Durango, Colorado - The Great San Juan of Colorado and New Mexico : a Brief History of the (part 2 of 2)

Mr. Zeller was born in Germany, but has been under the American fiag since he was a child. He served his ap¬ prenticeship in Cincinnati, where he thoroughly mastered the science of horology. He was in business in Connorsville, Indiana, until 1880, in which year he came to Colo¬ rado. He first engaged in mining in the Gunnison country, but afterwards settled in Idaho Springs, where he estab¬ lished a jewelry business, and where he still retains min¬ ing interests. He came to Durango in 1894, and has since become known as one of the Smelter City's foremost and most prosperous merchants.

The Boston Coal & Fuel Company was organized in October, 1900. Shortly before the incorporation of the company George C. Franklin, who had been for some time consulting engineer of the Natalie mine, near Silverton, met George W. Brown, a Boston capitalist and large stockafter a day on the ground, during which various of the outcroppings were inspected, a deal was made whereby the company was organized and $25,000 advanced for develop¬ ment work.

holder in the mine, at that time visiting the property. Mr. Franklin had filed on a quarter section of coal land back of Perin's Peak, near Durango, nearly ten years before, and had prospected the ground sufficeintly to convnce him that a vein of coal could be opened up with very little difficulty. Learning that Mr. Brown was in the market for a good coal pioposition, he brought the matter to his attention, and.

their dark days, and The Boston Coal & Fuel Company was not an exception. In the interim that intervened be¬ tween the location of the ground and the organization of the company, others had prospected the ground, ferreting about in the smudges and scratching the outcroppinigs, and each and all had demonstrated to their own satisfaction that there was no coal on the property. These very promptly wrote to the company's Boston stockholders, and their letters might have affected the the future of the en¬ terprise very seriously, had they not been laid before Mr. Franklin, who was very thankful to learn their sources, not a few of whom were at the time enjoying the pat¬ ronage of the company.

The company was seriously handicapped at first, too, owing to the isolation of the property, it being necessary to build a wagon road and haul a distance of four miles. Soon, however, so extensive a body was tapped that Mr. Franklin felt justified in advising the stockholders to build a railroad spur from the Rio Grande Southern to the mine, which he did shortly after, while east to report on a group of mines for the Exploration Syndicate of New York and London. The board acted upon his judgment, and grading was begun May 22nd., of the present year. The roadbed was completed Aug., 28th., but, owing to unavoidable de¬ lays in securing rails, the laying of steel was not begun until Nov. 1st. The road was completed three days before Thanksgiving, and was formally opened by impressive cere¬ monies, and a free excursion, in which nearly 500 people participated.

steel was bought for a pittance at a tax sale, and the loco¬ motive was secured at a bargain. The total salvage to the company approximates $20,000, and, withal, the equipment is all that might have been obtained with the cost and sav¬ ing both spent under ordinary management.

The territory of the company embraces 1,600 acres of patened land, every part of which is traversed by coal veins. It is so situated as to afford natural drainage, has ample water power for an electric plant of large capacity, is densely timbered with pine, and has, besides exhaustless coal deposits, valuable quarries and fire clay banks. There are eight coal veins on the property, so far as known, and these vary from three to eight teet in thickness. Only three of these have been developed to any extent, but the outcroppings of the entire eight may be traced for miles in parallel horizontal lines.

Actual mining was begun December 12th., 1900. The first vein opened, known as Vein No. 1, is four feet in thick¬ ness. It is being developed through a fiat entry, now in 1,500 feet, and a back entry, in the same distance, from which 400-foot laterals, or headings, have been turned to right and left at intervals of 50 feet. Air passages have

Mr. Franklin deserves great credit for the economy oliserved in the construction of the road, and W. H. Wigglesworth, the company's engineer merits no less consideration for the engineering feat he achieved. The road is a nar¬ row gauge, 5.2 mues in length and attains the elevation ar the mine with less than a 3 per cent mean grade. The grading was all done by the company, a large part of the

Vein No. 2, or the San .luan vein, Avas discovered shortly after No. 1 was opened. It is 50 feet above No. 1, and is three feet in thickness. It is being developed in the same manner as the lower vein. As the coal is of a similar grade, this vein is not being very extensive! y

No. 3, though last discovered, is now the main working vein. It is a magnificent body of coal, absolutely free from bone or rust, averaging seven feet. 4 inches in thickness This vein is being developed on the plan known as the room system. The main and back entries are now in 2,300 feet. They will be a mile and a half in length when completed, and laterals will be run at right angles from each entry at intervals of 600 feet. These will be connect¬ ed by passages forming 600-foot squares, in which rooms 22x500 feet in dimension will be mined. This will leave solid pillars 20 feet in thickness between the rooms, and and the dip is such that no hoisting power is required. Another feature is that, while there is a wealth of timber to supply every need, comparatively little timbering is ne¬ cessary, the roof being a solid sandstone. Again, in the upper vein, no dead work is necessary, owing to the fact that the thickness of the vein is greater than a man's height. The entrances are laid with 16-pound rails, the lower working vein having double tracks. Tracks also enter the headings and rooms.

a l)ody of coai 100 feet through between the back of the looms and the entry. There are over 5,000,000 tons of coal blocked out on this vein now, and it is conservatively esti mated that the vein can produce 2.000 tons a day for a cen¬ tury without a ton of return work being done. The work ings on this vein are ventilated by a furnace and stack through which a draft of 20,000 cubic feet of air passes eveiy minute.

The perfect drainage, the immense mountain weight above the veins and the dip are a group of advantages with which Nature has endowed this property. The veins aie dry and free from dangerous gasses as a result of the drainage; the coal is a bituminous of almost anthracite hardness, owing to the billions of tons of stone above; house, the last at Franklin's Junction, where the Perins Peak road taps the Rio Grande Southern. The office and roundhouse are finished. The stone for the buildings was all quarried within a hundred yards of the mine, and is as fine a quality of white stone as there is in the state. Other improvements at the mine are the tipples. A double wood¬ en tipple answers for Nos. 1 and 2; but a magnificent steel tipple, now in daily operation, has been erected for No. 3. Both are fitted up with screens for sorting the coal into the three grades (lump, nut and slack), and the cars are laden direct from the tipples. There are also railroad scales, of 50,000 pounds capacity, at the mine, and all ship¬ ments will be weighed on the car.

Office At The Mine, Completed Since Ahove Was Taken

a day, but this will probably be increased to 2,000 tons daily within a year, as the company has a project on to put in an electric plant that will light the mine throughout and furnish power for electric undercutting machines. The coal from vein No. 1 is especially adapted to domestic uses, while that from No. 3 is better suited for steaming and coking pur¬ poses. Both grades are a superior product, and wherever a ton is sold a patron is made. The company ships all over the San Juan, and has a large city patronage in Du¬ rango and other towns of southwestern Col¬ orado, besides a considerable mine and rail¬ road trade.

The Boston Coal & Duel Company was organized and incorporated in Silverton, in October, 1900, with a capitalization of 500.- 000 shares of a par value of $1.00 each. The officers of the company are Geo. C. Frank¬ lin, President and General Manager; Geo. W. Brown, Secretary and Treasurer; Geo. W. Franklin, Superintendent; J. Watson Hayden, Auditor; W. N. Searcy, Attorney; W. H. Wigglesworth, Engineer, and Edw. Harbaugh, Foreman - all, with the excep¬ tion of Mr. Brown, of Boston, and Mr. Searcy, of Silverton, residents of Durango. As general manager of the company, Mr. Franklin, who is one of the youngest and most successful promoters in Colorado, has accomplished in less than a year the establishment of a business and in¬ dustrial enterprise that is destined to occupy a prominen;, rank among the elements of the state's development.

There has been more written concerning oil since the discovery of the famous Beaumont gushers than in all the previous history of the oil industry; and it is fair to assume that, while nine-tenths of it has been with direct reference to the Texas fields, the measure of activity it has created in other oil sections will be entirely out of proportion to the public attention they will receive. At all events it is so in southwestern Colorado, where the oil fields of Archu¬ leta county are being developed with an energy hitherto unknown.

The San Juan Oil & Gas Company is in this district. The promoter of the company is Mr. Geo. C. Franklin, who ten years ago encamped within an hour's walk of what may prove the richest oil basin in Colorado, and who, through the confidence of an old prospector whom chance threw into his company, learned its location. The com¬ pany is his second important flotation within the past year. The officers and directors are himself. President and Mana¬ ger; J. Watson Hayden, Secretary and Treasurer, and Geo. W. Brown. Mr. Brown is a prominent Boston capitalist, who is well known in the San Juan for his extensive min¬ ing interests in Silverton and in the coal districts adjacent to Durango. Mr. Hayden is also a Boston man, but makes his home in Durango for the present. Mr. Franklin is too well knoAvn to require introduction. He is a mining engi¬ neer by profession, and is known in every mining camp in southwestern Colorado.

