San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-11-23
TRAVELS IN MEXICO.

Picturesque on the American
Continental Grand Piece of
Engineering Workshops
-Christening--Mi Miners
Personal
MONTEREY, MEN, Nov. IS, 1891.
To the DAILY LIGHT:
A few days ago, your correspondent
paid visit to the Guadalupe haconda,
which is on the line Of the Mexican Ma
tional railway, distance from Laredo 100
miles. We reached the station about a.
M. and was met by the night Waterman,
who escorted us TO sleeping quarters.
Sunday morning we were up in time to
see the sun light up the mountains, and
sip the dew drops that Sparkled from the
vine and rose bushes, and 10 enjoy the
mountain air. While there we took "a trip
over the
Ell CARMEN RAILWAY,
from the Guadalupe station to the Mi
mas VirjaS." old mines. The road passes
through the most rugged. rocky and pic
turesQue mountain scenery that your cor
respondent ever saw. The distance from
the station to the mines is twenty six
kilOmeterS, the grade is six feet per hun
bred. for twenty kilOmcterS of it there
For the distance of twenty kilometerS the
| road crosses deep chaSmS. enters dark
| canyons. twists around the mountains,
| around the edge of projecting cliffs far
| above the clouds into perpendicular
! rocks, then switches back and up
steep grade for distance Of three thouS-
and feet, then forward and upward, three
tracks, one above the other, then rounds
! up sharp curve. climbs among tall
| cedarS. live oak trees, the engine putting
| and blowing, and in places it scarcely
| makes any Roadway: the brakemen are
stationed at the brakes so that in case the
engine should give out they could hold
| the cars on the track until IL RECEIVERS
| breath. But the iron horse was equal to
| the occasion, it kept onward and upward
| until At reached the mines. which have an
| altitude of 5000 feet above the sea level.
From the mesa Uahlel 10 the mines is
| only three miles in Il direct line, but by
the road it is eight, and in that distance
the grade is over six per cent.
Between the mesa and the mines, is to
be seen some Of the grandeSt sights that
Edmond ever laid his eyes on. 1t is
simply
| SUBLIME AND TERRIFIC
and they have to be seen by the tourists
to be appreciated. As we rode on the
top of one of the cars. we had good OPP
pertunity of seeing the country for miles
around us. Right beneath the cars were
| deep dark gulches of from two to three
thousand feet, while OF to the north west
rs far AS the eye could reach were beauti-
full valleys, dotted in places with ranches:
4 while on the opposite side lOOmed I'D the
Carise muuatainS, the copper and iron
mountains, and the picturesque city OF
Candida, thirty miles away. AJrain rIn on
this road from the valley as il is ascend
ing is OneD of the most sublime sight that
VIC ever saw. The train looks as ifit was
Heating IN the air, and at every reVolu-
ton of the wheels 1hey throw out flashes
Of light as they press against the rails in
turning curves of the mountains, while
the tratu looks aike a meteor passing
1 ChrOgh space until it reach its deStina-
4ion. a ride over the
/ Ell CAGSIEN RAILROAD
is time well spent. The tourists that will
Jslake trip over it and visit the mines
will never regret 1t. Bat il takes nerve
to do it: to look down from the cars and
see the deep precipiceS over which they
are suspended by a serpentine road from
total destruction is something that few
men can Iook'at.
| Before the timd attempt such a trip
they should tie a handkerchief tight over
their head so as 10 prevent their hair
froRo rising up (bald headed men do not
nave 10 do III aud carrying them off this
| wonderland. They should also take their
| smelling bottle along and lay i'm "A good
supply If Kentucky hardware, as they
might need them before they return.
/ We were admOniShed To do so be
tore we went up. but As Edmond" is not
a. tendeI'toot Che has centcpedes
JarantuIaS, rattlcSnakcS and >cOrpi ms
| crawl ont from under his blankets while
camPing out and sleeping on the ground
| in this country. 50 that such friendly ad-
vice was unnecessary. But as there has
| not been an accident on this road since
! built, we;cOn>ider a trip over il perfectly
safe. The road bed and bridges are kept
| in thorough repair; the equipment is
| first class, and the management OF the
| read is in the hands OF scientific men.
TEE Ell CARMEN RAILROAD,
! was inaugurated when Col. James Baxter
1 was the general manager OF the mines.
| aud Col. Il. f. Larue general Superinten-
| dent. They employed Mr.. F. f. Butter
| field, eX-engineer of San Antonio. to make
| preliminary survey from the depot TO
| the mines for the purpose Of ascertaining
| II the road could be built, and what the
PROBABLE cost would be. This he did and
| as soon as he made his report they told
him to go ahead and build the road. He
then went TO work and inside of one year
ne turned 1t over to them at an expense
Of 100000. In order 10 get up to the
| mines they had to follow the meanderS OF
the mOua tainS, cross deep gulcheS and
into perpendicular cliffs. and at no place
from the mesa up there is not one hun
dred feet of straight track. While those
short curves are difficult for the engine to
haul empty cars up, but without them
they could not descend as they could not
hold the train from jumping the track and
rushing to destruction.
Since Mr.. Larue took charge of the
road and mines as general manager, he
has made them a success, and the amount
of ore that he has shipped to the states and
to the Monterey smelterS has been i'm
menS9. The mining district which he
controls is five miles square, and contains
over fifty mines, all of which are being |