Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-05-03

near Manzanillo. which is TO be colonized |
| with coolies for the purpose of raising |
| cotton for the mills of Osaka and other |
Japanese manufacturing towns. and thus |
| relieve them from their dependence upon /
| the United States But some antidote |
| for the boil weevil will have to hr dis |
| covered before such enterprise can he |
! successful.
! Large quantities of sugar cane are pro- |
dUced at the rate OF forty tons per acre, |
which is but little below the maximum Of |
j cuba. and it is absol bed by the local |
market in the form of sugar and alcohol. !
/ but the supply has never been able 10 |
meet tho demand. which is practically !
unlimited The increased consumption Of |
| alcohol a substitute for gasoline has /
| caused an advance in price.
| Mexico imports large Quantities OF
wheat and corn and the federal govern !
ment usually suspends the import duty |
| upon both staples economic meas |
ure of relief TO the poor. The isolation |
OF the west coast people has made 1t i'm
| possible for them to take advantage or !
this policy. although occa sionallv sailing |
| vessels have brought Cargoes of wheat |
| from California and Oregon. The area |
susceptible to wheat is practically un- |
| limited and the quality is equal to the |
best of Oregon and British Columbia, but |
! there seems TO have been no disposition |
on the part Of the haciendados to take ad-
| vantage Of the situation. and flour and |
|
Produces Native Liquors.
The agave, or maguey plant. which pro |
duces mescal and puGue, the two ia |
vorite liquors of the Mexicans is source |
Of great profit. but thus far its has |
! been limited to the distilers because of |
| the ok Of adequate transportation and |
| enterprise Recently an attempt to reduce |
/ the leaves Of this great plant to fiber has
been successful, and several hundred tons
| were shipped to the Cordage mills Of San
| Frar cisco last year. Those who have
| mad, study of the subject believe that
the iber industry is the most promising
of ell the opportunities offered by the
| opening of this territory. and Will
/ Doubtless he developed now that faclh-
ties for reaching the market are fur
nished.
i No attempt has been made to bring in
4 immigrants from the United states. and
there has been no apparent increase IN
population since the railway was com
p!etcd The area subject to development
is about $4,000 square miles. correspond
ing to that of the entire state OF Cali
forna. and the present population Is es-
tinated to be a million and a half. Most
of this population live in small villages.
although there are several thriving AND
attractive cities along the line AFTER
leaving Guaymas the railway touches or
has branches running to all of the ports.
so a. to take advantage OF the commerce
on the sea.
Hermosillo. the capital of Sonora, is a
very attractive place. seven hours rae
south of Nogales, which is the border
CITY The name means The Little
Beauty'' and was properly bestowed by
the Spaniards. Hermosilo has a popula
ton of about 1900, and is a mixture
of the old and the new. The manners
and customs of the early Spanish days
are generally retained. with such modern
advantages as electric lights. street cars.
macadamized streets. sewer systems ana
running water in the houses. The city
is almost hidden by orange groves and
is surrounded by a fertile and productive
horticultural country. There are good
hotel accommoda tons and the climate Is
so agreed BILE that many Americans go
there to spend the winter, While those
who are engaged in mining in the neigh
boring mountains make ii a place of
residence for their families.
Has Large Trade.
Guaymas. which was the terminus Of
the railway for tWenty-seven years, and
has the largest commerce of any port
upon the west coast. has population Of
about 1880. and they do an enormous
mercantile business in supplying the min
ing regions in the mountains and the
ranchmcn along the Yaqui river. Its
natural business is doubled hy contrihu-
tons from smaller ports both north and
south and along the coast of Lower cal
ifornia, " hich send their produce to be
shipped TO outside markets The trade
is very largely in the hands of Germans
The next port of Importance is Topcio-
! hampO, which will he the terminus OF
the Kansas city and Orient railway. now
under construction. via Wichita, Texas
and China hIa. and more than half COM
pleted. Topolohampo has the finest har-
hor between San Diego and Panama. and
several attempts have been made o.
| a Of nat
lambtion will undoubtedly he achieved
soon as tie new railroad is finished. and
its projectors believe that it will do a
business second only 10 san Francisco.
and Will ultimately control the oriental
trade.
culiacan is the oldest city on the west
coast. and it VAS there. according 10
tradition that the Aztecs ended their
nomadc existence and developed the
highest degree Of civilization found
among the aborgines of America. Culia-
can is now city Of 41.oAn inha bitant=,
| the capital of the state of Snalao, the
center of the sugar trade and one of
the most fertile sections of Mexico.
Four Lines of Steamers.
The port of Mazatlan Is now in direct
| communication with San Francisco and
| Panama by four lines of steamers. the
| Pacific Mail. the Pacific Coast, the Amer
| ican-Ha waiian and the Cosmos Hlambr:rg-
| American companies In anticipation OF
| a largely Increased commerce with the
| opening of the Panama canal the Mem
can government is planning to improve
the harbor. build breakWaters and deep
en- the channel, as has been done a'"eady
at Manzanillo, on the west coast. and
| Vera Cruz and TampiCo, the Gulf of
| Mexico. \ feet of coasting steamers
| contributes to the prosperity of the place
The population Of MaZatlan is now ,1,Mto,
and it is growing rapidly.
The city of Topic capital Of the terri
| tory Of the same name. which was found
| West Coast railroad. and will he for Il
| year or two. though tho work of cN-
| tension toward Guadaa lara is nov go
ing at both ends of the gap Tepic
| is a town of lSWb inhabitants well up
| i'll the Sierra Madrc mountains thirty
| five miles from the Pacific. in the rain
belt, under the shadow of the extinct
| volcano San Juan .Jue. There has been
no sign of eruption since the conquest
| except at the time when st. Pierre Mar
Unique. destroyed by the er,Iption of
| Mount Pelee. ten or twelve years ago.
| The people in that part OF the country
| consider themselves perfectly safe from
that source. Topic is an attra ctiye placa
| and has many wealthy people The sur
| rounding country is famous for its
| scenery
| Through sleepers now run only to Ma
| zatan. Accommodation trains come t
| there for lagO. where dj1ip,or.