Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1885-05-25
LETTER FROM MEXICO.
City of Merico, Mch. 81, '95.

Clty OF MeG1cO, Men. II, 90.
The City of Mexico is situated in
a valley or basin something like the
Great Salt Lake basin in Utah. This
basin is surrounded by high noun
tains somewhat circular in form and
is from 80 to so miles across. Like
the Salt Lake basin it was once filled
with water, the line left by it still
being traceable along the base of the
surrounding foot hills about Is feet
above Lake Texococo, the principal
lake within the valley. The water in
the Salt Lake basin was at some ear
ly day between 20 and 80 feet high
er than now and the area of the lake
itself some three times as large as
now. This is clearly shown by a
well marked water line still distinctly
traceable on the side of the noun
tains. The waters of Salt Lake are
still receding and so are those of
Lake Texococo within which the city
stood at the time of the conquest.
Though now more than two miles
distant it is, at low water mark. but
six feet lower than the plaza
in front of the cathedral, which
is the highest point in the city.
In high water this lake sometimes
overfows the city-though this has
not happened since 1866, the last
year of the reign of Maximillian, when
the water was 18 inches deep in the
court of the Hotel Hurbide and deeper
in the lower portions of the city; but it
did not then cover the floor of the
cathedral, which, by the way, is only
about two feet higher than the low
est portions of the town. There are
two other small lakes of unpro-
nounceable names which flow into
Texococo but like Salt Lake there
is absolutely no outlet whatever to
Texococo, and its waters are not
only filthy from the drainage of the
city but very alkaline. The other
lakes are fine bodies of pure
fresh water, we'll filled with the fnny
tribe. Ever since the conquest it
has been great question, with the
people living in this valley, how to
provide an outlet for the water in
this basin and save the city from the
devastating inundations to which it
has always been liable. 1t was SUBJ
merged at one time for five years.
Early in the 18th century there
was still another lake to the north of
the city which then flowed into Tex
oco, and contributed not little to
the volume of it's waters. But this
has been partly drained off, by means
of an immense cut through a sag in
the mountains which constitute the
rim of the basin, and now has it's
outlet in that direction. This cut,
known as the cut of Nochistongo, at
its greatest width is 361 feet; at it's
greatest depth is 1877 feet and is just
about 13 miles long. From these
figures it will be seen that it is the
greatest earth cutting in the world.
To make this excavation more cubic
yards of dirt were removed than in
making the Suez Canal and many
more than will be removed in exca-
waiting for the Panama Canal, and,
of course, all upon the head of the
patient peon. The Mexican Cen
trail railway passes through the en-
tire length of this monstrous gap
bed or shelf being made for the
tack along one of the sides, well
down into the cut. Fifteen thou
sand poems were employed upon the
work at time and more than CEN
tury elapsed from the time of its
commencement to its completion.
By some it is said never to have
been completed according to the
original plan of the engineers. How
ever this may be, it drains lake Zum-
pango and relieves the valley from
a considerable quantity of water.
But it did not accomplish all that
was expected; and discussion is still
rife as to how the valley may be
more completely drained; in short
how an outlet may be given to Lake
TeXococo which, of course, still re-
ceives all the drainage of the valley
except lake Zumpango.
Some engineers propose to do this
by deepening and extending this cut
to the lake; others by tunnel
through the mountain. Either plan
will cost millions of dollars and is
not likely to be undertaken very
soon; though the impetus which the
several railways now terminating in
the city-there are four-are giving
to every kind of material enterprise
will undoubtedly hasten the work,
which is only question of time.
Besides, the better class of residents
are beginning to wonder how they
have lived so long with the bitter
waters of Texococo every year at
their doors and sometimes within
their households. They are begin
ming to realize that the filthy water
of this little lake, carrying as it does
the wash of the entire city and of
numerous other towns within the ba-
sin, aggregating total population
of more than half a million souls,
inasmuch as it is not large enough
to cleanse itself, must be fruitful
source of the typhus, here so preva-
lent and so fatal; especially as. for