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EL ARBOL DE LAS MANITAS

TDrr niTTwp i iTxr r uflNinQ

FACE TO FACE
WITH THE MEXICANS:

THK

Domestic Life, Educational, Social, and Business Ways,

Statesmanship and Literature, Legendary and

General History of thf Mexican People,

AS SEEN AND STUDIED BY AN AMERICAN WOMAN DURING
SEVEN YEARS OF INTERCOURSE WITH THEM.

FANNY CHAMBERS GOOCH.

toilll 200 Jllnslrations.

new YORK:
FORDS, HOWARD, & HULBERT.

l2^

Press of J. J. Little & Co.
Astor Place, New York.

^^(Z/t^T't^^^^ C^^. i^66y^=^^^^^^^

MY MEXICAN FRIENDS

THIS VOLUME,

IN WHICH I HAVE ENDEAVORED

TO EXPRESS MV APPRECIATION OK MEXICAN CHARACTER AND

SHOW IT TRUTHFULLY TO MV COUNTRYMEN,

IS DEDICATED.

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{Translation of letter from President Diaz.]

Mexico, April i, 1886.
Mrs. Fanny Chambers Gooch,

Present.
Esteemed Madame :

Having read your favor of day before yesterday, and complying with the kind
desire which you are pleased to express, I have the pleasure to send you herewith
the photographs of my wife and myself. We are grateful to you for your considera-
tion, and also thank you for your courtesy in notifying us of your approaching journey,
which I hope you will make with all happiness. I remain your attentive and affec-
tionate servant,

PoRFiRio Diaz.

PREFACE.

The descriptions of Mexican life, customs, and character embraced
in the following chapters are drawn from a close and interested scru-
tiny of the people of our neighboring Republic during a residence and
visits among them including in all a period of about seven years.

Like all foreigners, I was practically a stranger to the marked pe-
culiarities of race, social and business life, government, and religion
there to be encountered. In all that I had read on the subject, in
books or transient sketches, I found that no one had endeavored
to minutely describe certain phases of Mexican life and character,
necessary to be understood in order to fully appreciate the people.

First impressions of writers are either glowing on account of nov-
elty, excitement, and varied pleasures, or marked by unfavorable criti-
cisms obtained from a mere surface-view of the new society with
which they mingle. I shared in the variety of impressions common
to all strangers ; but experience with the people and a careful obser-
vation of them brought about a change in my opinions as to the
fitness of their government and national customs for the varied races
of their Republic. And more than this : a closer contact also re-
vealed to me the high culture and splendid attainments of her men
and the warm, sympathetic hearts of her women.

The longer I mingled with the Mexican people the more forcibly was
I impressed with the fact that they are not properly understood by their
Anglo-Saxon neighbors. As this thought grew in my mind day by
day, there grew with it a desire to acquaint my own countryman more
intimately with them, and, if possible, secure a fairer appreciation
of a people whom it has been too long the custom to decry, but who
deserve the highest commendation for their works and institutions,
projected and carried out under many difficulties.

H PREFACE.

To accomplish this task, which I felt was a sacred mission and a
tribute that I wished to pay to my Mexican friends, I undertook the
present volume. I have not failed to realize that the field is new and
that it required a more skillful pen than mine to accomplish all that
was intended. The details were so numerous and yet so indispensa-
ble to the full delineation of character and customs, that great pa-
tience has been necessary to eliminate from the material accumulated
much that was interesting but not essential to the main design of the
work. Then, too, dealing with so many subjects grouped under gen-
eral headings, the tendency was to make broken and fragmentary
sketches. Every chapter will be found to be complete in itself, how-
ever, and all serve to give faithful pictures of the people.

Having lived in close personal contact with the domestic service
of the country, I have devoted a few of the initial chapters to this
unique and, to us, humorous phase of Mexican life, showing the un-
failing inbred adherence to national characteristics.

In submitting this volume to the people of both Republics, it is
with the sincere wish that it may, in a measure, lead to a better ac-
quaintance the one with the other, and that this acquaintance may
induce both to realize that they have differences and peculiarities
naturally adapted to their governments, races and religions. Each
can respect and co-operate with .the other in peace and harmony, in-
dependent and separate as they ever should remain, fixed by nature ;
but sisters as Republics.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

A duty would be neglected if I failed to pay a tribute to the
many friends from whom acts of kindness were received during my
residente and journeys in Mexico. To mention each one is impossi-
ble, because none were met who did not aid me in my efforts, either
by words or acts, which, though perhaps forgotten by them, will ever
be by me most gratefully remembered.

To ex-Governor John Ireland of Texas my first acknowledgments

PREFACE. 15

are due. He has taken a deep personal interest in my work and en-
couraged me in its execution, furnishing me with letters to President
Diaz and governors of various Mexican States; to General Henry R.
Jackson, American Minister; to Major Joseph Magoffin, Collector of
Customs at El Paso, and to other leading personages, and obtained
for me facilities for full access to various sources of information.

General Hamilton P. Bee and Dr. Halbert P. Howard, both of
whom have had a life-knowledge of Mexico, rendered me valuable as-
sistance with letters of introduction to distinguished citizens of the
Mexican Republic.

To S. G. Sneed, Esq., my thanks are due for his sympathetic inter-
est in the preparation of the work and the benefit of his cultivated lit-
erary taste.

To Dr. D. T. Iglehart, Hon. J. W. Robertson and Mr. Sterling B.
Allen for many kindnesses, and to Mr. J. A. Hooper, of the "Gould
system " of Southwestern Railways, for official courtesies in traveling.

At El Paso I was the recipient of many gracious attentions from
Mr. R. F. Campbell and family and Mrs. Fannie D. Porter and family.
To Major Joseph Magoffin and family I am specially indebted for
unbounded hospitality and assistance on my journey both in going and
returning. Major Magoffin presented to me Seftor J. Escobar, Mexican
Consul, and together they rendered me invaluable aid by having circu-
lars printed, stating my object and commending me to the Mexican*
people. Seftor Escobar also gave me letters of introduction to Seftor
Mariscal, Mexican Minister for Foreign Affairs, and anticipated every
need in my introduction at the capital.

Seftor Mariscal received me with true Mexican courtesy and ap-
pointed Seftor Jos6 J. Jimenez to accompany me to various public in-
stitutions. During my stay Seftor Mariscal rendered me many other
valuable services.

To Mr. Frederick P. Hoeck, who personally presented my letters,
and to Mr. Charles E. Cummings, both of the Mexican capital, I am
happy to make acknowledgments.

Our minister, General Henry R. Jackson, and his estimable wife

1 6 PREFACE.

received me with warm encouragement and kindness, showing me
distinguished attentions at the legation.

The editor of The Two Republics, Mr. J. Mastella Clark, and his
charming wife bestowed on me many kind favors and hospitalities.

Among other kind American friends were Mr. and Mrs. E. J.
Gould, Mr. and Mrs. G. F. Mayer, Mrs. J. L. Corella, Rev. J. J. Grib-
bin, Mr. H. G. Payne, Major Robert Gorsuch, Mr. S. J. Bloodworth,
Mr. F. R. Guernsey, and Mr. and Mrs. R. F. Pitten.

I am indebted for many courtesies to Major E. W. Jackson, Man-
aging Director of the Mexican Central Railway, to Mr. R. C. Peeples,
Superintendent of the Mexican National Railway, and to Mr. Thomas
BranifT, Managing Director of the Mexican Railway, and for courte-
sies from railway olificials in all my travels.

The Mexican Press Association appointed three of its most ac-
complished members, Seflores Augustin Arroyo de Anda, Alberto G.
Bianchi, and Bernabe E. Bravo, to show me attentions in the name of
the association. To these gentlemen I am deeply indebted for con-
tinual courtesies.

To Dr. Semelider my thanks are due for valuable information, and
to Dr. Ocadiz, Secretary of the San Carlos Academy, Judge Ignacio
Sepulvida, and Seflor Zazzimende, for various attentions.

Dr. Antonio Pefiafiel, of the National Museum, gave me access to
his splendid library and collection of Mexican antiquities, and jointly
with his brother-in-law, Seflor Lamberto Asiain, presented me with
valuable scientific works.

The family of Seflor Tirso Calderon, with whom I resided in the
City of Mexico, will ever be held in grateful remembrance for their
untiring attentions and tender regard. I am specially indebted to
Seflora Calderon for introductions into the homes of many distin-
guished families ; and, generally, to the Mexican people of all classes
and conditions, for their gracious kindness to the stranger within
their gates.

The book has been illustrated principally by Miss Isabel V. Waldo,
a portrait painter of New York, who was in the City of Mexico during

PREFA CE. I 7

my stay there. Her portraits of the various types are taken from life,
and are faithful deHneations of the characters they represent.

The illustrations on pages 65, 265, 429, and opposite page 183, were
kindly sketched for me by Ramon Castefiada, a young student of the
San Carlos Academy.

The initals and outline sketches were drawn by P. G. Cusachs.

While the body of the work has been the result of my personal
experiences and observations among the Mexican people, in the his-
torical chapers I have availed myself of the researches of Hubert Howe
Bancroft in his histories of Mexico from 1804 to 1861 ; Prescott's
Conquest of Mexico ; also Brantz '^■a.y&x\ Mexico ; Aztec, Spanish and
Rcp74blic, and Mexico as It Was and as It Is ; also Humboldt's works

on Mexico.

F. C. G.

ADDENDA.

Since publication, this book has been most appreciatively received,
and has steadily grown in public favor. It has already in great meas-
ure fulfilled the lively hopes of the author.

The extended and kindly reviews which have been accorded it by
the foremost journals and periodicals have certified to its merit ; the
generous and spontaneous indorsements given it by distinguished
Mexicans and Americans — including Judges of the United States
Supreme Court, nearly one hundred United States Senators and
Congressmen, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and all the
Foreign Ministers from Mexico and the Central and South American
Republics — evidence its interest, its trustworthy accuracy, and its
value in view of the increasing commercial intimacy between the two
great republics of this continent.

The author desires to express her thanks for valuable aid to her in
Washington, rendered by United States Senator Richard Coke of
Texas, as well as to every gentleman whose name appears on the list
of patrons and indorsers of her book [see pages at the end of the

1 8 PREFACE.

volume], for the practical interest shown in forwarding the object of
her work — the cultivation of a friendly international spirit between
the two peoples. To the Mexican Minister and Madame Romero, of
the Legation at Washington, she is especially indebted.

And now, may the good work go on ! I long to see the bond of
fraternal feeling sealed by a mutual Christian sympathy, and ratified
by a sentiment of neighborly good-will, which this attempt to make
the Mexican people better known to my own countrymen is earnestly
intended to foster.

F. C. G.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

A NEW HOME AND NEW FRIENDS.

Tradition and founding of Saltillo — Origin and derivation of the name — Opinions vary —
Coahuila — Origin of the name — Saltillo, the seat of important industries — Making a
new home — Beautiful scenery — Calle Real, the historic seat — Architecture — Home
in an old Mexican mansion — Doors, roof, windows, floors, keys — Adobe roofs —
Water spouts — Relics of Mexican grandeur — Absence of modern conveniences —
Fears of ghosts and hobgoblins — A nocturnal adventure — Interesting discoveries —
Visit from a Mexican youth — Scenes from my window 33

CHAPTER II.

IN MOTHER NOAH's SHOES.

Primitive housekeeping — The indispensable mozo — Extraordinary culinary arrangements
— The nietate, or mill — Pancho's wit and intelligence — Daily revelations. Wrest-
ling with a foreign tongue — Primitive practices — Going to market — Mexican arti-
cles of food— Street scenes — A familiar face in a strange land — The burros —
Retail venders — A cooking-stove — The disgust of the natives — The stove's oration. 60

CHAPTER III.

NO ES COSTUMBRE.

The lack of a broom — A friend in need — The escobero, broom-vender — House-cleaning
— Astonishing the natives — Pancho's amiability gives out — He leaves me for his
"sick grandmother" — Pancho's successors — Courteous insubordination — Greek
meets Greek — Pancho's successors depart — Peculiar names and characteristics of
servants — " Little John" — Wifely devotion — Marital tyranny — An undressed fowl
— Knotty points 84

20 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

THE LOAN OF A MOZO AND A TRIP TO PALOMAS.

Successive departures of successive mozos — Cosme, our borrow^ed mozo — We set out
for Palomas — Cosine in the van — His John Gilpin ride — Palomas — A typical Mexi-
can home — A surgical operation — Inquisitive hospitality — Inherent courtesy — A
Mexican dinner — Embroidery and fancy work — The "Pass of the Doves" — Our
ride home — Poor Cosme ! — He takes a mournful departure — His pious adios 102

CHAPTER V.

FROM BORDER TO CAPITAL ALONG THE MEXICAN CENTRAL.

The Mexican "All aboard ! " — El Paso and Paso del Norte — Chihuahua — Santa Rosa-
lia, its manners and customs — Dr. Tarver and family — Strange notices in a meson
— Stations and scenery along the road — Zacatecas — Mines and mining — Aguas
Calientes — Historic associations — National Palace — Public bathing of the com-
mon people — Bridge at Encarnacion — Queretaro — Maximilian's monument — Other
towns along the road — Memorial crosses and stone-heaps — Nochistongo Pass —
Arrival at Mexico City — Hotel San Carlos — The all-important camarista 127

CHAPTER VI.

TENOCHTITLAN — THE AZTEC CAPITAL.

The founding of the city — Invasion by the Spaniards — The three great causeways — The
Spaniards' defeat — " Noche triste " — Atzcapotzalco — Mexico City — The Zocalo —
Street — " Street of the Sad Indian" — Street cars — Pulque shops — Inundations and
earthquakes — The Rome of America — Churches — Monuments — Industrial art and
public schools — Public gardens — Markets — Charitable institutions — Pawn-shops —
Theaters — Dry-goods stores — House-renting — Mexican flora — Art gallery and mu-
seum— The Viga Canal — Chapultepec — Climate — The Alameda — Funerals — Valley
of Mexico — Popocatapetl — Iztaccihuatl I55

CHAPTER VII.

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES.

Characteristics — Sincerity and faithfulness in friendship — Hospitality — How to meet
them — Manners and customs — Middle class — Forms of greeting — Etiquette — Gestic-
ulations— Family ties — Their charity and benevolence — Religion — Hospitality —
Household arrangements — The Palacio mansion — Music — Poetry — Manners of

CONTENTS. 21

speech — Conri&sy — Pollas And. pollitas — Gallos a.nd ^a/liiios — Domestic tastes of the
women —Their beauty, their education and accomplishments — The children — Their
beauty and precocity — Little Alfonso — Boys and girls — Home discipline — Cour-
tesy to elders. — The dear babies 198

CHAPTER VIII.

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS,

Harmony of the subjects — Change from Paganism to Christianity — Power of the Roman
Catholic Church — Rupture of Church and .State — All Saints' Day— All Souls' Day —
Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe — Weird sights and sounds — Celebration of a i/id
de santa — Celebrations at Morelia and Queretaro — Christmas — Posadas — Pinates —
Festivities — La China Poblana — Pastorela in the rural districts — Feasts of the Epiph-
any, Candlemas, etc. — Carnival — Lent — Palm Sunday — Holy Week — Good Friday
— Sabado de Gloria (Saturday of Glory) — Floral festival — Feast of St. John the Baptist
— Funeral notices — Wearing of mourning — National feasts — Courtship and marriages
— Cards : wedding, birth, and baptismal — Social ceremonies — Dress — The gorgeous
hacendado — Gallantries — The danza — Outdoor amusements — Chapultepec military
academy 242

CHAPTER IX.

FROM MEXICO TO MORELIA ALONG THE MEXICAN NATIONAL.

A delightful journey — Charming views — Toluca — Institute Literario — Public school —
Hacienda de la Huerta — Distinguished hospitalities — Touching street scenes — From
Toluca to Morelia — Tepeji del Rio — Reminders of Ocampo's tragic death — Plotel de
Michoacan — Characteristic hotel regulations — Rambles among the convents — A
startling apparition — A unique bachelor establishment — Climate — Minerals — Fruits
— Scenery — Peculiar lacquer ware — College of San Nicolas — Prisons and penitentia-
ries— Architecture — Visit to the Legislature — Morclian hospitality — Tribute from
Mary Halleck Foote — Adios to Morelia 293

CHAPTER X.

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY.

Mexico's Struggles for independence— Hidalgo, the Washington of Mexico — Midnight
scene and grito of Dolores — Stirring events and closing scenes in the life of the pa-
triot— His execution — Morelos, the successor of Hidalgo — Joined by Matamoras —
Siege of Cuantla — Defeat and execution — His house in Morelia — The Emperor
Augustin de Iturbide — The mysterious portrait — Iturbidc's brilliant record — Ifonors

22 CONTENTS.

shown him — Abdication and exile — Return and capture — Execution — The grandson
of the Emperor adopted by Maxmilian and Carlotta — The mother regains possession
of her son — Madame Iturbide — Vicente Guerrero — Guerilla warfare — Capture and
execution — The Bravos, father and son — Magnanimous conduct of Nicolas Bravo —
Guadalupe Victoria, first President of Mexico — General Santa Anna — His wonderful
career — Exile, return and death — Promulgation of the Federal Chart — Benito Juarez,
the Indian President — Tomb of Juarez — His glorious career — Don Melchor Ocampo
— His tragic end — Distinguished patriots — Bancroft's criticisms on the American
war — Helen Hunt Jackson — Intermarriages of Americans and Mexicans — Causes of
the Mexican war — Congress — Madam Diaz and Mrs. Cleveland — General Diaz —
Sketch of his life and adventures 315

CHAPTER XI.

A GLANCE AT MEXICAN LITERATURE.

Primitive literature — The twelve Franciscan friars, the pioneers of Mexican literature —
Toribio Benavente — Bernardino de Sahagiin — Las Casas and other early writers —
Literary Association — General Palacio as a writer — Literary entertainment at his
mansion — Altamirano — Guillermo Prieto — Juan de Dios Peza, the " Mexican Long-
fellow " — Francisco Sosa — Members of the literati — Mexican journalism — The Liceo
Moreios — Mexican Press Association — Women writers — " Mariposa Indiana " — A
pleasing token 374

CHAPTER Xn.

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE.

" The Silent Aztec Child of the Sun " — Poetical contribution by Joaquin Miller — Con-
trast between the Mexican and American Indian — Ingenuity of the former — Con-
tentment of the laboring class — Clothing — Fine needlework — Advancement in edu-
cation— Types — Courtesy among the poor — Their love of music — The lepero — The
China Poblana — Makinga portrait under difficulties — Social life and courtship — Mar-
riage ceremonies — Bridal costumes — Street conversation — Mexican mobs — Servants
— Their devotion to their employers — Wages — Novel methods of keeping accounts
Hospitality among the poor — Sewing-machines — Babies — Beauty of the juveniles —
The evangelista (letter writer) — Annoying peddlers — An ingenious trick — Various avo-
cations— Characteristic conversation — The lavanderas — The aguador, or water-car-
rier— Ancient superstitious beliefs — Modem superstitions — The tamalera — The cu-
randera, or doctor — "I became a doctor by my natural intelligence" — Pharmacy
extraordinary 395

CONTENTS. 23

CHAPTER XIII.

PUEBLA, CHOLULA, SAN MIGUEL SESMA AND ORIZABA ALONG THE MEXI-
CAN RAILWAY.

Starting for Puebla — San Juan Teolihuacan, the Mexican Pompeii — Arrival at the Casa
de las Diligencias — The imperturbable catnarista — Puebla — Public buildings — Mater-
nity hospital — Manufactories — " City of the Angels " — Cathedral — Market scenes —
Picturesque costumes — Importance and resources of the State of Puebla — Pyramid of
Cholula — Pyramids of Xochicalco and Papantla — Beautiful scenery — Incidental kind-
nesses— Visit to Madam Iturbide's hacienda — Morning song of the peons — A model
plantation — Ancient aqueduct — On the road — Places of interest — Storm at Orizaba. 441

CHAPTER XIV.

THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE.

The tradition — Universal and firm belief in it — How the Virgin appeared to Juan Diego
— Her command to build a chapel — Miraculous signs and visions — Building of the

church 473

CHAPTER XV.

AMONG THE CHILDREN,

The story of Gaitagileno — Lullabies, rhymes and nursery tales — Conundrums and games

—"Elpato " 476

CHAPTER XVI.

SCENES FROM MY WINDOW.

Picturesque pedestrians — The gorgeous serape — Novel method of taking home the wash
— Venders of various articles — Entertaining panorama — Teatro Principal — Military
review — An amusing diversion — A runaway — A perplexed butter-boy — Gritos — The
tamalera — Touching incident — Song of the " costumbres" — Newsboys' cries 485

CHAPTER XVII.

WHAT THEY EAT AND HOW THEY COOK IT.

Skill of the ancient Aztecs in the culinary art — Primitive kitchens — A unique water- filter
— Ceremonious table observances — Delicious beverages — Recipes for toothsome
dishes 494

24 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE AMERICAN COLONY,

" Mother of the American Colony" — Our little band in the sister republic — The Ameri-
can Benevolent Society — Hospital — Protestant churches — Bishop Riley — His labors
and sacrifices — Celebration of Christmas among the Americans — Agreeable impres-
sions left by our official representatives — General Henry R. Jackson — Simon Lara,
founder of the American Hospital — Laying of the corner-stone — Eloquent speech
by Gen. Jackson — Token of esteem to the General from the colony — His departure
from Mexico and his farewell speech 505

CHAPTER XIX.

A FEW OF THE POPULAR SONGS AND DANCES OF THE PEOPLE.

The National Anthem — The Danza known as Las Tres Gracias (Three Graces): i. Aglas;
2. Talia ; 3. Eufrasina — La Goloudrina, the Mexican '' Home, Sweet Home" — Los
Naranjos 6 Adela — I Ay Que Niquel ! — La Paloma .... 519

CHAPTER XX.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.

Mutual dependence of the two republics — Causes of misunderstandings — Yankee haste
versus Mexican slowness — Steps towards a better understanding — Mexico's wonder-
ful resources — Tact of foreigners in business dealings — John Bull conforming to the
'' costumbres " — Success in retail trade — Extremes of wealth and poverty — Irrigation
— Haciendas — Employees' accounts — Peons — Their intense conservatism — Work re-
tarded by holidays — Mr. Guernsey on foreign labor — Taxes on produce — American
miners — Variety of delicious fruits — The maguey plant — Manufacture of pulque,
etc.- — Tanneries — Shoes — Cattle-breeding — Butter : Its novel manufacture — Minor
industries — Transformation of plebeian names — Domestication of American families
in Mexico — Education — Naturalization laws — Climate — Police regulations — " Ru-
rales " — Their bravery in rescuing the crew of the " Ranger" — Rewarded by Presi-
dent Cleveland — Judge Crosby on American enterprise and investments in Mexico —
Ladies traveling in the Republic — Causes of Mexico's troubles — Her steady progres-
sion— Border troubles — The dawn of a new era 538

ADIOS.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

1 Arbol de las Manitas — " Tree of the Little Hands " {Colored Plate) ... 2

2 Madame Diaz 6

3 President Diaz 10

4 Mexican Plaza, Fountain and Cathedral 32

5 Tradition of Saltillo (^Initial Letter) 33

6 Calle Real, Saltillo 36

7 A Few of the Keys . . 40

8 " Would have been a Load for a Burro " 41

9 Jealous Husband's Windows 42

10 Two Views from One Window 43

11 Water-spouts ; 44

12 View in a Court- yard 45

13 A Group of my Little Friends 52

14 Portal in Saltillo , 58

15 Primitive Housekeeping (Initial Letter) 60

16 Kitchen No. i 62

17 Kitchen No. 2 63

18 My Household Gods 65

19 The Wood 68

20 Taking their Meals in the Market. 69

21 Selling their Little Stockings and Hoods 70

22 Pulque Shop — Patting Tortillas — Selling Flour — Newsboys 71

23 " There goes the Mexican Railroad ! " 78

24 " Huevos ! huevos ! " 79

25 " Six for a real ! " 80

26 "It will give me Disease of the Liver " 77

27 "No ES CosTUMBRE ! " {Initial Letter) 84

28 " Will you buy a Broom ? " 85

29 " No ES Costumbre ! " 89

30 A Typical Market Scene , 91

31 A Hungry Purchaser 94

32 No ! NO HAY : (there is none.) 95

26 ILLUSTRATIONS.

PACK

33 Pio QuiNTO (Pius V.) as a Doorkeeper 97

34 A Street Scene 98

35 "Oh, forgive me, I'll never do so again" 100

36 By the Wayside {Initial Letter) 102

37 " Well, now, I'm going " 103

38 A Country Store 105

39 " Pulque in Sheepskins Filled even to the Feet " io8

40 Bound for Palomas 109

41 A Picturesque Traveler. . . no

42 As I Looked when Mounted upon the Sofacita 112

43 At Home under the Aqueduct 115

44 Sweet Contentment at the " Pass of the Doves " 121

45 '■ Your American Customs are too hard on me ! " 123

46 Old Stone Church at El Paso, Texas 125

47 ' ' All Aboard ! " (Initial Letter) 127

48 The Street of Guadalupe, Chihuahua 129

49 Water-carrier of Santa Rosalia 132

50 Top of Kitchen Chimney in Santa Rosalia 133

51 Wending their Weary Way 1 35

52 City of Zacatecas 140

53 The National Palace at Aguas Calientes 143

54 The Puente Encarnacion 145

55 Monument to Maximilian at Queretaro 147

56 Water-carrier of Queretaro 149

57 The great Nochistoogo Pass 151

58 The " Home, Sweet Home " of the Mozo of San Carlos 153

59 " We never furnish Soap and Matches in this Hotel " 1 54

60 Past and Present (Initial Letter) 155

61 The Zocalo 1 59

62 The New and the Old 162

63 The Cathedral 167

64 Water-carrier at the Capital 170

65 Mexican Lady at Home 173

66 The Aztec Calendar Stone 178

67 Toltec — Colossal Head in Diorite 179

68 Huitzilpotchi.i, the Aztec God of War 180

69 An Ancient House on the Viga Canal, and a few of the Passers-by 183

70 Chapultepec, with View of Military College in the Extension 185

71 Scene in the Alameda 189

72 Idlers in the Zocalo 191

ILLUSTRATIONS. 2/

PAGE

73 POPOCATAPETL AND IZTACCIHUATL I94

74 The Pet of the Household {Initial Letter) 198

75 Entrance to a Mexican Home 203

76 " One Little Moment " 211

77 " He is too Stingy to pay his Debts" , 211

78 " He plays on the Credulity of his Friends" 211

79 " She's very rich, has plenty of Money" 211

80 A Very Great Critic 212

81 " Adios" 212

82 " He's A Sharper " 212

83 Salutation from Balcony 212

84 " You can't do that now" 213

85 Interior of Chapel on the Hacienda of Sra Guadalupe Bros 216

86 The Palacio Mansion 219

87 Stairway in the Palacio Home 223

88 The Sala Grande in the Palacio Home 226

89 Corridor in the Palacio Home 229

90 Washstand in a Mexican House 233

91 An Orchid 235

92 Little Alfonso. " I know English " 238

93 The Tulipan {Initial Letter) 242

94 Flor de la Noche Buena {Colored Plate) 246

95 Ready for the P'iesta 250

96 An Orchid with Pink Centre 250

97 A Few of those who Attended the Feast of Guadalupe 253

98 Cathedral of Guadalupe and the Chapel on the Cerro del Tepayac. 255

99 Bits From Guadalupe 262

100 His Stock in Trade of Gay Pinates 265

loi The Pretty "China Poblana" 270

102 Love-making from the Balcony 278

103 Hacendados 287

104 Floripondio, with its Snowy Bells {Initial Letter) 293

105 The Indian Village of San Francisquita 295

106 Nevada de Toluca 298

107 Water-Carrier of Guanajuato 302

108 An Object of Horror ... 305

109 College of San Nicolas 309

110 Monument to Morelos, Calle Real 311

111 First Patio in College of San Nicolas 313

112 Soldiers of 1821 {Initial Letter) 315

ILL US TRA 7 IONS.

PAGE

113 The Patriot Hidalgo 317

1 14 JosJc Maria Morelos 323

115 The Emperor Augustin de Iturbide 328

I r6 Madame Iturbide and Son 338

117 Vicente Guerrero 340

118 Guadalupe Victoria 343

119 General Santa Anna, when President for the Third Time 345

120 Manga de Clavo, the Hacienda of Santa Anna 346

121 Santa Anna at the Time of his Death 34S

122 Benito Juarez 350

1 23 Tomb of Juarez 352

124 Gomez Farias 357

125 Ignacio Mariscal 361

126 Matias Romero 366

127 General Ramon Corona 371

128 The Language of the Sword and the Work of the Good Friars {Initial

Letter) 374

129 Bernardino de Sahagun 375

130 Las Casas 378

131 Vicente Riva Palacio 380

132 Francisco Sosa 383

133 Guillermo Prieto 390

134 Sitting in the Zocalo {^Initial Letter) 395

135 A Typical Indian Village 398

136 Before her Humble Cottage Home 400

137 A Chicken Vender 402

1 38 The Artist's Revenge 407

139 A Mountaineer 411

140 Petate, Jarana and Pottery-venders 418

141 Debit and Credit Accounts of Servants 422, 423

142 " Your Obedient Servant " 424

143 Miguel Mondregon 424

144 Cradle of a Poor Baby 426

145 A Tortilla Establishment 429

146 Gregoria Quiros 430

147 Wash-house at the Capital 432

148 Washerwomen in the Country 432

149 Water-carrier 433

150 A Celestial Monopoly 436

151 VicENTA : " I became a doctor by my natural intelligence " 439

ILL US TEA TIONS. 29

I'ACE

52 A Bunch of Graniditas {Initial Letter) 441

53 A Hay-rick 442

54 Corn-crib , 443

55 Casa de Maternidad 444

56 Street in Puebla 446

57 Street and Arcade in Puebla 452

58 Pyramid of Cholula 457

59 El Castillo, or " Hill of Flowers " 459

60 Pyramid of Papantla 461

61 Aqueduct 467

62 Scenes in the Tropics 470

63 The Virgin Appearing to Juan Diego {Initial Letter) 473

64 The Nana and the Children {Initial Letter) 476

65 The Good Nana 480

66 Listening to the Stories '. 481

67 " El Pato" 4S3

68 My Window {Initial Letter) 4S5

169 Carrying the Clothes Home 486

70 Potato Vender 4S6

71 A Familiar Type 4S7

72 Basket Venders 48S

73 Indian Mother and Child 490

74 Venders of Cooked Sheep's Heads 493

75 Montezuma's Culinary Artists {Initial Letter) , 494

76 The Estii.adera 4g5

77 Kitchen at the Capital 501

78 American Enterprise {Initial Letter) 50^

79 Interior of Mexican Episcopal Cathedral 508

80 Simon Lara 512

81 Gen. Henry R. Jackson 516

82 A Si'RAY OF Cactus {Initial Letter) 53S

83 The Old and New Civilization 539

84 National Palace at the Capital 541

85 The City of Durango 549

86 El Capitan 552

87 A Mexican Ploughman . . 553

88 Adobe Houses 554

89 An American Miner 557

90 Basket of Fruit 55S

91 Mango and Seed , 559

30 ILL US TRA TIONS.

PAGE

192 Yellow, Black and White Zapotes 560

193 Mamey and Seed. 560

194 The Tlachiquero 562

195 A Street Shoemaker , 563

196 " On Account of the Air " 569

197 Policeman on Duty 570

198 A Company of Rurales 571

199 Church of Sacro Monte, Amecameca 577

200 The City of Mexico 576

201 Scene in Mexico 582

202 The Flags of the two Republics , 583

MEXICAN PLAZA. FOUNTAIN, AND CATHEDRAL.

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

CHAPTER I.

A NEW HOME AND NEW FRIENDS.

/ A L TILLO ! Saltiilo ! Saltillo ! "
' These piercing cries rang out again and again

^f on the still morning air in the long ago from the
?/■ lips of a terrified Tlaxcalan boy away up in the
*V Sierra Madre Mountains.
But what do they mean ?
As is well known, Mexico is a land of song, romance,
and tradition, and these are inseparably intertwined in
the lives of the people. Every noted spot has its legend, which de-
scends not only to posterity but also to strangers. As the tradition
about the founding of Saltillo lends something of interest to a so-
journ of several months in that city, I tell it as it was told to me ;
in doing so reserving the right to say that, like most traditions, it
has a decidedly made-to-order air.

