Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-31


est from the conquest to the present day:
monuments of long-forgotten civiliza-
ton and landmarks of modern industrial
Iife
Just outside Vera Cruz, Laguna de Co.
eos-cocoanut lagoon-reminds one of the
surrender of the Mexican troops to Gen.
Scott after the bombardment of 1S47
And beyond those palms, those red-tile
roofs, those little native sugar mills. lies
Soledad. where the Spanish commander
Gen. Prin. signed the peace treaty with
the Mexicans ending the war. which was
the brief prelude to the tragedy Of the
Emperor Macmillan.
Crossing the Jamapa river. the Amerf-
can soldier would get his first glimpse of
the tremendous gorge which the railway
"a marvel of engineering-had to con-
auer; the gorge is spanned by bridge
more than 400 feet long
The origin Of this remarkable railway,
the first one in Mexico, goes back to
1854. when a stretch of about ten miles.
from Vera Cruz to Tejeria. was placed In
operation. The same year. a section OF
about two and half miles was finished
at the other end, between Mexico CITY
and the famous shrine OF Guadalupe.
Such was the beginning of the stupendous
In the last sixty years.
1t antedated by about a year the era
of reform which brought to the front the
great Benito Juarez patron and mentor
Of Porfrio Diaz Before 1854 all means
of communication were by wagon roads
and bride paths. and in some instances
stage coaches or the old-fashioned filters.
During the French Intervention which
placed the unfortunate Austrian archduke
on the imperial throne of the Aztecs the
railroad was carried from Tejeria to Paso
Gel Macho, a distance of some forty-eight
miles. Paso del Macho-Mule pass-is
as yet an unknown name. Possibly II
will not remain SO. 1t Is mountain pass
having an altitude Of 1,50O feet. and 1t
is here that the tropical atmosphere and
scenery begin to disappear. 1t is reached
by defiles suggestive Of strong strategic
value.
About the time of the French inter
vention the construction Of the line was
taken IN hand by an English syndicate.
which completed the entire section in
ten years, the Inauguration taking place
January 1. 1873, shortly after the
death Of the great Juarez. With the ad-
vent of Porfirio Dir TO the presidency
began the era of railroad development.
On the 18th of September. 1910. the CEN
tennial of Mexican independence. there
we're in operation no less than Is. $50 miles
of railroads
Paso del Macho marks the beginning
Of the real ascent to the Mexican plateau.
Numerous bridges of varying length are
crosses and grades of per cent and
more are genotiated by the powerful en-
gines. The rank vegetation of the coast
lands is a memory, and the gigantic secu-
lar trees with dazzling flowers give place
10 bananas and red coffee berries.
The traveller is now in the coffee region.
one of the most famous In the world,
nearly 1900 feet above the sea-Cordoba!
The train is besieged by Indian women
with their banboos carrying tube roses.
their mangoes. oranges. lemons and the
delicious short. thick bananas called
dominicos, never seen IN a northern
market.
Cordoba, founded in 1913 by order of
the Spanish viceroy. Don Diego Fernan-
dez de Cordoba, has all the charm Of a
corner of old Spain. With its wooden
Moorish balconies. its heavy. nail-studded
doors. barred windows. red tiles and de-
lishtful glimpses Of patios within, the