The Osceola times., 1884-05-31


railway traffic is light in Mexico. The
city is compact, lacking the magnificent
distances" of st. Louis or Washington
and there is but small proportion of
inhabitants too rich TO walk or too poor
to take carriage. Street cars, according
ly, are in waiting for every train. 1t is
hardly possible TO take the wrong one
for they all go to the same place by par
allel routes, if, indeed, more than one
line reaches your raiiway station. There
are three classes of street cars. One can
ride for three cents, or he may pay six
cents, or perhaps twelve cents. The
three start together and make the round
trip together, one alter the other only
short distance apart. One would think
the public would be better served If the
frst-class car, we're to leave the plaza on
its regular journey at 10 O'Clock, the sec
ond-class at 10: 10, the tfird-class ut 10: 20
and the first-class again at 10 80. But
that is not the style. The three start
together at 10 o'clock, and there is no
other before 1890.
The first class cars are as large, as hand
some and as clean as anv in st. Louis,
and of the common American style.
Most of them have come from the John
Stephenson Company of New York,
whose name appears on these vehicles
in every city in the United States. l
have seen only one city with horse rail-
roads IN which the first class are not
really what their name implies. Even
little Orizaba has an excellent outfit.
Zacatecas alone is behind the times.
The second class cars are not greatly in
ferior TO the first, but third are little
better than cattle-pens. They are mere
shells, painted some dirty color, if at all,
with little bits of windows, short, high
platforms, no end of dirt and a stufy
appearance. Besides the ordinary seats,
two more run lengthwise in the center,
back TO back, with the rarrowest possi-
BILE aisle on either side. The seats are
of the hardest coarse wood. A third
class car full of poems of both sexes,
smoking vile tobacco, and generally
loaded down with dirty bundles, is not
an ninviting apartment. Smoking is al.
lowed in vehicles of every class, first as
well as third, and on steam no less than
horse railroads.
ON THE RAIL.
Once aboard and under way we shall
make some interesting discoveries. Con-
duetors on some lines use the bell regis
ter, but one device to keep the employees
honest, apparently to be super-excellent,
prevails everywhere. One man collects
the money, giving ticket in return, and
this ticket is taken up by second serv-
ant of the company. The conductor car.
Ties curious book like check-book, or
railway Communication coupon ticket,
whose leaves make succession of lit
tie, square street-car tickets.
These bear the name of the company
and the price of the ride. The conduc-
tor is also provided with a formidable
pair of shears. Drawing these out of
his pocket with the book, snips off.
one corner and hands it over to you
Presently the collector boards the car,
and going through it, gathers in the in
significant bits of cheap paper. This
arrangement apparently precludes
knocking down." except by collision
between the conductor, the collector and
the passenger. 1t prevails everywhere.
The conductors are slow and awkward.
To calculate change seems to require
herculean efforts.
AS a rule, unless you have the right
coin, you will be cheated out of cent or
two. The conductors often find it con-
veniently impossible to gave back exact
ly the right when offered 25-cent or
30-cent piece. and of course no one can
he mean enough to make fuss over a
centavo, or even a quartillo The driv-
ers, l should say, are all short-sighted.
They seldom see the would-be passenger
until they are close upon him, and then
the way they screw down the brake is a
caution! One would think the driver
lancied his life depended on coming to
a full stop in half car-length. The
mules are unusually small. have seen
them driven two abreast, as in the
States, doubled up" two teams togeth-
er, and tandem, according to the charac-
ter of the grades and the style of the
line.
Narrow gauge roads are not infrequent.
The cars everywhere make excellent
time, the drivers, in fact, drive like
Jehu, for they drive fu-iously-not too
furiously, but just fast enough to put the
roads at home TO shame. But 1t is to be
said for Mexico that the lines are every
where level. There are no grades in
this city. The rails of the track are
generally heavier than with us, and
they often lie wholly above ground, like
steam railroad iron. Throughout the
country car-drivers are provided with
tin horns, which they blow vigorously
when approaching intersecting streets,
This constant footing is the greatest nov
city about tram.car riding here. One
can sometimes easily imagine himself
at home on the night before the Fourth.