The Spanish American. [volume], February 06, 1905, Image 1

About The Spanish American. [volume] (Roy, Mora Co., N.M.) 19??-19??

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W' OF
he Spanish
ricat
Published by Roy Publishing Co.j Roy, Mora Co., New Mexico
' VOL. I.
FEBRUARY, 1905. -
NO. 6.
If I VA. 1J
Ame
RAILROAD PROSPECTS.
Much New Building Is Scheduled for
New Mexico.
The New Mexican has made a care
ful survey of the railroad situation in
New Mexico and after due and diligent
inquiry, finds it to be very favorable
to the building of several hundreds of
miles of track during the .present fis
cal calendar year. Thia is not build
ing railroads on paper, but this infor
mation is based upon facts and letters
from first class sources. The Albu
querque eastern railroad is in course
of active construction between Mori
arty on the Santa Fe Central railway
and the city of Albuquerque. The line
when completed will be forty-five miles
in length and the branch to the Hagan (
coal fields, eighteen miles in length.
thus will be added sixty-three miles of
railroad to the mileage now in opera
tion. The Eastern railroad of New
Mexico, or "The Cut-Off" as it is com
monly called, from Texico through the
counties of Roosevelt, Chaves, Tor
rance and Valencia to Puerco station
on the Santa Fe Pacific will , also he
built during the year. It may not be
completed, but that part of it will bo
in running order by the 1st of Janu
ary, 1906, seems assujed.
Work will commence at an' early
date from Texico west and from Helen
east. The line will be 212 miles in
extent. It is not exactly known as yet
where it will cross the El Paso &
Northeastern and the Santa Fe Cen
tral on the eastern side of the Rio
Grande, but that it will cross the Santa
Fe at Belen is fixed.
The Denver & Rio Grande railroad
has made and is making several sur
veys in San Juan county and the New
Mexican is informed by reliable au
thority that it is very likely that grad
ing on the extension of that line from
Durango to Farmington along the Ani
mas river, a distance of about sixty
miles, will commence about April 1st.
It is said that grading contracts have
been awarded to J. B. Orman of Pu
eblo and Kirkpatrick Brothers of Wy
oming. It is also said that this exten
sion fit the Denver & Rio Grande rail
road will be broad-gauge and will be
finished in time to move the great and
increasing fruit crop of San Juan
county this fall. What the plans of the
Denver & Rio Grande are as to ex
tensions to the south, this paper has
not as yet been enabled to learn, but
it believes that the report it has re
ceived as to a broad-gauge extension
to Farmington is correct and will so
prove within a few weeks.
The Durango & El Paso railroad,
which is backed by the Phelps-Dodge
& Company people and the El Paso &
Southwestern railroad, has several
corps of surveyors in the field in San
Juan, McKinley and Valencia counties.
As far as can be determined now, the
Durango & El Paso will build and that
within the next twelve months from
Duarngo to some point on the Santa
Fe Pacific west of Grant station and
'past, nf Gallnn and will strike the
Qotiio Va. Popifle in that section. It
will then, so this paper is informed,
use the tracks of the Santa Fe Pacific
and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
via Belen south to a connection with
the El Paso & Southwestern at or
near El Paso, Texas. The trackage
from the New Mexico line to the
Santa Fe Pacific is estimated at 140
to 170 miles.
The Colorado & Arizona railroad
has also several corps of surveyors in
the field in western New Mexico and
the commencement of active work on
its proposed lines, may also be ex
pected during the coming year.
Thn Duraneo. Roswell & Gulf rail
road, incorporated by the Pittsburg
capitalists, who have built tne oanta
ronti-ni and ñrf buildine the Albu
querque Eastern, namely, General
Francis J. Torrance, senator anuui
Kennedy, Leigh Clark of Pittsburg;
Delegate-elect W. II. Andrews of Al
buquerque, and W. S. Hopewell of
Hillsboro, are contemplating a serious
move in the way of building and that
before long. The next few months will
L develop the intentions of this com
pany. Its lines are. to run from Albu
querque northwesterly to Durango
and from Torrance on the Santa Fe
Central, southeasterly, to Ro3well.
This proposed new railroad mileage
amounts to considerably over a thou
sand miles and it certainly looks as if
at least 500 miles of it will be under
actual construction during the year
and be completed by January 1, 1906.
