The Republican journal., 1896-04-30
The Republican Journal Thursday Morning April 30 1896

Yankee neighbors are inclined tn helieve
All the iron, equipments and rolling stock
Tor the road was brought from England
or the United States, landed at Progreso.
and then laboriously carried throuoh
desert sahds and cacti to the interior ter
minus, and the building begun from
! Merida toward the sea, instead of from
the port to its destination. The same
thing was done in the building of the line
between Vera Cruz and the City of Mexico,
and IN many other parts of the Republic:
for it is believed that the peace of the
country would be imperiled if a railway
should be constructed according to orr
fashion, from the sea coast inland But
this is not always due to the unprogres-
sive spirit of the people. The Merida
contractor had a deal of method in his
madness. Yucatan's great source of
wealth is henequin or hemp, from the in
terror, and it must all come this way for
shipment. Wishing to secure at once the
benefit of it's transportation, he deemed if
''Ne'iSttoAO W oSsoiAI " PCidtlOuS dit lDe eDU
nearest the freight. Soon as the first few
miles of track were laid, he commenced
to haul hemp over it, by mule power. so
far as the road went to be carried the re-
mainder of the journey anyway the owner
saw fit. Besides, for every completed
mile, he received ''concession'' of money
from the government, and it happened
that the portion of the road nearest
Merida was much easier to build and
would therefore bring in quicker returns.
According to the contract he was com
PEELED to carry passengers from port to
capital at certain reasonable rate per
capita, when the road should be fully
completed; but pending its completion,
there was nothing to hinder him from
charging whatever he liked So when in
course of time, this Mexican Jay Gould
had built his road within a mile or two of
Progreso, he stopped there and continued
to charge an outrageous rate; until nearly
Now there are two trains daily each way.
besides the forenoon and afternoon
freights; and all creep so slowly there is
not the slightest fear of accidents.
The scenery of Yucatan impresses all
travellers as strangely unique. just back
of the coast lines stretches broad lagoon,
many miles in extent and varying in depth
with the season. Here millions of n ORTIZ
ern birds spend their winters. and when
the passing train startles them to wing
the sky is literally blackened by ducks,
teal, ibis, egrets, herons blue and white,
curlews, cormorants, what and not of
the whole frequenting bird family
Beyond the lagoon the bed of coral which
composes the entire peninsula of 1ucatan
rises slightly above sea level, presenting
the appearance of dry swamp, where
groups of lean cattle browse tbirstily
among the bushes. Nowhere is vegeta-
ton luxuriant, not blade of grass is to
be seen, and most of the boughs are leaf
less. Wheel roads follow the railway,
and upon them patient oxen plod painful
ly along, their heads bowed almost 10 the
dust under heavy wooden yokes resting
upon their horns, hauling great loads of
the omnipresent henequin, III rude carts
with wheels of solid wood. Finally the
the region of henequln plantations is
reached, with miles and miles OF the So
called ''Sisal,' ia specie OF cacti, Agave
sisalensis,) growing on either side The
immense fields are neatly walled and the
picturesque homes of the planters are
mostly built of stone, shaded by rows OF
cocoa palms and approached by long
avenues, through arched and succeed
gateways. The station shed of Merida is
always packed with people when a train
arrives, for the railway is still sufficient
novelty to the Indians to attract them
from far and near; but the crowd is al
together unlike those of Central Mexico,
being dressed in snowy white, conspicu-
ously clean, and noticeably quiet You
are astonished to find a bevy of cabmen
in waiting, not unlike the fraternity of
the North-but with this difference; they
90 not shout IN your ear as though you
were known to have been born deaf, nor
seize your satchel, nor scramble among
themselves for spoil. These display the
utmost indifference as to whether you
employ them or not. Indeed, instead of
being pursued you have actually to turn
pursuer; and having captured IA Jehu, who
wears the air of an Onwil1intr victim
persuade him to accept your reales and
conduct you to the Hotel Yucateco.
FANNIE B. WARD.