The little Indian boy before mentioned had an aged, infirm, ancJ
blind old uncle. Now, it was a strange fancy of this blind man to take
a stroll very early every morning, and it was the duty of this little
nephew to hold him by the hand as a guide to his steps, as well as to
amuse and entertain him on the way.

The spring known in Saltillo as £/ ojo de agua (the eye of water)
breaks boldly forth from the craggy rocks, and in its fall trans-
forms itself into a pool of considerable depth. The water is as cold as
ice, and shimmers and glistens in the white sunshine as it reflects on

34 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

its crystal surface the towering mountains and the deep azure of a
faultless sky.

This spring supplies the entire city with water, which is conveyed
through antiquated earthen pipes to the fountains, and thence borne
by carriers into the houses.

But to the tradition : This inconsiderate old uncle was being led
by his nephew, who was endowed with the very same tastes and in-
stincts as all other boys, regardless of caste or complexion, the world
over. As they approached the ojo de agua, the whirring sound of a
thousand birds in flight over their heads caused the boy to drop his
uncle's hand and look upward, with head thrown back, straight hair
standing at right angles, and great, wild, black eyes, gazing at the
myriad of birds that seemed to mottle the whole sky.

The uncle, having no support, began to totter and hold out his
arms, calling loudly, but to no purpose, for his forgetful guide. Inch
by inch the old man felt his way over the rough stones ; a step more,
and there was a plunge, a scream, and the unfortunate uncle was
floundering in the " eye of water." The young truant was recalled to
himself, but, being paralyzed with fright, could only scream and wring
his hands wildly, exclaiming:

" Saltillo ! Saltillo ! " (Get out, uncle !) — an injunction as heartless
as it was impossible to obey.

At this critical moment, some passing arriiros (mule-drivers) com-
passionately rescued the drowning man, and so happily ends the
tradition.

Posterity, studying out of cold, unsympathetic lexicons all kinds
of puzzling derivations, finds, according to some, that the verb salir
signifies " to go out ; " sal, the first syllable, means " get out ; " and
tio (uncle) has, as perhaps in this case, been mispelled or corrupted
into tillo, as Saltillo (pronounced Sal-tee' -yo), the liquid // being more
euphonious in the Mexican tongue.

Others yet believe that Saltillo comes from the language of the
Chichimecas, and signifies " High land of many waters." In almost
any direction may be seen innumerable sparkling cascades of limpid

A NEW HOME AND NEW FRIENDS. 35

water bursting from the apex of the mountains, descending in a
crystal sheet, and reflecting the prismatic glories of the rainbow as
they go murmuring along to the valleys below. This may give cred-
ence to this version. Saltillo is the capital of the State of Coahuila.

The name Coahuila, according to some historians, means " Happy
Land," while others claim its signification to be " Vibora que vucla "
(flying snake). It is possible that this latter is the real derivation, as
snake in the Indian is Coatl, and huila means to fly. This, taken
together, may have some reference to the great temple of Huitchiolo-
pochtly, the Aztec war god, which was surrounded by a square wall
called c<7rt'/^««^/2 (snake wall), carved within and without with myriads
of these creatures. In the minds of those who had the naming of the
States there must have been an idea that the bleak and barren aspect
of Coahuila was sufificient to cause the exodus of even these not over-
fastidious reptiles.

In view of these forbidding physical features, the term " Happy
Land " must have been given in a spirit of satire ; or perhaps some
consumptive writer of poetic verse, enchanted by the fine dry climate,
pure atmosphere, and blue skies, bestowed the title in gratitude for
their salubrious effects.

Saltillo was once also the capital of Texas when that great State
formed an unwilling member of the Mexican federation. It has a
population of about twenty thousand, and is situated on the Buena
Vista table-land in the Sierra Madre Mountains, at an elevation of
about five thousand five hundred feet above sea-level.

It was founded on the 25th of July, 1575, by one Francisco Urdi-
flola, who brought with him sixty Tlaxcalan families who were bitter
foes of the Aztecs and firm allies of the conquerors.

The city is the seat of important manufactures, both woolen and
cotton. Here are made rebozos (a long narrow shawl worn by women
over their heads), and also those gorgeous and durable j^r«/i><?5' (blankets),
of finest wool and most brilliant colors, which have gained so wide a
celebrity that the term " Mexican blanket " is a synonym for a genu-
ine and almost everlasting fabric.

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

It has the usual places for recreation, a bull-ring, plaza, and ala-
meda ; a cathedral worthy of inspection, also numerous churches, with
a full quota of schools and colleges.

We were a party of Americans on business, health, and pleasure

bent. Our company consisted of Mr. and Mrs. R , the former a

retired banker from a large western city; Mr. and Mrs. A , Mrs.

CALLE REAL, SALTILLO, SHOWING PLAZA ON THE RIGHT, A CORNER OF THE CATHEDRAL GARDEN ON THE LEFT,
EXTENDING UP THE MOUNTAIN, WITH VIEW OF AMERICAN FORT IN EXTREME LEFT-HAND CORNER.

S and daughter, my husband and self. As the hotel accommoda-

tions were meager and uncomfortable, and it not being the custom
of the country for families to live in hotels, we concluded to go to
housekeeping, as our stay was indefinite, and might extend through a
few weeks or months.

We found this picturesque old city teeming with interest ; many
quaint old adobe bridges span the arroyos (dry streams), and the drives
through the orchards in the Indian pueblos adjoining are full of exub-

A NEW HOME AND NEW FRIENDS. 37

erant life and color. The noblest view is from the brow of the San
Lorenzo, where are situated the fine medicinal springs and baths which
tourists as well as natives enjoy. The drives in whatever direction are
full of thrilling historic associations, the city having been the coveted
ground of the contesting forces in untold battles and desperate en-
counters.

But no street or highway interested me so much as Calle Real, one
of the principal and most delightful thoroughfares of the city. By a
circuitous route and steep ascent it led to the American fort, and,
circling to the right over the smooth table-lands, on to La Angostura
(the Narrows), where lies the famous battle-field of Buena Vista.

Since the founding of the city, Calle Real has figured conspicuously
in its history. The patriot Hidalgo and his chosen brave followers
must doubtless have passed down this street to meet their fate — be-
trayed by friends.

The history of this grand captain's career was fresh in my mind,
and, as I looked upon this long, narrow, and winding street, I pictured
the fearless leader of the great cause of the Mexican people, with head
erect and eye as bright as, when a victor, he heard the wild plaudits
from the thousand dark brothers of his race who had flocked to his
standard.

Then the scene would change, and the forms of my own martial
countrymen, who had so often passed up and down this street, nearly
two score years ago, would take the place of the dauntless Hidalgo. I
lost sight of the present, and saw American soldiers, with stars and
stripes floating proudly, move rapidly in solid columns of infantry, and
heard the tread of the bronzed cavalrymen, and the rattle of sabers
and the clear-ringing words of command in my own language. I saw
the angry gleam of dark eyes and heard mutterings in the strange
tongue as the Americans marched up the steep hill to take possession
of the fort that commanded the city.

Another change : the shade of Hidalgo has vanished ; the stars and
stripes no longer float under the unclouded sky. In imagination I see
the flag of the French Empire and the eagles of Austria streaming

38 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

over the city, and the gorgeous uniforms of the soldiery of two mighty
empires mingling with the rude, dark forms that look on them with
wondering eyes of mute protest and reluctant admiration. Wild
carousal is heard on every side, and wine flows like water. The harsh
accents of the Austrian and the volatile utterances of the Frenchman
fill the air.

The panorama moves on. Gone are the foreigners. Their chief
lies dead in the stately burial place of the Habsburgs. Miramon and
Mejia rest in San Fernando, and the banner of the Republic, with its
emblematic red, green, and white bars and fierce eagle, waves proudly
over the people freed from a foreign foe and hated alien rule.

War and revolution have yielded in turn to the softening influen-
ces of well-earned peace and tranquillity. The passions of those peril-
ous times are long since dead; our quondam enemy is now our friend,
and an American woman is at liberty to peacefully erect her house-
hold gods among them.

Both courage and resolution were necessary in transplanting our-
selves to this terra incognita ; but the climate, the hospitality of the
people, the beautiful scenery, the novelty of the surroundings, which
every day afforded delight, would of themselves reconcile one to ex-
changing the old, the tried, and the true for the experiences of an un-
known world.

The house selected for our Bohemian abode, we were assured, was
almost one hundred years old, and had an air of solemn dignity and
grandeur about its waning splendor. It was of startling dimensions,
capable of quartering a regiment of soldiers with all their equipments.
It was one story in height, with a handsome orchard and garden in the
rear, extensive corrals for horses, the whole extending from street to
street through a large square of ground.

The distinguishing features of Mexican and Spanish architecture
were evident throughout the patio (court-yard), with fountain in the
center, flat roof, barred windows, and parapet walls. These latter rise
often to the height of six feet above the main structure, and, in times
of war and revolution, have proved admirable defenses to the besieged.

A NEW HOME AND NE W FRIENDS. 39

Intrenching themselves behind these walls, passage-ways are made
from one house to the other, until the entire block of buildings is one
connected fortification. The strife may continue for weeks uninter-
ruptedly, the fusillade not ceasing long enough to remove the dead
from the streets.

The size and unwieldiness of the front doors were amazing — noble
defenses in time of revolution, it is true, but when with my whole
strength I could not move one on its antiquated, squeaking hinges, al-
most a half yard in length, the question of how to pass from house
to street became a serious one. The nappy discovery was made at
last that, instead of two, there were four doors all in one, the two
smaller ones within the greater serving for our usual ingress and egress.
The huge double doors, spacious enough to admit a locomotive with its
train of cars, were never opened except on state occasions or for the
admittance of a carriage, buggy, or something out of the ordinary,
such as a dozen or so wood-laden donkeys. Not only funerals and bridal
parties, but every imaginable household necessity for pleasure or con-
venience, must pass through the front doors.

In the zaguan (front hall), high up in the cedar beams, darkened
by age to the color of mahogany, was this inscription or dedication
in large, clear letters: ^^ Ave Maria Santissima.'' In other houses
these dedications varied according to taste. One read ^'Siempre viva
en esta casa Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe " (May the Virgin Guadalupe
always watch over this house). Still another inscription in the house
of a friend read : '^Aqui viva con V. Jose y Maria," " May Joseph and
Mary dwell with you here."

We were astounded at the size and length of the keys, and
the number of them ; they were about ten inches long, and a blow
from one would have sufficed to fell a man. As there were, perhaps,
thirty of them, my key-basket, so far from being the dainty trifle an
American woman dangles from one finger in her daily rounds, would
have been a load for a burro, as they call their little donkeys. The
enormous double doors connecting the rooms were as massive as if each
room were intended for a separate fortification. The opening and

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

A KEW OF THK KEYS.

closing of these heavy doors as
they scraped across the floors
gave forth a dull, grating sound
which added to the loneliness of
our castle.

Our venerable mansion was
constructed of adobe, the sun-
dried brick peculiartothe country,
and of which almost the entire
city is built. The walls were
from two to four feet in thick,
ness, and the ceilings thirty feet
in height. Surrounding the beau-
tiful court-yard were many large
and handsome rooms, frescoed in
brilliant style, each different from
the other. Besides these there
were many smaller apartments,
lofts, nooks, and crannies, more
than I at first thought I should
ever have the courage to ex-
plore.

The drawing-room was the
first thing to attract my attention,
as it was about a hundred feet
long and fifty wide. Its dado
was highly embellished by a
skillful blending of roses and
buds in delicate shades, while the
frieze was the chaste production
of a native artist. The ceiling, as
before mentioned, was thirty feet
in height, and another source
of surprise to me was the discov-
ery that the foundation of all
this elaborate workmanship was

A NEW HOME AND NEW FRIENDS.

of the frailest material. These wonderful artisans, in making ceil-
ings that are apparently faultless, use only cheese-cloth. After
stretching it as tightly as possible, and adding a coat of heavy sizing,
the beautiful and gorgeous frescoes are laid on, and the eye of an
expert cannot detect the difference between a cloth ceiling and the
more substantial plaster with which we
are familiar in the United States.

The floor of this room presented an-
other subject of inquiry as to its mate-
rials and the method employed in making
it so hard, smooth, and red. Mortar,
much the same as is used for plastering,
but of a consistency which
hardens rapidly, is the basis
of operations. On this a
coating of fine gravel, very
little coarser than sand, is
applied. Then comes the
final red polish which com-
pletes a floor of unusual cool-
ness and comfort, and admirably
adapted to the country. The mate-
rial used to give the red finish is
tipichil, an Indian word, in some
places known as almagra, an abundant
earthy deposit to be found principally
in the arroyos. For ages this substance
has been an important article for ornamentation, even the wild tribes
of Indians using it to paint their faces and bodies. When the floor is
hardened, a force of men is employed, who, by rubbing it with stones,
produce a beautiful glazed polish. If time were of any value, these
floors would cost fabulous sums, as it takes weeks to complete one of
them. It required months almost for me to comprehend the manner
of cleaning them.

"would have been a load for a burro."

FACE TO FACE WITH THE iM EX/ CANS.

The floors of the other rooms were of imported brick and tiles, the
former not less than a foot square and perhaps half as thick, while
the latter were octagonal and of fine finish, though, like the mansion
itself, they bore the evidences of age and decay.

We enjoyed the unusual luxury of glass windows, and it was enough
to puff us up with inordinate pride to look out and see our neighbors'
houses provided with only plain, heavy wooden shutters. When it
rained or was cold, however, our ill-fitting windows proved an inade-
quate protection, and it became necessary to close the ponderous
wooden shutters, thus leaving the rooms in total darkness.

Our windows were also furnished on the

outside with iron rods, similar to those used
for jails in the United States, and quite as
effective, while those of many of our neigh-
bors had only heavy wooden bars, so close
together as scarcely to permit the hand to
pass between them. These, I was told by a
Mexican lady, were called " jealous husbands'
windows."

In the middle of many of the shutters of
some of these houses were tiny doors, whose
presence, when closed, would never be sus-
pected. They were just large enough for a
face to peer through, and when passing along
the street on cold or windy days, hundreds of soft, languishing,
dreamy eyes might be seen gazing out of these little windows.

In Mexican architecture the window is second in importance only
to the roof itself. For, the next thing to being protected from the
rain, is the necessity for the family to be able to see into the street.
The walls are of such thickness that one window will easily accommo-
date two of their quaint little home manufactured chairs, and as there
is no front stoop, each afternoon finds the sefloritas seated in these
chairs, taking in the full enjoyment of the usual street scenes. The
illustration on page 43 shows a sefiorita in the window, while on the

'jealous husbands' windows.

A NEW HOME AND NEW FRIENDS.

other side a view is had of the little window that is opened on a cold
or rainy day.

The roof being flat, was constructed in a unique manner, having
first heavy wooden beams laid
across the top of each room,
and then planks coated with
pitch placed on these, after
which twelve inches of mother
earth were added ; then a coat-
ing of gravel, and lastly one of
cement, the whole making a
roof impervious to rain or heat,
and proving the admirable
adaptability of Mexican archi-
tecture to the climate and the
people.

The houses in general are
provided with roofs of adobe,
and some of the plainer ones
in which I became a visitor,
when the rainy season was at [^.
its height, gave me an amus-
ing insight into the freaks and
tricks of the " doby," as they are familiarly termed. When there
were no frescoes on the cheese-cloth canvas, it would be taken down
periodically, washed and then replaced as smoothly as a plaster ceil-
ing. But woe betide the *' doby " roof, when the rainy season makes
its advent. The treacherous mud covering succumbs to the pressure
of the driving water, and often the entire room or house is submerged
in the twinkling of an eye. Besides the main leaks, numerous little
bubble-like projections, like pockets, each filled with water, sagged
down the canvas in various places. To my great amusement I found
that my ingenious native friends had always on hand the essentials for
stopping the leak, such as an old broom handle or strip of wood.

TWO VIEWS FROM ONE WINDOW.

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

which by the aid of a bent pin and a string, manipulated by dexterous
fingers, soon repaired all damages.

First, all the little sacks of water are conducted by means of the
broom handle into the larger one, where the bent pin has been pre-
viously attached to the canvas and also to one end of the string. To
the other end the strip of wood is fastened, and under this a bucket
placed. Twenty minutes from the time of the first onslaught of the
torrent through the roof all is serene and calm as a May morning.

Orders were given at once to the mozo to sow the roof with grass-

WATER SPOUTS.

seed, so as to prevent another catastrophe. No greater protection is
found for an ordinary earthen roof than that afforded by a solid green-
sward. The roots form a compact net-work, so that it must be an un-
usually heavy storm that can penetrate it.

The method of conducting the water from the roof is in keeping
with everything else. Great heavy gargoyles or stone spouts, weather-
beaten and moss-covered, tipped with tin, full ten feet in length, six
in a line on either side of the court, answered the purpose in our man-
sion. During a heavy rain-storm it was interesting to watch the steady
streams of water foaming and surging into the court. I saw a dog

A NEW HOME AND NEW FRIENDS. 47

knocked senseless to the ground by one of these streams, and it was
several minutes before he recovered his breathing and yelping faculties.

The ends of these spouts, in many instances artistically orna-
mented, protrude over the street. In more modern houses conduits,
a few inches wide, are cut into the sides of the wall and cemented, tak-
ing the place of the stone spouts. They are quite as effective, but the
quaintness and antique appearance of the houses is greatly diminished
by them.

In the carriage-house there still remained a silent old relic of
Mexican grandeur and aristocratic distinction, with wheels like an
American road-wagon and hubs like a water-bucket. In the garden
were fruit-trees and the family ///« (bath). The latter was built of
adobe, three feet high and twelve feet square, without cover, the water
being supplied by means of earthen pipes from the mountain springs.
A fountain and exquisite flowers adorned the patio, a climbing rose of
unusual luxuriance at once attracting special notice. It was evergreen,
and of extraordinary size, extending in graceful festoons fully one hun-
dred feet on either side. We were told that at the time of the occu-
pation of Saltillo by Taylor's army this same vine was an attractive
feature of the court.

Imagine the dismay and apprehension of several American women
at thus finding themselves surrounded by so many evidences of ancient
refinement and culture, and yet by none of the modern necessaries of
housekeeping. In this old city of twenty thousand inhabitants there
was not a store where such indispensables as bedsteads or furniture of
any kind, pillows or mattresses, could be purchased ; while coffee or
spice mills, cook-stoves or wash-tubs, were absolutely out of the ques-
tion. How we managed may prove interesting to those who contem-
plate taking up their residence in Mexico, and will be related in the suc-
ceeding chapters. It was not by any means a question of money or
price that prevented one from being comfortable at the outset.

We ladies were constantly portraying to each other, in a humor-
ous way, how frightened we should be if circumstances should ever
require any one of us to remain alone in this old castle over night ;

4^ FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

of how the ghosts and hobgoblins that were perhaps concealed in
some unexplored crannies might come forth in all their blood-curd-
ling hideousness. These idle fancies and banterings of the hour were
vividly recalled one night, when I unfortunately found myself the only
one to entertain the phantom visitors.

Every other member of the household had gone for a day's jaunt
into the country, and was detained from home over night by a ter-
rific rain and thunder storm. The servants, supposing they would re-
turn, went to their homes, as is customary, which I did not discover
until after they had left.

In the dead hours of the night I was aroused from deepest sleep
by a terrific noise. Quaking with fear in the dim light, and gripping
the pistol which was on a chair at the head of my bed, I proceeded,
like Rosalind, with a " swashing and martial outside," to reconnoiter.
A brief investigation revealed the fact that the fancied ghost or hob-
goblin was nothing more alarming than a " harmless necessary cat,"
which had crept in surreptitiously through the bars, on feline mischief
bent. By a misstep of her catship there was a general crash of
crockery, and the sudden clatter, breaking with startling effect on the
stillness of the night, made me imagine that the hobgoblins had
really trooped forth from their hiding-places.

I had flattered myself that the diligent study I had given the
grammar, previous to my going to Mexico, would prove an " Open, Se-
same! " to the language, but I soon found myself sadly mistaken when
r heard it spoken idiomatically and with the rapid utterance of the
natives. But by eagerly seizing every opportunity, however humble,
of airing my incipient knowledge, and by aid of grammar and diction-
ary, my inseparable companions, I found myself in a few weeks
equal to the exigencies of the case, and rattled off my newly acquired
accomplishment with a reckless disregard of consequences.

Speculation and curiosity were ever on the alert to make discover-
ies in this old house, and at every turn a thousand echoes seemed
answering my timorous step.

Generations had here lived their lives of sorrow and joy, and the

A NEW HOME AND NEW FRIENDS. 49

lightest vibration seemed the ghost of some long-past sigh or laugh,
to which these walls had resounded ; and to me these vast old rooms
were peopled again by my own vivid imaginings. To walk twice or
thrice around the court-yard and through this interminable array of
rooms, seemed as fatiguing as half a day's tramp.

In one of these perambulations I opened the door of a room into
which I had never ventured before. An ancient-looking cupboard
stood in one corner, filled with odd remnants of dainty china, vases,
bottles, plates, glass, a dilapidated but highly decorated old soup-
tureen, and some pieces of broken crockery almost half an inch in
thickness. ' Many faded letters were thrown loosely about on shelves
and in crevices. A descendant of Mother Eve could do no less than
look at the dates. Some were a hundred years old, written in Spain,
and the chirography was exceedingly beautiful. One was written in
the city of Mexico, by a husband to his wife. He wrote most tenderly
to the pretty, young esposa, begging her to be patient until his return,
which was to be in the near future.

Hanging upon the wall near the door was a well-executed oil
portrait, representing a lovely Spanish face. The graceful pose of
the figure attracted my attention, and the luminous, speaking eyes
held me spellbound — the same eyes which have so long made Spanish
and Mexican women famous in song and story. The patrician nose,
the classic brow, the shapely, rosy-lipped mouth, and the perfect hand
and arm, completed a picture of unusual beauty. A richly gemmed
crown rested upon the dark hair, and in the lower corner of the pict-
ure, inside the massive, gilded frame, were the words : "'Ana su dignd'
esposa " — " Hannah, your worthy wife."

Carefully removing all dust and cobwebs, I carried my prize to the-
drawing-room, and hung it over the mantelpiece. I am sure I never
passed it without glancing at that perfect face, so sweet and womanly
in its expression, and experiencing feelings of mingled reverence and
pleasure.

Much diligent inquiry on my part elicited the information that the
portrait was of Dofia Ana, wife of the Emperor Augustin de Iturbide,

$0 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

the first and only crowned head to occupy a throne in North America
since its settlement by Europeans.

The first Sunday morning after taking possession of our house, I
was sitting in the sunshiny court alone, every one, even the inozo, being
absent. The bells from perhaps half a dozen churches answered each
other across the bright air, reminding me with some painfulness of
the church bells in my American home, the thought of which had
filled my mind with longings all the morning, as I saw thegayly dressed
populace hurrying past on their way to mass. Suddenly there was a
gentle tap on the ponderous outer door. Responding, I found myself
confronted by a tall youth of perhaps sixteen, fair, rosy cheeked, black
haired, dark eyed, and beautiful. He lifted his hat politely and said
in good English, *' Good-morning, Madame ! "

The sound of my dear native tongue in a land of strangers and
from the lips of one of them brought my heart into my mouth with
delight and surprise. My visitor introduced himself as Jesus, taking
care to spell his name plainly for me, and I fear my face betrayed my
horror at the sight of an ordinary mortal endowed with that holy
name. He informed me with considerable hesitation that he was a
student in the college, and wished to call frequently to have an
opportunity of conversing in English.

Having obtained permission to call whenever it pleased him, he
asked if he might bring a friend. Accordingly, Antero P was in-
troduced— another promising youth, equally determined to improve his
English. They soon brought others, and among my most pleasing recol-
lections are the occasions when the college boys — sometimes a dozen —
gathered about me on Sunday mornings, with bright, dark faces, flashing
eyes, and determined expression, as they wrestled with the diflficulties
of our language. Their great deference and thoughtfulness for me
added to the pleasure I derived from their visits, — for the advantage
was mutual. I learned the Spanish while they conquered the English.

I could not but .pity the other members of our party who so
languished with home sickness that they quite failed to reap the pleas-
ure I did from this study of the natives.

A NEW HOME AND NEW FRIENDS. 5*

Every day I found some new object of interest, and after the
house had been explored I spent hours gazing from the windows
upon some of the strangest scenes I had ever beheld. Some were
extremely pathetic and others mirth-provoking.

The young children of the lower classes, especially the girls from
five to ten years, were objects of peculiar interest to me. Dozens of
these were to be seen in the early morning hours going upon some
family errand apparently, judging from the haste and the pottery
vessels they carried. Their tangled hair, peeping out from under the
rebozo, their unwashed faces and jetty eyes, their long dresses sweep-
ing the ground — and looking like the ground itself — their little naked,
pigeon-toed feet going at an even but rapid jog-trot, all formed a
laughable and ridiculous picture.

Often their hands were thrust through the bars, begging money in
the name of some saint for a sick person.

" Tlaco.^ Senorita, pa comprar la medecina para tin infernto'' (" A
cent and a quarter, lady, to buy medicine for a sick person"). If I
asked what was the matter, the reply, " Tiene mal dc cstomago"
(" Sick at the stomach"), came with such unfailing regularity, I was
forced to the conclusion that " mal de cstomago " must be an epidemic
among them.

The school children came in for a profitable share of my most
agreeable observations, as they presented themselves before me in all
their freshness and originality.

It is not the custom for the daughters of the higher classes to appear
on the street unattended. I rightly concluded, therefore, that these
happy little friends of mine, who created such a fund of amusement
for me, were the public-school children who belonged to the lower
classes.

They passed in the mornings about eight o'clock, and returned at
five in the evening. The girls wore rebozos differing from their
mothers' only in size ; and a surprising unanimity of style seemed to
prevail.

Their hair was drawn tightly back, plaited behind, the ends

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

doubled under, and almost universally tied with a piece of red tape.
Their white hose, a world too short, had an antique look to eyes ac-
customed so long to the brilliantly arrayed legs of the children of the
United States. Evidently extra full lengths had not reached that
country, as the above-mentioned hose terminated below the knee,
where they were secured (when secured at all) with a rag, string, or a
piece of red tape of the same kind that adorned their braided locks.
Those who wore shoes had them laced up the front, sharp pointed at
the toes, and frequently of gay-colored material. As their dresses
sometimes lacked several inches of reaching the knees, the interven-
ing space of brown skin exposed to view was sometimes quite start-
ling, especially so, if — as was often the case — their pantalets were
omitted. Frequently, when these were worn, they were very narrow
and reached the ankle, the dress retaining its place far above
the knee. A row of big brass safety-pins down the front of their
dresses performed the office of buttons.

The boys were simply miniature copies of their fathers, wearing
sashes, snug little jackets, blouses, and in some cases even the

sandal.

The advent of one of these
light-hearted groups was always a
happy diversion to me. Often
they came laughing and chatter-
ing in a gentle monotone down
the street, throwing paper balls at
one another, playing "tag" — it
has a finer and more sonorous
name in their majestic tongue, for
it rolled off euphoniously into
*' ahora tu me cages " (" now you've
caught me ") — performing many
other pretty, childish antics just
after some peculiarly heart-rend-
ing spectacle of poverty and suf.

A GROUP OF MY LITTLE FRIENDS.

A NEW HOME AND NEW FRIENDS 53

fering had wrung my heart. They soon learned to divine my sym-
pathetic interest in them, and occasionally some of them would stop
before my window, and exchange with me amusing remarks. They
were very bright, and laughed incredulously, exchanging winks and
nods with each other, when I tried to make them believe that I was
a Mexican. I asked if they could not see from my dark hair and
eyes that I was one ; but they refused to be convinced, saying: ''You
may look like a Mexican, but you can't talk like one." In the course
of time, all shyness vanished, and often, when in other parts of the
house, the young voices gleefully calling "■ Sefiorita ! Seftorita ! " would
bring me to the drawing-room, and there would be my barred win-
dov/s, full of little dark mischievous faces, their brown hands stretched
out to me through the iron bars, through which their dancing eyes
peeped. When my housekeeping was in better running order — com-
paratively speaking, of course — I sometimes gave them trifling dainties.
Cakes they accepted gladly, but when in my patriotic zeal I tried to
familiarize them with that bulwark of our Southern civilization — the
soda biscuit — they rejected it uncompromisingly, spitting and sputter-
ing after a taste of it, and saying: "A^^ nos gusta,'' ("We don't like
it "), " Good for Americans — no good for Mexicans."

A pretty child in a nurse's arms stopped before the window, and
laid her tiny brown hand on me caressingly. Nurse told her to sing a
pretty song for the seftora, when she began :

No me mates ! no me mates ! no me mates !
Con pistola ni puftal ;
Matame con un besito
De tus labios de coral.

Don't kill me ! don't kill me ! don't kill me !
With a pistol nor a dagger ;
But kill me with a little kiss
Of your pretty coral lips.

I asked her to come again, and as they moved along the pretty
creature waved her hand at me, saying : ''Mariana ! enla mananita" ("To-
morrow morning very early "), which aroused my fears, justly enough,

54 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

for I never saw her again, it being their universal custom to postpone
everything for the morrow — a time which I felt would never come.

The mansion and its associations were so well known that every
servant whom we employed could contribute some item of interest con-
cerning its history. An old citizen related to me that at the time of
Gen. Taylor's entrance into the city there were in it nine most beautiful

and interesting seftoritas, daughters of the original founder, Don A .

Naturally, every little detail and event concerning them was eagerly
absorbed, and nothing gave me more thorough gratification than the dis-
covery that my very first and best friends made after arriving were

the descendants of one of these nine seftoritas. Don Benito G ,

an accomplished gentleman of Castilian descent, who has occupied the
highest positions in the state, wooed and won his lovely bride when
she was in her early teens, and for many years they remained under
the paternal roof. Here their three beautiful children first saw the
light, and their infantile days were spent in these grand old rooms,
amid the flowers of the court and surrounded by an atmosphere of
beauty and refinement.

At the time of our acquaintance these favored children of a distin-
guished family were in the bloom of early manhood and womanhood,
Jos6 Maria, the eldest, aged twenty-six ; Benito, twenty-two ; and Lib-
erata, a lovely, dark-eyed girl of sixteen. She was a charming repre-
sentative of her Andalusian ancestors ; the graces of her person added
to the beauty of her disposition. In imagination her exquisite flower-
sweet face rises before me, her soft luminous eyes, shaded by lashes of
wondrous length and beauty, sweeping a cheek that glowed like a lus-
cious peach.

These friends began at once, without ceremony or ostentation, to
show me the gentlest attentions, and from the unlimited treasure-house
of their warm Mexican hearts they bestowed upon me a generous
devotion that brightened my life and made me love and respect their
land and their people for their sakes. In every circumstance they
proved to be animated by the noblest impulses of our common nature,
and one of the happiest discoveries I made during those days of a be-

A NEW HOME AND NEW FRIENDS. 55

wildering struggle with a new civilization, was that, despite the repre-
sentation of many of my own countrymen, fidelity, tenderness, and un-
tiring devotion were as truly Mexican characteristics as American. It
is doubtful in my mind if the people of any country lavish upon
strangers the same warmth of manner or exhibit the same readiness to
serve them, as do our near-at-hand, far-away neighbors, the Mexicans.

At daylight one morning, soon after we were installed in the house
of his ancestors, Don Benito, Jr., accompanied by several young
friends, favored us with a delightful serenade, in which the beautiful
Spanish songs were rendered with charming effect. He was an ex-
cellent sportsman, and always remembered us after his shooting ex-
cursions, while I received daily reminders of affectionate regard from
Liberata, the gentle sister.

Don Jose Maria was a young man of varied accomplishments and
acquirements, among which the knowledge of English was duly appre-
ciated in our growing friendship. He had liberal and progressive
ideas ; was well versed in American literature, was a regular subscriber
to the Popular Science Monthly^ North American Review, Scribners,
Harper s Magazine and Bazar, besides others of our best periodicals
— and took a lively interest in our politics.

