Weber. Alb. F. 



San Luis Potosi October 10,1866 



ReceivedNov. 12 

 Ans. Nov. 15 



Sir and Honored Colleague, 



I will make a new attempt to correspond with you, today that I have returned to calmer regions than in 

 the north of Mexico, where I had been already for one year. After your kind response to my first letter 

 response that I received in Monterrey towards the end of October 1865, 1 wrote two times: the first from 

 Saltillo in November and the second from China (close to Matamoros) in April 1866. This last letter 

 was accompanied with the first dispatch of documents (description of large Cierges) and a remittance of 

 seeds of a fairly large number of species. Those letters remained with no answer and therefore I do not 

 know lf you have received them. The first was placed in the Mexican post office and should have 

 traveled by Mexico City and Veracruz. This letter had to travel through a large area of the country 

 infested by bands of guerillas, before it arrived at the port. They frequently robbed our couriers. 

 Therefore it would not be surprising if it did not arrive in your hands. But the second was sent with a 

 convoy of troops from China to Matamoros. I had addressed it to a business in Matamoros. Mr. Brach, 

 Schonfeld and Co., who would then send it to the USA. I know that it arrived safely in Matamoros 

 because I received responses to other letters included in the same package. I therefore believe that you 

 did receive it and I therefore think that it is your response that has been lost. 



You can imagine how disagreable this insecurity of the couriers is and how much it has cooled my most 

 ardent wishes. 



Thankfully, today I returned from an area of the country that is in peace and where the dispatches 

 circulate quite safely. I also hurry to answer so as to testify my desire to renew our relations, interrupted 

 by the difficulties in the Communications during my stay in the north. Today I could little by little 

 arrange the notes that 1 have gathered from Veracruz to the Rio Grande and little by little send you all 

 my work. I would like to extend my observations to the complete family of Cacti. 



During the past months I undertook the difficult study of the Opuntia, that, until then I had not had the 

 courage to attack. In spite of the extreme difficulty that I have in rearranging this chaos and perhaps 

 because of this difficulty, I will be very happy to submit to you my observations on this subject. At this 

 moment I could send you certain documents, more or less complete, among which are the Echinocactus, 

 the Anhalonium, the Aulacothele, the Cylindropuntia, etc. What stops me is the uncertainty of knowing ' 

 if you are receiving my letters. If you would be so kind as to reassure me in this regard, I will, with 

 pleasure begin the task and Start sending you regulär dispatches. 



I don't believe I will stay in San Luis Potosi very much longer and I believe that before the end of the 

 year I will be in Mexico City. 



The evacuation of the French army has begun and will continue without interruption. I plan to leave 

 with the last of the troops. All of this will take about 1 year. 



