flow of the circulating fluid into and through the affected portion, which approximates a healthy circulation and pi’events or bi’ings to an end (when already existing) the stasis of the blood which accompanies or causes actual disease. “4. The generally accepted statement that a change of climate and mode of life is favorable to the cure of pulmonary consumption in propor- tion to its early adoption, is rendered more positive if the invalid resorts COLORADO. 95 to suc-li high inland plateaus as those in the Rocky Mountain regions, be- cause the results are more decided. “5. The stimulating effect of high altitudes, associated with accelerated respirations and more powerful action of the heart, is opposed to the idea of rest, so necessary to the cure of most human ills, but constitutes a most important agent in arresting chonic phthisis. “6. Generally speaking, tissue change should be stimulated or hastened in consumptives according to their ability to bear it; therefore, the conclu- sion naturally follows — as experience in Colorado proves that altitude has- tens tissue change-Whe better the resistance of the system to this change the more, generally speaking, is elevation indicated. ‘‘7. Though change of occupation and out-door life, are very important means of arresting consumption, yet the aid of an atmosphere of lessened pressure is worthy to rank with such hygienic measures as an additional remedy; a statement hitherto not accepted by many. “8. Lessened barometric pressure — twenty-five to twenty-four inches— being an important condition of successful climatic treatment, a resort to a well chosen elevated climate should constitute part of the physician's advice to every consumptive, who can follow it, for whom the elevation is not specially contra-indicated. “9. The favorable or positive influence of high altitude upon the progress of consumption is best shown in the commencement of chronic inflammatory and hemorrhagic cases, and generally in fibrous phthisis in young and middle-aged subjects with little constitutional disturbance. ‘TO. The unfavorable or negative influence of high altitude upon the progress of consumption is mainly seen in proportion as the disease ap- proaches or is complicated with the following conditions, which are in- tensified by an irritable nervous state and lack of desirable will power, aided by the stimulus and hope of youth, i. e.: First, cardiac disease, if associated with increased labor and abnormal activity of the heart; second, the stage of softening, in acute cases, and with extensive deposit; third, chronic third-stage eases with one-third to one-half of the lung surface involved in diseased charges, if the thermometrical and other usual signs of constitutional disturbance are present in a marked degree, or if hemor- rhage from a cavity easily occurs; advanced age being generally considered a further unfavorable modifier. “11. While the great majority of invalids may go immediately to the base of the Rocky Mountains (5.500 to 6,500 feet), in serious cases the approach to the elevated section should be gradual, according to the disturb- ance of the circulation, respiration, etc., at lesser elevations; this accli- matization, or the return of the pulse and respiration nearly to the usual standard, having there (say 2,000 to 4,000 feet) been first accomplished. And this caution is especially to be observed by those in whom hemorrhage or acute symptoms exist or are very easily excited. “12. Generally speaking, the more seriously the respiratory organs, heart, etc., are impaired, the less is the elevation that will produce a given disturbance of them; therefore, a lessened atmospheric pressure, with con- comitant climate variations, should be chosen, which is, in so far as possible, adapted to the physical condition of the lungs, state of nervous system, etc., in each individual case; or, to approximate a more concise conclusion, the ultimate prescription, so far as elevation is concerned, should be from one thousand to three thousand feet lower than that at which a somewhat prolonged residence would be injurious to a given invalid. - “13. While desirable coolness increases the oxygen-containing capacity of the atmosphere, altitude has a counter influence and necessitates an active out-door life to insure the best results; or again, the more an invalid feels obliged to remain in confined apartments, just as the more he is COLORADO. 9(3 deprived of his normal breathing capacity, then the more are extreme elevations unsuitable for him. "14. A somewhat prolonged residence is essential in the climate in which a certain consumptive finds his disease arrested; and a partial recovery generally necessitates a permanent residence, the return to the locality of the origination of the disease, except temporarily, being generally a danger procedure.” It is the habit of people everywhere, if they have any curiosity concern- ing Colorado, to inquire about its climate. Its reputation has gone abroad as a very healthful climate, mainly in its beneficial effect upon asthmatics and consumptives. Concerning this part the most favorable impressions formed abroad are correct. More information has been given through the public prints concerning the climatic advantages of Colorado than upon any other subject. And yet there is nothing about the State so little understood by those who have not spent some time within its borders. Usually the inquiries are made in the nature of objections. They say: "It is so ter- ribly cold out there.” It is not terribly cold. In midwinter there are brief spells of severe cold occurring at long intervals, often not more than two such spells in the year. In Northern and Eastern States such weather oc- curs at frequent intervals through the winter and often continues through the season. It is objected that “it does not rain.” It does rain, often and copiously in the spring and summer months, the time when most needed. It is complained that the “wind blows.” As it blows elsewhere, so it blows in Colorado— occasionally. Sometimes these winds are momentarily dis- agreeable, but they serve nature as one of her sanitary measures and their effect is refreshing and beneficial. The remarkable characteristics of Colorado weather are the prevalence of sunshine in winter as well as in summer, and the uniform mildness of the temperature all the year round. The exhilarating nature of the atmosphere is a matter of individual experience, which is expressed in the often re- peated declaration that it is “a luxury to breathe the air.” The qualities ascribed in general terms which exert this inspirating influence upon people are its lightness, dryness, purity and electrical conditions. The character of the seasons is that which has the greater charms for the inhabitant. In the mountains, during the winter, snow and cloudiness are much more prevalent, but the temperature has a higher average than in the valleys and plains, and the weather is seldom severe. On the plains a short winter and a pleasant season is the rule rather than the exception. Winter does not truly begin till the middle of December and ends by the first of March, when a cool, usually damp, spring sets in, continuing till the latter part of May, when it ushers in the summer. This is the charming part of the year, When mountains and plains and fields and forests are verdure-clad. Summer weather continues till October on the plains. The days are usually bright and clear, the sun’s rays become intense at times, but the mercury seldom reaches 90°. Very rarely it has reached 100°, and is normal in summer at about 70°. While it becomes intensely warm in the sun, it is not an oppressive heat, and relief is always found in a gentle breeze or within the shade, whether of house or tree. Sunstrokes and cy- clones are unknown in Colorado. The summer nights are almost invariably cool, inviting out-door exercise and inducing rest and refreshing sleep. In the mountains the summer temperature is almost invariably mild and equable, and so cool at night that blankets and wraps are never omitted. The autumns continue until the middle of December, and often later. This is the most delightful time of the year. For the most part it is warm, but seldom too warm or too cool for comfort, while cloudless skies, bright sun- shine and a mild, pure atmosphere prevail almost uninterruptedly through the season. Almost uniformly in winter the snows are light, evaporating under the sun’s rays, and remaining but a short time upon the ground. COLORADO. 