The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-12-03
RAILROADS IN MEXICO.

TbeTexas a. Pacific Extension Being Push
ed With Great Energy-A Bright Prospect
For American Enterprise and Mexican
Development.
LAREDO. Mexico, November, l6.-Ihe
railway construction of the Texas Il Ia
cifc extension hereabouts is wonderfully
progressing. In a short time at this point
there will be a bridge across the Rio Grande
500 feet long, and in height 60 feet, Al
though the line into the City of Mexico by
This route is about 500 miles long, it is at
least POO miles shorter than by any other
route and has the advantage of being a
obee line.n The only really heavy work
in construction will be during climb Of
fine mountains-for 50 niles with rising
Grade lat a cost, however, of only S4O,WO
milel of 7,O0) feet spread over ~ miles.
With this exception the road to Mexico
will be of easy grades and light work. me
rise to the summit ofthis mountain climb
is MS easy as and more direct than any other
road, and these 80 miles run directly
through the coal, iron, silver and gold
mines of the State of Hidalgo, which are
the richest in Northern and Eastern Mex
leo. When the road reaches Mice,
which is 50 miles south OF Laredo, at the
foot of the mountain, the route is either
through or adjacent to Q very rich
country, already partially occupied
with cotton, sugar, coffee anu other
plant ations These grow two yearly crop
by merely planting the necessary seeds
with stick without even disturbing the
sod. In fact they recall the famous old
Greek expression, tickle the ground with
a hoe and it laughs with a harvest" No
one who has been over the ground can
doubt that this is the best time in the
Mexican Republic both in an engineering
and commercial point of view. The track
will very soon reach Laredo ~ rs only %
miles distant and going down at mile per
day) and then, rs the surveys are well
advanced, work will be at once
opened for another hundred miles. Thus
far the enterprise has had no friction with
the Mexican Government, and indeed,
there is now here an engineer whom 1t has
sent to overlook the route. His knowledge
was mainly theoretical, but one OF the con-
tractors has taken him entirely over the
system of roads so as to famularlze MN
practically with the manner oil building ana
class of structures. Thus far the Mexican
engineer is much pleased The Corpus
Christi road is completed to Laredo, but ii
is of little use to its owners, as 1t has
cost $4 to So per ton to take Its material
over the Arkansas bar at the entrance to
Corpus Christi harbor, outside of which
many ships laden with rails have lain at an
enormous cost for even twenty-five days at
time The shipments of this road are
now being changed to New Orleans, which
may or may not be q more economica
point. The manager of the construction
the Corpus Christi Road has an immense
retinue and following at the constructor
Headquarters, and the building cannot but
be mt a great cost This road is, however
building good narrow-gauge. A tenn
porary bridge over the Rio Grande is abou
completed for it, and if the manage
shall get his material in time he can begii
construction on the west side of the rive
in about thirty days. The Texas Pacific
extension Just beyond Laredo-say forty
miles south-will strike fine coal, anc
again 800 miles onward and again $50 mile:
north of Mexico-where there are heavy
yeins-al of which will largely advantage
the roads The future Mexican business OF
this part of the line will be much large
than its friends have hitherto supposed
The towns of Old and New Laredo hav'
about $ 600 inhabitants, and draw bushes
from very large extent of country. Tn
moment transportation into this point |
given TO them, the line-which all along TIL
route to Mexico tapsa very large area o
population-will attract settlers ana capital
- New York World.