504 



MEXICO. 



MICHIGAN. 



Draining the Valley of Mexico. During the 

 summer the contract for part of the work of 

 draining the valley of Mexico was awarded to 

 a syndicate of Cleveland, Ohio, capitalists, 

 who have formed a company for the purpose 

 of constructing public works in Mexico. The 

 Government proposes to make a tunnel under 

 the mountain, on which work was begun as 

 long ago as the reign of Maximilian. 



Insurance. A new feature in Mexico is the 

 advent of the American life insurance com- 

 panies. Seven years ago they were almost un- 

 known. Now three American companies have 

 offices in the capital, with agencies throughout 

 the country, and policies to the amount of 

 millions of dollars have been issued. 



Telegraphs. On August 11 telegraphic com- 

 munication by land-lines was opened between 

 the city of Mexico and Guatemala, the charge 

 per message being twenty-five cents for the first 

 ten words. 



Silver-Mining. The second in importance of 

 the American investments are the mining 

 companies, which are scattered throughout the 

 country, but mainly to bo found in the north- 

 ern and border States. Mining is the chief in- 

 dustry in Mexico, and, notwithstanding the low 

 price of silver, it is just now in a prosperous 

 condition, the product of the mines for 1887 

 having been greater than in any year since the 

 old Spanish bonanza times. Much of this ac- 

 tivity is attributed to the liberal laws recently 

 passed for the encouragement of the industry. 

 A large part of the ores is being shipped over 

 the railroads to works in the United States. 



Stock-Raising. Another important American 

 interest are the land and grazing investments, 

 which have become very considerable in the 

 past three years, and are constantly increasing. 

 These are mainly with a view of stock-raising, 

 for which the table-lands of Mexico are well 

 adapted. 



Iridescent Stoneware. At Patzcuaro true iri- 

 descent ware is found, made by the natives. 

 The specimens to be met with are small, round, 

 and rectangular platea. The luster is the true 

 Saracenic, Alhambra, or Gubbio luster. The 

 ware is rude ; the makers of it have not the 

 certainty of producing a particular color in a 

 picture, which distinguishes the Gubbio work, 

 and it lacks the elegance and glaze, the solid- 

 ity and fineness, of the Alhambra tiles. But it 

 is genuine iridescence. The plates are exceed- 

 ingly thin and brittle. It was said to be made 

 at Santa F6, a small Indian village on the north 

 shore of Lake Patzcnaro. 



Earthquakes. On May 3 an earthquake oc- 

 curred ia the Sierra Madre mountains of Sono- 

 ra, accompanied by a terrible volcanic eruption 

 at the pueblo of Bavispe, where 4 persons were 

 killed and 19 injured, and at Opata, where 9 

 were killed. Both pueblos were destroyed, 

 and the inhabitants of Bavispe, Basarac, Opata, 

 and Guasavas were living in the fields, under 

 trees, and in caves. Repeated shocks occurred 

 subsequently, but they were lighter. There 



was panic everywhere, and some women died 

 from fright. A wide territory was seamed 

 with crevices and immense chasms. The earth 

 sank in many places, and was flooded with 

 water, making swamps where there never was 

 any water before. In many mountains erup- 

 tions were noticed, and continuous smoke in- 

 dicated volcanic action. The Governor of 

 Sonora, Sefior Torres, sent out explorers to 

 ascertain the existence of a volcano, and early 

 in June they returned and reported an active 

 volcano 14 miles southeast of Bavispe. The 

 party could not approach nearer than within 4 

 miles of the mountains. The crater was pour- 

 ing forth immense volumes of smoke, fire, and 

 lava. Boiling water issued from the side of 

 the mountain, and lava in vast waves slowly 

 poured down the mountain-side into the canons, 

 whicli were being filled up. The boiling water 

 had destroyed all vegetation in the valleys. 

 One peculiar feature of the volcano was its 

 great activity. Bowlders weighing tons were 

 being hurled down from the crater. On June 

 6 a heavy shock was felt in Tucson, preceded 

 on May 29 by a shock throughout the valley of 

 Mexico, in Jalapa, C6rdoba, Esperanza, Tlas- 

 cala, Tehuacana, Puebla, and Oaxaca. 



Bull-Fights. The Spanish passion for bull- 

 fighting has broken out in Mexico with new 

 zeal of late. After the adoption of the Con- 

 stitution of 1857, a law had been passed mak- 

 ing this amusement unlawful in the Federal 

 District, and the general sentiment of the 

 better class in the various States was in favor 

 of its suppression as a barbarous practice. But 

 there seems to have been a reaction, and the 

 last Congress surprised the outside world by 

 repealing the prohibitory law, and now there 

 are in full operation, in and near the capital, 

 five bull-rings or plazas. 



MICHIGAN. State Government. The following 

 were the State officers during the year: Gov- 

 ernor, Cyrus G. Luce, Republican; Lieutenant- 

 Governor, James H. MacDonald ; Secretary of 

 State, Gilbert R. Osmun; Auditor-General, 

 Henry H. Aplin ; Treasurer, George L. Maltz; 

 Attorney-General, Moses Taggart; Superin- 

 tendent of Public Instruction, Joseph Esta- 

 brook ; Railroad Commissioner, John T. Rich ; 

 Insurance Commissioner, Henry S. Raymond ; 

 Labor Commissioner, Alfred H. Heath ; Chief- 

 Justice of the Supreme Court, James V. Camp- 

 bell ; Associate Justices, Thomas R. Sherwood, 

 John W. Champlin, and Allen B. Morse. 



Legislative Session. The session of this year 

 continued from January 5 till June 29. The 

 choice of a successor to United States Senator 

 Omar D. Conger fell upon Francis B. Stock- 

 bridge, who received the Republican nomina- 

 tion on the tenth ballot. The vote in the Leg- 

 islature was as follows : Senate Stockbridge, 

 22 ; George L. Yaple, the Democratic nominee, 

 9. House Stockbridge, 45 ; Yaple, 27; Henry 

 A. Robinson, Labor candidate, 5. The most 

 important legislation of the session relates to 

 the liquor question. A " local option " law 