To all these magazines ,we had free access through his kindness,
and welcome as waters in a thirsty land were these delightful home
journals, where mails were had but once or twice a week in this liter-
ary Sahara.

After the death of his mother, when Liberata was only an infant
desiring to relieve his grief-stricken father, this admirable elder
brother took almost entire charge of the little creature, filling the place
of mother, sister, and brother. It was to me an exquisitely pathetic
story, this recital of the young brother's effort to train and care for
the motherless baby girl, even superintending the buying and making
of her wardrobe, which must have been the most bewildering feature
of his bewildering undertaking.

Among other things he was anxious to have her become familiar
with American methods of house keeping and cookery. I could but

5^ FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

laugh, though a tear quickly followed, when she described how her
brother translated the cooking receipts in Harper s Bazar, and then
requested her to have American dishes concocted from them ; what
moments of despair she had over the unfamiliar compounds, and what
horrible "messes" sometimes resulted from the imperfectly under-
stood translations.

This devotion of brother to sister often recalled a similar experi-
ence in my own life. The ideal Josd Maria was my brother William,
who had made a like idol of me. His was then a newly made grave,
and I had only time to place a flower upon it before beginning the
journey to old Mexico. While I had stepped across the boundary
line of ages and was endeavoring to decipher the hieroglyphics of an
Aztec civilization, which were stamped upon every form and feature
that I saw, here I stood face to face with a repetition of my own life.
It was but following the promptings of a woman's heart to believe in
these kind strangers and to cherish their friendship.

In due time I had gathered about me many kind and congenial
friends, who vied with each other in contributing to my happiness.
One of these, Dofta Pomposita R^ — — , without knowing my lan-
guage, began to instruct me in her own. Winks, blinks, and shrugs
did the most of it : but come what would, she never gave up until
everything was clear. We sat in the patio on the afternoon of her
first visit, and among other things was her determination that we
should converse about Don Quixote, she being familiar with his story
in the original and I in my own tongue. Many of the humorous
adventures of the Don were called up by her in the most amusing
manner. In rapid succession she mentioned the men with their
" pack-staves," the " wine-bags," and was finally overcome with laugh-
ter as she said that our grand old house reminded her of the isle of
Barataria, where Sancho Panza was governor.

She then sang in a low, sweet tone many operatic airs, among them,
"Then You'll Remember Me," and others equally familiar, possess-
ing an added charm in the sweet Spanish. Near night-fall she arose
to go home, saying Pancho — meaning her husband — would soon be

A NEW HOME AND NEW FRIENDS. 57

there, and she wished him never to enter their home and find her
absent. Placing her arm affectionately about my waist, in her sweet
Spanish she said to me : " In my country it is very sad for you, and
you are far from your home and people, but do not forget I am your
friend and sister ; what I can do for you shall be done as for a sister."
Her husband, Don Pancho, shared fully in her professions of friend-
ship, and on one occasion, when a hundred miles away from the city,
sent us a regalo (gift) of a donkey-load of grapes.

In striking personal contrast were my two most intimate friends
among Mexican women. Pomposita, like Liberata, had the petite fig-
ure, the dainty feet and hands peculiar to the women of that country;
but unlike her, she possessed the high cheek-bones, the straight black
hair, the brown skin indicating her Indian origin, of which she was
justly proud.

But there was no contrast in the exhibition of their devoted kind-
ness and friendship. Both were equally ready to assist me in adapting
myself to the strange order of things and to aid in my initiation into
the mysteries of their peculiar household economies. In case of sick-
ness it seemed worth while to suffer to be the object of such exquisite
tenderness, and experience the unspeakable sweetness of their sisterly
ministrations.

But the time came when an overwhelming affliction fell upon me,
when the night with its countless stars and crescent moon told of no
serene sphere where tears and grief are unknown. The shadows passed
over my soul without a gleam to enlighten the gloom of the grave.

The oft-read promise to grief-stricken humanity, " Thy brother shall
rise again," was powerless to console.

My sister Emma, the loveliest and most devoted of women, was
suddenly called from this bright world in the summer bloom of her
loving life, leaving four young and tender children, leaving all her re-
lations and friends grief-stricken and myself in the depths of such an-
guish as only God and the good angels know. When we came into
this world, it was in a large family of brothers who loved and petted
the two wee girls with all the devotion of noble-hearted men. But

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

they had long gone forth into the world, our noble parents had been
called to their last home, while we remained together, our hearts throb-
bing in unison. Now that she was taken, it seemed to me there was
a void that no space nor object of the affections could fill, and the
better part of my life was gone.

In these darkened and burdened days of grief I can only tell how
true, loving, and tender were the hands that ministered to me. The

PORTAL IN SALTILLO.

Other members of our party were absent on a journey, and these
strangers nobly filled their places. In the long and painful illness that
followed, Pomposita, Liberata and other friends never left me for a
moment, day or night, and in deference to my sorrow all were robed in
somber black. Every possible delicacy that could tempt a wayward
appetite was brought ; notes and messages came daily to my door, and
numberless inquiries, all expressive of sympathy and a desire to serve
me, from the male relatives of my friends. These affectionate and

A NEW HOME AND NEW FRIENDS. 59

tender attentions could not have been exceeded by those endeared to
me by ties of blood. ♦

Pomposita, though so young, as a matron took precedence, constitu-
ting herself my special nurse, in full accord with the Gospel injunction
to love her neighbor as herself. In the fevered, silent watches of the
night, how gently her soft little brown hand would pass across my
brow as she murmured her sweet words of endearment, and how lov-
ingly her arms encircled me as she held me to her warm and noble
heart. She constantly reminded me of her first visit and her assur-
ance that she would be my sister.

In every way they all sought to win me from my grief. Indeed, it
seemed that the ministering angels themselves had deputed their high
mission to my devoted, faithful, and gratefully remembered Mexican
friends.

In this land of sunshine and brightness there fell upon my heart
the darkest shadow of my life, the shadow of the tomb of my sister,
who slept the dreamless sleep in her far-off, lonely grave.

CHAPTER II.

IN MOTHER NOAH'S SHOES.*

HE dearth of household furniture and
conveniences already mentioned, put
ingenuity and will force to their utmost
tension, and I felt as if transported to
antediluvian days. I have a candid
conviction that Mother Noah never had
cooking utensils more crude, or a larder
more scant, than were mine. It may be, however, that the " old man "
was "good to help around the house."

This was before the time of railways in Mexico, the " Nacional
Mexicano " having only penetrated a few leagues west of the Rio
Grande. With the primitive modes of transportation which served in
lieu of the railway it was not advisable to attempt bringing household
goods so far over a trackless country. The inconveniences that fol-
lowed were not peculiar to ourselves, but common to all strangers,
who like us could neither anticipate nor realize the scarcity of every
household appurtenance.

The natives who enjoyed the luxury of furniture — and there was
a large number who had everything in elegance — had also the roman-
'tic recollection, that great old two-wheeled carts, towering almost
above the house-tops, had brought it from the capital, nearly a
thousand miles, or it was manufactured by the carpenters of the town.
In the division of the apartments of the house, one half was
allotted to us, while our friends distributed themselves among the
remaining rooms, on the opposite side of the court-yard, the drawing-

* In this, the two succeeding chapters, and wherever the common people are mentioned,
the Spanish used is idiomatic, peculiar to the class it represents.

IN MOTHER NOAH'S SHOES. 6 1

room being used in common. Mr. and Mrs. R employed a

cook and had their own cuisine, the others flitted about ixova fonda to
fonda (restaurant) in search of sustenance. In the evening of each
day we would meet and compare notes on the varied and amusing
experiences of the day. However, I am not relating the adventures
of our friends, but will generously leave that happy task to them.

Progress in furnishing our quarters in this great massive structure
was slow indeed. How I longed for the delightful furnishings of my
own home, which remained just as I had left it.

Fortunately for us, a druggist had two spare, pine single bedsteads,
which he kindly sold to us for the sum of forty dollars. At an
American factory they would have been worth about four dollars
each. One was painted a bright red, the other an uncompromising
orange. They were cot-like and had flat wire springs, while Mexican
blankets constituted the entire bedding, mattresses and all. Pillows
were improvised from bundles of wearing apparel. Fancy how they
looked, the only furniture in a gorgeously frescoed room twenty-five
by thirty-five feet, and of proportionate height!

Mr. and Mrs. R were much less fortunate than ourselves in pro-
curing their household comforts, or rather discomforts. They ordered
two cots, which were covered with a gayly striped stuff. The brilliant
dyes having impaired the strength of the material, at the first attempt
to lie upon these treacherous beds, both individuals found themselves
suddenly precipitated upon the stone floor. No one in the house
had anything in the way of bedding to lend them, and in the darkness
they betook themselves to the hotel, to occupy beds of iron, proof
against collapse.

A friend lent us six hair-cloth chairs, and a table which had many
years before been the operating table of his brother, a surgeon. It
was long, green, and sagged in the middle. A carpenter was employed
to make the remaining necessary articles of furniture. He labored
on the customary maiiana system, and while his calculations as to
time ranged all the way from eight to fifteen days, I found he actually
meant from six weeks to three months. He showed samples of his

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

workmanship, rocking-chairs with and without arms, made of pine,
stained or painted or varnished, and upright chairs with cane seats.
I ventured to ask when he could complete for us a dozen chairs, four
rockers, and some tables. Utterly amazed, he looked at me with a
smile of incredulity, as if to say, " What can you do with so much
furniture?" He disapproved of my wish to have oblong and round
tables, so I yielded acquiescence to the customary triangular ones which
grace the corners of every parlor of respectability.

It now becomes necessary to introduce what proved to me the most
peculiar and interesting feature of home-life in Mexico. This is not

an article of furniture, a fresco, a
pounded earthen floor, or a burro
or barred casement, but the in-
dispensable, all-pervading, and in-
comparable man-servant, known
as the inozo. According to the
prevailing idea, he is far more
important than any of the things
enumerated in my household
^, menage, for from first to last he
played a conspicuous role.

Forewarned — forearmed ! The
respectability of the household
depending on his presence ; one was engaged, the strongest character
in his line — the never-to-be-forgotten Pancho.

It was perhaps not a just sentence to pronounce upon this indivi-
dual, but circumstances seemed to warrant the comparison I involun-
tarily made between our watchful Pancho and a sleepless bloodhound.
At night he curled himself up on a s\m^\e pet ate with no pillow and
only a blanket, and was as ready to respond to our beck and call as
in the day.

In this house were two kitchens, representative of that part of the
country. In the center of one was a miniature circus-ring about three
feet in circumference, consisting simply of a raised circle of clay

Si^€^;^^2i^

KITCHEN NO. I.

IN MOTHER NOAH'S SHOES.

about one foot high. This constituted the range. Little fires were
built within this ring, one under each of the pottery vessels used in
the operations. After this uncomfortable fashion the cooking was
done, the smoke circling about at its own sweet will and at length
finding vent through a small door at one side, the only opening in the
room.

The sole piece of furniture was a worm-eaten table supported on
two legs, the inner side braced against the wall. Its decayed condition
indicated that it was at least a hundred years old.

Mrs. R amused herself by experimenting on the circus-ring —

minus the aid of horses, however — a docile native woman executing
what " ground and lofty tumbling" might be required in the culinary
preparations.

The second kitchen contained another style of range equally primi-
tive in its design.

Along the wall was built a
solid breastwork of adobe, about
two feet high, two feet deep, and
extending the entire length of
the room. An opening was left
in the roof over this structure for
the escape of smoke, but the :^^
grimy walls proved that it failed M'
to answer its purpose. Upon
this ledge, projection, or what-
ever it may be termed, the cook
places her various pottery vessels
with fires made of charcoal or
small bits of wood under each,

and there the stewing, boiling, frying, and crying go on all day. This
cook, unlike the one in kitchen No. i, stands up in the performance of
her duties.

When I inspected these kitchens, it may be imagined that the
sight was rather depressing, coupled with the certainty that I could

KITCHEN NO. 2.

64 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

effect no improvement. But we had the luxury of one tiny fire-place,
to which in my despair I fled for refuge. In this little treasure our
scheme of housekeeping was inaugurated with results both brave and

gay.

Among the latter experiences I may class my first coffee-roasting,
not realizing till then that the essential feature of a mill was lacking,
and that I was at least five hundred miles from any possible purchase
of one.

Pancho, however, was equal to the emergency, and, going off, soon
returned with a metate. (See upon the floor of kitchen No. 2, a por-
trait of this important culinary utensil.)

It was a decidedly primitive affair, and, like the mills of the gods, it
ground slowly, but like them, it also ground to powder.

The metate is cut from a porous, volcanic rock, and is about
eighteen inches long by a foot in width and eight inches in thick-
ness. The upper surface, which is generally a little concave, is
roughened with indentures ; upon this the article is placed and
beaten with another stone called a mano, resembling a rolling-pin.
Almost every article of food is passed between these stones — meat,
vegetables, corn, coffee, spices, chocolate — even the salt, after being
washed and sun-dried, is crushed upon it. Such a luxury as " table
salt " was not to be had. Previous to use these stones are hardened
by being placed in the fire. The rough points become as firri as
steel, and one metate will last through a generation.

This necessity of every-day life was a revelation to me. The color
of an elephant, it was quite as unwieldy and graceless, but its import-
ance in the homely details of the manage was undeniable. It had but
two competitors to divide the honors with — the maguey plant and the
donkey. They were all three necessary to each other and to the
commonwealth at large;

Equipped with an inconceivable amount of pottery of every shape
and kind, maguey brushes, fans of plaited palm — the national bel-
lows— wooden forks, spoons, and many other nameless primitive arti-
cles, my collection of household gods was complete.

JN MOTHER NOAH'S SHOES.

The first meal cooked in that dainty Httle fire-place was more
delicious than any that could be furnished at Delmonico's. In his
quaint efforts to assist, Pancho perambulated around with an air as all-
important as though he •wQXQche/oi that iasaons, cafd. But the climax
of all was reached in Pancho's estimation when I put a pure white
linen cloth on my green, historic table and arranged for the meal.
He said over and over : " Muy bonita cena ! " (" Very pretty supper ").
But I discovered it was the attractions of my silver knives and forks

MV HOUSEHOLD GODS.

and other natty table ware from home that constituted the novelty.
In his experience fingers were made before knives and forks.

I found my major domo knew everything and everybody ; the name
of every street, the price of every article to be bought or sold. My
curiosity, I presume, only stimulated his imagination, and the more
pleased I appeared at his recitals the more marvelous were his
tales.

He gave the lineage of every family of the '■'■ jente decente" for
generations, his unique style adding pith and point to his narrations.
He told me the story of Hidalgo and Morelos and Iturbide ; the
coming of the Americans, the French Intervention, and all the late
revolutions, until my head rang with the boom of cannon and the beat

^ FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

of drum. But invariably these poetic narratives were rudely interrupted
by some over-practical intrusion. In the same breath in which he
completed the recital of the Emperor Iturbide, he suggested that
wood was better and cheaper than charcoal for cooking.

With my approbation he went to the plaza, returning in a little
while with a man who brought ten donkeys, all laden with wood
packed on like saddle-bags. I asked the wood-vender to drive his
vicious-looking dog out, when he complied by saying : " Hist ! hist /
Sal!" Of course I then thought the dog's name was Sal, but soon
found the word meant "get out!" As the dog howled on being
railed at, the man of importance again yelled at him, " Callate! callate
el ocico, cuele ! " (" Shut up — shut your mouth, and get out ! ")

Constant surprises were developed before my eyes every hour in
the day. The yelks of the first eggs I bought were white — indeed,
this was often the case, — which for a moment dazed me, as I had
never expected to find my old friend, the hen, so different in her
habits from her sisters in the States. But the qualities of the egg
were identical with those familiar to me ; however, yielding to preju-
dice, I rejoiced that eggs were not numbered among my favorite
edibles.

The difficulties of all strangers not familiar with the language and
idioms of the country were a part of my daily experience. Pancho
was by that time master of the situation, and although evidently often
amused, his thoughtfulness in relieving me of all embarrassment
never failed. Though grave, he had a sense of humor. This was
made evident, on one occasion, when I had been using a hot flat-iron.
Having finished, I told Pancho to put it in the cocinera, meaning the
kitchen. I heard a low chattering and smothered laughter between
him and the cook. Pancho then returned to my room, and half quiz-
zically, half serio-comically said : " Please come to the kitchen." I
went, when he placed himself in front of the cook, with his left hand
on her shoulder, waved his right arm around the room and said :
" Seflora, look ; this is the cocinera " — (cook) — " and this," again wav-
ing the right hand around the room, " is the cocina ! Do you want

IN MOTHER NOAH'S SHOES. 6y

me to put the plancha caliente (hot iron) in the cook, or in the
kitchen ? " Then with the forefinger of his right hand moving hastily
before his nose, and a waggish smile on his face, the pantomime closed
with, " No usamos asi " (" We don't use them this way ").

Another ridiculous mistake I made when I wanted Pancho to buy
me some cake, and told him to get ioux gateaux, forgetting that biz-
cocho and not gateau was the Spanish for cake. Folding his arms, he
quietly answered without a smile, if he might presume to ask the
Seftora what she wanted with cuatro gatos — (four cats!) As the house
was already overrun with these animals that had flocked in from all
quarters, Pancho naturally wondered why I wanted to add to my
feline tenants.

Itinerant venders of every imaginable commodity were constantly
passing, and nothing pleased me better than to hold conversations
with them, which they too evidently enjoyed.

Soon after the episode of the flat-iron, I heard the long drawn in-
tonation of a vender and paid little heed to him, supposing he was
running off a list of his stock in trade, such as pins, needles, tape,
thread and other things too numerous to mention. Wanting none of
these, I replied :

" Tenemos bastantc adentrd' (" We have plenty in the house ").

A roar of laughter near by, and a familiar voice interpreted the
man's question humorously enough ; he was only asking if I wanted
a chichi (wet nurse).

The common people of all ages were always bringing me regalitos
(tokens of good will), and these were of every conceivable variety.
A little girl whom I had often fed through the window, came into the
house with her reboso drawn closely about her, saying she had a re-
galito for me. I supposed it to be fruit or flowers, and so motioned
to her to put it on the table in the dining-room.

In a moment she was at my side, saying :

'■'No quedarse alii'' (''It will not stay there"), and going out I
found a young chicken running around.

To pay fifty cents for every donkey load of wood, as I had done,

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

THE WOOD.

seemed preposterous ; and, as Pancho knew everything, I asked him
to suggest some more economical system of purchase. He recom-
mended watching for the carretas at five o'clock in the morning.
_ ,^ Promptly at the hour indicated,

I was before the barred window,
when I heard the awful screech,
thump, bump, and rumble of the
:^ lumbering carretas. About a
dozen in a line, they advanced
slowly — their great old wooden
wheels wabbling from side to
side — drawn by oxen with raw-
hide trappings ; their sturdy
drivers sandal-footed and clothed
in cotton cloth, with an iron-
tipped goad in hand, punching
and pushing the beasts at every step. Here was the wood — the
entire tree, roots and all — ghosts of the forest hauled twenty-five
miles, rolling down the street on an antiquated vehicle. In response
to Pancho's hand-clap, the manager of the caravan demanded fifteen
dollars a load, the dollars being the only part of the transaction that
belonged to our age. But the wood was duly bought.

Pancho had so far held the reins as to all household purchases,
but in accordance with my ideas of independence and careful manage-
ment, I announced that I was going to market. He kindly told me
it was not customary for ladies to go to market — " the mozo did that "
— throwing in so many other arguments, also of a traditional nature,
that I was somewhat awed by them, though not deterred. Having
been accustomed to superintend personally all domestic duties, to be
bolted and barred up in a house, without recreation and outdoor
exercise, induced an insupportable sense of oppression.

Walking leisurely along the street, absorbed in thought, with
Pancho near at hand carrying a basket, I was attracted by the sound
of voices and the tramp of feet. Glancing backward, I saw a motley

IN MOTHER NOAH'S SHOES.

procession of idlers of the lower classes following, which increased at
every corner, reminding me of good old circus days, though without
the blare of brass instruments, the small boys bringing up the rear.
The very unusual occurrence of a lady going to market had excited
their curiosity.

The market was a large, pavilion-like building, occupying the cen-
ter of a spacious plaza. Little tables and bits of straw matting were
distributed on all sides ; and upon these the trades-people, chiefly
women, displayed their wares, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other com-
modities.

TAKING THEIR MEALS IN THI

On seeing me, every vender began shouting the prices and names
of articles, entreating the senora estrangera to buy. But the strange
medley, together with their earnestness, took my breath away, and I
could only stand and watch the crowd. In the fantastic scene before
me, it would be impossible to tell which of the many unaccustomed
features took precedence of the others in point of novelty.

Notwithstanding the crowd, there was no disorder, no loud laugh-
ter or unseemly conduct. The courteous meetings between acquaint-
ances, the quiet hand-shakings, the tender inquiry as to the health of
each other, the many forms of polite greeting, were strangely at vari-
ance with their dilapidated and tattered condition, their soiled gar-
ments, half-faded blankets, and time-stained sombreros.

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

Whole families seemed to have their abiding places in the market.
Babies ! babies ! everywhere ; under the tables, on mats, hanging on
their mothers' backs, cuddled up in heaps among the beets, turnips,
and lettuces, peeping over pumpkins larger than they ; rollicking, cry-
ing, crowing, and laughing, their dancing black eyes the only clean,
clear spots about them — with and without clothes — until my head and
the air were vocalizing the old-time ditty of " One little, two little,
three little Injuns." But instead of stopping at " ten," they bade
fair to run up into the thousands.

Parrots were there by the dozen. On seeing me, some began
screaming and calling in idiomatic Spanish : " Look at the seflora
estrangera ! look ! look ! Seflorita, tell me your name ! " The rest
joined in chorus, and soon an interested crowd surrounded me. They
kept close at my heels, inspecting every article I bought, even com-
menting on my dress, the women lightly stroking it and asking me a
thousand questions as to where I came from, how I liked their coun-
try, and if I was not afraid of the Mexicans, and invariably closing by
saying, " She is far from her home. It is sad for her here."

Here and there the amusing spec-
tacle presented itself of men in-
tently engaged in the occupation
among us assigned to women, that
of knitting and crocheting baby hoods
and stockings of bright wool, and of
the funniest shapes I ever beheld !

Vegetables, fruits, and nuts of
all kinds were counted out care-
fully in little heaps, and could only
be bought in that way, by retail,
wholesale rates being universally re-
jected. I could buy as many of these
piles as I wanted, but each one was
counted separately, and paid for in
the same way. I offered to buy out the entire outfit of a woman

SELUNC THBIR LirTLK STOCKINGS AND HOODS.

PULQUE SHOP.
SELLING FLOUR.

PATTING TORTILLAS.
NEWS-BOVS.

IN MOTHER NOAH'S SHOES. 73

who had a bushel basket in reserve, even agreeing to pay her for the
basket ; but she only shook her head, and wagged the forefinger, say-
ing, '''No, senora, no puedo'" — (" No, madame, I cannot "). A woman
held in her hand a corn husk, which she waved continuously up and
down. On examination, I found it was butter rolled up snugly, which
she assured me was '^fresca sin sal " — " fresh, without salt". A new reve-
lation, but in the course of time I learned to appreciate this primitive
method, and that in this climate salt was a hindrance to its preserva-
tion for any length of time. At last I became convinced of the per-
fect and complete fitness of things, and of their self-vindication.

In making the tortilla, the corn is first soaked for several hours in
a solution of lime-water, which removes the husk. Then a woman
gets down upon her knees and beats it for hours on the inetate.
Small pieces of the dough are worked between the hands, tossed and
patted and flattened out, until no thicker than a knife-blade, after which
they are thrown upon the steaming hot conial, a flat, iron affair some-
thing like a griddle. They are never allowed to brown, and are with-
out salt or seasoning of any kind ; but after one becomes inducted into
their merits, they prove not only palatable, but they make all other
corn-bread tasteless in comparison, the slight flavor of the lime add-
ing- to the natural sweetness of the corn.

There were tavialcs rolled up in corn husks, steaming hot and sold
in numbers to suit the hungry purchasers. I found that this remark-
able specimen of food was made, like the tortillas, from macerated corn.
Small portions of the dough were taken in hand and wrapped around
meat which had been beaten to a jelly and highly seasoned with pepper
and other condiments. The whole was then folded snugly in a corn
husk and thrown into a vessel of boiling lard.

When I witnessed this operation, the woman whose enterprise it
was, began singing in a cheery voice and making crosses before the
fire, saying, " If I don't sing, the tamales will never be cooked."

In my market experiences nothing imparted a greater zest than
watching the multitude of homeless poor taking their meals all around
the border of the market. All the compounds they ate were complete

74 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

mysteries ; but before going home I had secured many of the various
receipts from the venders. I found plain atole much the same in ap-
pearance as gruel of Indian meal, but much better in taste, having the
slight flavor of the lime with which the corn is soaked, and the advan-
tage of being ground on the metate, which preserves a substance lost
in grinding in a mill.

Tortillas, likewise, lose their flavor if made of ordinary meal.
Atole de leche (milk), by adding chocolate takes the name of
champurrado ; if the bark of the cacao is added, it becomes atole de
cascara; if red chili, — chili atole. If, instead of any of these agua
miel, sweet water of the maguey, is added, it is called atole de agua
miel ; if piloncillo, the native brown sugar, again the name is modi-
fied to atole de piiiole.

The meal is strained through a hair-cloth sieve, water being continu-
ally poured on it, until it becomes as thin as milk. It is then boiled
and stirred rapidly until well cooked, when it is ready for the market.
As served to the wretched-looking objects who so eagerly consume it,
one felt no desire to partake, but in the houses, there is nothing more
delicious and wholesome than atole de leche.

All the stews, fries, and great variety of other edibles were patron-
ized and dispatched with the greatest eagerness. Barbacoa is one
of the principal articles of food known to the Mexican market — and is
good enough for the table of a king. The dexterous native takes a
well-dressed mutton, properly quartered, using also head and bones.
A hole is made in the ground, and a fire built in it. Stone slabs
are thrown in, and the hole is covered. When thoroughly hot, a
lining is made of maguey leaves, the meat put in, and covered with
maguey, the top of the hole is also covered, and the process of cook-
ing goes on all night.

The next morning it is put in a hot vessel, ready to eat — a deli-
cious, brown, crisp, barbecued mutton.

As the process is difficult and tedious, it is not generally prepared
in the families, and even the wealthiest patronize the market for this
delicacy, ready cooked.

IN MOTHER NOAH'S SHOES. 75

From Pancho's manner I am sure he felt as if his vocation were
gone, by the way I had overleaped the bounds of custom in finding
out things for myself. Nevertheless, he managed now and then to
give some of the venders an account of our house, its location, and
my singular management. But though looking mystified, he never
left me for a moment, no matter how long I talked, or asked explana-
tions.

We went into the stores, Pancho keeping between me and the
crowd. The shopkeepers were as much surprised and as curious as
the people in the streets, to see me marketing. But when the crowd
of idlers closed up around me, they were polite and solicitous to
know if the " procession " annoyed me.

The arrangement of the merchandise and the method of traffick-
ing elicited an involuntary smile from me at every turn ; so, if the
merchants, clerks, and the " procession " found fun at my expense, I
was no less amused at theirs.

Dozens of mozos bought from them, in my presence, a table-spoon-
ful of lard, which the agile clerk placed on a bit of brown paper for
transportation ; three or four lumps of sugar, a tlaco's worth of salt,
the same of pepper, were all taken from immense piles of these arti-
cles, near at hand, wrapped and ready for the purchaser.

Dainty china tea-cups hung closely together by their handles on
the edge of every shelf, and up and down the walls in unbroken lines ;
but not a saucer was in sight, nor could a dish be had at any price.

Anticipating that I would take a tlaco, medio, and real's worth,
like the mozos, the clerk took in his nimble fingers a few of the little
packages ; but my extraordinary announcement despoiled him of his
ordinary sales.

Every eye was upon me when I had the temerity to ask for
twenty pounds of sugar, ten pounds of cofTee, and a gallon of vinegar.
Sugar and coffee were abundant, but the vinegar was in bottles. He
handed me one with a flourish, saying, " Vinagre de Francia. We
have no other." I began to feel that far-away France had become
my ally, having, like me, made an invasion on the " costumbres ; " the

76 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

only difference being, that the vinegar bottles were jolted on the
backs of meek burros, or in carts, a thousand miles, and I had arrived,
safe and sound, by diligence.

I asked : " Have you ham ? " — " No hay " (pronounced ej/e),
('* There is none ").

"Ticldes}"—" No /lay."

*' Powdered sugar ? " — " No /lay."

" Crackers ? "— " Tampoco " (" Neither ").

'« Salt ? "— " Si hay " (" Yes, there is some ").

"Coffee?"— "5z//^j>/."

" Frijoles ? " (beans) — " Tambien " (" Also ").

" Candles ? "— " Si hayT

"Potatoes?" — " Ya no hay, se acabaron'' ("They are finished
— all gone ").

Going to market, a matter-of-fact affair in the United States,
resolved itself into a novel adventure.

The heterogeneous assemblage of goods, and the natural and arti-
ficial products of the country, astonished me equally with the strange
venders. There was so much that was at once humorous, pitiable,
and grotesque, all of which was heightened when I reached home,
and observed quite a number of the " procession " in the rear. Once
over the threshold, Pancho slammed the door in their faces, saying,
" Son pobres todos, y sin verguenzas ! " (" They are all poor and with-
out shame ").

Every day the strange enigma unfolded itself before me, with ac-
crued interest. My lot had been cast among these people, when in
total ignorance of their habits and customs. My aim and purpose,
above all things, was to establish a home among them on the basis of
the one left behind. The sequel will show how well I succeeded.
But while endeavoring to cope with the servants, and comprehend
their peculiarities, I found nothing more amusing.

Our Mexican friends made daily visits to the house, and were
always ready to enjoy with me the latest humorous episode furnished
by the servants. I was often assured by these friends that the oddi-

IN MOTHER NOAH'S SHOES. 77

ties of their mozos and other servants had not occurred to them, as so
striking, until my experiences, together with my enjoyment, had pre-
sented them in a new light ; and that for them I had held the mirror
up to nature. This was only possible by keeping up an establishment,
and making one's self part and parcel of the incidents as they occurred.
From this and the two succeeding chapters, it may seem that I was
constantly involved in annoyances and disagreements with the ser-
vants ; but such was not the case. Inconveniences more than can
be named, were mine in the Sisyphean task of establishing an Ameri-
can home in Mexico, but if the reader can picture a perpetual treat
in noting the strict adherence of the mozos to inbred characteristics,
surely that privilege was mine.

As time goes on, and I no longer come in actual daily contact with
them, in gay retrospect I see moving about me the phantom parade
of blue-rebozoed women and white-garbed mozos.

Variety of scene and character was never wanting. If the interior
workings of the household failed to interest me, I had only to turn
and gaze through my barred window upon the curious street scenes.

On Saturdays, beggars were always out in full force, and on these
days my time was mainly occupied in conversing with them, thereby
obtaining many threads in the weft I was hoping to weave. A very
old man, stooped and bent with age, applied to me for alms, when I
asked his age. " Eleven years," he replied. " Oh ! " I said, " that is
a mistake. Why do you think you are only eleven ? " — "Because I
was a little boy when the Americans came." From that date — as I
understood it — life was over to him and mere existence remained ;
added years had accumulated, but he was still a boy. I soon found
that this class dated every notable event from either the cholera, the
advent of the French, or the coming of the Americans.

An American negro was a welcome sight on one of these occa-
sions, and his, good old-time familiar darky dialect, together with the
sight of his kinky head, was refreshing. He stopped in front of my
window, saying: " Well, now, mis', what is you a doin' heah ? 'Mar-
ican white ladies neber likes dis country ; dey isn't yo' kin o' people."

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

He gave me his history in exaggerated negro style; how he had been
in the war with his young master ; had been taken prisoner, made to
serve as cook on a Yankee gun-boat, had escaped, married a Mexican ;
and, after so many vicissitudes, had not forgotten his early training
in his manner of addressing me.

Foremost among the objects that claimed my sympathy were
the poor, over-laden, beaten donkeys ; they seemed ubiquitous, and
the picture my window framed never lacked a meek-eyed burro, until

I could not separate
them from their sur-
roundings. They were
typical figures, and

THERE GOES THE MEXICAN RAILROAD.

at last I came to regard any scene from which they were absent as
incomplete.

