TAMAULIPAS
Tamaulipas derives its name from a tribe of Indians which formerly
inhabited this region. It is one of the closest Mexican neighbors of
Texas and is one of the richest agricultural and mineral states in the
republic.
Bordering on Texas on the north, with the Gulf of Mexico on the eastern
boundary and the tropical states of Vera Cruz and San Luis Potosí
on the south, and Nuevo León on the west, Tamaulipas is one of the
most accessible of the Mexican states and equal in size to many of
the western states of her northern neighbor. The principal cities of
the State are Ciudad Victoria, the capital, Tampico, the great Gulf
port, Matamoros, historically located just across the Rio Grande from
Brownsville, Texas. A majestic mountain range, the Sierra Madre, enters
the State in the southern end and runs through it in a north-easterly
direction penetrating into the neighboring state of Nuevo León. The
Sierra Madre running from east to west, covered with thick forests,
rises to a high altitude, and is cut in all directions by deep gorges
and ravines and protrudes its massive spurs east and west into
various important chains. The mountains are rich in minerals and the
mineral development of the State is in its infancy. It has an area of
twenty-eight thousand six hundred and fifty-nine square miles and a
population considerably above two hundred thousand.
The coast is low and sandy and there are several lagoons along the
shore, the largest of which, Laguna Madre, is over one hundred miles
long and in some parts over twenty miles wide. The principal rivers
of this State are the Fernando, Borbon, Santander and Tampico. In the
northern part the flat coast lands extend inward for many miles and
then rise to elevated plains; in the south the country is diversified
by many mountains and valleys and the scenery is very picturesque.
There are rich silver and copper mines which promise great and
undiscovered wealth. Valuable timber abounds on the mountains; the soil
is fertile, and all the fruits, grains and vegetables of the temperate
and torrid zones are easily raised. This is also an excellent State for
stock-raising of all kinds.
Tamaulipas was originally named Santa Anna de Tamaulipas. In area,
richness of soil and variety of climate, the State is one of the most
important in Mexico. Its location is naturally excellent. In the long
stretches of flat lands of the Tierra Caliente; there are rivers with
many branches which reach out in every direction.
[Illustration: SEÑOR DON JUAN B. CASTILLO, GOVERNOR OF
TAMAULIPAS.]
Señor Don Juan de Castillo has been the distinguished governor for
the past ten years. He has devoted his energies to the development of
all enterprises in his State. He encourages colonization and gives
financial aid and concessions which promise to develop the resources
of Tamaulipas. During his administration many new schools have been
opened in the country districts and he has given special attention to
the extension of education throughout the State. In the larger cities
new school buildings have been erected, embodying all modern ideas.
Governor Castillo has caused improvement in sanitary conditions and the
State is now free from epidemics which threatened it in the past.
The general interest shown on the part of foreign capitalists and the
advantages offered to investors have resulted in the forming of several
good colonies.
There are many fertile valleys well watered and free from the malarial
diseases which afflict the hot lands. These lands are still very cheap
and suitable for colonization.
[Illustration: AVENIDA PRIETO, SHOWING GOVERNOR’S PALACE,
VICTORIA.]
Ciudad Victoria, the capital city, is situated in a beautiful and
healthful locality. It is well built and has splendid palaces and
public buildings, hospitals and good schools. There is a normal
training school for teachers, a primary normal school, the state
institute and a law school; another school which does excellent work
is the Juan José de la Gaza Institute. The state legislature has made
extension of all public roads. The city has many beautiful parks and
monuments.
[Illustration: PLAZA JUAREZ, VICTORIA.]
No sections of the republic are receiving greater evidence of the
influx of capital and the stream of immigration than the Gulf ports.
With the natural advantages of location, harbor and transportation
facilities, the port and city of Tampico are of the greatest commercial
importance.
Tampico is built upon a rocky bluff forty feet high, surrounded by
lagoons of salt water. The architecture of Tampico is more American
than most Mexican towns display, owing, doubtless, to its ready
communication with other northern ports. The houses are built both of
wood and stone, with sloping roofs and outer verandas. Color prevails
everywhere, the houses being painted in blues and yellows, each street
looking fresh, bright and clean and especially so the brilliant façades
clustering about the plaza. The latter is a densely shaded park paved
with granite and provided with seats. No flowers grow in this plaza but
the house-holders around it seem to vie with one another in window and
veranda gardening. All the houses have balconies on the street-front
with rows of blossoming orchids and amaryllis along the walls. Just
out of Tampico may be found thousands of orchids growing wild, hanging
thick on the seaward side of the rocks, where the tropical sun and
perpetual moisture give them a most luxurious growth.
[Illustration: PLAZA DE ARMAS, TAMPICO.]
Then there is a wonderful old church with ancient wood-carving and
frescoes by Spanish artists. It is a strange mixture of old and new
that is met at every turn in Tampico; the jetties built out from the
mouth of the Panuco seven thousand feet into the Gulf are, perhaps, the
most interesting of all. These jetties have great banks of stone with
easy slopes and rounded tops like those at the mouth of the Maas in
Holland. The sand-bar which once obstructed this harbor has entirely
disappeared and now the inland harbor of Tampico is one of the most
important on the American continent.
Approaching ships pass into calm water between two great jetties
extending a mile out into the Gulf and on through a wide channel kept
constantly open and deepening by the current of the great Panuco River
and its tributaries, which drain a watershed of thousands of square
miles and discharge their waters into the Gulf of Mexico through
the entrance to the harbor. These jetties, built by the Mexican
Government, are constructed of stone of a superior quality secured
from the mountains of the interior. Constant additions are being made
to them and plans are now under consideration which will result in
further extension. The Panuco River is at this point the dividing line
between the State of Vera Cruz on the south and that of Tamaulipas on
the north. Just as a ship reaches the actual mouth of the river the
government lighthouse may be seen to the best advantage looming up on
the horizon on the Tamaulipas side.