The Albuquerque Eastern railroad, the
extension of the Denver & Rio Grande
from Durango to Farmington and the
Eastern railroad-of New-Mexico from
Texico to Puerco station, can safely
be put into that category. The build
ing and extensions of the other lines
mentioned herein are more than prob
able, in one or two cases almost cer
tain. The indications that New Mex
ico will boom during the present year
and in 1906 are multiplying and are
slowly crystalizing into agreeable
facts.
Bills Passed by House.
The lower branch of the Legislature
on February 1st passed the following:
An act providing for protection
against floods along the' Rio Grande at
San Marcial, Socorro and Hillsboro,
which provides for an appropriation of
$4,000; an act relating to registration,
an act providing for the construction
of dams and dykes and the raising of
money therefor; an act creating coun
ties of the first class; an act to change
the name of the county of Leonard
Wood to Guadalupe.
About fifty bills were introduced, the
most important being:
. An act to provide for a system of
public highways to be built by convict
labor; an act appropriating $10,000 for
the completion of the scenic highway;
an act. fixing a levy of of a mill to
build a road from Raton to El Paso;
an act providing for the fixing of a
standard scale of weights and meas
ures; an act providing for the con
struction of a bridge over the Mimbres
river in Luna county.
New Mexico Weather Conditions.
Following is the weather bulletin, is
sued February 1st, for New Mexico:
"The month of January has been a
mild and rather wet one, the first half
especially having much rain and snow
over practically all of the territory.
The soil is thoroughly soaked and in
excellent condition for early plowing
and seeding, while tne outlook for
early and excellent range and abun
dant water was seldom better. A lit
tle plowing has been done in the lower
Rio Grande valley. "
"Alfalfa is . apparently wintering
well, also fruit. The mountains are
heavy with snow, but the . valleys and
southern slopes are generally bare.
Range in northeast counties is poor
and some loss of cattle and sheep is
reported in that section,; but generally
stock is in fair to good condition and
farmers and ranchmen appear .confi
dent of a most favorable, season."
Robbed and Murdered.
An Albuquerque dispatch of Febru
ary 1st says: John M. McMann, an
ex-soldier, who was employed at the
government's Fort Bayard sanitarium,
got on a drunk yesterday and wan
dered over to the mining camp of Cen
tral, where he gambled. Last night he
had won considerable money and this
morning his dead body was found.
It is understood that after pocketing
his winnings he started to walk to Fort
Bayard, where he was overtaken,
robbed and a shot fired, through his
head. Sheriff Farnsworth may make
an arrest to-night.
Hearing at Santa Fe.
A Santa Fe dispatch of January 31st
says:
In the Kansas-Colorado water right
suit, testimony was heard to-day in
the Supreme Court chamber by Com
missioner G. A. Richardson of the
United States Supreme Court. The
United States was represented by A.
C. Campbell of Washington, as assist
ant attorney general; the state of Col
orado by C. D. Hayt of Denver and C.
C. Dawson of Canon City, and the state
of Kansas by S. S. Ashbaugh, with
John R. Doyle of Denver, official sten
ographer.
Among the witnesses examined were
Governor Otero, President Luther
Foster of the College of Agriculture
and Mechanic Arts at Las Cruces,
M. W. Mills of Colfax county, W. S.
Hopewell, general manager of the Al
buquerque Eastern railway, R. E.
Twitchell of Las Vegas, T. B. Catron
of this city and Solomon Luna of LoS
Lunas. The testimony Introduced by
these witnesses went to show the Im
portance of irrigation in the arid re
gions and how land would be en
hanced by the construction of irriga
tion systems and storage reservoirs
under the reclamation act.
The great benefit to agriculture and
horticulture due to irrigation was "tes
tified to by the witnesses and it was
proved that from 3,000,000 to 15,000,
000 acres of land could be irrigated in
New Mexico by the proper storage and
use of the waters from the streams in
the territory.
Irrigation in New Mexico.
A Santa Fe dispatch of February 1st
says: At the hearing before Commis
sioner G. A. Richardson in the aKnsas
Colorado water case testimony was
given to-day by R. E. Twitch, T. B. Cat
ron and Solomon Luna. Their testi
mony was in regard, to ancient meth
ods of irrigation in New Mexico and
how irrigation benefits the arid land.
