"heeling" a cock 



Photo by Shirley C. Hulse 



The Mexicans use a gaff, or heel, up to three inches or more in length. As contrasted 

 to the needle-like heel which is used elsewhere, the Mexican heel is broad and razor-sharp 

 on both edges, except that the top edge is blunted for a little ways back of the point to insure 

 the penetration of the gaff, which might otherwise merely rip instead of cutting deep. The 

 Mexicans sometimes wrangle and haggle for hours while arranging terms of the fights, which 

 are usually over very quickly after they are once started. Not infrequently both cocks fall 

 dead after the first clash. 



flights of fancy, how a ship could be 

 hauled over those mountains in a gigantic 

 cradle. 



There are many peculiarities about the 

 Tehuantepec Railroad. It is owned by 

 the government, but is operated by a 

 company made up of two equal partners, 

 the Mexican government and the firm of 

 S. Pearson & Son. Each partner con- 

 tributed half the capital of the firm, and 

 they share the profits, the Pearson firm 

 being the managing director. 



The Mexican government owns about 

 one-third of the stock of the American- 

 Hawaiian steamship line, which is the 

 principal freight producer for the Te- 

 huantepec Railroad. Years ago these 

 ships went around South America, from 

 Hawaii to New York, with their cargoes 

 of sugar. When the Mexican govern- 

 ment decided to build the Tehuantepec 

 Railroad, it proposed to the steamship 



line to take a third of its stock, and to 

 handle its cargoes across the Isthmus 

 upon terms that would be more advan- 

 tageous than the trip around South 

 America. It agreed to handle the busi- 

 ness between Salina Cruz and Coatza- 

 coalcos for one-third of the through rate, 

 with the understanding that if this did 

 not afford a profit to the steamship com- 

 pany the railroad would be willing to 

 accept as low as a fourth of the through 

 rate. 



COMPETING WITH PANAMA 



With the opening of the Panama Canal, 

 the American-Hawaiian line will send 

 its ships through that waterway, in spite 

 of the fact that the Mexican government 

 owns one-third of the line's stock, and 

 took it in order to get the steamships to 

 use the Tehuantepec route. 



But although the Tehuantepec officials 



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