The Ravalli Republican. [volume] (Stevensville, Mont.) 1894-1899, 1897-08-11
NOW IN MEXICO.
Frank Wanner Sends Another
Interesting Letter.
Western Guatemala Not Bad--Mex-
lean Silver Money Cheap, But
American Silver Dollars
Good as Gold.
Guadalahara, Mexico, July 25.

Guadalahara, Mexico, July 25.
Dear Friend:
I have not been feeling very wcn
for several day, but hope you and all
Of my friends are enjoying good
health. / wrote to Friend Borough
when I was in Guatemala City.
Since then I have been on the west
slope Of the country, and have been
in most Of the important towns and
| nnn'hnr nf cane and coffee planta-
tions.' ] like western Guatemala
very much. At Amatatlau, a city Of
between five and six Thousand inhab-
itants, which lies in a small valley
at an elevation Of about 1000 feet,
saw some very nice plantations.
Sugar cane on the .lcyces or bottom
lands and coffee and corn ON the hill
sides. The acreage Of corn in these
countries is greater than that OF all
other crops. Everything grows..here,
cocoanuts, oranges, figs, bananas and
in 'lact everything IN the way OF
fruit and vegetables that l know
anything about.
All these things look close on pa
per but the fact is they are miles
apart. Different localities produce
different things: all depends on the
soil and altitude. Peaches and grapes
grow in sight Of banana plantations,
yet it is necessary to travel twenty
or thirty miles over the toughest
Kind Of trails to get to them. Good
land is very high. Plantations are,
very large and are usually owned by
foreigners. l was on a cane planta-
tion near Escuintla where they claim
their machinery and improvements
cost over S., 100000. l was told by
the manager that the company real
izcs over so per cent profit from their
Investment. Mostly all of the large
estates are owned by Hollanders.
Escuintla lies at an elevation Of
about 200 feet, and is about %
miles from the Pacific coast. This.
is one Of the most desirable places l
have seen. Magnificent groves OF
cocOanut trees, bananas, palms and
all tropical vegetation grows here to
perfection. The fertility Of the soil
undoubtedly is unsurpassed any
where. Where the lands have not
been cleared they are a jungle OF
tropical vcgctatioc. Within about
Is to 20 miles of here land can be
bought for 50 900 per 100 acres, that
is about S707 United States money!
and it will take much more than
that to put it in shape SO that crops
could be raised. Considering every
thing a small farm here would cost
more than in the states, yet five
acres Of this land, l think, would
bring in a better living than it is
possible to get in Montana, People
who wish to live an easy life without
much labor can do SO here as nature
provides SO abundantly for the sus-
tcnancc Of human life, that the Gar
den Of Eden, according to all ac-
counts, would have no attractions.
Don't tell any Mssourians or they
will come here "dcad shooah.n
| feel as if have lost very much
Of the pleasures Of life by not know
ing something Of this country twenty
years ago. However, / do not think
| will locate here. | do not under
stand the language and think it
would take me long time to learn.
Here in Mexico everything moves
along very slowly. | am told that
the American people are advancing
more rapidly and are more progressive
than the same class Of people in other
panish-Amcrican countries. | have
reason to believe it for here in Mexi-
co one man can take yoke of oxen
anu q ClDUhCN SUlCh lIlu p!OV
ground, while in Guatemala it takes
two and sometimes three to run a
native ploW. There are many Amer
cans in this city: some have a good
business and many are on the bum.
Americans here are aXiouS to get
hold Of United States money. One
gold dollar is worth So. Is in Mexican
silver and United States silver is as
good as gold. This city has about
$4,000 population. There seems to
be very little business done here for
SO large a city. The country sur
rounding this city is said to be the
best in Mexico, but I can't see it
that way. The soil is very red and
contains much clay. Nearly all
kinds Of vegetables are grown here
in abundance, but the fruit is of a
very poor quality. Peaches, grapes
and apples are especially poor. Pc.
tatoes grow here about the size of
eggs or smaller and are worth five
cents per pound. Considering every