empnu-
THE SCRANTON TRTBUNE-SATU11DA.Y MORNING, MAY 8, 180T.
11
A Summer JoMiraey from
New York to Moscow.,
Odessa, the Crimea, and - the Southern
Aspects of the Caucasus.
Hon. Charles A. Dana, In the Hun.
Our ship had Rcnrccly been fastened
to the wharf at Odessa when a ttusslan
ofllcer came on board and Informed
mo that orders had been Riven that
our luggage was not to be subjected to
Custom House examination, and,
upon my Inquiring the source of such
politeness, I was told that It was done
at ho Instance of Dr. Thomas E.
Heenan. an old friend of ours, who
for several years has been Consul of
the United States at that iort. Dr.
Heenan appears to bo a persona grata,
not merely with the Americans, Eng
Hsli, French, and other foreigners at
Odessa, but with the Russian officials
and Russian society as well. Ho soon
nfterwnrd came on board In person,
and was most warmly welcomed. He
Informed us also of on amusing occur-
. s
'Oft &
K
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NICHOLAS II.
rence that had taken place an hour or
two before, which we found afterward
exploited at length and with a good
deal of wit In the Odessa Vaestnlk.
The police hud been Informed that
when our party arrived It would be
their duty not only to receive us with
marks of courtesy, but to escort us
and our Impedimenta to the hotel
where lodgings bad been secured for
us. A Russian steamer had arrived
pretty early In the morning, nnd the
police officers Inquired If there were
any Americans among the passengers.
Two gentlemen answering the de
scription were found, and, without
further Inquiry, they were informed
that they were expected that their
trunks were to be passed unopened,
and that the olllcers would at once
conduct hem to their lodgings. Sur
prised but not displeased by this In
telligence, the two gentlemen, both of
them met chants of some description
hailing from Boston, immediately
started for the hotel, but, on arriving
there, they declared that the rooms
to which they were shown could not
be Intended for two persons only, and
so the mistake was found out. Thus
the Vaestnlk had a chance to laugh at
the police, on account of this blunder,
and the rare opportunity was well Im
proved. ODESSA.
Odessa is Indeed a very charming city
boasting some tfoO.OOO inhabitants.
Spread out over an elevated and rather
Irregular surface. It fronts the sea with
a bluff perhaps seventy feet In height.
Along the outer border of this bluff is
n neat little park called a boulevard,
much frequented by ladles and chil
dren. The streets are wide, the public
buildings many of them very hand
some, the private houses spacious and
elegant. We spent a part of three or
four afternoons at the athletic grounds
furnished by the city, where, cricket Is
played mainly by foreigners and lawn
tennis cultivated by clubs of ladies and
gentlemen. It was als. our good for
tune to nttend a cilebratlnn In the ca
thedral on the dny of the new em
peror's coronation in Moscow. The
singing was magnificent, as I have al
most always found It In Russian Or
thodox churches, though the choir con
sists of male voices alone and no In
struments are allowed. A review In
the adjoining public square following
after tho "Te Deum" In the church.was
quite Impressive, both for the martial
appearance of the soldiers and the pre
cision of their movements. Lieutenant
General Zelony. the political governor
and military commander of the pro
vince, received us with extreme era
ciousness, recalling the time when, as
a subordinate ofllcer, he had visited
New York with the Russian licet to
ward the close of the civil war.
Leaving Odessa at about three in the
afternoon by u Russian shin and we
are bound to say that these shins are
elegant, comfortable, and satisfactory
we went directly to Sevastopol, land
ing In that famous seaport of thr
Crimea before noon the next day. The
entrance Into the Inner harbor Is broad
and without any obstacle, and the city
which was destroyed in the Crimean
war of 1851 now shows no scars of that
calamity, but stretches out along its
ridges and sunny slopes In a wiiy most
attractive and hospitable. Like the
hotels of Russia In general, those of
Sevastopol are spacious, clean and In
every way agreeable, nnd the drives
around the town are picturesque o;ul
pleaslnr, quite apart from their Inter
est as memorable scenes In modern his
tory. In this latter respect, however,
It is not too much to say that there Is
scarcely another pluce in Europe which
can vie with this corner of the Crimea.
The Malakoff, the Redan, the Maine
Ion, the vast Held on the southeast that
slopes toward , Balaklava. the monu
ments that mark the charge of the
Light Brigade, the cemeteries of the
English, tho French, the Italians, and
the Russian defenders of the lace,
perhaps the most gallant of all, and
Balaklava Itself, with Its wonderful
harbor, whose entrance is so narrow
that two ships cannot navigate It to
gether, absorb the mind with memories
of that tremendous struggle, at once
one of tho most heroic and most use
less wars of modern times; useless be
cause It has left no permanent fruits,
and the questions they fought about
then are essentially the same ns those
which still confront tho contending
powers,
THE CRIMEA.
