some silver-mines on it, as well as many horses, cattle, and sheep.
The train of ambulances starts about daybreak, and travels till noon; then a long rest is taken, after which the wagons continue the journey till sundown. Many extra mules follow the train, and, when one of the animals grows tired, a change is at once made.
The Mexican Central Railway will probably be completed to Zacatecas in December, 1883, and will then be extended toward Durango as rapidly as possible.
The country north of Zacatecas does not present any obstacles to the construction of a railroad. The grading will be easy all the way to the border. The plain is apparently level for hundreds of miles. The engineers report that the maximum grade from El Paso to Fresnillo will be six tenths per hundred feet.
Humboldt has stated in the Cosmos, vol. v, p. 380, that the great table-land from Mexico to Santa Fé, a difference of parallels of fully 16° 20' (equal to about 1,200 miles), can be traversed in four-wheeled carriages without the advantage of artificially prepared roads. (Vide. p. 28.) On these facts it may be assumed that lack of capital will only prevent the Mexican Central Railway Company from completing its line at an early day. The railroad will pass between the towns of Villa de Coz and Fresnillo. There is a large deposit of sulphate of soda at the former, and rich mines of silver are found at the latter, the principal of which are in the Cerro del Proano. The district of Fresnillo was discovered in 1569, and the city has a population of 15,000. The elevation is 7,244 feet.
From this point the line will run nearly due north, through the town of Sombrerete, which contains mines of gold, silver, lead, copper, and iron. Thence the road will pass near Durango, where the famous iron mountain, the Cerro del Mercado, is found. The elevation of Durango is 6,847 feet, according to Humboldt. This town is the capital of the State of the same name, and lies in latitude 24° 2' north. It has a population of 27,119.
An American mining company has recently been organized to work the iron deposits of the Cerro del Mercado.
Scorpions (alacranes) are common in Durango. They are often found in abandoned mines. As their sting is sometimes fatal, travelers should be careful to avoid these insects.
Owing to the formation of the table-land, the grade of the Mexican Central Railway will be slightly downward north of Durango.
