ally roasted before being treated in the crushing and reducing-mills.
The stage-coach enters a cañon at Guadalupe, and, traveling up a heavy grade, the old mining settlement of Zacatecas is reached. The latter place is 83 miles from Aguascalientes, and the time required to make the distance is 13 hours.
ZACATECAS.
Population, 46,000, including Guadalupe; elevation, 9,012 feet,[1] according to Burkart.
Hotels.—Zacatecáno, Del Comercio, Nacional, and Del Progreso.
Baths, in the Plaza de Armas.
Post-Office in the Calle de la Moneda.
Horse-Cars to Guadalupe (see time-table).
Zacatecas is one of the oldest mining towns in Mexico. It received the title of city in 1585 from Philip II. The streets are well paved and somewhat tortuous, although not as much so as in Guanajuato. The city is not behind the age, even though 140 miles from a railway terminus, and a much greater distance from any seaport. The electric light shines on the plaza, and a number of telephones are in use. Zacatecas lies in an arid and mountainous region, with an inclement climate.
Places of Interest.—1 . The Cathedral; observe carvings on the façade. 2. The Palace. 3. The Mint. 4. The Bufa, a hill north of the city. 6. The silver-mines.
There are fourteen churches of minor importance and a Protestant chapel. Some of them are ornamented with artistic gilt wooden carvings and old paintings, that were transported to the city at enormous expense.
The tourist should ascend the Bufa, about 500 feet above the plaza, for a view of the city and its environs.
There is a small chapel on the summit, known as the
- ↑ This is too high an estimate; 8,000 feet would be more correct.
