Appleton's Guide to Mexico/Section 1
PART SECOND.
CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL.
SECTION I.
Mexico.
HOW TO REACH THE COUNTRY.
We give below the various routes from New York to Mexico, by steamship and railroad, and partly by steamer and partly by rail:
Route I.—From New York via Havana, Progreso, Campeche, and Frontera, to Vera Cruz, by steamer, in about ten days.
Route II.—From New York to New Orleans by rail in about sixty hours, thence steamer to Vera Cruz in about five days, calling at Bagdad, Tampico, and Tuxpan.
Route IIII.—From New York to Laredo, Texas (on the Rio Grande), by rail in four days; or to El Paso, Texas, via St. Louis, in about the same time.
Route I.
NEW YORK TO VERA CRUZ BY STEAMER.
Fares, first class, $85; second class, $60.
Leaving New York, the steamer reaches Havana in about four days. A stop of an entire day is generally made at Havana before proceeding to the Mexican ports, The tourist will not only have time to see the city, but can also visit the wonderful caves of Matanzas and the valley of Yumuri, distant two hours by rail. (For a full description of Cuba and the West Indies, see Appletons' Hand-Book of Winter Resorts. )
From Havana the steamer proceeds to Progreso, in Yucatan,[1] arriving there in about thirty-six hours, and stopping about twenty-four hours. The traveler can now disembark in a small boat, and set foot on Mexican soil. Progreso is the seaport of the city of Merida, twenty-two miles distant. There is no hotel accommodation in Progreso, but the American consul can assist the tourist in securing lodgings. The town is well laid out, and has straight and broad streets. Tourists will be interested in the scenes of the fruit and vegetable markets on the plaza. The houses are usually of one story, and are built of mortar, with thatched roofs.
Indians constitute the greater part of the population, which amounts to 1,900 inhabitants. Much hemp, rice, and maize are grown in Northern Yucatan. Upward of 90,000 bales of hemp are sent to the United States annually. Cacti and cocoa-palms are found in great abundance near Progreso. The tourist may have the opportunity of bathing in the warm surf before leaving town.
A railroad has recently[2] been completed to the city of Merida (fares, first class, $1; second class, 75 cents). This is the capital of the State of Yucatan, and has about 32,000 inhabitants. It is built on the site of the ancient Maya city of Tihoo. Few travelers visit Merida, and hence there is only one small hotel there (Hotel Bazar). Several lines of railway are being constructed from this city to points in the interior. The road toward Peto, on the south, is now (July, 1883) 20 miles long; that going to Valladolid, on the southeast, has been built for a distance of ten miles; and seven miles of the line toward Calhini, on the southwest, have been finished.
A concession has just been granted to some residents of Merida to construct a railway from the capital to Sotuta, via Izamal.
Many interesting ruins are found in the northern and central parts of Yucatan. Tourists intending to visit them should purchase horses and provisions at Merida, and obtain letters of introduction (cartas de presentacion) to the officials in the various towns. The most important ruined city is that of Uxmal, about 70 miles south of Merida. The cave of Sahachao is within a few miles of it. The remains of Chichen-Itza and Izamal lie about 50 miles southeast of the capital, and those of Mayapan are situated about 30 miles south of Merida. These places are comparatively easy of access. There are also interesting though less extensive ruins at Labna, Zayi, Xcoch, and Ake, in Central and Southern Yucatan; but these localities have been rarely visited thus far by American or European travelers. (See chapter on ruins for a general description of these ancient cities and towns.)
Humboldt states that Yucatan is an arid plateau, whose surface does not rise higher than 5,070 feet above the sea level. The greater part of the State is covered with alluvial soil, and the climate is dry. Water is very scarce and valuable, there being only one river, the Rio Hondo. The rainy season lasts from April to October, during which time the reservoirs and tanks of the haciendas are filled for use in the remaining months of the year.
From Progreso the steamer takes a southwesterly course, and touches at Campeche, the capital of the State of the same name, and then proceeds to Frontera, in Tabasco. Cortes landed near the latter town on his voyage from Cuba to Mexico.
Large quantities of logwood are exported from Frontera. The tourist may leave the steamer at this point, and visit the famous ruins of Palenque, which are situated about 150 miles to the southeast.
