Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1876-05-19

New MExICo.-About one-ffth of |
the entire population of the Terri
tory consists of Indians, and the
original Spanish stock has mixed |
blood in marriage as well as in bat
tie with the handsome Nayajos, the |
brooding Apaches, the treacherous
Utes, and the warlike Comanches.
The New Mexican has not lost the
characteristics Of his forefathers, but
to bis own vices he has added those
of the savage races surrounding him.
In 1846, when the war growing
out of the annexation of Texas was
in progress, General. Kearney took
possession of Santa Fe, and socn af-
terWard conquered the whole Ter
ritory, which was formally eeded to
the United States in 1s48 by the
treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and
reconstructed by the establishment
of the Territorial government on Sep
tember O., 1850. 1t included at that
time a part of Colorado and of
Arizona, which were successfully
separated from it leaving an area of
about 12l,20l square miles. Its
greatest breadth is 800 miles, its
greatest length $50 miles, and in G.
quiring it the United States made
citizens of 10000 impoverished and
ignorant people-6O,OO0 people
alienated, by language, faith, Gus
toms, education, andI might add,
sympathies, since it is not denied that,
in event Of another war with old
Mexico, many of them would be
found leaning toward, if not actual
ly engaged on, the side of their
quondam compatriots. rf
Though the native American set
tiers are insignificant in numbers, they
control the politics and hold nearly
all the important Oficesamong them
selves. *S =
The language of the courts and
church is Spanish, and in conversa-
ton a pdtois is used which bears
about the same degree of relation
ship to the monther-tongue that the
dialect of the Canadian hd6itdnt
bears to Partisan French.
Education is making slow head
way. Until 1871 there were no pub
lie schools in the Territory, but there
are now no less than 1873, with 1925
pupils. In twelve schools both En-
giish and Spanish are taught, in ten
English only, and in Ill Spanish
only. When the last census was
made, the population included 49,
$50 persons over ten years of age
who could not read, and SO, ,220 per-
Iisons who could not write. The
Weather classes sometimes send
lltheir children to school in the States,
but when young man has tasted
1.-THE pleasures of Eastern society he
does not willingly submit himself
again to the primitive surroundings
of his fathers house, and hence there
is a decided prejudice against this
custem.
| In faith the people are simple,
obedient, miraele-loying believers IN
the most authoritative and absolute
llRoman Catholicism-blinb slaves OF
crude superstitions, taxed beyond
! lltheir means to support q tyrani
lChurch. Previous to the acquisition
of the Territory by the United
States, their nearest bishop lived over
a thousand miles away in old Mexico,
and seldom if ever visited so remote
a diocese as this. The priests ex
, cised unlimited temporal and spiritu
al powers in the several parishes
} and were ihdescribably corrupt il
the use of those powers for thei
personal benefit and the shameless
, satisfaction of their lusts. Never be
fore was religion further perverted
5 1t became the mere mask Of license
s and its ministers the priests, not o
: Christ, but of lechery and greed. A
0 the time when the present archbishop
s was appointed, he could not clos
L his eyes to the condition OF affairs
= and summarily dismissed larg
q number of priests for open immoral
IS ty; but de ,pite his efforts, which hav
IS been sincere and Jealous, the Churc
d is still represented in many distar
settlements by men who are dii
grace and danger not only to Chri
IS tianity, but to manhood and freedom
The bishop is native of Franc