NMAC BTWN A TWIN TURBOPROP CLBING OUT AND A DSNDING DC9. THE RPTR TOOK EVASIVE ACTION BY MAKING A STEEP R TURN.

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DEPARTED COS ARPT AT ABOUT XA20; WITH A VFR ISSUED CLRNC. THE TRIP WAS COS TO A RANCH DEST IN NE NEW MEXICO; ABOUT 160 MI S ON ABOUT A 165 DEG HDG. COS DEP CTL ASKED IF I WANTED FLT FOLLOWING WHEN ABOUT 15 MI S OF COS CLBING TO 15500 FT. I RESPONDED AFFIRMATIVE. AFTER A HDOF ATTEMPT; THE DEP CTLR ADVISED ME THAT ZDV WAS BUSY AND WOULDN'T TAKE US FOR ADVISORIES AND TO SQUAWK VFR AND TERMINATED RADAR SVCS. APPROX 3-4 MINS LATER WHILE LEVELING AT 15500 FT I SAW A DC9 CONVERGING FROM MY R AT ABOUT 45-60 DEGS. I ESTIMATED THE ACFT TO BE ABOUT 1-2 MI AT THAT TIME. AFTER A COUPLE OF SECONDS (?) TO ORIENT HIS FLT PATH AND ALT; I REALIZED THERE WAS A SERIOUS CONFLICT. HE WAS SLIGHTLY ABOVE AND IN A DSNDING L TURN. I MADE A STEEP R TURN AND WAS ABLE TO AVOID AND REMAIN IN VISUAL CONTACT WHILE THE DC9 PASSED OFF MY L SIDE AT ABOUT 100-200 YDS. I THEN INSTANTLY FLEW THROUGH HIS WAKE. I HAD NO KNOWLEDGE IF THE PLT OF THE DC9 SAW MY ACFT UNTIL I CALLED COS ARPT OPS WHERE I DEDUCED THEY WERE HEADING. HE INDICATED HE HAD SEEN ME FOR ABOUT 3 OR 4 SECONDS ONLY AFTER MY ACFT GAVE A BETTER VISUAL PROFILE. HE SAID HE HAD BEEN TOLD BY ZDV OF THE CONFLICT EARLIER AND THAT CTR SUGGESTED HE EXPEDITE FROM FL190 TO 14000 FT. THIS INCIDENT SEEMS LIKE A CASE OF IFR; VFR MIXING AND NOT USING THE SAME COM FREQ. HAD ZDV TAKEN OUR FLT FOLLOWING REQUEST; BOTH ACFT WOULD HAVE BEEN TOLD OF THE COMING CONFLICT MUCH EARLIER. FORTUNATELY; THE SEE AND AVOID SYS DID WORK.