Page:Appleton's Guide to Mexico.djvu/331

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THE MORELOS RAILWAY.
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rises about 300 feet above the plain. A paved pathway leads to a chapel on the summit. There are fourteen "stations," each having a cross and inscription in Spanish, along this path. Many ex votos are seen at the door of the chapel. Some of them are in the form of oil-paintings, while others consist of silver arms and legs, which are hung in a glass case. An image of Nuestro Señor de Sacromonte is placed on the high altar. The saint wears a gold-embroidered cloak of velvet. Ribbons of various colors, giving the size of the head of Our Lord of the Sacred Mountain, are sold at the entrance and also at the foot of the pathway. The hill is covered with a dense growth of cedars.

Leaving Amecameca, the railway runs almost due south past the stations of Ozumba (70 kilometres), Nepantla (95 kilometres), Yecapixtla (111 kilometres), and reaches Cuautla (138 kilometres). The chief object of interest on the road is the bridge at Ozumba, which is 618 feet long and 41 feet high.

Cuautla, the principal city of the State of MoreIos, has a population of about 14,000. The name is derived from Quauhtli—i. e., delightful hills—a term given to the town by its founders, the Tlahuicos. It was conquered by the Spaniards in 1521, and was created a city in 1829. The objects of interest are the parochial church. City Hall, and Alameda.

2. From Cuautla to Acapulco, about 200 miles.

The railway will be extended from Cuautla to Cuernavaca, and thence to Acapulco via Chilpancingo. Cuernavaca is described in Section III. From a point about 25 miles south of this town, the line will run entirely within Guerrero, a State that possesses immense mineral wealth, which is almost totally undeveloped. All tropical fruits, and corn, beans, peas, cotton, and sugar-cane, are grown in this State. There is also a great variety of timber in Guerrero.