The Benton weekly record. [volume] (Benton, Mont.) 1880-1885, 1880-07-02
ABOUT MEXICO.
" RRat GenersBR GrRmt Thinks o.
fhe CouRtry nmd People.

l. 2 +
est ~ hat General Grant Thinks
faae CoaRtEy nndl People.
There was al interested circle of Iiste
nj ers about General Grant the other mig
while he was giving some facts abo
led Mexico; and u representative If the Int,
Ocean, who was present, availed himself
u. the opportunity to make notes of the co
yersation, General Grant chcerfttlly 90
scnting thereto. The talk was entirely i
''e formal, the General frequently beil
interrupted by questions, but many fac
alf were revealed which will prove. interes
ing to the public. is.
p "There are nine millions of people
Mexico said General Grant, "and seve
= millions Of them are industrious, fruga
and willing to work for even pittance,
l.. afforded the opportunity
: What opportunity do they need?" ii
terposed listener.
se ssWell, what they first require is con
munication with the outside world. ''''e
m ought to build railroads from the 'front.',
to the interior of the country, and thus at
II ford means of transporting their product
cheaply and quickly to Il market. Yer
= Cruz has a railroad going up to Orizaba
Il Mexico, via Cordova and Orizaba, other
wise they could not get u market for any
!, thing they produce. Everybody was for
mcrly idle, Now they are raising sugar
, tobacco, and coffee, and extending tIle
raising Of these products all the time
a Then, there is branch road from near
Vera Cruz that runs to Jalapa. So they
: have 10 or 30 miles across there where they
} arc producing these products, aptl it is
making a conservative, well-to-do popula-
. ton. They arc making coffee for 6 cents
| a pound cost to the purchaser s. . s.F
sMeXico will soon have ANEW railroad
outlet OH this side, suppose-thc Atchi-
son, Topeka & Santa Fe ~ said one of the
gentlemen. fea ,a.55 .l,n:sa ,z...ss
Eyes, and it will go through to the City
of Mexico, as well as have line over the
Pacific 1t will be Il wonderful thing for
Mexico. Now, they have party there
that is very much opposed to any connec-'
ton with the United States, on the ground
that they are afraid of us-afraid that we
will want to take territory They have
/ people among them, you know. who arc a
little anxious to set up a separate Govern
mcnt i'll the North, vitlIa view of turning
! it over tothc United States, and, ofcourse,
making something out of it, and they are
afraid of them. told these people that
| they need have 80 alarm whatever about
| our wanting any of their territory. We
didn't. i told them that their apprehen-
sions were, at one time, very we'll ground
ed, because the time was when we wanted
Southern territory; that we had the insti-
tuition of slaveryin our country, which was
limited to one section of country, and |
which was always jealous of the political |
power Of the North, and always sought
more territory in which il could extend I
slavery, SO as to give political influence in
the Government.
AS long as that institution existed there |
was strong party here that was determin-
ed to keep possession Of the Government,
and was always trying to get more slave
States. But now, | reminded them, the
institution of slavery was at an end, and /
the very people who wanted the territory
then would not have it now: and believe
represented the sentiments Of my colu-
try-mell-nine-tenths OF thcm-whcn |
said that we would not accept it; that our
desire was to see them like ourselves-a
stable, prosperous Government; that we
wanted to see them rival lis, as fir AS they
GLOW about the Mexican laborers, Gem
eral, those who do not work? How do they
live?'
tWeli, the working classes, if they can
get 25 cents day, are in clover. You
see, their families will raise u little patch of {
corn, and they will live almost entirely on
the tortilla, which they make from the corn t
product They have laborers there where {
they are grading the railroads that get 25
to 40 cents a day in silver. I,
'"rheir families will make tortilla, which {
is cooked by their wives at home. 1t is
made of corn soaked in I've, and then it is :
worked down into Il paste between two
stones very thin. They make cakes of it, F.,
and eight:or ten pounds Of corn III this
way will keep a man a week. They raise
that; the luxuries they do not have. When
they work around the house they will
raise a few; tomatoes and few chickens
and beans. But these they have only as
luxuries."
''Do they drink any liquors Of any
kind ?''
After you get up to an elevation of
5 800 feet, taey make and drink spulka,
produced from the megna plant. They {
lrink an enormous sight of it. tits healthy c
md about the color Of milk, and if you are /
| little accustomed to it, it is quite palata-
,lc and very refreshing. You can buy it t
or about 2 cents a gallon. They are !
very temperate eating and drinking class e
There is an enormous amount of this prep '
lration drank, because everybody drinks i
t. It is very profitable to raise at cents
gallon. It is much like the cocoanut h
milk, except in drinking you can feel {,
iery slight sense Of cxhilaration.' Chi Il
ago Inter Ocean. u
The Russian Floating Prison. y
On April l4th, the steamer NijnY-Nov- Il
sorod, loaded with prisoners and provis- $
ons, left Odessa foi. the island of Sagha- i
len. On the steamer were four hundred /
male prisoners, eight female prisoners, /
wenty-seven women accompanying their
condemned husbands, two men accom- /
,anying their condemned wives, and six +
y-four children. The Archbishop per- O
ormcd the solemn thanksgiving servce, t
md prayer was offered for the long life of il
he reigning family and of those sailing
way. The Archbishop addressed the + 3
blessed them, and besprinkled ;
hem with holy water; then the male pris-s 3
,ners We're brought up and received in q
urn their word of encouragement and a
rope. Many of the prisoners wcpt.
The male prisoners are placed in four
departments, one hundred in each, and
he women il two rooms. There arc two :,
hospitals for males and females, Il drug :
tore and chapel. There IRE two su-- :
icons. ono priest, four officers of the in ! :,
erioi- and 4 gentleman and his wife tc !. !.
ook after the conduct OF the prisoners. It.I :
) said thai the. nrisoners will receixt. The