97 It is an universally admitted fact among the students of science that the characteristics of climate form an essential part in the peculiarities of a country and its people. The patent virtue of Colorado climate in its influ- ence upon vegetable and animal life, and upon the health and habits of the people is so apparent and so famous that it has attracted interest in all parts of the world. TRIPS FOR THE TOURIST. The scenes, incidents and adventures of tourist travel in Colorado have furnished writers with the material for many of the most entertaining de- scriptive letters ever published in America. These letters found their more eager and more numerous readers twenty years ago, when there were no railroads, and when the journey by wagon, on horse and on foot, over the mountain trail or through the perilous passes, was fraught with difficulties, dangers and wild adventures. Then the Indian was to be found on every pathway, ready to take the scalp of a white man if he were in the humor to do so, while hungry bears and ferocious mountain lions lurked in the way. Such perils as these added to the hardships of pleasure-seeking under diffi- culties, added greatly to the charm of the narrative, as it appeared in print, and made a hero of the tourist. But such embarrassments as these must have taken much of the romance out of the trip and marred one’s perception of the grand and beautiful in the glorious mountain scenery and delicious air. These same mountain trails and difficult passages amid the peaks and chasms of the Rockies remain today, and the mountains stand around about them in their majestic grandeur, and the same rude facilities as of old for a tedious and leisurely journey are available on every hand. But the In- dian is gone, wild beasts are disappearing, and there is little left of the wild adventure of former days. With the new area of railroads there is a change that brings many' new charms, and affords the tourist a more delightful journey through the Rock- ies. With easy and rapid transit along the valleys, or plunging wildly through the canons, or whirling around and over the duzzy summits, the tourist of today may sit at the window of his luxurious palace car, charmed with wonder and admiration as the grand panorama of mountain peaks roll by as if upon a scroll — with here and there a charming vista of glens, peaks and valleys with their sparkling waters, their verdure and their flowers — an ever changeful vision of all that is grotesque and beautiful in this rugged configuration in the face of Mother Earth. Starting from Denver with suitable provision and equipage there is no part of Colorado that cannot be reached by private conveyance. Starting from the Union depot, all the great mining regions, the chief attractions of mountain scenery and many of the rivers, parks and places of health and pleasure resort may be reached by rail. Whether by the Colo- rado & Southern railway, through Clear Creek Canon to Black Hawk, Central, Georgetown, and over the famous Loop, the marvel of modern rail- way engineering; or whether by the same road through Platte Canon over Kenosha Summit to Leadville, or through Alpine Pass and Alpine Tunnel to Gunnison — everywhere his eyes will rest upon continuous changes of •splendid scenery, and the trip will be a constant delight, and as much may be seen in a day as could be traveled over in a week by way of the wagon road or trail. The tourist, if he prefers to make these daily jaunts, should be estab- lished at Denver as his headquarters, can leave the Union depot in the morning, passing over the Loop, spend an hou’- at Graymont, at the foot of Gray's Peak, and returning to Georgetown in the afternoon. There he can remain if he choose, returning via Black Hawk and Central to Denver the following day. 98 COLORADO. For a trip over tlie South Park he will leave Denver in the morning, passing through some of the most interesting scenery of the Rocky Moun- tains, and reaching Leadville early in the evening. After a day spent in viewing the curiosities of the great mining camp, another day may be passed in a ride over the mountain summits to Aspen or Glenwood Springs. Returning, another day’s journey is made from Leadville to Gunnison through Alpine Tunnel and over Alpine Pass. Then upon his return to Denver should his fancy turn to pastoral de- lights, he may take the morning train and make the circuit of the great farms and meadows of Weld, Larimer, Boulder and Jefferson counties, passing through the delightful little cities of Greeley, Ft. Collins, Loveland, Long- mont, Boulder and Golden, returning to Denver in the evening. Thus all the attractions of the plains and the east front of the Rocky Range may he visited in a week, with also glimpses of the western slope in the ride to Glenwood and Gunnison. HEALTH RESORTS AND ATTRACTIONS. There is no region in America richer in mineral springs than Colorado, while throughout the State there are pleasure resorts and splendid places of attraction of various kinds in great numbers. It has been truly said that all of Colorado is a health resort, and this statement is sustained by the most eminent physicians of the country. What, with its beautiful cities on the plains, its gorgeous mountain peaks and lovely valleys, its awful canons and their rushing torrents, its forests and streams, its broad green parks and charming crystal lakes amid the mountains, what more could nature provide or man desire for his welfare or his delights? Not only the health- giving mineral and thermal springs which gush spontaneously from the mountain sides invite the invalid and the weary; but in all the rest of these charms of nature is found a panacea for the ills and cares of body and mind diseased. Until of late years there was the only choice in America of the seaside beach, the inland resorts of New York and New England, and the Northern lakes. Now, with the lines of quick transit from the East and the West, with a large and growing industrial population, with splendid facilities for entertainment, with cosmopolitan institutions and customs, the Rocky Mountain region offers delightful summer resorts and all-the-year residences that compare with the most famous places of attraction in the world. Not only the invalid, but the tourist from all parts of the world, comes to Colo- rado for recuperation and rest. It is especially inportant that the curative properties of Colorado mineral waters should be understood wherever the afflicted may find it possible to avail themselves of their benefits. It is the testimony of the wisest doctors of medicine the world over that the mineral waters of all countries which contain such ingredients as are found in Colorado waters possess a remedy aud often a cure for rheumatism, liver, kidney and skin diseases, and always beneficial to the consumptive. The vast deposits of mineral in the moun- tains impregnate the waters of the snow, which bubbling up in some ro- mantic nook in the hills, furnish innumerable mineral springs, whose life- giving liquid has been availed of as a universal restorer. The aborigines of the country and the Indian^ of modem times have availed themselves of their benefits, and the latter add their testimony to that of the physicians and to the experiences of the white people of today, that these waters have wrough wonderful relief and miraculous cures to the afflicted. While there are a number of designated places of resort, because of the presence of these mineral waters and other superior hygienic conditions, it COLORADO. P9 tan truly be said that there is scarcely a town or station on the Union Pacific lines in Colorado where there is lacking the elements that render it a health resort, either by reason of its climate, its healing waters or its wealth of attractions for the health and pleasure seeker. IDAHO SPRINGS. Idaho Springs is a lovely village, nestling among the grandest mountains in the world. For the excellence of its mineral springs and baths, for its magnificent scenery, and by reason of its admirable location and well adapted equipments, it naturally becomes the finest health resort in Colo- rado. This fact is claimed for the Springs by thousands of people who understand the superior nature of its climate and the excellence of its local hygienic advantages. The place is of easy access, affording the most in- teresting trip in the State. It is situated at the head or western end of Clear Creek Canon, in Clear Creek county, and is thirty-seven miles from Denver. The ride occupies less than two hours, but there is no journey in the State occupying the same length of time that will furnish so many surprises of scenery and romantic effect. Leaving Denver, the train ap- proaches the foot-hills for a distance of twelve miles, and passing fertile fields and comfortable-looking farms, the cars, as if tired of coquetting with the cool and enticing-looking mountains, suddenly plunge into their very midst and in the rocky defiles of Clear Creek Canon, whose walls rise almost perpendicularly on either side, their height and proximity nearly shutting out the light of day. After a few miles of bewildering turnings in this laby- rinthian passage, the walls seem to widen and a beautiful valley is disclosed, and the train shortly stops at the pretty mountain town of Idaho Springs, nestled between the silver-seamed mountains, rising on either side. The little park in which the town is situated is about two miles long east and west, and scarcely half a mile wide, the land gently sloping southward. The streets are broad and clean, thickly shaded with rows of trees which are irrigated by streams of pure water. There are a few large buildings in Idaho, but for the most part the houses are small, unique of style, and very pleasing in appearance. It has two first-class hotels, two restaurants, and a number of small hotels and boarding houses. All these, together with numerous private residences, serve to entertain transient visitors and those who remain at the Springs for treatment. The altitude of the town is 7,543 feet. In its situation and surroundings Idaho Springs has many peculiarities of climate which are agreeable to the healthy and become the chief reason of its beneficial effect upon the con- sumptive and asthmatic. It is so protected by the great hills by which it is immediately surrounded that its climate is mild both winter and summer, sheltered, as it is from the severer winds in winter, and perpetually fanned by the gentle mountain breezes in summer. Add to this the fact that it has the advantage of. sunshine all day long, both summer and winter, and it is seen that with this equability of temperature there must be great purity of the atmosphere. Its altitude places it above the stifling heats of the lower levels and below the line of early snows and chilling winds. At the north i side of the town Bellevue Mountain, against whose very base many of the houses are constructed, rises high and abruptly, protecting it from the icy winds of winter, while to the south the mountains slope gently backward, allowing the rich warm sunshine full sweep of the little valley. During the summer months there are light rains, but only sufficient to freshen the air and lay the dust. In winter snows are seldom, and so light, that they do not accumulate sufficiently or remain long enough for sleighing. The summer nights are always so cool that blankets and quilts are never removed from the beds. The spring season is less diagreeable than else- where in the State. 