They passed in a never-ending procession, bearing every imagin-
able commodity. I soon noticed that if the leader or "bell-wether"
of the gang stopped, the rest did the same. If goaded to despera-
tion by the merciless driver, the only resistance they offered was to
quietly but doggedly lie down.

Often dozens of them passed, with green corn on the stalks, sus-
pended gracefully about them, and in such quantities that nothing
was visible but the donkeys' heads and ears, the corn spread out in
fan-shape, reminding me of a lady's train, or a peacock in full plum-
age. The burros moved evenly and silently along, without an un-

IN MOTHER NOAH'S SHOES.

dulation to disturb the beauty and symmetry of the corn-stalk pro-
cession.

Pancho's knowledge of burros was as profound as of other subjects.
As fifty of them were passing one morning, he happened to see me
gazing on the strange scene, when the oracle broke silence by saying:
''Alii va el ferro-carril Mexicano'' ("There goes the Mexican rail-
road"), adding parenthetically, "" Tambien se llama?t licenciados"'
(" They are also called lawyers ") ; " tienen cabezas muy duras " (" they
have very hard heads ").

At last I was convinced that burros are possessed of an uncom-
mon amount of good sense as well as much patience and meekness.
Their shrewdness was intensely
amusing to me when I saw how
keenly they watched the arri^ro —
driver — unburden one of their com-
paneros, and how quickly they
jumped into the place to be also re-
lieved of their terrible loads.

A man with a crate of eggs
hanging from his head went trot-
ting by, advertising his business
by screaming, " Huevos ! huevos ! "
in deafening tones. Pancho, at his
post of duty in the zaguan, called the
vender with the long tangled hair
and swarthy skin. After peeping
cautiously around, he entered, when
I went at once to make the bargain for myself, and to turn over
another leaf in the book of my experiences. I wanted to buy two
dozen, and handing him fifty cents, told Pancho to count the eggs.
The man turned the half-dollar over and over — looking at me and
then at the half-dollar ; and at last handed the money back to me,
saying : " Nose venden asi" (" They are not sold in this way ") — " sola-
mente por reales " ( "only by reals " ). I said : " You sell six for a real,

Huevos! huevos t

8o FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS,

(twelve and one-half cents), it is the same at twenty-five cents a
dozen." The words had hardly passed my lips, when he turned and
looked me directly in the eye, with an expression which meant,
" Well, now, look here, madame, you'll not take advantage of me in
that way ; I know the customary manner of doing business in this
country, and there will be no change in selling eggs." Pancho put in
a plea for him, adding : " Es costumbre del pais " ('' It is the custom of
the country "), which reconciled me.

The vender began counting slowly the fingers of his right hand
with his left — " uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco,'' — then holding up the in-
dex finger of the left hand — seis — and extending the
six fingers, palms to the front, waved them back and
forth before his determined face, as in low guttural
tones that made me shiver, he said : " No, sen-o-ri-ia,
so-la-rnen-te d se-is por un re-al ! " (" I will only sell
them at six for a real "), by dozens — never! Lifting
his hat politely, he took his departure saying, "Hasta
Itiego ! " (** I'll come again "). But I thought he need
SIX FOR A REAL. Hot troublc himsclf.

Seeing everything and everybody so conservative, running in the
groove of centuries, reminded me that I was losing sight of my own
" costumbres. " The little fire-place in which the cooking had been
done became distasteful, and I longed for a cooking-stove. A Mex-
ican gentleman whom I did not know, on hearing of my desire, kindly
offered to lend us one that he had bought about twenty years before,
but had been unable to have it used to any extent, owing to the pre-
judices of the servants.

With the utmost delight, I saw the cargador (porter) enter the big
door with this time-worn rickety desire of my heart. But when he
slipped it from his head, the rattle of its dilapidated parts made me
quake with anxiety.

Both Pancho and the cargador exclaimed in one voice,
" Cararnba ! " (" Goodness gracious alive ! "), gazing with puzzled
expressions on the wreck.

IN MOTHER NOAH'S SHOES.

The cargador was the first to break the silence that followed this
ebullition of astonishment.

" Que atroz ! " (" How atrocious ! ") he exclaimed.

" Que barbaridad ! " (" How barbarous ! ") echoed Pancho.

" Por supuesto que si I " {" Well, I should say so ! "), quoth the car-
gador.

" Pos como no ! " (" Well, I'd like to know why it isn't ! "), said the
disgusted Pancho.

" She will never get a cook to use it, never!" The cook came
into \\\Q patio to inspect the stove, and she too spoke in a low voice
to the men, but folding her arms and emphatically raising her tone
on the last word " el higado^ which explained itself later.

As there was not a flue in the building, the stove was placed in
the little fire-place. It had only
two feet, which stood diagonally
opposite each other, causing the
stove to nod and bend in a grim,
diabolic way. Being duly settled
on its own responsibility by the
aid of bricks, Pancho opened one
of the doors, when instantly it
lay full length on the floor. He
walked away, looking back in
disgust on the wreck. I ven-
tured to touch the door on the
opposite side, when, as if by
magic, it, also, took a position on
the floor ?is vis-h-vis ; the servants exclaiming: '■' Muy mat Jiecho!'*
(" A very bad make, or job ! "), " tan viejo ! " (" so very old ! ")

" Pos como no I " ('' Well, I should say so ! ") they all chimed in,
the cook glancing at me suspiciously, and folding her arms as she
added : " No, seflora, I cannot use the esttifa."

" Why not ? " I asked.

" Por que inc hacc dano en el higado."
6

IT WILL GIVE ME DISEASE OF THE I.IVER.

82 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

" Because it will give me disease of the liver ; Mexican servants
dislike stoves, and if you keep this one, no cook will stay here," she
replied.

A blacksmith was called to renovate the treasure, but he also
worked on the maiiana system, taking weeks to do his best, and still
leaving the stove dilapidated. The cook took her departure, and on
Pancho's solicitation dozens came, but a glance at the stove was
enough.

Politeness ruled their lives, and native courtesy was stronger than
love of truth. Without saying a word about the stove, they would
say, " I would like to work for you — you are muy ainable — muy simpdtica
— amiable and agreeable ; but," — her voice running up to a piping treble
— she would add, " tengo mi familia " — I have my family — or, " I am
now occupied," meaning employed, by Don or Dofla Such-a-one.

Pancho always looked on with keen interest during such conversa-
tions, his face saying, without a word : " T told you so ; these cooks
will never adopt your costumbres Americanos.''

The stove was always falling, or some part dropping off.

At last one day I went in and saw it careened to one side — both
feet off — and both doors down, suggesting that some canny hand had
dismantled it. The wreck presented a picture painfully realistic ; but
before I had time to inquire as to the perpetrator, the stove addressed
me:

" I was once an American citizen, bred and born. My pedigree is
equal to any of your boasted latter-day ancestry. A residence of
twenty years in Mexico has changed my habitudes and customs.
You need not try to mend and fix me up — to erect your American
household gods on my inanimate form. I am a naturalized Mexican,
with all that is implied. I have had my freedom the greater portion
of the time since they bought me from a broken-down gringo ; for
neither the seftora nor the cooks would use me. I'll do you no good ;
if you mend and fix me up in one place, I'll break down in another.
Content yourself with our braseros (ranges) and pottery. Accept our
usages, and you will be happy in our country.

IN MOTHER NOAH'S SHOES. 83

" You need not wonder at my rust-eaten and battered condition.
I have lain undisturbed in the corral for nearly twenty years. During
the rainy season, when the big drops pelted me unmercifully, snakes,
lizards, centipedes, and tarantulas came habitually to take refuge inside
my iron doors. So many different natures coming in close contact,
there were frequently serious collisions. These warlike engagements
have crippled and maimed me, more than the weather, or any service
I have rendered. You will not find a cook who will even know how
to make me hot for your use. Take me back to the corral ! Take
me back ! "

CHAPTER III.

" NO ES COSTUMBRE." *

/^ Mk. ^K WM^^^ were overshadowed by the dome of
■^ 7j BiSKkKi) ^mf ^ magnificent cathedral, the exterior

\\ ^i^. Qf which was embellished with life-

niS, sized statues of saints. The interior

<^:\ \:::-':::::l y^ ^^ / / presented a costly display of tinted

7 \^ \^/ walls, jeweled and bedecked images,

^^ and gilded altars. Its mammoth

tower had loomed grimly under the suns and stars of a hundred
years, and the solidity of its perfect masonry has so far defied the en-
croachments of time.

The city of our adoption boasted an Alameda, where the air was
redolent of the odor of the rose and violet, and made musical with the
tinkling of fountains ; and where could be seen the " beauty and
chivalry " of a civilization three centuries old, taking the evening
air.

Plazas beautified with flowers, shrubs, and trees, upon which neither
money nor pains had been spared, lent a further charm. Stores were
at hand wherein could be purchased fabrics of costly texture, as well
as rare jewels — in fact, a fair share of the elegant superfluities of life ;
and yet in the midst of so much civilization, so much art, so much
luxury of a certain kind, so much wealth, I found to my dismay, upon
investigation, that I was at least fifty miles from an available broom !
Imagine the dilemma, you famously neat housekeepers of the
United States ! A house with floors of pounded dirt, tile, brick, and
cement, and no broom to be had for money, though, I am pleased to

* The higher classes use the term " Eso no se acostumbra ; " while the idiom of the
common people abbreviates the expression into " No es costumbre."

''NO ES COSTUMBRE."

add, one was finally obtained for love. My generous little Mexican
neighbor and friend, Pomposita, taking pity on my despair, gave me
one — which enabled me to return the half-worn borrowed broom of
another friend.

Owing to the exorbitant demands of the custom-house, such
humble though necessary articles were not then imported ; and the
untutored sons of La Republica manufactured them on haciendas,
from materials crude beyond imagination.

Once or twice a year long strings of burros may be seen, wending
their way solemnly through the streets; girt about with a burden of
the most wonderful brooms.

These brooms were of two varieties ; one had handles * as knotty
and unwieldy as the thorny mesqiiite^ while the other was still more
primitive in design, and looked like old field Virginia sedge grass tied
up in bundles. They were retailed by men who carried them through
the streets on their backs.

For the rude character of their brooms, however, the manufacturers
are not to blame, but the sterility of the country, and the failure of na-
ture to provide suitable vegetable growths.

Every housekeeper takes advantage of
the advent of the escobero (broom-maker),
to lay in a stock of brooms sufficient to
last until his next visit. It was two months
before an opportunity of buying a broom,
even from a " wandering Bavarian," was
afforded me, and during that time I came
to regard Dona Pomposita's gift as the
apple of my eye.

•' Mer-ca-ran las cs-co-bas I " One morn-
ing a new sound assailed my ears, as it
came up the street, gathering force and
volume the nearer it approached. I heard "'^"-'- ^°" """^ ^ broom?"

it over and over without divining its meaning. But at last a man en-

See picture of " Household gods," for the brooms with handles.

86 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

tered our portal and in a tone that made my hair stand on end and
with a vim that almost shook the house, he screamed — ''Es-co-bas, Sen-
o-ra ! ' — drawling each word out as long as a broom-handle, then
rolling it into a low hum, which finally died into a whispered — *' Will
you buy some brooms?" Had he known my disposition and special
fondness for broom-handles — without reference to my household
need — he would have brought them to me directly, dispensing with
his ear-splitting medley — to a woman for three months without a
broom !

On ascertaining that the escobero would not visit the city again
for some time, 1 bought his entire stock, and laid them up with pru-
dent foresight, against the possibility of another broom famine.

With a genuine American spirit, I concluded to have a general
house-cleaning, and, equipped with these wonderful brooms, with
Pancho's assistance the work began. The first place demanding at-
tention was the immense parlor, with its floor of solid cement.
Pancho began to sweep, but the more he swept, the worse it looked —
ringed, streaked, and striped with dust. I thought he was not using
his best efforts, so with a will, I took the broom and made several
vigorous strokes, but to my amazement, it looked worse than ever.
In my despair a friend came in, who comprehended the situation at a
glance, and explained that floors of that kind could not be cleaned
with a broom ; that amoli — the root of the ixtli (eastly) — soap-root —
applied with a wet cloth, was the medium of renovation.

The amoli was first macerated and soaked for some time in water.
A portion of the liquid was taken in one vessel and clear water in an-
other. The cleansing was done in small squares, the rubbing all in
one direction. The effect was magical — my dingy floor being restored
to its original rich Indian red.

Now and then, while on his knees, rubbing away with might and
main, Pancho would throw his eyes up at me with a peculiar expres-
sion of despair, while he muttered in undertone : " No es costumbre de
los mozos lavar los suelos " (" It is not customary for mozos to wash
floors").

''NO ES COSTUMBKE." 8/

Insatiable curiosity is the birthright of the poor of Mexico, and on
this remarkable day they gathered about the windows until not an-
other one could find room — talking to Pancho, who looked as if already
under sentence for an infraction of the criminal code. They made
strange motions with their fingers, exclaiming at the same time: "■ Es
una vcrgucnza el inoso haccr talcs cosas ! " ( " It is a shame for a mozo
to do such things! ") Others replied by saying : ''■Esun insiilto ! " (" It
is an insult ! "), while others took up the argument of the case by say-
ing: " For siipuesto que si" (" Why, of course it is"). But all this did
not cause Partcho to give me a rude look or an impertinent word.

The floor now looked red and shiny, the windows were clear and
glistening, and the six hair-cloth chairs stood grimly along the wall,
in deference to the custom. My little friend took her departure, and
Pancho moved lamely about, as if stiffened by his arduous labor.

In all my housekeeping experiences nothing ever occurred which
for novelty was comparable to the events of that morning. I felt
sure that when Mother Noah descended from Moimt Ararat, and
assumed the responsibilities of housekeeping — or more properly tent-
keeping — on the damp plain, however embarrassing the limitation of
her equipments may have been, she was at least spared the provoca-
tion of a scornful and wondering audience, greeting her efforts on
every side with that now unendurable remark, ^' No es costumbrey

I afterward learned the cause of the commotion, when it transpired
that such services as floor-cleaning are performed, not by the mozo^
but by a servant hired for the occasion, outside the household.

In a few moments my lavandera — washerwoman — entered, accom-
panied by her two pretty, shy little girls. Having complimented the
fresh appearance of the house, — Pancho now and then explaining
what he had done, — she informed me that the following day would be
the dia de santo — saint's day — of one of her bright-eyed cJiiquitas, and
^' Jiay costumbre'' (" there is a custom") of receiving tokens on these
days from interested friends. Acting upon this hint, I went to my
bedroom, followed by Juana and the ninas, who displayed great sur-
prise at every step. My red and yellow covered beds they tapped

88 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

and talked to as if they had been animate things, calling them,
" camas bonitas, coloradas y amarillas ! " (" pretty beds, red and yel-
low ! ")

I turned the bright blankets over, that they might see the springs,
and the sight utterly overcame them. Their astonishment at the
revelation of such mysterious and luxurious appendages made them
regard me with mingled awe, astonishment, and suspicion. The
mother struck the springs with her fists, and as the sound rang out
and vibrated, the children retreated hastily, shaking with alarm.

Wishing to conform to the customs, and remembering Juana's
hint, I unlocked my " Saratoga." The chiqiiitas stood aside, fearing,
I suppose, that from the trunk some frightful apparition might spring
forth. When the lid went back they exclaimed : " Valgame Dios ! "
(" Help me, God "), and crossed themselves hastily, as if to be pre-
pared for the worst. I invited them to come near, at the same time
opening a compartment filled with bright flowers and ribbons.

This was a magnet they could not resist, and overcoming their
fears, they came and stood close to the trunk, now and then touching
the pretty things I exhibited to their wondering eyes. I gave each
of them a gay ribbon, and while they were talking delightedly and
caressing the pretty trifles, by some mischance the fastening of the
upper tray lost its hold. Down it came with a crash — being still
heavily packed — and away went the children, screaming and crying,
one taking one direction, the other another.

We went in pursuit of them, and when found, one was crouching
down in the court-yard under a rose-bush, while the other stood in ter-
ror behind the heavy parlor door. Both were shaking, their teeth chat-
tering, while they muttered something about " e/ diablo ! el diablo ! "

By this time I understood the line which people of this class in
Mexico unflinchingly draw between their own humble station and
mine, yet I felt moved to treat the frightened children with the
same hospitality which in my own land would have proved soothing
under similar circumstances. Acting upon this inspiration, I went
quickly and brought a basin of water to wash their tear-stained faces.

"NO Es costumbre:

NO ES COSTUMBRE."

To my utter surprise, they exclaimed in the same breath : " No lo per'
mito I " (" We cannot permit it ! ")
" No es costumbre y

The mother approached me
with an expression of deep con-
cern and seriousness in her eyes,'
and with her forefinger raised in
gentle admonition. Looking me
earnestly in the face, she began
moving her finger slowly from side
to side directly before my eyes,
saying: ^\Otga, Seiiorita, sepa V.
que en esta tierra, cuando nosotros
los Mexicanos " (referring of
course to her own class) " tene-
mos el catarro'' (emphasizing the
last word on G sharp), " nunca nos
lavamos las caras " (" Listen to me, my good lady, in this country,
when we have the catarrh (meaning a bad cold), we never put water
on our faces ").

"Why not?" I asked.

" Porque no estamos acostumbradas, y por el clitna, sale mds mala la
enfermedad'" (" Because we are not accustomed to it, and on account
of the climate, the sickness is made worse ").

Thus ended the dialogue. But the children did not hold me re-
sponsible for their fright, and bade me a kindly adios, promising to
return again, a promise fulfilled every week, but on no account would
they ever venture near that trunk again.

Pancho was determined to give to us and our belongings, as far as
possible, the exterior appearance of Xh& '' costumbres.'' On entering
my room after a little absence, one day, I found him straining every
nerve and panting for breath. He had made a low bench, and was
trying to place my Saratoga on it, but his strength was not equal to
the task. The explanation came voluntarily that, on account of the

90 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

animalitos, it was customary for families to keep trunks on benches
or tables. I soon found the animalitos had reference to the various
bugs and scorpions which infest the houses, and all trunks were
really kept as Pancho said.

As time passed, Pancho constituted himself our instructor and
guide in every matter possible, including both diet and health. He
warned us against the evil effects of walking out in the sun after ten
o'clock in the morning, and especially enjoined upon us not to drink
water or wash our faces on returning, as catarrh and headache would
be sure to follow. Supposing this only the superstition of an igno-
rant servant, I took a special delight in taking just such walks, and
violating these rules, but every time I paid the forfeit in a cold and
headache, according to prediction. I was now satisfied that Pancho
was not only wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove, blest with a
keen eye of discrimination, but also a first-class health officer, and in
the movement of his forefinger lay tomes of reason and good sense.
But I had soon to discover that he would have no infringement of his
privileges ; and, come what would, he was determined to have his
pilott in the market.

The servants who came and went often warned me that under no
consideration must I go to market, but this was one of my home cus-
toms, and I could see no reason for its discontinuance. The system
of giving the pilon (fee) to the servants, by merchants and market-
people, as I already knew, would be a stumbling-block in my way.
I had discussed in Pancho's presence my determination to go regular-
ly, when I fancied I saw a strange light come into his eyes, which
soon explained itself. He came humbly before me, in a short time,
hat in hand, his face bearing the sorrowful, woe-begone look of one
in the depths of an overwhelming calamity, saying, that a cart had
run over his grandmother, and he would have to leave. He had been
so kind and considerate in every way — never tiring of any task he
had to perform — and so faithful, that I would prove my sympathy
and good will to him by an extra sum — outside his wages — ^\vhich
might be a blessing, and aid in restoring his aged grandmother. He

"NO ES COSTUMBRE." 93

walked off, as if distressed beyond measure, at the same time assuring
me that he would send his comadrita (little godmother of his child-
ren) and her husband, who would serve me well.

They came, but it was unfortunate for Pancho. The woman was
an inveterate talker, and soon informed me that she was not the
comadrita of his children ; nor had a cart run over his grandmother ;
in factj he had none, as she had died before Pancho was born. This
was a new phase of the subject, but I was not long in solving the
enigma. He had been goaded long enough by my American
methods; he had become the butt of ridicule from his friends, and
now he would assert himself.

However well he was treated in our house, to be called upon to
surrender the most precious boon of all his " costumbres " — the market
fees — never! But to wound my feelings in leaving was far from his
wishes, so he shrewdly planned and carried out the tragic story of the
mishap to his grandmother.

The comadrita introduced herself with chastened dignity as Jesu-
sita Lopez ; but with head loftily erect, and an air of much conse-
quence, informed me that the name of her ;«<a:rz</(C— (husband) — was
Don Juan Bautista (John the Baptist), servidores de V. — ("your
obedient servants").

She smiled at every word, a way she had of assuring me of her
delight in being allowed to serve me, but at the same time, glanced
ominously at the cooking-stove. The smile lengthened into a broad
grin when Don Juan Bautista came in sight; in her eyes he was " king-
doms, principalities, and powers." Together they examined the stove
— talking in undertone — stooping low and scrutinizing every compart-
ment. At last Don Juan Bautista arose, and turning to me said, " Je-
susita cannot cook on this mdquina Americana" (American machine).

" Why ? " I asked. He straightened himself up to the highest
point, half on tip toe, at the same time nodding his head, and point-
ing his forefinger at Jesusita, emphatically replied :

" Because it will give her disease of the liver — como siempre — as
always, with the servants here."

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

On going to the kitchen a little later, I was surprised to see the
gentle Jesusita seated in the middle of the floor, by a charcoal fire,
with all my pottery vessels in a heap beside her. Meats, vegetables,
and water were all at hand, and she was busily engaged in prepara-
tions for dinner. I told her to come and see how well she could cook
on that American machine, but she only answered, " No es costutn-
bre ; " besides, " Don Juan Bautista said it would give her the enfer-
mcdad, or sickness, before mentioned — and no man knew more than
he " — which meant I should use my own machine.

I called upon Don Juan Bautista to go with me to market, when
he at once entered into a lcnf;^thy discourse about ladies going to such

places ; that the jente decent e
(people of pedigree) never did
such things ; that " the people
in the streets and markets
would talk much and say many
things." But of this I had
already had a foretaste.

I was about to lead the way
through the big door, when
Jesusita came forward and laid
her soft hand upon me, saying:
'• Seflora, do not go ; Juan knows
better than you about such busi-
ness. In this country ladies like
you send the mozo" But I was
proof against her persuasive
eloquence. To surrender my
entire nationality and individu-

- 11... .1. .j: .„. ality was not possible for a good

American.
The pair talked aside in low undertone, which I watched with
feigned indifference and half-closed eyes. Jesusita glanced com-
miseratively at me, as if she had used her best efforts to no purpose ;

''NO Es costumbre:'

but Don Juan Bautista threw his most determined and unrelenting
expression upon me, as if to say : " Well, she has had enough warn-
ing ; now the responsibility rests on her own shoulders ! "

He looked back at Jesusita as he stepped from the door, nodding
his head — " Well, — I will go ; but she will wish she had not gone ! "

In the market Juan Bautista never left me for a moment, inspecting
closely everything I bought — now and then throwing in a word when
he thought I was paying too much. He counted every cent as fast
as I paid it out, and noted every article placed in the basket. I had
nearly completed my purchases, and was talking to a woman about
the prospect for butter — regretting the difficulty of getting it, — when
she leaned across the table, waggling that tireless forefinger at me,
saying, " En este tiempo ya no hay, no es costmnbre " (" At this time
of the year there is none "), Juan Bautista chiming in (with the inter-
minable waggle of his forefinger also), " No ! no hay ! " (" No, indeed,
there is none").

The last purchase was made, and I was about closing my purse,
when glancing up, I saw Juan
Bautista's great merciless eyes
fixed upon me, while he said in
a firm voice : *' But, tni pilon,
Seflora ! *' This is the custom
of the country. If you stay
at home, I get my pilon from the
merchants and market people ; if
you come — I must have it any-
how. A wrangle was impossible,
and handing him dos reales
(twenty-five cents), I went home a far wiser woman.

Jesusita looked proudly upon the towering form of Juan Bautista
as he entered the portal — basket in one hand, dos reales in the other.
Not a word was spoken between them, but looks told volumes. She
knew what Juan could do, and he had proved to her his ability to cope
with the stranger from any part of the world. To myself I confessed

no! no hay: (there is none.)

9^ FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICAN ii.

that in Don Juan Bautista I had found a foeman worthy of my
steel.

I asked him, to light the fire in the stove and I would make an-
other effort to instruct Jesusita in its management. He went about
it, while I withdrew for a few moments to my room. Very soon I
noticed that the house was full of smoke. Supposing it to be on fire,
I ran to the kitchen, which was in a dense fog, but no fire visible.
Nor was Jesusita or Don Juan Bautista to be found. The cause of
the smoke was soon discovered. He had built the fire in the oven,
and closed the doors !

I clapped my hands for them, according to custom ; but they came
not. I then found them sitting in the shady court ; Jesusita's right
arm lay confidingly on Juan Bautista's big left shoulder, as she looked
up entreatingly at the harsh countenance of the arbiter of her fate.

I gleaned from their conversation that she wished to remain, but
her marido was evidently bent on going. On my approach they rose
politely, and Juan Bautista delivered the valedictory, assuring me in
pleasant terms of their good-will ; and it was not the pilon business —
that had been settled — but the certainty that Jesusita's health would
be injured by using the cooking-stove decided him.

He said they would go to their ^' pobre casa " — I knew they had
none ; then gathering up their goods and chattels, with the unvarying
politeness of the country, ^^Hasta otro vista " (" Until I see you again "),
Vaya V. con Dios ! " (" May God be with you ! "), they stepped lightly
over the threshold — looked up and down the street, uncertain which
way to go — then out they went into the great busy world. Thus dis-
appeared forever from my sight Pancho's comadrita.

In every new servant we employed new characteristics were de-
veloped. All agreed in their leading costumbrcs, yet differed in the
manner of carrying them into effect, while their quaintness and indi-
viduality afforded me constant entertainment. Some came humbly,
giving only one name, while others used much formality, never failing
to give the prefix Don or Dofla.

Their names were as puzzling as their hereditary customs. I found

"NO ES COSTUMBRE."

■'^^^ip'

PIO QUINTO (PIl'S V.) AS A DOOR-KEEPER.

that while the Southern negro had been shrewd in appropriating the
names of such great men as George
Washington, Henry Clay, and
Thomas Jefferson, the Mexican ser-
vants had likewise availed them-
selves of the names of their own
great men. I hired Miguel Hidalgo
twice, Porfirio Diaz once, Manuel
Gonzales three times, as also numer-
ous others. But when a little, old,
weazened, solemn-looking man,
with a face as sanctimonious as an
Aztec deity, wanted employment,
and gave his name as " Pio Quinto "
(Pius v.), assuring me he would
guard well my front door, he quite took my breath away.

Among the many who came immediately under my observation
was a newly married pair who had walked a hundred miles, seeking
employment. They had neither beds nor bedding; nor,. in fact, any-
thing save the soiled, tattered clothing they wore.

The wife's name was Juanita, and knowing that Juan meant
John, I then supposed that the addition of the ita, signifying little,
made it Little John ; but a further knowledge of names and
idioms revealed the fact that Juana was Jane, and Juanita little
Jane. But I began by calling her Little John, and so continued as
long as she was in my employ. The diminutive was peculiarly appro-
priate. I see her now — this patient, docile, helpful child-woman.
Her wealth of shining black hair hung in a long plait ; her eyes, soft,
yet glowing with a strange, peculiar, half-human, half-animal fire.

When the rebozo fell from her shoulders, a dainty figure was re-
vealed— the contour exquisitely rounded. Her hand and arm would
have delighted an artist for a model. Her step on the stone floor was
light and free — noiseless as that of a kitten. Her voice was plaintive,
sweet, and low, accompanied by a manner so gentle, so humble — ex-

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

pressing without saying, " May I do something for you ? " If I were
sick, Little John would take her place on the floor by the bedside,
hold my hands, stroking them tenderly, bathe my brow and feet,
murmuring in pathetic tones, " Mi pobre Seiiora ! " (" My poor lady
or madame "), which finally died away on half-parted lips, with
" Pobrecita ! " (" Poor little thing ! ")

I was curious about her family ties, and asked her of her people,
a hundred miles away. "Have you a father and mother?" said I
one day. The little form swayed back and forth. She made a low
wail — the most pitiful heart-cry — a smothered pent-up sob, laden with

A STREET SCENE.

all the griefs of Little John's orphaned life. With tearful eyes and
bowed head, clasping my hands, she wailed out again and again,
'■'■ Muertos ! '' ("Dead!") '^ No tengo mas que mi marido / " ("I have
only my husband "). The poor little creature's story was told.

In consideration of my many difficulties in this line, I was glad to
give them employment, when, according to custom, they solicited a
portion of their wages in advance. Having received it, the wife, ig-
noring her own great needs, bought material for clothing for her hus-
band. She borrowed my scissors ; and I, curious to see how she
would manage the cutting, went to her room to note the process.

As thought Pancho about " fingers having been made before knives

"NO £S COSTUMBHE." 99

and forks," so thought this y o\xn^ pobre about seats, as she sat, tailor
fashion, on the dirt floor.

Such measuring and calculating as she had, in order to get two
shirts out of three yards and a half ! I laughed until I cried over her
dilemma, as well as over the solicitude of her spouse about the result.
He was evidently deeply interested.

She was only fourteen years of age, which gave an additional
interest and a touching pathos to her anxious devotion. I thought
to myself : " Woman-like, you will give your last farthing, take sleep
from your eyes, even die, for the man you love ! "

She finally cut out the shirts, the material being heavy brown
domestic, and with the same untiring earnestness drew threads, made
tiny tucks in the bosom, and when they were completed, brought them
to me for inspection. More exquisite stitching or more perfectly made
garments I never saw ; but, as might be imagined, they would have
been a close fit on a mere boy. This, however, was no impediment
to the enthusiastic zeal of this interesting pair, and the shirts were
duly worn by his lordship.

All the money which they earned jointly, with commendable un-
selfishness on her part went for his adornment, she continuing, with
the aid of a calico dress which I gave her, the possessor of one suit
and a half. With the same ever predominating feminine instinct, shoes
were purchased for the husband ; and very soon he was strutting
about the premises as if monarch of all he surveyed.

In every possible way he made pretexts for errands that he might
show off his clothes. His peacock strut was inimitably funny, and
caused me unending amusement, though the smile was often checked
by the thought of the poor little wife's unselfishness. The heart of
woman is, after all, everywhere the same, and too frequently her
devotion must be its own and sole reward.

One of his edicts was, that his wife should not dress fowls. The
custom of skinning instead of plucking fowls exists in Mexico. But
I was leaving nothing untried to have everything done according to
my notions. One day, when he was detained away for several hours,

TOO

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

I ordered a pair of chickens for dinner, and directed poor Little
Johnny how to prepare them. Without remonstrance she went will-
ingly at the task; but before the chickens were ready for cooking,
sefior, the husband, returned.

I was watching with bated breath, feeling sure there would be a
tempest. He did not intend I should witness the d^noHmefit , but I
was determined to see the fun.

Without speaking audibly, he passed by where she was standing,
wrenched from her hands the partly dressed fowls, and in a moment
more disappeared in the corral.

I took another route to find my chickens, and instinct led me to
the spot. On going to the carriage-house, I found them with strong
cords tied around their necks, suspended from the old vehicle. By
hanging the poor dead chickens, he retaliated for my presumption in
directing his wife to prepare them without his consent and in his
absence.

My curiosity next led me to see whether he had hanged his wife,

or was erecting a gallows for
me. Searching about the garden
and out-houses, I found the
couple in an unfrequented walk.
She was wringing her hands and
crying, while he stood bolt up-
right, bestowing upon her every
severe expression and word of
chastisement at his command.
I fj His jetty, straight hair stood up
all over his head, his eyes
glittered with rage, his brown
lips were white, and his teeth
champed viciously ! All this was
accompanied by the popping of

" OH ! FORGIVE MB, i'lI. NEVER DO SO AGAIN."

his fists together, in the most
effective manner. Every time this tragic part of the perform-

''NO ES COSTUMBRE." lOI

ance was executed, she would jump, and give a fresh howl of agony
over the disobedience she had so innocently practiced, saying: " /Vr-
ddname^ no lo vuelvo d hacer " (" Oh, forgive me, I won't do it again ").

