APPENDIX B.
Extracts from letters received from Colonel Ramsey, in Mexico, of the dates following.
“August 29, 1853.
“I have received a letter from Mr. Markoe, an agent at Vera Cruz, dated August 22, in which he says: ‘The Texas left this morning at 8 o’clock a. m. The express arrived last night at 8. It left Acapulco on the 17th at 4 p. m.’ Mr. Tyler writes me: ‘The riders have done nobly in getting through in the time they did, considering the state of the roads, (in the height of the rainy season.)’ Mr. Denman, at Acapulco, writes me from Acapulco, August 23: ‘Your express which left Vera Cruz on the 17th instant at 4 p. m., arrived here on the 22d at 4½ a. m.’”
“September 15, 1853.
“I only returned last evening from a trip I have been making over some distance of our route. The express mail is not working to my entire satisfaction, as too much time (80 hours) is too long, and I am anxious to improve this important service.”
“By the time that the rains are over, all our animals will be in prime condition—say by the 1st November—and then our agents assure me they can easily make the distance under 60 hours. This season has been unprecedented for heavy rains and bad roads. We have now passed through the worst of it, making the experiment under every possible disadvantage, and proving that we can always run from port to port in 80 hours at the farthest.”
“I have a letter from Señor Gernez, the Secretary of State of Guerrero, dated the 7th instant, in which he says: ‘The courier left Acapulco on the 4th instant, at 4 p. m., and arrived here, (Tixtla,) in this city, on the 5th, at 2 o’clock p. m.’ Now, by looking at the distance, you will perceive that it is over the worst part of the road, and more than one hundred[1] miles, at the very worst season of the year.”