The property of the San Juan Oil & Gas Company com¬ prises 2,160 acres in the vicinity of Pagosa Springs and Edith, 2,000 acres lying in what is known as the Via Seco oil basin, near tbe latter point. A. Lakes, the eminent oil expert, went into the basin last spring, and made a thor¬ ough examination of the geological formation for the com pany. The following resume of location, transportation fa¬ cilities, formation and indications, is a digest of his com¬ prehensive report, under date of May 27th., 1901 :

The Via Seco oil basin is situated on the south bank of the San Juan and Rio Blanco rivers, at their confluence, about ten miles northwest of Edith and about si.xteen miles north of Lumberton, in Archuleta county, Colorado. It is idirectly on the Rio Grande railway, and the new railroad, now in process of construction from Edith to Pagosa, will

The Via Seco basin is enclosed by abrupt rocky ridges on all sides, and varies from three to four miles in width and from four to five in length. The center is a grassy park about two miles in diameter. The rocks surrounding and underlying the basin are sandstone, shale and volcanic, basaltic dykes. The upper surface is underlaid by creta¬ ceous shale, below which, at a moderate depth, are sand¬ stones, followed at a greater depth by thick beds of shale the basin is that of an anticline, such as is most sought for by oil men in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wyoming and California, oil and gas having been found, by experience, to favor such formations, the theory being that they were forced up into these arches by the compression of folding. The surround¬ ing dykes are an advantage, as they act as dams, and they have been found to contain globules of oil, where steam caused cavities in the lava during the process of cooling. The oil found in these cavities is usually black, though, in instances, gieen oil has been found. The green oil is simi- and belts of sandstone. The south, or upper end of the basin, is cut by numerous parallel volcanic dykes, at inter¬ vals of several hundred feet. These dykes have a general northeasterly tendency, and descend vertically to great depth. The northern end of the basin is similarly en¬ closed. Steep sandstone ridges form the eastern and west¬ ern walls, and complete a perfect enclosure.

The rocks underlying the Via Seco basin belong to the cretaceous period, the same geological period and the same group and horizon as at Fiorence. The structure of lar to the illuminating oil at Florence. All these oil-sat¬ urated dykes rise from a depth much greater than can be attained by boring, the indication is that consider¬ able oil is contained in the strata through which they as¬ cend. The presence of sulphur and gas springs in the ba¬ sin is another favorable indication. The gas in these springs upon being ignited, flames up in a red-yellow flare, suggestive of carbureted hydrogen, which is considered a very good indication of oil below.

The San Juan Oil & Gas Company will install a complete plant with the purpose of carrying out the advice of Mr. Lakes, and is prepared to give the district a thorough test. The company does not lack for funds, and it is believed that not many months will elapse before the Via Seco basin will be heralded to the world as the richest oil region in Colorado. This company is not the only one that is going ahead in the vi¬ cinity. The Wolcott & Moffatt interests lie close to the company's property, and are be¬ ing rapidly developed. There is one thing certain, if the Archuleta oil fields do not "pan out," to borrow an expression from mining parlance, it will not be for want of thorough and systematic prospecting, for the companies operating in the district rep¬ resent unlimited capital, and are composed of men who do not inaugurate projects with¬ out seeing them through.

oil zones in Archuleta county. The uppermost of these is known as the Navajo, the next below as the Pagosa and lowest as the Blanca. These horizons are approximately a thousand feet apait. It is believed that these oil sands will be encountered in the Via Seco basin; and Mr. Lakes expresses it as his opinion that the Navajo, which cor¬ responds to the oil horizon at Florence, will be tapped within the first 500 feet. He gives the following as his opinion regarding the formations that will be encountered in boring, - 100 to 200 feet of shale, followed by 100 or 150 feet of sandstone, at the base of which is the Navajo oil sand; then 1,000 feet, more or less, of shale, under which lies the Pagosa quartzite, 200 to 300 feet thick, carrying oil; another 1,000 feet of shale and sandstone, and then the Blanca oil sand.

Mr. Lakes says in his report that a w'ell 2,500 or 3,000 feet in depth should penetrate all these oil sands, and that oil is likely to be struck within the first 500 feet. He con¬ siders the Via Seco one of the most promis¬ ing localities in the district, and has indi¬ cated the points at which he advises wells to be sunk.

Addenda; Very recently oil has been struck in the vicinity of Pagosa Springs, and an era of great activity and excitement pre¬ vails. In all probability other strikes will be made as a result of this encouragement, for many companies that have heretofore been quietly awaiting developments are now operating with energy. Hundreds of oil men now have their attention directed to the Archuleta oil fields and thousands of dollars are daily coming into the district for the purchase of territory and the develop¬ ment of properties. The ere-while health and pleasure resort is an infant Beaumont, and no one may tell what day will give its name to the world. As much may be expected of the por¬ tion of the district about Edith, also, for this wonderful country apparently has no limit to possibility in the mat¬ ter of natural resources, and the indications are general.

The Hyde Exploring Expedition

In 1898, B. T. B. Hyde and F. E. Hyde, Jr., wealthy manufacturers of New York City, organized and outfitted an expedition to explore the ruins of a civilization that flourished on the western hemisphere centuries before the time of Cabot or Columbus. Evidences of an early race, vastly superior in intellect to the aborigine, have been unearthed at various points all over this continent, but nowhere has the study of this prehistoric race been more producive of interesting and positive knowledge than in the arid southwest. Here, sheltered by Nature's protecting walls, where the dry atmosphere of desert lands suiters through eternities, time-fallen habitations, only the age;-, could destroy, preserve mute record of a dead past, older than thei histories of the world.

These decayed ruins are believed by many to have once been inhabited by the ancient Aztecs, and the history of their origin has been a mooted question for scientists to ponder. In the opinion of those who have devoted the closest study and most diligent research to the problem, the commonly accepted theory is erroneous. The most probable theory now advanced is based on a series of de ductions derived from discoveries, legends and existing similarities between the customs of tribes now living anti those of the extinct race evident in the data obtained from exploration.

There is much of poetic as well as scientific and his¬ toric interest in the developments of this engaging study. According to a Navajo tradition, the ancestors of that tribeswept down from the north to the warmer climes of the south 900 years ago. They found here a peaceable, indus¬ trious people, and, being a savage, warlike tribe, engaged in a war of extermination, killing the men and appropriat¬ ing the women, a custom common to barbarians of all times and in all quarters of the earth. Where men were slain upon the field of battle their bodies were thrown into the streams, where, tradition has it, they were transformed into fish, and to this day no Navajo will eat fish of any de¬ scription. Another superstition of this interesting tribe is that it is fatal to enter a house where a death has occurred, and each year there are scores of "hogans" (In¬ dian habitations) deserted for this reason. This accounts for the perfect preservation of the communal houses of the Cliff Dwellers, where, in many instances, the contents have lain unmolested from the date of these primeval mas¬ sacres until the present time, lugubrious skeletons lying where tney fell hundreds, perhaps thousands of years ago, to tell of surprise, murder and flight.

This ancient race was known as the "Tiguas," which, in the Navajo tongue, means "men who dwell in houses. ' Many of these, who constructed their houses in the clefts of cliffs had impregnable fortresses only treachery could lender accessible to the enemy. Some were betrayed, as exploration has demonstrated; but there are others that indicate voluntary desertion, and it is a reasonable ven¬ ture that the descendants of these early Tiguas who es¬ caped the ruthless Navajo still survive, if not in the purity of their ancestral progenitors, at least with great similar¬ ities, in the Pueblos, and in lesser degree in the Navajos. There is a similarity, more noticeable than exists among most tribes, between the two, now the only self-suppoiting Indians in the west, and it is not improbablle that the Navajo learned his lessons of industry from the infusion of ancient Tigua blood. It is interesting, too, to note that the significance of the Spanish word "Pueblo," meaningtown, corresponds, in its application to the Pueblo tribe,

This theory is strengthened by Pueblo traditions and by other cognate points. For instance, in the ruins of the Cliff Dwellers thus far explored, a 0011*1011 chamber, or estufa, as the Navajos call it, has been found, and now anyone familiar with the excavations can tell with absolute precision the point at which to dig for this portion of a dwelling, so little variation was there in the rude ideas of these early architects. In the "estufas" also were bur- ied the family treasures. Corresponding to the family estufa was the tribal "estufa" and treasury, where the public jewels were kept and the general councils held. Many of these have been opened of recent years and they have contributed as much to science as anything that has been exhumed from these ruins. The Navajos and Pueblos also have their estufas, and, so far as known, no other tribe closely resembles them in this respect.

