The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-03-27

Include those OF Cortcz and his Spanish
Invaders during the great conquest OF the
Aztecs and numerous Indian invaslons'
The siege OF the American armies IN lS'4s'
and the French Intervention 1856 to ls7S'
to uphold Macmillan as Emperor OF
Mexico Tho old city IS full of historic
interest, and Its cathedral one 81 the
grandest In the world. 1t has many I'm !
posing old buildings. many Of them sew
9eral hundreds Of years old The Ala :
media, " or great public square (plaza), IS
very beautiful and contains many foun-
tains lovely bronze statues and rare
plants and flowers. Its public drives and
avenues and many piazas afford excellent
places for sightseers to indulge their
curiosity, and the peculiar dwellings and
the arrangement OF them are perfect
studies for people OF the North. Il
we found the old city Of San Luis
Potosi to be extremely interesting, IA
It has for ages been the seat OF mining
Industries, and the rich silver deposits
IN the neighborlng mountains have been
in active working since the fourteenth
century. There is a large smelter situated
here, and silver is produced IN dunn-
titles. Tho town Is noted for 'perlogue,.
the national drink and for "mescal the
vlest OF all intoxicants. y. ~,
Aguascalentes. pronounced "Outs' Ca.
liente.'' means lot Springs" and the
"Banos Caliente" eliot Baths. is famous
for rheumatism govt. etc. We visited
them Sunday and they are wonderful.
All tho waters are clear as crystal ana
exceedingly hot and boil out from under
rat small mountain
Of rock. 5I II s y.
You can see more strange things here
than In any part of the world that p have
been In, and the houses are avery d1f1er-
emit from those Of any OF the countries
that have visited. I will try and get
a few pictures to add to my collection
from my trip around the world.
Agunscalentes Is the headquarters OF
the Mexican Central Railway. and is a
typical old Aztec city, and was founded
over five hundred years ago. It has many
interesting STYLES Of cathedrals, converts
and other noted old buildings.
Probably the most striking thing In all
Mexican cities are tho churches or, cathe-
drals. They are generally the most tm-
posing OF all buildings. and are frequent
3lyg a dozen or more In each place They
are nearly all similar in construction,
and have towers filled with bells sus-
pended on peculiar wooden beams, and
at stated hours they peal forth the most
deafening clangs OF discord, and one never
sleeps aftert:fv In the morning. They
are open all day and way into the, night,
and the faithful may be seen at all
hours on their knees on the bare tile
floor; there are no seats.
The markets and shops are very inter-
estlng. On big market days one can
purchase any article necessary for life in
this climate. In addition to articles OF
food and all the fruits known to this
part Of the world. there are exposed for
sale everything imaginable in the way OF
clothing, house furnishings, utensils for
cooking, crockery. pottery. shoes SOM
breros and saddlery, and the cook shops
or booths, where red peppers. garlic and
grease predominate, are something never
to be forgotten. g5&E. q. ='sl#g
We cannot eat many OF the things they
coax for US; they use garlic and red pep
per by the bushel. and SO much grease.
They give us five or six meats for din
ner, roast beef, mutton, lamb. pork, goat.
kid and veal. besides turkey. chicken and
birds, but we are hungry for some good
old, ''ham or bacon" and cabbage
or turnip green's" but cannot get any.
We are tired Of old ROSTERS and such
stuff. Eggs and milk arc plentiful.
Tho bulk of population are poems,
"pe ouns.' mixture Of everything that
comes down .the pike" and the tough
est looking specimens OF humanity I have
ever seen, barring a few tribes OF saw
ages struck In the South Sea Islands. "
| VIII have to close In order to catch the
Progreso,. San Luis Potosi. Mexico.
! s