The Immense historical Interest of
the Crimea has combined with a cer
tain comparative Inaccessibility to pre
. vent ho universal recognition of Its
extraordinary natural beauty and at
tractiveness as a semi-tropical region
t quite near to the Caucasus. But It was
not until we had finished with tho
sights and the memories of Sevastopol
and Balaklava that we came to appre
ciate the strungo charm of tho Crimea
and the delight It ha3 In store for trav
cAra woh are not too much In a hurry.
$liS&
Startlng In the morning from Sevas
topol and driving with one or two
changes of horses, wo traversed the
southern projection of the peninsula,
and ut nbout 2 o'clock In the afternoon
passed through the Gates Cif Haldar, as
the passage through the Inlla Moun
tains Is called, and looked down upon
one of the noblest spectacles In the
world. Immediately before us lay the
bounuless sen, the shore rocky nnd
broken, with villages, churches, castles
nnd little seaports, ull made accessible
by the great road cut into the moun
tain side here and there, and then built
out upon walls over some abyss or val
ley below, alone enough to make the
name of Prince Worontzoff forever
meorable In all southeastern Russln.
Tho vegetation on the mountain
slopes toward the sea' is wonderfully
i
wi
STEPHEN J. FIELD.
varied and Interesting. The prevailing
trees arc oak and beeches, with ulnlon
pines, cypresses, myrtles, mulberry
trees, and occasionally llg trees min
gled among them. I was greatly im
pressed by a kind of dwarf beech which
I had never seen in any other sv'lvu,
nnd of which we passed that day hun
dreds of specimens. It often lay
stretched out almost Hat upon the
ground, nnd again where the soil ard
the exposure were favorable, It would
assume a form of perfect regularity and
rise to the height of six or eight feet.
The leaves ure exceedingly small and
lustrous, making It a very decorative
plant. It seems surprising that botan
ists have never brought It out to th?
knowledge of the world, and made It
available for general cultivation. Of
the wild azaleas that we saw growing
In the Crimea, and the Caucasus too, I
am bound to add that they were rather
poor and disappointing. Those of Pike
county ore ten times finer.
YALTA
About 5 o'clock we reached Yaltn, an
agreeable watering place wit i hotels,
bath-houses, and other amusements,
and perhaps 1,500 regular inhabitants.
We stayed there three or four days, and
one of our most Interesting excursions
was to Livadln, a country seat of vast
extent belonging to the Czar. Getting
permission from the commander of the
guard, at the entrance, we spent a
large part of a day In visiting it. There
are several extensive dwellings, all
simple and convenient, not furnished
with any great magnificence, but suf
ficient for every requirement of com
fort. In one bedroom of the Imperial
chateau we saw insertc-u In the uar
quetted floor a small cross of wod,
marking the spot where the late em
peror Alexander III. hud died sitting In
..Is chair.
We went through the greenhouses,
finding them large, filled with many
Interesting yet not extraordinary
plants, especially palms, but not oth
erwise remarkable. It was like the col
lection of a millionaire, with no un
usual taste and no extensive know
ledge of botany or of the marvels of
modern culture. The collection of
orchids seemed peculiarly limited. The
roads through the forest, which cov
ers much of the estate, are perfectly
good, but nothing more. There seemed
for Instance, to be a scarcity of vitas
taking advantage of the opportunity
of looking out upon the adjoining sea.
It was a ease of magnitude, but not of
high art.
There are several other famous es
tates In the vicinity, one or two of
them belonging to members of the im
perial family, but we did not attempt
to visit them; and finally, having ex
hausted the interest of the shops in
Yalta, and that Is saying a good deal,
we left tho Crimea and its delightful
climate one pelasunt evening on a
most excellent Russian ship, whose
final destination was Batoum, the last
Russian port at he eastern extremity
of the Black Sea.
On the way we stopped first at
Kertch, the ancient Pantlcapoeum at
the Straits of Ienlkale and the Sea of
Azoff. It Is a very pleasant place, with
thirty odd thousand inhabitants and
an Important trade, especially In salt.
