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Patzcuaro
(Michoacan)

October

Patzcuaro, Michoacan -

Oct. 5th I left San Luis & returned to Patzcuaro to complete some work I had in hand there. En route I heard of a recent bread riot that took place the last of Sept. in the state capital Morelia.

The government has been supplying the people with U.S. Corn at 9 cts. [[strikethrough]] an al [[/strikethrough]] a quarteron the cost price of imported corn, but the supply became exhausted & then some local parties who had corn at once put the price at 36 cts. a quarteron. The poor people therefore arose en mass and as it was supposed that the corn ws held by agents of the Catholic clergy, a cry of "Death to the Clergy" was raised & the mob swept down the street. The governor & Jefe Politico did their best to quiet the people, and the usurers in fear of their lives opened their warehouses & their corn was quickly distributed among the people at the former price of 9 cts. The people, numbering several thousand, then dispersed quietly to their homes without a single act of violence so far as I could

Transcription Notes:
quarteron = obsolete for a quarter of a pound