The end of all this was that they took up their pallets of maguey
and walked, leaving me to a pious meditation on the frailties and
foibles of human nature in general, and on the peculiarities of Mexican
servants in particular ; and also to the disagreeable necessity of cut-
ting the chickens down, and preparing my dinner single-handed.

The meek little wife, guarded by her grim liege, looked back at me
askant, slyly kissed her hand, and smiled. This was the last I saw
of Juanita.

The moso, of all the various servants, was daily becoming more and
more a vexatious problem. Indispensable, but to the last degree puz-
zling, I was anxious to know at what point in my experience the tol
erated or " customary" labors of this individual would be introduced
The time had now come when, as I feared, his entire vocabulary would
narrow down to this one familiar sentence, " No es costumbre,'' and he
would assume the immovable and useless position of a mere figure-
head. My imagination was wrought to an exalted state of anticipa-
tion, and I knew not what a day would bring forth. Every day carried
me nearer to the time of Mother Noah, and to a world of chance.
Wood, when not in small pieces and sold from the backs of burros,
brought root, branch, and top, on ancient carts with wooden wheels,
larger than the Aztec calendar ; dogs called " Sal " regardless of sex ;
the yellow of the &^^ white ; corn husks sold by the hundred ; vinegar
from France ; and the tomato, our delicious vegetable, here assuming
the masculine prefix he-tomato (spelled jitomati) ; all these things
formed a grotesque panorama of curious contradictions all safely forti-
fied behind the cast-iron ** Costumbres.'*

CHAPTER IV.

THE LOAN OF A MOZO, AND A TRIP TO PALOMAS.

THOUGHT I had heard of every Ipan known
to man, even of the dire necessity of borrow-
ing a broom, but to have reached the climax
of borrowing a man-servant was a supreme
pinnacle of glory, to which even the loftiest
flights of my vanity had never hoped to soar.

No high words nor outspoken disagree-
ment ever occurred between the departing
servants and myself, but the fact began to dawn upon me that they
did not intend that their Mexican customs should ever be engrafted
upon my American tree of knowledge.

Without a murmur of complaint, in almost every instance, these
meek-voiced, studiously polite hombres would inform me that sickness
in their families required their immediate presence. If I ventured to
ask where their families resided, their replies varied according to the
state of the weather or their good will to me. Frequently the answer
would be, in Guadalajara, Zacatecas, or San Luis Potosi, neither of
which places was nearer than three hundred miles.

In time I came to observe every mood and gesture, and could
generally detect, some days ahead, the indications of a contemplated
departure. I remember Don Miguel Rodriguez, as he called himself,
who was determined to go away so silently that I should not suspect
his heartless intention.

He had given me the gratifying information that he had no family,
but, as the event proved, my hold on him was no stronger for this
circumstance. He now looked at me as if to say : *' Well, now,
Seflora, you need not suppose that I do not understand your ways as

THE LOAN OF A MOZO, AND A TRIP TO FALOMAS.

105

well as our own customs. You have had no fewer than twenty mozos,
and while they have all left you without the least disagreement, /,
Don Miguel Rodriguez, could explain all. I know why they have
gone, but you don't. I am far ahead of you, poor ignorant gringo !
Some day you'll know more than you do now ! "

Each one in turn seemed to regret going, but at the same time
showed plainly that my ideas of life and of the management of a
household were far removed from his own. But without a note of
warning, or an intimation of his purpose, Don Miguel took his hat in
hand, turned his head across his
shoulder, while the most cynical ex-
pression that could have been de-
picted on the face of a human being,
or of a niozo, played about his eyes
and mouth as I anticipated his move-
ments, and awoke to the certainty
that another faithful one had gone
to join the band of invincibles.

The word pues is thrown in be-
tween sentences so generally, and
has so many significations, such as,
" well, " " then, " " therefore, "
" since," " surely," and many others,
that it is not always easy for a
stranger to settle the point. The
servants, however, in pronouncing
this word make an amusing abbrevia-
tion of it into '^ pas." And so it was
that Miguel only said, ^^Pos cntonces
yo me voy " (" Well, now, I am
going"), but his face and figure spoke
volumes. I learned from each one
of them in a different way, the hope-
lessness and folly of any attempt to

" WKLL, NOW, I'm going.

104 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

change their hereditary customs or invest them with new ideas. Good
and faithful enough they were until the impression was fixed upon
them, that they were losing their national " costumbres."

A gentleman who often visited our house, and who had been long
a resident of the country, and who knew full well the importance of
the mozo, and that the respectability of our household was at a low ebb
without that all-important adjunct, kindly loaned us one of his trus-
ties. Many times we were the recipients from him of this order of
hospitality.

I used to think there could be no better opening for a good, pay-
ing business than for some enterprising Mexican to establish an
employment bureau for mosos, and exact of them that their families
reside in the same city.

Cosme, our borrowed mozo, was duly installed, with highly grati-
fying results. He was several degrees above the common herd, and
more trusty than the best, having been trained by Dofla Angelina, the
wife of our friend. Cosme had a most benignant face, with an open,
beaming countenance, and every duty he performed was done with
the zeal and alacrity which had characterized no other mozo, within
the range of my experience. The wish in my heart that took pre-
cedence of all others, at this time, was, that I should not be forced
to the necessity of hearing from him that forever emphatic avowal
which had ere now well-nigh crazed me, ^^ No es costumbrc / " I
knew, if he once began, my peace of mind and happiness were
gone.

To prevent it, every species of a now highly cultivated ingenuity
was called to my assistance. The possibility began to haunt me like
a grim specter. It was ever present day or night, awake or asleep.
It never relinquished its hold upon my faculties. It was written on
the wall, look where I would. It stalked up and down the street
defiantly. It was astride every burro, and waved its hands at me,
every turn I made in the house. My brain was on fire, my senses
dazed. Where fly for relief? One could hope for a respite from the
haunting custom officials, but this, all-pervading, deep-seated, and

THE LOAN OF A MOZO, AND A TRIP TO PALOMAS. IO7

irrepressible, had screwed its courage to the sticking-place and would
not down. My only hope was in Cosme.

Things moved pleasantly enough for the first few days, in which
Cosme charmed us by his kindness and watchfulness of the premises.
I let him have his own way, about the manner in which his various
labors were performed. I remained away from where he was, and not
once had the dreaded expression fallen from his lips within my hear- .
ing, prior to our trip to Palomas. " The things which try people
show what is in them." It so proved with Cosme.

Business called us to Palomas for a day. It was settled that we
should go in a carriage drawn by a spirited pair of dark mahogany
thorough-breds, which had never been known to let anything pass
them but a mozo.

Cosme was up betimes on this particular morning. He was more
nimble and ready than ever before, in contemplation of the pleasure
of an airing in the country. He gave his own characteristic toilet
many extra touches. He washed his face and combed his hair, and
even borrowed the blacking, in order, as he said : " Para dar negro a
las botas " (" black his boots "). So excited was he that he partook
of little breakfast. The gray dawn silently melted into bright streaks
of purple and amber, and the gorgeous rays of the sun threw a genial
halo over the quiet city, as he made his happy preparations. When
the mozo is promoted to the honor of an equestrian, his name changes
to that of ''peon de estribo " i^" slave of the stirrup"). This will better
describe Cosme's services on this occasion than to be known as simply
a mozo. His was no ordinary service.

Custom requires the mozo to lead the way for vehicles, to look out
for intruders, ward off interlopers, and to be on hand in case of acci-
dent. During long journeys, where the travelers camp out, or stop in
masons, the mozo goes ahead and arranges for the accommodation of
the entire party. Not even a drive within the city limits, is contem-
plated without the mozo leading the way, although every route is thor-
oughly understood by the driver, He is to be relied upon in his
representation as to the safety or expediency of any route or m^son.

io8

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

On this particular morning Ave went all around our half of the cas-
tle, bolting and barring windows and doors, so that even a cat might
not intrude during our absence.

A first- class riding horse of large size was scarce indeed, although

it was hard to find a really bad-
looking one, for, owing to their
Andalusian blood, they were all
graceful and spirited. It had
been our good fortune to pro-
'^//^/ cure a large, magnificent animal
to be used solely for this pur-
pose. His flowing tail touched
the ground, and his mane was
long and glossy. He was do-
cile, and frequently ate sugar
or salt from my hand. At a
moderate speed his gait was
easy and comfortable for the
rider, but when urged to unusual
exertion, it became something terrible. This horse Cosme mounted.
Never did mozo start out with prospects more flattering for a pleas-
ant canter over the smooth roads, than did Cosme on that i8th day of
September.

After passing through the narrow streets, our road lay for the most
part across the usual Sahara-like expanse of country, only varied by
the line of mountains on one hand, and on the other by several cotton
factories, with their groves of cedar and other evergreens. They were
not imposing, but by comparison with the neighboring monotony, to my
tired eyes, were as interesting as the most famous castle on the Rhine.
Once or twice we passed strings of burros, overladen with market-
able commodities — pulque in sheep-skins, filled even to the feet with
the favorite beverage ; also wood, stone for building purposes ; and
whole families of human beings were sometimes perched upon one of
these weary animals.

" PULQUE IN SHEEP-SKINS, FILLED EVEN TO THE FEET.'

THE LOAN OF A MOZO, AND A TRIP TO PALOMAS.

log

By far the most charming sights were several beautiful mountain
cascades which gushed at intervals from the rocks in clear streams of
sparkling purity. Far up in the ledge of a precipice or declivity, a
spring burst forth suddenly, then dropping in a glistening fall, broke
away down the scraggy mountain side in a foaming cascade, and, hav-
ing disported itself in a thousand lights and shapes of beauty, quietly
gathered itself together, and flowed away, a musical murmuring brook.

But Cosme took heed to none of these agreeable interludes in the
monotony, nor of the monotony
itself. He was otherwise en-
grossed. Intent upon keeping
bravely in front of us, where cus-
tom had placed him, it became
necessary for him to travel faster
and faster, until his gallant steed
was finally dashing along at the
maddest possible rate. There was
no restraining our fiery team, and,
of course the faster they traveled
the worse for poor Cosme. Ob-
livious to passing objects, the ^_^ , ^ jy ,
merciless animal bounced Cosme bound for palomas.
up and down, but he held on bravely, his arms broadly akimbo, his
linen blouse floating out in horizontal lines, his sombrero dancing up
and down, as if to keep pace with himself. He swayed backward and
forward, jolted and jostled as he kept up his wild career! Now and
again he ventured to turn and look back, as if to implore us not to go
so fast ; but our horses' spirits could not be checked ; there was no
help for Cosme !

Once, when hedged in by an impassable barrier of stone on one
side, and a line of determined burros on the other, we were near
enough to call aloud : " Cosme, go more slowly ! ride in the rear ! "
The temptation and pressure of circumstances were too great, and
once again, after an interval of rest, my ears were greeted by the

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

feeble, halting voice of Cosme, uttering in hollow accents : " Pos no es
costumbre ! "

That grim specter of departed mozos was again thrust at me. But
what recourse had I ? — what vengeance dared I seek upon this poor
untutored boy, for his deep devotion to what he considered the duty
of his office ? If Cosme had died on the road, or a hundred robbers
had surrounded and threatened his life and property, except he rode
in the rear of the carriage, he would have forfeited his all, and his body
would have been found, where all good mozos like to be — in front.

When Palomas was reached, and our horses were reined in pre-
paratory to halting in front of the house where we were to spend the
day, an amusing spectacle greeted us. Faithful Cosme was lying on the
ground. The whites of his eyes only were visible ; he quaked and
shook, as if in convulsion ; his tongue lolled from his mouth, and his
whole attitude bespoke utter prostration. On stepping from the car-
riage, I ventured to go near him, and inquire as to the nature and ex-
tent of his injuries. Between chattering teeth and spasmodic jerks he
raised himself on his elbow, saying : "^/ caballo anda muy duro "
(" The horse goes very hard ") — "j tengo mucho dolor de cabeza " (" and
I have a bad headache "). Shortly afterwards when he appeared before

me again, he had a green leaf
pasted on either temple — the sov-
ereign remedy of the common
people for headache.

Palomas is a small village, with
little to recommend it save that it
is picturesquely situated in a pass
— Caflon de las Palomas (Pass of
the Doves) — in the Sierra Madre
Mountains, which here separate
the valley of Saltillo from the
table-lands leading to San Luis
Potosi. It has a thousand in-
habitants, consisting for the most

A PICTURKSQUK TRAVELER.

THE LOAN OF A MOZO, AND A TRIP TO PALO MAS. HI

part of persons employed in the cotton factory, the leading industry,
shepherds and laborers on the adjacent farms.

Rising somewhere amid the heights which frown down upon the
inoffensive village a stream of pure, sparkling water resolves itself into
quite an imposing cascade, making, at one jump, a fall of perhaps fifty
feet, thence flowing, broken and frothing, along its tortuous way through
the pass. Here the stream is deflected from its natural bed into a ditch
to furnish water-power for a cotton factory of one hundred looms, and
having served this purpose, it is taken through irrigating ditches, and
spread over the corn and wheat fields of the Saltillo valley. The falling
stream is hemmed in on one side by the jagged gray rocks, which rise
up, naked and solemn, to grand heights — speaking, in their stern
silence, unutterable things.

On the other side, we beheld the verdure of the native grasses,
which lent beauty and color to the landscape alter the destitution of
the bare scenery of our monotonous sixteen-mile ride, and a touch of
gentleness to this otherwise rugged and awe-inspiring scene. My im-
agination readily saw in the crags and serried peaks the likeness to
some towering cathedral, and I almost heard the chimes from its tur-
ret. In fancy the silent multitude passed in and out at the doors of
this imaginary temple, to whisper their petitions, and then disappear
in the deep recesses of the rocks.

It was through the Caflon de Palomas that General Minon, who
commanded a wing of Santa Anna's cavalry during the American war,
was sent to flank General Taylor, from the Agua Nueva, on the day
of the battle of Buena Vista. Had General Taylor met with defeat,
this cavalry force would have been in Saltillo almost as soon as Taylor's
army.

The neighboring mountains are covered with extensive pineries,
yielding large quantities of lumber, tar, pitch, and turpentine, which
find a market near home.

The house of the hacendado, where we spent the day, was typical
of all houses in the towns and villages — a plain adobe structure,
low, flat, and with simple pounded, earthen floors. We had scarcely

112

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

entered the best room of the house, when one of my favorite Mexican
processions approached the big door. A string of fifteen meek-look-
ing donkeys laden with wood marched solemnly through the main hall
just as they did in my own house, followed closely by the driver,
uttering his characteristic " tschew ! tschew ! — and punching them at
every step.

The parlor had its line of plain home-manufactured chairs, ar-
ranged methodically around the sides of the room, as close together as
they could possibly be placed. At the extreme end, farthest from the
door, was a home-contrived sofa, or divan, which extended almost the
entire length of the room. It was built into the wall, having only the
front legs visible. Its height was nearly two feet from the floor. At
either end were seven hard stiff cotton pillows elaborated with Mexican
lace, the product of a universal feminine instinct. The covering was
a gay chintz, which was fastened to the framework as a cushion, and
the upholstering was completed below by a valance of the same fabric.

The rocking-chairs, — home-manu-
factured also — occupied their nor-
mal attitudes as vis-a-vis, at either
end of the sofa. I was tired from
the long drive, and the rocking-
chairs had an inviting look, so with-
out ceremony I ventured to take
one. Instantly three women came
to me, all laying their hands ten-
derly about me, and with one voice
insisted that I must occupy the sofa.
To ascend this wonderful structure
— "la sofacita," as it was called — I found it necessary to give a
spring and a leap, almost as if vaulting into a saddle.

An unusual bustle and commotion about the house, and the con-
tinual passing back and forth of so many people, made it evident that
some exciting event was about to take place. Two doctors were to
perform some surgical operations. About half a dozen girls were

AS I LOOK-KD WHE-N MOUNTED UPON THE SOFACITA.

THE LOAN OF A MOZO, AND A TRIP TO PALOMAS, I13

suffering from enlarged tonsils, which it had become necessary to re-
move. The girls belonged to different families, and this fact set me
to speculating as to whether enlarged tonsils were contagious, custom-
ary, or due to the climate. Having already received so many proofs of
their martyr-like devotion to their customs, I was prepared to adopt
the second hypothesis upon the slightest evidence. When the sur-
geons were ready, the father of the eldest girl, with great tenderness,
placed her in a chair. The mother fled to the corral to avoid the
sight of her child's distress and pain. As soon as the girl was in a posi-
tion ready for the instrument, she would jump, and wring her hands,
crying and solemnly declaring, she could not, and would not, submit
to the operation. All the neighbors came in to look on, and with dif-
ficulty she was finally held down by the strong arms of her father and
one of the surgeons, — and the work was done. The father with deep
concern, murmured something, to my ear almost inaudible, but he
kissed the girl again and again ; and at last the words came : " My poor
child ! my baby ! my sweet, good girl ! "

The other girls were soon induced, by the gay spirits and compla-
cence of the first, to be seated and have a similar operation performed.
I thought of the well-known fable of the fox, when the tree had fallen
on his tail, depriving him of that useful appendage, when with char-
acteristic cunning, he told the other foxes that to wear no tail was the
mode, and thereupon no-tailed foxes at once became the prevailing
style. An old woman, who looked like a servant, came in and per-
formed various, and, to me, amusing incantations with the forefinger of
her right hand ; keeping up at the same time a continuous mumbling'
of some incoherences peculiar to her class.

The curiosity that was manifested by the crowd, and the earnest
inspections that took place after the operations were made, and the
vigilance with which the girls watched the disposition of their bereft
members provoked a smile. It reminded me of childhood days, when
we jealously guarded a tooth when it fell out, for fear that a pig
might get it, and the dire consequence follow of a pig's tooth taking
the place of the lost one.

114 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

If one thing more than another surprised me, it was the fact that
almost without exception, all the family and the people gathered at
the house of our host were afflicted with a distressing form of catarrh.

At such an altitude and in a clime so salubrious and bracing, high up
in the mountains, with an atmosphere dry and pure, that either lung,
nasal, or throat troubles should exist, afforded food for reflection.

Cosme, although sadly battered and bruised, managed to creep to
the window, and look on at the result of the operations. On seeing what
was going on, he muttered indistinctly : " Caramba ! " (Good gracious !)
— " Por Dios santo ! " The painful experiences of his ride established
a community of suffering between himself and the damsels, which
gave intense pathos to his words.

About fifty persons had assembled in the house, or hung about the
windows. I was so intensely absorbed in studying the strange dark
faces and party-colored costumes that it was some time before it
dawned upon me that I was, if possible, an object of still greater in-
terest to them than they to me. I spoke to one or two of the women,
and reassured by my friendly tones, they approached me. Soon
others followed, when I became the center of an extended group —
every one regarding me with almost unappeasable curiosity.

Everything about me, to the most trifling detail, filled them with
childish astonishment. As their shyness vanished, they became as
familiar as children. They toyed with the banged hair on my fore-
head, saying in amused tones : *' Que bonitas estan ! " " Que chulas I "
{" How pretty they are ! ")

They took off my hat gently, and tried it on, one after another.
They felt the texture of my dress — a very simple, navy blue nun's
veiling — evidently regarding it as something unapproachably splendid.
Then my fan caught their attention. It was the color of the dress,
and strewn with red roses. They held it close to the dress, then to
the hat, comparing them, and the fact that all three corresponded in
color, struck them immediately as decidedly the proper thing. " She
has good taste ! " they said approvingly to one another, — " Yes, very
good taste ! — very good manners ! — a very fine lady ! "

THE LOAN OF A MOZO, AND A TRIP TO PALOMAS. 11/

One of them fingered a knot of red and blue ribbons at my throat,
saying : " From France ? No such fine things here ! " — Everything
fine, in their estimation, comes from France. They seemed incredu-
lous, when I patriotically informed them that the United States, and
not France, had furnished me forth in all this astonishing glory. Be-
fore I knew it, one had picked the bow to pieces, and drawn the rib-
bons out, to see how long they were. Another called attention to the
Newport ties on my feet, and compared them, with much curiosity,
and some envy, with her own shoes, which, after the fashion of the
country, were sharply pointed. All appreciated the greater comfort
of the American-made shoe, but ended by shaking their heads —
" Very nice — very pretty — but " — and what an execrable but ! " No
es costumbre Mexicana / "

They were equally curious about my family relations, asking me
the number of my brothers and sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, and
aunts — never stopping until I had named them all, their location and
business. When I mentioned a name, they immediately caught it up,
and tried to translate it into Spanish, showing much satisfaction when
successful. Their efforts in this direction were laughable.

They translated readily Willie, Guillermo ; Fanny, Panchita ; Rich-
ard, Ricardo ; Andrew, Andres ; but Walter was a stumbling-block,
they neither translated nor pronounced it. They asked me if in our
country we had houses of adobe and windows like theirs with wooden
rods outside? Their eyes opened wide and wider, as I described our
houses as from two stories in height, to five, eight, ten and thirteen.
They evidently thought I was drawing on my imagination.

When asked if in our country we used carriages, goats, and burros
— had haciendas, ranches, factories, and mills, I described as well as
I could our resources. They were convulsed when I told them that
until I came to Mexico, I had never seen in my whole life more than
six burros. They appreciated and sympathized with my lack of educa-
tion on the burro question ; for to be beyond the sight of a line of
them was equivalent to being out of the republic.

Every one of the various persons with whom I chatted asked me

Il8 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

if it were not very sad for me in their country. But I had not the
courage to tell them it was sad for me ; in truth I was so intensely
interested in them, and their peculiarities, there was no room for
dwelling on myself.

They evidently appreciated my friendly spirit and the willingness
with which I allowed them to examine my toilet, not even resenting
the liberty of one, somewhat more inquisitive than the rest, who lifted
my dress a little to explore my hose, on which they murmured repeat-
edly : " She is very simpdtica," a word for which we have no exact
equivalent in English, but which perhaps explains itself.

It was among these country people that I first observed any de-
parture from the national type of feature and complexion. Some of
them had glossy brown hair, gray eyes, and skin as fair as an Anglo-
Saxon ; while others had red hair, freckled faces, and pale blue eyes.
The parents of one of these was pointed out to me. They were of
swarthy brown complexion, with black hair, dark eyes, and in fact, all
the characteristics which I had come to regard as typically Mexican.
Among them all I observed the same gentleness of demeanor, and
courteous bearing, which had already so forcibly impressed me in the
city, among all classes.

Birth and education had nothing to do with it. It was an ex-
quisite instinct, common to the people as a nation. Even here in
Palomas, among a plain untutored population, of the laboring class,
especially among the ignorant, wondering women who had dissected
my toilet with such innocent complacency, it struck me, for in spite
of their unconventional behavior, they were as gentle and courteous
as royal duchesses.

About twelve o'clock, the family began making preparations for
serving dinner, which I watched with keen interest. One of the
daughters of the hac endado\ cdimQ into the parlor, and mounting a chair,
on which she had placed a box, opened a small door high up in the
wall, which I had not before observed. From this snug retreat — the
alhacena — she carefully drew forth cups and saucers of exquisite china,
as fragile as egg-shells, and beautifully ornamented. When she had

THE LOAN OF A MOZO, AND A TRIP TO PALO MAS. I ig

taken out four of each, she gently closed the door and left me wonder-
ing if it had an " open sesame " spring in the bolt ; for I looked in
vain for the little door, which when closed became invisible. I con-
cluded it was a safe retreat for such articles of value in case of a rev-
olution.

The table was spread in a bed room. We took our seats, the host
at the head, but his wife did not put in an appearance, nor indeed did
any other member of the family. First of all, soup was served from
the kitchen in quaint, glazed pottery bowls, elaborately ornamented
on the outside with vines and flowers, and on top of each bowl was a
hot tortilla. Next the national /«<://^rt> was brought in on plates, the
tortilla in this instance, being slapped down by our plates from a fork.
This removed, a kind of stew, perhaps chile guisado, which I had seen
in the market — was served on plates with a narrow green rim around
them, and on each was placed another hot tortilla. The next course
was roast mutton, served on plates which this time had a red rim —
and again a tortilla. Next came a roast of pork, filled with spices and
pepper. While hot enough to make one scream, it was nevertheless,
delicious. With all these courses, we were served with salsa dc chili
bravo (green pepper-sauce). Our host took great pains to initiate me
into the merits of this sauce, but I could scarcely look at it without
shedding tears copiously over its pungency. We had no vegetables,
save the puchero which is described in another place ; but when the
last meat course was removed, we were served with a delicious quince
jelly, which ended this excellent and hospitably served repast.

When dinner was over, and I was gratifying an idle curiosity by
looking about the rooms, the eldest girl came in, and took her position
on the floor, unrolling, as she did so, a handsome pair of slippers
which she was embroidering. How strangely out of place they looked
to me, in the hands of the girl seated on the earthen floor ! I won-
dered who would be the one about those premises to wear them.
But the design and the manner in which the work was executed would
have been creditable in any country.

The extreme nicety and regularity with which the Mexican women,

120 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

even in the plainest walks of life, carry out any contemplated design,
with needle and thread, on linen or cotton, is quite remarkable.
Time seems to have no value. It is the custom in many places, for
girls to learn all the dainty stitches, and while yet in their teens, be-
gin to prepare spreads, table-covers, napkins, and mats, which when
they are married will constitute a part of their household goods.

When the wife of our host came in, she found me intently engaged
in scrutinizing the bedspread, and began at once explaining its his-
tory. She said it was the work of her grandmother, who began it
when a girl. It had been a part of her bridal outfit, and afterwards
descended to her mother, then to herself. The material was bleached
domestic, but the design was at once unique and ingenious. In
the center was a large pattern of flowers and fruits, with the daintiest
vines, leaves, arteries, and traceries to be imagined — all done by means
of drawn threads and spool cotton. Around the entire spread was a
valance wrought in the same exquisite manner. The space adjoining
the border of plain domestic, above the valance, was a kind of inser-
tion, filled in with figures of girls and boys swinging and dancing,
women carrying water on their heads, shepherds with their crooks,
and donkeys with their burdens — all truly represented by deft fingers,
guided by shrewd feminine observation. A long flat cotton bolster
had a case with several subdivisions at equal distances apart, filled in
with fine crochet insertion. The bolster had first a covering of red,
then the case stretched on, skin-tight, thus exhibiting the pattern of
the lace. Laid pyramid-like upon each other were ten pillows, each
one a little smaller than the other, and all decorated with the same
lace. The spread and pillow-cases represented years of untiring, earn-
est labor, and also an inconceivable amount of precious eyesight,
which these people evidently regarded as a mere nothing.

Altogether the day spent at Palomas was a most agreeable one,
and even now to recall it affords a high degree of satisfaction. It
opened to an appreciative eye the inner workings of the home life of
the plain country people, in their original simplicity. Ah ! peaceful
Palomas ! — " Pass of the Doves " — name unique and suggestive, for

THE LOAN OF A MOZO, AND A TRIP TO PALOMAS.

121

their softly-melancholy coo ! coo ! coo ! penetrated this humble home
from the clumps of trees near by. May no ruthless innovator remodel
your simple adobes ! no insatiate gringo invade and despoil your
sacred domain ! But throughout all time, may you and your honest
people continue to live out your lives, undismayed and undisturbed
by any progressive, distracting or contaminating influence ! In primi-
tive blissful ignorance and innocence may your children live out their
allotment of three-score-and-ten years, bare-footed, bare-headed, and
unsullied by contact with modern galvanized institutions !

I watched Cosme with a humorous interest while he was preparing

SWEET CONTENTMENT AT THE PASS OF THE DOVES.

for our return home. He looked at his valiant steed now and again
furtively, shaking his head and muttering something about not going
so fast on our return. Poor Cosme! It was the old story of man pro-
posing and a higher power disposing. The air was fine and bracing,
and when we were all in our proper places for the homeward journey,
I will confess to no small amount of uneasiness concerning Cosme.

The numerous and long-continued adios of our kind host and his
family, and their friends, were wafted to our ears by the evening
breeze, and in a twinkling we were out of sight of the house and dash-
ing along the highway toward home. The horses attached to our
vehicle, were apparently fresher than when we started in the morning.

122 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

and if we went out rapidly, the return was more rapid still. Cosme's
horse dashed along before us with lightning speed, and soon made his
hapless rider but a vanishing speck in the dim distance. The trip
home was accomplished in almost half the time required in the morning.

On the outskirts of the city we halted for a few moments, in con-
versation with a friend, and Cosme, not knowing it, preceded us to the
house. On arriving we found he had opened the great door, and there,
on the bench in the hall, he was stretched full length, the most utterly
exhausted, bruised and aching martyr that ever suffered for a cherished
principle. In spite of the irresistibly comic nature of it all, I could not
help feeling an acute sympathy for my poor servant, and Cosme, see-
ing it, was duly grateful. The horse he had ridden was walking about
the court at will.

My dear little friend, Pomposita, had watched for our coming, and
I had scarcely alighted from the carriage ere she came over and gath-
ered me in her arms, saying that the day had seemed to her like a
week, as she watched and waited for my return with feverish impa-
tience. She clapped her hands, and laughed immoderately, when I re-
lated to her the amusing incidents of our trip to Palomas.

The next day Cosme appeared before me limping, while his coun-
tenance was indeed crestfallen and sorrowful as he said that he would
have to leave our service, adding in a conciliatory way that it was not
because he did not like us and our mode of life, nor that he would not
willingly serve us until the end of his days, but he wished to learn the
trade of a blacksmith.

The dreadful suspicion dawned upon me, that as I could not Amer-
icanize the tnozo I would have to Mexicanize myself and household.
Faithful Cosme ! How sorry I was to lose him ! At last I knew
enough of the characteristics of the mozo to shrewdly suspect that his
excuse was only a polite cover for his deep consciousness of the suffer-
ings he had endured in our service the previous day. He did not in-
tend to serve in a household where such an occurrence might be indefi-
nitely repeated. He would be a mozo for the house ; for the high-
way— never!

THE LOAN OF A MOZO, AND A TRIP TO PALOMAS.

123

I made every effort to conciliate him — " never again would his
services be demanded on such a ride." I walked about the court dis-
consolately, talking kindly to him. Nearer and nearer he approached
the door. I followed, entreating him not to go ; well knowing that if
I lost Cosme — and all the other mozos had gone to San Luis Potosi, or
some other far-away city, to see their families, — not a shadow of op-
portunity remained to procure another.

An admirable feature in Cosme's composition was his love of truth.
He had never heard the story of the cherry tree and the little hatchet,
but his innate veracity was not to be outdone by anybody. Somehow
I always felt that when Cosme did go he would express the real cause
of his leaving and not quote, like his predecessors, a rhythical family's
imaginary demands. Nor was I mistaken. When the poor boy
reached the door he halted, turned and looked mournfully at me, as
though imploring me not to ask him to stay longer, while in pathetic
tones he murmured, '^ Pos entonces yo mevoy ; adios, Setwrita " (" Well,
now, I'm going ; good-by, Sefi-
orita ").

He stood on the threshold, per-
haps forthe last time, when I again
ventured to remonstrate, " Well,
now, Cosme, why won't you stay? "
Almost closing the heavy doors as
if to prevent another appeal, and
tossing his hat far back on his
head, his eyes rolling, his face
ashen but determined, he made
the final piece de resistance with
admirable finesse. Catching the
huge key and closing the door, so
that he barely had a view of my
face, while one foot halted on the
threshold, with bent figure and
eyes beaming kindly regret upon

YOUR AMERICAN CUSTOMS ARE TOO HARD ON ME.

124 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

me, there came the inevitable movement of the forefinger before
the nose as he faintly replied, " Porque tan fuertas son las costum-
bres Americanos me molest an y cargan mucho y tan pesadas que no puedo
vivir bajo de ellos " (" Your American customs are too troublesome and
too heavy a load for me to carry ; I can't live under them ").

The last that I heard from Cosme was one of the invariable part-
ing salutations, ^^Hasta luego " ( " I'll see you again "), followed by the
invocation, "Queda con Dios ! no puedo estar mas'' {" May God be with
you ! for I can't stay any longer ").

CHAPTER V.

