Page:Appleton's Guide to Mexico.djvu/273

Rh lies, as well as the picturesque sierras bounding it, from the plateau on the south.

After a continual descent, the houses come in sight, and the diligence rattles over the cobble-stone pavement of the streets to the hotel, stopping first at the post-office to deliver the mail. The city is 81 miles from La Ventura.

There are a few mesones. The water for the city is brought from the mountains in a long aqueduct. Saltillo is the capital of the State of Coahuila, and is a very healthy place. It is well built, and contains an Alameda and several plazas. The parochial church on the Plaza mayor is worthy of a visit. There is a small garrison and a bull-ring here. A fort, which was built during the French occupation, stands on the hill behind the city. Several cotton-factories are found in the neighborhood, and a considerable trade in goat and sheep skins is carried on in Saltillo. This city is destined to become the emporium of Northeastern Mexico. A wagon-road leads to Monclova, 121 miles distant, and the Mexican International Railroad, starting from Piedras Negras, will probably have a branch line from Monclova to Saltillo. The Mexican National Railway began to run trains to the latter town about September 15, 1883. The climate is temperate and dry. An American capitalist is about to erect a hotel, with all the modern conveniences. Saltillo is likely to become a resort for invalids. It has many advantages over Colorado, and the distance from New York or Philadelphia to either place is about the same.