Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-06-14
THE VALLEY OF MEXICO.


Eucy ilant IuIIue.
The CITY Of Mexico is under our feet and
it seems T. b. in the center Of sea You
can define the long lanes of trees reaching
from tn mountains in many plH - to the
walls of the city I.ut the valley Of Mexico,
as Sron fIon the surrounding mountains,
st II seems Ia Ia. for tn" most part, "A vast
lOiy of water To right and eft and all
around you, here and all Over the low fer
til" hills, you bchold one unbrOken seq Of
green. Tn Is tn" mhgucy plant We call
IT tn" century liant at home 1t is IA ranS
and responsive grnwer. and disiainS nurs-
ing. 1t will fasten to an Oil fence,
fashioned of !uOS, stones. and flourish there
better than in field II Is certainly the
Cleanest and healthi, ct plant in the world.
Its sturdy stih leaves here where it grows
to per eCtion are in some cases as large a
man, and a, war-like Th' end of each
thI, X, healthy, AMI clean gre II leaf i, armed
with a spear that woulI split .en,c rail.
In tn heart Of this green. healthy plaIs,
that sLI etches away in vast rolling fields on
ci. her side of us for ten or twenty miles,
the MeNi,an digs a hole II" See, Is tn
largest in the uvli. and has perhaps 10
plants tapped' at the same time. Three
times day lie comes with II pump and
RuHlbS Out IU' iluI l INTO ElS -shlli, car
rie on his la K it is u sort Of sugar
making business, only they do not boil
Il VII the water They put it in barrels or
tubs, and after three days take it to town,
where, 1t is said, lU,OU gallons per day is
consume | have tired to drink this
"pulque," both at the shops and at the table.
uut it i i,upusib to stand the vile smell of
ii after it h,s fermented and been tumble
= d. =
III ii pig skin o. Il former generation
But look up and over and beyond tn,
green SCI OF century plants Look away
ley ond the great la e, the flower gardens,
far away and above to the grand and eter-
nal mountains of snow that lie cleaning and
flash ny in the setting sun. Was there ever
su h a world Of sIlendor to LOOK upon b.
.o.e' And only to think" says an emi
n nt American who comes from another car
and stands at my side, + hs>c lived fifty
years within six days Journey of all this
and never saw it Leiorc will come every
year Of my life now" Words, sentiment,
all utternn,c, seo.ls like an impertinenc,,
here cd battle fields, The ris and fall oil
this faction or that state or nation-thry all
are below Us now These sublime mount
aims, what have they cred, or concel ned
themselves for all that man has don~ In tn ,ir
ma ,eatic pres'.n"e. II W. could only par
take II little Of their awful stability and
>trrnness an un hanged truth,
Here Mont 'zuma stool, for h loved this
SPOT, and in his simple faith seemeI to see
the foot st"Is o. his goi on youder mount
aims with tho I.rst hurst Of mo. ming Here
Cortol stood. and in his religious bigotry
planned to llac' colossal cross on thus,
eternal bank, oI snow. And here stood the
old American soldier, glaSs in hand, con
templating the roId 10y whi'h no was 10
cross those shallow lakes and plnnt the first
strange a. on the wall, OF MonteLuma that
had l"n planted there for more than thre
hundred Year., What scenes What sur
rounings What traditions, What pr op.e-
ries 20 wohdcr that the cnchant,N
Spaniard, when he lrrst set foot he e nam.i
Inc spot st Ange.,-Joa .uin Miller in Che
cagO Ilm,~<