is also likely that in the very near future a railway from Albuquerque to San Pedro, a distance of 45 miles, to make connections with the proposed Santa Fe Central Railway, will be built. Several stage lines offer facilities to reach the settlements distant from the railway lines.

Bernalillo County's future lies in its extensive coal beds, none of which are yet producers. The reclamation of part of its area by storage reservoirs is also destined to make it the garden spot of New Mexico. Its climate, while it possesses the general characteristics of that of New Mexico, is milder in winter than the more northern counties, and owing to its lower altitude the county is a sanitarium for those health seekers who can not bear the more severe winters and the greater altitude of the northern counties. During the summer months the near-by city of Santa Fe and the mountain resorts offer a refuge from the heat, which, however, is at no time as oppressive as in the more humid East. It is only during the noon and afternoon hours in July and August that the maximum temperature at times reaches 100°, while the minimum during the night is very seldom over 65°, which seems 10° to 20° lower than it would in a more humid climate.

COLFAX COUNTY.

Colfax County lies in the northern tier of counties, between Taos and Union, immediately south of the Colorado line, and is 72 miles long from east to west and 54 miles wide. It contains 3,784 square miles, more than one-half being included within the boundaries of the Maxwell land grant. The area of the county is more than three and a half times that of Rhode Island, twice that of Delaware, and half that of New Jersey. For some years, and up to 1888, the growth and development of the county were retarded by the unsettled condition of land titles, but these have been adjusted, and the wise and generous policy of the land-grant management, coupled with the energy and thrift of the people of the county in general, have more than overcome all those drawbacks, and many tracts of land are sold by the grant company annually to individual ranchmen, farmers, colonists, and miners on terms more advantageous than could be had from the Government. The land within the grant is mostly mountainous, containing large tracts of valuable timber, coal, gold, silver, lead, iron, and copper. The remaining land in the county is mostly undulating prairie, resembling very much the one-time prairie land of the Mississippi Valley, with gradual slope from northwest to southeast. A large portion of the land still remains the property of the Government, but is rapidly being taken up. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1901, there were homestead entries in Colfax County upon 15,633.76 acres, desert land entries upon 1,200 acres, land sold outright 208.34 acres, and land entered by the United States land commission for the Territory of New Mexico amounted to 42,696.38 acres, or a total of 59,738.48 acres. The soil is rich and a great portion of it can be irrigated from the waters of the Red, Vermejo, Cimarron, Crow Creek, Ocate, Ute, Gato, Chicoria, and Rayado rivers and many smaller, streams. Water in abundance has been found by digging from 12 to 50 feet. Several good-sized lakes also exist in the county. The altitude varies from 5,600 feet in the southeastern portion to 8,000 feet at the foothills, rising to 13,000 on the western boundary, which is the highest ridge of the Sangre de Cristo Range. The northern portion is bounded

by the Raton Range of mountains, being a spur or offshoot from one of the main ranges of the Rockies, The mountains on the north and west offer a natural protection from snowstorms and blizzards as well as from high winds. The average mean temperature is 52° F., near the foothills, the average minimum being 32 and the average maximum 72. The atmosphere is dry and no great extremes of heat or cold are experienced. The average rainfall is 14 to 19 inches on the plateau, but in the mountains it runs as high as 30 inches. During the winter the canyons in the mountains are filled with snow, which gradually melts during the spring and summer, furnishing a sufficient supply of water for the needs of irrigation.

The population of Colfax County was 10,150, according to the census of 1900. In 1890 it was 7,974. Since 1890 the precinct of Clayton, with 750 inhabitants, has been taken to form part of Union County. Colfax County, therefore, shows an increase in its population of almost 38 per cent in ten years. The density of the population is 2.68 to the square mile. Colfax County is fifteenth in size, eleventh in population, sixth in density of population, and fourth in assessed valuation of the twenty-one counties of New Mexico. The county is divided into twenty-four precincts and has one incorporated city, Raton, the county seat. Though coming from various States of the Union, different parts of Europe, and Mexico, together with the native population who remained there at the time New Mexico became part of the United States and engaged in various pursuits of life, its inhabitants are yet as homogeneous a class of people as can be found anywhere between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, they being industrious, thrifty, and progressive. The business interests of Colfax County are most diversified, though mining and stock raising are foremost; indeed, in many instances they go hand in hand, for the mines are so near the ranches and so alluring to the average man that no matter whether his occupation be that of stock grower, farmer, merchant, or railroader, he soon finds himself grub staking a prospector and personally putting in his summer vacation in camp, varying his work with pick and shovel with the gun and rod. The mountainous mining region abounds in game and beautiful streams filled with trout.

