The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1880-09-09

thought this was far enough.
/ SOcnrrO Is the terminus of A. T. &
s. F. X. r., the altitude being 4, 500
feet above the sea level. The wash
outs above, and no freight arriving.
have exhausted their supplies. We
have bread and meat and potatoes and
tea for Deal at the hoteis; sleep in
one room, where several beds and pal
lets on the fiOOr accommodate the peO-
pie on dirt floors in ".loi,ie" houses.
Many people are living in tents. The
dance and gambling houses seem to
be the popular place of resort. If a
minister was ever here lac must have
left soon after arriving. discouraged
and disheartened. Although l have
attended church this trip in Albu-
querque, the congregation numbered
eight persons. Christianity is at low
ebb in this country, and il there is any
place where the devil reigns supreme,
It must be i'm the west. He Is king
and monarch Of all he surveys-but
few dispute his title. Yes, there is
but little christianity here for the hun
cry souls to feed on. As each Sunday
passes l long to be in Salina to see the
hundreds Of good people going to
/ CUuICu- IICIC I Stc Tie
where hundreds every day are going
To eternal destruction, from the dance
house, gambling dens and saloons.
! Every day one or more poor mOrtals
falls over the brink, from whence they
| cannot return, not to even warn the
mass who are rushing OH in their
tracks, who soon join them in their
| abode Of dark despair. As look on
Y fo,.A svne nfl 4
| can imagine them looking up in hell
1T IL too kdfe-tOO late ~ The tale Is
is simply whiskey.
This country is filled with mixture
Of almost all nations and class Of he
ings, all striving after the almighty
dollar. SOcarro is 1000 miles from
Kansas City by the railroad, and
about l.5 miles from old Mexico. The
railroad companies are pushing ahead
the construction Of the roads AS fast IA
possible. The Atlantic & Pacific is
being built west from Albuquerque
as fast rs the work can be done. They
intend to strike southern California,
and finally reach San Francisco. The
A. T. &. S. +. Is directing its course
Wv oiu y Haze VII tshC aNihs WV
Mexico. / believe anywhere i'm New
Mexico will be good place to live, as
far as getting supplies il concerned.
We can get our grain, hay, butter.
eggs and poultry, from Kansas. Our
fruits We can raise OH the Rio Grande,
and can get California fruits direct
all tropical fruits can be shipped from
old Mexico and the Southern States
via the Texas Pacific. We will soon
have two competing lines from Cali
fOrnia. The Southern Pacific is now
100 miles east Of Tucson. The Texas
Pacific il building west to meet il and
they will form one road. The A. 4 p.
from Albuquerque is the other line.
Probably the price paid here for q
few articles might be Of interest. Ev-
erything is sold by the pound. Pota-
toes are $3.50 per bushel, cabbage 10
cents per pound, chickens 81 per doZ-
en-, flour s. per 100 pounds, butter ~
cents per pound land very poor, corn
s.. 50 per b,lshel, hay $40 per ton.
Railroad travel in New Mexico costs
10 cents per miie. From the time |
entered the Territory near Trinidad.
until returned, Travelled on the rail-
road over 100 miles, which is quite ex-
pensive.
The Rio Grande valley from Albu-
querque down to this place is similar
to the valley from Santa Fee down
one vast valley with but little under
| cultivation. Once in while = field of
corn is seen growing; they also raise
some wheat. The first time I ever
saw wheat threshed out by stock was
| ut Belen the ether day. They cut the
wheat with the old sickle-somc use u
scythe with no cradle. The wheat is
piled in a heap, around which poles
are put i'm the ground some are ~ to
l. feet high and about 10 feet apart.
Around these they tie ropes for u fence,
then turn in about twenty-five head of
horses, loose. \ Mexican gets after
the horses with large whip, making
them travel around the stack Of wheat
| very fast, while one or two Mexicans
with pitch forks put the wheat under
| the horses feet. In this way they
| thresh their wheat, after which it is
| shOveled up, dirt and all. All that
can be is cleaned by pitching 1t up IN
| the air for the wind to clean; but
much of the dirt cannot he cleaned
from the wheat. In that condition il
is taken to the mill and ground up
1 IOT vi toutsc IL W III uisiht
! quite as white bread rs the Salina
Hour. but dare say the MexicaEs and
Indians like il rs well.
- find amongst the Mexican dons u
great pride in seeing how long they
can keep native wine in their cellars.
Some Of them have wine many years
old. They store away large quantities
| every year. IL seems that the hotel
L.. i.v. ...e a
| wine is better by age butter should be
also. have been at tables this week
| where there was butter that could
safely say was ut least years old.
don't think age improved it, for many
pound have our firm in Salina sold
to the soap factory that was much
| better; but YOU must eat il or leave IL
alone. The landlord carries u revolver
| for bOarders that are not satisfied with
his hash. l carry crackers and cheese
| in my valise. AMER going through
| the motions at the table have secret
| ~ gone to my room and eat crackers
and cheese to satisfy my hunger
Between here and Albuquerque are
several Mexican and Indian villages.
Thirteen miles below Albuquerque on
the railroad is quite large Indian
| village named Isleta, where the n. x
p. railroad branches off to the west.
! The next Is the town Of Los Lnnas-
| Quite a business is done here. Ten
miles below il another Mexican vii
lage named Belen. There are other
smaller ones, but all look alike-made
entirely out of Mexican dobics about
ten feet high, with dirt f!oors and Hat
| dirt roofs, and generally built square.
Those that can afford il have n placita
| in the center. The Mexicans are di-
vided into two classes-the dons, who
are generally very wealthy, and are
mostly of pure Spanish blood. and the
poems, who are poor, and are mixture
Of the Indians and negroes Ii Is sur
prising to see how rich some Of the
dons are-reaching up into the mil
| lions. This Is handed down from one
generation 10 another. They do very
| little but see about their stock and e.
| tates The peon. are really their
slaves. Al Beien ] was at Phillip
Cheves', a rich don's house. They told
me their product from wool each year
was ~, 00 pounds. which he sold for
twenty cents per pound, which brings
him So an. Allowing Sso.Vp for ex-
nn.s-, and ] don't believe they are
that much, for he told me they never
fed their sheep anything the year
around, ~ they lived on the range
his net income would b. SIO. 90 year
On wool alone A. soon A. they get
the money they invest il In govern