“ Matamoros stands in an open plain, the commercial centre for a large district, but its import trade is prejudiced by the bar at the mouth of the Rio Grande, which permits the entrance of small vessels only. The exports include hides, wool and live stock. The importance of the town in the foreign trade of northern Mexico, however, has been largely diminished by the great railways. Formerly it was the centre of a large contraband trade with Brownsville, Texas. Matamoros was founded early in the 19th century, and was named in honour of the Mexican patriot Mariano Matamoros (c. 1770–1814) . ”