Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1900-01-04
MEXICAN LETTER.
Mrs. Cora BeIew Hears From
Her Cousin.
City Mexico. Dec %. 1899

| "~o hSPPy sui PAaSN ASA H"N
given up all hopes of ever hearing
from you again. While read
ing your letters my mind ran back
to olden times. While it had it's
bitter as well as sweet, / must say
shall always cherish those mem
ories, for l believe you all to be
my dearest friends, outside of my
dear old mother and father, which
you know a mothers love for a
child.
You asked my intention of
coming out here and if 1 was only
on a pleasure trip. No l came out
here because l thought l could do
better in my business and the
climate is so beautiful, almost the
same the year round. Ihave been
here just one year and have lived
IN the city all the time. l am in
business here and have done very
well. l am connected with an ad-
vertising agency, in fact l am the
main man. | was the one who
first organized it and control the
business and | make money easy,
but it costs so much to live here
My board is $50 per month and
room rent $50 aud l don't lave the
finest either. Everything is high
here, but if one is up to the Mexi-
can tricks he can hold his own.
But its no place to work for wages,
and unless one has money they
bad better stay in their own coun-
try. There are other great draw
backs here, the language, unless
one can speak Spanish they are in
hard row, but manage to make
myself understood, though its a
hard language to learn. There
are a good many Americans in the
city, but in smaller.ci very few
/ made a trip last week to a city
south about 200 miles which was
interesting, so will giveyou brief
sketch of my trip and what l saw,
for everything is so different from
the United States, and one who
has never travelled in Mexico it
will be interesting reading, espec-
tally if they are inclined to things
that are different from their daily
life. The name of the city i went
to is Puebla. The Mexican rail-
road runs there via Vera Cruz on
the Gull of Mexico. / left here at
4 O'Clock in the evening and ar
rived there at 11:40 at night, most
of my travel was in the day and
when came back it was all day
travel and l saw the country in all
its beauty. After leaving the city
the railroad runs along the base of
a mountain for a long way and you
see one of the most beautiful val
leys in Mexico. Then it gradually
winds around the mountains until
it gets about 10000 feet above sea
level. Then it takes a down grade
until it gets about 5 900 feet ABOVE
sea and then you get in the finest
farming district in the Republic,
except down on the coast in the
hot country where oranges, pine
apples, bananas, sugar cane, cocoa
nuts and all tropical fruits grow.
| know you will doubt my word
when | tell you that this month is
wheat harvesting in that part of
the Republic. The fields are ripe
with wheat and you see the Mexi-
cans cutting it by hand with an
old blade like brier hook. Ionly
saw two reapers and they were of
the first make, old and very clum-
sy, and for 100 miles was a solid
wheat field. The way the most Of
them thresb is like they did IN
olden times, maze a floor of rock
and build a wall about four feet
high and round shape and then tie
from ten to twenty horses close
together and start them to tramp
ing and when its windy day they
pass the wheat from one pile to
another and the wind blows away
the chaff. There is only two
threshers in this part of the coun-
Try and they are little old tramp
wheel with one mule like they
used to be in the states and the
Mexicans cannot wait, for they
could not get around before time
to begin sowing again. l also saw
the Mexicans herding sheep in the
valleys just as the bible describes
them in old times.
Yours as ever
EDWIN EDWARDS,
1st Independence No. 4, City of
Mexico, D. F.