St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-09-23
THE MARVELS OF MEXICO.
Railroad Ties Of Mahogany and Stations
of Fine Marble.
THROUGH FORESTS OF EBONY

A Description Of the Country About to
Be Opened Up Reads Like the
"Arabian Nights"
City of Mexico Letter in Kansas City Times
l have travelled over many miles of
Mexican territory, and can truthfully
say that the hitherto unknown country
that is now being penetrated and
opened up to the world by the Monte
rey s. Gulf railroad is the finest l have
ever seen. A truthful statement re-
garding this wonderful country reads
like romance taken from the arabian
Nights" and to describe 1t as it de-
serves it would be necessary to have at
hand collection of the most
graphic adjectives and the most
daring comparisons that ever leaped
from the pen of Miguel Cervan-
ties OF from the mouth of the erratic
Don himself. This portion of Mexico
is just now like Kansas was twenty-five
years ago, when countless thousands OF
buffalo and wild horses secured the
pIdillo dill LILO IdlblcSudhC dlu CONOIC
disputed the possession of the cabin
occupied with the real estate boomer
and his fireWater on the now pOpulous
banks of the raging Kaw. This road,
like many others in the Mexican repub-
lie, is owned and operated by enterpriS-
ing Americans. The first shovelful of
dirt was thrown in Monterey Feb. 1,
1889, and the last post at this writing
reads: 'Kilometer 1885," 1t is conf
IDENTIFY expected that the road will be
finished in connection with gulf steam
ers at Tamplco in about two years. time,
and it will, when completed. traverse
one of the richest regions in the Next
can republic.
Leaving Monterey the road skirts the
left base of the Sierra Madres mount
aims and crosses lovely valley COW
cred with tall pampas grass and myriads
of wild flowers of rarest tint and beauty.
The thick mesquite is literally alive
with quail. and small herds of antelope
show their white tails to the train as
they Scamper away across the rolling
prairie. As the train penetrateS the in
terror of this wild country the under
growth becomes dense and tropical.
On each side of the train it appears to
the view like one solid wall of living.
twisting cottonwood trees, beautifully
festooned with hoary Spanish moss and
creeping vines. Parrots in countless
numbers, with plumage of gorgeous
colors, fit through the trees, coekatOos
with long, beautiful tail feathers and
with crested heads scream defiance as
they disappear among the thick trees,
and suddenly, as the train energies
from the forest into an open plain, we
catch fleeing glimpse of splendid
herd of wild horses that are just
disappearing with the speed of
the wind over the brow of distant
ridge. Forests of giant cactus soon be-
gin to appear, and, shortly, the train
pulls into the station of MOntemorelos,
the present terminus of the track. The
finest oranges in all Mexico grow in this
region, and it is a curious fact that
around the city of Montemorelos there
is patch of ground that just measures
5000 acres on which this class of Or
anges grow, and twenty feet outside of
this seemingly charmed circle an orange
tree does not seem to thrive nor the
fruit acquire that delicious flavor which
makes it famous, and which by some
mysterious means it acquires in this
particular spot. The orange crop in
this place last year amounted to 100000
at the ratio of One-half cent per orange
The fruit season in this district begins
in October and lasts till January. These
celebrated oranges are large, with thick
skins, and are so sweet that after COM
ing in contact with the juice of one of
them your fingers are as sticky as if YOU
had been handling honey. montenegro
los neStleS coZily among the foothills of
a spur of the Sierra MadreS mountains,
and is a great market for the large
qantltieS of tanbark which the natives
bring down from the mountains. This
bark is shipped to the capital and other
large cities of the republic.
AT Montemorelos we left the train,
and, mounting the horses that were in
waiting, ''toOk to the woods" For
hours we rode along under grand old
forest trees, down beautiful shady ave-
nues where 1t seemed that surely the
hand of man had been at work aiding
in the formation of those splendidly
laid-Out groves; for the tall trees. rising
in perfect order on each side, formed an
arch over our heads which the ardent
rays of the tropical sun scarcely pene-
trated, so dense was it. In the evening
we camped by cool mountain stream
fairly alive with fine trout. and, after
partaking of splendid trout supper,
we rolled ourselves in our blankets pre-
parat0ry to sleeping. and later ON
found that it was indeed a preparatory
measure and nothing more, for the for
est seemed alive with parrots. and the
noise they made was deafening. l
shouted at them, and my shouts were
returned with tenfold interest, until
the woods rang with a screech-
ing that sounded like the noise
of a thousand demons. The
next day we trayersed 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 afterwards learned, was
engaged in the interesting business of
manufacturing mOonshine tequila. As
We entered the house was surprised to
see what took to be fine PIANO top
which he was using for counter. /
asked him what it was and received the
startling reply that it was ebony. IL
was as black as coal, and was polished
until it shone like a looking glass. 1t
proved to be as he said, for the next
day we rode for miles through magnifi-
cent forests of mahogany and ebony
trees. 1t may seem strange, but it is
the plain truth-for miles and miles
through this country the Monterey q
Gulf railroad will use mahogany ties.
and the timber used in the construction
of its bridges will he of the same ma.
terial, and often ebony will be used.
Vast forests of these precious woods
stretch for miles on either side of
the roadbed and the sound of the wood
mans ak has never yet disturbed the
stiffness of this virgin spot. Along the
line of this road rice, cotton, sugar, cot
fee and corn are raised, and of the latter
three crops a year. Oranges, lemons
and an infinite variety of fine semi
tropical fruits grow wild. A saw mill
is unknown in this district. and vet this
read will cross sixteen goed-sized rivers
before it reaches Tampico.
The strangest part of all this is that
this land, open or wooded, can be pur-
chased for 10 cents an acre, and there
are thousands Of acres of it. 1t paws no
taxes, and the owners of it are the pro-
prietorS of so many thousands of acres
that they probably have never visited it
at all and do not care to take the trouble
=,