The most Interesting object hero Is the
so-called tomb of Mlthrldates VII.,
or Mlthrldates the Great, next to Han
nibal perhaps the most energetic and
irreconcilable foe of ancient Rome,
His tomb is a rather rococo structure
on tho summit of a hill which over
looks the city nnd the harbor. Exca
vations from the mounds about It,
and elsewhere near the city, have
contributed to the Imperial Museum
In St. Petersburg and to the British
Museum In London a quantity of
gold ornaments which compel atten
tion even among the manifold treas
ures of those rich and most Inslrus
tlve collections on antiquities. The
shure of the British Museum, was sent
there by Major Westmacott of the
British army, after the allies had cap
tured Kertch In 1853, during tho oper
ations of tho Crimean war.
BOGUS RELICS.
Wo were able to drive nearly to the
sumlt of tho hill and to examine close
ly tho ancient tomb. We found, how
ever, that tho territory surrounding It
was still frequented by a number of
amateur explorers, who, with long Iron
hooks, poke 'in tho gravel to find an
tiquities that have escaped previous
efforts', From one of these I bought
for a few kopecks three or four little
terra cott. Imaees, which, the seller
assured me h'ad been dug 6ut on tho
spot; but, .on careful examination, I
found that they had been made In Italy
for sale as specimens of prehistoric art,
We also visited tho museum In one of
the streets near the water, but saw
there nothing very Impressive, the real
ly valuable articles having long slnco
been taken away. But the view from
the summit of tho hill was superb, and
we greatly enjoyed our afternoon's
m
wlJtTw'PIl
stroll around tho old tomb and down
.through th'o streets of tho town. Wo
saw plenty of Bhops for the sale of an
tiquities, ns well provided with Imlta
tltlons of modern manufacture; but it
was Impossible to gaze from the sum
mit of tho hill over tho vast country
to the north and west without longing
to break Into some of the many large
kourgans, nr burial mounds of regular
conical form, which dot tho lnndscauo
in almost every direction.
I mentioned this to an expert upon
our steamer, and ho agreed with' me
as to the desire, but added that experi
ence shows that where it is gratlllcd
the effort almost always results In dis
appointment. Most of these mounds,
he said, arc merely the graves of noted
Individuals of prehistoric times. In
the centre of tho large ones Is usually
found a skeleton horse standing with
a skeleton man on his bock. This was
a lavorllo mode of burial for the obi
Cimmerian chieftains, and very rarely,
almost never in fact, are ornaments
of precious metuls found among the
relics; while tho remains of pottery are
usually of no value and of quite trilling
Interest.
We left tho roadstead of Kertch bo
fore sundown, und tho next morning
found ourselves nt Novo Rossllsk, a
noble harbor, with every point on tho
shores bearing evidence of the lm-
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COLONEL ALFRED S. BUCK.
THE HON.
mense manufacturing and commercial
activity which marks the business
towns of modern Russia. A railway
leads hence northwardly to Rostoy on
the Don. New buildings seem to be
going forward everywhere, and the pe
troleum trafllc, which has covered tho
whole southwestern shore of the Cau
casian country with a series of the
busiest places In the world, was evi
dently In full operation here. But our
hope of seeing the great summits of the
Caucasus was foiled. Both Elbruz nnd
Kasbek were veiled by clouds, and so
they remained during th'e whole day.
ANCIENT PHASIS.
Our next stopping place was at Souk
houmkale, and tho next at Potl, at the
mouth of the river lllon, likewise a
pluce of extreme activity, with a branch
of the Trans-Caucasian railway ex
tending as. far as Kutals, on the way
to TIllls and the Caspian. The Rlon Is
(he ancient Phasls, and hither th'o
Argonauts came seeking the Golden
Fleece, nnd hence they returned after
they had got It. . The low lying, malar
ious looking shores and the turbulent
river, swollen to enormous extent by
the spring freshets from the mountains
Justified the description of the poet:
"Ho passed tho sea,
And reached a liver opening Into it,
Across the which tho wiilto-wlnged fowl
did flit
From elite to cliff, ami on the sandy bar
The fresh waves and tho salt waves were
at war
At turnlnu of the tide."
Now swift beneath the, oar strokes Argo
Hew,
While the sun rose behind them, anil they
drew
I'nto the liver's mouth, nor fulled to see
Absyrtus' galley waiting watehlully
Betwixt them and the whlte-tlpped turbid
bur.
Therefore they EOt them ready now for
war
With Joyful hearts, for sarp they sniffed
the sea
And saw tho great waves tumbling green
and fren
Outside the bar upon the way to Greece.
Tho rough grcer way to glory anil sweet
peace.
But Jason, roaring as tho lioness
When round her helpless whelps tho hunt.
ers press.
Whirled round his read his mighty brass
bound spear
That, flying, smote the Prince beneath the
car,
As Areas't, arrow sunk Into his side.