Another point which would indicate a blood tie exist¬ ing between these Indians of the southwest and the "Tiguas" who inhabited the old cliff dwellings is evident in the recent discovery by, the Hydes, of a jeweled frog in one of the "estufas" of Pueblo Bonita. The Navajos and Pueblos had handed down from generation to generation the tradition of a wonderful jeweled frog, and the fact that it has been discovered in the ruins of this people, whom scientists have endeavored to identify, establishes af least one point of coincidence in the legendary annals of the tribes named and what would naturally attach to the traditions of the race in question. Whether or not there is more than one "jeweled frog" is not known; but years of quest have produced but the one, and it is a plausible conclusion that but one exists.

Still another analogy between the Pueblo of today and the Tigua" of old is to be found in the fact that a por¬ tion of the survivors of the old race, whose strongholds were not impregnable, paid an immunity or indemnity to the Navajos, and it is well known that the Pueblos have paid an annual tribute to the same tribe until within a

With the warp and woof of knowledge and guesswork furnished by tradition, discovery and reason, mankind may never arrive at anything more definite than theory concerning this great prehistoric race; but, with a frame¬ work of the absolute, building with the vague will con¬ tinue an interesting and instructive process. Of course what degree of accuracy has clung to tribal tradition through centuries of oral transmission cannot be definitely determined; and in calling into requisition such ques¬ tionable records scientists have availed themselves of a beggar's choice.

To the ruins of this nameless people came the expedi¬ tion of the Hydes. Going first to Mancos, the nearest point to what were at that time the most widely known cliff dwellings in the world, they secured the assistance and co-operation of Richard Wetherill, who was without question the best informed man in America on the subject of what are to this day known as the "Aztec" ruins. They foiund much of interest and value in the lofty, mural habitations of Mesa Verde, but little to add to the score of scientific lore already accumulated, and becoming dissat¬ isfied, suspended work for several months. During the interim the Hydes returned east, and Mr. Wetherill, who had heard much from the Indians concerning extensive ruins to the south, in New Mexico and Arizona, made a tour of investigation. At Pueblo Bonita, on the Chaco river, he found a veritable wilderness of ruins, undoubt¬ edly the erstwhile metropolis and capital of the "Tiguas." When the Hydes returned to Mancos, he reported his rich find, and operations were transferred to the Canon of the Chaco, where exploration was prosecuted with great vigor.

It has been charged by the ungenerous that the expe¬ dition of the Hydes was inaugurated for the purpose of private gain, and, had such been the case, the fair-minded must fail to see just ground for criticism; but the impu¬ tation was founded on falsehood or misinformation, and, in either event, was a gross injustice to the men who gave of their time and fortune to the advancement of science. Everything of interest these silent tombs have so far yielded has been presented, without consideration of an.y' kind whatever, to the American Museum of Natural His¬ tory, of New York City, and the science of archaeology has been vastly enriched through these priceless gratuities.

These unwarranted flings probably originated in the fact that the Hydes established a trading post at Pueblo Bonita, where they dealt with the Indians, in instances exchanging merchandise for curios and blankets which were sold to merchantsi and visiting whites. But the mer¬ cantile element was the outgrowth of labor difficulties and was a clever means devised by Mr. Wetherill to obviate trouble of this nature. The employes of the expedition were mostly Navajos, and, after pay day great numbers would invariably take to the trails for the trading posts, where they purchased various kinds of merchandise. This involved an absence of several days in any case, and in many instances they did not return to work at all. The Hydes had placed a considerable sum of money with Mr. Wetherill to meet the season's pay days and other ex¬ penses, and, to put a stop to absence and desertion, he went to Albuquerque and bought a stock of goods selected especially for the Indian trade. Subsequent events proved his judgment sound, for there was an end of the labor trouble; but it did more. The trade was not confined to the Indians on the pay-roll. Hundreds of others traded with the new post, and the mercantile department was destined to be henceforth a very important factor of the Expedition. Other posts were established from time to time, and there are now ten of them, located at Pueblo Bo¬ nita, Ojo Alamo, Tiz Na Tzin, Two Greyhills, Pintada, Ra ton Springs, Blanco, Thoreau, Largo and Farmington. The frontier store on the Chaco, at Pueblo Bonita (Putnam P. O.), has been headquarters, as it was the source of this great system of posts. Thoreau is the only post on a railroad, and at that point extensive warehouses have been built. Everything for the other posts is hauled by freighters either from Thoreau or Durango, though fully 90 per cent is shipped over the Santa Fe in car lots, via the former point. The Durango shipments are principally for Farmington, which is only 60 miles from the Smelter City, while it is twice that distance from the Expedition's supply depot at Thoreau.

Large stocks of general merchandise are carried by the Chaco, Thoreau and Largo stores, but it is in Farmington that the largest stock is carried. Here the Expedition is in the midst of a rich agricultural and fruit section, and has three stores, a bank, a warehouse and a steam fruit evaporator plant. The buildings are all new ami substantial and are owned by the Hydes. The dry goods, clothing and grocery departments occupy a fine brick structure on the principal business corner of the city, and are stocked from fioor to ceiling with everything in those lines salable in this district. The bank and hardware store are located in another brick building three doors wesl. The former was established August 1st of the present year and has for patrons and depositors the principal merchants and ranchers who, until a few months ago, suffered the inconvenience of transacting all their business through distant banks. In the hardware department, everything in the way of shelf hardware, tinware, cutlery, fire arms, and ammunition is carried, supplemented by tons of Navajo blankets, a great variety of Indian curios, ornaments and other goods, a complete line of crockery and household goods, and the thousand and one unclassified articles of commerce belonging to this branch of trade. Farm imple¬ ments and orchard and garden tools are also carried. The harness and saddlery shop occupies the adjoining building, and everything offered for sale, with the exception of bits, spurs, whips and robes, is home and hand made. A spe¬ cialty is made of heavy harness, which is in great de¬ mand by ranchers, though great numbers of saddles are turned out, the cheaper goods going to the Indian traders who sell them on the reservation.

Besides the features of the Expedition's business al¬ ready noted, it owns 10,000 head of stock, of which 7,000 head are sheep, the balance being divided between horses and cattle at about the ratio of 1 to 10. These range from Farmington to the Zuni mountains and are in excellent con¬ dition. A herd of cattle is kept at Fruitland where beeves are fattened for the markets of southwestern Colorado and northern New Mexico, from Silverton to Gallup.

More than a hundred men are employed in the vari¬ ous departments of the Hyde Exploring Expedition, and the aggregate business makes the enterprise one of the largest not alone of the territory, but of the entire south¬ west. The Farmington branch was established in Janu¬ ary of the present year, when Mr. Wetherill purchased the two principal stores for the Hydes. The business was placed in charge of Mr. Geo. H. Browne in April, and the local branch has since been under his personal manage¬ ment. Mr. Browne was especially fitted for this responsi¬ ble position, having been for a number of years manager of the large wholesale grocery establishment of L. B. Put¬ ney, of Albuquerque, in which capacity he had dealt ex¬ tensively with Mr. Wetherill and the Hydes since the founding of the initial post at Pueblo Bonita.

Dave Lewis

In the spring of 1898 Dave Lewis bought 100 acres of land two miles south of La Plata postoffice, and eighteen miles from Farmington. He organized the Revenue Ranch and Water Co., named after the Revenue Tunnel, where he had formerly worked, and backed by the capital of stockholders in that great company. From time to time other tracts were purchased and the ditches already con¬ structed were augmented by others until the 4,000 acres now under the control of Mr. Lewis were watered by an e.Ktensive ditch system, giving an aggregate of thirty miles of main ditches on the property. There are ten ranches, each with dwellihgs and barns. About 1,300 acres belongs

$5,000.00. Besides these there are 6,000 head of sheep, from which the wool will bring $2,000.00, and 3,000 lambs which will market for $1,000.00. By footing up these amounts it will be seen that the aggregate approximates $40,000.00. The yield of alfalfa for the three crops harvested this year shows an average of six tons to the acre, and in instances as high as seven and one-half tons was cut. In some of the fields the wheat yield exceeded 50 bushels to the acre, and that of corn was even greater. The fruit gathered was perfect in flavor and form, large and wormless. To add emphasis to the last assertion, it is sufficient to state that Mr. Lewis offered a $10 reward for to Mr. Lewis in partnership with E. A. Krisher, while a tract of 1.500 is owned by the company, and one of 1,200 acres owned partially by the company and in part by Messrs. Lewis & Krisher. Besides this there is 8,000 acres of range under lease, which will be bought in the near fu¬ ture.

