New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1868-07-21
out the black man the South would turn back into will
dcrness sparsey settled. wretched system OF small
MEXICO.

This Is the center of a mining district famous the
world over The journey here from the capital leads
through singular country of which, while waiting
chance to 60 in and among the mines, ! am tempted
to give you my notes With its surface character,
travellers anywhere from the City of Mexico are
aware: maguey plantations in the valley; mcsquIt
and peru trees on the hills great bare outlines tow
ering and lowering but never shutting up the PLAIN;
mud barrancas deep enough, but without any stream
till the season Of rains little maize visible III
the fields, for this is a drouthy and back
ward season. After pulque the produce OF
the valley is dust-vertical whirls to the
right. and dust-spouts to the left, some as
high as 50 feet, but happily not incessant,
and only a wlim of the weather. 1t is smil-
ing country for all its face is so grim and scrubby
between whites DO we admire the prospect Yes,
if it would not blow dust in our eyes The sun sell
dom refuses to shine among these hills so that their
matchless Outlinesare almost always beautiful with
Illusion The books give us toierabe idea OF the
Mexican roads but little of the Mexican landscape,
and none of such a retrospect as we have OF the
valley in which the tempted city is SET IKE gem
We have left the last shad0wy suburbs auoo9
houses graye-cOOred and looking for all inc World
like mOldering remnant OF some od ulsl-
blown civilization. And now we see now
sunlight and mountains can make some EXPENSES OF
scene. otherwise commonplace, really spehald anu
as CARLYLE might say, tragic lescoco Lake is log'
mud-hats impregnated with salts, anu, OF course;
herbess. The hills just at hand are volcanic ana
SCARED. But the sun shines ana makes picture
with the infinite i'm it, such Turner would dream
upon The two Wonder Mountains are Ill the FAR
background of this ChoraSmian scene, but seen hlgh
up in the regions of tho sun, TRANSPORTATION oil
mountains their snowy SUBMITS exquisite as apparl-
tons and less of earth than the skes-the mountain
boundaries of a world old COrtes has not probably
discovered TO this day. m
commonplace. the maguey, cactus, and visnaga
The nopal is blooming red and yellow, the most pre-
/ posterous plant the world knows what reason III
has for having flowers. for growing IN such multi
| farous pancake fashion, and bearing fruit IN such
/ sabsded wav let one cudgel his wit to make
ont Here it is a solemn trick of nature with rola
! tons to the volcanoes, no doubt, ana an
the plutOnic matter-offact as patent as sag
and tezontle. 1t is poSy FOR IroSerpine
only TO Putos taste so dubious and scTaggy Is this
piece of vegetable coquety Here too Is the organo
another invasion of the botanic consistency for IT Is
a congregation of thick, irrelevant splTescent green
stalks rising as rreguaTy high as the pipes OF an
organ If there any Pan for region OF earth
ouakes this would he terrible set of reeds TO play
mon OF the nopa it must be said that its fruit is
good sometimes for thirsty wayfareTs, and any
how. it is brought into market In some parts
makes capital fence, and its fbers
are strong enough TO give sinews to an enterprise.
Worse than any OF these Is tne 'lsaga tlp1 ;i on
iron or Steel ingenousy wrought as 1t IS possible
for nature to grow IN utmost spite ana cunning:
Bury bombshell, q cannon ball, or something OF
DRAGONS teeth herea6out and if they don't sprout
into armed men, they are likely to grow into or
ganos nOpas and vlsnagas The vlsnaga Is
a low bulb, about as large and round
as tho hemisphere of cannon ball, set
in the earth like rock, and covered with the most
elaborate system of prckles, spines, and spikes
known TO the fora-that is to say, if this Porcupne
of plants is to be fattered by calling 1t flower The
surface of one of these visnagas is ciTCumbendhus
of thorns grouped and radate. In another tine thorn
system may be fully described as an ciiOTcScene OF
large fishhOOkS. The yisnaga answers ali the plr
poses of vegetable torpedo 10 the poor beast who
treads upon it. 1t is another volcanic gem IN the
mood of eruption acrabbed chimera, showing that the
temper of the Earth is as bad rs her childrehs Ma
euey cannot be counted out OF the Ist OF wonders
common as it is Cut crippled. tTansplanted after 1t
has grown years it still hourishes, Welding twine'
soap paper and much more beside mat strange Ter
ment known as pulque-a milk that has soured gen
erations of men, mild though it seen, and IL as mad
| deninQ and destructive to the debauchee OF the
| nnlaueria as though il something internal
! drawn from the paps of the volcano.
