Butte record., 1853-12-10
INTERESTING LETTER FROM SONORA.

The following correspondence from
tLe San Diego Herald, descriptive Of a
portion Of Sonora, to which much atten-
rioa Is directed jus. now, viii be found
interesting:
AHar .Statcof Soaora Sept. 30, 1888.
I wrote you the day after my arrival,
and promised a description Of the city,
which I shall be obliged to make brief At
present, as l am busy packing to-day fog
t.ip 10 Guaymas, distance Of three
hundred and fifty miles 1 shall start IN
the morning. This town, the most nor
thern # the frontier settlements N the
State of Sonora, contains two thousand
inhabitants. tits built entirely fad9bes,
bat made strong and IN good taste The
caps. columns, and silis Of the doors ana
windows, also the Leavy cogn;cas and
mould.ug=, are Of brick Of . most excel
lent quality. laid In lime cement. Tie
walls Of the houses are from three to four
& thick, stucco1l outside and inside
witA exec lent plaster, giving them a
very neat and solid appearance. The
dwelling houses are very large from
one hundred to one hundred and fifty
feet front, with d large arched door in
the coutre, communicating with the court
which Is surrounded with store rooms
sixteen feet high. The arched doorway
efficiently large to admit carriages
and horses. The roofs are covered with
dirt, and the floors are all tiled. The
ROOTS are generally large, and one very
large one called sofa graaae, Is used as
reception room. y description Of the
room I slept in last night, viii give yea
au idea Of the whole This one is thirty
ly sixty, seventeen feet hieL-tAe heor
raised four feet above the ground, and
ra7ed With beautiful tiles. The walls
are splendiily painted, and the furniture
though nccess sarily plain, .being OF home
manufactured IS substantial and com
Portable.
In the centre Of the town Is tie grand
Plaza, about four times as large as that
@. san Diego, on one corner Of which
Is the Cathedral. There IS another Plaza
smaller than this, which Is used for bull
fighting on feast days, which in this place
come off il December. Throughout the
town ale numerous gardens, filed with
every variety Of tropical fruits Here
can be seen the stately date tree, with its
rough trunk and singular top, towering
to the height Of eighty ard a hundred
feet and the pomegranate, orange, lemon
pear, peach, lime, and ounce, are found
in the greatest abundance; and most sin
euiar Of all, Is the Virtue . which first
bears apricots, then peaches, and lastly
crop OF small fruit similar TO the peach,
alout the size Of the damascene plum. I
have preserved some of the seed. which
I VIII send you.
The town Is surrounded with large
gardens or fields where corn, melons.
sweet potatoes, beans, pumpkins, and
ether vegetables, are raised for the public /
market. These grounds are irrigated /
from the river Altar. This place is very |
qlioi and orderly, and unusually healthy /
ias this latitude. ! have now been here +
one week, ana though waking about /
town day and night, have not yet heard /
q haisA word uttered, or seen = single i
person Intoxicated There are two bill /
l@ra saloons open here. but they are as
lu.et * p elureh-lnore 50 than I
methodist ore. Even the gambling sa-