The journey, however, is a difficult one, and a small boat must be hired to ascend the Usumacinta River. Guides, provisions, blankets, tents, medicines, etc., should be taken from Frontera. Travelers may also proceed to San Juan Bautista, the capital of the State of Tabasco (population, 6,800), and visit Palenque by road.
Steamers do not touch at the ports of Campeche and Frontera on every trip. (See time-table for exact dates of arrival.) The vessels anchor about five miles from the shore, and only stop long enough to transfer passengers, mail, and cargo to a small tender, and then continue on the direct route to Vera Cruz, reaching this port in about ten days out from New York, including stoppages.
Approaching Vera Cruz, the snow-clad peak of Orizaba may be distinctly seen at a distance of 50 miles on a clear day, and the Cofre de Perote, another snow-capped mountain, is also visible.
The Mexican coast is dangerous for navigators, on account of coral reefs. Just before reaching Vera Cruz, we pass an island on the south side of the town. It is the Isla de los Sacrificios, and is said to have been used by the Aztecs for sacrificing a youth on a certain day in every year.
The other island directly opposite the city of Vera Cruz is San Juan de Uloa. It was so named by Grijalva. This islet is covered with a fort, which was begun by the Spaniards in 1569, and finished in 1633. Hernando Cortes landed here on April 21, 1519. The fort is now used as a prison. Presently the steamer drops anchor. As soon as the health-officer has examined the vessel, and given the captain a clean bill of health, a large number of boats surround her, and the owners rush on board, offering their services to the passengers who are about to go ashore.
There is no fixed price for disembarking at Vera Cruz, and the traveler should make a bargain with a boatman before leaving the steamer, to pay him so much for taking his baggage ashore, and also to the custom-house and hotel. A boatman will take a single passenger for a Mexican dollar, including the conveyance of his baggage to the hotel; and, if a large party go in the same boat, an arrangement at a reduced price can be made pro rata.
It is impossible to land at Vera Cruz during a norther, which blows at intervals from October to March. Tourists may be compelled to remain several days on the steamship waiting for the waves to subside. Neither sailing-vessels nor steamers can enter this port while the norther lasts. Vera Cruz has really no harbor at all, although the two islands already mentioned afford some protection to the shipping during a storm. Vessels at anchor generally put to sea during a severe norther. It has often been said that Cortes should have founded the city of Vera Cruz at Anton Lizardo, a point about fifteen miles to the south-ward, which is the only good harbor on the Gulf of Mexico. The latter place is the terminus of a branch line of the Mexican Southern Railroad, and is evidently destined to surpass Vera Cruz in commercial importance at an early day. (Compare Section VII. )
A French company has recently entered into a contract with the Mexican Government to build an extensive breakwater in the harbor of Vera Cruz, which will cost about $10,000,000.
VERA CRUZ.
Population, 20,000.
Hotels (Diligencias, Vera Cruzano, and de Mejico. )
Cafés on the Calle de la Yndependencia.
Telegraph-Office on the same street.
Post-Office on the Calle de Cinco de Mayo, about a quarter of a mile southwest of the main plaza.
Places of Interest.—1. Plaza de la Constitucion. 2. Plaza del Mercado. 3. The parochial church, the tower of which should be ascended for a view of the city. 4. The Alameda.
None of the buildings of Vera Cruz are worthy of a visit. The climate is usually hot and very unhealthy, the vomito, or yellow fever, being prevalent in the summer season, and even breaking out occasionally in the winter mouths. Tourists are advised to spend as little time in this city as possible. Passengers on the steamers may remain on board until within an hour of the departure of trains for the interior. During a norther, however, the temperature sinks to 65° Fahr., and then, of course, the stranger is not incommoded by heat. Travelers can have their foreign money changed at the office of the agents of the principal lines of steamships, Messrs. R. C. Ritter S Co.
The streets in the city of Vera Cruz are laid out at right angles, and are paved with cobble-stones, with a kennel in the middle.
Flocks of turkey-buzzards, called zopilotes, take the place of a street-cleaning department. These birds are protected by law, a fine of $5 being imposed for killing one of them.
The houses are of either one or two stories, and are generally built of stone and mortar, and covered with red tiles. Many of them have patios, or court-yards, and railings painted green in front of the windows facing the street, reminding the traveler of Old Spain.