The soil, rich and deep in all sections, is adapted to every variety of orchard, garden and ranch product. This year the alfalfa crop ran over 4,000 tons, representing a minimum valuation of $20,000.00. The fruit yield sold for $5,000; the corn crop is valued at $1,500.00; while the wheat, barley and oats, are worth at present, not less than any worm found in his fruit at the recent fair, and the same offer applies to his entire crop. This is probably the highest reward ever offered for the apprehension, cap¬ ture and conviction of a worm; and to date no clew has been reported.

Messrs. Lewis & Krisher own five of the above ranches, which they rent on shares, giving their lessees half of all they harvest, and furnishing implements, tools, seeds, land and improvements. This is liberal and insures a good liv¬ ing to any industrious and intelligent rancher who rents of them; but one instance in this connection will demonstrate the difference between the productiveness of a ranch under good aiul poor management. At about the time Mr. Lewis came into the La Plata country, a man paid $1,200 for a ] 60 acre tract. The following year he condemned the La Plata and sold his place to Lewis & Co. for $800.00. The lanch paid for itself the first season, and this year the ren¬ tal alone paid $1,500.00, which was but half the actual yield.

Mr. Lewis has achieved everything by labor. There has not been a day in the three years he has ranched on the La Plata that he has not devoted himself to toil; yet he is never too busily engaged to meet strangei-s with cordial and hospitable courtesy. The pride of his heart is his family; after them his ranch. Mrs. Lewis is matron of the domes¬ tic affairs of the ranch and is a true helpmate. The two sons, Edward and Albert, respectively, 3 and 114 years of age, are bouncing healthy boys, and, reared in the school of industry their father's ranch will afford, will grow up to be strong Americans in whatever calling, professional or industrial, they are fitted to pursue.

The Grand Hotel And Livery

One of the many pleasant surprises that greet the vis¬ itor and stranger to Farmington is the excellence of accom¬ modations afforded by the town's leading hostelry. There is but one place for the transient to stop, and that is at the

Grand Hotel. George B. Allen, proprietor of the Grand, has recognized in the absence of competition an opportunity to conduct a good house at moderate prices, and he has built a reputation that will keep out competitors.

The Grand is a substantial brick building containing about 20 guest rooms, neatly and comfortably furnished. The fioors are laid with Navajo blankets, the walls are handsomely papered and the bedsteads are of combination iron and brass. There are no inside or dark rooms, each and all being light and well ventilated. A veranda extends the full length of the building on the 'north and for 20 feet or more on the east. The dining room opens off the par¬ lor and communicates directly with the kitchen. The best the markets afford supply the culinary department, and with the choicest meats, fruits and vegetables grown at its door the Grand has o'nly to secure competent cooks to make the cuisine par excellent. The water used is drawn from the Animas river, but is filtered into a cistern from which it is pumped for domestic uses.

Mr. Allen is also proprietor of the Grand Livery Stables, and is just erecting a fine new barn 50x100 feet in dimen¬ sion, which, when completed, will be the finest building for livery purposes in the entire San Juan. It will be con¬ structed of brick and the best of materials will be used throughout. The ground floor will be divided into a space 32x50 feet, for vehicles and harness, another 18x50 feet, for office and bedrooms, and a stable, 50x50 feet, containing 60 regular and six box stalls. Overhead will be a lodge room 32x50 feet, with two ante-rooms and stairway and hall occupying 18x50, back of which will be a hay mow and granary 50x50 feet. Chutes will connect ^''fts with stalls and the building will be modern in every respect. The old barn will be used as an auxiliary stable and the corral will be cut up into feeding pens. Mr. Allen keeps about 20 fine loadsters and saddlers for livery purposes, and is enlarging the premises for the accommodation of boarders.

Farmington orchard, garden and farm products aie rapidly coming to be recognized as the finest produced in the southwest. This is primarily due to favorable condi¬ tions of climate and soil, but an edually important element is the farmer himself. The farmers of this country are in¬ dustrious and progressive, and produce the best of whicii their ground is capable.

Among the most advanced ranchers of the Farmington district is Geo. B. Allen. His ranch of 120 acres lies about two miles east of Farmington, on the mesa dividing the Animas and San Juan rivers. One hundred acres are under cultivation, of which nearly ninety acres are devoted to al¬ falfa, corn, pumpkins and other farm products to which the land is particularly adapted. The orchard and vine¬ yard occupy ten acres, and contain 50 varieties of peaches, 24 of apples, 20 of pears, 7 of plums, 4 of prunes, 2 of apri¬ cots, 2 of nectarines and 21 of grapes. One acre is given to garden space, and all kinds of vegetables are raised in the greatest perfection.

Mr. Allen had a fine exhibit at the Farmington and Durango fairs both this and last year, and the premiums he was awarded, in view of the excellence of competing ex¬ hibits, were testimonials of the highest merit. Especially is this true with respect to evaporated fruits. Mr. Allen built tbe first evaporator put into successful operation in the territory, and his product has no peer anywhere. He employs the celebrated tower process, and evaporates only selected fruit, all of which is pared before being put in the dryer. After coming from the bleacher the fruit is as clear and flexible as it is possible for it to be made. Of course the additiofnal expense in preparing the fruit means a higher price in the market, but it also means practically no competition in its class, and Mr. Allen's demands always exceed his ability to supply. He erected his evaporator for handling his own fruits only, and its capacity of 300 pounds of evaporated fruit daily, which is the equivalent of 1,500 pounds gree'n, enables him to handle his immense crop with comparatively little difficulty.

Mr. Allen sold $3,800.00 worth of orchard, garden and ranch products last year, which is nearly $40.00 to the acre for ground under cultivation; but this is not surprising to anyone who visits his place. The orchard bears so heavily that it is impossible to prevent a number of breakages each season, but this prodigality of nature has not been paid for in grossness. The texture and flavor surpass, if possible, the beautiful contour and coloring of the fruit.

The Allen country house is one of the finest in this section. It is a substantial brick, and is of generous dimen¬ sions. The barn also bears the unmistakauie stamp of prosperity, and the stock, which is divided between horses and cattle, is of standard breed throughout.

Mr. Allen is well known all over northern Colorado, a'nd commands the esteem of all who know him. By putting into effect his progressive ideas he is each year improv¬ ing his ranch and contributing in a substantial measure to the growth and prosperity of Farmington and the surround¬ ing country. People commonly speak of bonanza mines. Mr. Allen has a bonanza ranch.

Dr. A. Rosenthal hails from the great metropolis, where he was reared and educated. He received his med¬ ical and surgical education at Columbia College, and, after leaving that distinguished seat of learning, devoted a year to the practice of his profession in Charity Hospital, New York City.

During his hospital practice the doctor contracted pulmonary tuberculosis, induced by the unavoidable expo¬ sure to which he was subjected during his attendance upon a patient some blocks distant from the hospital. The disease developed rapidly and he soon recognized the necessity of a change of climate if he would regain his health. Accordingly, he came west about ten years ago.

When the doctor came to Farmington, the medical ju¬ diciary sentenced him to death within two weeks; but the doctor appealed his case to the balmy climate of the San Juan and the verdict was reversed and the sentence an¬ nulled. He gained steadily, and today, if not in vigorous health, at least regards his recovery complete.

Dr. Rosenthal was soon enabled to resume the practice of his profession, and he wisely determined to make the great natural sanitarium to which he owes his health his future abode. His offices are in Farmington and his resi¬ dence is one of the handsome country homes .

The old road from Colorado to Arizona, via Canon Gal¬ lejos, is one of the historic thoroughfares of the southwest, and the watering place at the canon has been the camping ground of Indians and whites traversing the route since it was first traveled. At this point, seventeen miles south of Farmington and eight miles from the reservation, R. T. F. Simpson, known throughout northern New Mexico and southern Colorado as "Dick" Simpson, established an In¬ dian trading post five years ago, and has since dealt with the Navajos and with whites en route between Gallup and Durango.

Mr. Simpson is an Englishman by birth, but has been ten years in the United States and is a naturalized Ameri¬ can citizen. With the spirit of most Englishmen making America their adopted home, he left behind the scenes of older civilization and took up his abode in the west. He settled first in Albuquerque, and it was from there that he came to the San Juan. He was located at Olio for several years after leaving Albuquerque, and, on going to Canon Gallejos five years ago, filed on a quarter section of ranch land. This is still government land, but his title is duly protected and he will probably sink an artesian well in the near future to secure water for the cultivation of the tract.

Mr. Simpson's principal trade is with the Navajos from whom he buys skins and blankets, and who in turn buy gen¬ eral merchandise of him. This tribe is the only one now not pensioned by the government, and is self-sustaining. The chief source of livelihood is the weaving of blankets and stock raising, and the old system of barter has given place to money trading. Mr. Simpson pays cash for every¬ thing, and receives cash in return. He is one of the largest buyers of Navajo blankets in the territory and supplies the merchants of Durango and other localities. His intimate acquaintance with the Indians and long experience in han¬ dling their famous blankets has made him a connoisseur on this article of commerce and there is no better judge of Navajo blankets in the southwest than he.

