Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-04-01
HOW SPANlARDS FIGHT.
BOTH TESTS MADE ON MEXICAN SOIL,
A Utah Man Indicates the Feel
ings of Americans There.

Hon. Anthony w. WINS. formerly o
st. George. Utah. and now one of tn
presiding officers in the Mormon colo
niles in Mexico, writes a most interest
Ing letter from the City of Mexico. /
is specially apropos at this time of tn
Spanish American controversy. sine
II gives a recital of how both Amerl
cans and Spaniards have fought on tn
historc battlefield. at the Mexican
capital. and also exhibits the feeling.i IL
the present crisis, OF those who hav,
gone from Utah to Mexico, In case thii
country needs their services. Brother
WINS was in the City OF Mexico on LAND
business connected with the Mormon
colonies In our sister republic. and Will,
waiting there on the routine of bust
ness IN such affairs penned this letter
to his cousin in this city. Hon. Hebei
J. Grant, by whom 1t was received to.
day, and through whose kindness the
News Is able to present 1t to Its
readers:
The time at my disposal. when not
occupied by the matters of business
which brought me here. has been pleas
antly. and ] trust. probably. employed
In visiting people and places. the
friends and haunts OF other days;
cherished, not only for the recollections
Of missionary life long since passed.
but for the flood of historical romance
which forces Itself upon the mind ms
one passes from place TO place in this
remarkable valley.
say historical romancp, for xv3 M n =
err ancient or modern. social. political
or archaeological; whether written In
the pleasing style of Prescott. the vivid
pictures Of Lew Wallace, or the primi-
tive prose of Bernal Dlaz. who was an
eye witness to its most interesting
chapter. the history of Mexico, from the
day the Aztec pilgrims. led as they
thought. by the prophet of the Lord,
located on the barren rock where this
city now stands. till the triumph of the
great man who Is at present the ar
bitter Of his nation. the history of Mex
leo reads like fairy tale Am JUS
tined In this assertion? Standing here
and looking backward, let us see
We are almost under the equator, but
still It is not uncomfortably warm.
The great altitude of the valley, 7,40o
rect. insures a cool and bracing at
mosphere the year round. At such
an elevation II must at times be cold
ohu iioSiy NV, we Tur
Tor that. One of those spots where
trees and grnss are green from January
TO December; where song birds trih
their lays the year round where a flake
or snow Is never seen,and flowers never
cease to bloom. We know by the seed
time and harvest. that the seasons come
and go, but scarcely note the changes.
Bounded on three sides by ranges of
low, volcanic mountains, and on the
southeast OF the mighty Popocatapetl,
whose smoking summit is never free
from snow. and at whose base the
orange and banana grow, where the
branches OF the palm and pine almost
intertwine, what a heterogeneous coun-
try 1t is, and yet how homogeneous IL
al appears. Is 1t strange that the peo-
pie should be like It? The greatest ex-
trenes of nationality. wealth and So
cal condition. all apparently happy in
their spner,f. prototype Of the coun-
try In which they live.
The City Of Mexico has three hundred
tnousand inhabitants and its death
rate IS ffty per day. II has hundreds
OF millionaries. and thousands of beg
cars. IT has more churches than any
city In America, and 1000 criminals
confined in Its jails.
While l stood for half an hour on one
street 6So carriages passed me without
out. At the time thousands OF people
passed barefooted and their clothing
in rags.
1t has many palatial residences and
its public parks are among the most
beautiful In the world on It's bye
streets the filth and squalor are appai-
nng' and one wonders that the death
rate Is not greater.
It's population embraces people from
every civilized country, and many OF
its brightest and most promising men
are OF pure Indian descent. Its churches
are magnificent in architecture and
adornment. and the vast sums exc
pended IN their construction make our
temple building seem insignificant It
lighted.
Today ] visited Chapultepec thin OF
the grasshopper. The base and sides
OF the hill are now a well kept park,
with lawns. monuments and fountains.
whiie the summit is surmounted by
the famous castle which has been the
home of kings and presidents for more
tnnn four hundred years. In 1920
Chapultepec was the palace OF Mocta-
yuma, and later the viceroys of Spain
made 1t their summer home. In 1924
the republicans established n military
school there. which still exists. 1t
IS now the summer residence of Presi-
dent Diaz. 1t was around this hill
that the battle of Chapultepec was
September 10, ls47, when a
small body of Mexican cadets cheered
on the regulars. and in defence OF the
spot made dear to them as the scene
OF their sports and studies, Joined in
the gallant Defence made against the
pullman. who. in the face of a
shower Of shot and shell storrned the
storming parties led by Pillow and
heights and drove the enemy from his
position.
Standing on this hill and looking
south the field of Churubusco is plainly
visible. where on the Goth OF August,
1s47. the Americans. 5000 strong, en-
gagged the Mexican army Of 10000 men,