Chapter XXI: 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.