Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1884-04-04
OLD MEXICO.
A QUAINT OLD cirY-STAGING UNDER
DIFFIcuLTiEs-A PECULIAR COUNTRY
MINES, MINERS AND AGRICULTURE
ZAcAIEcAs. Mex. 1884.

|
DEAR GgApHIo:-More than 2O00
miles away in this quaint old city with
is equally quaint people, located In a
deep gorge among the mountains,
5000 feet above. sea level, and contain
ing $4,000 people, densely packed to-
eether. .o. down some OF my wayside
observations. This is peculiar coun-
try and peculiar people, difiicnlt to
describe so as to he understood and the
country equally as hard to picture, so
as to make it comprehensive to the
reader. The railroad route had moth
ing ont OF the usual routine to present,
that is probably not part of every
ones experience, with here and there
an occasional variation.
The staging began at Lerdo SIS
miles south OF ElPaso, Tex, 204 miles
to the City of Durango; my first expert
ence in that line for % years, through
miles OF desert, mountain pass, sand
plain and lava beds, clouds of dust
everywhere. / breathed dust, ate dust
and slept in dust. One desert we
crossed OF so miles, without single
house or drop of water on the way,
without change of mules or food for
man or beast.
Everything that grows in Mexico
seems to end in thorn, pigs look as If
they ended that way in either direc-
tion, and last though not by any means
the least, the 'Alacran' is finished out
With sting in its tail that is death
dealing in its nature, did not happen
to see one of them as it was too early
in the season, they are one of the scor.
pion family and extremely fond of
hiding IN the bed, probably in order to
give you warm reception and insure
calm repose.
Durango is city of $4,000, well
watered, and has the finest baths to be
found anywhere, the climate is delight
tul, frost seldom falls, is 5000 feet
above the sea level. Strawberries are
ripe. and ripe and green fruit and
blossoms on the orange trees, grapes
grow in abundance when cultivated
and are delicious; here there seems to
be no prevailing disease so far as l
could learn and would | think be bene-
fetal to Asthnatic subjects and those
with tendency to tubercular disease
OF the lungs.
Here is located the celebrated Iron
mountains, the largest know iron de-
poslts in the world owned by the Iron
Mountain Co. Our own iron mountain
sinks into utter inslgnifcance beside
1t, the ore averages 65S of pure iron,
whilst specimens so pure are abundant
that it can be worked in an ordinary
smiths forge. The mountain is q
mile long q mile wide and averages
| about 400 feet above the plain and how
far down tradition saith not, but at 80
feet below the surface the ore is as
abundant as on top;it is practally in
exhaustible. IN the immediate vicinity
| abundant supplies of limestone moul-
ding sand, and fire clay are found, and
on the Company. land plenty of wood
for charcoal as fuel to smelt the ore;
the blast furnace, machine shops and
foundry are in process of erection; 1t is
only question of time when those
owning stock in the enterprise will be
amply rewarded for their confidence IN
the same. From Durango to this point
AO miles more staging, but far more
pleasant route. Scarcely any warm
weather here. owing to the elevation,
nights very cool and pneumonia quite
prevalent; owning to the imperfect
sewerage epidemics Of typhus fever
occur annually about June, July and
August or the rainy season; all things
considered it is not desirable point to
live.
The agricultural interests of the
country occupy subordinate position
and are likely always to remain so be-
cause of scarcity of water and are al.
most wholly restricted to the water
courses, except where the rain fall is
sufficient to secute crops and then the
seasons are extremely uncertain. Stock
raising and mining are the principal
Industries of the country; both in
measure in their infancy, active enter
prising men could make it pay largely
in importing and breeding better
class of stock of every kind as a wide
field is open for improvement; judlcious
investments in known mining enter
prises, promise an abundant and early
return. l visited and carefully exam
ined the Mapimi Silver Mining Cos. |
property and know it to be legitimate
entei prise that will not disappoint its
promoters.
In the social condition OF the country |
there is wide field for improvement,
although the better classes are almost
If not equal to our own people in edu-
cation and accomplishments. Peonage
or what is practically a system of slay-
cry still exists, worse in many of its