cotton-factory. The next station is Enurial (88½ miles). A Fairlie engine, which is constructed of two locomotives, with the tender on top, is now attached to the train. The grade soon becomes very heavy as the iron horse climbs the cumbres, or summits. Passing through several tunnels, the Barranca del Infiernillo is reached. This locality affords the most magnificent scenery along the entire route. The track is built on the edge of a precipice, and a roaring torrent is seen at the bottom of the rocky canon, six hundred feet below. The tourist may now look back on the broad valley, and trace the course of the winding railway, interspersed with bridges, and see the old diligence road in the distance, which is today given up to pack-animals. Trains of burros, or donkeys, still transport the wares of the peasant to the neighboring villages.
The next station is Maltrata (944½ miles), where the elevation is 5,550 feet. The volcano of Orizaba is visible from this point. It is, however, generally covered with clouds, except in the early morning. There are so many curves, and the ascending grade is so steep, that the train only makes about seven miles an hour in this part of the journey. Some maize is grown beyond Maltrata, but the country is barren for the most part.
Bota (97½ miles) is the next station. The line now makes another great bend around the steep slope of the mountain, and comes to Alta Luz (103 miles), a hamlet of several houses. If the observer will look back, he may see the village of Maltrata, with the track meandering across the plain, and, far in the distance, a glimpse of the valley of Orizaba may be obtained.
The traveler has reached the tierra fria, or cold zone. The flora reminds one of the Rocky Mountains. Dwarf pines, spruces, and deciduous trees, with a few Alpine flowers, take the place of the luxuriant tropical vegetation of the ”hot country" that has recently been traversed.
