The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-04-20

city of northern Mexico. From this city
we glide on southwark 500 miles, be-
tween the mountains and over arid
plains, covered with cactus, and here
and there stone fence, with little or no
signs of other life, when we reach the
city of San Luis Potosi, manufactur
ing city with about $4,000 population,
located 6,2OO feet above sea level, and
is regarded as the most important manu-
featuring and business centre in cen
trail Mexico. In the vicinity of this city
are cotton, linen and flour mills, and a
considerable industry is carried on in
hand weaving; quite distributing CEN
tre The sub-tropical region of the Rio
Verde and the Huastuca are tributary
to it. An extensive smelling plant es-
tablished by American capital is in sue
cessful operation here.
''The next city of great Importance on
our route, the city of all Mexico, the
political, social, industrial and financial
capital of the republic, Mexico City,
and with its immediate suburbs has a
population of 100000. It's federal dis
trict which corresponds to the District
of Columbia, has $4,000 inhabitants;
set within the tropics of an elevation
of about 5000 feet above the sea, sur
rounded by cloudpiercing mountains,
and snow capped volcanoes, is singularly
exempt from sudden changes of tempera
ture, being at too great an elevation for
heat, and too far south for cold-prob-
ably the oldest city in the Americas.
Here the first printing press was set up,
and the first newspaper published, nearly
100 years before the Pilgrims landed at
Plymouth Rock.
"The municipal government of this
city has gone on, almost identical in
form, for three and half centuries;
while viceroys, emperors, dictators, and
presidents have come and gone; Indians,
Spaniards, French and Americans have
fought and struggled in and about this
city Quoting from a celebrated writer:
"Among the most beautiful terrestrial
scenes that it is possible for the human
eye to contemplate, few equal, and none
surpass that of the valley of Mexico,
viewed from the neighboring heights sur
rounding it," and we thought as we
glided along over the sub tropical plains,
between the City of Mexico and tropical
Orizaba in the state of Vera Cruz, that
the writer above quoted was about
right The streets of Mexico City are
very narrow-not more than half the
width of our business streets, and the
walks are from three to four and five
feet wide-eXcept on one or two modern
streets where modern widths prevail. The
business houses are all about the same
height, ranging from two to three stories
high; there are a few semi modern eX-
ceptions where the height goes up to
four stories. There are about 5000 to
10000 Americans in this city; about an
equal number of French, while the bal
ance of the population is of the native
race. OF course the prevailing language
of the republic is Spanish.
From Mexico City we iourneyed 500
miles southeast to San Lucrecia. located
in the state of Vera Cruz, on the 18TH
mus, in the strictly tropical region;
from whence we jonrneyed by canoes to
Oaxaquena, the Tabasco plantation. My
report as the official inspection of the
plantation for the shareholders, will be
published in the near future in The Ia
basco Plantation News, printed at Min
neapolis by the projectors of the enter
prise and by The News will be distribut-
ed to theashareholders.
"From this plantation we visited sew
eral other plantations in the immediate
tropical vicinity, and we were all pleas
ed with all that we saw--especially with