St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-03-18
now within 1852 miles of the City of Mex
leo, and every mile of the road is now
ON I,r,r,c .r.,


leo, and every mile of the road is now
FULL OF INTEREsT
The population becomes more dense
and the vegetation increases in luxuri-
ance. We pass through immense and
well-cultiyated haciendas and populeus
towns and cities with glittering church
spires, beautiful plaZas, cleanly swept
streets, and the people in picturesque
costumes content to sun themselves;
thankful that sunshine is so cheap ana
plentiful" Upward and still upward
we continue on, climbing grades which
1t seems impossible to surmount. wind
ing our way in and out, almost over the
village of Ocoyoacac, thousand feet
beneath US. Further upward we have
yet to. go, and as we mount higher
and then, first ON one side, then
on the other, glimpses of the scenery
below until, as we near the summit, the
whole broad valley of the Lerma lies
displayed before us. At THE foot of the
mountain the river. like silver ribbon;
beyond the green and fertile valley, dot
ted with here and there hacienda or
hamlet; in the far distances the snow
topped mountain, and nesting at its
foot the white walls and warm, red-tiled
roofs of TOluca. A few more turns and
the fair view is shut out, and we still
continue skyward. On the left clear
stream leaps and gurgles in its devious
way down the mountain. This is the
head of the river Lerma, which finally
emptieS its waters into the Pacific. At
Salazar, built on plain near the sum-
NIT, we halt for some ten minutes.
Here cup of coffee may be obtained.
The air is found to have become sharp,
for we are now at an altitude of nearly
1000 feet. Leaving SalaZar, we con-
tinue to ascend until we reach La Gina.
Here the descent beguns, a tunnel is
passed through, and little by little the
glorious beauty of the noble valley of
Mexico begins to unfold itself. Through
the gaps in the mountain wall we catch
tteeting views of the panorama, until
finally it bursts like
A VISION OF FARMLAND
full upon the sight. The glittering tow
erS and domes of Mexico in the middle
distance; little further and to the left
the broad eXpanSe of the waters of the
lakes cleaning in the sunlight like bur-
nished silver; beyond, and overshadow-
ing all, raising their snow-crowned
heads far above cOrOnal of rainbow
tinted clouds wreathing them about,
stand in majestic beauty, like guardians
watching mutely over the whole fair
scene, the giants of the valley, Ixtac-
cihuatl and Popoeatepetl. Could they
but speak, what history might they
unfold. The building up of cities and
their throwing down; what opulence of
power. what cruelty and crime and
bloodshed! Races have come and
gone; majestic monuments raised by the
hand of man melted into dust and are
forgotten. They alone remain immuta-
bic, the hand of time dealing with them
but lightly. Circling down the mount
ain, we continue on over the bridge of
Dos Rios, 200 feet long by 80 feet
high, built strongly of iron. The
mountain sides are thickly cultivated,
the Indians taking advantage of every
spot where earth will cling to the rocks,
We pass Rio Hondo and Naucalpan,
and at last arrive at Tacuba, at the
mountains foot. In a few moments we
are at our journeys end in the fair City
of Mexico. whose history and traditions
are no more interesting and romantic
than its situation is grand and beauti-
full" will speak of the city, its peo-
pie and surroundings in another letter.