Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1881-05-24
LETTER R o MEXICO.
A Memphis Boy Takes in the An
cient Halls, Affairs, Pictures,
Etcetera.

I'VE are permitted to use the following
graphic and readable letter, writ
ten by a well known young man
of Memphis to one of his
brothers here. he left this city about
the 10th of last November, and Joined
the surveying party Of Jay Gould's Mex
lean Central railway at San Antonio,
Texas. The party consisted of fifteen
persons, besides an escort of thirty mount
ed men to preserve the peace. The party
set out early in January, and is the first
to arrive in the City Of Mexico by the
overland route. Almost the entire dis
lance frem San Antonio was made on foot.
This is the party mentioned in our dis
patches a few days ago in which an engin-
eer went crazy and killed two persons
and was then killed by the chief engineer,
thus reducing the number to twelve. The
writer of the letter is Mr.. Pat 7. Farms
worth, son Of T. B. Farnsworth, Esq, OF
this city. The letter was not intended for
publication, and is, therefore, free from the
stiffness, verbosity and pretended. accu-
racy Of SO many letters which appear I'M
der the head of Especial Correspond
ence."l
CiTY oF MExIce, May 2, 1880.
DEAR CHARLfR:-At last this chicken
has scratched up the dust Of this renown-
ed and historic city. | spent half Of to-
day in looking for the palace Of the fallen
/ Montezurnas. and waiting 10 be inspired ;
but, unfortunately, that splendid ediice
lies so .low i the dust" that all that is left
is in the national museum here. However,
l will take this chance to blow off a little
to YOU, old boy, about it and other things
to pay up Tor my long silence. In the
first place, the museum: 1t is like "a good
many other Mexican buildings, in having
a largo open court in the center Of it. This
court is filled with beautiful flowers and
| palm trees; tho entrance is through an
open archway covered with carving, Of
men and birds, and the first thing | saw
on getting outside wasa large round stone,
covered with images of men fighting on
the side: on top it was fat, with a round
hole about a foot deep and one in diame-
ter, with a deep groove running from it to
the outer edge, 1t is the old altar o. the
| Aztec priests, on which they sacrificed
their human victims. Turning to the
right from there was a figure lying down,
seeming to be sleeping in the shade of a
large palm, and another at an equal dis
lance on the other side Of the altar. Both
were gigantic in size and remarka ly life
like, considering the rudeness Of Che cary
ing. A lutte further on lay a large rat
tie make, coiled up, that was simply per-
feet. In one corner were ugly little gods
and goddesses without end. The Place
was undergoing repairs, and l could 90 no
further. On coming out, four of us hired
a hack for seventy-hve cents an hour and
saw the places OF interest. The first was
the Cathedral de MeIido. That is built
on the same spot where the old temple to
the sun used 10 stand. 1t will simply take
the cake for beauty over anything | have
yet seen. 1t has an organ in the center
that reaches nearly to the top of The
church. The organ is nearly as large as
the little church on the corner, and is q
good deal taller, and there is some kind OF
service going OF there all tho time. The
dome is painted inside with figures wor-
thy of o Raphael; the other parts are
either scroll work or large l~ife-size paint
ings, and one is the most startling l ever
SAW. 1t is a picture of the crucitixion at
the time the dead came to life and rose
out of their graves. On the outside there
is built partly, or the wall, an old calen-
dar of the Aztecs that used to stand in
the temple of the sun. The next thing
was the national palace in which Cortez
spread his blankets for a while. The pres
ident Of the republic lives there, and as /
had no special invitation TO come in and
take dinner, did not 20 in. We then went
out of town, on u beautiful road, to the
castle of Chapultepec, where Macmillan
lived for two years and Scott stormed
during the Mexican war. 1t is large and
grand, being built on top of a hill of solid
rock. At the foot Of the hill is n cave
that leads up to the main building from
underneath. On the way out there We
passed the statue of Carlos " and OF
Columbus, both in bronze, and saw the
s-now-crowned peak of some mountain. Of
which | have not been able to learn the
name yet. 1t furnishes the whole city
with ice. | have bought a book with pho
tcgraphs of most Of the celebrated places
here, and hope to have the pleasure OF
showing them to you and having a long
talk about all of Mexico before long
News travels very slowly in this country,
but / hear that the yellow fever is very
bad in Vera Cruz, and Galveston has
quarantined againstit. Why don't New
Orleans do the same2 Is there any talk
Of having the fever at home this year
What will you do il il comes? 1t will be
six or seven weeks before we reach San
Antonoi, and | will. feel q little an1iou:
because of the scarcity of the chances for
getting mail en- route. We 90 back BY
way Of Victoria and Monterey, crossing
the river at Laredo again. l don't know
exactly what l will do on reaching San
Antonio, but, of course, will be guided q
good deal by Uncle Pat. l feel well salts.
fed now in regard to the cattle and sheep
business, and don't look on that picture
with very longing eyes, and think there
are other things that will suit me better
| have learned a good many things onthis
trip, and am now enc Of the most popu.
lar fellows in camp-that is, have a FRIEND
in every man there. l received a letter
from ma while in San Luis Potosi. and ]
inclose a note to her in this. There arc
great many Americans in this place. ]
met one to-day from Lebanon, Tenn, By
the name Of Good. He knows Lawrenc,
Lamb and several other fellows in Mem
phis, and as he has been here for a month
or so, he took me around to see the plac,
and showed me parts l had not seen be.
fore. We go this evening out on the lake
Well, old fellow, I'll give you a rest now
and will write again on the first chance
Give my best respects to all, and write
often to your stfectionate brother,
PAT.