San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-09-15
SCENES IN WONDERLAND.
Travels TN the Tropics OF Ne Woo
TaUDplco the Future GTeat CITY
"A Brief Sketch of the

| @A"IlIOI heA.i Ccpls H. IOO@.
To the San Antonio LIGHT:l
| rampico is situated at tho junction
of the Rio Pamuco ana Tamasi, aud IL
distant from the gulf by the river six
miles. The city is built on high
ground, which gradual y slopes to the
water's edge, The city is nearly sur
rounded by water There is lagoon
on the north side of the city, which
| emptles into the river on the east.
This is spanned by wagon bridge
The Mexican Central railroad crosses
IL a few yards lower down. 1t is
bounded on the east, south, south
westand northwest by the Pamuco
| and Tamasi rivers, so, that there is
| only a narrow strip Of land TO the
northwest that connects it with the
mainland.
Tsmpico was laid out in 1923 25,
and the name changed to Santa Ana,
who was then at the height OF his
power, hut when he was driven from
power the name was restored.
Tsmplco is an Indian name and
means "Dog Town." or the place
where the dogs crossed. Long before
ANY white men put their feet on this
SUI VIC luulaue WIN u"clI ~ AHA
Mira, twenty-six miles above, went
down there to fish anu they saw a
humber of dogs cross the mouth of
the lagoon. hence the name. The
place was first settled by smugglers,
who carried on q lucrative business
for a number of years, or until the
Mexican government erected q fort
there and sent company OF soldiers
to assist the custom house officers to
suppress them. Many OF them moved
up to Alta Mira, and for q number of
years they carried on their Iawless
business through the Iagoons and
overland. This in time was broken
up, and not until 1855 was there any
effort made to lay the foundation tor q
city that is destined in the near flu
ture to be the largest city on the Gulf
| of Mexico.
The city is laid out at right: angles;
the streets and side walks are wide
and all of them paved with flags
and cobble stones. There are
seven plazas; but only two of them
have been improved. Nearly all the
buildings are brick, many of them
are two and three story, wide CALLER
| les and covered with slate and tiles
They are painted and white.wsshed
all colors, but the prevailing colors
are blue, and yellow-blue mostly,
and as q result the people have q
blueish yellow color. They have the
blues worse than any people We ever
saw.
In this connection, Edmond would
| suggest to the medical authorities
that they cause q sanitary law to be
| passed to require the citizens to
change the color of the house, and
compel them to paint them light
colors. Blue, yellow and red are
detrimental to health. Those colors
do cause more deaths aud misery
than cholers and yellow fever.
| Tamplco has been at stand still
for about thirty years. There has
not been half dozen houses erected
that time. The citizens seemed tC
have closed their doors and gone
to sleep, and allowed the grass
and weeds to take position Of
the streets. They remained in
that condition until ground was brok.
en- in Monterey for the building of the
Monterey and Mexican Gulf railway.
Then they woke up and got move
on them; they commenced to improve
and remodel their buildings and erect
new ones.
Soon after the Mexican government
| came to their rescue. They let con-
tract to Col. J. H. Hansen and ssso-
ciates to open the bar at the mouth OF
| the river.
When they commenced to work on
the bar two years sgo there was less
than five feet of water on the bar.
Now there are nineteen feet of water
on it. Then there were only leighters
landing at her wharves, now there
are large ocean steamers coming here
daily. The day that we arrived here
there were four steamers in port. The
French steamship Hsrve, $500 tons,
register 442 feet long, and brought
over 600 tons of merchandise for this
port The Ward line steamship Yu.
muri, 5000 tons register and $40 feet
long. The steamship Hsmstead,
about the same size, and the steam
ship FL Gallo, besides a number of
stesmtugs, bargers, Lighters and
schooners.
On the 23rd of October last, when
the. first passenger train over the
Monterey and Mexican Gulf railway
arrived, there was not steamer com.
ing to this port; now they come and
go daily. At that date there was not
bar of bullion shipped from here;
now there are thousands of tons
shipped every week. At that date
there was not ton of coke or coal re-
ceived at her wharves; now she re-
ceives both. Then there was no mar
ket for her products; now she has q
market by the Gulf road and ocean
steamers. Then she was isolated
from the outside world, now they can
go by rail and steamship to all parts
of the globe; then they were asleep,
now they are q live and active people;
then tt was manana, POGO tempo,