Chapter Eleven
Mail Via Tehuantepec, 1858-1859

In the search for an easy and inexpensive route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec had long attracted much attention. The Isthmus forms a narrow neck between two ranges of the Sierra Madre Mountains and abuts the Gulf of Mexico at its northern extremity, with easy access to New Orleans. This route, roughly four thousand miles in length, is about two thousand miles shorter than the Panama route (described in Chapter Six). Figure 11-1 shows the route.

Mexico’s grand vision for the Isthmus contemplated a railroad linking the two coasts. In 1842, Mexican President Santa Ana awarded a grant to José de Garay to construct a canal or railroad across the Isthmus. Lacking funding, De Garay sold his concession, and it ultimately ended up in the hands of Peter A. Hargous of New Orleans on February 5, 1849. At this time, the California gold rush was just gathering steam, so Hargous saw an opportunity to provide an alternate route for the emigrant traffic to San Francisco. He organized the New Orleans Company, which undertook a survey of the Isthmus route and placed the steamship Alabama on the route across the Gulf of Mexico between New Orleans and Minatitlan. The Alabama’s first trip left New Orleans on December 10, 1850 and reached Vera Cruz on December 16. It then continued for 235 miles along the coast and up the river to Suchil via Minatitlan. Passengers then took mules for the remaining 110 miles to Ventosa, where they had to arrange for a ship to San Francisco. The Alabama made five more round trips until May 22, 1851, when Mexico revoked the Garay concession for fear that American interests would colonize the transit.

A chronic shortage of funds caused the Mexican government to re-instate the Tehuantepec concession in February 1853. Albert G. Sloo¹ was the successful bidder, and proposed to carry the U.S. mails via Tehuantepec in conformity with the March 3, 1853 Post Office Appropriations Bill, which called for a mail route across the Isthmus. This was rejected by the Post Office Department as too expensive, so Sloo was unable to proceed with his concession. The U.S. Government finally took steps to assure the right of transit in the December 30, 1853 Gadsden Treaty², which obtained a perpetual right-of-way across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec for U.S. mails in closed letter bags.

The one year contract term was designed to stimulate competition for the October 1, 1859 renewal of the Ocean mail contracts via Panama. The 1859 Postmaster General report to Congress indicated that the actual mail subsidy for the route was at the rate of $250 thousand per annum, so the LTC opted to connect with the Pacific Mail Steamship Co. (PMSS) steamships at Ventosa, rather than at Acapulco.

The October 27, 1858 New Orleans Times-Picayune described the itinerary for westbound mail:

The steamship leg across the Gulf of Mexico between New Orleans and Minatitlan took three days, while the trip across the Isthmus between Minatitlan and Ventosa took three to four days. The sea trip between Ventosa and Acapulco in the PMSS steamer Oregon³ took slightly more than a day, and the stretch between Acapulco and San Francisco in PMSS steamships took a consistent seven to eight days. With smooth connections, the contract time of fifteen days could be easily accomplished. However, the contract time was never met in the westbound direction, since passengers and mail generally had to wait several days for the connection with the PMSS steamship at Acapulco.

The first westbound trip left New Orleans on October 27, 1858 and arrived in San Francisco after a trip of eighteen days. Its detailed itinerary was partially described in the November 20, 1858 Marysville Weekly California Express.

Seven different transcontinental routes were available in 1858, so the “default route” concept was utilized by the Post Office Department to reduce confusion. During the period of the Tehuantepec contract, the contract mail route via Panama was the stated default for post office mail,¹⁰ so if someone wanted to send a letter by an alternate route, that alternate route had to be endorsed on the cover or letter, usually by denoting a terminus or prominent point on the route. This system was clearly explained by the San Francisco postmaster in the November 15, 1858 San Francisco Daily Alta California when he announced the start of the new service via Tehuantepec:

This letter, endorsed “via Tehuantepec,” and was postmarked in San Francisco for the May 20, 1859 departure of the PMSS steamship John L. Stephens, and prepaid 10 cents transcontinental postage.¹⁴ It arrived at Acapulco on May 28, where it was transferred to the PMSS Oregon for the one day trip to Ventosa. After crossing the Isthmus to Minatitlan, this letter was delayed for over a week. The LTC steamship Coatzacoalcos had been seized by the New Orleans sheriff, so the Louisiana Tehuantepec Company had to scramble for a replacement. It chartered the steamship Jasper, which finally left Minatitlan with this mail on June 9 and arrived in New Orleans on June 12.¹⁵ This was the only sailing of the Jasper on this route.

News of the new transcontinental route spread far beyond San Francisco, and letters could be endorsed to the route from distant western post offices. Figure 11-6 shows a remarkable example carried on the 18th eastbound trip.

An unpublished census by Michael Perlman of surviving Tehuantepec route covers contains twenty-four eastbound examples and five westbound covers.¹⁷ This illustrates the great disparity in between eastbound and westbound mail volume on the Tehuantepec route. The reason for this is not completely understood, but it appears that most westbound mail originated around New Orleans, and that the service was not broadly advertised outside of that region.