SOUTHERN COLFAX COUNTY.

It is wonderful to see the changes made in the last few years in the Ocate, Sweetwater, Red Lakes, and Black Lakes country. This is the only strip of Government land on the south side of Colfax County, between the Mora and Maxwell grants, running from Union County west to the Taos County line. The rapid settlement of this portion of the county and its development are attracting many homeseekers at the present time, and within a short time all the land will be taken. Its resources are very great. The scenery is unsurpassed, and beauty is on every line, from the prairie to the highest mountain peak, with a varying elevation of from 5,000 to 10,000 feet. On the prairie can be raised all kinds of grain, fruit, vegetables, and alfalfa. There are also fine ranges for cattle and sheep. The first plateau of the mountains is covered with pine and spruce timber, which supplies the lower country with lumber for all building purposes of a better quality than the Eastern pine for general use. There potatoes grow in abundance to

supply the surrounding country; also wheat, oats, corn, barley, and all kinds of vegetables are raised without irrigation at this altitude. More cattle are raised to the acre than on the prairie, on account of the more prolific pasture and the good shelter from the winter storms. From there farms dot the way up to the summit of the divide. There is a splendid view of the Black Lakes Valley, which forms a basin with mountains towering up on every side, making it a grand sight to behold. and one to be remembered by the observer. After winding one's way down to the valley and upon reaching the foothills, settlements appear in the distance as far as the eye can reach, with well-cultivated farms and ranches stocked with cattle and sheep.

Its beautiful lakes and surroundings make it a wonderful panoramic mountain landscape. The minerals that this section contains are not vet developed. Some prospecting was done at points around the Black Lakes, but not enough to establish its resources in mineral wealth. At points from the Red Lakes to the foothills gold indica- . tions were found on the surface, but nothing more was done to find the source from which they came. From the prairie to the highest mountain peak on this strip of land it is settled with a prosperous, contented, and happy people.

AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE.

While the chief industries of Colfax County are mining and stock raising, there is also much attention given to farming and fruit growing. The Canadian River and its tributaries are capable of furnishing water sufficient to irrigate many more acres than are now cultivated. About Springer and Maxwell City are perfect systems of reservoirs and canals, constructed by the Maxwell Grant Company, by which over 60,000 acres have been brought under cultivation. Here would be an ideal location for a beet-sugar factory. The finest cereals and fodder are produced in this region. Along the valleys of the Vermejo, Rayado, and other streams are extensive farming districts. The Dawson, Chase, and Mills orchards are among the most famous producers in New Mexico. Fruit growing and the management of the crop have been brought to a business standard on these big fruit ranches that is not excelled anywhere in the West and certainly not in the Rocky Mountain region.

In the northeastern portion of the county is the Johnson Mesa, beginning about 8 miles from Raton, at an elevation of almost 8,000 feet and extending to the eastward, and the Barela Mesa, on both of which the rainfall is amply sufficient for all farming purposes without irrigation.

Over 50,000 acres are now under cultivation on these elevated tablelands. The tillers are mostly Missouri farmers, who came as a colony some years ago and are satisfied with the prosperity that has attended their coming to New Mexico. There are several successful cheese factories, poultry farms, and creameries in this locality. Raton and the adjacent mining camps afford the best of a market for all such products. On the Sugarite Creek, above Raton, is the largest and most successful dairy farm in New Mexico, and in the valley below the town are scores of productive farms and ranches; also a large fruittree nursery. Alfalfa is the great forage crop; corn is not profitably grown, owing to the summer nights being too cool.

LIVE-STOCK INTERESTS.

Almost 85,000 head of cattle and 200,000 head of sheep are grazing within the boundaries of Colfax County, one stock ranch alone comprising 120,000 acres. The Charles Springer breeding farm near Springer and the W. C. Barnes ranch near Dorsey produce some of the best bred Herefords raised in the West. The Red River ranges on the Catskill, Vasquez, and vicinities have been heavily restocked from southern New Mexico and Arizona. It is now estimated that 25,000 head of cattle can be counted on these ranges where three years ago 5,000 could not be tallied.