A walk, or ride in the horse-cars, from the main plaza to the Alameda, should be taken by the stranger. The variety of colors and signs on the buildings, the picturesque costumes and musical language of the natives, and the tropical vegetation, will have the charm of novelty to the tourist coming from a northern clime.
Vera Cruz, formerly the capital of the State of the same name, is situated on the 19th parallel of north latitude. It was founded by the viceroy, Count Monterey, at the end of the sixteenth century, and was made a city by Philip III of Spain in 1615. The city is built on an arid plain. It was formerly called Villa Rica, or Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz—i. e. , the rich city of the true cross. The original town of Vera Cruz founded by Cortes lies several miles north of the present city.
Referring to this spot, the historian Prescott, in his Conquest of Mexico, vol. i, p. 229, says: "Little did the Conqueror imagine that the desolate beach on which he first planted his foot, was one day to be covered by a flourishing city, the great mart of European and Oriental trade, the commercial capital of New Spain."
At the present day about two thirds of Mexican commerce passes through the port of Vera Cruz. The imports
are increasing rapidly, those of 1882 being nearly fifty per cent greater than those of 1881.
An excursion may be made to Jalapa, sixty miles distant, by tramway. It is said that the railroad between this town and Vera Cruz will be completed on January 1, 1884.
Jalapa has a population of 12,400, and an elevation of 4,335 feet. (Hotels, Nacional and Vera Cruzano.) The town is beautifully situated at the foot of the Macuiltepete Mountain, The well-known Cofre de Perote, 13,553 feet high, according to Humboldt, is within a day's Journey. There are no buildings in Jalapa of special interest to the tourist except the old convent of San Francisco. Many of the merchants of Vera Cruz have their country-houses at Jalapa. The climate is cool, although damp, for the greater part of the year. The soil is very fertile, and coffee, tobacco, vanilla, cotton, maize, and jalap are cultivated extensively. The town derives its name from the latter plant.
Travelers may visit the ruins of Papantla, which lie about fifty miles north of Jalapa. Diligences run as far as Tusintlan ; thence one must go on horseback. The teocalli lies about six miles from the town of Papantla, which contains a small hotel. Dr. Autrey, an American physician, can give the tourist information about the country. Horses, blankets, and provisions should be procured for this journey. (See chapter on ruins for description.)
There is another teocalli at Tusapan, 45 miles west of Papantla.
The village of Misantla, which is situated 30 miles northeast of Jalapa, contains a small pyramid.
An Aztec temple may also be found at Mapilca, on the Rio Tecolutla.
If the tourist has reached Vera Cruz by the northern route, he may make an excursion to the famous ruins of Palenque, by taking a steamer down the coast to Minatitlan on the Goatzacoalcos River, and thence proceed by road via San Cristobal; or he may go directly to the mouth of the Rio Grijalva, ascend the river to San Juan Bautista, and then travel by horseback to Palenque via Macuspan. This trip is somewhat difficult, but the traveler will be well repaid by visiting the ruins, which lie about eight miles from the town of Palenque. (For description of the buildings, see chapter on ruins.) Tourists should procure letters of introduction to the Government officials in the country lying between the coast and Palenque. There are no hotel accommodations, and the traveler will be obliged to pass the nights in Mexican huts, where he may always expect courteous treatment.
Tourists are recommended to provide themselves with sufficient provisions, tents, camp-bedsteads, mosquito-netting, and medicines. Extreme caution should be taken to avoid the numerous insects as much as possible. The jungle abounds with moniquiles, jiggers, ticks, red ants, etc. The moniquiles burrow under the skin, causing great suffering. Should the stranger be attacked by these peculiar insects, he should employ the common remedy of pasting a leaf over the bite, which causes the insect to come to the surface, when it may be extracted. The natives will point out the peculiar kind of leaf to be used.
Route II.
FROM NEW YORK TO NEW ORLEANS BY RAIL, THENCE BY STEAMER TO VERA CRUZ.
Fare to New Orleans, $38. Fares from New Orleans to Vera Cruz—first class, $50; second class, $35.
(For description of New Orleans, see Appletons' General Guide to the United States, or Hand-Book of Winter Resorts.)
