ATOYAC RIVER. 63 



From Veracruz we sent home our long-neglected let- 

 ters. The postal regulations of the country are somewhat 

 peculiar; a letter may be sent to the United States for five 

 cents, but to any state in Mexico, the charge is fifteen cents. 



The following day, at 5:45 a. m. , we left Veracruz by the 

 Mexican Central Railroad for Orizaba. After leaving the 

 city, the line passed in sight of the Alameda, the cemetery 

 of Mata, and then crossed the Laguna de Cocos. For the 

 first few miles we passed over the sandy, chaparral region 

 which bordered the coast. Near Soledad, twenty-six miles 

 from Veracruz, we crossed the Rio Jamapa, on a bridge 

 over four hundred feet long. From this point, the grand 

 and impressive wonders of the mountains began. From 

 Soledad to Paso del Macho, we passed through a rocky and 

 desolate region. Soon the bridge of Alejo was crossed; 

 this was a handsome structure three hundred and eighteen 

 feet long, and thirty feet above the stream beneath, which 

 is a tributary of the Atoyac. Here sugar cane and coffee 

 plantations began to appear, and the verdure assumed a 

 more tropical aspect. The trees were covered with those 

 curious and beautiful parasites, the orchids, and we began 

 to see what Mexico really was. We now wound around the 

 base of the Cerro de Chiquihuite, and passed through a tun- 

 nel two hundred feet in length. From here we crossed the 

 Chiquihuite bridge, and soon came in sight of the beautiful 

 falls of the Atoyac. They certainly presented a most beau- 

 tiful and picturesque scene, nestled as they were in the 

 midst of a dense, tropical jungle. 



Looking up this ravine we saw the Atoyac river, wind- 

 ing down like a silver thread, and ending in the magnificent 

 series of falls. Orchids abounded here in great numbers, 

 and the locality seemed a perfect paradise for a collector. 

 Mollusks and insects must abound here in great numbers, 

 and the avifauna must he par excellence. 



