The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1897-03-04
PROF. HArcHERs NEwsY LETTER.

Ino IOilOWlng letter, both newsy ant
interesting, was received by Miss Lee
few days ago from Prof. ]. M. Hatche
aud was handed us for publication
Judging from the strain in which it /,
written, we take it that PORT. Hatcher
is not so well satisfied as he might bt
with his new field of work. His many
friends here certainly regretted his de
parture, and all hope for his early re
turn.
SAN LUIS POTosI, Mex, Feb. 10 '97
My Dear Friends
am at last settled in my new home
and now take advantage Of leisure
hour to write you the promised letter.
did not make connections at Ana
cortes, but had to wait until Tuesday
morning for the Seattle boat. 1 ar.
rived in Seattle, Tuesday evening, and
left for Portland the next day. My
nlisfOrtunes still followed me for had
to stop at Portland twenty-three hours,
leaving Thursday evening at halt past
six O'Clock, by the Union Pacific rail-
way. After leaving Portland, made
close connections all the way through.
Ii had started five or six days earl
Ter would have suffered severely from
! the cold, as the thermometer had been
from twenty-five to thirty degrees be-
low all through Idaho and Wyoming.
AS it was, l had very pleasant weather
all the way.
Now l will tell you of the sights
along the way. AT Green River,
wyoming, saw ice Twenty-Five inches
thick There was snow all along the
line, and, strange to say, the deepest
snow was at Fort Worth, Texas. l
said that there was snow all along the
llne, but was mistaken, for it dlsap-
peared shortly after we left Fort Worth.
The weather at San Antonio was
just like our spring weather OH the
Sound, and from there on the atmOs-
phere became drier all along until we
reached the Mexican Plateau.
saw 10 scenery worth mentioning,
as we passed through the Columbia
River gorge after dark, and from there
Oh the road passed through a very
mOnOtOnOus looking country. I for
got to say that saw a large herd of
antelope and four coyotes just after
leaVlnx Green RlVef.
am not prepared to say yet whether
l will like this country or not, for it is
entirely different form any have ever
seen before. In the first place the sur
rounding prairies and hills are devoid
of all kinds of vegetation except those
kinds that grow easily in desert soil.
1t is true that there is q little cultiva-
tlon along the water courses where the
peOn can get water, but such places are
few and far between.
San Luis is a place of about seventy
thousand Inhabitants, not counting
about million (nore or less) dogs and
burrOs. The streets are very narrow
"a live, active boy could jump across
most of them with long pole. The
reason that the city was built in this
manner was that the people might the
more easily defend themselves from
the Apache Indians in the years past.
If you will look in your Biographies at
the pictures of the Spanish and Moor
ish cities you will get an idea of what
things are like here.
The houses have fiat roofs, and are
built directly OH the streets, just the
same as on the business streets of our
American cities. Most of the houses
are only one story high. and few are
more than two stories. There are no
yards at all, but each house is built
around court, or patio. These patiOs
are paved with brick or stone, aud have
plants arranged around them in jars.
The houses are all built of brick or
stone, and have walls from eighteen
inches to two feet in thickness. The
rooms are very large and high, my
bedroom being lSxlSxl5.
The houses of the wealthy are dis
| tinguishable Oh the outside by their
size only, for all are perfectly plain.
There are some wealthy people here,
but the majority are stepped i'll power
ty, ignorance and filth. The average
days wages for workinglnan is about
40 cents, Mexican money. The poor
est class live OH tartillas, or cakes made
of pounded corn, and frijoles or beans.
They dress in the poorest kind of
clothes, and wear sandals on their feet
without any stockings.
The women of the upper classes
never appear on the streets without
having with them either a male men,
Der of the family or else female SER
| want. / have even seen the little girls
| going to school followed by a servant
carrying the books. The Mexican
ladies and gentlemen think that any
kind of mental work is degrading, SO
much 80, in fact, that they are never
seen OH the streets carrying a parcel
| or valiSe.
The unmarried girls. poor things,
have a very hard time. They are never
allowed to leave the house without
! having some male member of the fam
/ too fo,Oo In Corxyoof with Thorn
They are not even allowed to receive
| themselves with passing glimpses
streets or parks. Sometimes an es-
pecially favored sutton is allowed to
stand Il the street and talk with
his sweetheart through the window
bars II forgot to say that all the win
dows OH tie ground floor have iron
bars to keep out thieves and lOvers)
| but such instances are very rare in
deed.
The climate here is very fine, but
cannot say as much for the country.
There has been no rain for mouths,
nor can we expect any until sometime
June.
The principal carrying agent of the
Mexico is the burro, or donkey. It is
almost impossible to go out on the
/ street without seeing peOn driving
! from one to dozen burros loaded with
wood, coal, corn, etc.
My pupils are mixture OF Amerl-
can, Mexican and German boys. They
have been in the habit of being as
noisy a they wanted In school, SO you
see that my path Is not strewn with
flowers all the way. How often In the
past few days | have wished to be with