180 



COLORADO. 



Railroads. The following statistics show the 

 mileage of railroads in the State in November : 



Miles. 



Denver and Rio Grande 1,487 



Union Pacific 1,272 



Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe 471 



Burlington and Missouri 345 



Colorado Midland 250 



Missouri Pacific 175 



Denver, Texas, and Gulf 147 



Denver, Utah, and Pacific 65 



Denver and Santa F6 6 



Chicago, Bock Island, and Pacific (estimated) . 250 



Total 4,518 



The Denver, Texas, and Gulf Road to Fort 

 Worth, Tex., was completed early in the 

 year, giving direct communication from Den- 

 ver to the Gulf of Mexico. If the Federal 

 Government can be induced to construct a suit- 

 able harbor on the coast, this line will prove 

 of great value in the development of Colorado. 

 Another road, completed later in the year, 

 was the Rock Island and Pacific, to Colorado 

 Springs. Various branch lines were also in 

 process of construction. 



Stock-Raising. In Colorado, as in other 

 parts of the Western plains, the cattle industry 

 is gradually changing in character and meth- 

 ods. A Colorado journal says: "The plains 

 in the eastern part of the State which, less 

 than a dozen years ago, were covered with 

 cattle, are being rapidly settled and only the 

 poorest range is left. A striking illustration 

 of this fact is found in Pueblo County. The 

 range cattle are being shipped out of that sec- 

 tion of the country, some to the ranges in the 

 western part of the State and some east to 

 Kansas and Nebraska. It is only a question 

 of time when the ranges in the western part 

 of the State will be settled also, and the herds 

 compelled to move again. But it will only be 

 changing the business from the control of a 

 few into the control of many. There are large 

 portions of the mountainous parts of the State 

 that will be utilized as ranges, but they will 

 accommodate a comparatively small number 

 of cattle. The system will be entirely changed, 

 and while the altitude in many parts of the 

 State will prevent the raising of corn in such 

 abundance as in Kansas and Nebraska, other 

 fodder can be raised in as great abundance 

 and so much cheaper that Colorado cattle- 

 raisers can compete with those of any other 

 portion of the country. That this can be done 

 in Eagle County has been demonstrated, and 

 land which, a few years ago, was. deemed 

 worthless for farming, because of the altitude, 

 is now yielding large profits." 



The lies. The people of the State have long 

 desired to rid themselves of the presence of 

 these Indians, who have several times threat- 

 ened the public safety. By an early treaty 

 with the United States, they were separated 

 into three reservations, known as the White 

 River, Uncompaghre, and Southern Ute reser- 

 vations. In 1879, when the Meeker massacre 

 occurred, the Government made a new treaty, 

 which resulted in the removal of the White 



River and Uncompaghre Utes to the Uintah 

 Reservation in Utah. But the refusal of Colo- 

 row and his hand to remain in Uintah, and 

 their annual return to Colorado for fishing 

 and hunting, finally led to trouble with his 

 band last year, when they were driven back to 

 Utah by the Colorado State troops. 



As a consequence of this disturbance, and 

 through the efforts of Colorado citizens, a bill 

 was passed by Congress this year, providing 

 for a commission to treat with the Southern 

 Utes, the only remaining band in the State, 

 and to procure their removal to southern 

 Utah. The commissioners appointed in July 

 under this act were T. C. Childs, of Washing- 

 ton, R. B. Weaver, of Arkansas, and J. Mont- 

 gomery Smith, of Wisconsin. They reached 

 the Ute reservation in August and spent sev- 

 eral months in negotiation, during which, 

 with"' several Ute leaders, they visited southern 

 Utah with a view of selecting the proposed 

 reservation. They were finally successful in 

 the object of their mission, the Indians having 

 consented to the removal. A tract of about 

 1,190,000 acres will be thereby opened to set- 

 tlers in the State. 



Insurance. The sixth annual report of the In- 

 surance Commissioner, for the year ending in 

 May, estimates that new risks were taken dur- 

 ing the year against fire amounting to $50,619,- 

 776, and upon life amounting to over $8,000,- 

 000. This business was done almost entirely by 

 outside companies. " The record heretofore 

 made by Colorado companies," says the commis- 

 sioner, "has been indifferent, and in some cases 

 positively bad. There has been bad faith in 

 many of them from their very inception." 



The Deep-Water Harbor Convention. Early in 

 July a convention, composed chiefly of Texans, 

 with a few representatives from Colorado and 

 Kansas, was held at Fort Worth, Tex., for 

 the purpose of promoting a movement to se- 

 ciire a deep-water harbor on the Gulf coast. 

 The convention adopted resolutions of which 

 the following is an extract : 



It is the sense of the convention that the com- 

 mercial, agricultural, mining, and stock-raising inter- 

 ests, not only of Texas, but of all the territory north 

 and west thereof, as well as the commerce and trade 

 of the United States with other countries, demand a 

 first-class port on the coast of Texas. 



This convention believes that such a port ought 

 to be selected bv a board of competent engineers ap- 

 pointed by the United States Government. 



The remainder of the resolutions urge upon 

 Senators and Representatives in Congress the 

 need of appropriations for this work. It was 

 also voted to recommend a second convention 

 to be held in Denver at an early date, which 

 should include representatives from all the 

 States and Territories west of the Mississippi. 

 Pursuant to a proclamation by Gov. Adams, 

 this convention assembled at Denver on Au- 

 gust 28, and remained in session several days. 

 Delegates were present from nearly all the 

 States and Territories embraced in the call, ex- 

 cept from the Pacific States. Gov. Thayer, of 



