The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-09-21
TIE MARvELs OF MEXICO.
,.urosd Ties of Mahogany and Sta
lions of Fine Marble.
From the Kansas City Times.

.
- titberto unkno Nn country that is now
haiac penetrated and opened up to the
- nv the Monterey and Gulf railroad
-, finest have ever seen. A truthful
Il ". 4n'1snt regard z this wonderful country
1ssds ike romance TAKEN rom tle
TealS'bian Nights" and, to describe 1t as 1t
AI-es II would be necessary to have at
o1sei collection of the most graphic
h4 1l'.+ivas and the most daring COM
alJes that ever leaped from the
pa of Miguel Cervantes or from
q Itl mouth of the erratic Don himself. This
Lor,j6n of Mexico is just now like Kansas
Plras twenty-five years ago, wnen countess
"~--,,sords of buffalo and wild horses secured
q ll...-Isins and the rattlesnake and coy te
tL9F,tad the possession Of the cabin occu-
~ 18th the real estate boomer and his
g--etar on the now populous banks of the
moin-r Kaw This road, like many others
!-5be Nex,ca republic, is owned and OPP
ted by enterprislng Americans Inc
s,st sboyelful of dirt was thrown IN Mon
~ Eeb i. 1889, and the last post on the
Nloy - his writing reads: "Kilometer
80 II is confidently expected that the
"a a-iu he fl alshed and in connect. on with
4 .ba CnU steamers at Tampico in about two
20 =, t,rne. and it will, when completed,
;;,esversa o e # the richest regions IN the
Il Mexican republic.
TaavIng Monterey the road skirts the left
base of the Sierra Madres mountains and
i crosses a lovely valley covered with tall
Tan,nas q ass and myriads of wild flowers
~ rarost TINT and beauty. The thick mes
mite Is literally alive with quail, and small
lords Of antelope show their white tails to
the train as they scamper away across the
yoling prairie AS the train peuetrates the
;Stari0r of tnis wild country the under
growth becomes dense and tropical On
each side If the train it appears to the view
Iiva ON. solid wall of living twisting cotton
wood trees. beautifully festoo ed with
hoarv Spanish moss and creeping vines.
Parrots III countless numbers with plum
ACE of gorgeous cOlors, fit through
the trees. cockatyos with long, beautiful
fail feathers and with crested heads scream
4 defiance as they disappear among the thick
Z trees and sudde ily, as the train emerges
from the rest into an open PLAIN, we
4 eaten a flee G glimpse OF splendid herd
of wild horses that are just disappearing
4 with the speed of the wind over the brow
of a distant ridge Forests of giant cactus
soon tegin to appear. and shortly the train
Il mills mic the station Of MontemoreloS, tie
3 nresent terminus of the track. The finest
Il oranges in all Mexico grow In this region,
and it is a curious fact that around
4 the city of Moptenorelos there is a
Il match of ground that Just measures 5000
81 groE, and twenty feet outside OF
q this seemingly charmed circle an
n orange tree does not seem to thrive nor the
y uit ACQUIRE that delicious flavor which
s. makes it famous, and winch by some mys-
Il ferrous means it acquires III this particular
a spot The orange c-oN in this place last
a wear amounted to 100000 at the ratio of u
cent per orange. Tue fruit season in this
81 district begins in October and lasts till jan
H cd q
q with thick skins, aid are so sweSt that after
a coming il cont tct with the juice of one of
them your fingers are as sticky as if you
q had been ha ding honey. Montemorelos
neSies cczily among the foothills If q spur
a Of tue Sierra Madre mountains, and is a
great market for the large quantities of tan
bark which the natives brig down from
the Mountains. This bark is shipped to the
CAPT al and other large cities of the republic.
81 At Montemorelos we left the train, and,
q mounting the horses that were in waiting,
took to e woodsn For hours we rode
q along under grand old forest t. ees, down
BEAUTIFUL shady ave ues, where it seemed
n that surely tue hand of man had been at
work aiding in the formation Of those
spendidly laid out groves; for the tall trees,
rising in perfect order on each side, formed
an arch owe, our heads, which the ardent
rays of the tropical sun scarcely penetrated,
50 dense was it. In the evening we camped
4 by a cool mountain stream fairly alive with
fine trout, and, after part king of a
Splendid trout supper, we rolled ourselves
in our blankets preparatory to sleeping, and
later on l found thai it was indeed q
preparatory measure and nothing more,
for the forest seemed alive with
parrots, and the noise they made
was d afening. | shouted at them, and
my shouts were returned with tenfold inter
est, until the woods rang with screeching
that sounded like the noise of thousand
demons. The next day We traversed a very
open country with an occasional patch of
woods, and, late in the evening, drew rein
at the small mud hut of native who we
after"ard learned was engaged IN the inter
eStlng business Of manufacturing moonshine
tequlla. AS we entered the house / was
n surprised to see what l took to be a fine
plano top which he was using for a counter.
asked him what it was and received the
Startling reply that it was an ebony. 1t was
4 as bl OK as coal and was polished until it
$40 g like a looking glass. 1t proved to be as
Ne said, for the next day we rode for miles
through mag iiceut forests of mahogany
and ebony trees. 1t may seem strange, but
1t Is the PLAIN truth-for miles and miles
trough this country the Monterey 6 Gulf
4 laAroad VIII use mahogany ties, and the
/ umoer used IN the construction of its
olldges " Ill De Of the same material, and
often ebony will be used. Vast forests of
these precious woods stretch for miles on
either side of the road bed and the sound of
me woodman's ak has never yet disturbed
the stiffness of this virgin spot. Along the
inc OF this road rice, cotton, sugar, coffee
4 and corn are raised. and of the latter three
crops a year. Oranges, lemons and an in
unlte variety of fine semi-tropical fruits
grow Wild. A saw mill is unknown in the
district and yet this road i'll cross sixteen
good sized rivers before it reaches Tampico
The s-rangest part of all this is that this
and, cpe or wooded, can be purchased for
zen cents per acre, and there are thousands
oI acres Of it. 1t pays no taxes, and the
y" herS Of It are the proprietorS OF SO many
thousands of acres that they probably have
never visited il ali, and do not care to take
ene trouble to develop any resources that
may exist.
ms section of the country is a sports
Ia! In paradise, for as soon as it grows cold
~ Tue north thousands of wild geese and
L ii swarm on the bosons of the small
.dke' That abound in the vicinity. Here
tuey are never disturbed, for the natives
orc 700 poor to purchase ammunition
go So suitable firearms with which to hunt
TNeu' From my companion on this trip
j ESrned that a Kansas City man re-
& gu purchasd 800 parrots in this
81 oa .ot lcI Tor the munifcent sum Of II cents
q 80 80 and taking them to several Missouri
60" De sold them at an average price of
~ each. While many fine fruits grow
H n-N- Ii call f1- n