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, Texaf, 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. 
