the Chivela Pass, where they were 116 feet per mile for the distance of eight miles; and that the summit was 720 feet above the sea-level.
In 1857 the railroad project was resumed, and a new survey was executed under the direction of Colonel W. H. Sidell, of the United States Army. Owing to various reasons, this line was never constructed.
In 1870 the Tehuantepec Railway Company was formed in New York. Mr. Simon Stevens became its president, with the late Hon, Marshall O. Roberts as promoter. New surveys and explorations were made, but the road was not built under this administration. Upon a reorganization of the company, with Mr. Edward Larned, of Pittsfield, Mass., as president, and under a charter from the State of Massachusetts, a modified concession was obtained from the Mexican Government on June 2, 1879, to build the Tehuantepec Railroad, A subsidy of $7,500 per kilometre was included in the concession. The track was not to exceed 300 kilometres (186 miles) in length.
The Tehuantepec Railroad was not finished by the above mentioned company. It is said that not more than forty kilometres were constructed by this foreign corporation.
In 1882 the Mexican Government made a contract with private individuals for the completion of the Tehuantepec line; and in January, 1883, the track was finished from the mouth of the Goatzacoalcos[1] River to Minatitlan, a distance of 25 miles. The route of the projected railway is about 170 miles in length. The work of construction from Minatitlan to the port of Salina Cruz is now being pushed vigorously by the Government. It is believed that the road will be finished and opened for traffic in 1885. The line runs due north and south, and it will traverse the southern portions of the States of Vera Cruz and Oa-
- ↑ Also spelled Coatzacoalcos.
