Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-04-29
IsTHMus OoRREsPONDENOE
Extracts from The letter of a Clevelander, dated
TEHuANrsPEc, Mex, April 8, 1853.

up TO Mnnetitlan, go miles) We came on the
Gulf Steamer Quaker City," where we took
the iron steamer suchil" TO the town Of the
same name, at the (then) head of navigation on
| the river AT present, on account Of low wa
ter, the passengers and mails come about 80
miles to Suchil in canoes and on horseback A
| trip up this river is one OF the most pleasant
imaginable the banks are lined with the rich
est and most luxuriant foliage and profuse with
flowers Of every hue, which make the very air
voluptuous Birds Of every hue carol among
the branches; and huge alligators bask ia the
sunshine on the sandy banks.
We (our party of fve) left Suchil the 18th Of
February aud after ride of "a miles on our
little Mexican horses, which carried us with
extraordinary ease over some rough roads and
through some very deep mud, reached Sorabia
at dusk This part of the Isthmus abounds
with game of various kiuds--lons, tigers, leop-
ards, cats, deer, wolves, foxes, wild hogs, &c. (;
none of which, however, came under our view
Monkeys are also quite plenty, and seemed as
indignant at our presence as we were amused
at their gyrations and chatterings We enter
tanned ourselves ON the road with constant set
tOs with mosquitoes and rhodados (gnats,) which
stick "closer than a brother" After partakng
of supper Of beans, jerked beef, tortsas "a sort
of cake made of pounded corn,) aud cup Of
coffee, we spread our blankets on bundle of
hoop-poies and slept we'll"
AT this place Mr.. Stevens and one of our par
| ty took his horses and buggy, and the rest of us
| proceeded on our horses for about 20 miles,
when / left my horse, having had about as much
of that kind of conveyance as | wanted, and
took to the wagon. We reached Almaloza (3l
miles from Serahia) at night This is the cen
trail station of the Louisiana Tehuantepec Co.,
and Mr.. Stevens has bis principal Office here.
| The AlmalOza river passes within few rods of
the hotel @. Its waters are pure and soft, aud
drink from, or a bath in them at this time Of
the year, is worth pilgrimage here. Some
fine looking fish glide over its pebbly bottom,
but, as in other streams, they don't bite" nor
even nibble, at our bait.
We left Almaloza for this place (40 mies)
with a coach and six. For six miles our road
was over an uneven, and, ] should judge,
rather unproductive country, to Chivela, at
which point we enter the pass Of the Cordille.
ras, and OF course, we found mountainous
road, at times on their very submits, then
winding down their sides, and now down, down
in the valley below. Some ten miles from AL
maloZa, and near the Rio Verde Station, ON the
side of the mountain, are two springs, their
sources only about three feet apart, one of
which is very cold and the other too hot
to hold ones hand in. They run some distance
side by side, when they unite, near the base,
and between two mountains, and form pool
some thirty feet across and twenty feet deep,
the waters being about blood warm. The
mountains rise perpendicularly on either side
to the hight of $50 or 800 feet, forming beside
delicious bath a great natural cut probably
caused by volcanic action.
From short distance this side of Rio Verde the
road is perfectly straight and level for 20 miles,
to this city. Aud now at dark, we approach
Iehuantepec, the only city ION the route, con
tanning about 10 900 inhabitants, 5000 of whom
are men, 5000 women and 5000 children be-
sides great numbers of hogs, and 6000 dogs,
whish upon our approach to the gates of the
city, walked up by their incessant barking the
sleepy sentinels, who gave US the usual chal-
lenge, "gtsicn DiUa,' and our FGGerdciOHe y
p sscd Us. This place is at present in posses
sion of the Federal or Liberal party, and is un.
der martial law About 500 troops are now
stationed here, who occupy as their barracks
the Cathedral Of San Domingo, on the opposite
side of the plaza from our hotel. There is also
cUdrteL or barracks across a narrow street
from our house, from which proceeds an almost
ncessant din Of drums and horns, making the
night hdeous' You would laugh at the pa
rades, and drills, and uniforms of these sol
diersQ). The former | cannot describe to you,
but the latter consists only OF loose cotton pants
and shirt, which are never clean aud part only
of them have small red caps, others hats of ev-
cry shape and kind They are hard looking
s,lliars o,A | 1nn't NunnHar that an arm Of
them won't stand before handful of Ameri-
cana
This place is considered by us the paradise
of the Isthmus. The buildings are only one
story high, made chiefly OF adobe, Cunburnt
brck)-lhe walls being about two feet thick,
plastered and whitewashed on the out and in
sides the rooms largo, and we'll ventilated, and
the floors tiled. The hotels and private houses
Of the principal citizens are provided with sep
arate courts and corridors, and altogether have
an appearance of elegance and comfort The
Governor, custum-house officers, judges, al
cades, and the Spanish citzens generally, are
well educated, intelligent, and hospitable to
Americans; but the natives, OF Indians are .
miserable race, sleeping on the ground, in filthy
novels, or in the open air, subslsting on black
beans, (the only kind we have heTe,) jerked
beef, and tOrteaS, or either the men doing as
little work as possible but after all they are a
happy set, for ignorance is bliss The women
do altogether more than their share Of the work
The market, which consists of large open
building 200 feet by 100, on the grand plaza, is
supplied entirely by them. ! wish you could
90 through it once. Each woman has "stal"
from which she is seldom missing that is, she
has certain place in the market where she sits
down on the ground, with her produce before
her. Imagine 800 women hudded 30 close to-
pether that one has to step over their ieus to
get along, each with something to sell-some
with meat, others with fruit, bananas, oranges,
lemons, pine apples cocoa nuts, plantains, "a.
pOtas (the finest and most delicious fruit have
ever tasted), water melons, tomatos; others with
soap, cheese, sugar, candles, rice, corn, green
aud dry, aud vegetables of all kinds; some with
shoes, sandals, saddles, and toggerY of all kinds,
and others with bundles of corn tops, (secata,)
which is substituted for hay here fat old
woman selling native whisky, and there a
black eyed, mahogany colored Senoretta with
teeth of pearls, making and vending her delicate
cigarettes, and you will have but a poor idea of
Tehuantepec market, Marketing and all other
business is carried on as much on Sunday az any
other day, and except that few pass occasion
ally towards the churches a little better dressed
than usual, one would see nothing to distinguish
the day,
You would Of course like to hear something
Of the women'a dresses, but l can't tell you
much of them, for they don't hare much, The
first ladies' dresses consist Of a chemise gather.
ed or plated quite full, and petticoat or two,
with an over shirt of calico, delaine, silk or
other light material, and sometimes shoes and
stockings while the native. women wear a
loose josey, with short sleeves,) coming down
to within about -four inches Of the waist. A
sort of fancy blanket is wound around them,