Then, failles, scare he met the. rushing
tldo
Ero Argo's mighty prow had thrust apart
Tho huddled oars, and through the fair
ship's heart
Had thrust her Iron beak, and tho green
wave
Rushed In, as rush tho waters through a
cayo
That tunnels half a iea-glrt lonely rock.
Then, drawing swiftly backward from
tho shock,
And heeding not the cries of fear and woe,
They left tho waters dealing with their
foe;
And at the following ship through back
a shout
And seaward o'er the bar drove Argo out,
The gray sky nnd the heavy mists
hiding the mountain tops, and even
obscuring the mighty forests of their
slopes, were all sufllciently In harmony
with these classical fancies of the
ancient world; but the pervading odor
of petroleum and the rush of business
around the shores had nothing poetical
or beautiful In their suggestions; and
we were not sorry when our anchor
was pulled up, and the Colchlan hills
behind us grew faint and fainter as our
ship pushed southward toward Bat
oum. BATOUM.
Wc arrived there in good season the
next morning, and our steamer passed
witihn the great Jetty which protects
the harbor on the west. The anchor
age Is extensive and perfectly safe,
with an adequate depth of water, but
tls? place is said to be unwholesome,
owing to the marshy nature of the
country for a conslderabel distance In
land. The town Is fortified, and a
considerable garrison seems to be kept
there. We saw on all sides the same
Indication of active business, and
smelled the tame vivid odor of petrol
cum, which wo had observed at the
other, ports looking eastward toward
the great mountains and the Caspian.
Wo soon had the pleasure of a visit
from Mr. James C. Chambers, consul
of the United States, to whom, as well
aa to Mr. Stevens tho British vice
consul, wo were indebted for many acts
of- courtesy during our brief sojourn
In the town.
Batoum Is entirely n modern city In
Its appearance and arrangements, but
all visitors are taken to visit theZamok
or ruined chateau of Queen Thamara,
Its remains occupy the summit of n
moderat outside the town and about
two miles from its centre. This queen
appears to have been a lady of con
siderable Importance, and Mr, Fresh
fleld speaks of her with porno enthus
iasm. "Queen Thamara," he says, "the
Charlemange of tho Caucasian lath-
mus, nt the close of tho twelfth cen
tury spread Christianity among the
Ossetcs and dotted their heights with
churches." However that may have
ben, wo found on the beautiful fresh
turf which surrounds the fallen towers
of her old castle, In the shade of the
big trees, a most agreeable place for
luncheon, tlut our desire to start for
tho Interior prevailed over every other
attraction, it was still early In the
afternoon when we took our places In
the train for TIllls, the mountain rail
way over which we were to travel hav
ing at last been repaired, so that thera
was a prospect of getting through to
tho Georgian capital, though there had
been no communication with it by train
for a month or more.
Wo had scarcely got out of sight of
Batoum when tho clouds that lvad so
long concealed the mountains disap
peared, and we saw quite distinctly
tho long range extending apparently
from west to east, Elbruz, with Its
double summits on tho west, and In the
cast Kasbek, a marvel of beauty,
worthy even to rival tho solemn ap
parition of the Juncfrau, as one may
behold It at sunrise from Interlachon.
Rut Kasbek, If somewhat Inferior In
grandeur, is the more beautiful of tho
two, rising in a symmetrical though
slender pyramid, as wo now saw it at
a distance of perhaps seventy-live
OF PROMINENCE.
MtkM
JAMES B. ANGELL,
miles; and though I do not like to
compare the Caucasus with the Alps,
having seen the Alps frequently and
from many points of observation, while
of the Caucasus I have only had one
or two satisfactory visions nnd these
rather too distant, yet I will confident
ly advise any enterprising person of
leslure to pack his trunk at once and
start for this wonder of the world in
eastern Europe. My sober Judgment Is
that, of all the great mountain dis
plays, there cannot be any more noble,
more beautiful, or more lmprcslve than
theae little known groups of tho Cau
casus. But on this subject let us
pause for a moment, and listen to the
great poet of Russia:
Caucasus below me! Alone on the height
I stand abovo tho snows, on tho brink of
these awful steps.
An eagle rising from a distant summit
Floats Immovably on a level with me.
Hero I behold tho birth of rivers
And tho first moving of the tc-rlblo ava
lanches. Hero tho clouds hover quietly beneath me;
Through them I hear the roaring water
falls; And seo the naked hugeness of the rocks;
Lower dewn the thlri mosbcs, the dry
shrubs;
And there also tho green shades of tho
forests,
Whcro tho lirds chatter, where the tlecr
leap.
There also men build nests In tho moun
tains And tho sheep crawl over the grassy
declivities,
And the shepherd climbs down Into tho
pleasant valleys
Where tho Aragva rushes against tho
shaded shoie.