Mr. aCtron estimated that under the
reclamation act at least 15,000,000
acres in this territory could be made
productive, although only 250,000 acres
are cultivated now. The commission
completed its sitting here this evening
and will proceed to Roswell for a cou
ple of days. From there Commisisoner
Richardson and the attorneys in the
case will go to Little Rock and Fort
Smith, Arkansas.
How the Navajos Farm.
Mr. Pre witt of Aztec, San Juan
county, in an interview published in
the Satna Fe New Mexican, says:
"The Navajo Indians, whose reser
vation covers the entire western part
of the county, have lately made won
derful progress in agricultural pur
suits under the guidance of W. T.
Sheldon, the agent for the north half
of the Navajo reservation, and for
merly of Santa Fe.
"Up to the present year the agricul
ture of the Navajos have been confined
to small patches, easily irrigated along
the streams, but in 1904. the matter
was taken hold of systematically, the
government having previously assisted
the Navajos in constructing small
ditches along the lower lands of the
San Juan valley, and the results were
more than could have been expected
by the most sanguine. One Indian, be
sides supplying his own needs, sold
15,000 pounds of his wheat, and a care
ful estimate showed that the Navajos
along the San Juan river had raised
some 250,000 pounds of grain, besides
other crops such as alfalfa, beans, po
tatoes, and á variety of other vege
tables. "The wonderfull progress these In
dians have made in agriculture should
entitle them fto a great deal of consid
eration from the government. I should
say that from fifty to a hundred thou
sand acres of land along the San Juan
valley, within the boundaries of the
Navajo reservation, could be Irrigated
from the San Juan river at a very rea
sonable cost. If the government would
take this matter up and furnish suffi
cient money to take' out ditches to
cover this land, it could at once begin
to put the Navajo Indians on a self
sustaining basis.
"First, the building of these ditches
would furnish employment to the In
dians, and to this class of work they
are well adapted. Then, after the
ditches were completed, enough land
would be brought under irrigation to
furnish practically every Indian on the
reservation (of which there are some
twenty thousand) with a home, on
which he could become an Independ
ent farmer. And, as Commissioner
Leupp is more or less familiar with the
condition of the Navajos. I am in
hopes he will take the matter up, and
vigorously push it to completion."
Reservoir for Las Vegas Grant.
A Las Vegas dispatch of January
29th says: Las Vegas believes it is
certain to secure a government reser
voir. So satisfactory have been the
assurances from the engineers as to
the report that will be made upon the
proposition that has been under con
sideration here for months, that a
committee of citizens is now dispos
ing of the 10,000. acres of land to be
brought under irrigation.- In less than
one day's work 4,000 acres were taken
up by residents and contract forms are
being sent outside.
The commissioners of the Las Vegas
grant will cede the land back to the
government, and each taker of the land
obligates himself to pay ?5.70 an acre
for the land for ten years, at the expir
ation of which time the permanent
water rights and the deed to the land
go to the settler.
The land is deep and. rich and the
water would be sufficient to irrigate
25,000 acres. However, the amount
available will not amount to much,
more than 10,000 acres. The small
amount of land for a time made the
recommendation of the project doubt
ful, but now that it is certain that
every acre will be subscribed for in
advance, and the government assured
of the repayment of the money, it is
felt that there will be no danger of
the failure of the project.
In every respect, the statistics asked
for by the department regarding the
home markets, the kind of crops that
can be raised, and the yield per acre,
have been more than assuring.
Territorial Ranger Bill.
A Las Vegas dispatch says: The
officers of the cattle sanitary board
are taking the greatest interest in the
fate of the ranger bill that has been
prepared for introduction in the legis
lature. The general feeling of the
cattlemen in this section is that the
measure hasj no chance of passing, as
it seems to be regarded by many as
serving a special interest. Therefore,
it is argued, the territory should not
be put to the expense of paying for the
ranges.
Secretary Barnes of the Territorial
Cattle Growers' association, suggests
a compromise measure, in case the bill
fails, that doubtless will go through.
It is that the cattlemen of the terri
tory pay an additional mill taxes, and
that this amount go to the payment of
the salaries of seven or eight rangers
to be under the supervision of the cat
tle sanitary -board and the Cattle
Growers' association.
Governor Otero has signed the bill
changing the county seat of Torrance
county froni Progreso to Estancia and
increasing the area of the county, and
a bill providing for the salaries of the
judge and the district clerk of the
Sixth judicial district. .