Mr. Simpson carries a general line of dry goods, gro¬ ceries and hardware, and has excellent accommodations for people shopping at Canon Gallejos. He is a hearty, cor¬ dial, hale-fellow-well-met western man, and is as popular as he is prominent. His acquaintance extends all o\ er the San Juan of New Mexico and Colorado, and there is no one who knows him but has a good word for "Dick" Simpson

Isaac Cherry

Isaac Cheny has been in the San Juan almost since Durango was a city of tents. He first saw the Smelter City April 26th., 1881, and he is one of the pioneers who pinned his faith unflinchingly to the future of Durango. He was reared to the harness and saddlery trade, and has been connected with that calling ever since he has been in the San .Juan.

Mr. Cherry worked nearly twenty years for F. H. Young, whom he succeeded about three years ago, and many of the articles of manufacture for which Mr. Young built up a name and reputation were the product of Mr. Cherry's own hands. While working at the bench, Mr. Cherry met patrons of the store from all over the San Juan, and while every article sold bore the name of Young, he became no less well known than the proprietor him¬ self.

trade, ^irt with a reputation as well. The heavy harness and stock saddles, for which he had earned a fam.e in the mining camps and on the ranges of southwestern Colo¬ rado and northern New Mexico, continued its demand, and the name of Cherry stamped upon an article of leather became known as a guarantee of excellence.

Isaac Cherry was born in New Jersey, fifty-four years ago. He came to Colorado in 1879, settling in Pueblo, Where he worked at his trade. As above stated, he was a picineer to the San .Juan, having come to Durango in 1881. Mr. Cherrys store here is 85x25 feet in dimension, and contains everything in the way of saddlery, harness and horse goods. His store is headquarters for Navajo blan¬ kets, and he carries a large and well selected stock. He employs two men, and his shop is modern in equipment. His patrons come from the ranges and the mining and ag¬ ricultural districts all over the San Juan. His city trade is also very large.

Charles Naegelin

Jhe San Juan of Colorado is not so old but that very niaiy oj it.3 pioneers are j'et in the prime of a vigorous m.«nhcod, and not a small percentage of them are in active

Mr. Naegelin is a native of Missouri, having been born near the town of Herman, in 1853. He learned his trade in his native county, and when, in 1874, he came to Colo¬ rado, there was not a better fender in the state than he. He secured employment as an iron and wood worker in one of the largest shops in Pueblo, but, soon tiring of em¬ ployment, went to Del Norte and started a shop on his ow.n account. From Del Norte he went to Parrot City, in '76, and the following year to Animas City. He had shops ir, each of these places, and, in 1881, when Durango was laid out, he removed to his present location.

Mr. Naegelin's Durango shop is well known all over Da Plata county. It has been in the same location, near the upper wagon bridge, for twenty years. There are two forges, a machine drill, grind stone, emery wheel, etc., opei-ated by steam power, as well as everything required for wood working. Mr. Naegelin makes a specialty of shoeing and plow work, though he does general blacksmithing in all its branches and manufactures all kinds of wagons.

Mr. Naegelin owns his shop and the ground on which it stands. By untiring industry and strict integrity he has earned a reputation that makes him known throughout the county, and his workmanship has brought him a patron¬ age that no agency will oiveit so long as his shop is open tor business. We can imagine such a type as Mr. Naegelin suggesting the theme Goldsmith immortalized in the poem entitled "The Village Blacksmith.''

The United States leads the world in the manufac¬ ture of boots and shoes, and the store owned and con¬ ducted by S. L. Moench, of Durango, is the leader in its line in La Plata county. This is true both as to the amount of goods carried in stock and their quality, for the line of first class goods carried in stock is at all seasons extensive, and shoddy or inferior goods are not allowed a place on the shelves of the store.

City. The store was opened to patronage a little over two years ago, and is the only exclusive boot and shoe store in Durango. Mr. Moench, being amply supplied with capital, buys direct from manufacturers in quanti¬ ties, and controls the sale, in this section, of the ]n-odnet of some of the most celebrated factories on the con¬ tinent.

The stock consists of a full and complete line of men's, women's and children's boots and shoes, suited to every condition of life. For the working man, there is a large assortment of the best heavy goods on the market, while, for the man of business, lighter grades of footwear are canned in a variety of brands and prices.

For women and children, everything from the street boot to the finest house slippers is carried. A specialty is made of children's school shoes, and these are carried in all sizes. The general stock is supplemented by a line of rubber goods tor rainy and slushy weather. A cobbler is employed, and a repair shop is maintained in connection, where half-soling and general repairs are done.

S. L. Moench is a native of Illinois, but came to Col¬ orado froin McCook. Nebraska, where he was for ten years engaged in railroading. He came to Durango in 1899, and opened his store June 1st. of that year. He is an able business man arid valued citizen.

Fred Steineger

for America when twenty-four years of age. He was not a pauper immigrant, who fled Europe to avail himself of the advantages our great undeveloped republic held out to the lowly of the old world; but came with money to in¬ vest and with energy to assist in the upbuilding of our country, and, with varying success, he has shared in the distinction that will ever attach to hardy pioneers of a new domain.

He first engaged in. the harness and saddlery business in Missouri; but it was from Kansas that he came to Colo¬ rado. Disposing of his interests in the Sunflower state, he came to the San Juan in 1873. He devoted years to prospecting and mining operations. He was among the first in Silverton, where he located several properties that have since become famous, and built the first house above timber line in San Juan county.

Mr. Steineger started the first stage line in this sec¬ tion, and made his headquarters at Animas City, long be¬ fore Durango was even dreamed of; and, after the Smelter City was platted, and it became evident that the new townsite would prosper, he purchased the property he stii! owns and erected substantial stables, putting in a firstclass livery stock. He has since devoted himself to stock raising and to conducting his livery establishment which he still maintains.

A glance at Mr. Steineger's portrait, herewith repro¬ duced, evidences the fact that his sixty years of life, nearly half of which have been spent on the frontier, have not dealt harshly with him. He is a man of hearty and cor¬ dial manner, and one who, in days now gone, must have contributed to cheer and good spirits in camp, regardless of hardships or misfortunes.

C. O. D. Steam Laundry

The C. O. D. Steam Laundry is the successor of the old Durango Steam Laundry. The plant and business were partially purchased in December last, at which time E. C. Young, of Cnicago, acquired a two-thirds in¬ terest. In April he bought the remaining interest and went into partnership with his brother, F. L. Young, with whom he had been associated in the laundry business in Chicago. The brothers sold out their interests in the Windy City and added considerable new machinery to their Durango plant, equipping it for the highest class of laundry work.

Since taking the local laundry, the Young brothers have given the people of Durango the best laundry ser¬ vice the city has ever known. Their work is uniform in excellence and approaches perfection as nearly as can be done by experts operating the latest improved ma¬ chinery. No chemicals or acids are used, and the water is distilled. Considerable attention is paid to the out¬ side trade, and the laundry receives regular shipments of laundry bundles from Silverton, Lumberton, Edith, Chama, Aztec, Farmington, Mancos, and other surround¬ ing towns.

La Plata Bottling Works

In. selecting Durango's representattive for "The Great San Juan," the editor has made it an aim to mention the prominent enterprises in the various lines of manufacture and trade, and to give special prominence to those men and institutions which are connected to some extent with the history of the city. In preparing this sketch, it is gratify¬ ing to be able to state that the La Plata Bottling Works is one of Durango's important industries, and John Olbert, its proprietor, is one of the city's prosperous men.

the Smelter City. The business was established in 1891. by its present proprietor, and has kept pace with the pro¬ gress of which it has been a part. From a comparatively small beginning, it has grown to its persent proportions as a direct result of sagacious business management, and, if the future may be predicted on a basis of past develop¬ ment, not many years will elapse until the present capa¬ city and output of the works are doubled.

Mr. Olbert manifested his good business judgment at the outstart in securing the local agency for Coor's Golden beer. While this brew is practically unknown outside of

Colorado and New Mexico, it is very popular with Colo¬ radoans. being by many esteemed as superior to eastern beers. Whatever its standing in the San Juan when Mr. Olbert took the agency, it is certainly in great demand by beer drinkers now and is regarded as a staple by all retail liquor dealers. It is made from the purest hops and con¬ tains no adulterant ingredients, being a clear amber in color, of refreshing flavor and of healthful properties.

