Norwich bulletin., 1914-05-30

Inland = Wonderful
 Scenery and Many
 Historic Spots - A
 Journey by Rail to
 Mexico City. F our army in
 Mexico marches
 ]. 5 5 ] } 5 !. 5 ]: ]
 ~ from Vera Cruz to
 /KpMo Mexico City, it will
 MAH\A journey from the M mm H N sea to a plateau. HYa WR H h from a 5tropic to a An VII N lA temperate zone cli- N uN N mate; through all
 N&AA S/ the varieties of O&AEFi vegetation imagi-
 06(9k1 nable; past villages
 with aboriginal cus- toms. towns with Spanish architecture and traditions, points of historical inter est from the conquest to the present day; monuments of a forgotten cfviliza- ton and landmarks of modern industrial life.
 
 Just outside Vera Cruz, Laguna de Co.,, cos-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. Prfm, signed the peace treaty with the Mexicans ending the war, which was the brief prelude to the tragedy of the Emperor MaximiMan.
 Crossing the Jamapa river, the Ameri- can soldier would get his first glimpse of "a marvel of engineering-had to con- duer; 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 and the famous shrine of Guadalupe. Such was the beginning of the stupendous railway development Of the republic with in the last sixty years.
 It antedated by about a year the era of reform which brought to the front the great Benito Juarez, patron and mentor of Porfirio Diaz. Before 1854 all means of communication were by wagon roads
 
 stage coaches or the old-fashioned filters.
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 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 del Macho, a distance of some forty-eight miles. Paso del Macho-Mule pass-is as yet an unknown name. Possibly it will not remain so. It is mountain pass having an altitude of 1,500 feet, and it is here that the tropical atmosphere and scenery begin to disappear. It is reached value.
 About the time of the French inter ventfon the construction of the line was taken in hand by an English syndicate, ten years. the inauguration taking place January l, 1873, shortly after the death of the great Juarez With the ad- vent Of Porfirio Diaz to the presidency began the era of railroad development On the 10th of September, 1910, the cen tennial of Mexican independence there were in. operation no less than IL, 26O miles of railroads.
 Paso del Macho marks the beginning of the real ascent to the Mexican plateau Numerous bridges of varying length are crossess. and grades of 4 per cent and more are Eenouated by the powerful en- zines. The rank vegetation of the coast lands iS memory, and the gigantic secu- lar trees with. dazzling flowers give place to bananls and red coffee berries.
 The traveller is now in the coffee region. one of sthe most famous in the world, nearly 5000 feet above the sea-Cordobai 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 161s by order of the Spanish viceroy, Don Diego Fernan- deg de Cordoba, has all the charm of a corner of old Spain. With it's wooden Moorish balconies, it's heavy, nail-studded doors, barred windows, red tiles and de- lightful glimpses of patios within. the town is as typically Andalusian as could be imagined, or gathered from it's abso- lute innocence of sanitary arrangements. Peacocks. parrots and the inevitable Mexican crow-zopilote that useful bird which relieves the municipality of a 'sneet-cleaning department are very much in evidence; also cobblestones, grass in the streets and donkeys brows- ing about.
 Historically. Cordoba is interesting as the town where the treaty was signed be- tween the last Spanish viceroy, Don Juan de O'Donoju Spanish for O'Donohue) and Gen. Augustin de Iturbide, who later pro- claimed himself Emperor of Mexico and came to an end before the firing squad, recognizing the Independence of Mexico, August q, 1891.
 Cordoba is famed for it's coffee, cuIti- vafed on numerous prospering haciendas in the vicinity. There are also very ex- tensive fields of sugar-cane, pineapples and bananas, and especially tobacco. The mangoes, introduced from Manila miro, are highly prized.
 An Indian village, Amatlan, a couple of miles distant, provides curious con- trast with the Spanish atmosphere of the town. These Indians, though they have lived for centuries close to Spanish speaking people, refuse not only to speak hut even to understand Spanish, and have kept up their tribal dialect and traditions with characteristic jealousy, although they are very devout Catholics.
 It is after leaving Cordoba that the