FROM BORDER TO CAPITAL ALONG THE MEXICAN CENTRAL.

AMONOS ! " shouts the smartly uni-
formed American conductor in the
estacion on the further bank of the Rio
Grande. This rhythmical Spanish word
affords a pleasing contrast to its sharp
prosaic equivalent known to us as *'^//
aboard!" The bell rings, the engine
shrieks and hisses, then smoothly we
glide along in that crowning luxury of
civilization — a Pullman car — into the
"land of the cactus and sweet cacao."

The open plain stretched afar on this glorious, full-moon night, and
seemed, like the ocean, to blend its horizon with the heavens. No
sound broke the stillness save the rumble of the train or the occasional
shriek of the locomotive with its warning to the loitering cattle on the
road-bed, all unconscious of their danger.

The location of El Paso, whose lights were fast fading in the dis-
tance behind us, is in every way desirable, being the connecting point
of the Mexican Central with the railways of the United States. Five
connecting lines of railway enter the city: the Galveston, Harrisburg
and San Antonio ; the Southern Pacific ; the Texan Pacific ; the At-
chison, Topeka and Santa F6, with good prospects for another. There
can be no doubt but that it will be a great railroad center and dis-
tributing point for the Southwest.

The town hugs the river closely and nestles snugly in a fertile
valley, perhaps fifty miles long, in which, where irrigating facilities are
obtained, wheat and corn are produced in great abundance. Its alti-

128 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

tude is about three thousand five hundred feet above sea level, and
the climate bears a strong resemblance to that of the table-lands of
Mexico. The same irrigating ditches, lined on either side by stately
cotton-wood trees, are serving the same purpose as when first construct-
ed by the Jesuit missionaries, more than three hundred years ago. A
circle of mountains to the north and east affords protection to the city
from the sharp, penetrating winds that sweep over Texas from the
plains of Kansas.

El Paso can boast of excellent hotels, the best being the Grand Cen-
tral, and the possession of the only international street railway bridge
in the world ; also an interesting old church about three hundred years
old. The greatest drawbacks, as a place of residence, are the clouds
and columns of dust that for a great part of the year drive through the
streets, entering the houses, and penetrating every nook and cranny.

The old town of Paso del Norte is the Mexican El Paso, as Nuevo
Laredo is the Mexican Laredo. Each one is a necessary complement
to the other. Paso del Norte has, however, great advantage in point
of age, having been founded about the year 1680. The town to-day
bears the imprint of all Mexican architecture. The cathedral, once a
stately and imposing structure, even now, when bereft of the greater
part of its interior adornments, speaks volumes of the lapse and the in.
roads of time. The nave, chancel, altar, and ceilings bear traces of
exquisite and masterly workmanship, but tell a mournful tale of decay
and faded grandeur.

The famous grapes that are grown at Paso del Norte are perhaps
the most prolific and delicious known to us, and in that genial soil,
where irrigation is so skillfully employed, they are produced in quanti-
ties, and shipped to all parts of- the country.

Curious fences inclose the farms and gardens — a boxing of cotton-
wood poles filled in with mud or an earthen cement, making not only
a secure, but a durable fence.

The country for perhaps two hundred miles on the west side of the
Rio Bravo is but a counterpart of its neighbor, on the east or Texas
side, for the same distance. Chihuahua, the first city on the Mexican

FROM BORDER TO CAPITAL ALONG THE MEXICAN CENTRAL. 1 29

Central, has become a prominent point for mining operations, and
probably a larger number of Americans are congregated there than at
any place outside the capital. It has a fine climate, is situated in a
beautiful and fertile valley, with all the accessories of a healthful and
thrifty population. One hundred years ago, however, Chihuahua was
larger than New York; to-day the population does not exceed thirty

THE STREET O? GUADALUPE, CHIHUAHUA.

thousand. But it still has the beautiful cathedral and ancient aque-
duct, and must always be important as a mining center. A branch of
the Mexican mint is also established there.

The sleepy old town of Santa Rosalia, with a population of
about seven thousand, is the next. It has known no change for
nearly a half-century, though situated in the midst of a fine agricul-
tural region, and having an industrious, orderly population.

Dr. Charles E. Tarver, with his wife and five children, has resided
9

130 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

here for a number of years on account of the extreme healthfulness of
the cHmate and the benefits the doctor has received for his protracted
lung troubles. As their guest during my stay in Santa Rosalia noth-
ing was more interesting than to watch these genuine American chil-
dren transformed into veritable Mexicans. So thoroughly identified
were these little people with the land of their adoption that in their
daily play not one word of English was spoken ; every movement,
tone, gesture, and expression was entirely Mexican, even to their
games and plays and r^^^^^j-^- wrapped dolls. The baby, christened
Charles, repudiated his baptismal name and clung with infantile per-
tinacity to its Mexican synonym of Carlos, refusing to answer to any
other. The next in age, Marianita, a little tot of three and a half
years, interested me greatly with her wealth of golden curls and rog-
uish face. She would sit on my lap by the hour entertaining me with
the most amusing translations of Spanish into English and vice versa.

One day her father returned from the barber's with head so closely
shaven as to attract the attention of Marianita. Climbing upon his
chair the closer to observe the result of this tonsorial manipulation,
she exclaimed, to the amusement of us all: ^' Mi cabesa pcloncita"
(" My bald-headed squash ") !

Within a few years, warm springs have been discovered, that are
said to possess wonderful healing properties.

My desire was intense to visit these springs, which must eventually
prove a great health resort, but the difficulties attending such an un-
dertaking were inconceivable.

The Rio Concha, which it was necessary to cross in order to reach
the springs, was, at that time, out of its banks, and the only substitute
for a boat, excepting the railway bridge, was an ordinary dry goods box
manned by a brawny Indian. If we embarked at Santa Rosalia the
prospects were fair of our disembarking ten or twenty miles below
that point, so swift was the current ; or, worse still, our primitive bark
might be upset in mid-stream and ourselves and poor " Lo " left
struggling in the muddy water. As the chances of so disastrous a termi-
nation to the voyage were very great, we concluded to forego the trip.

FROM BORDER TO CAPITAL ALONG THE MEXICAN CENTRAL. ^I

The remains of an old adobe fort that was captured by Dona-
phan when he was e7i route to join General Taylor are still stand-
ing.

Santa Rosalia is a fair representative of a country town. But
though its resources are limited, the inhabitants are not without their
national recreations, having a pretty little plaza, in which twice a
week the band plays. Especially do they celebrate the 5th of May
and the i6th of September.

I enjoyed the latter occasion with them, and attended the grand
baile (ball) in the evening, for which extensive preparations were made.
The lack of ball-room or public hall formed no impediment, merely
permitting the exercise of their ingenuity.

The open patio of the city hall was utilized for this purpose, first
excavating about four feet of uneven earth, and refilling with good
soil, adding, when leveled, great square stone slabs — placing straw
thickly on these, with mania (brown domestic) stretched tightly over.
And the floor of no salon could have been smoother for dancing.
Lace curtains hung at each opening, mirrors and paintings alternating
around the room, and garlands of the rich dark leaves of' the cotton-
wood, tied with the national colors, filled the spaces between. A cover
of mania, held firmly in place by maguey ropes, formed the ceiling of
this unique ball-room, and numerous chandeliers illuminated the scene.
When the baile opened and the gayly dressed sehoritas and caballcros
began the intoxicating movements of the danza, exhilarated by the
excellent music, it was an enchanted bower.

The Santa Rosalians are a kind and hospitable people, but very
fastidious in the observance of their social laws and obligations. On
the night of the ball we went at half past eleven, but still the citizens
had not arrived. The cotton-clad mozos, however, were going back
and forth from the ball-room to the houses. I ascertained that the
object of their stepping so cautiously to the front door, and peeping
in, was to find out if any of the aristocracy had yet made their ap-
pearance. At twelve o'clock the labors of the moso ceased, and with
the rustle of silk and lace beauty and fashion entered. On the

132

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

faces of all satisfaction was evident that one belle had not arrived be-
fore the others.

The Rio Concho and the Rio Florida flank Santa Rosalia on either
side, and from them open ditches run through the town, supplying
water for domestic purposes. Policemen are stationed at intervals to
prevent children from playing in the water, the water-carrier here
as elsewhere being an important factor of domestic happiness and
comfort. The Rio Concho is so well utilized for irrigating purposes

WATER-CARRIER OF SANTA ROSALIA.

that the haciendas for thirty miles on either side are amply supplied
with water. The absence of timber along the streams is noteworthy,
the only forest tree in this section being the cotton-wood. This for-
tunately occurs in abundance, and furnishes fuel.

In towns the size of Santa Rosalia, hotels are not yet considered
necessary to the well-being of the inhabitants, the meson supplying
their place. Below will be found the " Notice to Travelers," as I saw it
in that old adobe town. This and the water-spouts jutting out like
giant arms across the street, afforded equal diversion.

FROM BORDER TO CAPITAL ALONG THE MEXICAN CENTRAL. 133
, " NOTICE TO TRAVELERS.

" Persons who wish to lodge in this meson will subject themselves to the following
rules :

" 1st. The house is opened at 5 o'clock A. M., and closed at 10 p. M. Only in
urgent cases will these hours be altered.

" 2d. Feed for animals will be supplied at reasonable prices, but outside animals
will not be received.

" 3d. The prices for rooms are — for single rooms three reals per day, for double
rooms four reals (fifty cents) per day. For each room, guests are entitled to two
animals ; all in excess of two will be charged three and a quarter cents per head
per day for each animal. This charge is for standing room only, feed being extra.

" Carriages, wagons, and other vehicles will be charged one real per day, each.

'• 4th. The owner of this establishment is not responsible for objects lost from the
rooms of travelers, or animals, or anything else, unless directly delivered to the care
of the manager or left in the house."

!i™ilMil«lil!|l

AAA

The rooms at three reals per day were in front, and those for
four, in the rear, near the horses.

The patio of this m^son had numerous posts in the ground, which
I was assured were placed there for theatrical purposes. In the cen-
ter of the open square
was the only public
hall of the town, and at
the end, quite near the
horses, a stage had been
constructed with mov-
able scenery, having its
sills lashed to the floor by
maguey rope?. On gala
nights a canvas is
stretched over the poles,
as a cover ; and with

numerous lights, and the customary decorations, a brilliant effect is
produced.

With many regrets my two weeks' delightful sojourn at the hospit-

TOP OF KITCHEN CHIMNEY IN SANTA ROSALIA.

134 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

able home of Dr. and Mrs. Charles Tarver terminated, and the journey
to the capital continued.

Jimenez is the first station, situated in the midst of a vast plain,
and contains but one or two solitary houses. Parral, a fine mining
district, is about fifty miles distant, and has already attracted the
attention of American enterprise.

Villa Lerdo is the next station ; the town proper, however, is located
about two miles distant, but conveyances are always there to trans-
port passengers on the arrival of trains, and the railroad company has
a fine eating-house there. It is located in the State of Durango, in
the " Laguna Country," generally known as the best cotton-producing
region, the soil and climate being so favorable that the plants need
renewal only once in several years. From thirty to forty thousand
bales of cotton are annually shipped.

The capital of the State is Durango, more than one hundred
miles away.

After leaving Villa Lerdo, we have more green valleys, more water,
and stronger evidences of the fertility of the country. Both the
types of people and the face of the country change as we go farther
inland. More of the pure Indian blood is visible.

Boundary landmarks are seen on either side of the railway, two or
three feet high, built of adobe or stone, and having octagonal-shaped,
bright-painted caps. They more resembled grim tombstones, leaving
off the colored caps, than the purpose for which they were constructed.

As we speed along the vast table-lands, over the smooth broad-
gauge Central, all looks restful in its solitude. But such dreary
stretches of country, without apparently an inhabitant! Now and
then an Indian, black as charcoal, stands motionless, crook in hand,
in the midst of his little flock, gazing at the swiftly advancing and
receding train — his big hat tilted back, framing his face — his clothing
of manta giving him a ghost-like appearance.

For centuries the table-lands have been the chief highways and
avenues of commerce. They are strangely modeled, and extend over
a territory perhaps fifty to one hundred miles in width from El Paso

WENDING THKIK WEARY WAY.

FROM BORDER TO CAPITAL ALONG THE MEXICAN CENTRAL. 13/

to the tierra caliente, near two thousand miles, as smooth as a floor,
broken only now and then by a river or arroya or barranca. Moun-
tains on either side rise and tower nearer or more remote as the table-
land narrows or widens. The mountains are dome-shaped and sug-
gest a striking analogy between nature's economy and the structural
skill displayed by man. Mountains and churches are alike dome-
shaped.

There is an absence of large and navigable rivers, inland lakes and
other water-courses. But there are many beautiful valleys. After a
dreary desert of alkaline sand, parched by scorching winds, round the
turn of the road appears a lovely vision of a sweet and peaceful val-
ley, with a picturesque village or city resting in it like a jewel in its
setting.

After leaving Fresnillo, a once widely known mining community,
now in disuse, we come upon Zacatecas, the highest point and the
largest city between El Paso and the capital, having an altitude of
about nine thousand feet, and containing nearly one hundred thousand
inhabitants. Having crept, as it were, along the smooth table-lands,
not suspecting the nearness of this grand old city, its sudden appear-
ance was a revelation to us, with its towering domes and glistening
turrets, its lofty chimneys announcing its vast industries of silver min-
ing and coining.

The principal streets run through a deep ravine, following its
widenings. Cross streets, lined with domes and spires, and pictur-
esque dwellings, climb the mountain sides. The houses are built of
stone, brick, or adobe ; all except those of cut stone being frescoed
in bright colors which contrast strangely with the substantial charac-
ter of the buildings. The Cathedral has an elaborately carved facade.
The Mint, the Custom-House, and many business houses are of cut
stone, porphyry being mostly used. The Alameda has two drives and
two promenades, the latter in the center with rows of trees between
and stone seats along the outer lines.

This distinctively Mexican city has now been invaded by the
American innovations, street railways, telephones, and electric lights.

138 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

The Hotel Zacatano was formerly a convent, being a portion of the
church property confiscated in 1859 by Juarez. It is a beautiful
specimen of Moorish architecture about three centuries old, having
been begun in 1576, and completed twenty years later. It is built
around an open patio, and entered through an arched carriage-way.
The church adjoining formerly belonged to the convent, but, with a
portion of the building in front, has been purchased by the Presby-
terian Board of Foreign Missions for $24,000. The church has a
membership of two hundred and seventy-five, besides a mission
school.

Zacatecas is perhaps the greatest mining camp in the world, about
fifteen thousand men being now employed. A thousand millions of
dollars is said to have been the value of the output here in the last
three centuries. Most of the mines are now owned and worked by
large companies.

The Spaniards commenced working the mines about 1540; but
they had then been operated for an unknown period by the Indians.
When the conquerors learned of their incredible richness, they dis-
patched five thousand Mexican colonists, with a strong military force,
to take possession of the region. The Indians were driven to the
southwest, but the name of their chief, Zacatecas, was given to both
camp and province.

Two miles north, at Oraso, the site of the St. Bernabe Mine, is an
old chapel — the Capilla de Bracho — dating back to the earliest days
of the Spaniards.

Further to the north is the Veta Grande Mine, opened by Tolsa
in 1846, and named the " Alvarado." Great fortunes have been made
out of this mine, and it still yields immense quantities of ore, fifteen
millions of dollars' worth having been taken from one shaft in about
ten months. The Acacio Company, whose members reside in Spain,
own two thirds of this immense property, which covers fifty-five square
miles. At the beginning of this century, the San Acacio had already
produced $140,000,000, and so far from being exhausted, is now pro-
ducing more richly than ever.

FROM BORDER TO CAPITAL ALONG THE MEXICAN CENTRAL. I4I

The great mine of the Mala Noche was operated for centuries, but
is not now worked — though the name survives — the Mexican owners
not having capital to cope with the water. The La Plata, lying be-
tween the Mala Noche and the Veta Grande, is also owned by Mex-
icans. Its ore now yields $800 to the ton.

The Cantara Lode is an immense ridge, running along the face of
La Bufa, a mountain five hundred feet in height, overlooking the town,
its crest crowned with a quaint, historic old church. In this and its
principal branch, the Quebradilla vein, are situated some of the most
productive mines, the workings of which extend under the city in all
directions.

The suburban town of Guadalupe, five miles distant from Zaca-
tecas, is reached by street-cars run by gravity. The mules which draw
the cars to the city are unhitched, and the return is made, sin niulas
("without mules"), with startling velocity down the steep incline.

My impressions on entering Zacatecas were vivid, and what I saw
of this interesting city will remain indelibly impressed on my mem-
ory, but on leaving it I found that the bounteous hand of Nature
held in reserve a vision of exquisite beauty. The results of the high-
est human effort often bring disappointment to the beholder, but the
works of the Divine Architect never! In the early morning a ca-
pricious veil of mist almost obscured the sun, but now and then its
genial rays pushed through this curtain, disclosing a towering moun-
tain peak, crowned with a gorgeous rainbow. Instantly upon an
opposite height appeared a mellow neutral-tinted bow, bending like a
" triumphal arch " over mountain and plain carpeted with tender
verdure.

" — Faithful to its sacred page,

Heaven still rebuilds thy span,
Nor lets the type grow pale with age,
That first spoke peace to man."

The rainbow tints upon the mountains were reflected in the val-
ley, in the characteristic and peculiar dress of the hundreds of busy

142 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

workers, mostly Indians, far below us assorting ores. Red and plaid
serapes, more than rainbow-hued, were tossed carelessly, but with
artistic effect, upon the shoulders of the men, while countless women
and children with gay skirts, naked feet, blue rebozos, jetty hair
either flowing or in plaits, moved about with unstudied grace.
Nature, too, contributed her fairest to the scene. As we whirled
around the dizzy height, the train, forming loop after loop, as we
headed the frightful barrancas, and circled among the clouds, we saw
sparkling waters leaping and dashing from high summits ; then the
gladdening view, when we had gone higher than the clouds, and
beheld a sky more blue than Italy ever boasted ! Finally, the salient
point of every rustic scene, the lavendaras, with their flowing black hair
and red petticoats, washing along the mountain streams, filled the
landscape with peasant life and homely color. Our spiral windings
around this mountain can be compared to nothing less than a revolv-
ing panorama, in which both the object and spectator moved. Once
seen it is never forgotten.

Thirty miles southwest of Zacatecas, at Quemada, are interesting
ruins, supposed to mark one of the resting places of the Aztecs in
their march to the valley of Mexico. A citadel is in the center of a
walled inclosure containing about six acres, with still an outer wall
of unhewn stone, eight feet thick and eighteen feet high. Several
pyramids and immense pillars are also within the inclosure.

Aguas Calientes ( " Hot Waters " ) derives its name from the
medicinal springs in its vicinity. The waters are extremely effica-
cious in rheumatism and skin diseases. For centuries people have
resorted to them, and still their virtues are undiminished.

There are two sets of bath-houses — the old, in the town, to which
the water is conveyed in conduits ; the new, a half-mile distant at the
springs. Street-cars run out to them through an avenue of cotton-
wood trees, extending along an acequia (ditch) which carries away
the waste waters from the springs.

The common people avail themselves of the open acequia, to
freely indulge in the customary luxury of the bath. A fine view

FROM BORDER TO CAPITAL ALONG THE MEXICAN CENTRAL. I43

was obtained of this interesting pastime, as we halted for dinner at
the station. They plunged and leaped wildly in the rushing waters
— men pulling women headlong — their hair white with soap, recalling
a pet poodle — and vice versa — children screaming, dogs barking — the
sides of the ditches closely lined by people of the same class, in full
enjoyment of the scene.

Aguas Calientes is distant about seventy-five miles from Zacate-

THE NATIONAL PALACE AT AGUAS CALIENTES,

cas, and was founded in 1575 on a grant made by Philip II. of Spain,
with a view to rendering the country safe for travelers to and from the
mining regions. The grant extended five leagues on all sides from
the first chapel erected. This was a small adobe building on the
site of the church of San Diego, an ancient edifice with a convent
adjoining, which is now converted into a scientific and literary insti-
tute.

144 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

Under the streets it is said that extensive ruins exist, the origin
of which is lost in the mists of antiquity, no mention of them being
made in the traditions of either Toltec or Aztec. They probably
date back to a period before the coming of these races, and may even
belong to the civilization which left the famous ruins of Uxmal and
Palenque in Yucatan.

The city — six thousand feet above sea level — has a population of
forty thousand ; streets well paved and swept, and an excellent manu-
facturing interest in woolens of fine quality.

The State of Aguas Calientes was originally a part of Nueva Galicia,
but in 1835 was created into a separate State. It has a delightful
climate, is a fine farming country, and has a great variety of delicious
fruits, both temperate and tropical.

As we move onward, the picturesque life of the country stands
forth in inimitable representation at every station, large or small.
Groups of horsemen, with gay blankets, bright silken sashes, and broad
hats adorned with silver, curvet around on their high-mettled steeds,
unconscious of the host of beggars who solicit alms from the passen-
gers. A little removed are carriages containing dark-eyed, raven-
tressed sefloritas, with all the accompaniments of wealth and fashion,
leaning idly back, and, like the rest of the crowd, waiting to see the
cars. Thus " the rich and the poor are met together " — poverty in its
most abject form stands side by side with the highest development
of Aztec civilization.

At Aguas Calientes the great Central branches off towards San
Luis Potosi, ending at Tampico on the Gulf, a distance of about 400
miles. Its western branch, now under construction, will extend from
Irapuato to Guadalajara, and on to San Bias on the Pacific coast.
Commencing at the extreme northern limit of the republic, and ter-
minating at its capital, its arms stretching from gulf to ocean, this great
iron road must inevitably remain the great international highway, and
prove a boon to Mexico, developing her richest resources, and inviting
the tourist to take advantage of the unrivaled facilities it offers in the
comforts and luxuries of modern travel. Its steel rails and iron

FROM BORDER TO CAPITAL ALONG THE MEXICAN CENTRAL. I45

bridges and every convenience and appliance for safety are unsur-
passed.

Not the least among its inducements are the excellent eating-houses
on the line. Here the traveler may feel indeed " at home," sur-
rounded by the familiar sights and sounds and dishes of his native land
• — not omitting the inevitable " Twenty minutes for refreshments ! "

THE PUENTE ENCARNACION,

Boston capitalists are to be commended for the inception and ex-
ecution of this, one of the grandest railway schemes on the continent.
With an unstinted expenditure of money they have made a road un-
surpassed by any for comfort and convenience, and display an enter-
prise and energy worthy of the spirit of New England.

And that lawless element which so often finds security and a home
in isolated districts, difficult of access, is now, owing to this road,

14^ FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

within easy range of military rule. Thus it was that the backbone of
revolutionary spirit was broken.

At Encarnacion we cross the longest bridge on the road, a marvel
of engineering skill. On our right we catch glimpses of the beautiful
little city nestled among the trees whose soft green foliage is bathed
in the simultaneous light of falling rain and dazzling sunshine.

At the various stations we partake of all sorts of Mexican dishes
from the hands of unwashed and half-nude venders, but the inter-
change of familiar, idiomatic expressions, and their evident delight at
hearing them from the stranger, equalize many differences.

Great plantations of cacti are laden with their thorny fruits, and as
these industrious people rapidly peel them, the passengers enjoy their
delicious flavor.

Tempting strawberries in pretty baskets are purchased, but, sad
to relate, they prove to be mostly cabbage leaves, with which the
basket is lined until there is only room for a few dozen berries.

I omitted to mention the Mapirmi desert, through which we pass,
some four hundred miles from Chihuahua. It was then covered with
grass, several inches in height, and herds of sleek cattle browsed about ;
but I was told that after the rainy season the cattle withdrew to bet-
ter watered localities, and the birds, also, flew away, but the grass still
stood dry and motionless on the desolate plain.

Lagos, a city of perhaps forty thousand inhabitants, is the seat of
extensive manufactures, and especially important as the central sta-
tion, whence branch lines will extend to the famous mining cities of
San Luis Potosi on the east and Guadalajara on the west.

The largest manufacturing city in the republic is Leon. Its popu-
lation is one hundred thousand, and the principal manufactures are
cottons and woolens, hats, boots and shoes, and cutlery.

Silao is beautifully situated in a fertile valley. It has extensive
mills, and is the junction of the branch line to Guanajuato, that
famous city nestling in the mountains full of patriotic and historic
associations. The branch extends from Silao to Marfil, about twelve
miles; and three miles further, up a steep and rugged mountain, the

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FROM BORDER TO CAPITAL ALONG THE MEXICAN CENTRAL. I49

tram connects with the city. The inhabitants are mostly engaged in
silver mining.

Passing Irapuato, Salamanca, and Celaya, we come to Quer^taro —
capital of the State of that name — a beautiful and interesting city —
familiar to all as the place where Maximilian, Miramon, and Mejia
were executed. The place is marked by three crosses.

Along the line of the railway, as elsewhere, many memorial crosses
may be seen. Sometimes they mark the scene of deadly combat, and
again, point the traveler to the spot where a murder has been com-

WATER-CARRIER OF QUERETARO.

mitted, and ask the prayers of the faithful for the repose of the soul
thus violently launched into eternity without the last rites of the
Church. The piles of stones about the crosses represent the petitions
that have been offered up, and, judging from the heaps we saw, the
mute appeal must be seldom disregarded.

San Juan del Rio is reached, and we ascend from its lovely and
picturesque valley and along the elevated region to Marquez. We
then descend into the beautiful Tula Valley, with its varied scenery
and tropical growths. Every village has its history, with traditions
older still.

Our reflections are broken and we are warned of the approaching

^5° ■ FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

end of the journey by the announcement that we are nearing the
great Nochistongo Pass Originally this was a tunnel, but now it has
more the appearance of a vast chasm rent in the earth by a mighty
volcanic upheaval. The railway is constructed upon its very border,
and often it seems as if the train would leap across this yawning aper-
ture. Two centuries of time, and millions of dollars, were expended
upon its construction. Beyond all doubt it was one of the most
stupendous hydraulic enterprises ever undertaken by mortal man.
Under the Spanish dominion the Aztec system of dikes was done
away with, and in 1607, the scheme of draining the city by a tunnel
was commenced. The tunnel was twenty-one thousand six hundred
and fifty feet long, but it fell in, and consequently the whole valley
was inundated. The Spaniards, to prevent the city being drowned
out, recommenced the laborious task on the Nochistongo, converting
it into an open channel, four miles long. This great trench was
completed in 1739, and thousands of Indians perished in the work.

As it now stands, the Nochistongo is the original tunnel with the
earth removed from the mountains, making an open channel for the
water. It winds through the mountains with a slight incline — a
frightful spectacle, three hundred and sixty-two feet in breadth, about
one hundred and sixty-four in depth, and extends twelve and a half
miles; but, though centuries have elapsed, it is still unfinished.

A few more turns of the road, a shrill whistle, a general move-
ment on the part of the passengers, and we come to a halt in the hand-
some depot of the Mexican Central. Carriages are drawn up in line,
their swarthy Jehus filling the air with their peculiar idioms. In one
of them we were borne along through grand old historic streets to the
Hotel San Carlos.

Once inside its massive doors the visitor finds himself initiated
into still stranger '^costumbres." He is registered by i\\& administrador
(manager), and is then consigned to the camarista (a male chamber-
maid), and together they toil up one flight of stairs to where the mas-
ter of keys and letter-boxes — a pure Indian — gracefully performs
his part of the business. Glance downward over your shoulder and

FROM BORDER TO CAPITAL ALONG THE MEXICAN CENTRAL. 153

you will see your name enrolled on an enormous blackboard, from
which any visitor may read your arrival without the trouble of investi-
gating the register or questioning Xho: administrador.

We found ourselves at last upon the third corridor, No. 54, in a
grand old room with a fine view from the front window of the
bustling Calle del Coliseo below, while through the door opening upon
the inner galleries an enchanting prospect is afforded of a court filled
with gorgeous flowers and tropical plants flooded with silvery sun-
shine.

The cainarista manifested his pleasure in serving me and in due
form of courtesy introduced himself as Pomposo Vazques, ''Elscriado
de K" (" Your obedient servant "). On entering the room, he directed
attention to the placard of printed rules and to the bell — insisting that
he should be called at any time. In the evening a gentle tap at the
door, to which I responded, showed me the full-length figure of Pom-
poso, in all his dignity. He wished to know if I needed anything, on
which I asked for matches. With arms pinioned to his sides, hands
thrown upward above his shoulders, digits outspread, with eyes seri-
ous, mouth drawn to one side and head shaking ominously, he in-
formed me : '■^En este hotel siempre faltan cerillos y jaboii ! " (" In this
hotel we never furnish matches and soap "). After this speech he
moved backward step by step, like a grand chamberlain retiring from
the presence of royalty, until his grotesque figure reached the door-
way and disappeared in the corridor.

About nine o'clock I heard an awful rumbling and shaking of the
building, as if the whole structure was toppling over. No solution
came that night, but next morning
when Pomposo came on his rounds, I
ascertained that it was the 7no;so roll-
ing his strangely constructed bed to
the front door, where, snugly en-
sconced, he could, at a moment's no-
tice, admit a lodger or ward off an in-
truder.

HOME, SWEET HOME" OF THE MOZO OP
SAN CARLOS.

154

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

Before entering on my more serious labors, I recall an amusing
incident in which Pomposo figures as principal. Like all the other
hotels at the capital, the San Carlos is kept on the European plan,
which made it necessary for guests to pass through an open patio to
the restaurant. On one occasion, when going down to dinner, I en-
countered Pomposo at the head of the stairway. He came rapidly
toward me, flourishing his arms, as if the house were on fire or Popo-
catapetl had made a fresh outbreak, and almost out of breath, ex-
claimed: " Porfirio ! Porfirio ! Porfirio ! "

"Who is Porfirio? and what is the matter?" I asked. Completely

overcome, he sat down, and, not
comprehending my lack of under-
standing, continued breathlessly :
" In the grand dining-room down
stairs, Porfirio has sixteen friends ;
they are eating ; hush ! Do you
not hear the music ? " I still asked
to be enlightened as to the au-
gust Porfirio, whose name had
cast a spell on Pomposo.

" Do you not know General
Porfirio Diaz, our President?" And without waiting for an answer,
added, " Don't go down till later, por Dios Santo ! "

" WE NEVER FURNISH SOAP AND MATCHES IN
THIS HOTEL."

CHAPTER VI.

TENOCHTITLAN — THE AZTEC CAPITAL.

MONG the many northern tribes
which invaded the lovely valley of
Anahuac in the twelfth century were
the Aztecs or Mexicans. After lead-
ing a nomadic life for more than a
century — weary from their wander-
ings— they rested on the borders of
Lake Tezcuco. The remarkable rev-
elation of an eagle with outspread
wings, standing upon a tunal that
grew from a fissure in a rock on the
~^" ^water's edge, holding in his talons a

serpent, impressed them as a favorable omen of future sovereignty,
and indicated this spot as a permanent abiding place. At once they
began preparations for building their city. Upon a slender foundation
of reeds, rushes, and piles in the spongy marshes of Tezcuco the
Aztecs built their huts, to be replaced in time by the solid structures
which adorned the city at the coming of the Spaniards, This was the
beginning of Tcnochtitlan ("cactus on a stone"), named in honor of
its supernatural origin — the capital of the most powerful empire of
the Western world. To-day the hoary superstition is sacredly em-
bodied as the national emblem on the escutcheon of Mexico.

From these humble beginnings, by subjugations of the weak and
alliances with the strong, this Indian empire extended from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, and from unknown limits on the north to the
Gulf.

This city was the great center of government, law, and religion to

156 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

this vast sovereignty, and had a population about the same as to-day.
The wondrous tale of its wealth and grandeur and imposing magnifi-
cence has been often told ; also how it was razed to the ground by the
conquerors, and its canals filled with the debris of temple and palace.
It was then rebuilt, and rose from its ashes exceeding its original splen-
dor; and to-day — having withstood sieges, and witnessed the rise and
fall of rulers, from the Spanish viceroys to the Habsburg — it stands in
unrivaled beauty, the capital of the Mexican Republic.

