Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 25.djvu/326

314 (Georgia) he would be confined to the house, for the same reason, one quarter of the year; in St. Paul he would be kept indoors between a third and a quarter of the time; while in Boston he would have to be housed a good third of the time."

Many invalids who recognize the force of these data would, nevertheless, hesitate to come to Colorado because of their impression that the people are rough and only semi-civilized, and that the lack of accommodations is so great as to make life, especially for a lady, unendurable. Persons, gaining their information from newspapers, have a vague idea that the State is infested by the cow-boy element, that everybody carries fire-arms, that society is lawless or at the best crude, and that social life is regulated by the nouveaux riches. Such persons would be astonished at the facts in the case. In Denver they will find regular and well-laid streets, numerous and magnificent public buildings, imposing rows of business blocks, numerous and flourishing banks, stately churches, and, above all, comfortable and wealthy homes. A personal investigation will convince any one that Denver is the finest, cleanest, most healthful, and by far the most imposing, of any of the so-called new cities in the United States. It is a false impression that leads any one to think that affairs are crude in Colorado. Throughout the State, even in the smallest towns, are to be found people of culture and refinement. It is a noteworthy fact that the average of education is higher here than in almost any other part of the Union, and there is not a town in the State that is wanting a circle of people who have both read and traveled. It is also a mistaken impression that lawlessness prevails. In the mountains one can go anywhere unarmed, while in the centers life and property are as secure as in the East.

It is an equally mistaken idea that would cause one to hesitate about coming to Colorado for fear of the privations he would have to endure. Throughout the State the comforts of living, in any given place, are as great as they would be in a place of equal size East. Most of the towns are supplied with water- and gas-works. The markets have fruits and vegetables in their seasons, and fish and oysters from the coast. Such articles as groceries, clothing, furniture, are to be had as readily here as elsewhere. Hotel accommodations are as good as, if not better than, are to be found in most places of equal size East.

It should be remembered, however, that the expenses of living may be higher in Colorado, which is a new country, than in the older and more settled portions of the Union. This is to be accounted for partially by the fact that the home production is inadequate to the consumption, by the great distance that intervenes between this State and the centers of supply, and by the fact that it is impossible to grow certain things in this soil. As the question of expense is often of prime importance to invalids who would like to come to Colorado, it