lies, as well as the picturesque sierras bounding it, from the plateau on the south.
After a continual descent, the houses come in sight, and the diligence rattles over the cobble-stone pavement of the streets to the hotel, stopping first at the post-office to deliver the mail. The city is 81 miles from La Ventura.
SALTILLO.
Population, 11,340; elevation, 5,204 feet.
Hotel.—San Esteban.
There are a few mesones. The water for the city is brought from the mountains in a long aqueduct. Saltillo is the capital of the State of Coahuila, and is a very healthy place. It is well built, and contains an Alameda and several plazas. The parochial church on the Plaza mayor is worthy of a visit. There is a small garrison and a bull-ring here. A fort, which was built during the French occupation, stands on the hill behind the city. Several cotton-factories are found in the neighborhood, and a considerable trade in goat and sheep skins is carried on in Saltillo. This city is destined to become the emporium of Northeastern Mexico. A wagon-road leads to Monclova, 121 miles distant, and the Mexican International Railroad, starting from Piedras Negras, will probably have a branch line from Monclova to Saltillo. The Mexican National Railway began to run trains to the latter town about September 15, 1883.[1] The climate is temperate and dry. An American capitalist is about to erect a hotel, with all the modern conveniences. Saltillo is likely to become a resort for invalids. It has many advantages over Colorado, and the distance from New York or Philadelphia to either place is about the same.
- ↑ On October 15, 1883, the road-bed had been graded to El Salado, 86 miles south of Saltillo.
