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Extract Of A Letter From Mr. Van Arman

Extract Of A Letter From Mr. Van Arman image
Parent Issue
Day
12
Month
May
Year
1848
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Cordova, (Mexico,) Murch 29, 1848. We arrived nt tliis ciry on Suridny, one week ng lust Sundny, Ht evnning, nnd receivcd n very cor dinl welcome from th five colnpiinies of our ï'egi ment. whicli weie here. Conlovn contiiins six thonsBnd nlmbitnnts, nnc sfiin!s in a vnlloy surmnnded by mountnina. The valley is nbout furty inües in di ter d is one o the most ferhle, h'iiltliv and de.liglitful sictiotis o country n llie whole Wmld. ft is well ratered ainl the soil produces nlmnst spontnneouslv, rice stijriir c' e cuft e oriinges lenmns, pine apples, n ives, fijjs citrons, cocoa nuts, nm) with cultivution to Imcco, coru mid t-very grein imd fruit known ii tlin tropics. TIip wi-ntlvr hér since our nrrivu h. been warm. nbouc likp Junennd Juty in Michwt). Ir is nevpr mucli wiirmnr or :o!dnr, frosts nrfi unknown hnre. nd Vfgetfltipn is poipptunl. Gniin nnd fruits of uil kinds ripea nenily evvry noriih i til year, nnd the (armer can reiip a perpetual suocession of crops. A fmv miles from herton the sides of the mouiitnin, what of the best qunlity is raised, nlso potutoes, and uil the prodnctions of the températe zone. Ue.re around us wp sea in the snme gurdon, orang"'S nnd every otlinr fruit in eve ry stnge of growth, fiom the blossom to the fnlly ripened fruit. With an entevpiising. intelligent nnd industlious popüliition, this vally wn'il Diocm mee tden, end at once liecome the wenliliiest country in tlie world. Kven ander the culture of the miserable, ignorant, hizy und vagahond race thnt now infest t. it is one of the pl.nsaritest and Minst productiva countrie8 I have seein. The city of Cordova is an old Sptviish town. built nboiit. two hundrej yeiirs since. It is unlike anvthing you hnve ever seen in architecture. Like Veril Cruz, the town is built ofiarge, square bricks the houses inostly une story high, wiih grated apertures for Windows, rooft of tiles, and the house built In a squnre, willi nn open spnee n the middle three and fotir rods in diiinieter. which is commonly used fot a flowcr garden. The buildings ure of of the most substantial kind.with enoi-inously thick wiills covered inside nnd out with a kind of cement uhich seetns tii hnrdi-r, wilh the liipsf of time. These buildings havo genernlly stootl two huodred years. nlmost eiitirely without repairs, and aio still in a tolerable good state of preaervution. Thu house in which I ain quartered and vvhere I now writc. all the rest, exhibits marica of greiit antiquity, and is at least two hundred y mm old. It was built at a great. expense, and is equally II adiipted to accommadate its inmalns nnd repel i xternal enemies, the rooms bein numerous, spiicions and lufty, with every ïpplinnce Fir cooking and other uses, while the doors imd Windows aro secured by heavily ironed and aolid shutters. The inhabitants liere ure g'nerally the remot descendants of llie old Spaniiirds mixed and intei nmrried with the Indinos. The inhabitar.ts of th city. who are engagfd in business, are, nr claim t I)P, inany of them pure Spaniards, and ure consid embly superior 10 tlie inhabitarits of the cuuntry but tlipy are neiirly all at them wrctchedly igno rant, degraled and bigoled - perfect simes Én Hiel relii:inu-! supi-r.-tition. No despotisin wns ever more gn Hing thiin thnt of the ('atholic clerjjy heie ove the peopl'. Thé Iower classes in the city, and the inhaliitants of the country genertüly, seem but little above our savages- tlvir dress, or ral her, lack of dreis, their foud and filthiness, uil indícate a stuto uf baibarism. The moral chtirncter of fho people is even worse thiiii their )ol tical condition. Thpft, robbery, &c. are the cominon employmet of large classes, while the constant p'iliticnl 1-evolntions and consequent intt-rruptioii and disorder in evcry depnrtrnent o! legal RdmintsfniHon bas eo'nstantly drprived the wcll-diposed citizen of all iafety in the eiyoyinent of his rights, nnd uil redres for wiongs snll'ered. rendoring the wenk the constant victima of the stroop. Our situation lieve is as iginpnlile ns it possilily could b avvay fiom our liomes imd fricnds. Thihenlth of the R.piineni is goud, and we niv suppliivl with ev ry ihing necessaiy to our comfort. Beef of a veiy good quiility is aliun.lant. and we can buy in tlie maiket, eggs, rice, gafar, potntuei and everr kinsl of fruit and vegetabl(!s. chiukens, &c, while e have for qnarfers, tor soldiers and officers, tho best bmldinga in the city.