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Catholic, Baptist, and Methodist denominations being represented, railroad shops and roundhouses. The town is on the Pecos River. The new town is situated at an elevation of 4,600 feet. The surrounding country, with the exception of the valleys along the river, is prairie and devoted exclusively to cattle and sheep raising. Along the valley splendid fruit, grain, and vegetables can be grown with the aid of irrigation. The water in the Pecos River from the Santa Rosa crossing south is alkali, while 100 yards above the crossing it is fairly good. The alkaline character of the water below is caused by gypsum and alkali springs flowing into the river. The people at the town either haul their water or have cisterns and catch rain water for all domestic purposes, but a deep well is being drilled by the railroad people for a better water supply. One remarkable example of the well and windmill method of irrigation now exists in this county. It is the Sumner ranch, 8 miles north of Santa Rosa. When one rounds the point of a barren range of rocky hills and gets a glimpse of this fertile farm, one is tempted to believe that a portion of the rich agricultural section of Iowa has been transported to this sandy plain. The owners of the Sumner ranch are pioneers, and their success is likely to be followed up by many new comers. With a tributary farming territory, such as seems likely to spring up within the next few years, Santa Rosa would be prosperous if all other resources were removed. It is the division headquarters of the Rock Island and El Paso Railroad. It is. here also that the El Paso and Rock Island division starts. New Mexico is watching with deep interest the sinking of a drill hole for oil 6 miles northwest of Santa Rosa, and on the borders of the Perea grant, by the Consolidated Oil and Fuel Company of New Mexico, representing in its operations six other companies composed almost exclusively of New Mexico capital, and holding claims nearly surrounding the Perea tract, these claims amounting in round numbers to 7,000 acres. Every acre of ground for 5 miles around the well, one might say with safety for 10 miles around, is staked out by people who are holding their claims awaiting developments at the solitary derrick which may prove of such vast importance to the Territory. Santa Rosa is sheltered by hills on every side. It has but few of the winds and storms so likely to spring up at any time in the less protected uplands which make up the greater part of the county. The country around is not without its scenic attractions, and the climate is quite equal to that of any other portion of northern and eastern New Mexico. Santa Rosa sandstone quarries are already of wide name and fame, and half a dozen contracts have been let for the erection of business blocks to be constructed from this local stone. In addition to its profuse local use, the superb sandstone, including solid red, white, and gray colors and variegated hues, will develop a shipping industry of wide radius and profitable returns.

Tucumcari is a new town on the Rock Island and El Paso Railroad, the starting point of a 140-mile branch railroad to the Dawson coal fields, and is near a point where the boundaries of Guadalupe, Union, and San Miguel counties meet. It has one weekly newspaper, a church, a public school, one bank, and 750 inhabitants. The town commercially commands the entire Canadian River slope to the Pecos River divide. The section is rich in stock, grazing lands, building stone, brick and potters' clay, and can boast a full proportion of the ideal climatic conditions for which New Mexico is so widely and justly famed. A roundhouse, coal chutes, yardage, etc., necessary to the new town as a divisional and junctional railway point, have been con

structed. In addition to the coal traffic of the Dawson branch, the town has large local tributary coal areas of excellent steam and domestic qualities, these fuel veins showing widths of 16 feet, with actual coal measures of from 10 to 4 feet. The elevation of the town is 4,050 feet above sea level. The trading and shipping points heretofore prominent for this region include Las Vegas, to the west 120 miles; Amarilla, to the east 130 miles; Clayton, to the north 95 miles, and Roswell, to the south 230 miles distant.

A survey is now being made from Amarilla, Tex., to Tucumcari by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The first 16 miles of this survey from Amarilla west have already been cross sectioned. It' is believed that this extension will be completed and in running order by July 1, 1903. This will make Tucumcari one of the most important railroad junctions in New Mexico.

Liberty is situated 3 miles north. It was the trading center of this region for many years, but was practically abandoned when the town site of Tucumcari was selected in December, 1901. The country is level for several miles around, relieved with a background of mesa or high land. The soil is red, sandy loam. Water was obtained at less than 100 feet, but not in sufficient quantity for supplying the point. At a depth of 340 feet, however, coarse gravel was struck, and the water quickly came up 200 feet. Other wells will be sunk to obtain good water for the town. To the west about 5 miles distant the Pajarito has its source in the foothills, flows northeasterly, and empties into the Canadian River. It does not come nearer than within 2 miles of the town site. The bottom land along this stream is rich and desirable farming land. Tucumcari Peak, about 3 miles distant southeasterly, is a prominent landmark. It points upward about 700 feet and can be seen for a distance of 100 miles. Low hills can also be seen to the southward. Puerto de Luna is the county seat and has a handsome court-house. It is situated on the Pecos River and possesses a number of fine orchards and farms, while roundabout are sheep and cattle ranches. Population, 300.