The La Plata Bottling Works were built by Adolph Coor, and number three buildings, the main building being a two-story structure, 60x25 feet in dimension. Besides the main building, there is a boiler house, 10x16 feet, back of which is a 16x70 foot ice house. All are of brick. The ice house has a capacity of 135 tons of ice, and a tempera¬ ture of from 38 to 40 degrees is maintained within the six¬ teen inch walls. The boiler is an eight horsepower. The appliances in the bottling works are all modern and the latest improved in use. Before long Mr. Olbert contem¬ plates putting in his own ice plant, and the works then will be the most complete in this section of the state.

Mr. Olbert receives consignments of Coor's Golden beer direct from the brewery and in car lots. In all h? useu five cars in the month of July, and that represents his average for summer months. In winter the average is nearer four cars per month. He buys his bottles by the carload and has his own private label. A part of his ship¬ ments is sold in the keg, to be on tap at saloons, but the greater part is bottled for sale to retail liquor dealers and to the family trade. Mr. Olbert's trade is by no means confined to Durango. He does a large business with surrounding towns as far north as Silverton, west to Do¬ lores, east to Chama, and south to the settlements of northern New Mexico.

John Olbert was born in Germany, but has been in the United States since he was seven years of age. He was reared to the brewery business, and has never been asso¬ ciated with any other line. In reflecting upon his career, the writer is reminded of a statement of one of our Ger¬ man consuls, towit: "The' German excels in industry, per¬ severance and thrift. These virtues enable him to accom¬ plish great results in almost any field of enterprise he may choose to enter."

The Goodman Paint And Wall Paper Company

The Goodman Paint and Wall Paper Company is com¬ posed of Prank and George Goodman. The house was founded by Frank Goodman twenty-one years ago, and is one of the oldest mercantile houses in the San Juan. George Goodman purchased an interest in 1882, the year after the house was established, and the two have since conducted the business. They have been so long in business in Durango that they are known all over the San Juan, not only as men especially skilled in their line of work, but also as reliable and trustworthy business men. Their past record, during which they have done work on almost every building erected in Durango, justi¬ fies the statement that any contract they undertake will be executed in the most artistic and workmanlike man¬ ner.

The Great

glass, painters' supplies, picture mouldings and ait ma¬ terials, a complete line of the latest styles of wall papers and decorations, such as lincrusta-waltons, satin stripes, pressed leathers and combinations, together with a full as¬ sortment of fancy room mouldings. Making picture frames to order is a specialty of the business, and paint¬ ing, paper hanging and interior decorating in all its branches is done by contract, in accordance with specifi¬ cations named. The company manufactures nearly all its own paints, being better able to pro.luce a grade suited to local climatic conditions than the large manu¬ facturers who must prepare a brand for general use and for sale in every market regardless of varying conditions.

The Goodmans have been too long residents of the San Juan to require commendation. They are pioneers of the 80-s, and they are pioneers of the present day. too, whenever occasion calls for someone to take the initiptive in matters of public progress.

In every city of any importance in the civilized world there is one place, above all others, recognized by the vo¬ taries of fashion as headquarters for some particular line pertaining to the feminine wardrobe. In no instance is this fact more conspicuous than in the preference evi¬ denced by the ladies for the thoroughly metropolitan mil¬ linery establishment.

Gilbert's millinery parlors have been for years the recognized bon ton millinery establishment of Durango. The business was established in 1893, and two years later absorbed the stock and trade formerly owned by Mrs. Lemon, so that Gilbert's is the only first-class millinery store in the city. The parlors are none the less attractive, however, for want of competition, and patrons are so well satisfied with the stock, prices and methods of business that it is doubtful if another milliner could establish a trade in the city.

The stock carried is as diverse as are the tastes of a community, and comprises a very complete line of every thing for ladies' headwear, including pattern hats, uutrimmed hats, skeletons and frames, ribbons, ostrich plumes and every description of trimming. Artistic trim mers are employed, and hats are trimmed to order. Many of the hats that are on display are the creations of the trimming room, and, but for price, any of them cannot be distinguished from pattern hats.

where she buys the latest ideas in feminine headgear. Having been formerly located in New York City, she is well acquainted with the jobbers, and is enabled not only to secure the latest designs, but important discounts, as well. The sisters are all ladies of refined taste, and are held in high regard by friends and patrons alike.

sisters, the Misses Gilbert desire to sell their business. A reference to their books will show the past season to be the best in the history of the store.

That Durango could possess a modiste of Miss Clarke's reputation speaks more eloquently for the fashion¬ able character of the Smelter City's ladies than mere words. Modistes of Miss Clarke's reputation do not go ' where there is not a demand for fashionable dressmaking. The average city of Durango's population is satisfied with the average dressmaker, and if anything above the ordi¬ nary gown is seen on the street, it is usually from else¬ where.

That well-dressed ladies are the rule and not the ex¬ ception in Durango is evidenced by the fact that there has been sufficient work of the higher class to justify Miss Clarke in remaining continuously in the city for the past five years. Of course there are seasons in dressmaking, the same as in tailoring, but there has always been enough work in Miss Clai'ke's parlors to keep her occupied, and, at the height of the seasons, she frequently finds difficulty in securing the necessary force of skilled needle workers.

Miss Clarke does all cutting and fitting herself. She subscribes for the standard fashion magazines, and keeps abreast of the very latest styles. Her fashion plates are elaborate, and represent the prevailing fads to the minut¬ est detail. But this is not what makes Miss Clarke's dresses and suits distinguished for their set and effect. It is the indefinable sense we call taste. She seems to possess a natural faculty for producing the effects best suited to the figure and carriage of women, and ladies who rely upon her taste may grace any company in which they are placed.

No higher tribute can be paid womea of the present day than to recognize in them tne culture ana refinement of ladies of all periods, and the business capacity and acu- .men, which have been, in woman, a development of re¬ cent years. Miss Clarke has assumed the responsibilities of business without losing any of the delicacy of her re¬ fined womanhood.

Coulson Brothers

Bayfield is one of the new towns of southwestern Colorado, and, through the public spirit of Coulson, Bros., the leading general merchants of the place, the major portion of the firm's space in "The Great San Juan" will b.3 devoted to Bayfield and the section of which the town is the center.

There has been a small settlement at this point on the Pine river since 1888, the postoffice having been known as Los Pinos, and the farmers of the surrounding country had for years traded at the store, blacksmith shop and flour mill - the three enterprises that constituted the com¬ mercial elements of Los Pinos - when, in March, 1898, the townsite of Bayfield was laid out. The new name was of¬ ficially recognized by the postal authorities the following year, and the growth of the town dated from that event.

Bayfield now has a population of 200, and the territory commercially tributary to the town supports not less than ten times that population. There are four stores, a restaurant, a hotel, a livery, three blacksmith shops, a flour mill, a school house with 144 pupils enrolled, three churches, and no saloons. The town is well built, and the number of fresh, unpainted buildings evidences its prosper¬ ous growth.

The town is in La Plata county, about 20 miles east of Lurango and ten miles from Ignacio its daily mail service coming in and going out via the latter point. It is in the midst of a wide and fertile area adapted to agriculture and grazing, and there are now fully 1,500 families and 40,000 head of stock in the 500 square miles about Bayfield. Probably a third of this wide e.vpanse is arable soil, and a third of such land is already occupied. The balance is ex¬ cellent range. There is an abundance of water for irriga¬ tion, and an extensive canal system, tapping Pine river and Beaver creek, has already been constructed. This country bids fair to be traversed by a standard gauge rail¬

Coulson Bros, established their business in Bayfield a year and a half ago, and now have the largest general store in the town. Their stock valued at $10,000.00, fairly gorges the salesroom, which has recently been enlarged to 25x100 feet in dimension, and fills, besides, a basement 25x50. A room 15x100 feet, will be built above the main salesroom for the storage of furniture. The firm also has a steam elevator and feed mill, the former having a stor¬ age capacity for 25,000 bushels, and the buying and selling of grain is an important feature of the business. All mer¬ chandise is bought by the carload, where practicable, and the stock embraces everything in demand by the trade of the house, which extends as far east as Piedra. Two clerks and a bookkeeper (Mrs. D. C. Coulson) are em¬ ployed.

The firm of Coulson Bros, is composed of Messrs. D. C. and V. L. Coulson, both natives of Colorado. Mr. D. C. Coulson is the manager of the business, his brother being a locomotive engineer on the line of the D. & R. G. narrow gauge system. Before opening up the firm's store at Bayfield, Mr. Coulson was eleven years in the sales depart¬ ment of The Graden Mercantile Company, of Durango, and was city treasnrer of Durango one term. He was eminent¬ ly fitted to make a success of merchandising on his own account.

Coulson Bros, are the chief stockholders of The King Consolidated Ditch Company, now constructing a canal that will water, when finished, upwards of 20,000 acres of land. Mr. D. C. Coulson is the treasurer of the com¬ pany.

