ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 



97 



quinine pills. Had I appreciated the pertinacity of the Mexican flea, 

 I should have added a blower and a pound or two of Dalmatian powder. 

 It was snowing when our train left Jersey City, starting for the 

 southland. Nor did winter really forsake us until we were well into 

 the Indian Territory. As a matter of fact, I do not think I fully realized 

 that I was on my way to the land of the Castilloa, until I awoke one morn- 

 ing and saw the dwarf cactus that grew by the side of the track, and 

 further on, at San Antonio, Texas, began to note the picturesque Mexican 



COCOA FIBER RAINCOAT. 



costumes and the subtle influence in architecture, climate, and soil, that 

 proclaimed our nearness to a land of strange peoples, customs, and 

 language. Finally we crossed the Rio Grande, drew up on Mexican 

 soil, had our baggage examined by dark complexioned officials who were 

 polite beyond belief, changed our money, getting two dollars and fifty- 

 eight cents for each dollar of Uncle Sam's currency, and were at length 

 in the land of the Aztecs. 



