SPRINGS OF LAS VEGAS. 



bv fire. In January, 1SS4, but it was soon rebuilt in a manner absolutely fireproof; 

 and the second " Montezuma " awaits tlie coming of the health-seeker from every 

 part of the United States. Above the springs and the hotels and cottages, a 

 picturesque ravine leads far into the hills, toward cold mountain ponds, said to 

 abound in trout, where the hillsides are covered with forests of pines, presumably 

 the abode of game, and certainly delightful spots for the camper-out. The Arkan- 

 sas valley, through which we passed in coming here, teems with certain game in 

 the season ; and all along the line, by branching off into the mountains, one may 

 hunt for the red and black tail deer, mountain grouse and sheep, cinnamon and 

 black bear, the plumed quail and wild turkey, and perchance come upon an elk^ 

 or a " mountain lion." 

 Every thing here is ton- 

 ic and bracing ; there 

 are no enervating influ- 

 ences, such as counter- 

 act the benefits derived 

 from the hot - springs 

 and health-resorts of 

 other States. A well- 

 known physician, wilt- 

 ing to a paper 

 in Cincinnati, 

 gives his opin- 

 ion of these 

 springs, as fol- 

 lows : — 



"The climate 

 of Las Vegas is 

 the general cli- 

 mate of the east- 

 ern slope of the 

 Rocky Moun- 

 tains, modified " ■*"'' 



favorably by its sheltered position. At 6,767 feet above the sea-level they are more 

 than a thousand feet higher than Denver, and three hundred feet lower than Santa 

 Fe. They are nearly on a level with Manitou, and are seven hundred feet higher 

 than Trinidad. The winters are mild. Snow rarely falls, and, when it comes, lies 

 only three or four hours. Whole months go by in winter without rain or snow. 

 Under a cloudless sky, with radiation unchecked by vapor, the nights are cool in 

 summer, and positively cold in winter, yet the thermometer knows no zero, and, it is 

 said, never touches 90° in summer. The annual rainfall is not more than twelve 

 inches per annum, and a great portion of this is thrown down in July and August. 



" It is impossible by words to give an idea of that sort of purity which the eye 

 recognizes in the air of the plains and the mountains near. It is so translucent that 

 distances are always amiss ; the new-comer having no power to estimate by aerial 

 perspective whether an object is five miles distant, or fifty. Its diathermancy is such, 

 that one is never cold in direct sunlight. While it is certainly true that more light 

 is received here per diem than in any portion of the United States, it is also true 





MEXIt \N ADOIfc, HUT. 



(^Ptrjiussion Missouri Facific Ry) 