The present age is the age of the young man. In all walks of life the man of gray is making way for the vigor, the energy, the vitality of the young. This tendency is less apparent, because less rapid, in the east, and is less conspicuous, because less common, in the professions, but the pre-eminence of the young man is general in a positive degree, and, even in the province of law, the veneration of silver hairs is second to admiration of virulent youth. And it is as it should be. The snowy heads will soon be gone, and the burden of national responsibility will rest upon the stalwait shoulders of their sons.

James P. Anglim is one of the rising young men of th*^ San Juan. Born in the cradle of fame, the great com¬ monwealth of Ohio, Mr. Anglim's debut upon the stage of life was most auspicious. He received a high school edu¬ cation in his native town of Lancaster, and was reared in the midst of strong democratic influences, Fairfield county, in which Lancaster is located, having been, from the earliest days down to the present, the sturdiest democratic stronghold in Ohio. After a three-year course in the state university, he engaged in mercantile pursuits in Columbus, where he remained in business for a number of years.

It is difficult to learn just where Mr. Anglim began reading law. From the time he was old enough to assert a preference, he was confident that the legal profession was his destiny, and it is probable that he began his chosei study soon after leaving school. In speaking of the subject himself, Mr. Anglim says he read law out of business hours for years before he finally abandoned mer¬ chandising to enter a school of law.

During Mr. Anglim's course at the Denver Law School, he was associated with the late Henry C. Van Schaack, one of the ablest attorneys of Colorado, and he rightly considers his experience of three years in Mr. Van Schaack's office of equal value to his regular course; for, while mastering the theory of law, he was in the mean¬ time gaining a valuable knowledge of its actual practice, so that, on being admitted to the bar, he was not situated rs are so many young lawyers, graduates of eminent col¬ leges, who have to beg prominent law firms to accept their appienticeship gratis, that they may familiarize them¬ selves with the forms of legal practice.

Mr. Anglim came to the San Juan country less than two years ago. He established his residence in Rico in 1900, and opened offices there April 1st., of that year, it was there that he first manifested an interest in Colorado politics, though he had, ever since his residence in the state, evinced a keen interest in national issues, and his brilliancy at the bar ordained that he was not long to re¬ main obscure in the political arena of his adopted home. The recognition of his e.'cceptional abilities was signalized in the democratic convention held in September of his first year, when he was nominated as a candidate for district attorney of the Sixth Judicial district, on the straight dem¬ ocratic ticket. There were two other tickets in the field, and the 1,200 plurality he received, running far ahead of his ticket in his own bailiwick, eloquently voiced the emi¬ nence to which he had risen within a few months.

District Attorney Anglim took the oath of office Jan¬ uary 1st., of the present year, at the same time transfer¬ ring his office and residence to Durango, from which point he could more ably administer the duties of his responsi¬ ble trust.

The Sixth Judicial district embraces the whole of Do¬ lores, Montezuma, La Plata, San Juan and Archuleta counties. Mr. Anglim has but one deputy, Benj. F. Rus¬ sell, of Silverton, in this wide territory, and the duties of his office are exceedingly onerous; but he has discharged them with a* religious regard to the people's rights, and his official career has so far justified the statement that he regards the entire people his constituents, regardless of party affiliations or political prejudices. His success has been almost phenomenal. Of twelve cases of felony that he has prosecuted during the year, not one has gone against the people, and this, we believe, establishes a rec¬ ord in the legal annals of the district.

Mr. Anglim's term of office will run the official term of three years, besides which he will hold over a year on the following term. If he has any ambition for reelection, all that will be necessary for him to do is to take the elapsed portion of his administration for an example and continue as he has begun. But the future may hold better in store for him, and it is not imp"obable that it does, for a political organisation does net overlook men of his popularity, to whose ability and integrity in office the attention of voters may be directed.

Mr. Anglim has had a strong voice in his party .coun¬ cils since coming to Durango, and is now chairman of the La Plata county democratic central committee. He mar shalled the party's forces during the recent county cam¬ paign and put up a conspicuously clean and vigorous fight for the principles of democracy.

John Kellenberger

John Kellenberger was born in Switzerland, but came to the United States in 1880, while yet a youth in his 'teens. He first touched American soil at New York, and he had been less than a year in the Great Republic when he came west to Denver. A year later he went to Breck¬ inridge, where he established a bakery. He had not yet mastered English when, in 1883, or about the time he at¬ tained his majority, he sold out his bakery and went to California. He became extensively interested in wineries in the Golden state, and accumulated a comfortable for¬ tune. He was one of the founders of South Riverside, Po¬ mona and Ontario, in southern California, and still retains valuable real estate interests in that section of the state.

Coming to Durango in 1892, Kellenberger established a wholesale liquor and cigar business, putting in the largest stock of imported and domestic wines, liquors and cigars that had ever been brought into the San Juan. He secured standard brands, well-known in every market, and started out on the road to establish his trade. His goods brouhgt him an immediate patronage from local retailers, and, it was only a question of time until he had introduced his goods to the trade in every town in southwestern Colorado and northern New Mexico.

Mr. Kellenberger represents Bernheim Bros., of Louis¬ ville, Kentucky, the largest distillers in the world, Harper and many of his best whiskies, such as Columbine, Mono¬ gram, Bridal Veil and Sunflower, are the product of these great stills, though they are Mr. Kellenberger's own pri¬ vate brands. He also sells the celebrated I. W. Harper whiskies, which were awarded gold medals at New Or¬ leans, in 1885, at Chicago, in 1892, and at Paris last year, 1900, in recognition of their purity and excelience. In Cal¬ ifornia wines, Mr. Kellenberger handles the product con¬ trolled by Lachman & Jacoby, and ships direct from San Francisco. He also handles imported wines, brandies, gins, ales, beers and cordials. He makes somewhat of a specialty of his Spaten Brew Muchen, German beer, ana serves quite an extensive local family trade by the case.

Mr. Kellenberger buys all liquors and bottles by the carload, doing his bottling right here in Durango. Buying in such quantities and bottling here, he saves a large mar¬ gin on freight tariffs, and is thereby enabled to put his goods on the market, both bottled and in bulk, at prices that defy competition. To this advantage as much as to the high standard of quality Mr. Kellenherger's brands represent, is due his phenomenal success, and the people of the San Juan who congratulate themselves that they are patronizing home enterprise in buying of him sacri¬ fice nothing for their patriotism. There is o.ie beverage Mr. Kellenberger puts up that has won a reputation an over the San Juan, and as far as Cripple Creek, Pueblo and New Mexico; that is his Raspberry Julep. This julep is a refresning, delightfui beverage, biended to the connois¬ seur's taste, and is in demand by every first-class bar, hos¬ pital and family. It is par excellence the best julep on the market, and belongs in a class entirely to itself.

In the line of imported and domestic ciga-'s, Mr. Kellenberger carries one of the most extensive lines, both as regards variety and quantity, in Colorado. Among the more expensive brands are the Columbine, Mild Domestic, Monogram, White House, El Sidelo, Chas. Carrois, Orisdale. Governor General and La Finola, the last named be¬ ing a clear Havana in nine sizes. The cheaper line em¬ braces the El Testimonio, La Gloria, Havana Sprouts, El

Merito, Marco Merito, Blue Racket, Porto Rico Crooks, Speckled Ti'out and Educator. The Porto Rico Crooks are Mr. Kellenbei-ger's own patent. Their name indicates their form, and they are very popular with smokers. In fact, all the brands above named represent the best values.

As above stated, Mr. Kellenberger is his own travel¬ ing salesman and has been for years. While his trade is especially large in the San Juan, it is by no means con¬ fined to this territory. He does a large business in the Cripple Creek district and even in Denver, where he con¬ fronts the most active competition in the state. The fact that it is possible for him to sell in Cripple Creek and Denver is in itself a sufficient commentary upon his ability to meet all competitio.r as to piices. II? ships diiectly from the factory, winery and distilleiy. and has recently contracted for the entire output of the distillery at Fariiiington, New Mexico. Besides his Durango house he main¬ tains a wholesale liquor establishm? rc in Chicago, his place of business being a substantial 5-story building (his own property) at 116 Franklin street.

Mr. Kellenberger is a man of family, his wife an-l children residing in Durango. He has two daughters, eight and ten years of age, attending school during the school year in the Smelter City, who are good naturedly referred to as "those boys.'' Mr. Kellenberger having face¬ tiously remarked that all his boys were girls. It is quite a hoax among his friends, and wherever he goes inquiries are made concerning "those boys." Mr. Kellenberger is a pub¬ lic spirited man, and one who stands very high in business circles in Durango and throughout the stats. He is liberal and p;og essive, and, in short, such a man as benefits a community l)y his enterprise and phu k.