Wonderful impressions present themselves to a thoughtful mind
on entering for the first time this great metropolis, where every foot
of ground is historic — the Rome of America, once the Venice. At
the time of the conquest, in 15 19, every street was a canal, thronged
with Indians, peculiarly attired, paddling along in their canoes, con-
ducting the entire commercial and agricultural business of the valley of
Anahuac ! " How gay and picturesque must have been the aspect of
the lake in those days," says Prescott, " with its shining cities and
flowering islets rocking, as it were at anchor, on the fair bosom of its
waters ! "

The ancient city had then three distinct avenues or causeways which
connected it with the mainland, and to which is attached much his-
toric interest.

The Spaniards first entered the city at its southern extremity by
the causeway of Iztapalapan. The Tepeyac is on the northern boun-
dary, and is connected with the first-mentioned causeway by a long
street. It was on the hill Tepeyac that the Virgin Guadalupe ap-
peared to Juan Diego. Owing to this, Tepeyac is also known as
Guadalupe. It is three miles from the city. The third causeway,
Tlacopan, is quite as memorably historic. The Calle de Tacuba is the
ancient causeway of Tlacopan. It was here that the Spaniards were
defeated by the Aztecs, and, as is related by all historians, here also
Pedro Alvarado made his famous leap, on the terrible night of July i,
1520 — the Noche Triste. It must have been indeed a night of sorrow
for the conquerors. A pitiless rain poured down upon the invaders.
Neither starlight nor moonlight lent their gentle radiance to a scene

TENOCHTITLAN—THE AZTEC CAPITAL. 1 5/

SO terrible. But to remain at that point was not possible ; accordingly
one of Cortez's most faithful soldiers, Sandoval, led the now dis-
mayed Spaniards. Forty men carried a wooden bridge, by which
the troops might cross the ditches and canals, otherwise impassable.

All crossed safely ; the sentinels on duty were easily silenced, but
the ever-wakeful priests in the temple, also on watch, were attracted
by the unusual noise.

Instantly the cry " To arms ! " was raised, the trumpets were
sounded, and the inhabitants aroused from their peaceful slumbers.
By the time the Spaniards had reached the second canal, they were
entirely surrounded by water, and the groans of the dead and dying
mingled strangely with the beating of the rain and the fury of the
wind. The third canal was reached, but in attempting to cross, the
few remaining soldiers were killed, and Alvarado the fearless was left
alone.

Resting his lance in the bottom of the canal, he gave a spring and
was landed safely on the opposite bank.

When the Indians beheld this feat, they ate handful after handful
of dirt, and exclaimed : "Truly this man is the offspring of the sun ! "
Since that time the place has borne the name of " El Salto de
Alvarado^*

At Popotla, somewhat over two miles from the capital, still stands
in reasonable preservation the celebrated '■'Arbol de la Noche Triste''
(" Tree of the Sad Night "), against which Cortez leant and wept on the
night of his defeat by the Aztecs.

Only a short distance beyond Popotla is Atzcapotzalco. In Aztec
days this town was their great slave market, and on each recurring
sale-day the Indian maidens were decked out in all their bewitching
adornments to dance and sing, in order to please those who might be-
come purchasers.

The city of Mexico, which stands on the site of the ancient city, is
one of the finest and best built cities on the continent. The architecture

* Bernal Diaz discredits as impossible this exploit.

158 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

is grand and massive rather than diversified and ornate. The monot-
ony of sohd walls and high-arched portals at first strikes the stranger
with a feeling akin to disappointment, but familiarity brings only a
deeper consciousness of the grandeur of the whole. A singular and
impressive feature is the fact that not only is the site that of the
ancient Aztec capital, but the general style of the buildings remains
the same. The flat roof, the azotea, the square surrounding the patio,
all belong to the past as to the present.

The Plaza Mayor, or Z6calo, is said to be unequaled anywhere.
One entire side is covered by the cathedral, which occupies the site of
the temple of the Aztec war-god. The National Palace, formerly the
residence of the viceroys, covers another side, and stands on the ver-
itable site of the Halls of the Montezumas. The other two sides are
occupied by the shady portals.

The great causeways are still in use as leading highways, and the
streets are laid out in symmetrical lines, running at right angles — north
and south, east and west. Each side of a block has its individual
name, but often the same is applied to three or four squares consecu-
tively— as the three San Franciscos, the two Calles Plateros, "streets
of the silversmiths," and the first, second, third, and fourth Providen-
cias. A narrow street is called a callejon. An effort has recently been
made to change this puzzling method by giving the same name to a
street throughout its entire length.

I was much interested in the tradition of the " Calle del India
Triste " (" Street of the Sad Indian "). A wealthy Indian cacique
established his home there, and then became a spy upon his own
tribe, steadily informing the viceroy of all their plans and intentions.
He failed from some cause to make known to the latter a mutiny
which was in process of execution. This gave the viceroy a pretext
for the confiscation of his property. Poor and despised by his own
people and held in contempt by the Spaniards, he took his seat on
the corner of the street, weeping and distressed, refusing food or
comfort, and finally, in this melancholy attitude, he breathed his
last. His property passed to the crown, and with a view to teaching

TENOCHTITLAN—THE AZTEC CAPITAL. i6l

the Indians a lesson, the viceroy had erected the statue of an Indian
weeping, in the same attitude as the real one, sitting with his back to
the wall, which remained there until the house was demolished, when
the statue was sent to the museum. But the street did not change
its name.

The street-car system is admirable. First and second-class cars
are yellow and green, and every ten, fifteen, thirty, or sixty minutes
they leave the Z6calo all in a line, one after another, on their rounds,
some of which include a radius of from ten to twenty miles.

Every moment in the day the ear is regaled with the unmelodi-
ous tooting of a cow's horn in the hands of the car driver. These
men manage to extract more muscular exertion from their inulas than
ever did a hard-hearted Sambo.

As the street-car lines have their second and third-class lines, with
prices to correspond, so also is the cab system regulated.

The distinction in prices is indicated by flags. Carriages bearing
a blue flag are first class, and may be had for $i.oo an hour, while a
red flag is second class and costs 75 cents ; a white flag shows a third-
class coach, price 50 cents an hour. No deviation from these rules
is allowed save on feast-days. But as those who dance must pay the
piper, so, also, he who rides in a Mexican cab must pay the driver
his fee of a medio for his pulque.

One great convenience in these cabs is a cord which is worn on
the arm of the driver, one end being in the carriage, so that the
passenger may at any time call an instantaneous halt without ex-
hausting his lungs.

The iron-handed law at the Federal capital is unrelenting toward
cabmen, and as the rates are posted in each vehicle and the drivers
are all numbered, there is no necessity for an over-charge. Ameri-
cans, with their profligacy in small change, are the most easily im-
posed upon, but if they make complaint the abuse is at once cor-
rected, and the driver stands a chance of losing his position.

There is no fire department to speak of : as the buildings are
either of stone or some other fire-proof substance, a conflagration is

l62

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

of rare occurrence, and is a notable event of an ordinary life-time.
There is but one fire-engine in the city, and perhaps in the republic^
counting upon its venerable cogs and wheels at least forty summers.

Another machine, equally primitive, is the only water-sprinkler.
Its operations are chiefly confined to the Paseo ; but it has many
sturdy competitors in the mozos in white who throw bucketful after
bucketful of water before their masters' doors.

No city is more peaceful after night-fall. Pulque shops, by order
of the government, close at six o'clock in the evening, and are opened

THE NEW AND THE OLD.

at the same hour in the morning. The city is so well patrolled that
one may perambulate the streets at any hour of the night without,
fear of encountering rudeness. Little or no drunkenness is seen,
though more than 250,000 pints of the beverage are daily consumed.
The imbibers go at once to their homes, there to sleep ofl the effects
of their indulgence.

The city lies in the lowest part of the valley of Mexico, like a
deep-set jewel. From its location, and other unexplained causes, it

TEN0CHTITLAN—7HE AZTEC CAPITAL. 163

has several times been visited with frightful inundations, which have
threatened to wash it from the earth. Of these the most wonderful
was known as the " Fountain of Acucasexcatl,"' which sprang spon-
taneous!}' from the ground during the reign of Ahuizotl. Another
was the " Torrent," which, like the fountain, spread over the valley
in the lowest places to the depth of about nine feet of water on the
ordinary level. The death rate from drowning and disease, superin-
duced by the long-standing water, was terrible.

The chief cause of these inundations is believed to be the prox-
imity of the lakes, which lie at unequal heights around the city.
When the summer rains filled the highest, Lake Zumpango, it would
overflow into the next. Lake of San Cristobal, and when that was full
it in turn disgorged into a lower one, Texcoco, and so on until the
waters overflowed into the plains of San Lazaro, and thence pene-
trated into the city. There is no danger from lakes Xochimilco and
Chalco except in case of melting snows from Popocatapetl.

Seven times within the knowledge of man the city of Mexico has
been inundated. Four times the calamitous visitation came in one
century, twice in a brief interval of only three years ; the latest
occurred in 1629.

The finest engineering talent in the republic has been called into
requisition to devise a system of drainage, but a wide difference of
opinion as to the best means still prevails. Some favor a tunnel, but
as the soil is spongy and treacherous, there could be no guarantee
against its sinking. This, together with the prospect at any time of
an earthquake, forbids the plan. Others recommend the extension
of the Nochistongo, which is now utilized, and is partially effective.

Several engineering companies from our northern States have
attempted to investigate the gigantic and dangerous task of draining
the city, and if the problem be finally solved it will probably be by
means of Yankee ingenuity and machinery.

When the great earthquake of 1882 visited the capital, it is
claimed that the nearness of the water to the surface of the earth
saved it from destruction. The opinion prevails amongst intelligent

164 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

people that a thorough drainage of the city would increase the danger
from this source.

The foundations of a large proportion of the houses are laid either
in water or in marshy flats ; and I have often seen a loaded wagon,
carriage, or cart perceptibly shake a two-story house. The School of
Mines, a massive and immense structure, has sunk more than six feet
in the earth within forty years, so I was informed by Professor Cos-
tillo, of that institution.

Mexico has been termed the Rome of America, not only because
of its temples and palaces, but also on account of its churches and
other ecclesiastical buildings ; but many of the latter are alienated
from their original use, while of the one hundred church buildings,
only half this number are now devoted to religious services. The
grand Gothic cathedral rises majestically above all surrounding ob-
jects, the most conspicuous feature in the architecture of the metrop-
olis. It is built of unhewn stone, and is five hundred feet in length by
four hundred and twenty in width. The walls are several feet in thick-
ness. This great building was completed in 1667, nearly one hundred
years after its foundation, at a cost of two million dollars. Its exte-
rior is majestic and imposing, and the interior gorgeously painted and
decorated, its altars enriched with gold, silver, and jewels.

But with all its grandeur the cathedral is anything but a choice
place for devotional exercises. True democracy is the rule, and the
most degraded, unclean lepero has as much space allotted to him as the
grandest lady or gentleman. This is undoubtedly the true spirit and
intent of Christianity, but one cannot help being a little fastidious. I
have seen men most earnestly engaged in their devotions, with dozens
of chickens, and as many turkeys as they could carry, suspended from
their persons ; women with burro loads of vegetables on their shoul-
ders, others with one or two pappooses screaming and wiggling in their
mothers' rebosos, all in such numbers as to forbid pious meditations.

Skirting the west side of the cathedral is a shady garden with
fountains and seats, terminating in a most unique and choice flower
market. At the corner, facing the Z6calo, there is a heap of curiously

TENOCHTITLAN—THE AZTEC CAPITAL. 1 65

carved stones and broken columns, and, pushing aside the gorgeous
screen of flowers and vines, the inscription may be read : '' Stones
from the bloody sacrificial altar of Huitzilopotztli, used afterward in
the first temple that the Spaniards erected to the Christian faith."

The church of Santa Brigida (St. Bridget's) is the most modern in
its interior arrangements, having comfortable pews and carpeted aisles.
But Santa Teresa, with its exquisitely painted interior ; San Hipolito,
with the exterior of its dome of glittering porcelain mosaic ; and grand
old San Fernando, with illustrious memories and associations, whose
time-worn floors have echoed the footsteps of generations — these
speak volumes in their silence and mellow gloom.

Of public monuments and statues there are five — the most note-
worthy that of Carlos IV. at the head of the Paseo, which, with the
exception of that of Marcus Aurelius at Rome, is perhaps the largest
in the world. It was cast in Mexico, the first in the Western hemi-
sphere. The statues of Christopher Columbus, President Juarez, and
Cuatimotzin, the last of the Aztec kings, are all marvels of beauty
and finish, and adorn the Paseo de la Reforma — the grand avenue or
boulevard of the capital. This noble drive extends about three miles
from the Alameda to Chapultepec, and is broad enough for six
carriages to drive abreast. But usually they are driven in line, while
the gayly equipped caballeros curvet in the opposite direction. Police-
men are stationed every few yards. On either side the sidewalks are
lined with pedestrians, in their " Sunday best " — groups of beautifully
dressed children indulge in childish sports, the band plays, and all
Mexico is jubilant.

There are five public markets. The principal one covers an entire
block, but, despite its wealth of fruits, vegetables, game, fish and meat, is
a wretchedly forlorn place, having no building, but merely a collection
of huts, booths, and tents, which are most uninviting to the stranger.

The public gardens number twelve, the chief of which is the Ala-
meda, and are all laid out in truly Parisian style.

Excellent educational facilities are afforded at the capital. Among
them are the School of Arts and Professions for Women, Industrial

1 66 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

Schools for Men, the Academy of Fine Arts, Conservatory of Music,
School of Mines or Engineering, School of Jurisprudence, Military
Institute, Medical Institute, Commercial College, Girls' College, Pre-
paratory Institute for Boys (equal to one of our best colleges). Deaf
and Dumb, and Blind Institutes, the National Museum, and a superb
Public Library with one hundred and sixty thousand volumes.

For the National Schools, President Diaz has prescribed a course
of study for seven years in agriculture and engineering. The latter
includes French, English, German, Greek and Latin roots, geography,
drafting, meteorology, chemistry, botany, geology, architecture, agri-
culture, technology, surveying, book-keeping, and political economy.
The medical course also covers seven years, and includes, in addition
to the above, all the branches requisite to the profession. Thorough-
ness is required in everything, no diplomas being granted without
proficiency.

I visited many of these public institutions of learning, and found
them admirably conducted. I was especially interested in the School
for the Blind, and surprised to find the pupils outnumber the teachers
only a little more than two to one — the former numbering sixty-seven,
the latter thirty-one. The salaries of teachers range from twenty to
seventy dollars per month. On entering the school a photograph is
taken of each pupil and pasted in a large book. By its side is placed
a full description, with age, date, and place of birth, and quantity and
quality of clothing. The object of the photograph is to prevent a
possible substitution of one for another, and preserve the identity of
each pupil.

Musical culture is the leading feature here, as in every institution
of learning in the country. The orchestra played, and a young girl
of sixteen sang for us, in a rich, mellow contralto which filled the
building, selections from // Trovatore. Another was asked by her
teacher to read for us. She began in a clear voice reading an account
of the entrance of General Scott into the city of Mexico. When she
read " he entered sin valor" (" without courage "), the teacher gently
interposed, and requested her to read in another place, which she

TENOCHTITLAN—THE AZTEC CAPITAL. 1 69

did, to my serious disappointment, for I was anxious to know in what
spirit even a blind Mexican would read the history of that war.

The School for the Deaf and Dumb is conducted after the most
modern methods, the pupils being taught articulation, only the older
ones using manual signs. Many of the teachers have received a Eu-
ropean education.

The noblest institution that I visited was the '' Escuela dc Artes y
Oficios para las Mujeres'' (" School of Arts and Trades for Women "),
of which Juarez was the founder and benefactor. It gives to poor girls
unequaled advantages for learning, without fear of the absence of
their " daily bread," to make themselves independent of want. The
government gives them comfortable rooms, two good meals a day,
and furnishes many of the poorer pupils with clothing. Each girl
wears a long, brown hoUand apron ; their faces are clean, hair neatly
braided, and every care taken that they may make, at all times, a neat
appearance. Several hours daily are devoted to the acquirement of a
practical education. Bookbinding, printing, book-keeping, drawing,
painting, music, embroidery are taught ; also the manufacture of
picture-frames, and, on cunning little hand-looms, cords and fringes of
all colors for decorative purposes. The pupils upholster skillfully and
artistically furniture that would adorn a mansion. There is a neat
store in the building, belonging to the institution, in which the work
of the pupils is disposed of for their benefit. They conduct a neatly
printed weekly newspaper, consisting of four sheets, and called La
Mujer.

In all the wise concepts of her Indian chief, Mexico has no higher
monument to his greatness than this industrial school for the eleva-
tion of her women.

There are three hundred and sixty-eight pupils receiving the bene-
fits of this institution, from misses of twelve years to demure matrons
in middle life.

The public schools are numerous and well patronized. I was
pleased to see the eagerness with which the pupils seized their oppor-
tunities for gaining knowledge. My American friend, Mrs. C ,

I70

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

has classes in English in several of these institutions, where I heard
them reciting fluently in my own tongue. It is estimated that fully
eight thousand people are now studying English at the capital.

The public charitable institutions are also numerous, and include
the Insane Asylum, Foundling Hospital, House of Maternity, founded
by Carlotta ; Poor-House, Leper Institute, and several hospitals.

The Mo7tte de Piedad, or pawnshop, founded by Count Regla, is
one of the noblest benefactions, enabling those whom misfortune has
visited to realize or receive advances upon valuables without the risk
of losing them. These pawnshops exist all over the country, and all
classes can alike avail themselves of their advantages.

The city has four large
theaters, the National being
the second largest on the
Western continent, but its
interior furnishings are but a
mockery in this age of ele-
gance and luxury. Once gor-
geous in their rich gildings
and fanciful upholstery, they
now appear in a sad state of
dilapidation. There are many
hotels, all kept upon the Eu-
ropean plan, and the Con-
cordia, which is the Delmonico of the capital.

The mercantile establishments do not generally possess in their
exterior the attractions of those of our own cities. It is but a short
time since a few of the leading merchants have had recourse to show-
windows, but in these now are exhibited the choicest wares of home
and foreign production — exquisitely set diamonds, rare jewels of all
kinds, bronzes, statuary and French china. Added to these are dis-
played laces, velvets, silks, and Parisian dresses, and an endless variety
of foreign importations, including French dolls, the prettiest I ever
saw. Once inside the stores, the activity and agility of the clerks, in

WATER-CARRIER AT THE CAPITAL.

TENOCHTITLAN—THE AZTEC CAPITAL. I /I

their eagerness to wait upon you, are equaled only by their lack of
system and business management. Be sure, however, that you will
have an opportunity of purchasing some of the rarest and most costly
dress fabrics upon which one's eyes ever rested.

The Monterilla, the stores along the portales, are the " Sixth Ave-
nue " of the capital. The same classes of goods are kept as on Pla-
teros, and for a much less price, a fact which holds in check the
charges in the latter.

I saw comparatively few of our American dress fabrics in any
of the stores ; only domestics, prints, and goods of low grade. But
there is no question in my mind that American silks, hats, ribbons
and woolens, as well as almost every kind of ready-made goods, would
find a profitable market if only properly introduced. The portales is
the place of all others to buy curios of every possible descrip-
tion.

A few practical words must be given as to the general lives of the
people of the capital — the method of house-renting, and the forms to
be complied with before establishing a home there. Agencies for
the leasing and renting of houses, accompanied by our modern ad-
vertising, are unknown. To secure a house, one must tramp up and
down the streets looking for pieces of paper pinned to the iron rods
of the windows. On finding one that suits, he must strain his neck
out of the socket and wear out his shoes searching for owner or agent.
Then he must procure 2l fiador — generally a merchant or man of busi-
ness, who will act as security and assume responsibility in case of a
possible delinquency. The contract is well worthy of attention. It
is almost enveloped in stamps, and bulky enough for a treaty be-
tween foreign nations. After much delay and formality, this docu-
ment is duly signed, and you are put in possession of your new
domicile.

The familiar phrase, that "Three moves are equal to a fire," is
here emphasized. One's earthly goods must be carried either on the
backs of men or on the street-cars. If the first mode of transporta-
tion be resorted to, it is generally necessary to dispatch a trusty serv-

172 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

ant of the household with each load of goods, lest the cargador find
it convenient to take his departure, with your valuables, for some
unknown locality.

Houses are generally constructed on the vivietida plan ; that is, on
one floor there may be from four to six establishments containing
from two to six or eight rooms. But such smaller conveniences as
closets are unknown.

Rents are high at all times, and in desirable localities excessive.
Inside apartments, with five rooms facing the court, rent for $40 per
month ; of the same size, with one to four windows opening on the
street, from $60 to $80, according to location. Houses are, generally,
two and three stories in height, and the higher one goes, the more
rent is demanded. For health's sake, the sunny side of the building
is absolutely necessary — a fact considered by the owner in his assess-
ment of rents.

Greater attention is now paid than formerly to the plumbing, ven-
tilation and general sanitation of the houses, but still there remains
much to be desired. The drainage of the city is so very imperfect
that it will be long, if ever, before the houses built many years ago
can be made to fulfill modern requirements.

Many well-to-do families occupy apartments over business houses,
and sometimes over pulque shops. The portero may be either a man
or woman, who resides with his or her family in a little dark, damp
apartment under the stairs. I have sometimes counted two or three
turkeys, several chickens, a pig or two, dogs without number, and
endless children, besides all the cooking and sleeping arrangements of
the whole family, in one small room. When you ascend the stairs,
the transformation is complete. Blooming plants, singing birds,
carpeted halls and stairways, curtained windows and shaded balconies
afford a striking contrast.

I wish that space would admit of an extended mention of the
Mexican flora, the variety and gorgeousness of which must be seen to
be appreciated. The most striking characteristic of the Mexican
flowers is their deep, rich coloring. If red, it is the most glowing and

MEXICO CITY.

Some fragrant trees

By flower-sown seas
Where boats go up and down,

And a sense of rest

To the tired breast
In this beauteous Aztec town.

But the terrible thing in this Aztec town,
That will blow men's rest into stormiest skies,

Or whether they journey or they lie down—
These wide and these wonderful Spanish eyes !

Great walls about,

Gate posts without,
That prop these sapphire skies ;

Two huge gate posts

Snow white, like ghosts —
Gate posts to this Paradise !

But, oh ! turn back from the high-walled town ;

There is trouble enough in this world, I surmise.
Without men riding in regiments down

To die by those perilous Spanish eyes !

— Joaquin M tiler.

TENOCHTITLAN—THE AZTEC CAPITAL. 1 75

intense ; if yellow or purple, the richest ; if white or pink, the purest
and most delicate.

There is not a day in the year when fresh and lovely flowers may
not be purchased for a mere trifle — roses, with great soft petals folded
over each other, vie in loveliness with pansies as large as a dollar ;
calla lilies, the size of a fan, bloom luxuriant in every ditch ; geraniums
as tall as a man ; sweet pea, heliotropes, camellias, and magnificent
poppies, so enormous that one will cover a plate, and so resplendent
in color as to rival the far-famed poppy fields of India.

The most remarkable of all the flowers is " el arbol de las manitas "
(" tree of the little hands "), cheirostemo7i platonidcs, a native of cold
lands. The bright-red flowers are well-defined, miniature hands. It
has the leaf of the platonos tree, which is common in European
gardens. The flower is a popular remedy with the Indians for heart
disease. It grows wild, but is very scarce, there being only one in the
National Palace Gardens, one in San Francisco Garden, and a few in
the valley of Tohica. It has a black seed, smaller than a pea, is very
slow of growth, and at ninety years of age has attained no remarkable
size or height.

Tulipan — botanical name Hibiscus rosa sinensis, a native of East
India. The flowers are both single and double, are scarlet, pale yel-
low, and chocolate-colored — three varieties. They are indigenous to
hot countries, and serve no purpose save ornamentation. The leaf is
a beautiful dark green, resembling that of the orange ; altogether, it is
one of the most gorgeous of all the flowers that are seen in Mexico.

" Flor de fioche bucna,'' or Christmas flower (Poinsittia pulchcrrimd),
belongs to the tribe of Euphorbia. It grows about four meters high ;
the leaves are large and of a dark, lusterless green. When the plant
stops blooming the leaves put forth. The flower itself is insignificant,
but around it are several bracteas, large, and of a brilliant scarlet
color. It begins to bloom at Christmas and ceases in about two
months. It is also used by the Indians as a remedy for some of their
numerous maladies. It can be grown from cuttings.

Another remarkable plant that blooms in the hot countries as early

1/6 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

as January, February, or March, and in colder climates later, is called
plumcria. In the stem and leaves it contains a white milky juice. It
grows to several yards in height. Some bear rose-colored flowers,
others white, and others yellow, which have a powerful but pleasant
odor. The Aztec name is cacolox ochitt, which means the flower of
the raven. It is indigenous to the country, and is propagated from
branches.

The Valley of Mexico is the valley of the lily, although the lily of
the valley, as I am told, does not grow there. But there are above
fifty varieties, no two alike, blooming on mountain, crag, or plain,
which for beauty and coloring are unequaled.

ART GALLERY AND MUSEUM.

A visit to the Academy of Fine Arts should not be omitted.
Hours may be profitably employed there, and one will come away
with the desire to examine further its impressive treasures.'

The native talent is unquestionably fine. But, though fostered
and encouraged by the government, it lacks the stimulus of popular
appreciation and demand. Thus it happens that some of the most
accomplished artists suffer for the essentials of life, or, as an alterna-
tive, expend their skill upon the gay interiors oi pulque shops.

In the great National Academy of San Carlos, one may see
drawings that would reflect credit on any school of art. They dis-
play a soft and delicate touch, with much attention to the most
minute details of finish.

In painting, as in drawing, the art school chooses an over-smooth
finish ; in this differing from the general modern style.

Few of the pupils seem to have been inspired by the beautiful
natural objects of their own country. Indeed, with the exception of
Velasco, who takes precedence in landscape, and whose subject is the
Valley of Mexico, no one has given any attention worthy the name
to Mexican scenery. Of Sr. Jos6 M. Velasco, Professor of Perspec-
tive and Landscape in the Academy, Sefior Landesio, in 1867, in a

TENOCHTITLAN—THE AZTEC CAPITAL. 1 77

work entitled Landscape Painting and Perspective in the National
Academy, says: "This young artist, who already is strong in
himself, warrants the highest hopes, and will do great honor to his
country, contributing efficaciously to this high end by his noble
efforts."

His paintings have taken premiums in the Centennial Exposition
in Philadelphia, and in the Paris Exposition, and occupy prominent
places in the National Academy. The world may unite in raving
over its exquisite beauties, but the average native artist seeks his
inspiration from other sources.

There is something mediaeval in their so frequent choice of relig-
ious themes.

Some of the most interesting works in the collection are those by
the early masters of the Spanish-Mexican school, to whom must be
accorded precedence.

In the early part of the seventeenth century, Baltazar Echave put
in the initiatory strokes. All the works of this time have a mellow
richness and an even distribution of color that bespeak a broad and
vigorous thought. Gay colors fill the canvas smoothly and harmoni-
ously.

Luis Juarez has many wonderful exhibitions of his great genius.
In none is it more clearly expressed than in his St. Ildefonso. The
scene represents the saint having conferred upon him by angel hands
the robes of office of a bishop. A virgin and angel heads fill the
upper space of the canvas, the whole imparting a sweet and touching
impression.

Nicolas and Juan Rodriguez, as also other contemporaries, have
exhibited an equal genius and care in the execution of their work.

Cabrera and Ibarra are the most prominent figures of the second
period of Mexican art, but they are not the equals, either in concep
tion or execution, of the earlier masters.

Of the moderns, one of the noblest of all the paintings in the
Academy is that of " Las Casas " (a priest) " Protecting the Aztecs
from Slaughter by the Spaniards." It is the work of Felix Parra, and

1/8 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

any art gallery in the world might deem its possession a treasure,
and the artist accomplished the great task before he had made a
visit to the art galleries of Europe.

The next most touching to me was the " Death of Atala," which
expresses a divine inspiration and is pathetic to the last degree. In

THK AZTEC CALENDAR STONB.

addition to the works of native artists, the gallery is enriched by
many original paintings of the great masters of Europe, But more
time cannot be given to one of the most interesting of all the public
institutions of Mexico.

Mexican antiquities constitute in themselves a world of thought
and research. We read of their spoliation and destruction by vandal

TENOCHTITLAN— I HE AZJEC CAPITAL.

179

hands, but it seems almost incredible when a visit is made to the
National Museum.

A wide difference of opinion prevails amongst archaeologists and
antiquarians as to th^ deductions on Mexican antiquities. So far,
nothing is shrouded in greater mystery and to the future we must
look for a solution.

Until 1884 there was no catalogue by which English-speaking
tourists might enjoy the relics of antiquity in the museum. Mr. W.
W, Blake, an accomplished scholar and gentleman, has recently
arranged and published an excellent catalogue which unlocks a hid-
den world of knowledge to all who desire enlightenment. Space
does not admit a mention befitting the subject, and a mere glance at
a few of its leading objects must suffice.

The Aztec Calendar Stone is of solid basalt, porous but fine. It
is 12 feet in diameter, and its weight is 53,790 pounds. After the
conquerors leveled all the temples of Indian worship, this stone was
imbedded a half yard in
the marshy earth. It
was exhumed in 1790.
A Mexican year contain-
ed eighteen months, and
these were arranged in
symbolical representa-
tions ' upon this great
stone. Some such names
as these are found upon
it : Sea Animal, Lizard,
Death, Path of the Sun,
and others of like order ;
until one finds himself
lost in the mazes of the
great barbaric puzzle.

The Sacrificial Stone

is a religious symbol as
12

TOLTEC -COLOSSAL HE\D IN DIOXITE.

i8o

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

well as an historical monument. Its diameter is about two and one-
half meters — seven and one-half feet, while its height is perhaps four-
fifths of the diameter. This stone was exhumed in 1791, about one
year after the Calendar Stone. It was dedicated to the sun, and
has a sculptured image of the luminary on its upper face. Groups of
people are seen on its convex sides, but it is blood-curdling to see that
some of these are held by the hair.

In the days of its use, it is said that from twenty to fifty thousand
persons were annually sacrificed on it. Prisoners of war were
usually chosen as a proper sacrifice. Arrayed in gorgeous apparel,
decked with fliowers, and bearing in his hands musical instruments,
the victim ascended the steps of the temple. He was made the
bearer of orders and messages to the sun, and when at last the stone

was reached five priests bound
and laid him on it, while a sixth,
with a " scarlet mantle, emblemat-
ic of his bloody office, dexterously
opened the breast of the wretched
victim with a sharp razor, made of
itztli, a volcanic substance, hard
as flint, and inserting his hand,
tore out the palpitating heart."

As this ancient relic now
stands in the National Museum,
one may recall a long past scene,
by inspecting the canal cut across
the top and down one side, for
the blood to pass from the victim,
yet writhing in his death agony.

In close proximity to the
Sacrificial Stone, the Mexican
Mars (called by the euphonious
name of Huitzilopotchli) rears his
monstrous head.

HUITZILOPOTCHLI, THE AZTEC GOD OF WAR.

TENOCHTITLAN—THE AZTEC CAPITAL. igl

In the historical part are relics of the noted men of the past,
Hidalgo, Guerrero, Santa Anna, and the Emperor Iturbide. Of
the latter ill-fated monarch there are ten pieces of glass showing
excellent photographs.

There are about thirty pieces of Spanish armor, two of the pieces
having engraved upon them the name of Pedro Alvarado. The plate
of Maximilian and also his bust are here.

In the archaeological department are paintings, Aztec weapons,
musical instruments, wedges, spindles, idols of stone and clay, and so
on, ad fin.

Each of the beautiful environs of the Mexican capital has its
picturesque little plaza, sparkling fountain, gay flowers, and many
national embellishments. A perfect street-car system, stretching over
thirty-three leagues, enables the tourist to observe at leisure these
towns, several of which were in existence before the conquest.

A charming day may be spent by taking a car at the Zdcalo for
Tacubaya, the Versailles of Mexico, thence to San Angel, where if
you have not provided your own picnic dinner, you caii dine at one of
the comfortable fondas. The air is delightful here, and fruits and
flowers are in abundance. Take another tram-car, from which you
gain enchanting views of field, forest and glen, passing the shady
picturesque village of Coyacuan, and '^El Arbol Beitdito'' — a grand old
tree, centuries old. Not far off may be seen the first church built by
Cortez, near the capital, and the monument at Churubusco. Near
this, the tram passes from Mexico. Taking it, you soon find your-
self at the charming suburban town of Tlalpam — seventeen miles
from the city — lying peacefully on the spurs and foot-hills of the lofty
Cordilleras. With delightful impressions of the excursion you return
to the city, reaching it about seven o'clock in the evening.

