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Show 388 FORTY YEARS AMONG THE INDIANS. have snow there. My friend, you must study the geogra-phy of Mexico a little. If you will look upon the map of Mexico and find the State of Chihuahua you will observe a district of country showing where several streams head and run off in different direc-tions, some running for hundreds of miles north ; so you see, on entering the State of Chihuahua on the north one travels up- hill for several days. The facts are that some of the finest and most fertile mount-ain valleys of that country are, as shown by meas-urement, two thousand feet higher than Salt Lake val-ley. So, if Zion is to be built up in the tops of the mountains, we lack two thousand feet of being there yet. Then you mean to say the climate is temperate? Yes ; the altitude preserves us from the heat. While being so far south, the winters are moderate; all who have ever lived in the district admit that it has a fine climate. What are the products? Corn, beans, potatoes, melons, cabbage, onions and anything common to a tem-perate climate, and good, mellow soil is or can be raised. How about fruits is there much raised there? While it is one of the best fruit countries possible, judg-ing from what I have seen, there is but little progress yet by the natives, as fruit raisers. Why is this? Simply this like in most everything else the people are a long way behind. They know nothing about grafting or budding fruits ; they plant the seeds and let them grow often in clusters, and take what comes. I have seen some of the finest seedling apples that were ever produced, picked from trees grown in a thick clump, without any cultivation whatever. Also pears, apricots, plums and such hardy fruits common to a temperate climate. |
