The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1885-03-22
SQUID.
A Journey Into the Land OF the Aonte,muas.

A Journey Into the Land OF the aonte,muss
| First Lettcr.l
CITY OF MEXICO, MEXICO, March G, 1855
DEAR HERALD; Where you find forty Americans
Who have been to and know Europe you cannot md
one who has been to and knows anything abou,
Mexico. Aud why7 Until the opening OF the
Mexican Central Railroad Mexico was dinicult
country to VISIT TO see, to travel In, but you
travel from Boston, New YORK, Washington Chi
cago, st. Louis, etc., 10 this city, with but two
| or three changes, all the way In a Pullman. To
come from the three frst-named places to this de-
leatfully Interesting city involves journey OF 1900
to 1000 miles, and takes from seven to eight days
AMI nights. That Ia the longest railway ride that
can be taken in the world, You must come through
FL Paso, Texas. The distance from there here ia
i5 miles, English. III Paso, you will nd, by refer
eneeto the map, Is away In the extreme southwest
corner Of Texas, almost across the Continent, and
when you arrive there you strike due SOUTH and
| aitera Journey OF two days and three nights you
| reach here.
This journey, from Ell paso here, over the Mexican
Central. carries you over the high table-ands Of
Mexico, where the atmosphere Is 80 clear that the
endless ranges OF mountains, In many places from
twenty to thirty miles distant, look but three four
miles away, and the braclng air lifts you like wine.
The sir Is so dry and pure that dead cattle dry up
and emit no offensive odor and for $50 miles there Is
| uuN NttT IlOt u Ucc WOOu Is SO rare IUAt
the ties cost the railroad company one dollar each
on the ground, as they were brought from California
and water s 30 scarce that immense tanks Of 1t have
| to be transported by the company from north and
| south. Although in building the road the ties were
n big item, yet the labor OF the Poems was obtained
for go little that the general cost was not great The
rail Is OF the best and heaviest, all steel, and the
Mexican government granted subsidy OF SIS, 500 a
mile, and pledged the receipts from the customhouse
therefor The trains during daylight make twenty
| five miles an hour, at night eighteen miles, and as
you roll along and watch the stars gitterlng like
gems through the lmpid air you realize that you are
| from three to seven thousand feet nearer heaven
than you could be In Washington, where our friend
Bob Ingersol reigns. There is no winter here's frost
| and Ice are scarcely known unless you climb the
highest mountains to seek them. AS we write here
| at an open window at the Hotel 1turblde (Eetur.
beedee) a Peon Is In the courtyard peddling
bananas, oranges chirimoyas, and other tropical
fruits, while from forty miles away the stupendous
Popocaepetl rears $4,000 feet, covered with vegeta
tion for 900 feet and then only comes the ice and
| snow.
| Just In the next room is newspaper man from
the West, who said to us this morning:
| ~ wish to write long letter to my papers, but
there Is so much that is new and interesting here
can't hold myself still long enough to write"
And, kind reader, that is what is the matter with
your humble servant. But knowing your considera.
tlou luE ihultS III tHc past ne ventures
upon the following with very little data at hand and
but one English book to refer to.
few dry figures: The Republic Of Mexico con-
tains about 100000 square miles, and the population
is from 1880 to 25o according to different authori-
ties, per mile. There are twenty. nine States, and
the people are divided into four castes, as follows
Whites, Indians, negroes, and mixed races-mes
tfzos, ntuldttoes, and zan,bos The first are pro-
duced by whites and Indians the second by negroes
and whites, and the last by Indians and negroes.
The Indians outnumber all others, being from i've.
eighhs tothree.quarters Of the whole number. They
are longlivcd race, small, but possess wonderful
endurance, and they have not been affected by for
e!gn influence. The number of foreigners in the
country does not exceed 100 0e0-French, Germans,
Spanards, Americans Italians, and English.
The architecture the ruined palaces apdtemples
resemble, strange may appear, the buildings Of
the ancient Greeks and Romans, and the pyramids
are not unlike those Of Egypt. The modern style OF
architecture is the Spanish renaissance. Every
thedral and church is thus fashioned. The facades
are beautifully carved, and have much arabesque
work, which the Spaniards learned from the Moors.
