The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1874-07-25

trunk, and proceeded to form procession
toward the Douana.
How we ever found all our trlps at the
Custom House, never can tell, for the
crowd and hubbub was great.
AT last they were examined, aud chalk.
ed all right by the officers, and thon com
menced another battle (6ercer than ever
fernando Cortcz had with Aztec y the
land pirates all wanted to carry our effects
to our hotel. Another piece of financier.
ing resulted in bargain, with nobody
knew whom, to take the entire contract
for two dollars and as every individual
soul Of them claimed the bargain, they al
accompanied us round the narrow corner
and up by the handsome little Plaza, Ia
the Hotel Diligencias. There being nc
carriages of any sort in Vera Cruz, VIC
marched in body to the hotel, accompa.
nying our baggage, and surrounded by
nearly all the idle scalawag population Of
the "City Of the True Cross" No end Of
NANCY looking dogs, and hungry looking
turkey-buzzards wandered and sailed about
our procession, which finally reached the
Diligencias, where we were to pitch oul
encampment for the night. A slight Skin,
mish with the pirates, who each carried
up the huge staircase Of the strange old
hotel portion of our baggage, and who
each demanded two dollars for his share
of the quarter of an hours labor, aud VIC
were left in peaceful possession of oui
goods and our rooms, for they followed us
quite into the private apartments and drove
us nearly wild with their ragged appear.
ances and uproarious demands.
Vera Cruz is pretty little city, and il
it was not for its usually unhealthy climate,
would be longer visited by travellers than
II is. The streets are wide and clean, al.
though there are but few Of them, and the
houses and inhabitants are picturesque and
interesting. Our hotel was situated on o
beautiful plaza or square in the heart Of
the city, filed with rich green trees and
shrubs, full of flowers, and birds enough
to literally gil the air with their sweet
songs. The night was bright moonlight
and after our excellent Spanish dinner we
gentlemen lighted our Havana cigars, and
leaned over the great balcony of our apart.
ment, looking out upon the loyeliest scene
imaginable. The other three sides of the
little square were formed by the most pic.
turesque old Spanish churches and build
ings in Mexico. Our rooms opened out
Of great court which was used partly as
dining-salOon, partly billiard-saloon, and
partly general lounging place for all the
noisy idlers in the city, so that our slum-
bcrs were slightly disturbed; but we got
along reasonably well through the night
(Mr. B and the Colonel from their
beds watching noisy game of ten-pin
billiards until they fell asleep, and Mrs.
c. and I fighting mosquitoes until we
fell asleep.) The bells Of the very many
churches rang for some sort Of prayers
most all might, and when they were not
ringing for dcvotions they were promiscu-
ously striking the hours, and the quarters,
and the halves, and the three-quarters, and
altogether, We had very merry time Of ii
until morning, when the buzzards, and the
song birds, and the dogs, and the donkeys
commenced their concert.
1t was so scorching hot in Vera Cruz
that We determined to leave Immediately
for the interior; SO, after breakfast the
next day, we formed into line of battle
again, and again escorted by all the land
pirates, dogs, donkeys, and buzzards of the
Villa Rica del Vera Cruz (Rich City of
the True Crosse we proceeded to the rail
road depot.
TRAVEL BY RAIL.-Formerly, up to
within year, the only mode of travel in
this country was by diligence, mule-back,
or foot ao,o, however, there is a splendid
railroad, managed chiefly by the English,
and travelling is, at present, almost as
comfortable, and nearly as safe us in any
part Of the world. To be sure, the govern
ment, or rather the railroad, sends an
entire car full Of soldiers, armed to the
teeth, tciM ereyy train, to protect it from
the mountain robbers; but that only makes
it lively and interesting for the travellers,
you see. Now and then train is stopped,
and oftentimes band Of two or three
hundred miscreants Ego through" the
passengers, taking not only their money
and yaluablcs, but nearly all their clothes;
this, however, is not frequent, and although
We had many misgivings on our journey
when We stopped at lonely spots, or had
rough looking, armed Mexicans peering
into our car windows, We, on the whole,
didn't quake much of the time. The run
ming trip from Vera Cruz to the City of
Mexico is only eighteen hours duration,
yet the expenses of the road, the guards,
etc. are so great that the fare for each
person, with single trunk, was twenty
one dollars gold.
The train We took was what is called
mixed train, u freight train with one pas
sengcr car attached. This we awaited
ourselves of in order to see more leisurely
oil the little Indian and Mexican towns
through which We passed, and at which
our "mixed train" stopped sometimes as
much as half an hour, giving us plenty Of
time to wander about the stations and see
the inhabitants, buy their odd fruits, make
sketches, and perambulate generally, which