Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1916-08-04

foreign foe. 1t was here. for ex-
ample. that the patriot priest, Hidalgo,
was executed in 1911, following the
failure of the revolution which he
led in an effort to throw off the Span
ish yoke. The most imposing monu-
beloved national hero, the incidents of
whose death are as pathetic as the
passing of any martyr since the days
of Joan of Arc. The priest was con-
demned to die at dawn. While being
led to the place of execution he re-
membered that he had left some sweet
meats under his pillow. He asked one
of the soldiers to return for them,
and when they were brought he dis
tributed them with his blessing among
the members of the firing squad.
Knowing that the misty light Of dawn
would make it difficult for the SOL
diers to aim accurately, the priest
calmly placed his hand over his heart
against the black robe, so that they
could locate the vital spot.
while the mining industry in the
territory contiguous to Chihuahua City
| is four times as important as the ag'
ricultural interests, nevertheless. the
raising OF corn, fruits and cotton
is important, and an interesting fea'
ture of the last-named product is that
| it's manufacture into cloth dates back
to the days of Cortez, who sent to his
sovereign, the king of Spain, some OF
the finely woven material from the
land which utilized cotton for clothing
even before Europe knew its uses.
| Cotton of All Colors.
Legends of the Toltecs. recorded
in their sacred books, tell us thai
Quetzalcohuatl, god of the air, grew
cotton of all colors in his garden, ant
taught its many uses. AS to coloreC
cotton, the Mexicans have never fell
the pinch of dyestuff famine, at leas
red dyestuff, for this country is the
home of the cochineal. that odd insec
whose dried bodies furnish such ;
wonderful and lasting scarlet colorins
matter.
an some parts of Chihuahua cottoI
is perennial and 1t is unnecessary Il
plant it oftener than once every tel
years.
1.-The spinning of wooden yarn ant
weaving of wooden cloth is one of thu
industries of Chihuahua City, dating
back to the importation of the merint
sheep by the Spaniards in 1541. |
should be remembered, incidentally
that all the domestic animals of Mex
leo date from the Spanish conquest
and the herds of cattle. goats, sheel
and swine which, now find excellen
pasturage on the plateau surrounding
Chihuahua have sprung from the orig
nal Spanish stock, except for the fey
strains introduced within very recen
years in an effort to improve tn
standard.
"Of the 23,191 mining propertie
listed in Mexico in 1903 five-sixths O
them produce silver, and of these tn
Santa Eulalia II miles outside O
Chihuahua, is the most famous.
when the Aztecs worked the Oh
huahua mines their skilled artificer
used reed blowpipes in melting tn
metals. They also made a bronz'
much the same as that used in FL
rope, but they did not know the use
of iron, even though there was b.
fore them that mountain of almo:
solid iron only a few miles Outsid
the city Of Durango, a mountain nea
ly a mile long. third of mile wild
at the base and nearly 700 feet higl
worth, it is estimated. as much g
all the gold and silver produced
the mines of Mexico in two centuries