A Four weeks' TOur in Mexico
Monterey, the capital of the state of Nuevo Leon, is a good center to start from on a tour through Mexico, and is reached in about thirty-eight hours and a half by train de luxe from St. Louis, Mo., and in about thirty-six hours from New Orleans.
| 1st day | Monterey is the most important manufacturing city in northern Mexico. Its chief industries are largely connected with mining. Its population is about 70,000. |
| 2d day 3d |
Tampico (321 miles from Monterey) is situated at the mouth of the Panuco River, and is an important port of the republic, only six miles from the Gulf of Mexico, at La Barra. Several lines of steamers connect the port with Cuba and the United States. |
| 4th day 5th |
San Luis Potosi (275 miles by rail from Tampico). The railroad journey from Tampico to San Luis Potosi is a remarkable one. The line passes over the Choy cave, so that the stream flowing 205 feet below can be seen. As the train ascends the grade, a fine view of the beautiful cascades of Abra de los Caballeros is obtained, and at the foot of the mountain the Tamasopo Canon is passed through to the beautiful valleys of Cardenas and San Ysidro. San Luis Potosi is a busy place of 75,000 inhabitants, who are chiefly interested in the silver mines in the neighboring San Pedro Mountains. In the Plaza there is a fine statue of Hidaljo, the Mexican patriot. |
| 6th day | Queretaro (159 miles by rail from San Luis Potosi), one of the most charming cities in Mexico, with a population of about 47,000. Here Emperor Maximilian, after a prolonged siege by the republican forces, was taken prisoner and condemned to be shot, together with Generals Miramon and Mejia, in June, 1867; and here the treaty of peace between Mexico and the United States was ratified by the Mexican Congress in 1848. |
| 7th day 8th 9th 10th 11th |
Mexico City, the ancient Tenochtitlan of the Aztecs, which was taken by Cortez in 1521, is to-day a large and handsome city with nearly half a million inhabitants. It stands in a valley 7,350 feet above sea-level, and enjoys a delightful climate with its magnificent situation. The places to visit are numerous and interesting. Among them are the Floating Garden, the Castle at Chapultepec, the Sanctuary at Guadalupe, the Cathedral, the National Museum and the National Picture Gallery of San Carlos. A delightful excursion is by rail to Cuernavaca, 9,898 feet above sea-level, the country residence of Cortez. The view, from the summit, of the valley of Mexico is one of the finest in the world. The ruins at Teposteco can be visited from Parque. |
| 12th day 13th |
Leave the City of Mexico by night sleeper for Cordoba. Arrive Cordoba early in the morning, and return by morning train for Pueblo. The railroad journey from Cordoba, on the tropical plains, to the high plateau is one of magnificent grandeur, the line passing near to Mount Orizaba and affording views of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl. |
| 14th day | Pueblo, the picturesque capital of the state of the same name, with a population of about 90,000. Seven miles from the city by tram-car is the ancient pyramid of Cholula. From the summit a fine view is obtained of Mount Popocatepetl ( 17,780 feet), Ixtaccihuatl (16,060 feet) and Orizaba (18,314 feet). The ancient city of Oaxaca and the ruins of Mitla are best visited from Pueblo. Oaxaca is about twelve hours distant, on the Mexican Southern Railroad, and is the present terminus of the projected Pan- American Railroad. Cortez caused himself to be created Duke of Oaxaca. The ruins of Mitla are five hours by stage from Oaxaca. |
| 15th day | Leave Pueblo by morning train for Santa Ana, thence by tram for Tlaxcala, the ancient capital city of the republic by whose aid Cortez was able to vanquish Montezuma. The museum contains many interesting relics of the Aztecs. Leave same afternoon for City of Mexico. |
| 16th ady 17th |
Leave City of Mexico by night Pullman train for Guadalajara (381 miles), one of the richest and most progressive of Mexican cities, with a population of over 100,000. It is a beautiful city, well laid out, and has been called the Florence of Mexico. A short distance from the city is Lake Chapala |
| 18th day | Leave Guadalajara by rail for Marfil (nine hours and a half), thence by tram for Guanajuato, which was founded by the Spaniards in 1554, and has produced since then more than a billion dollars in silver. It occupies a narrow ravine hemmed in by high cliffs, and possesses a theater which cost a million dollars and twenty years' labor. The principal show-place of the city, however, is the cemetery, where the dead are deposited with and without coffins, and after remaining under earth a short time are removed to the catacombs (which can also be visited), to make room for the next. |
| 19th day 20th |
Leave Guanajuato for Aguas Calientes (nine hours by rail from Marfil, 305 miles), which, as its name implies, is noted for its hot baths. also for its Mexican drawn-work, which is in great demand by lady travelers. |
| 21st day | Zacatecas (seventy-five miles by rail from Aguas Calientes), 8,044 feet above sea-level, celebrated for the enormous output of silver from the mines in its vicinity. It is an interesting old-world place. A short distance from the city is Guadalupe, best known for its splendid cathedral. Travelers wishing to return to the United States by Eagle Pass had better avail themselves of the through sleeping-car from Zacatecas to St. Louis via Torreon, Eagle Pass and San Antonio ( time about sixty-eight hours). |
| 22d day 23d |
Chihuahua (561 miles from Zacatecas by rail), the capital of the state of the same name; with a population of 30,000, and the center of an immense stock-raising and mineral-producing district. The cathedral, a magnificent structure, was built from the proceeds of a special tax levied upon the product of the famous Santa Eulalia silver mine, which is located about fifteen miles south of the city. The city is also noted as the place where Hidalgo, the father of Mexican independence, was shot in 1811. It was also bombarded in 1866 by the French. Travelers wishing to proceed to California, or to the Grand Canon of Arizona, travel via El Paso and the Southern Pacific Railroad, or by the Santa Fe route. |
