The herald., 1895-01-19
THE LAND OF BAJA MANANA
Business and Things in Lower
California.
A Condition of Very General Bust
edness.
Limited Accom- plis hmsnt-rhs
PadroA' Good work.

the wake OF BOOM In the Vornacular
OF the country, it is taking siesta.
Under the stimulus of Yankee enter.
prise Ensenads and the adjacent coun-
try built up rapidly.
Many AnRelefios will recall certain
Captain Webb. who received his boom
education on the plains OF Kansas. ss
the guiding genius OF the Lower Califor-
mia Colonization company during those
hslcyon days of real estate enterprise
which most of US South California folks
remember. He built up the Ensenada
country but most of his projects are
now at rest in the potter's field. The
towns have been "moved off," The
manufacturing establishments are all
closed air tight. The investors are
principally busted" Those who were
not able to walk out remained to prey
upon the stranger who comes that way.
The British company now has full sway
in the upper peninsula. There is no im~
provement, no new enterprises, no land
broken, no seed sown. The only pres
ent resources are the salaries OF the
Mexican officials and the British agents.
For three years past there have bsen
crop failures owing to drouth. This
year the rain 10 plentiful but the few
scattering farmers have eaten up their
seed. grain bags and all. aud they have
no means 10 purchase more.
A FRUITFUL REGION.
These are the present conditions. But
they say there is much good. cheap land
on tho peninsula. George Box. an in
telligent writer and observer, is author
ity for the statement that there are
thousands of acres Of arabic land fro m
the United States line $50 miles sout b.
all suited to fruits. cereals, vegetsbl es
and stock. They consist Of mesa, val
ley and hill lands. The mesa lands are
extensive and frequently have over
100, 900 acres of level land. Water is
found at 80 feet. Springs are abundant
in the cations. and email perennial
streams are frequent. Almost all sorts
of deoiduous fruits and vines have been
grown successfully sxpsrimentally. The
valley lands in many cases are moist
and require no irrigation. This Is speak
ing OF the upper and central portion Of
the peninsula.
The rainy season begins generally in
November with light showers in Jsnu-
ary and February, April and March.
From March to November no rain is ex.
pected. The soil is of that characte I
which makes the average rainfall suf-
fcient, so Mr.. Box says, for grain farm
ing, if the ground is put and kept in the
right condition.
There are numerous large valleys
throughout the peninsula, prominent
among them being the San Rafael, al
an altitude of 2500 feet, and comprising
something like 80. 900 acres. The valley
of the San Jose, from which point this
is written, Is much larger, and consi d.
cred to be the most fertile and best
wstered in the whole peninsula.
TROPICAL PRODUCTION.
The town of San Jose del Oabo is stu.
sted on a southeastsrly point of the
peninsula, not far from Cape San Lucas,
the most southerly point The popula-
ton 10 about 2500. The Gan Jose valley
extends for 200 miles north. NEST Of the
land being exosp tionally fac and capable
OF growing all the fruits Of South
ern California, In addition to tropical
products. II ID q pretty section
fronting on the ocean, whore the coast
Is broken into bold headlands and in.
Vulnerable islsts, while back for mile
are green savannas and haciendas oil
sugar cane. cotton, oranges. coooanuts
and pineapples. All these fruits are
grown extensively here. The orange
| shipments the past month amounted TO
80. 900 boxes. Sugar cane Ia the main.
stay product. and thousands OF tons are
shipped to the Mexican coast towns in
the form of panocha or maple sugar
blocks. Coffee. too, has passed the ex'
perimental stage and promises In the
near future to b an important feature
of income for these people.
mild and, In tho language OF the real
estate pamphlet. "aslubrious." More
covering than sheets 10 supsrfuous, I'M
less 1t be mosquito nets. The mosqui.
toes here are imported from New Jsrasy
and are thoroughbred. In sum mer il IL
very large proportion--of the lands in
Portions of these belong to the govern.
For cheapness and quality these lands
come near standing at the head OF the
class. They can be bought in quantities
5 cents per acre up to 5000 acres. The
tax ia light, being scarcely perceptihle
to the naked eye. Water Of course must
be arranged for, but it is there. flowing
down stream at a grade Of about per
cent, and requires only little Yankee
ingenuity, perseverance, and cash outlay
to nut it on the soil. Land taxes are
insignificant In Mexico, but there are
other taxes which are worth spesking oil
more at length.
DESIRE ANNEXATION.
The remarkable feature, by the way,
which seemed almost universal in every
town at which l stopped on the penin-
sula, was the general desire Of the in
habitanta to join their fortunes to Old
Glory. These people are long way
from the Mexican central government.
They pay heavy taxes foy the mainte~
nance of their federation and claim to
receive no equivalent in return. They
have no such thing as home rule, but
are much in the same dependent oondi-
ton as Alaska is to the United States
government at this writing. There 10 q
feeling that with annexation to the
American union good times would come
back once more and that some OF their
marvellous latent and overlooked re-
sources would be developed. Whatever
opinion the Mexican may hold OF the
American regarding his thieving pros
pensities, he still respects his anergy,
his ability, his judgment.
When 7 reached San Iona tha faaat