100 COLORADO. The autumn is the most delightful time of all, and it is autumn from October to the middle of January. Of all times, it is the most desirable to linger about Idaho Springs and drink in, not only the healing waters, but the delicious, invigorating- atmosphere. The skies are a broad expanse of clearest blue, flecked at times with floating clouds, whose varying tints and shapes the lover of nature never wearies in watching, and through the misty haze which lingers on the mountain slopes the thousand hues of the frosted foliage adorn the landscape at every hand. These are the days to climb to the mountain tops, and numerous and easy are the mountain roads leading from Idaho Springs. Only twenty-five miles from the plains, there is a vast difference in the temperature during the winter months. Here is one fact which alone is sufficient illustration of the mildness of winter weather in places protected, as Idaho Springs is, by the mountains. Frequently when the mercury registers vezo and below on the plains, it registers 45° to 50° above at Idaho Springs. This is a remarkable statement, but it is vouched for by the most reliable citizens of the place, to say nothing of the records. These and many more are the reasons why Idaho Springs is one of the best resorts in the world for people afflicted with lung disease. There is one notable instance of the superior climatic influences at that particular place. Seven years ago Dr. P. Brumund, late a resident physician at Idaho Springs, came to Denver with consumption, a physical wreck so Complete that he found he could live but a short time in the latter city. After a few weeks, being compelled to leave or soon end his career, he went to Idaho Springs. After a residence of a short time he had recovered sufficiently to become actively engaged in his profession. In this connection. Dr. Brumund is authority for the statement that numerous cases of a similar character are constantly occurring, and he gives in part the reasons assigned above, with some degree of the credit due to the general curative nature of the waters. The extraordinary virtues of the waters in the treatment of consumption are vouched for by every reputable physician in the State, to say nothing of the thousands of men and women who have drank and bathed in them, and after a short time gone away greatly relieved or entirely healed. As before stated, the waters, apart from all climatic effects, have their peculiar efficacy in the treatment of victims to rheumatism, liver, kidney or skin diseases, asthma, incipient consumption, malarial poisoning and nervous prostration from overwork. Dr. Brumund died in 1889. The springs and baths are located close together, only a few rods apart, a five-minutes’ walk from the leading hotels and within easy reach from all parts of the city. These springs are both hot and cold, springing from the base of Santa Fe Mountain, only a few yards apart. Close by the springs a swimming pool and a bath house, furnished with all needful conveniences, are built. These places become the resort of both sexes, singly or in pairs, or in mixed parties, bathing suits and all the paraphernalia of a watering place being furnished by the manager of the baths. The hot mineral springs furnish an unlimited supply of clearest water, varying in temperature from 85° to 120° Fahrenheit, and abundantly supply the large pools and the baths. The private baths are so arranged that one may take either a douche, tub, shower or sitz bath as desired, tempering the water to suit himself. But the greatest feature of all about these springs is the hot cavern, or natural Russian bath, or Turkish bath, if the name is preferred. But it still deserves a higher name. No artificial bath on earth can be compared in its benefits to these natural hot mineral water baths. The simple nature of their construction excites the wonder of all visitors. Following the lead of one of these hot springs, a tunnel was cut a few feet into the side of the mountain at its very base, and here a large pool was found — a natural reser- voir — treasuring an exhaustless supply of hot medicated water for the COLORADO. 101 afflicted of eartli. To utilize this pool was an easy matter. A small ante- room for the bather was constructed at the mouth of the tunnel. At the far side of the room a door was made leading into the tunnel. The ante-room serves both for toilet and the first stage of heat, as a preparation for the bath. The bather opens the door and closes it again as he enters the tunnel, and instantly he is enveloped in the vapory warmth which rises from the flowing stream or hot mineral water, and at the farther end of the tunnel is the pool of hot water where the bather may revel to his heart's content. It has all the benefits of a Turkish bath, with the additional virtue of the mineral ingredients. The bath is both excellent and effective, the steamy vapor causing the perspiration to pour forth in a torrent, cleansing the opened pores and carrying away the poisonous elements of the blood and skin. These baths are especially efficacious in the treatment of chronic rheumatism, in- flammatory rheumatism, enlarged and stiffened joints and other kindred ailments, kidney derangements, etc. Especially in inflammatory rheumatism these baths have worked remarkable cures. Two baths have relieved the pain, and entire recoveries have been made in a remarkably short time. A chemical' analysis shows these waters to contain mineral ingredients similar to the celebrated Carlsbad Springs, Germany, and the following, by Prof. Pohel, is accepted as correct as far as investigation has been made: THE PROPORTIONS TO EACH GALLON. Carbonate of soda 30.80 Carbonate of lime 9.52 Carbonate of magnesia 2.88 Carbonate of iron 4.12 Sulphate of soda 29.36 Sulphate of magnesia 18.72 Sulphate of lime 3.44 Chloride of sodium 4.16 Chlorides of calcium and magnesium, of each a trace Silicate of soda 4.0*1 Grains 107.00 During the past year the number of visitors who have sought relief at Idaho Springs has increased 30 per cent., and as extensive and very im- portant improvements are contemplated in view of its growing popularity, of the many remarkable cures that it has made, and the fact of its nature as a health resort, it will attract people at all seasons of the year. There are numerous places of attraction in the mountains surrounding Idaho Springs, and all of them, including some of the highest peaks, are reached by easy wagon roads or trails. One of the favorite excursions is to the summit of Flirtation Peak, from which a long stretch of the Snowy Range and a large number of the loftiest peaks can be seen at one view. The Chicago Lakes, which have been rendered famous by Bierstadt’s ex- cellent painting, “A Storm in the Rockies,” is a favorite resort, and is reached by a easy carriage road, which gives the tourist a wonderfully picturesque ride among the dizzy heights. Other favorite places to be visited are Fall River, Bellevue Mountain and its gold-producing district, the trout-fishing grounds on Bear Creek, and the numerous gold and silver mines which surround the town. Wagon roads also lead from Idaho Springs to Empire, Central City, up Cascade and Ute creeks to Georgetown, up Virginia Canon, up Spyirrel Gulch to the Ute Chief, 12,000 feet above the sea. while all around Idaho Springs there are many of the finest drives in the State. 102 COLORADO. For the benefit of those abroad who have an indefinite idea of mountain resorts in Colorado it may be of service to state that good accommodations can be had at Idaho Springs at prices ranging from $7 to $14 per week. COTTONWOOD AND HEYWOOD SPRINGS. At distances respectively of five and nine miles from Buena Vista. The waters of both are medicinal, possessing valuable mineral properties and curative powers, especially in rheumatism, erysipelas and general debility, and are very highly valued by all who visit them. Analyses of these waters show that they contain the carbonates of soda, magnesia, lithia and lime, iodine, sulphate of soda, bromide, chloride of sodium and silica. At both, places there are several copious springs, 'the waters of which are thermal, and show an average temperature of 130° Fahrenheit. A new hotel and new plunge and tub baths have been contracted at Cottonwood Springs, and accommodations and baths are likewise provided at Heywood. The ride to Buena Vista eu route to these Springs is one which fairly entrances the tourist by the grand and ever-changing variety of scenery. The scenery of the valley in which the springs are situated is of great loveliness. Cot- towood creek, near by, contains fine trout, and the woods abound in game. Such attractions, besides the well-known curative virtues of the waters, have rendered Cottonwood and Heywood favorite places of resort, and large numbers of people find their way there every summer. Cottonwood Springs possesses many rare advantages of surrounding at- tractions. It is situated near the base of the great Saguache Range. Di- rectly opposite is Mt. Yhile, with an elevation of 14,187 feet; Mt. Princeton, 14,199 feet, and Mt. Shavano, of nearly equal height, all grouped together like three mighty giants, Whose heads reach into the clouds. Here is one of the finest views in Colorado, and it is their nearness to the Arkansas Valley, and the splendid view which they present to the beholder from any point within a radius of ten miles or more from Cottonwood Springs, that first suggested the name of Buena Vista. Cottonwood Lake, one of the lovely little mountain reservoirs, is situated six miles west of the Springs, a convenient drive from the Springs. It is filled with the finest of trout, and becomes a favorite resort of those who are fond of sport with the rod and line. In many other respects the charms of the country and the conveniences of the place render Cottonwood Springs one of the pleasantest places of resort in the State. MORRISON SPRINGS. These Springs are situated near the town of Morrison. The town itself with its many advantages as a pleasure resort for people within easy reach, or for a tourist's trip, is probably better known than the fact that it possesses five mineral springs, the analysis of which shows their value as a curative agent. No quantative analysis of the water has been made, but by the best local physicians they are said to be beneficial in dyspepsia and in the treatment of other functions dependent upon the digestive organs. The ingredients thus far discovered are soda, sulphur and iron. But aside from these springs, Morrison is a place of rare attraction be- cause of its wonderful surroundings, and in all seasons is visited daily by tourists, excursion parties and picnickers, who find more curiosities in and around Morrison than they can see in a day or a week. Up Bear Canon is one of the favorite drives of Colorado, and upon the several beautiful drives leading from Morrison and near the town are Soda Lake, Turkey Creek COLORADO. 