Anton Chico, Colonias, and Casaos are agricultural and stock settlements on the Pecos River.

Fort Sumner is the center of a good grazing country and has a number of bearing orchards.

FUTURE PROSPECTS.

Guadalupe County will always remain a fine stock country. It possesses vast stretches of grazing land that are not likely to be invaded by the farmer, miner, or factory hand. It is one of the few sections in the Southwest not yet overstocked with sheep or cattle. But Guadalupe County also possesses vast farming possibilities. The soil is very fertile, and the building of storage reservoirs or the development of water from wells by means of windmills, gasoline engines, or other power will ultimately place large tracts under cultivation.

There is great promise for industrial development in the oil indications, coal fields, and the timber in the county, as well as in the production of such raw products as wool and hides. The indications of gold and copper ores also suggest a source of future wealth, as do the quarries of fine sandstone and deposits of excellent clay. The superb climate invites the health seeker, and in every other respect Guadalupe County gives promise of being some day a well-populated, rich, and exceedingly prosperous part of the great Southwest.

LINCOLN COUNTY.

Since 1891 Chaves and Eddy and in part Otero and Guadalupe counties have been created out of Lincoln County, and yet the county has an area of 4,984 square miles, or 3,176,000 acres— -more than four times the area of Rhode Island, more than twice the area of Delaware. and a greater area than Connecticut. Of this area, 2,725,000 are still subject to entry under the Federal land laws, of which 2,614,000 acres are surveyed and 111,000 acres are unsurveyed. Only 20,000 acres are under cultivation. Lincoln County is bounded on the north by Valencia and Guadalupe counties, on the west by Socorro County, on the south by Otero and Chaves counties, and on the east by Chaves County. It is in the Roswell land district, with a Federal land office at Roswell, Chaves County.

The population of Lincoln County in 1900, according to the census, was 4,953, or less than one inhabitant to the square mile. Since then, however, owing to railroad construction and rapid mineral development, the population has more than doubled, and conservative estimates place the population at 10,000.

The assessed valuation of Lincoln County for the year 1901 was $1,215,959, being a larger per capita wealth than most of the other counties in New Mexico possess.

Lincoln County lies in the drainage area of the Pecos River, the principal tributary of which, the Rio Hondo, rises in Lincoln County and has as its tributaries the pretty streams of clear, cold water known as the Bonito, the Ruidoso, the Eagle, and Little Eagle creeks. The head waters of the Rio Felix and the Rio Salado, flowing into the Pecos, are also in Lincoln County. Nogal Creek and a number of independent water courses, the latter dry during several months of the year, flow from the picturesque mountain sides. Shallow lakes, dry part of the year, springs, and deep and shallow wells add to this water supply. Storage reservoirs to supplement the present primitive irrigation systems could increase the cultivated area of Lincoln County to 100,000 acres, but until new sources of water supply are discovered the greater part of the county will be given up to stock ranges and mining operations. Many of the streams are stocked with trout, bass, and other fish.

Lincoln County may properly be classed as a mountainous county, although that portion north of the Capitan and east of the Jicarilla and Gallinas ranges is mostly rolling prairie, which is also true of a strip along the western border.

The principal mountain ranges of the county are the Sierra Blanca, rising to an elevation of 12,500 feet, the Capitan, the Gallinas, the Carizozo, the Jicarillas, the Tecolotes, and the Tres Cerros mountains, as well as a number of independent mountain knots and peaks. The average elevation of the county is from 4,000 to 7,000 feet.

AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE.

It is the lack of water alone that keeps Lincoln County from being the granary and the orchard of the Southwest. Climate and soil are perfect for the raising of fruit and grain. The orchards on the Bonito, the Ruidoso, and other streams produce the finest fruit in the United States. Lincoln County fruit takes prizes for its size, color, and flavor wherever exhibited. There are good markets for all the fruit and grain that can be produced in the county. Some success has been

obtained in cultivating the ground without irrigation, deep plowing, subsoiling, and thorough cultivation having produced south of Nogal crops of from 50 to 70 bushels of corn per acre. Potatoes are grown with success in several parts of the county, especially in the mountain valleys, the average yield being 24 tons to the acre. Wheat yields 30 bushels to the acre: oats, 40 bushels; onions, 6 tons, and alfalfa, 4 to 5 tons per acre; cabbage, 30,000 pounds; beans, 4,000 pounds; apples and pears, 25,000 pounds, and grapes, 8,000 pounds to the acre. Along the streams a considerable acreage is devoted to the raising of corn, oats, wheat, rye, and other grains as well as almost every variety of vegetables common to this latitude. These products are all consumed in the mining camps of the vicinity and in addition large quantities of grain, flour, and vegetables are shipped in from other localities to supply the large and growing demand incident to mining enterprises. Farmers can be multiplied in this region without creating any diminution in the high prices at which farm products are sold in the local markets.

