St. Landry democrat., 1881-10-29
MExHCO.

We have given an extract from Mr.. Men
dorff's letter, published in Forest and Stream,
in regard to railroad travel in Mexico. We
make the following extracts from his second
letter dated July 25tl, last at Maravatio:
After only two days in the City of Mexico we
We're transferred by Il short line railroad to lne
Mexican stage, which extends as far as the
town of Maravatio, $50 miles northwest or
Mexico, and midway between that city ana lile
Port of Manzanilla, on the Pacific Ocean, the
proposed terminus OF our contemplated rail-
road survey.
Transportation by mail is high the postage
to the City of Mexico is twenty-five cents,
while the transport of twenty-five pounds OF
merchandise of any kind to Vera Cruz costs
three dollars
This town of Maravatio, where I am now
stationed, is a rather pleasant-lOoklng place or
about four thousand inhabitants. Near by anu
in full sight is the volcano OfNeyado de Ioluca,
which rises to height of II, $50 feet, and Is, or
course, snowcovered at its summit. We came
here by far the larger part OF our Journey by
stage This is truly horrible affair to travel
in and is driven by mules which are frequently
changed. We carried i'll our OWL conveyance
seventeen passengers, and the conductor OF
pOstillion, whose chief and sole duty consists III
driving his mules, which feat he accompllshes
by the most deNterous use of a whip of about
twenty feet i'll length. This instrument he
| whirls like a lasso around his head, and can,
whenever needed, apply it specially to any
particular one of his long team OF nine mules.
whether it be the foremost OF i'll the rear:
Whenever he exercises thus his deNterous skill
he never fails to draw blood. The scenery
about Maravatio, after we arrived there, re
cOmpensed me for many privations we suffered
on the way. High rocky mountainous walls
arise almost perpendicularly everywhere, and
| through vast gorges the little river Ler1na
winds it's way. Every mile or so a hacienda,
strongly enough walled for any seige, embel-
fishes the picture. The stations ON the way to
structures, all surrounded by high and massive
| walls shall never forget the night our party
| slept at one Of them near Hardoban, little
town on the way from Yxhamalca to Marava-
| to- We arrived there tired and hungry. After
| supper, which was served on table so high
| that we could barely reach up to its edge with
our hands from our low seats, we were accom-.
modated with few rough mattresses and
| blankets. AS the night was very cold, we found
| good use for our own of heavy texture, or else
we would have actually suffered cold in July,
and THIS in latitude 20 deg. 40 mln., ana falrly
| within the tropics.
| There are no mosquitoes here, but legOns OF
| flies fill the bill OF annOyances. They lind good
pasturage on dogs of all kinds--mangy,l lean, hun
| CRY ours, of which every man about here owns
at least couple. The climate itself is otherwise
unsurpassed. and we have at this time of the
| year refreshing showers, which occur late in
| the afternoon most every day. The air, owing to
the high elevation, is so raritied that even such
| a trifiing eXertiOn going up stairs is fire.
| quently attended with cOpiOus bleeding at the
| nose, and we soon get entirely out of breath
| whenever we attempt to walk fast. Otherwise
| the atmosphere is remarkably pure. Large
pieces of fresh beef may hang i'll the open all
without any danger of decomposition; they
dry up gradually. Maravatio, where 1 am now
| temporarily stationed is built like any Other
Mexican town and consists chiefly of one-story
houses with brick walls, which surround al
| open courtyard, whereby every house is almost
| a sort of fortress-like square. The streets are
rather narrow, with sidewalks of about two
| feet in width, with a gutter in the center, which
keeps them tolerably clear Well-to-do people
live in rather comfortable quarters, but the
| poorer persons are housed in dirty cribs OF
| about fifteen feet in height and sixteen feet
square, with single room without any floor OF
| windows. The men wear only cotton shirts and
| pants of like material, while the women are
| attired in single loose sort of a ch6mise OF
| petticoat, without either bOnnets or foot gear
| Their children are half naked and very dirty.