Coahuila, with an area of 65,000 square miles, and a population of 300,000 inhabitants, is also bounded on the north by the Rio Grande and Texas. The state consists principally of flat plains intersected by small mountain ranges. The rainfall is generally scarce, although abundant at certain seasons in the more mountainous regions, whilst the climate is very variable, being hot and unhealthy in places, although in general terms it cannot be pronounced bad. The great plateau of Mexico, of which it forms part, comes down to a low elevation towards the Rio Grande, whilst the principal mountain ranges are offshoots of the Eastern Sierra Madre. Agriculture is carried on mainly under irrigation from canals fed from the torrential streams which occur sparsely in the state, and great quantities of cotton are grown. The cotton belt and industry are most important, and the wines of Parras are famous in the country. Coahuila, in common with others of its neighbouring states, possesses some peculiar topographical conditions—portions of it consisting of plains or valleys with no hydrographic outlet, as shown in the chapter dealing with the orography of the Republic. These in some cases form fertile valleys, and, in others, sun-beat deserts, uncultivated and uninhabited.
Notwithstanding its partly sterile nature this state is a very prosperous commercial section of the country, due largely to its excellent railway system, five different lines of which traverse it. These are the Mexican Central, the International, the Northern, the National, and other lesser systems. In addition there are some fair roads, upon which the traveller may journey by diligencia or on horseback. The capital, Saltillo, with a population of about 25,000, is a pretty and interesting old Spanish town, and a valuable commercial centre. Manufacturing industries have increased rapidly of late years in this state, especially those producing textile fabrics from the native cotton. Metal and coal mining are both developing in this region; and new towns, of which Torreon is an example, are springing up. The state contains one of the principal points of entry to the Republic from the United States—Eagle Pass, or Ciudad Porfirio Diaz, on the International Railway, whilst Laredo, on the National, is near its border.
Nuevo Leon, which also borders upon the Rio Grande and Texas, is much smaller than its neighbouring states—23,750 square miles in area—but has a larger population of some 350,000 inhabitants. The state is traversed by the Eastern Sierra Madre, the highest summits of which are snow-covered. The region consists topographically of small plains and well-watered, fertile valleys. Its orography gives rise to the presence of numerous rivers and streams, all of which are upon the Atlantic watershed. These productive valleys, copious streams, and the picturesque scenery of the varied landscape, afford striking contrast with the appalling deserts which the neighbouring States of Coahuila and Chihuahua contain, and which are characteristic of the great plateau of Anahuac in the north. Cold and bracing in the mountains, the climate is temperate upon the high plains, and very hot in the low valleys; whilst the rainfall is variable.
The state is well served with railways, which largely account for its prosperity. The great trunk lines which traverse it unite it with the railway system of the United States, the ports of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and with the capital of the Republic. These main lines are, respectively, the International, the Mexican Central, the National, and the Monterrey and Gulf. There are in addition various smaller systems.
The capital city of the state, Monterrey, is the fourth in point of commercial importance and population in the Republic. It contains handsome buildings and numerous hotels, and its proximity to the United States has had a considerable influence on its development.
| GENERAL VIEW OF THE CITY OF MONTERREY, STATE OF NUEVO LEON, UPON THE GREAT PLATEAU. |
Among the state's main resources are its mineral deposits, in which coal and iron are important. The smelters and steel works at Monterrey, elsewhere mentioned in the chapter on mining, are among the most important in the country. Agriculture comes second; the extensive forests afford a remarkable variety of timber—pine, ebony, walnut, cedar, and others; whilst cattle-raising is a growing industry. And the textile industry is well represented, as is brewing and distilling. In brief, the state is an example of a prosperous and growing Mexican community, largely supplying its own wants in raw material and manufactured articles.
Durango lies upon the great plateau, but an imposing Cordillera—the Western Sierra Madre—bounds and crosses it on the west, shutting off the State of Sinaloa and the Pacific Ocean. North and east great barren sun-beat plains stretch their verdureless wastes, intersected by ranges of sterile hills, both extending into the neighbouring States of Chihuahua and Coahuila. Here in former times the savage Indians roamed. But before entering upon these plains we have traversed the fertile country upon the eastern slope of the Western Sierra, watered by the various rivers which descend therefrom—pleasing landscape and fertile soil.
The area of the state is 43,750 square miles, and its population 380,000. The city of Durango, one of the foremost of the fine Spanish-built cities of the Mexican tableland, has a population of somewhat more than 30,000 inhabitants. It stands upon a broad though barren plain at the elevation of 6,350 feet above sea-level, and its climate is subject to abrupt changes of heat and cold.