The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1881-12-08
RAILROADS. m amsooo


Tho Tesas a Pacific Extension fieinG Fash
ed with dfeat Energy--A bright Prospect
rOr American Enterprise ana Mexican
DeveiOpment.
LAREDO, MExfoo, November. iG,--Thc
railway construction Of the Texas Il PG'
clnc extension hercabouts Is wonderfully
progressing. In short time at this point
there will be bridge across the Rio Grandc
900 feet long, and in height GO feet. Al
though the line into the City Of Mexico by
this route Is about 800 miles long, II Is at
least 200 miles shorter than by any other
route and has the advantage Of being 8
"bee line" The only really heavy work
in construction will be during II climb OF
the mountains for so miles with rising
grade TAT cost, however, of only $4,000 a
mile) of 1000 feet spread over 50 miles
With this exception the road to Mexico
will be of easy grades and light work. The
rise to the summit OF this mountain ciiino
is as 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 t, very rich
country, already partially occupied
plan tations. These grow two yearly crop
by merely planting the necessary seeds
with q 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 lit is only 20
miles distant and going down at mile per
day. and then, as the surveys are well
advanced, work will be at once
opened for another hundred miles. Thus
far the enterprise has had nofriction 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 familiarize him
practically with the manner Of building and
class of structures. Thus far the Mexican
engineer is much pleased. The Corpus
Christi road is completed to Laredo. but 1t
is of little use to its owners, as it has
cost 81 to SO per ton to take its material
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 a more economical
point. The manager of the construction OF
the Corpus Christi Road has an immense
retinue and following at the construction
headquarters, and the building cannot but
be at a great cost. This road is, however,
building good narrow-gauge: A tenn
porary bridge over the Rio Grande is about
completed for it, and if the manager
shall get his material in time he can begin
construction on the west side of the river
in about thirty days. The Texas & Pacific
extension Just beyond Laredo-say forty
miles south-will strike fine. coal, and
again 800 miles onward and again $50 miles
north of Mexico-where there are heavy
veins-all of which will largely advantage
the roads. The future Mexican business on
this part of the line will be much larger
than it's friends have hitherto supposed.
The towns of Old and New Laredo have
about 5000 inhabitants, and draw business
from very large extent, of country. The
moment transportation into this point is
given to them, the line-which all along the
route to Mexico taps very large area of
population-will attract settlers and capital.
New York World.