ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 103 



There doesn't exist a fireplace, a stove, or any sort of heating apparatus, 

 in hotel or private house. Indeed, the inhabitants of the city claim that 

 such are unhealthy, and the result is that every stranger courts pneu- 

 monia, unless exceedingly careful. The city itself is beautiful, and has a 

 chocolate-colored policeman at every corner ; a polite little chap who 

 appreciates a tip or a good cigar, and who will do anything in reason for 

 the well behaved. 



I spent two days in the capital, and was very much impressed with 

 its beauties. For a description of the buildings, customs, and places of 

 interest, one need only turn to the many excellent guidebooks on sale 

 everywhere. There are two points, however, which these publications do 

 not touch upon. One is the very sincere and deserved admiration which 



LOOKING DOWN UPON MALTRATA FROM THE TRAIN 



visitors of every nation openly express for President Diaz, and another 

 is the fact that American moneymakers, in a great variety of lines, are 

 getting a very strong foothold in the city, to its marked benefit and to 

 theirs. 



Like any other tenderfoot, I had brought with me a lot of luggage, 

 which a closer view of conditions in the Terra Caliente showed to be 

 unnecessary. Most of this I left in the City of Mexico, and started forth 

 early one morning, clad in a summer suit, flannel shirt, and broad-brimmed 

 hat, with a Colt thirty-eight strapped to my waist, and bearing for lug- 

 gage, a small bag and a Mexican blanket. I found the conditions on 

 trains south of Mexico City radically different from those to the north. 