103 Canon and the Garden of the Angels, all pretty resorts, situated amid grand and beautiful scenery, each affording delights sufficient for one day of an outing, while all the streams around about are plentifully supplied with choicest fish. Morrison is only twenty miles from Denver, a pleasant ride of one hour. The train, returning late in the evening, gives the visitor practically a day to visit these curiosities or to employ for himself in whatever manner he prefers. But should he choose to remain for more than a day. as many do, there are two excellent hotels and other smaller places of entertainment that have been established especially for the accommodation of visitors. Morrison is a permanent health and pleasure resort. It is older and better known than any resort in the State, and is visited by a greater number of people within the year than any watering place in Colorado. HUNTING AND FISHING. Rich as Colorado is in mineral and agricultural resources, in glorious scenery and a marvelous climate, she also possesses some of the finest fish- ing and hunting grounds on earth, the dense forest being the natural covert for elk, deer, and other game; its myriads of streams teeming with mountain trout; its lakes, whilst also full of attractions for the angler, being the haunt for millions of geese, ducks and other wild fowl. Taking the railway to Georgetown, thence by wagon or on horseback over into the Middle Park, a hunter’s paradise is entered. Within the boundaries of this beautiful spot are found elk, deer and other game in abundance, streams teeming with trout, and lakes covered with wild fowl, and the woody and hilly slopes filled with mountain grouse and quail. Nearly every railroad and trail in the State leads to hunting grounds which have no superior in the country in the variety and quantity of game. From Greeley to Fort Collins are numerous small lakes, which are the haunts for an incredible number of wild fowl. In the western part of the State are numerous wooded parks filled with the larger game. This is especially the case in Routt. Grand and Garfield counties. In this favored region elk, deer, antelope, rabbits, prairie chickens, ducks and geese are found in numbers exceeding that of any other section, perhaps, in the country. The same is true of almost every other county in the State where civilization has not driven out these native inhabitants of this ideal hunters’ ground. At a period within the memory of many still living, buffalo in countless numbers fed upon the Colorado prairies and on the sweet bunches of grass that have taken their name; but alas! man’s greed and cupidity have practically exterminated these noble rnonarehs of the plains, leaving only as a reminiscence two or three scattered bands, each numbering less than a score, in different portions of the State, which are protected by laws which should have been enacted many years before. These bands are in the South Park, in the upper portion of Routt county, and on the eastern border of the State, near Cheyenne Wells, and their number would perhaps not aggregate seventy-five, all told. As an evidence that the peculiar game wealth of the State is appreciated by its sportsmen, gun clubs composed of its best citizens are found in differ- ent localities. Among the most prominent of thees are the American Field club of Pueblo: El Paso club, of Colorado Springs: Boulder club, of Boulder; Longmont Sporting club, of Longmont; the Harmony. Standart, Ivennieott, Lakeside and Calfox clubs, and many others. Bowles’ Lake, near Littleton, managed by the Standart Shooting club, is one of the finest in America for the number and variety of its wild fowl. These clubs all 104 COLORADO. take upon themselves the self-imposed task of enforcing the wise game laws of Colorado, which are designed to prevent the indiscriminate slaughter of wild fowl and the larger game for mere purposes of pecuniary profit, thus preserving the attractions of the noble sport for the true sportsmen. Any lovers of humanity, especially strangers in the State, are, when properly accredited as gentlemen, heartily welcomed by these shooting clubs to the enjoyment of their hospitalities, including every possible facility pos- sessed by them for the hunting of game of every description. In the matter of fishing, perhaps every mountain stream and every lake in the State offers greater inducements to the angler than can be found elsewhere, and since the passage of the new game law, which, while it does not restrict the sport to certain seasons, does absolutely prohibit the catch- ing of fish for the market, and the well-directed efforts of the State, through its fish commissioner and the individual enterprise and efforts of its citizens towards re-stocking the streams, some of which had formerly been nearly depleated, there is now scarcely any brook, creek, river or lake in the State where the angler will not be amply repaid for his time and trouble. Within the past year the Union Pacific Railroad Company alone have stocked the South Platte with 100,000 trout. From the great interest in hunting which is being developed in Colorado naturally comes the demand for good hunting dogs, and the State boasts today of some of the most valuable specimens of spaniels, setters, retrievers, greyhounds and coursing dogs to be found anywhere. Naturally, the first question that would arise in the minds of parties in- tending the fish or hunt in Colorado would be, “What kind of an outfit shall I obtain?” The best answer to this would be to wait until you get there and ascertain the peculiar conditions and requirements of the country, and save yourself much unnecessary annoyance, trouble and expense. In Den- ver there are a number of establishments which make a specialty of hunting outfits, adapted especially to the locations in which they are to be employed, and the proprietors themselves are enthusiastic lovers of sport, and have a perfect knowledge of what is required. Of course, the usual requisites of rifles, guns, rods, lines, flies, etc., are needed there as elsewhere, but the Eastern man frequently finds that he has wasted much pains and money for appliances not suited to that section, and the best plan would be to procure the outfit there at as reasonable figures as the same could be pro- cured for in New York or elsewhere in the East. The grand old forests of the Southwest, the dense wilderness of the Center and West, the rocky defiles of the. vast mountain chains, the lim- itless plains with their wealth of grasses, the vast parks with their diver- sified surfaces of hill and plain, the cool and rippling mountain streams as they murmur over their rocky beds, the beautiful lakes of crystal with which the State is so bountifully spread, like jewels in one of nature’s most beautiful caskets, all invite the true hunter and fisherman to their cool and pleasant retreats, from the hurly burly of the busy world to the rational and delightful sports which are here so bountifully supplied by the lavish hand of Nature. THE MOUNTAIN LAKES. In raising up the great mountains of Colorado, Nature provided with a lavish and artistic hand for the necessities and pleasures of man. In the midst of their most rugged configurations are to be found some of the most charming and restful spots. Away up between the sunny peaks are nestled many little fairy lakes, whose crystal waters reflect the blue sky and the misty veil that hangs suspended from the summits above. In traveling through the mountains where these beautiful lakes abound, a recent European tourist was heard to exclaim: “I have seen nothing in the Alps- or the mountain regions of the old world to compare with it.” As if with COLORADO. 