VERA CRUZ
The State of Vera Cruz is one of the important states of the republic.
The climate has a range of temperature that rises from cool and bracing
to hot and stifling. It is pre-eminently agricultural and with the
exception of rich fields of mineral oil, and cattle-raising, which is a
lucrative source of revenue, the chief products of this fertile State
are coffee, bananas, sugar, vanilla and cotton. In the northwest is
the Huasteca region, the finest cattle lands on the continent, and in
the southwest, the Sotavente district is rich in agricultural soil and
watered by the mighty Paploapam.
The southern part of the State is open to colonization and there are
many foreign enterprises engaged in the principal industry of sugar
making.
The State is very liberal and progressive and under the administration
of the present Governor, Señor Don Teodora Dehesa, port-works,
water-works and sewers, drainage, public buildings and many other
advanced ideas of reform have been inaugurated.
The Federal Quarantine Station at Vera Cruz has been declared by health
experts as the most complete and thorough in existence. It can be now
recorded that the entire absence of yellow fever is assured. Vera Cruz
now enjoys the distinction of being the cleanest city in the republic.
[Illustration: POST OFFICE, VERA CRUZ.]
The City of Vera Cruz was founded in 1519, by Hernando Cortés. It was
at one time the capital of the State, but Jalapa is now the seat of
the government. It was built in a semi-circle fronting the sea, and
was formerly enclosed by a wall six feet high and three feet thick
and defended by two redoubts on shore and by the Castle of San Juan
de Ulua which stands on an island. The streets are regular and wide
and form many squares, and little plazas or parks, beautiful in rich
tropical flowers and trees which make the city very attractive. The
houses are strongly built of coral limestone in the old Spanish style.
It is an ideal spot for the traveler who enjoys a warm climate and
beautiful sun. Old churches, public buildings bearing the marks of
centuries, old convents that have stood the test of time, and beautiful
modern buildings are found side by side in sublime contrast. The
Municipal Palace was built in 1609, and the Public Library, in which
are wonderful old volumes and archives, was founded in 1870. There are
several beautiful churches, theatres, hospitals, an artillery school,
and a new post office.
[Illustration: OLD GATEWAY, ORIZABA.]
The lately constructed port-works have converted the ancient rockbound
roadstead along the Atlantic coast line into a safe and commodious
harbor. The protected harbor covers fifty-four acres. The length of the
breakwater is three thousand three hundred and thirty metres.
The present city of Vera Cruz is not the same that was built by
Cortés in the year 1519. The Villa Rica de Vera Cruz--“the rich town
of the true cross”--is six miles distant from the present city. The
inhabitants of this busy city are renowned for their culture, their
frank and simple manners and their patriotism, of which they have given
many proofs in the various sieges which the town has sustained against
foreign foes, thus justifying the appellation of “heroic” given to it.
[Illustration: INDIAN WOMEN IN THE TROPICS.]
Nowhere in Mexico is there a more beautiful spot than the City of
Jalapa. When the atmosphere is clear, one can see the shipping in the
harbor of Vera Cruz with an ordinary spy glass and the white caps of
the waves with the naked eye. The elevation of Jalapa above the sea is
a little more than four thousand feet. It is situated on a shelf of
the mountain, the summit of which at Perote, a distance in a direct
line of about twenty miles, is four thousand five hundred feet higher
than Jalapa. The whole horizon, except in the direction of Vera Cruz,
is bounded by mountains--among them Orizaba, distant from Jalapa about
twenty-five miles, though owing to the clearness of the atmosphere and
the sun shining upon the snow with which it is covered it appears to
be much nearer. All the tropical fruits grow in the district, and are
cultivated with great care and skill. It is not an exaggeration to say
that it is impossible for one who has not been on the tableland of
Mexico to conceive of a climate so elysian.
[Illustration: NORMAL SCHOOL FOR PROFESSORS, JALAPA.]
Jalapa is indeed a rare old place. It seems to be built on edge, with
streets like stairs climbing the hills, while terraced houses cling to
the hillsides.
Orizaba lies about midway between the two extremes of the coast and the
plateau. It is one of the busiest manufacturing towns of Mexico. It is
on the line of the oldest railway in the country, within easy access of
the interior cities.
The town of Coatzacoalcos is at the mouth of the river of the same
name, and is one of the few places that look like an American town.
It is growing rapidly and has the second finest port-works on the
continent.
On the Mexican Railroad, Cordoba, nestling under the shadow of the
snow-capped peak of Orizaba is a tropical refuge for many travelers
seeking sunshine. Fruits, flowers, palms and ferns grow in abundance.
In this tropical part of Mexico one finds many beautiful pictures that
would look almost unreal if painted on canvas.
The red-brown coloring of the Indians in their costumes and the
half-naked children basking in the sun or enjoying the shade of the
verdant palms, and the perfume of the flowers that permeates the
atmosphere almost transport one with enthusiasm and enjoyment.
[Illustration: PICTURESQUE SCENE NEAR SALAZAR.]
In Cordoba grows the finest coffee in the world. The loveliest scene on
Nature’s canvas is a coffee plantation. The leaves of the plant are a
very dark green, the flowers white and freighted with a rich aromatic
incense, and the berries are deep red. This bean is cultivated with
great care. The shrub is graceful and drooping and the flower is as
sweet as the orange blossom.
The State of Vera Cruz is rapidly gaining fame for the variety, beauty
and sublimity of its scenic attractions.
[Illustration: THE HARBOR, VERA CRUZ.]
The Castle of San Juan de Ulua, which was the last foothold of the
Spaniards in Mexico, was surrendered by them to the patriots in 1825.
In 1838, Vera Cruz was bombarded and taken by the French and again in
1847, by the Americans, under General Scott. It was surrendered to the
allied British, French and Spanish squadron in December, 1861, and was
restored to Mexico in 1867.
The experience of three Mexican Revolutions makes it easier to conceive
the extent to which this unfortunate city must have suffered in the
struggle made by the Spaniards to preserve the Castle, their last
bulwark on this continent. San Juan de Ulua remains a lasting memorial
of the great works which, almost immediately after their arrival on
these shores, were undertaken by the Spanish conquerors.
[Illustration: OLD FORT OF SANTIAGO.]
[Illustration: TAMESI RIVER FRONT, TAMPICO.]