The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-05-31


the sea and this is the level, not of point
CT the mountain side, but plateau upon
which the biggest nation OF the continent,
with the exception of Russia, could be lost.
There is perpetual sunshine here, and the
blue skies are bluer than those of the
United States. The air is 80 rare that the
eye car see many miles farther than with
US, and it affects the nerves as though one
was breathing champagne. The skies are
closer to the earth here than 81 home, the
moon shines at night with greater BRILL
ancy, and the diamond-like stars remind me
OF the luminous heavens which hang low at
night over the Gulf Of Siam. L have been
in Singapore, almost on the equator, where
the thermometer stands at about eighty the
year round and where the air is almost sat
ursted with moisture Here, [ judge, the
thermometer averages about seventy, and
the air is as dry and eXhilirating as that of
the Equatorial Malacca is moist and ener-
waiting.
IN BLOOM FOREVER.
Think of country where the crops grow
in lu1uriant greenness all the year. Where
the rose grows into trees and flowers bloom
forever. l saw yesterday men harvesting
crops in one end of a field while other men
were planting the same crops at the other.
Upon parts of this plateau strawberries are
ripe during every week Of the year, and
everything seems to grow at any time 1t is
planted. The rule about Silao is two crops
OF Wheat from the same ground year, and
see that in harvesting the wheat is pulled
root and all from the ground, and this air
and sun form the only manure. This part
OF the Mexican plateau is like garden.
There is some irrigation, butin many places
the crops grow without it: and | rode for
miles yesterday through lands which were
as rich as guano and as black as the rich
soil that makes glad the valley Of the Nile.
Inc lands along the coast are, am told,
even richer than these uplands and the
beautiful valley in which Mexico city is To-
Gated is one of the garden spots of the
world. Mexico city is about seven thou
sand feet above the sea. My ride of yester-
day was at an altitude of more than five
thousand feet above the level of the sea.
The valley through which we passed was
lined on both sides with mountains which,
in the haZy distance, looked as though they
had been busted with the frosty silver
which is so abundant within them. and as
we rode on through the green, pointed to
them and asked one Of my Mexican fellow
! travellers what Law beyond. He replied that
on the other side of the mountains there
were other little valleys as rich as that
through which we were passing, and the
greater part of Central Mexico was made
up of such country.
WHERE THE DESERT IS.
The Mexican plateau IS not, however, by
any means all green. There are vast des-
erts like those of Arizona and Nevada, and
In coming here through the great state of
Chihuahua on the Mexican Central railroad,
l Travelled for two days through the blind
ing blaze OF dusty sand in which the only
green thing was the cactus, which grows
mere IN all its beauty and in all its ugliness.
These deserts are, in some places, fit for
grazing, and MeXicans tell me that on them
are to be the great cattle-raising grounds OF
the future. Vast tracts of them will be re
deemed by irrigation, ard thousands OF
acres have already been reclaimed. The
land, when irrigated, makes splendid cotton
ground; and one tract produced 81, 900 bales
last year. A number of new companies are
now being formed, and Americans are
largely interested in them. The low lands
which slope from the plateau down to the
coast, do not need irrigation. They have ar
immense rain fall during the rainy season
and vegetation grows as rank as that of the
jungles of India.
MEXICAN DUDES.
The whole of this country partakes of the
Orient The moment you cross the RiC
Grande you are in the hands of the romantic
east rather than in the practical west The
air, the sky and nature are those of Pales
tine in springtime, and the architecture re
of the mud nuts of Egypt The people arr
among the most picturesque on the globe
Every man is a tit subject for painting
and the American artist, Mr.. Church, witt
has spent seven winters in Egypt sketching
: says he finds Mexico much more fertil,
5 field than the Well-worked countries O.
4 Europe. AS soon as | crossed the Ri
Grande, saw at every station lusty bri
I gand-iike men with handsome dark face
? shining out Of great sombreros, the crowns
! of which came to point foot above thei
J heads and the brims of which seemed to b.
foot wide all around. These hats wer,
a gorgeous in their silver and gold trimming
$ Some of them had ropes of silver arount
9 them almost as thick as your wrist, ant
g they formed only part of the glitterinl
g costumes of these Mexican dudes. TIL
f clothes below them shone with silver but
f tons and braid. The pantaloons of some o
J.. the men were striped with silver buckles
e while to the waist of each, fastened by
e leather belt filed with cartridges, hung
!. big, silver mounted revolver. AT many o
e the stations men dressed in this name
= would gallop up on horses as gorgeousl
apparalled, and across the country we say
now and then troops of cavalry dashing owe
the fields.
THE COSTUMES OF THE COMMON PEOPLE
e were fully as picturesque, and both me
e and women presented rare bits of color an
e reminded US Of the dance of the nations i
g a specular extravaganza. The lower classe
d Of the men OF Mexico dress in cotton, bu
! they wear blankets of all the colors of tn
q rainbow about their shoulders. and the
l. drape these around themselves in a way tha
a adds dignity and grace to them. MANY c
/ these blankets are of red flannel, and If yo
}. will take a blanket of this sort and thro,
o 1t around your shoulders and over your bac
: some morning as you hop out of bed in YOU
v snowwhite pajamas, you will get some ide
e of the Mexican peon. Your hair however
! must be as black as the wing of the raven
IS you must stain your face with walnut iuic,
d and put on your head one Of these gorgeou
IS sombreros in a more or less dilapidated cor
% dltion. You must get dirty piece OF sol
d leather so large that your foot can stand
ID 1t and leave half-inch of syace all aroun
and tie this to your feet with leather strip
first cracking your heels and blacking I'll
soles OF your feet until they look more roug
20 and tough than the leather itself. Afte
n you have done this you will present fair
ID caricature of the Aztec of 1891, You a,
lie now, however, only the Aztec at rest. Tt
Is Aztec st work Is different matter. and yo
1t will see him here in as many different occ,
Y pations as are possessed by his brother fe
= low in the land OF Egypt. He carries Il
n heavy burdens Of the country upon his bacl
.e He Tugs about Mexican beer in pig-skins
10 the Bengsles water-carrier carries Il
e water ne has for sale, and you see him in
is hundred different forms on every street ar
is in every one he is new picture.
!, THE FAIR VET uONFrv cpv