The Great Sae Juae

Among the early ranchers of the Animas who still re¬ main to cultivate their fertile acres, is T. A. Kerr, owner of the Hermosa Ranch. Mr. Kerr is a native of Missouri, having been born in that state in 1849, and was reared on a farm. He was a pioneer of the early 70's to Colorado, set¬ tling first in the Arkansas valley near Pueblo, where he had extensive cattle and flouring mill interests. He came to the San Juan in '76, and built and operated the first lumber and flour mills in La Plata county. He also put up the first school building in old Animas City, and was one of the early county commissioners of La Plata county, serving in that official capacity at the Lme the county seat was removed from Parrott City to Durango. That is the only political office he has ever held, though, had he aspired to preferment, his party might have gone far tf/ find a man so generally respected and of equal integrity.

Mr. Kerr was one of the first ranchers on the Animas. His Hermosa Ranch, as the property appears today, with its modern improvements, bears little resemblance to the tract that he purchased nearly 20 years ago. There have, since that time, been some acquisitions and sales, but It is not in the altered boundaries that the change is appar¬ ent. It is in its fine modern buildings, well kept orchards and cultivated fields - in short, in everything that differen¬ tiates the Hermosa Ranch from the typical western ranch and that likens it to the well tilled and expensively im¬ proved farm of the east - that the transformation is notice¬ able.

Like all good ranchers, Mr. Kerr has ample barn fa¬ cilities, but, unlike many, he has regarded the comforts of his family as of even greater importance than that of his stock, and, accordingly, has built one of the finest country houses in the southwest. In architecture, his residence would grace a city avenue, and is as well furnished as many a fashionable home. The outbuildings are well kept, and enhance rather than detract from the general pleasing effect. One of these, a greenhouse, 20x100, is used for flora and vegetable culture. It is provided with steam heat and patent ventilators and watering devices, so that any desired degree of temperature and humidity may be nmintained. Mr. Kerr sells his hot-house vegetables at all seasons in Durango and Silverton and ships outside lo some extent.

The Hermosa Ranch comprises 240 acres, entirely de¬ voted to orchard, garden and farm produce. The orchard is in its prime, and the annual production of apples, pears, plums, prunes and cherries runs into the thousands of boxes. Strawberries are also raised and bear luxuriantly, yielding a berry perfect in form and flavor. Vegetables of all kinds flourish, and a failure of crops seems to be a dis¬ aster to which this fertile region is immune. Mr. Kerr raises about 20 acres of potatoes and 60 acres of alfalfa each year, the latter being more particularly for his own stock, which comprises horses and cattle. His cattle are all Holsteins, and he owns one of the finest thoroughbred Holstein bulls in the state.

Mr. Kerr has a wife and six children. Mrs. Kerr, Avhose poi trait is reproduced with that of her husband, is matron of the domestic affairs at the ranch, and is a true helpmate. She is a lady of refined instincts and tender sympathies. Mr. Kerr is no less a man of honorable ana upright character, and one who contributes liberally, both by industry and public spirit to the growth and prosperity of the country back of Durango.

J. W. Buckley is one of the oldest manufacturers ot their daily 10-hour run. The timber is bought on the stump lumber in the state of Colorado. Born in Essex county, from ranchers, and the finished product is sold all over the

79, and has been 22 years identified with the lumbering in- Mr. Buckley and his familj^ live in a handsome residustry of this state and of New Me.xico. dence on the mill property. He has two manly sons, at- about 13 miles from Durango, Mr. Buckley was nine yeai s a prominent lesident and lumber manufactuier of Mancos. His Florida mills, which are managed by George M. Carr, also formerly of Mancos, have a capacity of 2.5,000 ft. for

Frank Conner

No branch of business has been more rapidly or scieu tifically developed within the last two decades than that of photography. It has called to its aid the most skilled in¬ ventors and the most caieful students of art. But while there are many photographers who produce effects far su¬ perior to those obtainable a few years ago, there are yei too few who may be really termed artists.

Durango is very fortunate in possessing a photogra¬ pher of more than ordinary ability, in the person of Frank Gonner, many of whose landscape and portrait photo¬ graphs are reproduced in half-tone in this magazine. Two of these latter, which appear under the title of "Durango Century Plants," are masterpieces of art, and the reader is respectfully referred to them. For examples of his landscape work, no better reference can be made than to those reproduced in Boston Coal & Fuel Co's article.

Mr. Conner's studio is equipped with fine cameras, and the skylights are so adjusted that the best effects of light and shade may be produced. His work has won him a wide reputation, and is praised highly, not only in this part of the country, but everywhere it is sent, even by the photographers to the Court of St. .James, of London, Eng., as testimonials to that effect in possession of Du¬ rango parties will show, and there are, indeed, many cit¬ ies of far greater population than Durango that are less favored in this respect than the Smelter City.

Financial Durango

Durango invites a comparison of its financial institu¬ tions with those of other municipalities of equal popula¬ tion. The city has three banks with deposits aggregat¬ ing considerably over a million dollars. Two of these, the First National and Smelter City National, are governed by the federal laws regulating institutions of the kind, and have demonstrated their stability by weathering every financial strain the country has experienced since their or¬ ganization.

The third, the Colorado State Bank, which maintains a branch at Pagosa Springs, is both a commercial and savings bank, and is the strongest institution of the kind in southwestern Colorado. Its strength was particularly shown during the panic of 1893, when it established an en¬ viable rank in financial circles in this section of the state for the strength of its cash assets and for its protec¬ tion of patrons. It is especially strong in the allegiance and regard it manifests toward all who deal with it, and is active in promoting and caring for their interests. This bank issues r-egular statements of its condition in accord¬ ance with the state laws.

It is an interesting, though irrelevant observation, and one in no manner intended to reflect on the integrity of purely commercial banks, that the 1,000 savings banks in the United States carry deposits exceeding those of the country's 6,000 national banks.

Herman C. Schroder

Herman C. Schroder is one of the earliest settlers on the Pine river. Years before there was any town on the pres¬ ent site of Bayfield, his flour mill stood as a distance mark building of the country about Bayfield, for it has given the farmers of that section a local market for their grain. Its capacity of 35 barrels of flour daily is totally inadequate to present needs, and it is not improbable that it will be materially increased.

Mr. Schroder was one of the successful candidates on the republican ticket this fall, having been elected one of La Plata's county commissioners. He is..-a trustworthy, conservative man, and will administer the duties of his office with strict integrity.

Durango Plumbing Company

It may be doubted if a greater advance has been made along any line of changes in modern life and customs than in the matter of sanitary plumbing. It is now frequently asserted that it is of far greater importance to us that our plumber should be expert than that our physician be the best.

In the light of the above statement, the people of Du¬ rango are to be congratulated in the possession of a firm of plumbers who have made the science of sanitation a study, and who are competent to put their knowledge to practical use from a mechanical standpoint. Residents of Da Plata county will recognize the reference as applying to the Durango Plumbing Company.

rear, is equipped with all the latest improved machine tools. Only .expert journeyman workmen are employed, and the company guarantees all work turned out to be absolutely first class. Estimates are submitted on request, and the company is prepared to execute work anywhere in the southwest.

James J. Gorman was born in New York City, in 1865. He learned his trade in the mertopolis, and came from New York to Colorado in 1891. He came to Durango the following year, and, in 1893, entered into partnership with his present business associate. He has since been closely identified with the interests of the city, and, since 1898, has been connected with the municipal government as city water commissioner.

It is the style under which Messrs. James J. Gorman and Frank H. Rivers conduct business, and, as such, has come to represent the highest standard of workmanship and honorable business methods all over the San Juan. The company began ousiness in 1893, and it has e.xecuted prac¬ tically all the large contracts for work in the business blocks, residences and schools of Durango let since that date. The company put in the plumbing and heating plants for the Longfellow, New Park and Whittier school buildings in Durango; did all of the plumbing in the Trim¬ ble Springs Hotel, and has done work in various parts of the San Juan.

The company carries a line of plumbers' supplies, and bath tubs, sinks, washstands, closets, etc., are on display in the salesroom. The shop, which is immediately in the

Frank H. Rivers owes his nativity to Boston, where he was born in 1863. He learned his trade in the large plumbing establishments of the Hub. He came west in 1889, locating in Denver, where he remained until 1891, in which year he came to Durango. Mr Rivers has also been prominent in local politics, having been elected as the alderman of the ward in which he lives, first in 1897 and at each succeeding election.

Messrs. Gorman and Rivers are men of long and valu¬ able experience in their business, themselves expert work¬ men, and men of business ability and strict integrity. Be¬ sides their local plumbin,g business, they are interested in mining in the Oro Fino district. They are men who have staked everything on the future of Durango, and they are liberal in contributing to the community's growth.