The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-02-27
ITS DROP TO THE SEA
How Mexican Central Got
Down a 4O00-Foot Decline.
GREAT ENGINEERING. FEAT
Described by Victor Murdoch
Queer Old Tampico.

San Luis Potosi, Feb. 2O.-Bunching all
the cathedrals Of Mexico together and
including a group or two of bramble-cov-
cred Aztec ruins, there still remains in
the republic Of the snake-killing eagle
and the cactus a greater work than any
of them This is the descent from the
plateau Of Mexico to the sea, by the
Mexican Central railroad, which runs
from this place to Tampico. The center
Of Mexico is what the dear old blue
covered geography of your youth called
tabIe-land. It is comparatively fat and
very high Humboldt or some other man
who had hoofed around it considerably
said that a man could drive wagon
from Mexico City to Santa Fe, New Mex
ico along this high floor. While noun
tains are always in sight, the main line
of the Mexican Central is or gerftle
grades and tame inclines mostly. But
this road seeking a. gulf port determined
to run line eastward from Aguas Cali
entes to Tampico a harbor which first
came into notice through the circuIn-
stance that Americas Vespuccio nosed
into it on the memorable trip wherein he
accidentally dropped his name An en-
gineer. or a corps of engineers, were sent
eastward to pick a place for track.
They knew they were to drop that track
a mile and half, and their business was
to do It as gently as possible and not
use up all the steel rails in the world
doing It, For a long distance these en-
gineers had a comparatively easy task OF
IT. The decrvities were not great, the
plateau holding himself we'll UP and
seeming bent on never bending to meet
the sea half way. The engineering for a
long distance is tame. the gentle maneu-
yer Of sliding diagonally down the side
Of a hill and horse-shoeing around the
head of canyon. Hundreds of miles or
this sort Of primary grade engineering is
seen in the Rocky mountains. So these
engineers led the two rails along the base
of hills and circled them about draws
with easy fills Finally they came to an
opening IN the mountains where they
could see a little matched settlement be-
low. They swept down to this in two big
Until Canoes is reached the ride has been
sleepy. AS the train passes out of this
straw-roofed huddle the eyes are brought
to attention with a snap. On one side
the ground is dropping away, and on the
other it is rearing upright as wall. And
before they realized it those engineers,
and now the travellers are perched on the
top Of a range of mountains, and jump
of 1900 feet to the valley below must be
made. To my mind the way the engin-
GERS jumped a train off the side of that
mountain into the plain below is the most
marvellous thing to be seen in Mexico.
1t was the work of a genius. 1t is a
common practice to say of all steep
mountains that they are straight up and
down. Some of the mountains SO desig-
mated are not so, being climbable But
these mountains are straight up and
down, and below, a GREATNESS distance, is
the yellow bed of a brook, which has cut
the rocks in twain. No cathedarl or pal
ace or twenty of them in Mexico compare
with this. Man, though he pass his I'M
finished labor to his sons, and set the
generations at work upon a single task,
can not do what drops of water, har-
messed to eternity, have done here. Over
whelming as there sheer descents are,
beautiful as the scenery is, the admira-
ton goes all to the altar of the science
which took that track down into the
bowels Of that valley on the scarped
sides Of those mountains. Here there is
no chiId's play of siding down the grassy
bosom of an easy hill; no swooping about
the head of ravine. This is real work
the work of sticking to the side of the
precipice. of holding the train there, Of
getting through this high-shouldered but
tress, Of flying over this chasm. There
are nine tunnels here which look like
pigeon boxes on the top of the mountains;
there are fills here with enough rock in
them to build ten five-story hotels-flls
that reach from the top Of a mountain
to the gulch below one thousand feet.
There are bits Of track which dip like a
tobaggon slide and everywhere the road
twists and turns, doubles and re-doubles,
comes and goes, returns never with a
greater width of path than the length of
the ties. and always down and there is
still to come the plunge. The train, with
brakes scraping and the engine. always
in sight, smokeless, glides around a
mountain, and the bottom, TamasOpi. is
below Us. Between us and It there are
three terraces Of shining steel track.
Once we so the full length of the valley.
turn and few yards below so its full
length again; turn and go its full length
again, and are practically at sea level.
Above owing to a resent norther. we
had seen snow; here below we are among
palm trees, parrots. bananas and coffee
plants. roses and ferns.
You bring up beside a water tank with
a feeling % fight OF course You know
that the civil engineers real task was
not getting down in the valley. but FOR
practical hauling purposes, consisted in
mounting from the valley % the noun
tain tops. Sun. and in spite Of civil en-
cheering facts, the descent is that which
impresses sou. fer the descent compre-
hends as one Of its items the preserva-
ton OF your own neck Going up. you
can fall OF the train and not even ruf-
fle your hair.
Tampico IS a queer old town dominated
by an old tymE11-slown fort. surrounded
by a moat. with a drawbrid-e. The fort
i circled also BY a wall six feet in thick
ness ant viii easily stand another three
hundred years Near this fort IS a Gene
terry in which people are buried every six
/ inches and each has 3 tombstone in the
shape % a slender. tall black board
These stand shoulder u shoulder ard
make a grewsome sight. The present o.
cupants. 50 FAR as marks above TIE
( ground show, are all comparatively recent
hurie1S. for the oldest marking r~s-1f1
. find was over q man who had died in ISL