105 a view to the requirements of the coming time, Nature has made these high-wailed basins into reservoirs which are filled and continually replen- ished by the melting of the eternal banks of snow. These natural basins, filled with the crystal liquids, are of various dimensions — never of great size. Their waters overflowing help to form thousands of mountain streams, with their tiny cascades falling at times over precipices hundreds of feet in height, and whirling and eddying with a murmuring song through rocks and canons until, combining at points remote from their source, they form the rivers which are the life and being of the otherwise arid parks and plains below. * GREEN LAKE. — One of the most remarkable and beautiful of the natural reservoirs is Green Lake, some two miles from Georgetown, and 2,000 feet above it. Tins sheet of crystal is locked in a basin almost at the mountain top, and its waters, of a bright emerald hue, from the reflection of the dense mass of pines surrounding it on every side, and other natural causes, are yet so transparent that almost every object beneath its surface is as plainly visible as though there was not the clear fluid intervening, and myriads of trout, some of them of considerable size, can be seen disporting in the branches of the sunken forest beneath, and a person riding in one of the many boats with which the lake is provided, seems suspended in mid-air, the transparent water beneath him seeming too ethereal to support the tiny craft and its burden. Seen at early morning or in the afternoon, when the images of the surrounding hills and trees are mirrored on its bosom, Green Lake is like a beautiful dream to the observer, whose impressions remain for many a day. It is a favorite pastime for tourists and health-seekers who are sojourn- ing in Georgetown, or should they remain there but a day, to visit this lake, and while away many hours in this charming retreat. It is reached by a smooth wagon road, which, by easy grade, winds along the mountain side to the summit, from which there is a splendid view of Georgetown and the valley below. The visitor may choose his own conveyance, whether by horseback or vehicle, while many prefer a leisurely walk to the lake, thus having the benefit of the exercise and a closer observation of the many en- trancing scenes. It is a favorite resort of the people of Denver and other Colorado cities, who go there for a day in the mountains. A good hotel is provided at the lake for visitors, with accommodations to suit, at moderate charges. For pleasure parties, boating and fishing are the favorite pastimes, and ample provisions are made for such amusements. CLEAR LAKE. — A half mile distant from Green Lake, the very opposite of its emerald-hued neighbor, inasmuch as it is colorless and translucent, being constantly fed from the pure melting of the snows above. From this lake the magnificent water supply of Georgetown, 2,000 feet below, is derived. Similar in many respects to Green Lake, it is stocked with Cali- fornia salmon, many of which weight from seven to eight pounds. ELK LAKE. — Still higher up, and at the edge of the timber line, six miles distant from Green Lake, is Elk Lake. Its sandy shores mingle with the perpetual snow at the brink. Its banks are lined with small, scattering timber and evergreens, and it becomes a novelty to the tourist that one can stand at the water’s edge and gather flowers from the banks of snow. From this point a grand, view of surrounding peaks is obtained, while deer, elk and smaller game can be found in the vicinity. “GEM OF THE CORDILLERES.” — Still further on, and higher and higher in the ascent toward the summit of the Range, is another little body of water, called the “Gem of the Cordilleres.” This lake is above the timber line, is clear and cold, and half the size of Green Lake. It probably derives its name because of its eminent and isolated position; appearing as a single crystal set as a jewel in this upper chain of rocky hills. 106 COLORADO. TWIN LAKES. — Probably in no portion of the globe is the dream of the poet or the ideal of the artist more nearly realized than in the beauties of Twin Lakes, located some seventeen miles from Leadville. A pleasant ride on a good road alongthe dashing Arkansas, which here, at only a few miles from its source, is yet only an incipient river, with some widings and constantly changing scenery, framed on either side by ranges of majestic mountains, bring the tourist on an elevated woody knoll, through the forest depth of which the road winds, at every turn revealing new beauties, but giving no warning of the glorious revelation so soon to dawn upon the dazzled vision of the voyageur. After climbing an easy but somewhat tortuous grade, shaded throughout with the most luxurious pine growth, a sudden bend in the road brings one to a small open space, from which he gazes down upon a scene which makes him deplore the poverty of language to describe. Spread out before him, like a panorama of celestial loveliness, are two sheets of water of ex- quisite beauty, separated by a tiny isthmus, which at this distance barely serves to mark the dividing line, but which nevertheless is wide enough to furnish ample room for two hotels and a carriage drive throughout its length, which in fact extends for a considerable distance around the circum- ference of the lakes. The waters of these beautiful sheets cover an ax - ea of about 4,000 acres, the larger being two and one-half miles long and a mile and a half wide, and the smaller or upper one about one-half that size. They are clear as crystal, and abound in trout, and on each are numbers of small boats, both for rowing and sailing. Twin Lakes naturally have a peculiar fascination for the fortunate few who know by experience of their attractions as a summer resort, many availing themselves of the fine hotel accommodations, or of the numerous romantic nooks in the neighborhood for camping out. Around the lakes are delightful grounds for campers and picnic parties, while just at their head Mount Elbert, one of the noblest peaks of the Rockies, rises to an elevation of 14,360 feet above the sea. To the south, and opposite Mount Elbert, are the Twin Peaks and the Grizzly, which rise in their overshadowing majesty in colors of green and gray and gold. Here game of all kinds abound, and all the facilities for hunting and fishing are provided by the residents, who can boast of a pretty little town, comprised of hotels, restaurants, cottages, and stores of general merchandise, having everything needful for the camper, the tourist and the health- seeking invalid. EVERGREN LAKES. — Leadville is fortunate in the matter oflakesinits vicinity, as a drive of six miles over a magnificent boulevard brings the pleasure seeker to the Evergreen Lakes, a chain of five romantically located little basins near the foot of Mount Massive, whose gigantic shadow is mirrored in the clear and placid surface of the upper or principal lake with all the faithful vividness of nature. A number of tiny boats are provided for rowing and sailing, a good hotel provides every convenience for the excursionist or traveler, from whose elevated porches are visible the glorious Tennessee Park for miles in either direction, the Arkansas winding like a silver thread through the center of the valley, and the whole gorgeous scene framed in by the Sangre de Cristo and Mosquito Ranges, giving a combination of mountain and valley, rocks, trees and water not often seen in such lavish- ness of nature at one view. CHICAGO LAKES. — There are two splendid lakes at the foot of Mt. Evans, high up in the mountains, the larger one being eight miles and the smaller eleven miles from Idaho Springs; Idaho Springs being the outfitting and starting point for tourists. From these lakes a grand view of mountain scenery is obtained, Mt. Evans, in the midst of numerous peaks, rising to a height of 11,000 feet above the sea. The lakes abound in fish, and rowing and fishing becomes the chief pastime of the tourist, aside from the luxuries COLORADO. 107 and the novelties of the situation and its surroundings. This is a conve- nient and favorite resort of Colorado people, who prefer to make Only brief trips to the mountains. It is one of the attractions that should not be missed by the tourist, who will find all the facilities required for the short and easy ascent from Idaho Springs, and also ample provisions for his enter- tainment at the lakes. The smaller of the Chicago Lakes lies higher up in the mountains, amid the perpetual snows, and its chief interest is the fact that is surface is frozen over nearly all the year round. COTTONWOOD LAKE. — Six miles w^est of Cottonwood Springs, Chaffee county, and twelve miles from Buena Vista, is Cottonwood Lake, a beautiful little sheet of water, which becomes one of the resorts and fishing points from the Springs. It swarms with trout of the finest kind, and in the season for wild mountain fruits, the hillsides are covered with straw- berries, raspberries and currants. THE GREAT PARKS OP COLORADO. The four great natural parks of Colorado bear an important relation to the State in all her diversified interests. They constitute one of her chief glories. They are not, as many suppose, small areas of level ground closely hemmed in by neighboring hills, and beautiful with evergreens and flowers and meandering brooks; but they are vast territories of country, large enough for a principality, larger than two or three counties of many States, and almost as large as some of the States themselves. They contain fields and forests, and great stretches of arid plains, where the herds of the cattle- men have succeeded the herds of buffalo; they are watered by creeks and rivers, and contain villages and farm-houses: they have springs and lakes, where hotels and other places of entertainment have been built for settlers, for tourists, hunters, campers and others seeking remote places of resort in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. These prominent sections are the North Park, Middle Park, Estes Park and South Park. All these are reached by the various lines of the Union Pacific Railway in Colorado. NORTH PARK is situated in the extreme northern portion of the State, and occupies a portion each of Routt and Larimer counties. It has many nat- ural advantages, embracing among them about three hundred square miles of the finest grazing lands in the world. It is therefore a producer of sheep and cattle for the most part, while in agriculture its crops are principally the grasses and potatoes. The most feasible route into North Park is by the Colorado and Southern Railway, via Fort Collins, in Larimer county. The alternative of a route that is feasible at all into North Park, except by the burro, can be best appreciated when it is stated that upon the east and north it is bounded by the stupendous main range of the Rocky Mountains, which is so high, so steep and rugged and so unbroken, even by the usual canon or chasm, that the park is literally imprisoned within a great wall of rock, with only a trail or difficult road at long intervals as a means of entrance or exit. The passage which is made via Fort Collins is not a very difficult one except in winter. From the western side the approaches to the park are likewise rugged. The Fort Collins route is through the Cache a la Poudre region, famous for its superb hunting and fishing facilities. North Park is on extensive region, with many varying surface features. Its length is seventy-five miles, and width fifty miles, with an altitude of 9,000 feet above sea level. The ranges of the Rockies, by which it is environed, stand 5,000 feet higher. For game it has no equal in the world, while numerous streams running through it are the homes of myriads of fish, while there are plenty of deer, elk, antelope, bear, mountain sheep, grouse and quail, squir- rels and rabbits. 