ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 



99 



The border town where we made our entry is known as Cuidad 

 Porfirio Diaz the first word meaning "city."' Here all was Spanish, or 

 rather Mexican, the adobe houses, the half clad Indian children who 

 begged softly, ";/// centavo Scnor," and the placid, care-free appearance 

 of the railroad men, who had the air of having but little on their minds, 

 and no cause for hurry or worry, were all in marked contrast to the 

 hustling, bustling atmosphere that is so much in evidence on this side of 

 the border. After pulling out of Diaz, we retired, slept soundly, and 

 waked to breakfast in Torreon, three thousand seven hundred feet above 

 the level of the sea. It was a real Mexican breakfast, although cooked 

 and served by Chinese, and eaten in a leisurely way that did not at all 

 suggest a waiting train. 



PRIMITIVE MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION 



To digress a moment: When I say we, I refer to myself and 

 whatever chance acquaintance I might be thrown in with at the moment. 

 As far as Torreon I had had three such a sugar planter who left at 

 St. Louis ; an army officer, home from the Philippines, who got off at 

 San Antonio, and a young English mining engineer, who was to estab- 

 lish himself permanently at Zacatecas. The last named was a nice fellow, 

 but very serious withal, and responded with extreme reluctance to any 

 attempted humor. For example, he had noted, as I said, the influx of 

 Americans to the country, and said : 



"By the way, those planters now, what do they raise?" 

 I replied, "The older ones, who are settled down, raise pineapples, 

 cacao, and rubber ; most of the younger ones raise Cain." 