Leaving New Orleans, the steamer descends the Mississippi River for about one hundred and twenty-five miles, and, entering the Gulf of Mexico by the South Pass, takes its course toward Bagdad, the port of Matamoros. No land is seen till the vessel approaches within a few miles of the latter town. We drop anchor about five miles from the shore, and a tender comes out to take off passengers, cargo, and the mails. Matamoros, in the State of Tamaulipas, is a port of entry, and lies on the south bank of the Rio Grande, opposite Brownsville in Texas, and about thirty miles from the mouth of the river. The population is about 12,000. A railroad is in progress toward the city of Monterey. Another is projected southward to Tampico. (See Section XII.)
Leaving Bagdad, we sail southward, keeping out of sight of land almost all the way to Tampico. On reaching the latter port the passengers, freight, and mail are transferred to a small sail-boat and carried over the bar at the mouth of the Rio Tampico to the town of the same name about nine miles distant. There is a small hotel at Tampico, and the population numbers 7,000.
Ten miles to the northward is the Rio Panúco, famous in the history of New Spain as being the terminus of Grijalva's voyage from Cuba along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and also noted as the spot where the remnant of De Soto's band of explorers landed in their unfortunate voyage southward from the mouth of the Mississippi.
The Rio Panúco is about one thousand feet wide, and is said to be navigable for a distance of twenty miles from its mouth. Small steamers connect Tampico with stage-coaches for San Luis Potosí via Ciudad del Maiz.
A branch of the Mexican Central Railway is being constructed from Tampico toward the city of San Luis Potosí. (For description, see Section V.)
From Tampico the steamship proceeds to Tuxpan, where passengers, freight, and mails are landed by means of a small sailing-vessel. The town lies nine miles above the mouth of the Tuxpan River, and has about 4,000 inhabitants. This river is navigable for about thirty miles, but there is only six feet of water on the bar at high tide. No hotel accommodations are to be had in Tuxpan. Papantla may be reached in two days on horseback. (See p. 46.)
Valuable petroleum-wells are found in the vicinity, and two American companies have already erected works to refine the oil.[3] The petroleum occurs chiefly in the State of Vera Cruz, between the Panúco and Tuxpan Rivers. The wells are mostly near the coast, at Chapapote, Santa Teresa, Juan Felipe, Escondida, Sepultura, Carribajal, Monte Grande, Paso Grande, and on the borders of the Laguna de Tamiahua. There are submerged stone ruins in this lagoon. A railroad from this port toward the City of Mexico is projected, but it will probably be several years before the work of construction is finished.
It should be borne in mind that passengers can disembark at Bagdad, Tampico, and Tuxpan in good weather only. During severe northers they are taken to Vera Cruz.
Route III.
FROM NEW YORK TO LAREDO, TEXAS, EITHER VIA ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, OR NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA; OR TO EL PASO, TEXAS, EITHER VIA TEXAS AND PACIFIC RAILWAY, OR ATCHISON, TOPEKA AND SANTA FE RAILROAD.
Fares from New York to Laredo, $69.15 unlimited, and $58.80 limited; and from New York to El Paso, $74.60 unlimited, and $64.85 limited.
(For description of these routes from New York southward, see Appletons' General Guide to the United States. )
Sections IV and V of Part Second describe respectively the routes from Laredo and El Paso to the interior of Mexico.
Tourists visiting Mexico from San Francisco, California, by rail, should take the Southern Pacific Railroad to Benson, Arizona, 1,024 miles distant, and proceed to Guaymas, or other points on the west coast; or go directly to El Paso, a distance of 1,286 miles, and thence travel into the interior.
- ↑ Prescott states in the Conquest of Mexico, vol. i, p. 222, that Yucatan is a corruption of the word "tectecan," meaning, in the Maya language, I do not understand. This term was the reply which the Spanish navigators received upon landing on the coast, when they asked the natives the name of the country. Supposing it to be a direct answer to their question, the Spaniards called the newly discovered region Yucatan.
- ↑ In 1881.
- ↑ The Vera Cruz Oil Company was organized at Boston in 1881. Mr. Thomas Nickerson, Hon. B. F. Butler, and others, are shareholders. A well has been drilled to a depth of 372 feet, and filled with a five-inch casing. Experts say that this oil is very promising, and that there is only eight per cent waste. Land is cheap, the rate of taxation is low, and there is a duty of 27 cents a gallon on imported petroleum.