And the poor horseman hides himself In
somn crevice.
There the beautiful Torek with fury
Plays and roars, like a young wild berst
Struggling with hunger to escape his Iron
cage ; '
And ho rushes against the banks, with
useless ragins.
And licks the rocks with hungry wave.
In vain! There Is no food for him, no
conso!it-on,
And tho dtmb crags compress him ter
ribly. TIJE MONASTERV ON KASBEK.
Hlfih over the family of mountains,
Kasbek, thy Imperial tent
Gleams with eternal splendors.
Thy monastery behind the clouds.
Like a shrine descending from heaven,
Floats, scarcely visible, abovo tho bura-
mlts.
Oh, distant, longed-for shore,
There, bidding farewell to all below,
Let me ilse to supreme freedom!
There In a cc-1!, cloud-enveloped
llldo me in the neighborhood of God!
On our way to TIflls we passed with
out much delay over the place where
the railway had Just been restored, and
arrived at our destination before D
o'clock in the evening. Yet the next
Tlay the rails were broken again, and
during tho week that wo remained in
TIllls there wns not a day when n train
could be sent to Baku on the Caspian;
and thus wo were constrained to s-lve
up the Idea of making a Visit to Cen
tral Asia and t - the old ci.y of Tamer
lane. " '
CIIANOICI) HIS MINI).
"I want to get a good suit, of clothes
made to order," ho said to tho tailor. "I
never had a suit of clothes made to order,
and my wife thinks It's time that I put on
a little style.
"Certainly," was the reply, "you can
look over the stock and make'your sclcc
tlon. And 'hero is a picture showing the
styles. You can make your choice from
that, us to how you will have the cult
made."
Tho visitor gazed at the picture, and
laying It down with a sigh turned towarJs.
the door,
"You're not going, arc you?" said tho
tullor.
"Ves. I hate to disappoint my wife and
to see you loso a customer. But I guess
I'm happier ns I nm. I'm not vain, but if
this suit of clothes Is going to make me
look llko a stiff-kneed, wooden-elbowed
graven Imago with glass eyes and a fulse
mustache, I'm going to go without It."
Washington Stat.
NON-COMMITTAL.
Jim's a cur'us sort o' feller;
Scolds a ter'ble heap;
Been u-worryln' 'bout tho tariff
TeU ho couldn't sleep.
When I ask him how tho taxes
Takes effect on him,
Then his eloquenco collapses
"I dunno," soys Jim,
Talks about the war in Europe,
And of tyrant foes;
Says "Hurrah" fur lots cV poopla
Thet nobody knows.
When I atk him whut's tho reason
Fur his war-like trim:
Whut's tho actual cause fur Ilghtln'
"I dunno," says Jim,
That's tho kind of occupation
Seems ter suit him best;
Frets 'bout things thet don't concern him;
Never takes no ret.
When I ask him ef his Income
Wouldn't be less slim
Ef he'd stick ter his own troubles-.
"I dunno," says Jim.
Washington Star.
SENATOR HOAR.
Farewell Glimpses
At flodero ilexScOo
How Sunday Is Observed at the Mexican
Capital--Growth of Evangelical Missions.
Some Disappointments General Observations.
Thco. Hart, In I'lttston Gazette.
As tho last day of our sojourn In the
city of Mexico was Sunday, It gave an
opportunity to sco how our neighbors
over the Rio Grande observe the Sab
bath. The appearance of the principal
streets of the city was little unlike
that of other days. Here und there a
place of business was closed, but for
the most part, during the afternoon,
all lines of trade were proceeding as
usual, end not a few stores wire open
it II day. The scene nbout tho Zoenlo
or Plaza Mayor was unusually busy.
The (lower market adjoining tho great
Cathedral was a most attractive place,
Sunday being always an especially
GENERAL NELSON A.
good day for business. Here ure found
the choicest (lowers grown In the val
ley, orchids and roses of nil varieties
being abundant and very cheap. Or
chids that sell in the American market
for a dollar apiece can be bought for
a few cents, and two or three Mexican
dimes buy nil the flowers that one can
conveniently carry.
Along a foul smelling ditch on the
outskirts of the city I observed calln
llllles In bloom on plants growing In a
sort of neglected way as we common
ly see wild rosea by the wayside at
home. And I am here lemlded of an
Incident during our stay in Guanajua
to, while on a street car excursion
through the portion of the city In which
the finest re&ldences are located. Flow
ers were growing In abundance In
many of the front yards and patios.