10S COLORADO. North Park embraces an area of about 2,500 square miles, and is trav- ersed by affluents of the North Fork of the Platte river, whence that stream has its rise. The park is, in its general features, an irregular plateau, or basin, its surface diversified with gently rolling hills and l-ong level bottoms. The valleys are clothed with luxuriant grasses and flowering plants, and the hills are covered with heavy timber, so that it combines all the natural beauties of hill and valley, forest and plain. Possessing all these advan- tages, it becomes of itself a commonwealth to the farmer, the herdsman and the hunter, while its clear, cool, bracing and refreshing atmosphere is ex- hilarating and invigorating, adding its charms to the many attractions that invite people within its borders for health and recreation. In the mountains to the west of North Fork is Crystal Lake, a beautiful body of water, which, as yet, owing to its remoteness from the settlements, has not been much frequented by the white man, and though it cannot be presented in reality as a resort of the present, except to the hunter and the tourist, the lake itself and its surroundings give assurance of becoming one of the great attractions of the future. There are difficulties in the way of reaching it from the park, but these difficulties add to the novelty and the romance of going there. The route lies through one of the grandest forests of the world. For ten miles the foliage is so dense that the sun's rays can scarcely penetrate it. and the silence, as the traveler wends his way by nar- row paths between the trees, though oppressive, inspires the tourist to moods of meditation and flights of fancy without the chance of interruption, unless, peradventure, a hungry bear or ferocious mountain lion should spring across his pathway, for these animals, in company with deer and elk, the bison, the mountain sheep and the smaller game, are the original and only resi- dents of this region, now that the Indian is gone, leaving this legacy to the hosts of palefaces who will soon take possession. Emerging from this dense forest into the open sunlight, the tourist finds himself upon the highest point of the mountain, in the midst of a grassy lawn dotted with tiny flowers, and in the center of this lawn lies a beautiful lake, circular in form, and nearly a mile wide, its crystal waters glisten in the sun, reflecting, as in a mirror, every object on its banks. From this point there is a sublime vision of forests below, and of dark ridges and lofty mountain peaks, and even glimpses of the Laramie Plains and the Black Hills in the dim distance beyond. MIDDLE PARK. — Middle Park possesses features very similar in most respects to those of North Park, but having many advantages in the points of natural attraction. In every essential it is one of the great resorts of Colorado, as it is the seat of the famous Grand Lake and Hot Sulphur Springs, the latter so celebrated for their wonderful curative properties, and the former for its great beauty and delightful surroundings. Like North Park, it is begirded by stalwart mountains, a great mountain spur dividing the two sections. It embraces an area of about 3.000 square miles, and has an altitude of 9,000 feet. The streams are all tributaries of the Grand River, flowing mostly in a southwest direction. The park is embraced in Grand county, and is susceptible to a vast amount of agriculture in the valleys of the streams, while the higher grounds and the hills are covered with timber and abound in game, and the streams swarm with fish of the finest varieties to be found in the mountains. The route to Middle Park lies through Georgetown, and thence over Ber- thoud Pass by stages or by any private conveyance that may be desired. Grossing the range from Georgetown to Hot Sulphur Springs is a good day’s ride of forty-five miles and filled with scenery that is wild, gorgeous and romantic. For hunters, fishermen, tourists and camping parties seeking a summer local ion for pastime and health, Grand Lake and Hot Sulphur Springs are the objective points, for here they find all requisite conveniences and accom- COLORADO. 109 modations, and from these points excursions are made to the streams and forests. From Georgetown the distance to Grand Lake is fifty-five miles, and to Hot Sulphur Springs forty-five miles. Fare for the round trip, by stage, $11. On the shore of Grand Lake is situated the town Grand Lake, the seat of Grand county. The winter population of Grand Lake is from 150 to 200, but in summer it is double that number, besides the number of visitors who are steadily coming and going. It has a good hotel, a saw mill, postoffice, a weekly newspaper, merchandise stores and a number of private residences. Thus far the accommodations have not been provided on an extensive scale, because of the custom of the people who visit the lake, who take tents and all necessary camping equipments for a summer campaign. Grand Lake is fed by two vigorous streams that rush down from the melting snows on the mountains, besides numerous springs that rise in the hills near by. It is estimated by scientific observers that about an equal amount of water flows away at the outlet into the channel which forms Grand river. This might be taken as a matter of course, inasmuch as there is but the one outlet. But there is an important fact which becomes of great interest, and, to say the least, opens a broad field of speculation. Around its borders the lake has a beach, and far out into the body of the water a sandy bottom. In the center, covering an area of nearly a mile square, the lake, to all appearance, is bottomless. The deepest soundings that could ever be made have failed to reach bottom. Hence it is concluded that it has no bottom, but that its waters must reach a stopping place in the bowels of the earth where there is neither leakage or seepage, is made apparent by the equability of the inlet and the outlet. Explorations of the edges of this great submarine cavern give the most positive evidences that it was once the crater of a great volcano. But how is it explained that this volcano is down in a valley away below 7 other mountain peaks? The only answer to the query must be that the present depression once occupied the prominence- of a peak, but that with the ages, after the fires -were extinguished, the earth has gradually settled down into the great excavation, forming a basin which attracted the waters from the neighboring mountains. For the uses of summer visitors, in addition to the numerous fishing and row boats, there are a number of small sail boats and a yacht having a seating capacity for thirty persons, so that the pleasure seeker may spend an entire day, if he choose, sailing about upon the water or taking good exer- cise at the oar. As for fishing, he need unreel his line but an hour in the day, for the fish are so plentiful and bite so freely, that to catch all one can carry is the work of but an hour. Ilot Sulphur Springs is a small town situated on the east bank of Grand river, at the head of Troublesome Canon, about ten miles by road from Grand Lake. The springs are situated on the west bank, opposite the town, and are reached by a wagon road and a bridge. The springs, six in number, unite in a common stream, and flow over a ledge of rocks into a natural basin, over which the bath houses, with ante-rooms adjoining, are built. The waters boil up from the base of a cliff at a temperature of 117°. Into this steaming caldron the bather ventures, and if he has physical ails for -which sulphurous fumes are a panacea, he will surely be benefited, as is the testi- mony of many wdio have tried it. These waters, both for drinking and bath- ing, possess remarkable virtues in healing skin diseases, liver and kidney diseases, dyspepsia, rheumatism and a host of kindred complaints. High up among the mountains, southwest from the Hot Sulphur Springs, are some effervescing soda springs, which as yet are unimproved. An analysis of 100,000 parts of the water of Hot Sulphur Springs gives the following- result: 110 COLORADO. Carbonate of soda 38.44 Carbonate of litbia Trace Carbonate of lime 11.02 Carbonate of iron 2.34 Sulphate of potash 2.90 Sulphate of soda 43.06 Chloride of' sodium 22.48 Ammonia Trace Total 120.24 Gases Car. a. c. The hotel accommodations are comfortable, although many visitors avail themselves of the medicinal virtues of these waters by pitching their tents in the vicinity. A swimming pool and four private bath houses constitute the facilities for bathing at present. These resorts of Middle Park are fast growing into popularity and with advancing civilization and increased facilities for travel, the park will not only become a great health and pleasure attraction, but a populous section of the country. ESTES PARK. — Situated about sixty miles from Denver, and lying at the foot of Long’s Peak, is Estes Park, one of the most beautiful resorts in Colorado. The park is about six miles long by four miles wide, and is