Figure 11-7 shows a March 1859 cover carried on the tenth westbound trip. This quadruple-weight letter was posted on March 11, 1859 in New Orleans. It was endorsed “via Tehuantepec” and prepaid¹⁸ four times the 10 cents transcontinental rate. It left the following day on the LTC steamship Quaker City, which arrived in Minatitlan on March 15. After a trip across the Isthmus by river steamer and stagecoach, it was carried by the PMSS steamer Oregon from Ventosa to Acapulco. It left there on March 22 aboard the PMSS steamship Golden Age, and arrived in San Francisco on March 29.

In his 1859 report to Congress, the Postmaster General explained why the Tehuantepec contract was not renewed after the first year:

In total, fewer than 1,000 passengers and only 34,598 letters were carried via Tehuantepec²⁰ during the contract’s eleven months’ duration.

1. Sloo had previously been the successful bidder for the April 20, 1847 mail contract between New York and Chagres, Panama (see Chapter Six for details).
2. The Gadsden Treaty was signed on December 30, 1853 and purchased 30,000 square miles of Mexican territory in today’s southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico for the United States. It was ratified with modifications by the U.S. Senate on April 25, 1854 and finally approved by Mexico on June 8, 1854. The perpetual right-of-way across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec contained in the Treaty was relinquished by the United States in 1937. (Conkling, pages 49 and 71-73).
3. The Oregon was the second steamship of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. She was active on the San Francisco-Panama run until 1856 and served as a branch steamer after that. She was sold in 1861.
4. On this first westbound trip, the PMSS steamer Oregon left Ventosa with the mails on November 6, 1858 and took them to Acapulco. The PMSS Golden Gate left Panama City on November 1, collected the Oregon’s mails during its coaling stop at Acapulco on November 7, and arrived at San Francisco on November 14.
5. The PMSS steamer Oregon left Ventosa on November 22, 1858 and took the mails to Acapulco. The PMSS J.L. Stephens left Panama City on November 17 and picked up the Oregon’s mails Acapulco on November 23.
6. There was no early December 1858 PMSS sailing from Panama City, so the December 21 sailing of the Golden Age from Acapulco carried both the November 27 and December 12 New Orleans mails.
7. The Golden Age brought no Tehuantepec mails to San Francisco on February 12, 1859. A storm in the Gulf of Mexico delayed the mails and the Oregon waited at Ventosa until February 3, but was forced to leave before the arrival of the January 28 New Orleans mail. That mail had to wait for the departure of the PMSS steamship Sonora from Acapulco on February 21. The Sonora also carried the February 12 New Orleans mail to San Francisco from Acapulco. (February 12, 1859 San Francisco Bulletin)
8. A letter owned by Floyd Risvold was written at Tehuantepec by Charles Webster, U.S. consul and agent for the LTC, on September 29, 1859. Webster wrote, “The mail will leave in a few moments for Minatitlan and New Orleans, and as the contract with the Tehuantepec Company expires on the first of October, I greatly fear it will be the last direct opportunity I will have for some time.” This letter has a New Orleans postmark of October 10, and was rated for 10 cents due as a non-contract incoming steamship letter.
9. The PMSS steamer Oregon arrived at Ventosa on the evening of August 14 from Acapulco. The mail and passengers left early next morning for Suchil, but were accosted by a band of armed men six miles from Ventosa. Both the passengers and mail were robbed and sent on their way to Minatitlan, where they caught the Habana for New Orleans on August 17. (August 20, 1859 New Orleans Times-Picayune)
10. Following the September 30, 1859 expiration of the Panama transcontinental contracts, the Postmaster General ordered on December 17, 1859 that the default route for transcontinental letter mail was overland (on the Butterfield line) rather than by steamship via Panama. This overland default order was announced in California newspapers on January 20, but not implemented in California until January 23.
11. The March 3, 1855 Postal Act changed the transcontinental rates, effective April 1. The July 1851 3,000-mile rate of six cents per half ounce was increased to 10 cents and the unpaid rate was eliminated since the Act required prepayment on all letters. These 1855 rates were slightly modified in 1861 and superseded on July 1, 1863. See Appendix G.
12. The franking is an 1857 issue 10 cents type II stamp.
13. The Golden Gate continued on to Panama City, where it arrived on May 17.
14. The franking is an 1857 issue 10 cents type II stamp.
15. The June 13, 1859 New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that the “U.S. mail steamship Jasper, Capt. Tilly, of the Louisiana Tehuantepec Transit Line, reached her wharf at an early hour yesterday morning. The Jasper brings the regular semi-monthly California mail, with dates from San Francisco to the 20th ult.”
16. The franking is an 1857 issue 10 cents type I stamp.
17. Three of the eastbound covers originated on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and entered the U.S. mails at New Orleans as steamship letters. Three of the five known westbound covers originated in Louisiana.
18. The franking consists of two vertical pairs of the 1857 issue 10 cents type III stamp.
19. The franking is an 1857 issue 10 cents type III stamp.
20. Coburn, Letters of Gold, page 105.