During the year the Maxwell Land Grant Company has sold nearly 600,000 acres of land to ranchmen and farmers, and this great property is gradually being sold in small tracts at reasonable prices, thereby increasing the wealth and population of the county, as through farming and ranching on a small scale the general results obtained are far "better than they can be on too large a tract of land.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

Raton, the county seat, the gate city of New Mexico, has a population of 3,788, according to the census, it being the fourth city in size in the Territory. In 1890 it had 1,255 inhabitants. Its increase in ten years has been 200 per cent, or more than that of any other city in New Mexico. It snuggles under the Raton Mountain, occupying a beautiful natural location, and is in every sense a typical, up-to-date Western city, peopled by a fine class of citizens who are ever on the alert for the advancement and upbuilding of their adopted home. This is shown in Raton's superior school system, the churches, and the beautiful homes. A person dropping into the town from the East through the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway tunnel and noting the great number of new houses in course of construction would naturally conclude that some sort of a boom was on here, but such is not the case at all; it is simply Raton's ordinary growth, which has been steady and substantial for the past decade, and still the building and improvements in general have not kept pace with the business demand of the place. Raton is situated in the midst of an immense coal belt; is surrounded by great cattle ranches and productive farms; is in commercial touch with the principal mining camps of northern New Mexico, and is a prominent industrial and railway point. What more could be required for the making of a flourishing Western city? The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway maintains extensive shops at this point, and its shopmen and other employees constitute an important element of its population. Over $50,000 monthly are disbursed by the company at that point. All the trade of Gardiner and Blossburg is also transacted at Raton, for these towns are practically outlying suburbs of the city. The people are public spirited and wide awake. The commercial lines are all well represented in the way of retail business, and a considerable wholesale trade is carried on with the mining and lumber camps. The town has an excellent gravity water system, the water being soft, pure mountain spring water piped from a reservoir of 52,500,000 gallons capacity, 500 feet above the city. Raton has a good fire department. Its public schools are the pride of its citizens, two of the finest school buildings of the Territory being located there, and fourteen rooms being taught nine months every year by teachers who

are chosen for their educational qualifications. Its streets are well graded and lighted by electricity, and the recently constructed courthouse is one of the handsomest public buildings in the Territory. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway has decided to provide the city with a modern depot and railway hotel. The citizens have organized also to establish there a flouring mill, a beet-sugar factory, and a creamery. Raton maintains three weekly newspapers.

The city has two banks, an opera house, long-distance telephone connections, cheap coal, lumber, and building material, and a building and loan association.

Springer is also a prosperous town, surrounded by a well-to-do farming and stock-raising community. The population is 558, according to the census of 1900. It was formerly the county seat, when its population was somewhat greater. Near by are cement works, and 6 miles southeast are the Taylor mineral-water artesian wells, from which the waters are shipped all over the Southwest. These are true flowing wells, but 150 feet in depth. Springer is also the principal railway shipping point for the great mining region about Elizabethtown, Ute Creek, the Cimarron and Red River country, and maintains a daily stage line connected with these points. Springer supports two weekly newspapers and has excellent public schools. It is the fifth town in population, but second in commerce and importance in the county.

Gardiner, 2 miles from Raton, is the headquarters of the Raton Coal and Coke Company, where 76 coke ovens are in operation, and the daily output is 60 to 70 carloads. Its population, according to the last census, is 965, making it the second town in population in Colfax County. Electricity is used in mining the coal and eight mines are in operation. During the year ending June 30, 1900, the coal production amounted to 399,206 tons and the output of coke was about 21,000 tons: 527 men are given regular employment in this industry.

Elizabethtown is an important mining center in northwestern Colfax County, near the Taos County line. It has a population of 577, according to the 1900 census, it being the fourth town in population in the county. Elizabethtown is a typical mining town that has seen its boom days, but still has a great future on account of the vast mineral deposits around about it.

Other important settlements of the county are Catskill, with 638 inhabitants; Cimarron, with 363 people; Maxwell City, with 271 inhabitants, and Colmor, with 232 people. That the county is rapidly settling up is shown by the fact that many of the precincts have doubled and tripled their population the past ten years. For instance, in 1890. Black Lakes precinct had 97 inhabitants, in 1900 it had 216; in 1890 Chico Springs had 112 inhabitants and in 1900 it had 289; Maxwell City in 1890 had 151 people, in 1900 it had 271; Mesa had 14 inhabitants in 1890 and in 1900 it had 487; Dorsey had 87 people in 1890 and in 1900 it had 217; Elizabethtown increased from 338 to 577 inhabitThe population of the other precincts is as follows: Baldy, 111; Cimarron, 363; Rayado, 135; Elkins, 60; Truchera, 184; Pena Flor, 152; Ponil Park, 83; Cimilario, 100; Martinez, 328; Ponil, 31; Colmor, 232, and Johnson Park, 118.

SOME RESOURCES.

Gold and copper are the chief products of the mountains about Elizabethtown and Baldy Mountain. The Moreno and Ute Creek regions