Show BlOCKHOUSES 0 co E S' S LEND THRILL TO RAIE JOURNEY JOURNEY G Guards ards Every Every Train Between Vera VeraCruz VeraCruz Cruz and Mex Capital By Ralph H. H Turner United Press Staff Correspondent VERA CRUZ Mexico March 20 SO By In fn Jail In tie the state of Vera Cruz toda today Tie lie he Carranza government confronts one ofis of ofIs Is gr greatest problems In bandit exter- exter It is that fact that adds zest to the present situation in this interesting region lon on and hel heightens the thrill of travel on the railroad line between Mexico City nd the port of Vera VeraCruz Cruz Danger has been decreased to the Uie able ab aD- le minimum on tills this line lIno but the ride Ide haS bas a a. thrill thrill bandits bandits or no bandits for bandits for forthe the tle trip from the Mexican capital to the tha seacoast from a a. scenic viewpoint has few rivals In this world of natural won won- ders dera It was waa this same scenic splendor which In the old nays Jays proved an ally of the roaming bandits With the train swinging around high precipices and through mountain gorges and with rugged tugged peaks affording excellent hiding places the wary bandit had the advantage tage tare tage whether his object was holdup or blowup BLOCKHOUSES BLOCK BAt BANDITS f Those were the days however before tome some wise head in the Carranza lineup the bandits and conceived the notion of erecting blockhouses on the very eminences that formerly had been points of vantage for tor the bad men So blockhouses blocked the bandit The traveler to Vera Cruz today after he has traversed about half the distance and has hils entered the mountainous district ease II It at t Int Intervals of or every on one or nr two kilometers these picturesque fortresses I I constructed of adobe or cement and containing con con- taming apertures where the trusty firearm firearm fire fire- arm ma may be rested Inside the houses are Carranza soldiers At some places the blockhouses seem to be In the most precarious positions perched upon the mountain sides but th their lr presence has not met with favor In bandit circles ARMED ESCORTS ON TRAINS But the government has another another- card which it plays against 3 the This is Is the armed escort which accompanies accompanies the tr train ln In fact there are two armed escorts Attached to the gar ger er train Is a freight car containing a body of Carranza soldiers nondescript but with very much in evidence Then behind the passenger train Is an an other string of cars a troop train which h carries still more soldiers The troops In this thin train Iraln act as reinforcements If Jf the I occasion demands after arter the soldiers up I front have engaged the attackers In a pr preliminary skirmish I Time was when the troop train or ex cx as it It was called traveled ahead of the passenger outfit doing scout duty But Rut there was a a. flaw In this arrangement I The canny graciously allowed the Troop traIn Tram to pass paes then dynamited the Ute I passenger cars At least that was the theory according to the Hoyle of 01 banditry bandit bandit- I ry and and ana the troopers might have continued many miles ahead before they learned what had happened in the rear rear So the position of the trains train was reversed PICTURESQUE COUNTRY With this combination of ot blockhouses and armed escorts the traveler traveler trav trav- eler to to- this picturesque port may revel uninterruptedly In the offerings of nature From Mexico City he advances toward the divide toe the highest point which separates separates sep sep- the mountainous plateau district from the tierra caliente or hot country of the coastal region Finally he reaches this divide and then peeping downward through the mountain passes he catches sight of the tropical country beneath him lie He has hu begun to coast to the lower levels He is still in a a. high altitude amid the temperate climate of the mountains but there beneath him in full view are banada trees and cocoanut cocoanut cocoanut cocoa- cocoa I nut palms palms palms-a a South Sea Island setting Around and around the mountains the train passes and the same fruit vendors have displayed their wares up above are waiting for the traveler when he reaches the lower levels They have de descended descended descended de- de by means of the shorter more precipitous foot paths Finally the traveler has reached the lowlands he can almost reach out of the car window and pluck bananas He is coasting into Vera Cruz |