The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1865-06-17
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Letter From Mexico.

p we copy tie following interesting letter
>frSm ailatei number 81 the lancaster, Pa,
bateiHgenese. ,Ofe is written by an ihtelIi-
gent gentleman of that city, and Contains
much information that is 4aldableF at this
timb 9emId b9l 9l9bHsi1ns sGf ,binigilf 10 al
VERA'CRug, March 25;1l865! e
70 the Editors of The iInteUigenoena9 .!
..,aGESTLEMEN :, According to premise I will
give You hasty sketch Of my observations
ii this country fhisi city has been SO Of
ten described, and alWagsas as aefnosB filthy,
peisome and unhealthg place, that I.will
only add that, !, fully endorse ,all, that has
been said in reference to it. From this ci-
ty to the first range of Mountains, some
i60smiles west ofsthis, 1.-The country is almost
ipne sunbroken praire, covered with stunted
grass and innqmerable rocks and iboplders,
There appears to be no party, white lOr
Mexican,,' Who have had sufficient courage
ito undertake. planting i511this forbiddipg
region, ,sgssiaDloY 10 .ns1 jaM "a aois j
ai After passing, the first range gat, Salse
Puada, we entered a valley about, 40 miles
long, in which 'ars Situated the towns of
Cofdowa, 0rizaba,j &C. This is9a fine lines
istOne1valley, with a !. yegetatiOHland fora
that, realizes ones ideas of,atropical counz
try. The land is miserably. cultivated but
despite the @slovehly system of agriculture,
acdfee, ,Cofbthei finest quality, sugar cane,
bananas, pins apples, oranges, &C., abound.
QlEjjzaba is sboqt. 4, 900 feet above the level
of the sea. OF course it is the. region of
perpetual summer; b1t the snow-capped
peakh 6fs 4he volcano, which appears to
ba4bot a few miles distant, bnthin reality is
abont 40smiles, .seemssto cool the aig to a
certain extent, and makes it the, freshest
and most pleasant place in the low coun-
tries. Twetity Ave miles west We commence
ascending the Gnmbras, on ua most admira-'
bly, laid out turnpike. In. advancing IL.
miles, we, find ourselves on the, Sc Table
Lands, Il and nearly, 5000 feet above the
level of the sea. Here the appearance OF
the country entirely changes, theres. are no
trees of any kind and the mountains rise
bare, and rugged around the fat, sandy plain
that we trayel through to Penbla. The
land is all cultivated in. haciendas Of from
! 1000 t9 lQ,p09 acrea- The proprietors or
administrators las the roverseers are ealled)
live in large, substantial. houses, huilt in
the usual jail like style of Spanish archltec-
ture, with irQn5barred windows, stone floors,
stair=casss, &c, -tha whole surrounded by
IA st0ne or AdoheIwall6 6l0hqr IL teetohigh.
Close by is church, and the huts of the
poems, or Indians, who work the land.., The
difference between a hacienda and aranche
isl thRttthe former has church1o (which is
ALMOST invariably large, substantial bull
ding, that has stood for ages,) whilst the
latter has none.j Tn all parts Of the 'coun-
try that we have yet been in, it is necessa-
IN touirnigate the land; and there has been
vast labor and great ingenuity displayed in
the construction of these works. But the
Country, from this place to the City of
Mexico, has allaOld worn out appearance.
What where 1oncen magnificent bridges,
that generally bear the, date of from 1900
to 1915, are falling to decay massive
churches and buildings are deserted and in
ruins! Every thing seems to say, 80 there
was energy and greatness here, but it has
PASSED aYay.no True, there are, gangs Of
men now employed in repairing the roads
and bridges, and some Of the deserted
buildings are being repaired But these
sthings8are ofsrecent date, and asd yet but
little has been accomplished lI2iT aaion 4
as Uhe5land is plowed by oxena fastened by
the, horns to a long polen that in turn is fas-
tened to the; most, primitive looking
wooden plow, with one handle, imaginable;
this plow, rude as tits, penetfates the loose,
SANDY soil several inches, land the Indians
rpm fnrrows sasstraight as the best Ian Ia.
caster county plowman could gd0; Iher
CROPS raised On Che table lands are what we
wod4d Gull in p Pehnsy ylvani6 very poor, GER
tainly not over one-thiFda Of wheat or bar
ley, and, ,one,half corn to an acre, compared
with an average crop in Lancaster county.
But as theypeyeE manure the land or SOW
any green crops. for the purpose of plewing
,deYn, the, wonder is, IQtsthat they raise,
sgch smalLcEops, but that theyauaisei any,
fespthisl sllaAd has, been, worked on this system.
for at least 200 years. .sTberejsa learned
French iAbbe at, pgesentiR Mexico, sdoilot
ree9ll8ct his, name, WHO, has spent theIlast
two years ipo oexapainig athe mounds, ruins,
,pictpreg, writings, &c.x Of Central America
and this, country jspd he thinks he can
prove beyond doubt, that the ancient