MEXICAN NOTES. I 



BY W. G. WRIGHT. 



The city of Mazatlan is built upon a rather low and narrow pen- 

 insula running out from the mainland, with the ocean on the north 

 and the " estero " or lagoon on the south. The end of the peninsula 

 consists of two sharp, rocky hills about 300 feet high, while a higher 

 conical island stands just outside, upon the peak of which is a light- 

 house. These high hills cut off the view of the city in great meas- 

 ure from the sight of persons coming from the northward, so that 

 the city is fairly seen only after having rounded the out-lying 

 islands, and reaching the anchorage under the lee of the larger 

 island, and about a mile from the city. 



.000 



as to value of her commerce— Vera Cruz being first — yet it has no 

 pier or wharf, except a little one at which row-boats land the passen- 

 gers. All freight is transferred into lighters in the open roadstead. 

 Sometimes storms render it impossible to land either passengers or 

 freight, when they have to be carried and landed on the return trip. 

 From the ship at anchor a good view of the city is had, and it is a 

 charming scene. A great number of cocoanut trees grace the lovyer 

 parts of the town, especially toward the estero, where is a plantation 

 of them. The latitude of the place is just about the northern limit 

 of this palm, and though it is not so fine and large as in more south- 

 ern places, it gives a tropical look to the town. A fine large church 

 Is prominent, showing above the low, flat-roofed houses, and on the 

 farther edge of the city is a large building used as a barracks for the 

 few troops which garrison the place. A large, round-topped hill, 

 covered with bushes and thorny jungle forms the background on the 

 left, offering fine airy sites for handsome residences; but such is not 

 Mexican taste, and it is unoccupied, save for a few rows of wretched 

 cabins of poor people along its base. Altogether, to a stranger the 

 view of the city is delightful, and one longs to get on shore to 

 explore the streets, and to view its beauties from every point of 



vantage. , 



We reached the anchorage before noon, and at once engaged a 



row-boat to take us on shore. The balance of the day was taken 

 up in netting through with the formalities of the oostom house, and 

 in establishing a new home in the town. I was fortunate in securing 



