Yeakle, M. M. The City of Saint Louis of To-day: Its Progress and Prospects. Truth in Homely Words and Facts in Faithful Figures . St. Louis: J. Osmun Yeakle and Co, 1889. [format: book], [genre: history; narrative; report]. Permission: St. Louis Mercantile Library
Persistent link to this document: http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/file.php?file=yeakle.html

NOVEMBER, 1888.
Hon. John Drayton, consul at Tuxpan, Mexico, in a letter to Mr. Mitchel, Secretary of the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, states that the exports from Tuxpan, amount to nearly $2,000,000 yearly, and consist principally of vanillia, chiele, hides, deerskins, dyewood, cedar, mahogany, honey, sarsaparilla, rubber, coffee and fruit, nearly all of which go to New York.

Further on in his letter the consul says:
"Now, there is no reason why New Orleans, with the whole Mississippi Valley to back her with all of its produce and manufactures, cannot place merchandise of all classes here as reasonable as New York, if not more so, for she is but two days and a half from any of these ports. So, if she cannot put in more steamers and offer the same inducements and accomodations as New York for this trade then it must continue in the old course. The trade natually belongs to her. Draw a line from New Orleans to the City of Mexico and you will see that Tuxpan is the nearest port on it. At any rate it would be worth the while to send out commissioners to examine the prospects and put a line of steamers to run the coast, for there are many merchants who would go to New Orleans to purchase their supplies if there were convenient transportation facilities to transact their business.

The lands are very fertile, producing two crops of corn on the same acre every year, also all vegetables and fruits. Sugar lands are excellent and need very little cultivation after the first year, and last six, eight or ten, without re-planting, producing two and three hogsheads to the acre. For enterprises a sugar refinery, paper mill, powder mill, would do well if properly managed. Petroleum abounds in many localities."