The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1923-07-06
Cruciform Grave Near Militia, Tehuant epcc.

prepared by the National Geographic So
ciety, Washington, u. c.
The rival of Panama when both re-
gions were dependent on railroads as
connecting links between the Atlantic
and the Pacific, MeXico's ISthmus of
Tehuantcpec is not so important now
that the canal is in operation. But its
well-cOnstruCted, standard-guage rail
road is still carrying on its eoncen-
trated tranScontinental way some of
the goods of the world when q~uickIresS
Of shipment is the chief consideration
and a steamer trip of Il thousand or so
miles is worth eliminating.
COrtez, cOnquerOr of Mexico, was the
first man to have the idea that the
1SthmuS of TehuantepeC might solve
the problem Of a passage between the
oceans. Even in the midst of his busy
life as warrior and governor he at
tempted to find a way across, and eX-
plored the Coatzacoalcos river to its
h~eadwaters. He did not find a water
passage across the divide, of course,
but he realized that some day COM
merce would pass through this relative
~ low, narrow region, and he asked
the king OF Spain for q grant Of lands
In the isthmus. The request was
granted, and a few years ago his de-
| s%cendants still held the lands.
Baron Alexander Won Humboldt, who
travelled in Mexico in the beginning
Of the last century, saw at once the i'm
| pOrtance Of the Isthmus of T%ehuante-
| pee and called it 1.-The bridge Of the
worlds commerce."
Half n century ago the first attempts
we're made to dig a canal, and many
railroad schemes were proposed from
time to time, including a ship rail
way" for the transportation OF vessels.
The first work on IL railroad was under
taken by the Mexican government in
1882, but ii was not until 1907 that the
Tehuantepec railroad was formally
| opened. after q succession Of failures
and after years Of unremitting labor.
The road as it now exists is q well
constructed line about 12O miles long.
1t is in fair condition even after years
Of revolution and instability in Mexico.
Salina Cruz the Pacific terminal, was
given excellent modern port facilities
| by the DiaZ regime, and became In
fact probably the best port on the Mex
lean west coast. The latest loading
and unloading machinery was installed.
Puerto Mexico, at the Atlantic end or
the railroad, had in the mouth Of the
| ~COatZacOalcOS river an excellent nat
ural harbor.
Great Oil Field There.
Along the CoatZacOalcoS river is a
Mexican oil field rivaling that Of Tam
pico. Derricks pierce the sky on ev-
cry hand and the hustle about wells,
and loading tankers gives an uneX-
pected Yankee touch to his once
sleepy tropical region.
Before the days Of the pioneer n
forest roads, the COatzacoalcos river
uhe river Of the Winding Snake),
emptying into the Gulf Of Mexico, was
the favored highway, and dug-outs
poled by dusky natives carried freight
and q few passengers VI and down
the river and it's tributaries. Here and
there a narrow mule path trailing
awav from the banks of the river
marked the entrance to some lonely
plantation or village. To-day, however,
the new stands side by side with the
fold. Fine steel boats run on the river,
but the native still poles up and down
in his dug-out canoe. Good roads ana
mule paths have been made from one
nlantation to another. but the old-time
OK carts have not yet been discarded.
The town of CoatZacoalcos, at the
mouth Of the great river, has under
gone the greatest change. Once a YER
liable fever hole, it is now rapidly be-
ing m%odernizcd and brought into some
sembhncc of sanitation. Long wharves
int out from the water front, and
0reproof warehouses and electric
cranes give to ~thGSown a business-lke
appearance.
From ~Coatzacoalcos the road gradu-
allv begins to climb the Cordiilera,
which divides the gulf slope from n a
OF the Pacific. Much Of the route lies
through wild and beautiful country,
with tall manaca palms (Attalea CO.
hune) and forest trees topping n thick
ly-matted jungle, and here n there
a quaint little Indian village ON the
banks of a shaded, shallow river. The
picturesque Malatengo canyon, with It's
rocky chasms, is followed by the Chi
vela pass, entered at a height OF 7oo
feet above sea level, the highest point
on the isthmus.
Modern Town Of Salina Cruz.
Leaving the pass, the train crawls
down the Pacific slope Of the Sierra