The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-02-02
Ranch kinas of Mexico.

FROM the New YORK PreTT.
Mexico is the land OF vast %eStates,t
said a New Yorker just returned from
there, the ether day. There are. in the
rural portions of the couatry at least,
only two classes of society-the very poor
and the very rich. Many of the pro-
p~rietcrs of these great estates are Ameri-
cans. For instance. e. D. Morgan is
president of q company which own and
operates the Corralitos grant. This grant
comprises a million acres of land, located
in the state of ChiMlahua. The company
has 5000 head of cattle on this grant,
and its mines employs 1,5n men. One hun
dred and seventy-fivc miles of private rail-
road transports the ores, cattle and sup
plies of the estate. Among the mines is
one. the San Pedro, which Is worked out.
having bean exhausted by the natives
years ago. In the depthr of this mine is
an ancient Catholic church. 1t is no more
than L chamber in one OF the Slopes of the
mine, but it is whitewashed and always
Illuminated with candles. There is an
altar ard Il confessional there, an ~ofticlat-
ing priest. and regular services, attended
by tie Poems of San Pedro, a typical Mex
lean owi Il is a rather popular church,
as the roof does not leak, and it needs very
few repairs.
But, enormous as are the holdings Of
the Corralitos company, they pale into in
significance when compared with the es-
tate of their next door neighbor, Senior
Tarrazzas. This lordly Mexican holds un-
disputed sway over a territory larger than
the whole of New England. Upon his
iilimitable ranges roam Go.Ge0 cattle, 1,0C0,-
cO sheep and 100000 goats. AS for the
number of horses In his modest bunch, an
Incident which occurred on his Birthday. a
few months since will Illustrate their
number. He arranged a series OF festiv-
tiles at one of the home ranches on this
enormous estate in celebration of the
happy event. At Il certain railway station
the guests from the city were met with
coAHeyances to take them to the ranch,
and as \ guard OF honor, eseorting the
wagons. there We're 500 vaqueros. all in
pure white clothes and mounted on pure
white seeds. They were .al the kings
hcrses and all the kings men." and the
size OF the herd that could furnish 500
white horses for The occasion can be esti-
mated.
.'Tarraazas has several palatial ranch
houses scattered over his vast domain, but
MS official home is on the outskirts of the
city of Chihuahua, and was erected at a
cost OF %jt0,9d0. The stately old srandee is
the greatest cattle and land owner in the
world, and one of the richest men on the
western hemisphere. lie is g1ay-ha!Sed,
disiiled, reserved. No one knows how
much money he has, nor where he keeps
ii, nor what he intends to do with it. He
lost 81, C1o,000 worth of cattle last year by
drought. and it never feazed him. But he
takes no stock in either of his sons, not
because they spend money, but because
they spend it foolishly. The older one is a
confirmed gambler, and, 1t is said will get
rid of l0o,O00 at the gaming tables in q
single night. Thc youngster went on a
prolonged spree lately and, it is said. blew
in S1o0,0O in one drunk.
"However, the old senior believes in keep.
ing the money in the family. The Oldest
son married his sisters daughter for this
laudable reason. Senior Tarrazzas was a
governor of Chihuahua in the revolution
airy days, when there wasn't much law to
bother anybody, and. he came into possess
sion of his vast estates in those troubled
times.
chihuahua. by the way, which has per-
haps 100000 inhabitants, has a capital
town of the same name. containing Is, 900
people, and here the state government has
just completed an opera house which is
one of the largest and finest in America.
Its stage is the second in size in the world.
claim the Chthuahuans, and the whole
cost 100000, with peon labor. This seems
for a moment to lift art to a level with the
church in Mexico. It Is Of a piece with
the great cathedral in Mexico City. where
you will see the poor, ragged, filthy natives
kneeling to pray before that enormous
golden altar, hundreds of feet high. Yes.
our neighbors to the south are a curious
paonlo - r-tA