A well dressed young man standing at
on of the gates, upon hearing the
ladles' remarks or observing their ad
miring glances at tho flowers, plucked
the lovely magenta blossoms by the
armful and distributed them to the ex
cursionists in the several cars. The re
cipients of the polite young Mexican's
favors were as much delighted as they
were surprised by the generous act.
But I am digressing.
MISSION WORK.
Many of our excursion party attend
ed the Sunday morning services at the
Methodist Episcopal mission. They
own and occupy a valuable property In
the heart of the city which was for
merly a portion of the convent of San
Francisco, nnd four hundred years ago
was the site of Montezuma's summer
palace. Here are ample quarters for
the various departments of their mis
sion work a large auditorium for
church meetings, also a chapel, rooms
for th'e boys' school, the editorial and
publishing work, a book store-, the
agents' olllce and three parsonages.
Rev. John W. Hutfer, D. D., Is In
charge of this district, which extends
over a large section adjacent to the
city.
While several of the other evangelical
churches of the United States have had
misslonaiies In Mexico during the past
quarter of a century, it Is a singular
fact that no European has ever been
engaged in tho work there. The Bap
tists have a church with over 250 mem
bers in the city of Mexico, of which
Rev. William H. Sloan is pa.itor. They
have n fine chapel and the mission Is
one of the- most prosperous in the
country, havlncr three out stations at
suburban points. They publish a semi
monthly newspaper, La Luz. The Bap
tists also have valunblc properties at
SSucateeas and Aguascallentes and nave
workers) stationed In a dozen or more
other places. There Is an Episcopal
church in the city of Mexico, and the
English end American colludes main
tain regular services at this place of
worship. I have heretofore spoken of
the successful missions In Guanajuato.
There are now Protestant congrega
tions In nearly all of the twenty-eight
states of the republic, the whole num
ber exceeding COO, and new ones are
multiplying throughout the country.
The number of such communicants is
reported to be about 18,000, with ad
herents numbering about 50,000. Con
nected with these churches ure Sunday
schools having an attendance of somo
10,000 nnd day schools with 7,000 pupils,
The?e results have been, largely accom
plished within a quaiter of a century.
SUNDAY AMUSEMENTS.
Many things have tended to make
the Mexican Sunday much like this
continental Sabbath'. Of the varied
Sunday attractions In the capital city
the bull rings and other sporting re
forts, the public band concerts on the
plazas, the gaieties of the fashionable
! promenades and the throng of pleasure
i seekers to bo seen on the magnificent
boulevard, the Pasco do la Reformu,
crowded with carriages all tho after
noon, I have heretofore written.
That our sight seelns; in the city of
Mexico would have to be done in a very
hasty and unsatisfactory manner, ow
Ing to the limited time at our disposal,
we understood at the outset, and our
experiences in the other places visited
were much the same. No ono would
think of "doing" a city of fifty to seventy-five
thousand nopulution In a few
hours, with so many rarities nnd points
of interest to be seen ns are presented
in the places at which wo halted on
th'e outward Journey, and so, even with
our brief stops on the way, wo expected
little more than tho bird's-eye view
afforded from our car windows on eith
er side of the railroad tracks, hurriedly
traveling a dlstanco of nearly 1,100
lUlleg, as we did, from the Rio Urande.
over the elevated table lanijs of the
country to tho capital of the republic.
There, we were told, we would see all
Mexico as In a nutshell, While we saw
much there, and enjoyed It to the ut
most, wo confess that we shared tho
feeling expressed by many after mak
ing reasonable allowance for impos
slbtlitlcs, and the disadvantages incl-
if - wyi)
dent to travel In a foreign land with no
knowledge of the language of the peo
plea feeling of disappointment, as
we turned our facei homeward, that
we were compelled to make, to super
ficial and Incomplete a survey of the
wonderful city of Mexico and Its sur
roundings. While the city Is very compact, a
population of half a million necessarily
covers considerable ground, and among
the most interesting places to strangers
are sorao of the historic points a short
distance outside of tho city. Wo felt.
Indeed, that ours had been little more
than n prospective tour, and that If
we could return, and have at least a
5)
p.-ThVi si.
WMk JLy
?i.v'
MILES.
ANDREW D. WHITE.
month at our disposal, we would know
Just how to put In the time delightfully
and profitably.
Our train made good time on the wny
home. Leaving the city of Mexico Sun
day night, wo crossed the Rio Grande
border Tuesday night and were landed
In St. Louis Friday morning. Had It
not been for some delay on account of
railroad washouts In the vicinity of St.