hemmed in on all sides by towering mountains. Its altitude averages about 7,000 feet. From Love- land, public coaches and private conveyances carry excursion parties and summer visitors into Estes Park, and also to the summit of Long’s Peak, an excursion which from grandeur of scenery and lofty and a somewhat difficult climb, but the way is made comparatively smooth by graded roads. It is the journey of a day, and will ten-fold repay the visit, for there is no point of vantage in the great mountain chain that gives at once a vision of cloud, park and plain so glorious and comprehensive as the summit of this most handsome promontory of the Rockies. This view covers an extent of 400 square miles, taking in every prominent peak of the San Juan, Sangre de Cristo, Saguache, Wood river and other great ranges of the continent. Estes Park has long been a favorite health and pleasure resort of Colo- rado people, and becomes popular abroad wherever known, because of its many delights. In general contour it is not unlike the other valleys which make up the park system of Colorado, abounding in gentle slopes, dark pines and beautiful winding trails leading from the open glades of the valley up dark canons. Its clear brooks, fed by snowbanks high up on the mountain sides, and filled with speckled trout, unite in one big stream, the Big Thomp- son creek, which, breaking through the hills, winds its way out among the fertile fields on the plains below. The view from any of the neighboring mountains of this eharming little valley is one of tranquil beauty, in marked contrast with the sublimity of its surroundings. It is the fashion of Colorado people, particularly from the cities and towns, to take their families and friends by private conveyance to Estes Park, prepared with camp equipage and provisions, and camp by the side of some of the delightful streams which are so numerous there, where, for- getful of the toils of business and the cares of life, they can rest and enjoy the sports of stream and forest. For the invalid or those requiring a more quiet retirement and desiring the conveniences and luxuries of the resort, a "splendid hotel is provided for the comfort and amusement of its guests. This hotel is situated in the center of the most beautiful part of the park, at a point originally known as Estes Ranch, but which might now be named Estes Springs, inasmuch as the COLORADO. Ill waters are strongly impregnated with mineral, having the medicinal values which have made the name of Idaho Springs and other resorts in the State so famous. From points within easy reach of the hotel, fine views can be obtained not only of the mountains above, but of cities, towns and villages On the plains below. SOUTH PARK. — This is the chief beauty of the park system of Colo- rado. It lies a little east of south from Middle Park, and is isolated from it by the great Snowy Range and a mass of mountain spires which intervene for a distance of many miles. Its northern extremity begins about seventy- five miles southwest of Denver and about twenty-five miles east of Leadville. It is fifty miles in length by ten miles in width. It is bordered on the east by a heavily timbered range 2,000 feet above the valley, while to the west the Snowy Range, the summit of the Rockies, extend as far as the eye can reach. South Park is inseparably connected with every step in the history and development of Colorado. Particularly is it associated with the earliest days of mining and railroad construction. From the first it became the half-way ground and the oasis for the miner on his journey between the mountains and the plains. From the opening at the summit of Kenosha Hill to the border of the Arkansas Hills on the south, the Colorado and Southern Railway runs in almost a straight line through the entire length of this lovely plain, which stretches out before the eye in its verdant beauty, the ideal park of the Rocky Mountains. In its peculiar position, as it lies between the mountains that border it upon every side, it becomes a vast amphitheatre to the panorama of mountain views. As the train speeds along through it, one of the finest views in America can be seen. The Snowy Range rises up in full view as far as the eye can reach, and in this view can be seen the highest peaks in Colorado, among which are the Guyot, Ham- ilton. Lincoln. Bross, Buckskin, Horseshoe, Mt. Lamborn and Silver Heels, varying from 13,565 to 14,336 feet above the level of the ocean. The park for the most part is gently undulating, with small hills at sufficiently long intervals to add to its interest and beauty, while there are intervening areas which stretch out for miles in level plains, forming de- lightful views that would entrance the eye of the artist, and could be best described in a picture, a poem, or a song. The maximum elevation of the park is 10,000 feet, and its average ele- vation 9,000 feet. The streams, which are supplied by melting snows from the surrounding mountains, are tributaries of the South Platte. These streams, flowing through the park at intervals, as if arranged by nature to serve a great purpose before starting on their journey of usefulness upon the plains, become the means of irrigating these level lands. Herein lies probably the greatest importance of this section of country to the State. Aside from its many beauties of location and its loveliness of physical feat- ures, and apart from its relation to the railroads and the mines, South Park is a land of great agricultural capabilities. Standing on the line of the Colorado and Southern Railway, at the entrance to the park, and looking southward and eastward through this lovely vale for twenty, thirty or forty miles, the view is unobstructed, and in the midst appears the vision of towns, villages, stations, farm houses, ranches and numberless flocks and herds, all giving the evidences of life, industry and thrift. But it is not a vision only. It is the realization, as if of a dream, of the development of this as of all parts of Colorado that is available to agriculture. Having served its good uses to the pioneer, it awaited only the coming of the railroad to reveal its greater purposes. With a soil that is unrivaled in richness, with easy facili- ties for irrigation, with quick and convenient access to the markets, and, withal, a fast-increasing population of industrious people, the grassy plains of South Park were soon converted into fields of grain. It has become wonderfully productive of the smaller cereals, of potatoes, hay and nearly 112 COLORADO. all farm products. Here all varieties of grasses grow in the greatest luxu- riance, and it is the most abundant liay-producing section of the State. Thus, South Park, in great part, has become an important self-sustaining industrial section, among other things producing cattle and sheep in great numbers, and of the finest quality. Around its borders are numerous coal beds and gold and silver mines, affording occupation for large numbers of settlers. In the park and adjoin- ing mountains, antelope, deer, elk, bear, grouse and rabbits are plentiful, while the streams are alive with the finest trout. But all these things inadequately tell what South Park is and what it is to be. Within the park are numerous mineral springs. It has not, as yet, been classed as a health or pleasure resort in any special way, but such it has become to the settlers, the camping parties and the tourists, and it has the capability of establishing within its borders one of the finest resorts in the world. Bayard Taylor writing several years since of his impressions of this park, says: “Whatever effect the climate of Rocky Mountain region may have upon settlers, there is no doubt that for travelers it is one of the most favorable in the world. It takes fat from the corpulent and gives it to the lean; it strengthens delicate lungs and paints palid faces with color, and invigorates every function of the system.” The South Park Mineral Springs and Hartzell’s Hot Sulphur Springs lie on the bank of the South Platte river, in the southern portion of the park. These waters have been analyzed and found to contain the ingredients in quantitive values that render them equal in most respects to the curative . waters of the standard resorts in Colorado. The South Park Springs are of a general nature saline and alkaline, and the name of the Hot Sulphur Springs implies its value. It is important in this connection to bear in mind that the Hot Springs of Colorado are the most efficacious in the cure of diseases that are the most prevalent with humanity, and that where sulphur is the predominant element, the greatest efficacy is obtained, especially in the cure of rheumatism, the many varieties of kidney diseases, bladder inflammation, derangement of the stomach and liver disease in its many phases. Beside all the advantages that are enumerated, South Park is convenient, by reason of the railroad facilities, to all the cities on the plains, to the min- ing districts of Leadville, Breckenridge, Fairplay and to all the mining camps and towns of the Gunnison country. It is, in fact, in easy communi- cation with all parts of th£ State, and there is no part of the State with which its varied interests are not allied. MOUNTAIN GRANDEURS. The natural attractions of Colorado are by no means confined to her mineral springs resorts, her splendid parks, nor to her beautiful mountain lakes. In whatever direction the traveler may choose by rail, if he go to the mountains, his journey is a succession of glorious scenery, varying, in the characteristics of placid beauty, grotesque ruggedness, an awe-inspiring grandeur. Such a journey as this is made to Denver, to Idaho Springs, Black Hawk and Central, Georgetown and Graymont, over the famous Loop. After passing through the lovely farms between Denver and Golden, in one short hour he finds himself whirling about amid the rocky labyrinths of Clear Creek Canon, whose great towering walls, turning in many a tortuous winding, reaching into the air in places 1,500 feet above the constantly curving track, and seen almost to meet in the sky, hiding the sun, and in places nearly shutting out the light of day. Up and up the canon, by heavy grades and difficult curves, these stupendous walls rising perpendicularly or gradually sloping back toward the greater hills, and yet again leaning forward above COLORADO. 