Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1907-04-10
A TRIP TO OLD MEXICO
While Recuperatins From Typhoid Fever Mr. c. Baker
Writes Interesting Description Of His Recent Trip to
the City Of Mexico for Public Opinion Readers

9SoN6 ~So6SSSo6O@
Mexican Central has already left we
must rest day here. All cars enter
ing Texas must be fumigated. carpets
taken up, so we are obliged to find
quarters in the city. AS | pass
my folder had recommended getting
my American money exchanged here
for Mexican. step up to the agent,
hand him a 800 90 bill and receive
Sl96. 90 Mexican 1t looks like
good exchange | look it over; il is
made up of all sizes of bills, some of
| the fives not much larger than our war
shinplaster half dollars. | could not
place value on it and could spend a
| five with less thought than fifty cents
in our money. We go up into the
city soon Mr.. Matteson comes around
and says he got $l9S.00. after
wards went to the banks and always
got two for one there was | per cent
profit then. We are told all the
two and are turned down. The third
the Orindorf; the clerk hesitates, calls
| the proprietor, ;nl after comforting for
a minute, they give us rooms with
bath, you could have knocked the
writer down with straw; the dirt
of the desert could at last be removed
In the afternoon we run about the
lefty aud make a trip to Juarez (pro-
nounced waraz) a little old town
across the Rio Grande ON Mexican ter
ritory Here we saw bull ring, cock
pit, market, and an old church. 1t
took us but short time to take in
the scenes and we return to our own
country. AS we ride through Ell Paso
we are impressed with the amount of
Improvement and life of the city.
They now have 1000 people. ten
railroads reaching into the richest
mining country in the world, most of
the oar of which is smelted at this
place. We are impressed that within
twenty-five years this city of the
tsIrs-sst x y; ss-vs $50 aadssysr--s-, e
On schedule time we are at the de-
pot the following morning We find
our car. Soon the train Pullman con-
ductor, Spaniard, comes in. am
the last in the car and when he gets to
me the custom house is Open In a
hurry ask him the amount to Mexico
City for three lowers. He tells me
S34. 20 American. pay him and
hasten out to open my trunks. so
nicely roped at home. get off the
ropes, the inspector says they are all
right without examining. l care
lessly put round the ropes, check them
through. and enter the car, I pick up
my folder. My eyes fall on sleeping
car rates, $34.2 20 for three berths,
Mexican. l had paid double. The
conductor again comes in, tell him
the, mistake. He says / have paid
right. / hand him the folder. he
looks bold and says he has never seen
it before. refunds my money, and says
he can only take fare to Zacatecas,
which will be S22. so, and each night
thereafter we shall pay $ll.40 Mexi-
can He gives me no receipt, nor puts
me on the plan of the car as having
berths in the McCumber car. The
Pullman Co. are no doubt no wiser.
mention this to show the perfidy
of the people l am now to travel
among While have spun this un-
necessary TO repeat incident we have
travelled over the Rio Grande and are
far down into Mexico.
From the Rio Grande to the city we
travel over a high table land from
Ii, 1000 to 10000 feet above sea level.
The altitude makes the climate gener--
ally temperate The soil is mostly
gravel, though you occasionally cQme'.
to fertile irrigated tract. Tho-
people when this franchise was
granted were so full of superstition
that they would not allow them to
build nearer than one and half
miles from town, so we see the towns
only at distance.
1t is 1871 miles from Juarez to
Mexico City. On all this long dis
tance not tree is seen except it
grows ON irrigating ditch or is set out
in their cities. Not even a brush
grows. We saw at some of the sta
tions bales of twigs with leaves on,
which we were informed had been
brought in from far back in the
mountains to be used for fuel.
While have been writing we have
reached our dinner station, by name
Moctezuma (named am told for the
father of Montezuma. We look into
the dining-hali; it is operated by
Chinamen the table looks very good,
but Mrs. b. advises that we have our
lunch served on the train from small
dining apartment in one of the cars.
We walk up the track, they are coal
Ting. A large number of boxes holding
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