Louis we could have made the homo
run nicely withlng six days, the sched
ule time between the city ol Mexico
and Now York. ' We got through on
the reventh day, notwithstanding the
delays. It tuoU our mail matter from
home- seven days to reach us at tho
Mexican apltal.
ZACATECASi
As wo passed through the city of
Zacatecas during the night on the out
ward trip, a stop of a few hours was
made there on the way northward.
This place was founded In 154S. It
Is the capital of the state of the same
name, and has had a population of
nearly ino.000, but owing to the dullness
In silver mining many have left the
city. It has an altitude of over 8,000
feet. The city Is compactly built on n
billy eminence, the streets running up
and down very Irregular. Altogether
It was one of th'e most unique places
we visited. There arc veneinblc and
richly furnished churches here but the
greatest attraction In this line Is the
magnltlcccnt church at Guadalupe, a
mining suburb, blx miles distant, vyhlch
Is reached by street cars.. An orphan
asylum at this place, in which' are over
a thousand children, was formerly a
convent building. Zacatecas has been
one of the most Important silver min
ing towns In the country, its shafts
and tunnels having been operated over
350 years. Tin: value of the precious
metal taken from thee mines Is esti
mated at $1,000,000,000. The long
droughts are a great drawback to this
section, no rain's having fallen In some
locullties for five years..
The same wretched sights with which
wc became familiar on the outvvard run
at the stations and towns where stops
were made, were again presented to
view on our return. Theiv were the
poor peons In clusters of little dingy
adobe huts, In many cases away out
on the barren doscrt feo far from any
sign of vegetntion other than sage
brush and cactus that one must won
der how they exist there. That they
burely existed was too apparent. Fre
quently In front of the hut, wo saw
the woman of the house making tortil
las grinding corn on u stone tray with
a stono roller, wetting up the meal and
baking It over a little wood lire JusL
as nor Indian ancestors had done cen
Uirlps before. About the lalhvay sta
tion and all through the larger places
there wore beggars Innumerable, of all
ages and conditions, each pleading pit
fully for a "centavo." The climate, of
course, favord their scanty dress, but
often were met boys without shirts and
women with' very little covering. The
latic-r frequently carried small children,
and 1 recall ono with a small babe in
his arms who held out Its ti. y hands for
alms. Thus It is this class come up,
begging from the cradle to the grave.
A crowd of Mexicans presents an odd
appearance to a stranger there, as otiu
looks upon a multitude of their steeple
topped hats. The poor class require
but little money to piovldo a suit ol
clothes. I should say fifty cents would
be a good average price, barring the
sombrero, which may cost anywhere
from fifty cents to two hundred dollars.
Nearly all wear tho primitive sandals
strapped over the leet or go barefooted.
The women usually wear a colored cot
ton or black lace garment wrapped
about the head, If they do not go bare
headed. Muny of them look quite pret
ty In handsome black mantillus grace
fully worn over the head. The better
class In the cities, both men and wo
men, quite commonly wear he Ameri
can style of dress. Tho typical Mexi
can, however, in tislit trousers with
rows of silver buttons up the seams of
the legs, and a complete outfit to cor
respond, Is a decidedly "stagey" ap
pearing personage.
THE BURRO.
The burra Is one of the "Institutions"
of Mexico everywhere In evidence, and
tho patient, hard-working little beast
seems almost indispenslble. They are
aa plentiful as cast!, and apparently as,
prolific and Irrepressible. Tho loads
they carry on their backs are simply
astonishing. One sees no wheeled
vehicles In use anywhere for carting
purposes. The burros even transport
the silver ore In sacks from tho mines
to the reduction works. It Is equally
wonderful to eco what burdens the
common laborers will carry on their
backs, In the cities ono of these peons
muy occasionally bo seen trudging
along alone, cairylng a coflln to the
gravo on his back. Those who are ablo
to hire funeral cars use these, which
are provided by the street car com
panies, either with or without an extra
.
WW
r' "JH,
car for their friends. Tho cargadores
In tho cities are men and boys licensed
to carry baggage or parcels. They nro
ubiquitous fellows, too. On arriving
nt Our hotel, in the city of Mexico, as
our party of four stepped from the car
riage n squad of cargadores took our
grips and carried them Into tho hotel
olllce. We supposed, of course, th'at
they wcro waiters connected with the
hostclr, but were soon made awara
of our mistake when they demanded
fees for the service rendered. They
ore alwiiyh on the lookout for a Job,
and expect pay for anything done,
however trllllnz.
Roilroade.ts are the best paid class
In Mexico, and these are largely men
from the United Stales. Most of the
native mechanics woi k very cheap, 5flc
to "Co a day In depressed silver worth'
only half that amount in American
currency being the average wages.
