Norwich bulletin., 1914-05-30

Stupendous beauty of the scenery ap- pears. There are passes and points and curves on this line that make a man draw in his breath, and not only in admiration. Just beyond Cordoba the railroad creeps cautiously down the Metlac ravine and over the bridge spanning the tropical Metlac torrent, a piece of engineering that is considered wonderful even today. The bridge is $50 feet long and curves |. at radius of 325 feet, with striking horseshoe effect on a grade of at least the river. It is considered beyond doubt the most dangerous point of this dan gerouS line.
 The outlook is wonderful, what with trees covered with many-colored blos- sonls, varieties of palms, creepers of all kinds, jungle and far below, the tropi- cal valley. After passing through numer- ous short tunnels, the train finally enters upon widening plateau studded with native huts,- which have for long time been absent from the landscape.
 The coffee zone covers the entire sec ton from Paso del Macho. which is 1.500 feet above sea-level to Orizaba, 4,000 feet above. Sumidero, midway between Cor doba and Orizaba. is the heart of the coffee district Coffee introduced into Mexico in roundabout fashion. Dscov- cred in southern Arabia in the thirteenth centruy, it was first tried in western Eu- rope in the seventeenth century, and about that time taken to Java by traders.
 From Java it was reintroduced, as a plant. to Holland and in 1720 French naval officer carried a suppiy-obtained from that plant first exhibited in the botanical gardens of Amsterdam-to Mar Unique, in the West Indies, whence it gradually spread over the new world At 1000 feet Orizaba is reached. This is one of the most picturesque towns in all Mexico. It stands on the site of a very ancient aboriginal settlement which was conquered by the invading Aztecs some sixty years before the Spaniards under Cortes appeared in Mexico.
 
 Its name is derived from one of the many streams watering the vicinity. The power of this stream was utilized by the Spaniards to run flour mill as early as 1553-rnore than half a century before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth
 Today. the waters of Oriza ba and yicin- ity. notably those of the Rio Blanco, are utilized for the production of textiles, the mills being equipped with the latest machinery and operated by electric power from the falls. The cotton mills for which Orizaba is famous are among the largest in the republic. <
 Orizaba, thanks to it's delightful climate and it's many products of both the tropic and temperate zones, its picturesque sit nation and easy access both from the coast and the plateau, has always been fayor1te resort where people from the cap
 
 Cruz and far-off Yucatan.
 There are some interesting old churches ana :. lew monuments, notably that erect ed to the memory of the defenders of the nd''-defensores de la patria-I dedicated to the sons of the state of Vera Cruz the inscription says. who defended the country and Orizaba against the American invaders in 1S47 and lS4S
 It is a marble statue made in Italy One side bears the quotation from I4ucanus, cYIctrx eausea Deis plaeuit sed victa Catonl, which might convey a special significance to President Huerta
 Orizabafs market place reflects Inc beauty and fertility of it's surroundings. There one finds every variety of fruits, apples, bananas, melons, oranges, to- matoes, cocoanuts. mameys, lilies roses gardenias and many others
 Excurslohs in the environs are very at tractlVe- There is tramcar service to the suburbs and many pleasant horse- back rides may be undertaken to nearby haeiendas. There is a battlefield at Cerro del Bofrego, where the French Zona vac in 1862 fought the Mexican troops. *
 Between Orizaba and Boca del Monte. at. the entrance to the Mexican high plateau, some of the most grandiose seen cry and the most fearful and wonderfn, engineering feats of the journey are en- countered.
 Just beyond the scotton mills there ia a somber and i1l-boding rayine, aptfy called .3el Infiernillo"-the little hell-whose chasms and precipices would have re- joiced the heart of Dante. By this time all tropical and seni-tropical scenery and temperature are a thing of the past. There is decided chill in the air. At MaItrata the altitude is already 5.544 feet. Here the magnificent cone of the Orizaba is seen to dominate the land scape. This Pico de Orizaba is the ac- knowledged sovereign of the Mexican ,, mountains. It is not as well known or as picturesque as Popocatapeti, or as TO- mantle as the White Woman Oztauci- huatD.- but it is the grand sentinel of Mexico, visible at unexpected turns all the way up from the coast.
 It is interesting to recall that the first ascent was made by party of Ameri- can officers of Gen. Seott's forces in 1S4S Their feat was doubted until three years later, when a French traveller also climb ed to the top and found what remained of | the <American flag planted there by the officers, with the date 1S4S cut in the flagstaff. There is now an iron cross on the spot.
 The top of Mount Orizaba holds one of the most sacred of ancient Mexican tra- ditons. It was there that the body of Quetzalcoatl, the Mexican air god. after