Mexico, Pueba, Morela, Guadaalara, and other
cities have csthedras that compare favorably with
any In the world and the cathedral In this city is
undoubtedly the most magnificent church building
In the New World. The plans Of all these churches
were drawn In Spain, and they were bullt by Spanish
architects. The largest building in Mexico is the
kdIuCe III ths Cuys tWo slOEleS ulBus Will
frontage of 6I5 feet Most of the houses are one
storied built in the most substantial manner, and
the roofs are arched with brick. They must needs
build well for fear Of earthquakes, and brick and
stone are far cheaper than wood. Fires are almost
unknown, indeed, are quite unnecessary, and there
is not chimney in the City of Mexico outside of the
factories. There are stoves the cooking is done
over charcoal in little portable furnaces The lower
orders in this city and about the suburbs live in
storIed adobe houses thatched with straw.
The government has recently adopted compre-
hensive plan to encourage immigration, paying q
bonus OF $40 or $50 head for each adult immigrant
and granting him an allowance Of twenty-five cents
day till he can ind work. This has brought many,
but 1t has not worked we'll and Is to be stopped.
The Mexican Transatlantic steamship Company
are now building four frst-class steamships the
Clyde TO run from some port In Europe to Vera Cruz
and the government Will adopt some plan to en-
courage immigration In wholesome way, even
going so far as to pay the way of mechanics.
Land is not for sale by the government in big
tracts, excepting In northern Mexico The old fam
lilies of landowners hold to their lands tenaciousy
and many of them own immense estates; one hdcen-
dado owns an area OF 10000 square miles aud none
Of 1t Is for sale. Settlers are coming though, and
when the American comes be comes to stay, and
| colonies of German or British miners are to be es.
tabllshed. High wages and the magnificent climate
Will attract them. During 1882 settlements OF
l
Puebla, Morelos, and San Luis Potos
The mines are the great source of the natural
wealth of Mexico and many statistics are printed
that seem fabulous, but the priests have tried tG
keep careful records 1t s said that total product
of the mines up to the year 1888 g. 900 OF
silver! The yield OF silver for 1882 s2s 900
gold, 81 100000 The main supply of Mexican silver
is gotten from the mines Of Guana1ato. Zacatecas
Sombrerete, Catorce, and Pachuca. But we believe
that there IL in the bowels OF this magnificent land
deposit which, when the country supports its mil
lions Of people as 1t now does Its thousands will be
OF far greater value to them and the world at large
than its gold, silver, and precious stones-iron. Tht
well-known CerrOd del Mercddo In Durango, contains
6C,OOO,O00 cubic yards OF iron ore, 5000, 900 90,
quntals sixty-six per cent. OF which is pure metal
No human mind can comprehend these figures.
| Besides gold, silver. and iron there are mines o.
lead, copper, tin, mercury but very little coal. A
coal mine, producing anthracite or bituminous
would be a source of tremendous wealth. Coal II
this city Is worth SO per ton, but 1t must not be sup
posed that there Is no coal In the country; ther'
mines, but not extensive, In the States Of OAK
aca, Vera Cruz, Mexico, Puebla, Nuevo Leon
Tamaulpas, and Sonora. An extensive mine o
good coal would be Of more value to Mexico thar
one of gold.
All Mexican mines can be worked better and NOR
probably by the old methods than by the new Tit
Mexican Ia very conservative, and looks upon new
ideas and inventions with suspicion. When the frs
railroad was being built two thousand wheelbarrow
were brought in by contractors. The native laborer
deliberately cut of the Wheels and handles loadet
the barrows, and carried them on their heads, ful
of dirt from the excavations. II was found that |
was wise to humor them In this, and the workman
| thought the new things thus altered were grea
. improvement. SO with plows the old Mexican
plow, made Of wood, has but one handle, and when
the improved American plow was introduced III,
Poems would not use 1t until one handle was sawr
off,
Mineral springs abound throughout the republic
called Ojos Calientes, or hot springs and they arr
much frequented by invalids OF the better classes
The geology OF the country Is not yet well explored
. Pathough Humboldt spent much time there In thu
early part OF the century large part Of the cOun
| try Is Overald by igneous rocks, chiefly trachyte
feldspar- -porphyry, and amygdalodal basalt In tn
Sierra Madre the netamorphic rocks are common
| Limestone ID found In abundance at Tasco and Orr
| zaba, and sulphur Is obtained at the volcanoes Pc
+ troleum is plentiful In the States OF Vera Cruz
| Puebls, Tabasco, and Oaxaca, and the Mexican gov
ernment fosters its production by charging heay
y duty on imported oils. Amongthe gems TO be foun'
are rubies diamonds, opals, topaz, emeralds, gar
nets, etc. Opa!s plentiful that they ridlcu
II | Innuiy chean We hnuuht "a handful yeaterday IN