The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-10-01

juice is the wine Of the country, pulque. tt
distilled juice is mescal, liquor Of COM
merce. From its fbres thread, sacks and
ropes are made and its pulp yields abundant
ly paper akin to parchment.
Under the mountains, at no
great distance on either coast,
sugsr-cane, coffee, bananas, plantans,
tobacco, oranges, pnespples, vanilla, sarsa-
parilla, cocoa and cacso, cherimoyas, zapo
ties, ciruelas, and scores Of other fruits, with
dye-woods, medicinal herbs, rosewood and
mahogany grow to perfection. The noun
tains everywhere, so far 40 known, hold
boundess treasures In gold, silver and coal.
Their sides and submits are crowned with
majestic oaks and pines, and from their base
to the coast are inexhaustible forests OF tim
Der tor cross-ties and bridging, that are as
durable us bois dare or mosquit--timber
that never decays.
In the year 1865 travelled leisurely in an
ambulance, with two mule wagons, from
Pledras Negras over this route to the city Of
Mexico, and especially noted its adaptation
as railroad route, and sojourned in that
country five years. 0mitting three small To-
calities, hazard the declaration that it is as
well adapted to that purpose as the route
from Cairo to Chicago, or from Houston to
Red river.
The first obstruction is the Rim
eonada, little nest-like valley,
between Monterey and Saltillo, not over two
miles in distance, and easily avoided BY q
slight curve on the ridge enclosing the valley.
The next is small rocky ridge, between the
hacienda of AL Jara the richest landed eS-
tate in America, and San Felipe. From val
Icy to valley across this ridge, a sort of
bridge between valleys, is not over two miles,
the elevation not over two hundred feet, and
easily avoidable by following the base of the
chief mountain on an easy grade. The
third and last, by the wagon road, is through
the little mountains of Tepeji, sixty miles
this side of the City of Mexico. They are
very rugged, but may bO wholly avoided by
a slight detour TO the east into the head Of
the valley of the lake Sau Cristobal, along
which and the lakes of Xochimilco and Tez.
cuco is y level plain into the city.
Now, gentlemen, take these facts into con
Giderati on with the other well-known sur
roundings. First, that the great interior
basins of Mexico are practi.
cally walled in by towering
mountains from their own seaports, having
but single railway from Vera Cruz to the
city.
SECONDLY, That Vera Cruz is the abiding
place OF the yomito-its harbor, though deep
and spacious, exceedingly dangerous and
often sealed for days and weeks by tempes-
tuous northers; that Acapulco, on the Pacific,
though one of the best harbors in the world,
a. hot, sickly, and cut of from tho interior,
excepting by PACK animals, not even accessi-
pie by carts or wagons. Consider these
things and you will more fully realize the
rich commerce, and boundless wealth that
vii pay tribute to any railway connection
with the United States along these delightful
ia lle land vales, in rs healthy region as
exists on the globe, free from les and snow,
and yet so temperate and invigorating as
almost to eLherislze human existence.
Forget not that from the City of Mexico,
in latitude 1870 north-in1eed from lis rich de-
Tendencies, OSxaca, Guerrero, etc, three
degrees farther south--to Chicago, in latitude
AZ ., this great interior continental line
passes through every variety of climate from
the tropics to the great lakes of the north,
challenging continuous interchange OF
commodltios-sucha commerce rs Is impos-
sible on line running east and west on the
same parallels of latitude. Remember also,
that Of the ten millions of people in Mexico
at least seven millions will be- directly or lat
erly reached by this route; that the passen-
ger traffic from that country alone would be
enormous, and their importation of agricul-
tural and other improved implements from
the United States would be astounding TO
those unacquaintod with the resources OF
that country, and the spirit of progress and
improvement abroad smo..,, its people.
Respectfully,
JOIN HENRY Brown.