The Arizona sentinel., 1896-12-19

duced to permit you in some parts O the church, on account of the vandal- lsm of some American visitors.
 In front of the cathedral is the Zocale, one of the city parks-tht center of the national, religious anG commercial life of the Republic. went to this little park nearly every day, to watch the street life of tho people. Beggars, always picturesque Peddlers, business men, swells, soldicri and priests, every phase of Mexican life pass before one seated on an iron bench in tho Zocale. It Is all very strange and full of color, much like the pictures of the streets ip Constan tinople.
 went to the theatres several times to the bull fight once (which was enough to do me for the rest of my life), to the races and to the points oi interest in and around the city.
 also went to OriZaba, which Is 160 miles southwest of the City oi Mexico and on the Mexican Railroad which was built by the English and was the first railroad in the Republic. The scenery for about 50 or 60 miles on this road, is said to be the finest on the American continent; and so far as am aware, the saying is true. Certainly had never seen anything equal to it. The grade on the road is in many places as high as per cent, and in the whole 50 or 60 miles of it's winding down the mountains, I do not remember to have seen any straight track worth mentioning. Even the bridges and tunnels are on the grade and curved at the same time. So short are many of the curves, that very few of the private cars that go down in that country can go over the road Orizaba is the most pie turesque place ever saw. The houses are all tile roofed and are covered with mcsses of tropical vegetation. The heat and moisture are so great, that every inch of ground is covered with vegetation. The mountain sides are as soft with grass and shrubs, as an eastern hillside in spring-time. Banana trees and figs and olives and all sorts of tropical fruit trees, grow wild; and in the woods through which the railroad passes, the trees are laden with orchids, and every plant of any kind that raises its head two or three feet above the ground, is absolutely covered with towering vines. Vera Cruz is only 30 miles from Orizaba, but 1 did not care to risk going down there on account of the yellow fever which is very bad just at this time much worse than we are made aware of by the newspapers, because the officials down there will not permit true reports of the condition of affairs to get out as it would injure their in terests.
 I did not stop at any other place, except the city and Orizaba, for the reason that I did not want to waste time in getting from place to place; thinking it was better to see a type of the tropical city of which Orizaba is good instance, and a type of the more elevated places, of which the City of Mexico is the best, than to be frittering away my time in trying to pick out some place that would like better, and which differ from these types only in very minor details.
 Of course l went through all the suburbs around the City of Mexico such as Guadaloupe, Chapultepee, Tacubaya and Churubusco; all of which are intensely interesting his- torically, architecturally and from every other point of view.
 There are not as many Americans in the City of Mexico as l had ex- pectsd to find, and many if not the greater part of those who are there, are our gain and Mexico's loss, as 8 great part of the American colony is made up of dead beats, swindlers and crooks of various kinds and degrees. There is an enormous number of rail- read men going to the country who are drifting there on account of labor