, 1885-07-06
THE CITY OF JALApA
A Town hat Has Occupied the Pen oa
Poet aud Historian
fNfaxlc, T,.o gap,hI.. /

Poet aud Historian.
Mexico Two Rrpubii.sl
Among the most elevated peaks in
Mexican territory rises the Cofre
Urunk) Of Perote, on a colossal wall
crowned by the Star mountain, Crizaya,
which from a height Of nearly 10, 900
feet looks calmly out over the dark blue
waves OF the Mexican galf.
AT the feet OF the Cofre de Peroto Ia
the beautiful city Of Jalapa, justly
called the garden OF the republic, where
brilliant birds sing their litanies and
bright towers wave increasingly their
perfumed censers. All the exnberance
OF the tropics surrounds Jalapa. The
forests of lemons, oranges and mangoes
reach u toward every point in the
horizon, and the air is heavy with their
perfume. Tall, graceful reeds rock in
the breath of winds which wait lazily
up from the torrid coast. Under the
shadow of plantains grow the coffee
plants. The tobacco leaves surcharge
the atmosphere with their strong, pecu.
liar scent and recall the legend Of the
discovery of tobacco across the gulf in
Yucatan centuries ago. The vanilla
bean, with its precious extract and vol
atile oil, grows intended, its delicate
aroma lost in the oyerpowering odors
from a thousand open chalices Of fruit
and flower.
The bamboo sugar cane reaches an
extraordinary height under the hot sky
that bends above the nto of lalapa.
The reed-like water grass, carrying its
nutritious freightage of rice, grows as
rapidly as among the torrid marshes of
India and China. The golden crowns of
corn wave for miles along the sides Of
these Mexican Andes. and valuable dye
n gum woods and scores OF medicinal
plants are found around Jalapa.
Among the latter is ialap. the famous
cathartic, first imported from this tropi-
cal town in 1910, but now comparatively
rare in that vicinity.
Tiny torrents, struck from the granite
mountains by some invisible Moses,
ripple over the pebbly paxements OF
Jalapa, and, breaking into cascades, go
singing over beds of marble TO lose
themselves in rushing rivers. Under a
sky of amethyst is the eternal snow that
caps Crizaya: the hardy pines lower
down; the deep, dark forests, the wealth
OF tropical vegetation; every complexion
of vegetable growth-aretic, temperate,
and tropic-on the steppes that slope
from the summit to the sea.
The town Of Jalapa is 4, 900 feet above
sea level, and seventy miles from Vera
Cruz This mountain city is celebrated
for the magni cence of its scenery, the
beaut of its women and the sweetness
of its flowers. 1t has about 10, 600 in
habitants. Tho ch%ipichipi. or light driz-
cling rain. that often falls on Jalapa, is
about the only drawback to the tourist.
Jalapa was a town when Cortes first
climbed the great mountains that en-
circle the City of Mexico. IL was called
Xalapa, and near by is the town of Pc
rote where the American prisoners were
confined in ls47.
There are few towns in Mexico so hap
PLY situated. At a good height above
the sea coast, it is on the edge of the
plateau behind which towers tho sum
init Of Macultepec, and while it over
looks the rich lowlands of the TERRA
Caliente-Hot Lands-it escapes their
baneful vapors. The town lost much OF
Its Importance as a commercial entrepot
by the opening of the Mexican railway
via ORR ava from Vera Cruz to tho City
of Ne leo, but is now connected by
tramway with tho former. Among the
stone buildings of this town stands the
old franciscan monastery, built in 1865,
and looming up fore er among the fra
grant groves OF Jaiapa like a ghost to
guard this paradise.