St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-03-13

81 thank you Mr.. President. | thanI
You, said the general, with tears il
his eyes.
An Interesting Letter from Mex.
leo.
Fannie Brigham Ward in Springfield Republican.
ZACATECAs, Mexico, Feb, 1854.
Now that Zacatecas has become th,
connecting link for the first completed
railway between the two republics. al
the world wants to hear of her. Al.
ready the road has reached this point
from the South, and the next great na-
tiOnal CiRcO de Mayo fiesta 18th of Nav
commemorating the victory over the
! French ut Pueblo) will witness the
driving of the last spike between the
! finished ends. Great preparations are
making for the event-tOWard which
Zacatecas alone has contributed $50
OOO-and the old city is "smarting up
wonderfully, with fresh paint and new
| pavements for the momentOus holiday.
They have high handed ways of ac-
complishing things in this country.
which citizens of our older republic
would hardly relish For example.
the governor has ordered every house
III ZacatecaS to he painted within Il
specified tlme-at the owners expense
In the same laudable spirit of enter
prise, with patriotic desire to see his
capital grow, the governor of Il frontier
state issued proclamation a while ago
commanding the owner of every lot
within city limits to build house
thereon at once, or forfeit his land to
the government 1t is expected that
a great crowd will be present when
this railroad jubilee transpires, and
that President Arthur and President
Gonzales will shake hands over the
last ''tie that binds" whatever may
meanwhile have become of the pro
posed reciprocity treaty. And then all
things will be changed as by magic,
and so-c;pled ..Inlprn1,e.m!enV ,.! wi. wiz
esqueness of this quaint old city.
Being situated exactly in the center
of the country, Zacatecas has so far
escaped the tide of immigration which
has been slowly pouring in from the
northward and the southwark, and is
to-day almost as thoroughly Mexican
as il was $50 years ago. The first hat
or bonnet ever seen here upon female
head made its appearance less than
two wears ago. and that style of head
gear-supplemented by the ordinary
street costume in vogue with us-is
still enough of curiosity to collect Il
wide-eyed following around the luck
less lmerjcdHd who ventures forth thus
clad. Betsy and |, in the heathenish
apparel of the East, feel like circus
whenever we walk abroad among the
bare-headed pOpulace and the dark
feyed SenoraS and seuOritas whose black
tresSes are lightly draped in the grace
full lace mantIlla on swathed in black
shawls or TebOSas, and have il fellow
feeling for the Chinese, Turks and
other strange barbarians who some
times visit our cities and get similarly
stared at. But the American milliner
that arch generator of stIifes and
eart-burnings and emptier of pockets
is coming with the ferro cdrrH, fol-
lowed by the dress maker and the
drummer and the days of arcadIan sim
plicitv are numbered 1t is impossible
to convey with the pen any correct
idea of the pictureSqueuess of this To-
cality. First, one must be made to
realize the silent, solemn, empty coun-
try by which it is reached, through
''many Il palmy plain" like those of
Egypt. and the thin, clear mountain
atmosphere in which remote objects
stand out sharply defined against the
sky with cameo-like distinctness "a
succession of pictures in water color
! tints calculated to drive an artist crazy
with enthusiasm.
! The city of Zacatecas, capital of the
| state of the same name, has pOpula-
ton of about 5000, and lies nearly
| 5000 feet above the level of the Gulf
| Its narrow streets, OVershadowed by
adobe walls, centuries old, straggle up
and down the surrounding nights in the
most marvellous manner stony alleys
rushing straight up the steep mountain
sides, or descending as perpendicularly
| by series of steps cut into the solid
rock, and worn hollow by the feet OF
restless generations. And the passing
crowds are Il study of er-failing in
terest,-dark and oriental in type, the
majority with bare or sandaled feet,
and garments as primitive as the fash
ions of Bethlehem i'll Mary's day
women with waterjars upon then
| shoulders men with enormous wood
/ tH p'"io Hclptu Will strange GTOplCdl
fruits upon their heads, or carrying
huge straw hampers upon their backs
| diminutive dOnkeys laden with every
conceivable commodity the itinerant
merchant; the waters seller; the pulque
vender with his beverage in pig-skinS
"a perpetually shifting panorama. As
in all Mexican cities, where extreme,
of wealth and poverty meet, the higher
classes are seldom seen, except as they
now and then roll by in their carriages
Iacatecas has its exclusive circle %
i proud grandees, differing as widely
from the lower classes of the streets a:
the arlstocratic residents of New York
/. Fifth avenue differ from the gamin o
Five Points. Although the lowly anC
. ignorant are in the majority as to mum
hers IN poor, long down-trodden MeNi
co. beg You to remember that til,
. typical Mexican citizen has no superio
III any country in the way of culture
! refinement, politeness and true worth
Zacatecas is a remarkably well-buii
; city as TO public buildings, and ha
many fine business blocks and hand
5 some private residences. Like al