Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1892-05-28
An Interesting Letter From Mexico

An Interesting Letter From Mexico
CITY or MEXICO, May Il, 1892,
DEAR EDITOR:-T take this manner Of
communicating with my many friends back
ii. old Noxubee, providedyou can spare me
the space, and grant me a column that
. may record the showers and sunshine OF
this land, wheN. like dew on the gowans
falling, my pedal eNtremties now press.
Here, as in other southern la%ds, where
flourish the banana aud missionary. every
thing is loyely-"only mau is rile,' He,
the ordinary Mexican, is so supeIatiNely
obnoxious that even 4 pen and ink eich
of him would. by comparison with his true
nature, show up as brilliant coloring. The
native Indian is much more 10 my mind.
lie lies and steals, and believes in both, he
is man with apolicy and lives up to it.
Treat him with kindness, he is friend and
a brother, beat him with gun or Il pick
handle aud he is IA sister and an aunt.
| am now in the neighbornood of Tacu-
baya. noted as the home Of MeNico's mil
| lionaires aad also as being the bitgcs, gam
bling he'll in the Republic. 1t has some
magnificent parks and gardens, and much
money has been spent towarc beauiiNing
! the place in other ways, so that now il is
hot only the wcathiest town in Mexico but
also one Of the prrttiest.
Over the plains. five mil distant. are
| the white walls of the silver city-MeNico,
| and the giant towers of great cathedral.
! Interveuin. are the green fields and trees
of the low, swampy land. Beyond are great
mountains always capped with snow. in
their tremendous purity, like unto thu ukase
Of a god'hesd, standing reproaehes to the
rankuess of the lower plain.
Everywhere are moulding evidences OF
civilization greater in the past than now
exists. Churches. still grand in their ruin,
DIT the plains; here and there paved frag.
ment Of q once great highway, crumbling
arches of gigantic bridges or aquaducts, all
silently protesting against the waste and
decay of the present.
To one in the premises the socalled table |
lands Of Mexico, seem to have been turned |
inside out with the legs Of the table point. |
ing to the sun, moon and stars, so much |
higher are the surrounding hills.
The undertaking Of draining the valley Of |
MeXico-a close second to the Panama Ca |
nal job-has been going on for many years. |
Its completion, fever to be. is hidden in |
far iuturity, but until then. Mexico mn>t |
rank as the worst drained city in the world. |
The work Of draining the city, but in anoth-
err direction to the present work, was CONF
mencej early duriug the Spanish regime,
The giant ditch Of over 80 feet in depth |
and many miles in length, still remains to |
show the earnestnest of their project. This |
drain was not a success; they never got |
down to the proper level and landslide
happening therein. killing some 1000 of the
poor tolers. put stop to the work.
In this great valley. but little grain is
grown corn and barley. Pulque. the wine !
of the lower orders and the milk OF the rich.
er class, is the great product. 1t is the |
juice or sap of the maguey plant. known in |
the north as the aloe. 1t grows here to the |
height of ten or fifteen feet, requiring eight |
or ten years to reach maturity. When ma.
turcd the plant produces from $40 70 SIS |
worth Of pulque. When plant is ready |
forusc the heart or centre leaves are cut out |
leaving at the base a natural basin OF some
four or live gallons capacity. Each morn |
ing the juice which forms in this basin is |
sucked out. carried in hogskins to the la.
cIenda or homestead aud placed in vat, of
COW hides 10 fermert. The first day the-t
ju ce is sweet. like that of green corn. then
fermentation sets in and in four or five days
It is strong Pulque. This process is often
hurried by using the extra strong liquor
with the fresh. A plant will give out daily
one or two gallons, and run from five to
dfg9 GGssH fsalf iu dGid y, Thf 6alt
when the pulque forms is used as any kind |
ola box, generally for feed boxes for the
cattle. From the leaves the Indian has his |
house and fire; from its juice, his nghtcap |
and egcopener with its coarse fibrcs he |
makes his ropes, with its fine ones he makes
his thread, and uses the sharp thorn at the
apex of the leaf. for his needle.
learned little Of the CARA revolution
from the northern papers, which gave the
affair more notoriety than it deserved.
Never before has the land had so substan-
tial or secure government as now exists, |
and although an uprising Is always Il posi-.
bility with Latin eleme t, yet certainly |
atpresent one is not expected here. learn
that yesterday there was quite u demon.
stration. in the city, by the anti.reelcccion-
istas, who are opposing the Daz admins.
tration, but 1t is only friendly political op.
position, and no other thought than that
should be given it. Yet, no doubt, YOU |
have already heard it called by the press
notices-"Revolution in the city Of Mexico
shall write you more fully about it in
some other letter.
This land, although claiming to be one of |
the budding republics OF the earth, has in |
it but little democracy. save 10 name. The
powers that be are the powers that will |
rule for many a day; the reins of government
being firmly held by an autocracy, and the |
true voice of the people is but family heard |
in the land. But could it be otherwise,
with its educated hundreds and ignorant |
mllions9 The wonder is that equity, de.
mocracy's soul, remaint breathing ele.
ment. JEHu.