Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1865-12-13
Letter From Ex-Governor Ishnm G..
Harris

! Emprcss-CORfedeTdte IN Merie0-IRrtG
toms to Come to Merico-I Inducements Com
mOdore Ma,ry Commissioner Of C5loaizd
tion-TBe Lands Intended for Emiqrdnts-
TIE Climate Products CoFee Culture
FiTits-A Home Of Beauty and Fragrance
Ioe IN the DistGaee--Among the R,pRs of n.
Old Hacieadds- What Produced Re Rains
Former Buldings- Prominent Confederate,
ColoRizine--GrOleiRg Pfospects--Lde Meri-
cans Ms1sorn Times -GouerHOr Hen, o.
Louisiana on the Trpod--Situation..of Cor,
dora.
Through the kindness of Mr.. George w
Adair, of the firm of Clayton, Adair & Purse
we are permitted to make the following e1-
tracts from letter recently received from
Hon. Isham G.. Harris, Ex-Governor of Ten
nessee, who is now at Cordova, Mexico The
letter is highly entertaining:
CoRDovA, Mexico, Nov. 18th, 1865.
GEORGE W. ADAIR.
NV Dear Sir: fingered near Grenada,
endeavoring to arrange some business mat
ters until the 18th Nav. In the meantime,
had sliff built, and on the morning ofthe
18th | embarked, some six miles east of Green
wood, and set sail for the trans-Mississippi,
the party, consisting of Gen. Lyon, of Ken
lucky, myself, and our two servants. We
navigated the backwater for I20 miles, and
on the morning Of the Dist, Just before day.
light, crossed over to the Arkansas shore.
crossed at the foot of Island No. 70, Just be-
low the mouth of the Arkansas river; pro-
ceeded westward as far as the back-water was
navigable, and on the morning of the 22d
left my frail bark, bought horses, mounted
the party, and set out for Shreveport, where
| hoped to find an army resolved on contin-
ued resistance to Federal rule; but before
reaching Shreveport, | learned that the
army of the trans Mississippi had disbanded
and scattered TO the winds, and all the officers
of rank had gone to Mexico.
Having no further motive to visit Shreve-
port, l turned my course to Red River coun-
ty, Texas, where a portion of my negroes
and plantation stock had been carried some
two years ago. / reached there % the 9TH
June was taken sick and confined to my
bed a week On the 18th june, with my
baggage, cooking utensils and provisions on
pack mule, set out for San Antonio,
where i expected to overtake a large num-
Der of Confederate, civil and military off
GERS, en- route for Mexico. Reached San
Antonio on the 26th, and learned that all
Confederates had left for Mexico some ten
days or two weeks before. On the morning
of the 9th, started to Eagle Pass on the
Rio Grande-the Federals holding all the
crossings of that river below Eagle Pass. |
reached Eagle Pass on the evening of the
30th, and Immediately crossed over to the
Mexican town Of Piedras Negras On the
morning of the lst of July, set out for
Monterey; arrived there on the evening of
the 9th. Here / overlook General Price
and Ex-Governor Polk, of Missouri, who
were starting to the city of Mexico the next
morning. with an escort of twenty armed
Missourians. As | was going to the city,
and the trip was a long and dangerous one
to make alone, | decided to go with them,
though j was literally worn out with over
1900 miles of continuous horseback travel.
exchanged my saddle horse, saddles, etc,
for an ambulance; put my two mules to it,
gave the whip and lines to Ran, bought me
a Spanish grammar and dictionary, took
the back seat, and commenced the study Of
the Spanish language. We made the trip
at easy stages of about twenty-five miles per
day, and reached the city Of Mexico on the
evening of the 9th of August. The trip was
one of the longest, most laborious and haz-
ardous of my life, but | will not tax your
time or mine with its details, many of which
would interest you deeply if was there TO
give them to you.
Our reception upon the part of the Gov
eminent officials here, was all that we could
have expected or desired. We were invited
to an audience with the Emperor at the
Palace, the far-famed Halls of the Monte
zumas. At the time fixed, we called and
were most kindly received by the Emperor
and Empress, and were assured of their SYM
pathy in our misfOrtunes, and of their earn
est hope that we might find homes for our
selves and friends in Mexico. The Empress
was our interpreter in the interview. She
speaks huently the French, Spanish, Ger
man and English languages, and is in all
respects a great woman.
We overlook ut the city of Mexico, Gen.
Commodore Maury, Gov. Allen,
of La, Judge Perkins, of La, Gov. Rey-
nolds of Missouri and Gov. Murrah and
Gov. Clark, of Texas, with many other and
lesser Confederate lights. On the str of
Sept, the Emperor published a decree open
ing all of Mexico to immigration and colo
nization, and Commodore Maury and myself
and other COnfederates we're requested TO
regulations TO accompany the de-
cree which we did, and which were ap-
proved by the Emperor on the 9th. The
decree and regulations offer very liberal in
lucements to immigration, amongst witch
IRE donation of public lands at the rate Of
$40 acres TO each head of a family, and 800
10 each single man, a free passage to the
TO such az are not able to pay their
own expenses, freedom from taxation for
1ne year, and from military duty for five |
-,org raltrio,,g tnIarotinr 30 Go
Commodore Maury has been appointed I'M |
perial commissioner of colonization, which
makes his authority in the matter of coloni-
,ation second only to that of the Emperor.
zen. Price, Judge Perkins and myself we're
appointed agents Of colonization, and re-
1uested TO examine the lands lying upon and
near the line of railroad, from the city Of
Mexico to Vera Cruz, for the purpose Of de-
ermining whether they were suited to Amer
can colonization. We are engaged at this
line in the discharge Of that duty. We find
n the vicinity of this place the most beauti-
nj, and all things considered, the best agri-
cultural country that have ever seen. The |
climate is delightful, never hot, never cold,
always temperate, always pleasant. The soil
-icher andmore productivethan the best Of the |
prairie lands Of Mississippi in the Okoiona
country, yielding large crops OF corn, barley, |
ice, tobacco, sugar cane and coffee, with all |
he fruits Of the tropics, and the best that |
you ever tasted. You can raise two crops Of !
,orn on the same land each year, the usual |
node Of farming here is crop Of corn and |
crop Of tobacco, on the same land, the corn |
opening always before timetO plant tobacco, |
md ten miles from here, in the direction Of |
he coast, you strike as good a cotton country |
Is can be found in the world.
The most profitable crop here il coffee, |
-Ou plant about six or seven hundred trees |
o the acre, it begins TO bear az two and pro- |
luces a full crop at four years old, you can |
llways calculate safely on an average Of two |
pounds to the tree, though there are instances
If a trees bearing az high as twenty-eight |
pounds The tree is hardy, and will live /
fifty or one hundred years 1t costs about
ls much labor to cultivate and put into
market an acre Of coffee az il does an acre Of |
,orn in Georgia.
The coffee plantation with its shade Of ba-
lanas, figs, oranges, mangOs and zapOtes
Nth the walks fringed with pine apple, all
n full bearing, is the richest and most beau
iful spectacle upon which my eyes have ever
ested. / have selected $40 acres about ten
miles from here, where propose to surround
myself with the coffee plantation, in the
midst Of which will nestle down, constant
V inhaling the orders Of the rich tropical
ruits, and gaudy colored and fragrant troP-
cal flowers, in an atmosphere Of perpetual
pring yet turning the eye 10 the Northwest
-ou constantly behold the snow-capped