Deming graphic. (Deming, N.M.) 1903-1948, 1906-10-19
IN SOUTH AMERICA.
DELIGHTS OF RAILWAY TRAVEL
THROUGH HONDURAS.
Numerous and Narrowing Vicssitudes
Told OF by Writer--Laek Of Brakes
Gave Crew an Exciting
Few Minutes.

|
Inter.Oceanic railway are numerous
and narrowing, says a writer in the
! New Orleans Times. Democrat. dating
his letter from San Pedro Sulu. Hon.
duras, which he reached after a jour.
ney of 81 miles in is hours
Our leaving time was six o'clock.
says the writer, but we didn't pull
ont OF Puerto Cortes until ten in the
morning. The nondescript affair
which they call a train down here,
consisted Of a wood.burnIng engine,
four fiat cars and a passenger coach.
| Our crew was composed of an en-
gineer, half dozen Hremen, one
brakeman and the conductor
There was an extra man. but in the
whole vocabulary Of railroads | find
no name for him. His position. how.
ever was commanding one, and as
important one. He pcrchcd himself
on the front Of the engine, above
where the cowCatcher should be, and
upon occasion industriously ladled
sand from box beside him to the
rails in front.
Our numerous iircmcu passed the
wood from the cars to the engine.
and at various points along the road
turned into a bucket brigade and sup.
| piled water from nearby streams to
the engine The engineer was ia.
| mnipan Inn buaI uitb an .ytra,rlip a r,,
pride for the land of his nativity and
! given upon occasion to declaring that
he was not native Of Honduras he
was British object Jerry, fear.
is something Of gay l.othario, and
on his frequent trips over the road
has worked sad havoc In the hearts
Of dusky maidens all along the line.
! He Invariably announced our APP
proach to a village by putting the hard
pedal on the whistle, ana the entire
population turned out to greet us.
Jcrrys strenuous musical efforts
came near causing a catastrophe at
one point where we encountered a
very heavy grade. Jus before We
reached the top Of the hill Jerry
thOughtles:ly pulled the whistle cord,
and in the screaming blast that fol.
lowed the steam gave out and the
train began to slip back. Although
the cars were without brakes of any
kind. the corpany had prepared for
such emergencies by providing a
mahogany log on the rear platform,
to be dropped under the rear wheels.
| Unfortunately the rear brakeman was
asleep on fiat car in front, and be.
! fore he awakened the momentum of
the train was SO great as to render
our remedy mayaling, We ran SO
| fast and so far in the next 10 minutes
that II took Us four hours To get back.
Leaving Lagma, the train plunged
into tropical swamp and forest The
foliage was indescribably luXuriant
and beautiful Mile after mile we
passed through archways Of bending
palms, gigantic in size, and through
! groves of CoroZo trees. To my mind
the latter Is the most perfect repre-.
sentation Of the picturesque in tropi-
cal vegetation. Its trunk is clad in
the richest attire of parasitic life; its
wonderful lcathery leaves, often 80 or
40 feet in length, benz in elegant and
graceful curves under the weight OF
their own luXuriance or the burden Of
ornamental vines while beneath all
this mass Of tropical richness may be
seen clusters Of those delicious cahorn
nuts hanging like immense Cornuco-
pias and containng two or more
bushels
For a distance we passed beside a
deep, swift stream, which flows for
miles through wild jungle, in the
eternal shadow of the gigantic celba
cedar and rubber trees, between whose
moss and vineclad trunks grow palm
trees of every description. Nature, all
giving and bountiful is here revealed
Precious woods are SO common that
rosewood Is often used for telegraph
poles. and the ties are Of mahogany
Emerging from the Jungle, we came
TO the banana plantations, and here
learned that this remarkable railroad
transports to the steamers 60 per cent.
of the bananas which enter New Or.
leans. Practically all Of the bananas
consumed west OF the Ohio river are
carried on tho railroad to the sea.
coast