Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1886-04-28
TO ADVERTISERS.
THE FLOATING GARDENS.
MILES OF FLOWER BEDS IN THE
BLACK, WARM WATERS.

Ihh 4AOa41NO NAllDANOs
MILES OF FLOWER BEDS IN THE
BLACK, WARM WATERS.
A Visit to the Wonderful Gardens Near
the City Of Mexico-A Boat Ride on the
Sluggish Canal-The Mystery Revealed
1t Last-Fragrancs and Color.
Looking down from the foothills Of Popo-
catapelt with a field-glass 1 could see the
flower gardens of Mexico not far away. But
they We're inaccessible from the mountain
side and must be reached from the city Won
derful stories had the old Mexican to tell me
of these flower gardens, ten or a dozen miles
distant, between his cattle ranch and the city,
and determined to see them as soon as pos
sible They were floating palms, each .
floating paradise. Yet had heard all this
before In London, when / first set foot
thsre, and they found had been to Mexico,
the inquiry was for the floating flower gar
isns. And l was compelled to hang my
head and admit that l had never heard Of
them before.
But even here in this city was asked al
most as soon as / arrived by q sharp-nosed
woman, with short hair and a bag over her
shoulder, if had yet seen Humboldt's float
ing flower gardens. "Noa Well have; go
ing &c write book about 'em; wonderful
magnificent! just too sweet for anything"
l am careful to say that speak of these
flower gardens as Humboldt's floating flower
gardens only because have heard others call
them such; not that l have found one line Of
Humboldt's on the subject.
Taking with me my old Spanish friend,
drove out toward the southern gate, to where
the Indians come with thousands Of boats
down the broad willow-lined canal with fruit
and flowers and all sorts Of things for the city.
This gate is merely q bridge over the green
and stagnant moat or ditch which almost en-
tirely surrounds the city, and serves, or once
served, as a wall. Yet there is still the SEM
biance Of gate on this south side toward the
flower gardens and Popocatapetl, and high
marble and lava columns lift up on either
side of the little bridge over the green and
stagnant cane and willow-lined moat. On q
marble tablet you read the date I79s; also q
long Spanish inscription which tells you that
this is the south gate Of the City of Mexico.
Passing over this little bridge to the south,
with its ancient date and its famed Spanish
inscriptions informing us that it is gate, We
soon came to the great canal with its thous-
and little boats
BoATRIDE on THE CANAL.
To begin with, the boats are ugly and cum
bersome Now and then little canoe with o
single Indian standing erect, with one foot in
:he bottom and one on the edge, would dart
oast us as weslowly worked ON up the sluggish
lark canal, but as rule the boats are heavy
and slow. They are from ten to twenty-five
feet in length and five and six feet wide
There is a low, coarse mating TO keep off sun
or rain thrown over some willow loops bent
over the middle of the boat; and some Of the
boats have banners and gay awnings, but as
a rule the whole affair on the canal of flowers
is somber affair from beginning to end. The
canal is older than history, / should say. The
banks are lined with trees Under these trees
are stone seats, set all along by the wide
promenade Here are many men going up
and down on horseback; but very few car
riages come this way. Thousands Of people
60 TO and fro with heavy loads.
Boat-loads of fowersi Nothing Of the sort
for miles. Yet / ought to explain that the
flowers, as a rule, arrive very early, with
the dawn almost, TO be under the
glass house near the cathedral for early mar
ket
an "io,'s ,'ie WIN" anu shadeu oahks vi
the broad, deep canal Of many leagues in
length, we saw the ever-present and stopping
washerwoman. Find pool of water any
you pio'Se III .ieA'.o any 'nhe, YOU
VIM NM io," o"e 90 '"e"'s P"'r"', s"eii''
,,ioies'' anu iiiuus'iious "oiheii ps"diis 70
'neii WIN men oio"n e"o'e', AZ a" so'' VI
Pic'ui es9ue coiois 'uiiionns On .he siaSS IA
snouis vi sieeP"'s ni 'A'e ''iA'o" 'ioS7 A'
hano
me his' poa' ginning iio'i 'he mysterious
h"'''iiie ho"e' anu Which We eheouh.eieu
was iiaeii Win ihuiai, eorh' 'he Scohd was
ioa.ieu WIN nne "ooi ior "oo'eh iac.ofy,
winch an ooi,ii'iS NM es, "a,
met n lot of loud Americans ON their RETURN
from flower excursion n short distance nm
the canal. then some Mexican off,cars with
their wives and children. lint never a boat
load of flowers for miles
Another hour and we were in a wide lake
All about rs to right and left and far away
was one unbroken line of gardens rising from
the wafer But these little gardens only sig
or ton or tSeptv inches above the water ara
NOT floating gardens at all The boats move
very slowly and c,u,;ms,v about .moro
these gardens so as to not make a ripnle in the
wafer for even n ripple wo,ld disturh the
ground
MYSTERY OF THE arrnA1rNa GARprNsr
These gardens are close under the .o,,th
wall Of the mountains in the valley Of Me..
leo. They are not very far from the base of
Popocatarstl and the other snow mountain
with the uupronounceable Indian name and
called for the better conventions. Of stranger.
.The Lady in White But this lake in which
these gardens grow i, surely not fed from the
SHOWS of these mountains. for the water ber.
is warm. And il is this warm tempernture
of the water here rather than the air which
pcrmi,s these Indians to take h,at- loads Of
flowers and vegetables of all kinds into the
city of Mexico in midwinter.
The patient old boafman rowed ms carefully
and slowly all through these gardens. as be
had promised. There arc miles and miles Of
these long. narrow. little. black strips. lift
ing up out of the black. warm water OF the
lake. Silent Indians, entirely naked. stood
ahout here and there M To their waists in
water. pulling up weeds or fishing up black.
muddy water at their feet to pour over the
dare, IL seemeu, 10 s.aiau upon tneir mower
''us, 80 ran anu '<'s'i, 49,. 70. w -,
"e's s"''' " "
i',,ru
= "' 'n.e :" ~
"a 49," .-,- an 80 - -s
nv" I'M - "en IS - -,