The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-03-01
FROM TOPOLOBAMPO.

ana the G1anuldctuFeS Oh Ills poTtiou VI
the state of Sinaloa, and l must confess
that l had but very crude idea OF the
people or the resources of the country pre-
vious to my coming here. Probably there
is no other portion of the American CONT
nent containing SO large a population OF
industrious and tolerabiy weil-civilized
people SO little known or understood as
the valley OF the Fuerte. From where It
empties its waters into the Gulf of Cali
fornia to its source in the Sierra Madre
mountains. there are in all some fifteen
towns strung on. all along the river and
valley for l25 miles, ranging IN population
from 500 to 1000, and containing IN al
about %, 900 inhabitants. The people nv
ing outside Of the towns are engaged In
agriculture, stock raising anu other pur'
suits, and number about lo,Oou. ana from
the wealthy and heightened Mexican down
through all the grades TO the uDtutored
Indian Peon. They are the most interest
| ing, courteous and polite people L nave
| ever met with on my travels. 1he women,
and many of the men are scrupnlously
| clean in their attire, ana the women, as
general rule, display consloerao 2, taste IN
| the makeup of their dresses These peo-
| pie are made up of Mexicans and Indians.
| The latter are of the Yaqui and Maya
| tribes: they are very honest and industri-
Gus. but their methods of agriculture and
manufacture, and all their ways are as
primitive as those practiced In the valley
| of the Nile 1000 years ago.
| The women carry all their burdens
both LIQUIDS and solids on their heads.
| Most of the men who do not go barefooted,
1 wear nothing but sandals, and quite a
number of them wear very little else.
saw one pass along the other day carrying
load on his head, and with the exception
of girdle about his loins, he was as III
| nocent of apparel as was Adam. They
are very superstitious and spend a great
| deal of their time in the celebration of re-
lioious festivities. had an opportunity
of seeing one of their funerals few morn
| ings ago | was going towards the nigh
| way which crosses our ditch at rectan-
gular Presently a man emerged from
the woods beating a small drum, then
followed a number OF women and
girls. carving small flags, with small,
| black crosses in the center. Next
followed two men carrying the corpse,
| which Law stretched out on KIND OF Delr-
not in any coffin-the bier was slung to a
pole which the men carried on their
| shoulders one in front OF the BODY ana
one behind, then followed Two or three
men bringing up at the rear. There was no
other sound except the continued beating
of the drum They walked at a rapid rate
and soon disappeared along the road, and
| thought it was the most unique a1alr OF
the kind l had ever witnessed.
There is a regular and well treveled
highway along the south side OF this river
from the coast for two or three hunureo
miles into the mountains. rms ROAD mas
been used for over 200 years for packing
rich gold and silver ores IRON
the mountains to the coast OF
burros, where they are shipped
to various ports-principally to Swansea
Wales-for reduction, and for the purpose
OF transporting merchandise from th'
coast inland. 1t is fine highway, trav
erses a rich and beautiful country, anf
from the coast until it reaches the noun
tains is very smooth and level and very
much resembles the roads in the Arkansa
valley. The original town of Fuerte wa
founded as early as 1924, and while ther'
are many evidences of very high state o
Civilization existing at some period IN I'M
dim past. it is very evident that interna
commissions had at one time and anothe
came very near depopulating the country
But OF late wears spirit of enterprise ha
been inaugurated by new corners, and con
siderable advancement made by all tn
people in the way of manTfac
ture, agriculture and hort 1;u
. productions of the country are corn, suga
cane, and the maguay plant. The latte
furnishes food, drink and clothing for tn
natives. This has been an unusually pre-
ductive season for corn, which makes
very advantageous to us, because 1t enable
. us to furnish ourselves, our horses an
cattle, with food of all kinds, and feed an
forage at very reasonable rates, while W
are engaged in the non-productive occupa
ton Of excavating this great ditch. Their
: are three extensive sugar factories IN tn
valley that turn out large quantities c
refined sugar, besides which there ar
, twenty-four smaller factories, that tur
out only uurefined, brown sugar, in cake
that resemble very much the maple suga
of commerce, an article of syrup full
equal to New Orleans molasses. There az
large tracts of valley land planted to suga
cane. but the methods of irrigation are 5
. imperfect, that there Is not tract {
| land in all that valley that can be watere
only by highwatered irrigation. The can
needs to be planted only one IN twelve t
fifteen years, and after being cultivate
r the first season, requires no further labo
except harvesting The ditch that we al
now at work on, will be the first low
1 water irrigating ditch ever constructed /
the valley, and the leading industry of til
colony will be the growth and manufa
= ture of sugar. After establishing GU
selves here, starting our cOmmissary, mill
and feed cutters for grinding and chol
ping feed, collecting feed and fodder, star
{ ing blacksmith shop, carpenter shop an
D harness shop. breaking sixty untraile
. horses. besides several yoke of oxen, an
: taking out of the ditch 81, 0O0 yards OF dir
The whole camp concluded to accept tt
invitation of Senior Fernandez Orantia,
| visit his orchards, gardens, sugar plants
ton and factory at Constautia. five miles Il
| the river. Soon last Sunday. Feb. ], team
wagons and buggies to the number
q twenty-five were hitched up. and wit
q lunch baskets we'll filled we started o,
a for days picnic Three miles from bel
we passed through the town of Mach
> chaua, population 1900, and you may |
L sure the whole town, men and woInel
S were out in force to have good look
Q the Americans Arriving at Canstanti
we were very Hospitality received, and II
= sights we saw were SIMPLY grand. III
place has only been established lively
years, but there were orange trees thiri
5, feet high so loaded with ripe fruit that
o counted seventeen oranges that touche
It each other: banana plants twenty fe'
: high, the largest plants fifteen inches
diameter, the punches turn and han
;. down from between two leaf stems Al
% the fruit turn and grow upward. The
Q were date palms, figs, grapes, lime
= guayos. Serualu plums from which u
= famous Serualu jelly Is obtained, and q
endless variety Of other fruits. The fiow'
60 garden itself was a marvel. Oleande
20 feet high i2 feet across, 10 inches at Il
butt and the whole top IN full bloom
Roses of many hues and varieties, fro
r pure white to The deepest scarlet. Mar
OF them twelve feet high, and their a
pearance was striking In the fullest q
& gree After enjoying ourselves 10 the I.
most, and partaking Of the differer
fruits. we left FOR our camp, with the IL
con yiction that our near future IN S.nal,
:. will be success Returning 20 Mac
- ichaua we got out and visited some OF Il
stores. Everybody seems 10 be strict
honest. AS an evidence Of this. at $40
/ where went 70 buy pound Of tobacc