The railroad takes far as Ometusco, q station
noted for its maguey plantation aid pulqle manu-
facture a description Of which Will appear ~ another
chapter We depart by diligence along dusty road,
accompanied by the monotony OF vegetable life
hitherto described and saving shat we get. pinch
! from the wind of what the traveller IS pleased TO
call deyiPs-snuif, the ride, is to DO endured.
The dust does not blind us TO the fact
/ an image of Sancho PanZa in state OF robust aud
ruddy stupOr lie has pistols at his paunch, but this
is no matter, for great many travellers 20 armed
He has scared face auda bad cut across the eye,
and tapster's nose, just drawn, az II were. apd
gOuged bit il may be, az having held somebody
down 10 the ground in John PhGnlXs way. / am
clad TO know that these not vicious slgS but the
marks of a gallant fight with robbers half year
ago. and that our new Sancho was the captor
whom it seems, however he shot very
| injudiciousy. The poor fellow is, dubious
and blue about it, 1t appears that he and his fellows
had engaged TO take Their captlves to PaGhuca for
tnal but shot them on the road alleging that they
had tried to escape unIuchiy an Tue SotS We're IN
very plain that the ladr0nes had time 10 kneel and
say then prayers. This was good for the thieves, but
bad for the catchers. The political project of the
neighbOrhOOd being informed Of tho facts, was
| naturally digusted There was no profound sin
in shooting the thievesf they had got their deserts
under the law they would have been shot any how;
but what is to become of our guarantees, what OF
law and order if things are TO be handled in this
BOBBY way ~ gTOwlS the project SanchOs fault, II
all this hearsay be true, viii be overlooked; and, as
respects the ladTOnes, rather shows sanitary sense
of evaporation the part Of the people. There Is
a member of the Ayu2tamento, or Town Council, n
! the diligence. "And how Is Pachuca, now DAYS p
| Pretty Well" answers the townsman. road bad.
but schools better than ever" And the morals 7"
:" Oh there's an old story-three or four killings
a week and all from pulque." Truth IS Pachuca
/ is a vicious place, and one Of the sore spots OF
Mexico. The last point on the way thereto Is Fam
pOaa now scarcely more than dusty village, whose
/ hundred of poor arms-beaIers are determined That
nobody shall rob their poverty. Accordingly saw
| on top of their ancient church-tOwer guard Of men
on the lookout for any sign of mOlestatiOn by the
bandit NOvicga, whose pronounced gang OF thieves,
oft beaten in some way, but still elusive are the
| We reach Pachuca at four In the afternoon. after
! ten hours ride from Mexico. 1t is the mining CAPT
tai of its region counts about 1900 people, and in
point of site resembles, nearly IS Mexican town
| can the irOn-mongering and mining lntermontane
towns of the North, such JohnstOwn, Tamaqua,
! OF Mauch Chunk, saving that here the hills are
higher and dryer. They illustrate the geology OF
silver there being not less than score OF mines OF
the precious metal, worked or disused hercabouts.
A towering hight of rude basalt OyeroOks the fur
Their part of the town, which is strewn about rather
steeply on the rough hills in houses of adobe rude
! stone, mud-plastered wood, and what not,
| looking perhaps, as il it had tumbled down