Little Falls transcript., 1883-09-28
e.

I b mlles s ana the a5 greatest luxury he q
can imagine is curdled goats milk mixed
with his beans. and garlic. What more could any
we'll regulated Mexican desire We meet o
constant PROCESSION Of donkeYs on the road,
each with. rider sitting almost upon its tail
and carrying the cargo on rude sort of saddle 4
! IN front-Where the rider would sit in any
other country under the sun. Sometimes al
entire family actually covers 3 diminutivs
donkey from ssstem to stern,n as itx were.
Anon great heaps Of merchandise, packs Of
mexican pottery, or crooked sticks from the 1
mountains for burning bulge ont upon either
side and tower far above the head OF the poor
little beast. Behind us the quaint city, whose
low adobe walls are lost to sight at q short
distance, seems to sleep the sleep Of ages But
the great yellow tower of the cathedral, which
that Of the Roman Catholic charch--:are still
| prominent feature in the landscape, and tho
everlasting hills stand guard on every
hand- have not seen four r-wheeled
wag on, or omnibus, or iron plow.in Mexico.
The import duty is $40 per wheel. The plows
are three-cornered wooden concerns, exactly
like those used in ancient Egypt centuries ago,
II pictures of the latter are correct. ), The carts
are ponderous vehicles, each with two enor-
! nous wheels of solid wood and not a particle
| OF iron about them, looking Of themselves
sufficient load for any pair OF animals These
carts are usually propelled by several lean
oxen, driven four abreast, three abreast, tan
dem, hap -hazzard, and always with
upon their foreheads. Their heads are thus
bowed nearly to the ground by the weight of
wood upon them, and their eyes wear q look of
suffering pitiable to behold, while the driver
amuses himself by constantly prodding them
with long pole, in thu end of which is sharp
| iron spear. Oh! for Bergh in Mexico is our
daily cry If the theory of transmigration of
souls be trne, may heaven preserve US from "a
future state" in the form of oxen or donkevs
SUGAR AND FRUIT.
70 off is ia ov,,;i1
standing in the open field, worked by one de-
crepit mule, and "tended' by a solitary Mexi-
can-the only human being beside ourselves in
sight. Judge Golindo's methods and machin-
cry are primitive as compared to commodious
manufactures in the United States; but per-
hans he is wiser, as expenses are less and his
gains correspondingly greater The cane
stalks serve double purpose, for, after hav-
ing been squeezed dry in the well, they are
thrustinto the furnace for fuel The sap runs BY
q rude trough from the mill into tin vat, under
which is the mud oven dignifed by the name of
furnace. When sufficiently boiled, the syrup
| is cooled and nodded in tiny earthen pots, ex-
actlY like our smallest plant jars, only trit1e
| wrapped in dried leaves of the cane, and is
ready for shipping. The skimmings Of the
boiling sap ar utilized in making popular
| beverage resem bling cider, called aqua miei
(honey water, Or miel de cana. The piloncllle
syrup ls by no means as pleasant to the taste
| as our maple, but it is more like Chinese sor-
ghum.
In this part Of Mexico, as well as farther
southwark, the orange tree grows luxuriantly.
ln lexas, where great quantities of the fruit
are shipped, Mexican oranges are considered
superior to those from any other point Figs
are as plentiful as the blackberry brers before
mentioned. in country lanes of New
England, and so cheap that few consider them
worth picking to sell An establishment for
drying, packing and shipping them could not
fail to realize handsome returns. The princi-
pal exports from Monterey are silver and lead
from the mines, hides, goat skins and sextile
fiber called in Attic dialect
IXTLE,
which is extensively used in the United States
IN the manufacture of ropes. An endless
quantity OF this valuable fiber could be OBJ
tanned if machines were invented to separate
1t from the pulp. From time immemorial this
by separating it, leaf by leaf. with knife
The price Of ixtle IN Monterey is $l25 per
arroba or twenty-five pounds. In the neigh
boring State - Coahuila great quantities
and gprps n fpe p;ros gTowD naS both wns g'ts
made, of a superior quality-a sort of cross
between port and claret, and another variety
which tastes much like sherry Whom rail fa-
cllties are fairly esta blished no doubt this also
WILL form an important item of export-not to
mention the many strange tropical fruits with |
which 1nqplsitive Americans would like to be- |
come acquainted. Pomegranates grow to great
size here, also ahuacates, like those of Cuba, |
which are considered such luxury that they
sell for $2 apiece in New York. Even the |
despised cactus, like adversely, is not without
its uses. Indeed, don't know what the coun- |
try would do without it. In the long, dry sum-
mers, when water is scarce countless focks of
sheep and goats are kept alive by splitting the |
broad, fiat leaves of the prcky pear variety
and allowing the crea ures to suck the patura !
moisture contained inside. The favorite diet !
OF American donAeys is said to be tin cans and
thistles, but their M-x,can cousins fare better,
on t"asted cactus, which their owners prepare
by holding branches of it on stick (it is i'm !
possible to handle otherwise) over a GLOW fire !
I'LL the thorns are burned of. Each variety of (
cactus bears its frntt, all 'sgood for man and |
beast, and more or less palatable-Whether |
pale green, blood red or back when ripe
Of late the mines OF this section have been |
attracting almost as much attention as the more
celebrated ones of Sonora aud other portions |
OF Mexico. Several companies Of American
capitalists have recently been organized, aud |
are now working at Villedama, Salinas. VIC
torla and other points in the immediate vicin-
lty of Monterey. Though the memory of man
goeth not to q time when these mines have not |
been worked-Mexican fashion-it is ex-
pected that now, with improved machin-
cry, and Yankee enterprise. their yield
we recall accounts Of the enormous stores Of
cold and silver possessed by the early Aztecs,
Tlascaus and Teczucans, in the morning
twilight Of Mexican history-in the days Of
Montezuma, lxtlazihuat, Nezahuslpitli, TX
tolxoehitl, and other ancient wortdies with
jaw-breaking names-we wonder if there was
no bottom created to these mines, or if nature
is buster here than elsewhere.
CHANCES FOR ENTERPRISE. !
Near Monterey are three factories, run by
water power, for the manufacture of cotton
cloth. Two of them make bleached goods.
and have been so successful that they have
doubled the number Of looms within the last
year: The cheapest calico. which in st. Paul
retajls for cents a yard, here sells for 25 or
80 cents per vara: which is about three-quar-
ters of yard. AS the duty on prints amounts
to more than the cost of the cloth itself, it
would we'll repay capitalists TO establish print
factories in this section, especially as tho duty
on raw cotton is simply nominal, and the price
Of labor less here than anywhere else on
the continent. Of course, the Importance of
these factories will increase with the OPEN
ing Of facilities to reach other portions
OF Mexico Formerly all goods had to be trans
ported in carts or on pack mules, but the rail
roads will soon do away with such slow transit
Machlnery of all kinds goes free of duty, and
right here is an idea for enterprising agents,
viz: The most cheaply gotten no sewing ma
chimes sell readily in Mexico for $125 and
upward. A paper mill erected near Monterey
would be fortune for somebody. Paper
costs So per ream in the United States, but by
the time it has crossed the border and paid the |
duties, has advanced to So. so per ream
The refuse of the cotton mills, which is
utilized in this new industry A eoap factory, |
also, ought to yield bonanza here We pay
so cents in Mexico for cakes of ordinary toilet |
soap, which sell elsewhere for 10 cents, and |
from 81 to ST.. so for ''Lubns best" Com
mon brown bar soap is sold in thin sIices-re-
made e cents) slice, or IS cents per bar.
As may be inferred. the Mexican moor /