113 the chasm as if threatening to come tumbling down, projecting great rocks that hang suspended over the train as it glides smoothly by, it is a panorama of wonders and grandeurs such as belong only to the Rocky Mountains. Every bend of the road reveals new surprises, and he who sits at his car 'window, or has availed himself of a seat in the observation car at the rear of the train, cannot help but look upward and around about him, and gaze and wonder. Such scenes as come before the astonished eye seem to paralyze the tongue. There is no language for the occasion. The scene is viewed in silence, and if the tongue gives utterance it is only to say “great,” “grand,” “wonderful.” And such it is. One continues to gaze upward, and the neck becomes tired with turning from one wondrous scene to the other. At what is called the Forks of the Creek, near the end of the canon, the road branches, one division passing through a continuation of these gorgeous scenes and reaching Black Hawk and Central City, two of the oldest mining camps in the State, and the other passing through the beautiful mountain town of Idaho Springs, and thence to Georgetown, Silver Plume and Gray- mont, from which latter point ponies are taken to the top of the majestic Gray’s Peak. Over this latter portion of the railroad is passed the famous Loop, one of the most wonderful examples of engineering skill in the world and the greatest one of its kind in North America, the road crossing and reerossing itself at different altitudes, in the shape of a lariat noose at play, as it climbs towards the clouds. The Loop is a piece of railroad construction so unusual that it has but one c-omprehnsive description, and that is seen in its picture. Technically, it has been described in many publications, but not understood by all readers. The route of the railroad lies along the banks of Clear Creek, which at this altitude is a very small stream, rushing down the narrow valley between two great mountains. The passage is so narrow for a distance of half a mile or more between Georgetown and Silver Plume that many zigzag turns must be made to obtain proper grade and maintain the direction. Thus a short distance from Georgetown the road runs up the creek on the east side to a point where it must make a very short curve, and cross upon a bridge to the west side of the creek, having already crossed that portion of the road which it has not yet traveled. After crossing the bridge it runs down the west side of the creek to a point where it must make another short curve, and cross another bridge to the east side again, and in doing so recrosses the track by which it was crossed on its first westward detour; thence it proceeds a second time westward on a third parallel track, and by numerous other tortuous windings till it reaches Silver Plume. When the train reaches Silver Plume the traveler may look ahead and a long way upward and catch a glance of the pinnacle of Gray’s Peak — and then he has seen at a near view the snow-crowned crest of the continent. Starting again from Denver, the route traverses the beautiful Platte river for about twenty miles, and then plunges into the dark and wierdly beautiful Platte Canon. Probably no other railway travel of fifty miles furnishes so many varied forms of rocks and chasms as the Platte Canon. The different formations assume the shapes here of cathedral spires, there of the dome of some immense mosque, and then, rapidly, changing, become the battlements of fortified castles, as if it were at one time the home of a race of giants now extinct. A fitting sequal to this romantic stretch of road, and one presenting as violent, but no less pleasing contrast, is the glorious view of the South Park, stretching out for miles from Kenosha Hill, as the train emerges from the canon. This vast expanse of plain, reaching far away to the southward, is dotted by numerous ranches, and the eye becomes tired in striving to measure the vast distance, and the mind in conceiving what is in the far beyond. Upon leaving Como, a station a few miles be- yond, the traveler witnesses another piece of bold engineering, the train al- most immediately beginning a steep climb, doubling and redoubling in its course until the summit of the ascent, Boreas Pass, is reached, at an altitude of 11,49S feet. The change from the summer below to the winter and snow 114 COLORADO. of the pass is as rapid as it is marvelous. Leaving Boreas, from which there is a magnificent view of both the Atlantic and Pacific slopes, the road begins its descent in a series of bewildering twists and curves, which make the traveler fairly dizzy in the effort to realize the direction he is going, no point of the compass being neglected, as the road takes its downward course to the picturesque town of Breckenridge below. From this point the road follows the beautiful Blue river for some distance, then again makes a climb, crossing at Fremont Pass, and thence through the most romantic scenery to the famous mining camp of Leadvill'e. Another branch of the road, after passing through the Platte Canon, leaves Como and darts across the great South Park, after a time entering beautiful valleys, and gradually but surely, after coquetting at the base of the mountains, ascending towards their summit, and finally crossing the range from the Atlantic to the Pacific slope, through the wonderful Alpine Tunnel, at an altitude of 11,624 feet, the highest railroad point in the United States. From here the road makes a gradual descent along the side of the mountain, a shelf having been cut in its rocky side to accommodate the road bed. After a downward course of thousands of feet the beautiful Quartz Creek Valley is traversed, and the city of Gunnison, the capital of a small empire in itself, is reached. Twenty-nine miles from Denver is the beautiful mining town and ideal summer resort, Boulder, reached by the Boulder branch of the Union Pacific Railroad. Some of the most quietly romantic spots in the State are trav- ersed by the road in this short journey, in the scenery in the vicinity of this thriving mountain town, making of it an extremely attractive place to visitors. Along the route are scattered a number of beautiful lakes, and a short distance away the Seltzer Springs, whose waters are much esteemed for their medicinal properties. Boulder also boasts of a beautiful canon in its vicinity, which, although not as extensive as some of the others, yet claims as fine, if not finer, scenery than some of those already described, at one place a beautiful waterfall adding largely to its attractions. A branch of the road runs through this canon, and to the top of the range, from which a magnificent view is ob- tained of snow-clad peaks of different altitudes and of the boundless plains beyond. WRITE TO B. A. McALLASTER, LAND COMMISSIONER, U. P. R. R. CO., OMAHA, NEB. For Maps and Prices of FARMS, RANCHES, GRAZING LANDS For Sale by UNION PAGING ftfllliROAD COMPANY in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah* Prices: FARMS, $4.00 TO $10.00 PER ACRE. RANCHES, $1.50 TO $5.00 PER ACRE. GRAZING LANDS, .50 TO $1.50 PER ACRE. NEW TEHMS OF SALE UNION PACIFIC LANDS. Ten Years’ Credit. One-tenth of the purchase money is payable at time of purchase. At the end of the first year interest only, at the rate of six per cent, per annum on the deferred purchase money, is payable. At the end of the second year, and each year thereafter, one-tenth of the purchase money becomes due, together with interest on the deferred amount at the rate of six per cent, per annum. Contracts may be paid up in full at any time before maturity, and in- terest will be charged only to the date of final payment. Five per cent, discount will be allowed upon the unpaid unmatured installments of principal, which have more than nine months to run, where final payment is made upon a contract within five years after its date. Ten per cent, discount will he allowed from list prices upon cash sales. * INFORMATION • •> REGARDING THE TERRITORY TRAVERSED BY THE UNION PACIFIC, TICKETS, BAGGAGE, PULLMAN OR .TOURIST SLEEPING CAR BERTHS, MAPS, TIME TABLES, ETC., WILL BE • * CHEERFULLY FURNISHED ON APPLICATION TO ANY REPRESENTATIVE of the UNION PACIFIC PASSENGER DEPART- MENT AT THE AGENCIES NAMED BELOW. ALBANY, N. Y BOSTON, MASS BUFFALO, N. Y BUTTE, MONT CHEYENNE, WYO CHICAGO, ILL CINCINNATI, OHIO CLEVELAND, OHIO COUNCIL BLUFFS,. IOWA. DENVER, COLO DES MOINES, IOWA DETROIT, MICH.... INDIANAPOLIS, IND j KANSAS CITY, MO ! LEAVENWORTH, KAN... LINCOLN, NEB LONDON, ENG LOS ANGELES, CAL NEW YORK CITY OAKLAND, CAL OGDEN, UTAH OMAHA, NEB PHILADELPHIA, PA PITTSBURG, PA PORTLAND, ORE ST. JOSEPH, MO j ST. LOUIS, MO ST. PAUL, MINN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.... SIOUX CITY, IOWA YOKOHAMA, JAPAN 23 Maiden Lane 5 State Street , 210 Ellicott Square 50 North Main Street Union Pacific Depot 191 South Clark Street Room 36, Carew Building 137 The Arcade Union Pacific Transfer 941 Seventeenth Street 401 Walnut Street 67 Woodward Avenue 7 Jackson Place 1000 Main Street 22S Delaware Street 1044 O Street 122 Pall Mall 250 South Spring Street ( 287 Broadway 1010 Broadway v ,L T nion Depot 1302 Farnam Street . . . .Room S, iS South Broad Street 1016 Carnegie Building 135 Third Street Board of Trade Building 903 Olive Street, Century Building 376 Robert Street 201 Main Street 1 Montgomery Street 506 Fourth Street 4 Water Street E. DICKINSON, General Manager. E. L. LOMAX, General Passenger and Ticket Agent. OMAHA. NEB.