142 SURVEY or COLORADO AND NEW MEXICO. 



with wliicli the Commissioner of Agriculture could send out an agent to 

 investigate this matter more thoroughly. Even should a more thorough 

 examination overturn and reverse the testimony I have adduced, his 

 labor need not be lost, as he could, while proceeding with this, gather a 

 host of facts in regard to the agricultural cajDacity of our Territories, 

 which would be of great value to the stream of emigrants pressing west- 

 ward from the States. 



I am aware the present season has been an extraordinarily wet one ; 

 but I have carefulh^ endeavored to prevent its leading me astray, always 

 extending my inquiries to a series of years, and calling attention to the 

 unusual amount of rain this year, that it might not unduly warj) the in- 

 formation received. 



The excess of rain duilng this season I find has been felt most sensi- 

 bly north of South Platte and between the Raton Mountains and Las 

 Vegas. In the latter section there are some creek valleys where the 

 rain last season was so excessive as to injure the cro^js, as, for instance, 

 the Eayada. And the present year, crops in many valleys not furnish- 

 ing water for irrigation have been and are maturing finely, as the 

 beautiful one in which Fort Union is situated, which is as fresh and 

 green as the banks of the Susquehanna. 



Hail-storms are of not unfrequent occurrence during the summer, and 

 sometimes do considerable injury to the growing crops. I have frequently, 

 during our passage through the country, noticed fields of corn torn into 

 shreds. But, as a matter of course, these storms are always quite 

 limited in their extent. 



POPULATION. 



Colorado is pre-eminently a mining country ; its mineral wealth having 

 recently brought within its bounds most of its present population. 

 Eagerly searching after the metallic riches which lie buried in its rugged 

 mountains, but little attention has been ])aid to the cultivation of the 

 soil. Therefore the data from which to draw conclusions, in regard to 

 the adaptation of its soil and climate to the growth of any particular 

 cereal or fruit, are very meager. Yet enough is known to show that, by 

 proper cultivation, this Territory will produce as fine and as abundant 

 crops of wheat and oats as the most favored section of the Union ; and 

 that the western border of what was once designated " The Great 

 American Desert " will, at no very distant day, present its broad fields 

 of golden grain. This is no wild fancy of the brain, but the inevitable 

 result of the march of events now rapidly moving onward. That the 

 high anticipations of the most sanguine will be fully realized I do not 

 claim, but the derogatory reports of disappointed fortune-seekers will, 

 ere long, be disproved by a multitude of experiments. 



At this time not more than one-fifth or, as some contend, one-eight of 

 the population of the Territory are actually engaged in agricultural pur- 

 suits, the great portion being in some way connected with the mining 

 interests or business arising out of them. But the one must draw the 

 other — those who mine must eat — and the heavy expense of bringing 

 food from the States is Avorking out its own cure. The necessity for 

 moving forward the agricultural interests of the country are being felt 

 and acted on. A territorial fair has been in operation for a few years, 

 and is exciting considerable interest among all classes of citizens. 

 Even while I am writing this portion of my report the annual fair is in 

 progress at Denver, which, I very much regret, I have been unable to 

 attend, but I will endeavor to ascertain all of general interest connected 

 therewith. 



