Colorado is a great State. The writer is not a native of its zephyr breezes, its balmy air, or its mountain scenes; hence he speaks without egotism or partiality. Coming to the State two years ago, with a deep prejudice for more familiar sections of our country, and regarding the Centennial State as a part of the wild and woolly and rocky west, with meagerly developed and undeveloped resources, and with a crude and backward civilization, it can not be said that I had any natural inclinations leading to the conclusion chronicled above.
But I have been disappointed. Distance did not lend enchantment to the view, but rather obscured its beauty. A sojourn in the State of over twenty-five months reveals its advantages and great possibilities. But wherein does Colorado’s greatness consist? We answer:—
1. In its agricultural and mineral resources. Situated on the edge of the great American desert, with a porous soil and a dry atmosphere, the rainfall is totally insufficient to meet the demands of thrifty vegetable growth. To supply this lack, the mountain has been made to do tribute to the plain, by sending down a most generous and copious supply of snow water to quench the thirst of nature’s organic products. By means of irrigation, Colorado is now producing some of the finest fruits, grains, and vegetables to be found in the world. The quality is unsurpassed, and the quantity is being yearly increased. Here has the writer eaten as fine apples as ever were produced by Missouri, Michigan, or Oregon, and as fine peaches and smaller fruits as may be raised in the Golden State or the sunny south.
Colorado’s mineral wealth is too well known to need any comment. Away up in the mountain tops, among the clouds, have the lids of God’s caskets of golden gems been torn apart, and his precious jewels discovered; and away down in the deepest valleys have his hiding-places of precious metals been searched out, and their riches made to do service to the needs of man. Mines already rich are growing richer, and new discoveries daily augment the number of precious findings.
2. Colorado is great in its scenery and natural beauty. Every turn is fresh with new revelations. Nowhere else is the sky so blue, the sun so smiling, the mountains so grand, the rolling plateaus so inviting in their native freshness and beauty; and there is no monotony to the scenes. Each has its own peculiar freshness and characteristics. The artist never lacks a subject for his sketch, nor the lover of nature a theme for contemplation. Hill and dale are decked with a profusion of richest flowers. Mountain, cañon, and plain are made joyous with the sound of roaring brooks and rippling rivulets, while the balmy air is pregnant with the notes of beautiful birds and merry songsters; and over all, flooding hill and glade, mountain and plain, with a light as clear as crystal, as invigorating as life-giving elixir, and as golden as the precious metal it reveals to the eager eyes of the anxious gold hunter, streams heaven’s sunlight in all its brightness and beauty.
“Every mood of man finds here an answering mood in nature. The valleys smile with gentle contentment; the brooks laugh with jocund glee; the rivers rage with savage fury in their wild race through their rocky channels; the cañons frown with somber gloom; the mountains gaze with majesty upon the placid plains.” Joy and sorrow, disappointment and hope, peace and unrest, all find a voice and mode of expression among the hills and valleys, mountains and plains of Colorado. With such a variety of attractions, it is no wonder that the tide of tourist travel sets strongly toward the west. Easy of access from all points, with no exorbitant expenses for railroad fare or hotel accommodations, surely the Rocky Mountains outrival the Alps, and Colorado stands as the superior of Switzerland.
3. Colorado is great in its climate. In this it excels all of its other benefits. In this also it excels the world. The atmosphere is bracing and invigorating. It tones up the system better than a spring tonic; it stimulates the flagging energies better than a charge of chloral or morphine. Its effects are speedy and permanent, and it is not partial in its beneficence. All ills or evils find a help or cure. Dyspepsia, the mother of disease, and the combination and essence of them all, makes rapid recovery; and with digestion and assimilation restored, what can resist the efforts of nature to resume her sway!
Statistics show that the great white plague of the century, consumption, carries off one-seventh of the world’s population. One-third of these cases fully recover here; another third have their lives greatly prolonged; while the remaining third die only because they wait until the disease is so thoroughly established before coming here that there is no help for them. The writer has seen what would appear almost miraculous cures of this disease during his sojourn in the State. He has himself been rescued from its grim grasp, and can speak from experience of what others similarly situated may confidently expect if they visit Colorado in time.
One great aid found by the writer in his search for health, he feels constrained to mention, even at the risk of being thought a party to an advertising scheme, the imputation of which purpose he emphatically protests against. His pen is his own, and his mind in his own control. Never yet has he received remuneration for a single word spoken in favor of any enterprise, and the mention made below is no exception to the rule. Hence what he may say is done wholly gratis and voluntarily.
Next to the direct influence of the climate, the writer feels that he owes much to the Colorado Sanitarium. This institution is situated in the quiet town of Boulder, a city of 6,000 inhabitants, nestled at the base of the foot-hills, 20 miles from Denver, on the Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf Railroad. The enterprise was begun about the time of his advent to the State. Indeed, as a patient, he was present at its dedication.
The building is a five-story structure, 96x100 feet, lighted with electricity, heated by steam, and containing a perfect system of sewerage, with all equipments and conveniences of a modern first-class hotel. Accommodations are furnished for 100 guests, and all forms of chronic disorders are scientifically and successfully treated by experienced and up-to-date physicians, men and women who have graduated from the best regular medical schools in the country.
Dr. W. H. Riley, for years a noted specialist in nervous diseases in the east, is in charge of the work. His efforts are ably supplemented by Dr. G. W. Burleigh and Drs. D. W. and Eva Reed, likewise experienced physicians. Added to the medical staff are a score of trained nurses of both sexes, some of whom have had as valuable experience in medical ethics as the average medical man.
The accompanying cut gives a fair idea of where the writer has spent a number of pleasant weeks, as pleasant as invalidism can be made by thoughtful care and kind attention. At the present writing the building is full to overflowing. Only those can be received who make arrangements in advance.
It might be said in this connection that the institution is in no way a money-making enterprise. Its purpose is purely humanitarian, charitable, and philanthropic. No dividends are declared, and no profits arising from the concern enrich the pockets of any individual. But all receipts are used for the payment of expenses, the extension of the work, and the care of charitable cases. To those able to pay, regular rates are charged. But during the past year a large amount of work for the worthy poor has been done gratis.
Any reader desiring further information regarding this most worthy institution, can apply to the superintendent, W. H. Riley, M.D., Colorado Sanitarium, Boulder, Colo., and the same will be cheerfully furnished.
4. Colorado’s Civilization.—For this we will not claim superiority. That would be indeed egotistical, inasmuch as the writer forms a part and parcel of its population. But we do claim in this particular, equality with sister States. As good society and as good educational advantages may be found here as in the older and more thickly populated east. The State university at Boulder stands among the foremost schools of its kind in the country.
One thing that has contributed to the up-building of Colorado is the fact that many of the best people of the east, as regards social and educational advantages, have sought homes here on account of the higher and drier climate to be secured. Thus the State has been built up at the expense of its sister commonwealths.
For the seeker of riches, health, or pleasure, Colorado stands as the Mecca of his desire and ambition. The writer can most cordially commend it to his afflicted friends, and, for that matter, to all others, as the desideratum of all that is needed to constitute a healthful and desirable home.
Come to Colorado and renew your youth and prolong your days. Again I say, Come, and it will do you good.
FRANCIS McLELLAN.
Colorado Sanitarium, Boulder, Colo., August 1, 1897.
