162 NEW TRACKS IN NORTH AMERICA. 
e 
now, were enormously productive. I read with great interest 
Mr. Charles Sevin’s paper on the mines of Chihuahua, in the 
“ Journal of the Royal Geographical Society for 1860.” Here 
much valuable information will be found on this subject.* 
The only other information on Chihuahua I can name is to be 
found in “ Dr. Wislizenus’ Tour to Northern Mexico, 1848 
(30 Congress, No. 26).” These reports confirm me in my 
belief that Chihuahua is a State of no ordinary merit, and 
surpasses Sonora both in mineral wealth and fertility. 
The absorption of the four northern States of Mexico by 
the Great Republic will be a real gain to the civilised world, 
and ought to be a source of unfeigned congratulation to all 
branches of the Anglo-Saxon family, as a fresh and valuable 
addition to their territories. No nation understands the 
“development” of a new country so thoroughly as. the 
Americans; and they know well what they are about. The 
time has not yet come when this rich addition of territory can 
be quietly and inexpensively absorbed into the Union. A 
* “Santa Eulalia,” says Mr. Sevin, ‘a little town of 1,500 inhabitants 
surrounded by several hundred mines, is only five leagues distant from the 
town of Chihuahua, where ever since 1703 the ores have been transported for 
their metallurgical treatment, the situation of the mines themselve ing 
rather unfavourable for that purpose. By the immense wealth thus concen- 
trated at Chihuahua, the population of this city, now reduced to 12,000 in- 
habitants, was raised at one ti 
t the m hing 
time a contribution was raised of two grains of silver from every marc (3 Ib.) 
extracted, for the purpose of building two churches. They were built in a few 
years; the cost of one was 600,000 dollars, that of the other 150,000, an 
surplus remained of 150,000 dollars. Thus the contribution amoun 
fo Be et a Oe cea aa 