An American connected with a print
ing house In tho city of Mexico told mo
that Job work was done there for leas
money In their currency than is paid
In our money In America, but much of
the work done Is very Inferior.
PULQUE.
Most visitors to Mexico desire to
taste the pulque, their national bever
age, which Is the fermented Juice of th'a
maguey plant. Pulque more than ono
WJ III
GENERAL WILLIAM F, DRAPER.
day old Is not considered good. The
prime article tastes as one would fansy
a combination of buttermilk and yeast
might taste. I heard of none of our
party who cared to do more than
sample It. The natlvps. however,
drink It freely, nnd although many aro
wretched victims of drinking It to ex
cess, for It will Intoxicate, we were told
that It Is quite common for persons to
drink a quart regularly with a meal.
Maguey plantations are cultivated on
a large scale, the liber of th'e plant be
ing also utilized for many purposes.
Tequila and mescal are disinflation
from dlffc-ient varieties of the maguey,
the- heart of the plant being roasted
before it Is distilled. These liquors are
heavy and for the meat part vile. It Is
said that a very small quantity of mes
cal has been known to cause a largo
sl7cd revolution in days gone by.
Ours was a happy party, with our
feet once more on American soil, oven
though still 2,000 miles from home In
distant Texas. The writer here re
called the fact that a little more than
twenty-six years ago ho rode Into
the State capital of the Lone Star
state on the first railroad train tfiat
entered the city and for some time
afterward there was no rail commun
ication between Texas and "tho
states," as the North and East were
commonly spoken of. At that time
there was no railroad to Mexico nor
was there one In the country, and In
many respects tho land beyond the
Rio Grande was as "way back" as the.
time of the Pharaohs. Indeed, Mexico
was comparatively an unknown coun
try to tho outside world. Tho rail
roads have done great things for
Texas In n quarter of a century, as
they have for all of our great West,
and to them .also, is mainly due tho
wonderful development of Mexico's
marvellous resources. Her forty dif
ferent railroad lines, with 7,0Wi miles
of track, must certainly bo reckoned
as a mighty factor in promoting the
changed conditions there. That th
genius and rare executive ability uf
President Diaz, who will have servi-d
a period of twenty years when he
completes his present term, have also
been essentially potent in the ad
vancement of our neighboring republic-,
Is generally understood, und bis
record as a soldier and statesman
Justly entitles him to the honor uf
being culled the creator of Modern
Mexico. The wife of the president Is a
lady of raro beauty anil accomplish
ments. She was educated in Amerba
and speaks English and French as tlu
ently ns her native tongue.
THE FUTURE.
A recent writer has well said that
Mexico and her ruler are to be congrat
ulated upon having a government
which' governs, and contemp.iraneouH
ly, a people which has learned to lie
luled. The brigand Is an unpleasant
memory and one may now travel safely
anywhere. There i.s no hamlet of a
hunelreil Indians that is without its
free public schools, and free night
schools are provided for the working
classes. These are conducted on a
uniform system, being under the direct
charge of th'e goneial government.
There are normal schools in every
state endowed by the government, be
sides many industrial and technical
schools, also private schools of high
standing. Teaching of religion In the
free schools Is prohibited, nnd in no
country are chuich and state so abso
lutely divorced, notwithstanding the
president Is a Roman Catholic nnd the,
people practically a unit In that faith.
In every public school above the prim
ary grade, every pilvato school, train
ing school and college the study of
English Is compulsory. Diaz is said
to have remarked, In dlscu.sslnz this
feature of their schools, that he expect
to give the next generation of Mexicans
two Idiomatic languages.
The patriots of the American revo
lution who led the way In the struggle
for government by the people wera
doubtless the chief Inspiration of sim
ilar movements in Mexico, Central and
South America, and although the mix
ed races descended from the Spaniards
and aborigines have made slow prog
ress in working out tho problems of self
government, there boa been tome ad
vance; and the rapid strides now bclnif
made by our Mexican neighbors, with
their population of thirteen millions,
must liavo a favorable influence upon
th'e republics to the south of them,
whose population Is peibups tixty mil
lions more. Some years before Cortcz
made his first conquest of tho land of
the Artccs, another bold Spaniard, Bal
boa, hud lauded on the Isthmus to tho
southward. A he first looked out upon
tho waters of the great Pacific, from
the green clad hills of Panama, it Is
said that tho explorer hurried down to
the sr-a, and kneeling in the surf, dedi
cated tho American continents, In tho
name of God und his king, to Christian
ity and civilization forever. Let ua
hopo that Balboa's bonodlctlon may
be more fully realized In the not dis
tant futuic.