The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-07-01

The word Indian gives no proper idea
of these Aztecs of the nineteenth century.
They are nothing like our Indians in ap-
pearance or civilization. They are as ad-
vanced as the lowest classes of many
parts Of Europe, and they have manners
and civilization peculiarly their own.
They have shown themselves possible of
great development, and some of the most
striking men in Mexican history have
come from them. Juarez was an Indian;
Hidalgo was an Indian; and the President
of Mexico to-day-Senor Diaz-has some
Indian blood in his veins. The Congress
of Mexico is largely made up of the de.
sccndants of the Aztecs, and it is be.
heved by many that the future possibili-
ties of Mexico are to come from this race.
The pure Spauiards of Mexico are few,
and they and the people of mixed Indian
and Spanish blood make up, it is said,
less than one-half OF the whole popula.
tion. Still it is from them that the
whole country has been judged in the
past: and it remains to be seen what the
influence of railroads and the consequent
development will have ou the masses.
The best part of Mexico has not been
prospectcd as yet by the miners. A min
ing engineer who has been travelling in
the southern states of the country tells
ne that the great mines of the future lie
in the south rather than in the north.
Still the north has been worked for ages,
and gold and silver are turned out there
by the millions of dollars worth every
year. Even the northern mining regions
are comparatively little known, and Col.
Bivins, well-known American miner,
who owns valuable property in the State
of Guanahuato, tells me that he has OBJ.
tanned concession for Philadelphia
syndicate to some wonderfully rich but
unknown gold territory OIL the western
coast of the country. The agricultural
resources of Mexico are as little known
and have been as little tested as its
mines, and there is enough untitled land
here to feed the whole United States if it
were cultivated. Just now coffee plant
ing is being largely undertaken and new
sugar and coffee fields are being planted
in number Of the States.
America knows but little of the Mexico
of the present. They would consider it
an evidence Of ignorance if Mexican
had never heard of the names of any one
of the United States, but ninety-nine
Americans out of one hundred cannot
name, without looking at the geography,
five out of the twenty-seven States which
make up this great republic, and the ma
jority OF them look upon the whole
country as about as larre as one OF Our
medium-sized States. The fact is Mex
leo is about as large as the United States,
including Alaska, and it is six times as
large as Great Britain. 1t is more than
three times AS large as Germany, and
you could lose three countries as big as
France inside of it. Across the top Of
it, where. like great horn. it is fast
ened to the United States, it is as long
as indianapolis is distant from New York
City, and line drawn from the root OF
the horn at California catercornered
across it to its tip at Guatemala would
be as long as the distance from New
York to Denver. The horn is about 15C
miles wide at the bottom or tip, and
about 500 miles wide at its roots where
it joins on to US. In its curve it EN-
braces tine Gulf of Mexico, and the Pa
cific Ocean washes its other side. 1t is
not smooth horn by any means. Great
mountains lie all along its top, and this
top 10 vast rolling table-laud, the most