While Lincoln County is justly proud of the varied and limitless natural resources in its bounds, it boasts of the excellence of the fruits which supply, not only the local markets, but which are shipped elsewhere and command the highest prices. Along the Ruidoso, Eagle Creek, Bonito, the Hondo, Three Rivers, and in many other localities remote from streams of water, are produced apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, grapes, strawberries, and many other varieties of fruits, which in flavor surpass any other raised in the west and are equal to any in the world. The orchards which have reached the age of bearing are universally paying well and some of the older and more carefully and intelligently treated are yielding fortunes to the owners. It is needless to say that these prolific sources of income are rapidly increasing in number and size and with the ever-enlarging demand for the character of fruit raised in the mountain canyons of Lincoln County, this must soon become one of the greatest producers of wealth of the county.

STOCK.

There are in Lincoln County 150,000 head of sheep, many of them of improved stock: 8,000 goats, the greater part high-grade Angoras; 75,000 head of cattle, many of them blooded Herefords; 3,000 horses, and 150 mules. The county is a stock country par excellence. Its mountain slopes yield ideal pasture for goats, while the grass-covered mesas and plains invite the herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. The mild winters, the luxurious and nutritious growth of grass, and the contour of the country make it a paradise for stock. There are many extensive and prosperous stock ranches in the county, but there is room for many more, if wells are dug or drilled for additional water supply.

COAL MINES.

Lincoln County is rich in coal as well as in other useful and precious minerals. At Capitan the New Mexico Railway and Coal Company is carrying on coal mining upon a large scale. The output of the mines at this point in the year 1901 was 200,000 tons of coal. The company employs 200 men and is at present working two seams of coal, one 3 to 6 feet and the other 2 to 35 feet thick.

At White Oaks an especially fine quality of coal is mined upon ?

small scale by the Old Abe Company. The White Oaks coal fields are capable of extensive development and now that a railroad passes within 6 miles of them will undoubtedly soon produce as large a tonnage as the Capitan fields. At present Lincoln County produces about 30 carloads of coal per day. The coal is mostly bituminous, although indications of anthracite coal also exist.

MINES.

Mining has given to Lincoln County its greatest fame. Its gold mines are world famous. It also produces silver, copper, lead, cobalt, nickel, wolframite, coal, iron, marble, slate, gypsum, salt, sandstone, and other minerals. Its principal mining districts are the White Oaks, the Capitan, the Jicarilla, the Nogal, the Bonito, the Gallinas, the Turkey Creek, the Tecolote, and the Schelerville districts, in which there are about 125 patented properties. The best-known mine in New Mexico is probably the Old Abe, in the White Oaks district. It is a free-milling gold mine and the main streak is a sulphide ore which has averaged about $8 per ton. A number of rich strikes have been made in the mine and it is credited with having produced $1,000,000 worth of ore. Its old shaft, 840 feet deep, collapsed in March, 1896. The new shaft is down 1,300 feet and is perfectly dry, the Old Abe mine being one of the deepest dry mines in the world. In the new works there are 3,600 feet of drifting, while in the old works there are about 4,000 feet. The daily output of the Old Abe is 50 tons of ore, which is treated on the ground. About 50 men are given employment. Other good mines in the White Oaks district are the Compromise, Boston Boy, Lady Godiva, which is developed to a depth of 725 feet; Rita, Solitaire, Little Nell, Large Hopes, South Homestake, which has produced $1,000,000 in gold and has a mill; Little Mack, Miners' Cabin, North Homestake, and Silver Cliff. There are large iron deposits in the White Oaks district, averaging from 58 to 68 per cent hematite iron, and quarries of excellent marble and building stone as well as indications of oil.

The placer grounds of the Jicarilla district have been worked for two hundred years. The American Placer Company has acquired 5,000 acres of placer ground and has erected thereon a cantilever placer machine. In the Jicarilla camp are the Prince Albert, Hawkeye, Knickerbocker, and Evening Star mines. Gold, copper, iron, and galena are the minerals of the district.

The Nogal mining district covers 240 square miles and its elevation is from 5,800 to 11,335 feet. The district is not rough or broken but the mountains have even surfaces, with very few rocks, slides, or deep alluvial deposits, thus making prospecting easy. Timber, water, and good wagon roads exist. There are iron and sulphur springs in the district. The first mining in Lincoln County was done at Nogal in 1868. The principal mines are the Rockford, Clipper, Cashier, American, with a mill; Helen Rae, with a Huntington mill: Crosscut, Rialto, Klondike, Ibex, Lucky Comer, Golden Rule, Philadelphia, Red Chief, and Vera Cruz. These properties all run well in gold values and some of them have brought fortunes to their owners.

In the Gallinas district the Hoosier is the principal mine group. Its claims, as well as the Old Hickory, produce 8 to 65 per cent copper ore. The ore also contains about 20 per cent of lead.

The American Consolidated Copper Company, of New York, which

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