[Illustration: A FIELD OF ZAPUPE.]
Upon the bluff sloping gently to the sea level is an ideal residence
section overlooking the harbor and the system of surrounding water
ways, whose shores lined with tropical trees and vegetation combine to
form a most beautiful landscape.
The Mexican Central Railway furnishes the best transportation
facilities to Tampico, one branch running west to Aguascalientes on
the main line and tapping the great mining and agricultural centres.
Along this route some of the best agricultural lands of Mexico are
traversed. To the north another branch of the Mexican Central connects
Tampico with all Texas points via Monterey. The Mexican Central makes
a direct connection with the National capital. Running direct between
Tampico and Vera Cruz, _Progreso_ and _Puerto Mexico_ are two
steamers doing a coastwise trade.
[Illustration: TARPON CAUGHT BY THE OFFICERS OF THE BRITISH
CRUISER _BRILLIANT_.]
The good climate, the sea bathing, the excellent tarpon fishing and
hunting make Tampico the most attractive winter and summer resort
on the Gulf Coast. As one walks through the office and lobby of the
Southern Hotel and sees the specimens of large fish which are hanging
on the walls at various points it is easy to realize the importance of
the industry which the proprietor of the hotel, Mr. A. N. Poindexter,
has built up in this line.
Only a few years ago the tarpon banks near Tampico were known by very
few people, but Mr. Poindexter recognized that this was a sportsman’s
paradise and began in a small way to make known to those of his
guests who were interested in such sports the possibilities of real
active sport, with a little touch of adventure in it, and to-day many
distinguished people from all parts of the world, visit this port for
the sole purpose of tarpon fishing and wild-fowl shooting.
Within a radius of one hundred and fifty miles of Tampico there are
fifteen American colonies being located at Atascagor, La Palma,
Columbus, Colonia Americana, Alta Vista, Quaker City, Chamal, San
Diegurto, and other small colonies. Many of them are settling rapidly
and have established good schools and churches. They are employed in
agriculture and many other enterprises.
In this State are found various seams of coal and many mineral
deposits. Among the metals that are found in the State are copper,
silver, gold, lead, zinc and iron. The oil wells of Tamaulipas are
already famous. The oil belt reaches into the State of Vera Cruz and
will be found all along the State of Tamaulipas, as far as Texas.
Prominent oil experts predicted that this State would become one of the
greatest oil-producing sections in Mexico.
The cultivation of the zapupe fibre plant has received most attention
in the Tampico section. Within the last three years several companies
have been formed for the cultivation of zapupe near Tampico and in
addition a number of individuals are engaged in planting the fibre.
It is claimed that zapupe matures more quickly, that it produces more
fibre to the plant than henequen.
In Victoria and vicinity, about one hundred miles north of Tampico,
henequen growing is receiving much attention. Land not fit for any
other kind of cultivation seems to be well adapted for henequen.
[Illustration: PLAZA, VICTORIA.]
During the Civil War in the United States, 1861–1865, Tamaulipas made
a handsome income by raising cotton and exporting it to that country.
Many farmers became rich in that way; but when the war was over, and
cotton fell in price with the return of peace and the revival of the
southern states, the production declined. There is no reason why
Tamaulipas should not grow cotton as abundantly as the State of Vera
Cruz.
Matamoros is a frontier city of Tamaulipas, being only forty miles
from the mouth of the Rio Grande, and directly opposite the City of
Brownsville, Texas. It has a population of over twelve thousand, made
up mostly of Americans and people of Spanish descent. English is
commonly spoken. The City is finely situated on a bend of the river.
Its wide streets cross at right angles, and the houses are mostly
of brick and built in modern style. There is a beautiful Cathedral
as well as numerous churches and convents. There is a good public
school system, besides plenty of private schools. The climate is hot
from April to September, and cool from December to March. Matamoros
was founded early in the last century, and was named after the great
patriot, Marino Matamoros, whose bones lie with those of Hidalgo and
Morelos in the Cathedral at Mexico City.
Laredo is a name by which one of the lines of the Condes of Spain was
called. A Royal Commission called “Vista General” in 1767 laid out
the town, giving it four leagues of land, two on each side of the Rio
Grande, and laid off above and below the town tract on both sides, the
tract now called Porciones, distributing it to the settlers. Since
that time Laredo has been recognized as a town with municipal powers.
In the earlier days of its existence, savage Indians continually
committed depredations on the surrounding country and robbed the
people of their horses and cattle; but the citizens, inured to such
hardships, often chastised the savages and killed many of them in
battle, always maintaining a justly merited reputation for skill,
courage and gallantry. Laredo was a kind of supply station during the
Texas revolution, but took no very active part in the war. It remained
under the control of Mexico as a part of Tamaulipas until 1846, when it
was divided into two towns, Nuevo Laredo on the Mexican side remaining
a quiet, progressive town, whose principal industry has been stock
raising,--horses, cattle, and sheep; and several handsome fortunes have
been made in it.
The Tamaulipas Mexicans are brave, daring patriots, who are zealous to
a man for the integrity and independence of their country. This State
gave the nucleus of the heroic army of the north during the French
campaign and the stoic bravery of the Tamaulipan soldiers will never
be forgotten in the history of the siege and fall of Querétaro; many
of their illustrious names will ever stand for the bravest and most
inflexible of patriots.
[Illustration: TAMPICO PLAZA.]
[Illustration: NORMAL SCHOOL FOR PROFESSORS, SALTILLO.]
[Illustration: JUAREZ MARKET, SALTILLO.]