The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-08-24
As He Saw Mexico.

A former resident OF Washington county,
one OF party that recently made q tour OF
| Mexico, writes an interesting letter to
| friend, telling the story Of his wanderings,
| from which the subjoined passages are
| taken
Our first stopping place after crossing the
Rio Grande was Monterey, q city which has
an American population OF about 10000
| We saw the Bishops palace little north
Of the city on high hill, that was captured
| by General Taylor during the Mexican war,
| and from which point, with his guns COM
handing the city, he forced it to surrender.
| There are some hot springs about three
miles from the city, where we took baths
which we very much needed and which
were very refreshing. From Monterey we
| went to Tampico on the Gulf OF Mexico.
| Tampico is quite harbor and the rival Of
Vera Cruz in that respect We took bath
| in the surf here. Travellers in Mexico take
| baths at every opportunity, as they. are
/ sometimes in places where Dives could not
| be accommodated, even though Lazarus
were willing. and Abraham in whose bosom
| he is comfortably located, interposed no OBJ
| lection. From Tampico we went to San
Luis Potosi climbing from the level OF the
| sea to an elevation OF 6, 100 feet, through the
| finest mountain scenery L ever saw. From
San Luis Potosi we went direct to the city
| OF Mexico, climbing still farther to the
height Of about y 400 feet.
Here were many objects OF interest,
among others the Castle Of Chapultepec,
about three miles from the center OF the
| city, whose capture by General Scott ended
the Mexican war. We visited the castle.
which Is also the summer home, or one Of
the homes of President Diaz, and were con-
Quoted through it. This castle was also the
| residence of Macmillan and Csrlotta dur
| ing their short and i'll starred reign. Presi-
| dent Diaz gave us special reception at the
government palace in the city. He is fine
In nd ipnr aa ha n
| vast amount Of reserved power. He is
practically dictator of Mexico, but should
| say benefcent one, and hope he will
continue to be dictator for years to come.
| Mexico needs him.
We left Mexico for a trip to the "trop-
| ics," sliding down from Mexico, 7,400 feet
altitude, to an elevation Of not over 1000
| feet. III doing this we passed through
orange, lemon and banana groves, and cof-
! fee and pineapple plantations. Among the
| beautiful features were the hedges of hibis-
Gus. The hibiscus is common flower in
Florida and we have them in Cleveland as
rare plant, but here were rows upon rows
of the beautiful plant (they blossom every
day in the Year, marking off the boundary
of somebody's land. AT Cardoba on our re-.
turn we were met at the station by horde Of
men, women and children Offering oranges,
| two dozen for twenty-five cents, Mexican,
and pineapples and other fruit accordingly.
Every payment made in Mexican money
must be divided by two, to get the cost in
our money. We sold our United States
money, at the rate Of $2.12 or $2.14 for 81.
Puebla is headquarters for the Mexican
onyx, and Cholula was headquarters Of
Cortez during several months OF the con-
quest. Puebla was also the scene OF sew
eral battles during Maximilian's time, and
its capture with the French army, by Diaz,
during the existence of the empire was
propably the decisive battle of the war.
From Tlaxcala we returned to the city OF
Mexico and on the following day went to
Cuernaraca. In reaching. this place, our
train at one time was within few feet OF
being 10000 feet above sea level. The eff
feet of this high altitude caused one Of the
ladies of the party to faint, but as we had q
surgeon on board, she was soon restored.
This place was a favorite winter resort Of
both Cortez and Macmillan, and Cortez's
palace (rebuilt) is now used as a court house.
Queretaro is famous for opals, and for be-
ing the place of the final surrender, trial
and execution of Macmillan and the Mex
lean generals, Miramon and Mejia.
In Mexico city in a cemetery not now
used lie the remains of Juarez, the idolized
of the Mexican people, his tomb still decor
ated from day to day by his admirers, and
near him lie the remains Of the two gener-
ais above mentioned, shot to death as trail
tors, IL not precisely by his order, as they
were court martialed, yet still with his ap;
prevail. Their burial in this consecrated
ground was suppose in recognition OF the
fact that, before joining their fortunes with
those of Macmillan, they had done the
state some service. We were serenaded by
the Mexican national band. AS our train
| backed into the station, they struck up
"Hail Columbia" and we yelled ourselves
hoarse in acknowledgements. They kept
| up their music for about two hours, during
which time some Of us stepped off the cars
to get closer to the band. Immediately in
in front of me stood Miss Hogg and Miss
| fU 1Q6 nj
party. The Mexicans are all trying to
learn English and nothing suits them bet
| Ter than to get a chance to practice. One OF
the better class, young man about twenty
or more, actuated by desire to try his
English, and also slightly smitten with the
conversation with me in tolerable English.
After some exchange of words more or less
difficult, he pointed to Miss Williams and
said to me, THAT young lady. is she your
son?" 1 assured him that she was not.
After a warm invitation to go to his home,
which had to decline, he said, "Adieu
signor, 1 am yourlfriends." However, he
could speak English better that I could
speak Spanish, by several per cent.
Sunday evening at this place we saw a
typical Mexican scene. At eight P. the
band commences playing on the plaza and
plays for two hours. During this time the
ladies by two march around the circular
walks OF the plaza in one direction, while
| the gentlemen on another circle, outside OF
that on which the ladies are, march around
in the opposite direction. They can see and
be seen, that is all. Still further, on the ex-
treme outside Of the plaza two circles OF
poems are revolving. At ten o'clock the
band retires and the marchers scatter for
their homes. 1 liked this city better than
any other in Mexico. 1t looked as though
one might be able to live there. From
Guadalazara we went to Silao where we
saw famous specimen Of Mexican drawn
work, consisting Of table cloth and twelve
napkins, valued at $4,000. 1t was stated
that thirty-two women had worked on il
for three years. tits to be exhibited at the
coming Paris Exhibition. Guanajuato Is
famous for silver mines and the catacombs
which latter we visited. The burial place
is built around large square and bodies
are placed in stone or marble receptacles
like large pigeon holes, arranged around
the enclosure. A sum of money must be
paid yearly for rental. II this is not paid
the body Is taken out and stood up in the
catacombs, an underground tunnel you
might call it, perhaps twenty feet wide and
as many high, and about 900 feet long. but
filled with bones the greater portion Of its
length. After the body in arrears for rent
has stood while. it generally falls and the
bones are thrown into the common pile that