A SILVER-PRODUCING VALLEY.
It was found that the name was derived from a tribe of Indians called Zacatecas, and also from a grass that grows there, and is known in Mexico as zacate. It should be remembered that the city is the capital of the State of Zacatecas. As it stands in a ravine, where very little grass of any kind can grow, it is probable that the appellation, so far as the grass is concerned, belongs rather to the State than to the city, which is the centre of the silver-mining district.
The city, which has a population of about 30,000, is anything but attractive, as its position in a deep ravine makes its streets very narrow, and crowds the buildings closely together. Its streets are badly paved, and it is so poorly supplied with water that the drains are not properly washed. Frank thought it averaged a distinct and different smell for each thousand of its inhabitants, and the youths were not surprised to learn that the mortality, especially among the poorer part of the population, is very great. The mountains rise all around and above the city, and the extent of the silver business is shown by the large number of buildings on the mountainsides, which mark the reduction-works and the entrances to the mines.
There is a ridge called the Bufa, or Buffalo, overlooking the city; it is the site of a little church, or chapel, that was built there more than a century and a half ago, and was at one time a favorite place of pilgrimage. Ordinary offenders were required to do penance by ascending on foot to the door of the chapel, and extraordinary ones made the journey on their knees. The custom still prevails, though less so than formerly. Frank and Fred saw several pilgrims making the ascent, but were told that days, and even weeks, might elapse before another scene of the same sort could be witnessed.
The travellers paid a hasty visit to the cathedral of Zacatecas, which was formerly very rich in ornaments; most of them were removed at the time of the confiscation of the property of the Church by the Government, and are not likely to be restored. It is said that the baptismal font was of solid silver, and worth $100,000. The Jesuits have on the side of the mountain a fine church, which presents a very picturesque appearance and contains some interesting and valuable paintings.
The street scenes were much the same as at Monterey and Saltillo, with the addition of groups of miners and men employed about the reduction-works, droves of burros, or donkeys, laden with ore and other things peculiar to the industry of the locality. The youths wished to visit the mines and descend to the scene of operations underground, and consequently were not inclined to devote much time to the public buildings and the streets. They observed that the city had sufficient enterprise to be lighted with electricity, and to have a telephone, an exchange, and a fire department, though the scarcity of wooden buildings seemed to afford very little use for the latter.
CACTUS GROWTHS NEAR ZACATECAS.