Connection with Tampico may be made at El Maiz by horseback, 104 miles to the Rio Panuco, then by steamer eastward to the railroad terminus. The site of San Luis is far preferable to that of Mexico. When the two American trunk-lines are finished, it is believed that the former city will soon become a rival of the latter in commercial importance. At present freight charges to San Luis are enormous—e. g., a box of snuff, valued at $9 in New Orleans, will cost $50 delivered in San Luis via Laredo, including the duties.
Residents of this city are taxed heavily for the railroad toward Tampico. They pay three per cent of their annual income. An extensive trade in groceries, leather, shoes, saddlery, bagging, cassimeres, hats, and grain is carried on here. Fruit and the cereals grow in the environs. It is said that twenty bushels of Indian corn are produced to the acre.
This State is rich in minerals, although but few of the mines are worked at present, owing to lack of capital. The famous San Pedro mine is near the city. The pillars having been cut away, the roof of the mine has fallen in.
Mining engineers state that there is still a large body of ore awaiting development. The biggest piece of native gold ever found in Mexico is said to have been taken out of the San Pedro. It was sent to the reigning King of Spain as a gift, and in return the Spanish sovereign presented a clock to the cathedral, which has already been described.
3. From San Luis Potosi to Saltillo; time, 4 days.
Leaving San Luis Potosí, the railroad will be continued northward through Venado, Charcas, and Encarnacion, to Saltillo, a distance of about 330 miles. The road will cross the great table-land, and the grading will be easy. The engineers report that the line just mentioned can be constructed in about the same time that has been necessary to lay the track between Monterey and Saltillo. At the