Another excursion of equal interest may be made, v/hich includes
a pilgrimage to the most sacred shrine of Mexico. Turn northward
toward Lake Tezenco, still by tram, and you soon reach Cerro del
Tepayac, historic ground from the days of the conquest. From this
point you may survey the identical route taken by the conquerors on

1 82 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

entering the capital. Here also, in the cuartel of the soldiers, the
treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was signed between the United States
and Mexico, which closed the war of 1846-48.

Returing, pass along to the Viga boulevard, bordering the canal
of the same name, and, leaving the car, hire a boat for a small sum
and proceed down the canal to the Chinampas, the legendary floating
gardens. The water has not a ripple, save what is made by the oars,
and the big-hatted boatman gracefully swings them until you come
suddenly upon the village of Santa Anita. Here you may refresh
yourself with a Mexican luncheon. Lake Xochimilco, sixteen miles
distant, is the main outlet of this canal. But we may come and go
as oft as we will, and still find the floating gardens purely legendary.
The nearest approach to a realization of the legend consists of a
space of earth forming a bed for vegetables, fruits, and flowers, having
on either side a ditch from which the garden is irrigated.

Humboldt says with regard to floating gardens, commonly known
as the Chinampas : "There are two sorts of them, of which the one
is movable and driven about by the winds, and the other fixed and
attached to shore. The first, alone, merit the denomination of float-
ing gardens.

" The ingenious invention of Chinampas appears to go back to the
end of the fourteenth century. It had its origin in the extraordinary
situation of a people surrounded with enemies and compelled to live
in the midst of a lake, little abounding in fish, who were forced to
fall upon every means of procuring subsistence. It is even probable
that nature herself suggested to the Aztecs the first idea of floating
gardens. On the marshy banks of the lakes Xochimilco and Chaleo,
the agitated water, in time of the great rises, carries away pieces of
earth covered with herbs and bound together by roots. These, float-
ing about for a long time and driven by the wind, sometimes unite
into small islands. A tribe of men, too weak to defend themselves
on the continent, would take advantage of these portions of ground
which accident put within their reach, and of which no enemy dis-
puted the property. . . . In proportion as the fresh-water lake has

AN ANCIENT HOUSE ON THE VIGA CANAL, AND A FEW OF THE PASSERS-BV.

TENOCHTITLAN—THE AZTEC CAPITAL.

I85

become more distant
from the salt-water lake,
the movable Chinampas
have become more fix-
ed. . . . Every Chi-
nampa forms a paral-
lelogram of lOO meters
in length, and five or six
meters in breadth (328 x
16 or 19 feet). Beans,
peppers, potatoes, and
a magnificent variety of
vegetables are cultivat-
ed on them, and every
border, almost, is hedged
by lovely,bright flowers."
But chief in historic
interest of the sights
in the vicinity of the
capital, is the grand old
fortress of Chapultepec.
It is reached by either a
pleasant stroll of three
miles, by tram, or by
carriage on the Paseo,
and at last we rest be-
neath the shade of state-
ly old trees, with their
clinging drapery of white
moss; some of these
trees are reputed to have
been in existence fifteen
hundred years, and are
known as akuchuetes.

1 86 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

According to Humboldt, Chapultepec rises above the plain to the
remarkable height of 7,626 feet. " It was chosen by the young
viceroy, Galvez, as the site of a villa {Chateau de Plaisance) for himself
and his successors.

" Of the fifty viceroys who have governed Mexico from 1535 to
1808, one alone was born in America, the Peruvian, Don Juan de
Auifla de Casa Fuerte (i 722-- 1734), a disinterested man and good
administrator. Some of my readers," he continues, " will perhaps be
interested in knowing that a descendant of Christopher Columbus
and a descendant of King Montezuma were among the viceroys of
Spain, Don Pedro Nuno Colon, Duke of Veraguas, made his entry
at Mexico in 1673, and died six weeks afterward. The viceroy, Don
Joseph Sarmiento Valladares, Count de Montezuma, governed from
1697 to 1701."

A glance either way revives a history which fills the mind with
thoughts too sad for utterance. This noble hill of solid porphyry
was the country place of Montezuma and his ancestors ; and since
then no marked event has ever occurred, within access of it, in which
the grand old castle has not played a prominent part. On entering
the gates, turn to the right and you are soon far around the circle,
where" the sweet, soft air sighs through the cypress trees, and seems to
speak in broken accents of the "voiceless past."

Near at hand is the aqueduct, built by Montezuma, now bordered
with long grass and wild-flowers with their heads drooping down-
ward, and through which, despite the decay and havoc of centuries,
the water trickles, sweet as ever.

Turn another way, and see the stone steps which Montezuma had
carved in the hill, then the only mode of ascent ; and his cave, said
to have no termination. Near this point begins the drive constructed
by Maximilian, winding around the mountain, and greatly facilitating
access to the castle — now the residence of the President, and the
West Point of Mexico.

The architecture of the fortress is grand and imposing. With im-
mense portholes in its circular towers, and with its massive rounded

TENOCHTITLAN—THE AZTEC CAPITAL. 1 8/

corners, it recalls the feudal castles of the middle ages. The exten-
sive wings constitute the military schools.

The castle is fitted up and decorated in a manner worthy of its
present occupants, having been frescoed by Casarin, a pupil of Meis-
sonier. The wood-work in the President's room is of ebony inlaid
with gold. The walls of the drawing-room are covered with satin
damask, while the carpet alone cost $2,000. Beyond all question it
can be surpassed by few, if any, royal residences in the world.

Three hundred and fifty handsome, manly young fellows receive,
in the Academy at Chapultepec, a scientific and military education,
free of all charges. It was my pleasure, on one occasion, to witness
the drilling of these young cadets ; and I must say that they went
through their evolutions with an ease and familiarity that would have
reflected credit on our own cadets of West Point.

Passing Montezuma's spring and the grand old tree under which
he sat, at a short distance and in full view is Molino del Rey, where
another sanguinary battle was fought. Within stone's-throw stands
the monument which a generous people permitted our government to
erect to the memory of the soldiers who fell there.

On the eastern and most inaccessible part of the hill is where the
American forces stormed the fortress. At this point stands a beauti-
ful monument, on which I read the following inscription : " To the
Memory of the Scholars of the Military School, who died like heroes
in the North American invasion 13th September, 1847."

Every day in the year the students tenderly lay upon it fresh
flowers and green garlands in honor of their dead compatriots.

Before the battle the cadets formed a sacred compact between
themselves never to surrender save in death. Their ages were from
fourteen to eighteen years. But they fought like heroes — first one,
then another taking the flag, until, still standing and fighting, the last
of the gallant forty-eight surrendered his young life in defense of his
country.

The climate, of which so much has been written, is exceptionally
agreeable, yet difficult to describe. If one can conceive the delights

1 88 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

of a crisp day in October, united to the brightness of a clear day in
January, but without snow or ice, and, mingled with these, the life-
giving air of a balmy day in May, and then imagine twelve months of
such weather, some idea may be had of this enchanting clime.

When Joaquin Miller was asked his opinion of Mexico, he replied
enthusiastically : " Mexico ! Why, it is Italy and France and the best
part of Spain tied up together in one bunch of rapturous fragrance.
. . . There are no such skies as has Mexico. People have got
into the habit of talking about the sapphire blue that domes Italy.
But it is because travelers, as a rule, go there by way of misty, foggy
England, and the contrast is so great as to enchant them. But right
here among the grand, restful mountains which rim this valley, I have
seen the brightest skies in all my life ; here, six days from Chicago and
eight days from Boston, is more than Italy can give. I have seen the
cattle and the stars sleep side by side on the mountains ! Let me
explain. There is generally a mist crowning every mountain peak
which shuts out the stars. Here, how different ! In my ramblings
over the valley at night, the misty curtain is swept away and the stars
can be seen all along the ridges. They stand out brilliant in this
clear atmosphere. No such atmosphere can be met near Naples or
Florence."

At the capital I observed the peculiar tints that settle over the
mountain peaks in the late evenings. Looking upward from one
street, the gazer sees a clear gray; from another, a liquid blue; from
another, a bright rose or amber or gorgeous orange; all floating and
blending together until the entire heavens are lit up by a bewitching
roseate glow, which seems to vibrate gently to and fro in the thin
air, while the whole superb canopy is gemmed with stars, which
partake of the glowing tints surrounding them.

Later in the night, I have gazed in rapt admiration on the chang-
ing of this roseate hue into one so deeply, darkly blue, that to my
vision the sky appeared a dome of jetty black, from which myriads
of refulgent jewels shone out.

The contrast between the works of the Great Architect of the

TENOCHTITLAN—THE AZTEC CAPITAL.

189

Universe and those of man never seemed greater than on turning from
this celestial view to the mundane scene below. From my point of
observation in the Zocalo, where both our modern gas and electric
lights flashed their brilliant rays across the wide streets, I could see
the sleeping-place of a large proportion of the poorer denizens of the
city — their roof, the broad expanse of heaven — their bed, the stone
pavement, or at most 2, petate — the rebozo or scrape forming their sole
covering. Here, without inconvenience, these contented people

SCENE IN THE ALAMEDA.

slept, cuddled up, undisturbed by the gay throngs who walked back
and forth around and among them.

Everywhere in the republic this out-door life exists. How differ-
ent in the northern part of the United States ! When the people
there are shivering from intense cold, and all the avenues of travel
are blocked with snow and ice, here are perpetual sunshine and
flowers.

Every climate in the world may be experienced between the sea-
shore at Vera Cruz and the capital. Eternal snows lie upon the one

190 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

hand ; on the other, verdant plains and fertile valleys. Even the
summer heat and drought on the table-lands are mitigated by the
advent of the rainy season, which begins in May and ends with
November. It is not continuous. The sun may be shining brightly,
when suddenly the sky is overcast, and the rain descends in torrents,
to be succeeded by sunshine. If two cloudy or rainy days come con-
secutively, the people find themselves quite aggrieved, and complain
of the awful weather. But the rain usually comes late in the evening
or at night ; then the streets, ditches and canals overflow their banks
and become merged in an open sea ; but in the morning the water has
disappeared ; the sun comes out in all his splendor and cheering rays ;
the blue sky smiles, and all nature rejoices.

At the capital thereare three distinct temperatures — that of the
sunny side of the street, that of the shady side, and that in the
house. In the morning, walk as early as ten o'clock, on the sunny
side of the street, the heat will be almost overpowering. On making
a change to the shady side, the difference will be so great as to pro-
duce a severe cold, while the light wrap, worn with comfort in the
street, will be found insuflficient in the house.

On reaching an altitude of four thousand feet and upward,
strangers, and especially ladies, experience a peculiar dizziness, which
continues for several days, after which they usually return to their
normal condition. At the capital the elevation above sea-level is
7,349 feet, and during the first week after my arrival I was almost
prostrated from this dizziness.

Another peculiarity of the climate consists in the fact that it is
considered by many to be dangerous to pass suddenly from a closed
room to the white light and open air outside. I saw several instances in
which incurable blindness was said to be produced in this way. The
natives understand the importance of moving about the house before
going abruptly into the open air.

Still another climatic effect is, that the uncovering of the head is
apt to produce a severe catarrhal cold. For this reason gentlemen
never remove their hats for any length of time when out of doors.

TKNOCHTITLAN—THE AZTEC CAPITAL.

191

According to the Observador Medico, the death rate of the city for
1885 was 13,008, of which 6,431 were females, and 5,577 males. The
most frequent causes of death were pulmonary and tuberculous affec-
tions, which, with pneumonia and bronchitis, made up an alarming
mortality of 4,292 — about one-third of the whole. Contrary to what
might be expected, only 179 deaths occurred from smail-pox, while
typhus and intermittent and malignant fevers claimed but a small
number of victims. After lung diseases, diarrhea and dysentery
were the most fatal, running up to 2,866. Allowing that the city of
Mexico has a population of 350,000, the annual death rate is a trifle
over 37 per 1,000. But if we consider that annually thousands of
poor Indians from the hot regions come to Mexico and die from
exposure and hardship, the real death rate will not exceed from two
to three per cent. From its high rate of mortality arises the repu-
tation of the capital for extreme unhealthiness ; but with its primitive
system of sewerage, imperfect drainage, and poor ventilation of the
houses, no surprise should be felt. Any one who witnesses the re-
pairing and cleansing of the immense sewer canals that are covered
over in the middle of the streets, will certainly wonder that the death
rate is not higher.

The number of funerals consequent upon such a large mor-
tality is only

equaledbythe ^^

strange manner in
which they are con-
ducted. The high- — ^
est dignitaries of
the land and the
humblest peon
share equal honors
in the mode of tran-
s i t employed i n
conveying their life-
less remains to their

IDLERS IN THE ZOCALO.

192 FACE TO FACE Wl I'H THE MEXICANS.

last resting-places. It was an astute nineteenth century schemer who
conceived the idea of employing the street railways as the best
method of transporting the dead to the cemeteries. One man owned
all the lines of street railway, and in order to carry out his purposes,
he bought up all the hearses and their equipments, and thus com-
pelled the public to accept his plan. It works admirably so far. The
wealthy may indulge a hearse car, plumed, draped, liveried, and
lackeyed, for $120, with an additional one, or perhaps two, for friends.
The plainer cars, drawn by one mule, may be procured for $3, while
others reach from $12 to $30, including one or two cars, neatly draped,
for mourners. But to the stranger eye, accustomed to seeing the long
cortege moving solemnly along the streets, with its hearse and weeping
mourners, the Mexican plan seems repulsive and devoid of that re-
spect which we pay to the lifeless clay of our loved ones. It reminds
one irresistibly of Thomas Noel's famous couplet :

" Rattle his bones over the stones I
He's only a pauper, whom nobody owns ! " *

A short sojourn, however, serves to convince the most skeptical
of the " fitness of things," the Mexican method being far more ex-
peditious and, it is claimed, less expensive than the old plan.

Any day in the week one may take a car for Tacubaya, and there
see the Indians transporting their dead to Dolores Cemetery. I have
seen four men bearing on their heads the coffin containing its dead
occupant. For miles they tramp steadily along, themselves the only
hearse, horses, cortege, or mourners.

" In the darkness of the forest boughs,"

with the mufifled tread of naked feet, they journey with their dead. At
other times one may see a poor woman, bearing upon her head
a plain little open cofifin, containing her dead child, with eyes wide
open and a profusion of gay flowers covering the tiny form. What
volumes it tells of the sweetly poetic thoughts, implanted by a divine
hand in the heart of a poverty-stricken, bereaved Indian mother!

* The Pauper s Ride.

TENOCHTITLAN—THE AZTEC CAPITAL. 195

The Valley of Mexico is a basin, elliptical in form, about forty
miles long by thirty wide. It is rimmed by mountains of porphyry,
and its surface is diversified with lakes and hills. The scenery is un-
rivaled now as when it first met the enraptured gaze of the Spaniards,
who in their enthusiasm exclaimed: " It is the promised land ! "

The valley is watered by lakes, both of fresh and salt water. Lake
Tezcuco, whose waters once surrounded the capital, has now retreated
three miles.

A great portion of the valley was once a vast forest, which was
denuded by the vandal conquerors. Hardly a vestige remains to tell
of past glories save the grove of ancient cypresses at Chapultepec fes-
tooned with their melancholy moss.

In every direction one may gaze on scenes of beauty and grandeur,
while in the distance, but ever in view, are the majestic Popocata-
petl towering 17,720 feet over the surrounding mountains — and his
less familiar but no less sublime consort, Iztaccihuatl, pronounced
€S-tdk-se-h wdt' I.

Popocatapetl ("Smoking Mountain "), with his tall peak, stands
side by side with Iztaccihuatl, familiarly called La Mujer Blanca,
or the Woman in White. The two mountains unite in forming a
feature of intense interest to every stranger. The grand old moun-
tain, lifting his imposing volcanic cone thousands of feet into the clear
sky, seems to keep a majestic watch over the motionless slumbers of
the Woman in White. The Smoking Mountain is silent now; but
who can predict that the sleeping citizens of Mexico will never more
be rudely awakened by his convulsive shakings and awful thunders?

The Indians, with their endless legends and traditions, wove a
romantic story of these mountains. With their love for the marvelous,
they attribute the Titanic mutterings of Popocatapetl to grief for his
beautiful Iztaccihuatl, who sleeps on regardless of his thunderous tones.

The Woman in White lies stretched out as in a long and peaceful

slumber — the rugged brow of the mountain forming the bier upon

which she rests.

The Toltecs, the Chichimicas, and the Acolhuausmay have pitched
13

196 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

their tents, and wandered under the shadows, and looked in awe on
the grand entombment under the open heavens, of the dead woman.
They have come and gone, disappeared forever from the sight of
man, but, clad in her garments of perpetual snow, lying on her grand
bier, through summer suns and winter frosts, Iztaccihuatl sleeps on.

With her arms folded over her ice-clad breast — her knees drawn
slightly upward, with the limbs gracefully sloping, the figure of the
sleeping woman is completely outlined on the mountain top. Her
icy tresses flow unconfined over the dark mountain sides. Thrown
over all is a winding-sheet, which falls in graceful folds, covering the
dead, frozen woman.

Often, when the sun is descending behind the last dome on the
western range, she may be seen, with a golden, cloud-made scarf,
shaded to pale pink, that finally melts into a gdixxzy serape, which height-
ens the mystical charm of this fascinating mountain. The handmaid-
ens of the sky who imperceptibly decorate this sleeping lady live and
float afar ofT in the realms of eternal blue ; and by mysterious instinct
seem to know when she will look more lovely with a change of her
dainty draperies. Stretching down their shadowy fingers, these min-
istering spirits catch up the fleecy masses of clouds as they hurry
swiftly along, envelop her in their vapory shroud, and imprint kisses
on her placid brow, and, whispering mournful words of endeal-ment,
pass silently back to their heavenly home.

Once, on a visit to Tlalpam * I glanced into the clear waters of a
shimmering lake. Reflected on its glassy bosom were these two
mountains — peaceful, snow-clad, and as exquisitely limned under the
matchless sky as though the water was a canvas, and a giant master-
painter had planned and painted the whole grand scene.

The immutable laws of God create sublime works of sculpture and
sublime paintings. Stand afar from Smoking Mountain and the
Woman in White. Stand in their shadows, when the sun is sinking
behind their lofty summits. The one rises, bold, rugged, misshapen^

* There is no natural lake at this point, but the heavy rains had filled the valley with
water.

TENOCHTITLAN—THE AZTEC CAPITAL. 1 9/

and chaotic. It may be, perchance, once on a time, that he was linked
with the snow-white and pure Iztaccihuatl ; and charmed the eye as
he nobly towered over her — the two one. But his rude, tumultuous
violence severed from his side, nevermore to again return, the Woman
in White, who was once a part of his soulless self. His mutterings
were heard for a time ; but the fabled anguish that once found vent
is no longer heard ; his grief for his once loved Iztaccihuatl is hushed.
Men suffer and are silent, mountains are silent but suffer not. Men
and mountains may never grieve, because they may be alike soulless.
Contrasting with the dark, gloomy cone that seems to scowl on the
scene, ever ready to break out into angry thunders, and startle the
sleeping world, is clearly outlined against the sky the Woman in White
at rest upon her couch in the peaceful sleep of the just or the dead.
Her face is upturned to heaven, white, cold, beautiful, looking into
the great unknown depths of the sky, smiling in her hopes of the
great hereafter, unmindful of the grim, misshapen cone that towers
from afar.

CHAPTER VII.

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES.

F the Mexicans Brantz Mayer wrote
as follows : " I have found
them kind, gentle, hospitable,
intelligent, benevolent, and
brave. . . . In fact, regard
them in any way, and they
will be found to possess the ele
ments of a fine people, who
want but peace and the stimu-
lus of foreign emulation to bring
them forward among the nations
of the earth with great distinc-
tion. . . . There are of course in Mexico, as in all countries,
specimens of egotism, selfishness, haughtiness, ill-breeding and loose
morals, both among the men and the women ; but, although we find
these floating, like bubbles, on the top of society, they must not there-
fore be considered the characteristics of the country. . . . With
domestic virtue, genius, and patriotism, no people need despair ; and
it should be the prayer of every republican that enough of these still
remain in Mexico to reconstruct their government and society."

In speaking of their politeness, Mayer continues : " The ' old
school ' seems to have taken refuge among the Mexicans. They are
formally, and, I think, substantially, the politest people I have met
with. The respect for age, the sincerity of friendship, the results of
reading and education, and the honest, unpretending naturalness of

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES. 199

character, for which, over all other people I have ever met, I think
the best of them are remarkable." . . . "The fine benevolence of
ancient friendship, the universal respect for genius, a competent
knowledge of the laws and institutions of other countries, a perfect
acquaintance with the cause of Mexican decadence, and a charming
regard for all those domestic rites which cement the affections of a
home circle may all be observed and admired within the walls of a
Mexican dwelling."

* Brantz Mayer, above all other writers, not even excepting
Madame Calderon de la Barca, has observed more closely and written
more sympathetically and faithfully of Mexican characteristics. In
dealing with this subject, it will be understood that reference is had
only to the higher and more cultured classes of society.

During the more than forty years intervening since this dis-
tinguished writer gave expression to these views, ten years only of
which have brought to Mexico the precious boon of peace, the
changes occurring and the onward march of events in that country
have proved the correctness of his assertions. With every possible
distracting cause, calculated to foster and encourage ignoble traits
and retrograde ideas, they have not only continued brave and
patriotic, but their social and domestic institutions have remained
sacredly intact. Let the unsympathizing comment as they may upon
the hapless fate of poor Mexico, it is not to be gainsaid that perhaps
no country in the world has politically presented a more desolate
picture, nor yet one that speaks a nobler lesson.

But by sympathetic intuition a woman attributes to the women of
Mexico that undercurrent of social and domestic regeneration which
has purified and preserved her institutions. While the men have
been engrossed in war and revolution, with their train of direful re-
sults, the women, in the seclusion of their homes, have kept an ever-

* Mexico as it Was and as it Is, by Mayer, and Madame Barca's Life in Mexico, were
published about the same time, the former in 1844, Madame B.'s in 1843. Mayer was Sec-
retary of the American Legation under the Hon. Powhatan Ellis, and the latter was the
wife of the first Spanish Minister who was sent to Mexico after the War of Independence.

200 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

faithful watch over the domestic virtues, and the happiness and wel-
fare of those whom God has given them.

In repose, there is in the eye of every Mexican an expression of
deep sadness which is hardly accounted for by recent history, however
tragic, and must have been transmitted to the race through the
miseries of martial conquests.

It has occurred to me that the women have inherited a larger
portion of this constitutional melancholy than the men. I have
been more convinced of it on meeting and conversing with them in
their own homes. When the death of a member of the family was
referred to, which had taken place years before — perhaps a son or a
husband killed in battle — the grief seemed as deep and uncontrollable
as if it had happened on that day. They are all patriotic, and if the
country suffers, it is a part of themselves, and is reflected in their
lives.

The Mexicans are by nature close observers of physiognomy,
and, though shy, are sharp critics of the bearing of strangers. Their
extreme isolation has probably added to the natural impulse. It
does not follow that they criticise adversely ; but they weigh one's
lightest syllable in their own balances. Upon their first coming in
contact with a stranger, they expect him to look them clearly in the
face ; and be sure they are watching every movement and expression
with the keenest suspicion. Whatever may be their own failings,
they are wonderfully endowed with the power to " fix you with the
eye ;" and you are expected to meet it bravely, and not to quail under
the penetrating glance. To an infinite degree are the women expert
in reading character, probably more so than our own more world-
experienced and educated countrywomen.

It is no matter of surprise that they are distrustful of strangers,
when the most they have known of them has been in the way of
armed forces seeking to crush out their national existence. Their
hospitality, too, having so often met with unwarrantable criticism
personally and in the press, they cannot be expected to welcome the
stranger over their threshold without caution and misgiving.

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES. 20I

A kindly and sympathetic warmth is always heartily reciprocated,
while coldness at once repels. To desire their friendship is to de-
serve it, especially if the wish be tempered by the observance of the
golden rule. No people are better aware of their national, political,
and social defects, but, being sensitive, nervous, and very proud, an
adverse criticism from the thoughtless and ungenerous stranger
naturally wounds, and induces that reserve which is so largely na-
tional, and which it is so diflficult to overcome. When a disposition
is manifested to meet them on equal terms of friendly good-will,
and proper deference is shown to their customs, it will be found that
no people are more delightful, socially, more faithful as friends, or
more ready to serve the stranger from whatever land, than the
Mexicans.

Hospitality is one of the national characteristics, but it is of a
nature peculiar to itself, and, contrary to our customs, the latch-string
hangs on the inside, for the court circles of Europe are not more ex-
clusive than the higher classes of society in Mexico, The architect-
ure of the houses — their barred windows and well-guarded doors,
which prevent intrusion from prying curiosity — together with the
climate and customs, conspire to incline the people to lead exclu-
sive lives. It is manifested even in the choice of vehicles, closed car-
riage being almost invariably used, though with such air and skies
the reverse might naturally be expected. The first aspiration, with
them, is to make home beautiful, and to this end every element of a
cultured and refined taste is duly provided and cared for within the
massive doors. The exquisite beauty of the rare and gorgeous flowers
in the /^/^c*,? affords constant pleasure by day, while by night they have
only to glance upward to obtain wondrous visions of a star-gemmed
firmament.

Letters of introduction, even, will not always secure access to the
inner circle of the home life. Comparatively speaking, few are
accorded this privilege. But when once admitted by personal friends,
especially if accompanied by them on the first visit, all formality and
reserve are at an end, and the most gracious attentions are freely be-

202 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

stowed, the veriest stranger feeling that he is no longer such. A
genuine glow of pleasure has often been mine on finding that their
inborn distrust of foreigners had melted away in my first intercourse
with them. On passing many handsome houses in the large cities,
and halting to admire the beauty and luxuriance of the flowers in the
court, on seeing me the gentle voice of the dueiia de la casa (lady of
the house) would bid me enter and inspect them to my satisfaction.
When this was done, and my hands filled with flowers, I was invited
to the sala, chocolate ordered, and on departing — certain we would
never meet again — a warm embrace, a cordial shake of the hand, and
a '* Vaya V. con Dios I " (" God be with you "), heartily given.

They are endowed by nature with a highly nervous and sensitive
organization, with jealousy for a birthright ; and amongst intimate
friends of their own nationality they are easily offended, but less so
with foreigners. And I have observed that the higher the altitude
the more evident are these tendencies, attributable, probably, to both
climate and elevation.

Much as the Mexicans love their homes, their language contains
no word expressive of the meaning of the word " home." They have
only casa (house), and hogar, but little used and lacking euphony.
Another fact — the absence of chimneys, depriving them of the pleas-
ures of the fireside, renders it only natural that they should seek
diversion outside. The balmy air invites them to life al fresco, con-
sequently the morning promenade, which usually includes the mass at
church, the afternoon drive, and perhaps the theater at night, consti-
tute their chief sources of outdoor recreation and amusement.

No people more eminently possess the faculty of entertaining
their friends in a royally hospitable way. An assemblage of five hun-
dred guests is as well taken care of as fifty, and no one feels neglected.
They are convivial and joyous, mingling freely with one and all ; gay
sallies of wit and sparkling repartee rule the hour. But, at the same
time, a remarkable dignity characterizes their every movement.

In the majority of the towns and cities the ringing of the cathe-
dral bells, at ten o'clock, calls the people from their places of recrea-

ENTRANCE TO A MEXICAN HOME.

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES. 205

tion to their homes, and the streets become as quiet and silent as the
campo santo (grave-yard).

In all their professions of friendship, I have found them frank and
sincere, and untiring in their demonstrations to the favored person
who has won their regard. While this sincerity is unquestionable,
they are yet gifted in a high degree with the pretty art of evasion.
Let one who has had trouble confide in them, and let them be but
fully convinced that they are the trusted custodians of such confidence,
and nothing can induce them to betray the trust so reposed. The
penalty of severest punishment cannot wring from them a secret in-
trusted to them. But by the dainty manipulation of their admirable
tact and diplomacy, the inquirer is satisfied and not one syllable be-
trayed. As well try to make an incision in the side of Popocatapetl
with a penknife as extract from a Mexican what he does not want to
tell you.

It is asserted by some writers that there is no middle class. It is
my opinion, founded upon careful observation and inquiry, that there
is not only at this time a very large and influential middle class, but
that every year it gains large accessions from the humbler class, who
are making giant strides to a nobler place in life through the fine
educational advantages now afforded them. In this connection I
must say that, while access to the higher strata of society is difficult,
the middle class vie with them in their hospitality, never turning a
stranger from their doors, and some of the most delightful acts of
courtesy and kindness that I ever met with in that country have been
extended me by the ever faithful and gentle middle class. With
them letters of introduction are unnecessary.

They may not own their homes, but there is an air of pretty neat-
ness about their houses ; an unobstructed freedom, a gentleness of
manner, which I say unqualifiedly is not equaled anywhere. It is
from this class that are springing up every year men of genius and
talent, of unremitting toil and study, which will enable them to take
that honored station in their chosen field of labor which, in all coun-
tries, is the reward of untiring patience and fidelity to any cause.

2o6 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

The forms of greeting and salutation are numerous, and among
them none is so distinctively national as the abrazo. Men fall into
each other's arms and remain thus for several minutes, patting each
other on the shoulder and indulging in all sorts of endearing epithets.

Another form, rather less diffuse, may be seen any time on the
street and promenade, not only among men, but also between friends
of opposite sex. In the quickest, most spirited manner, the arms of
both parties are outstretched ; they rush together for a second, their
breasts barely touch, and while the observer is watching for a kiss to
follow this ardent salute, they separate and the abrazo is finished.
The extreme frankness accompanying it compels one to rather ad-
mire the custom ; for it means no more than hand-shaking among
Americans.

A mere introduction between men assumes elaborate proportions.
Seflor Calderon says : " I have the honor to present to you my friend,
Sefior Ojeda, a merchant of this city ; " whereupon Seflor Ojeda
replies: "Your obedient servant. Your house (meaning his own)

is in Street, where I am at your orders for all that you may

wish ; " or, " My house is muy a su disposicion " (" entirely at your
disposal; make yourself at home").

From this profusion of politeness, doubtless, has arisen the im-
pression that the Mexicans are devoid of sincerity ; when in truth the
recipient of such offers would alone deceive himself should he suppose
that the Mexican proposed to make him a gift of his house.

Hand-shaking goes to extremes. If friends meet twenty times a
day, the ceremony must be gone through as often.

It is not sufficient for gentlemen merely to touch the hat-brim, in
passing each other or any friend ; but the hat is removed entirely
from the head, whether driving, riding, or walking. I noticed a little
pantomime they go through when one gives a light to another. He
draws his right hand quickly to his breast, in a second extends it out-
ward, tipping his hat-brim three times, which is all repeated by the one
who has lighted his cigar.

I saw on Calle Plateros, one day, two splendid carriages each

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES. 20/

occupied by one man. On seeing each other, the carriages were
halted, both alighted, removed hats, shook hands, embraced, talked
for a few moments, again embraced, shook hands, bowed, took off
hats, and each entered his carriage and went his way.

Among women the salutation assumes a more confidential form;
the stranger receives a gentle tap of the right hand upon the left
shoulder, and then a generous shake of the hand ; while more inti-
mate friends not only tap each other, but also kiss, not on the lips,
however, merely laying the cheeks softly together. The Mexican
mode is to be commended.

A lady admires some ornament or article of wearing apparel ;
instantly the possessor gracefully informs her it is '* muy d su orden "
(" at your orders "). Changing residence requires that cards be sent
announcing the fact, and placing it " niiiy d su orden,''' otherwise
visiting ceases. Young babies are also placed " muy d su ordeny In
writing notes of invitation, the Mexican lady always closes with,
"We will expect you here, at such an hour, at your house."

A vein of sentiment and poetry, however, runs through every
detail of their lives, which forms the motive power of that fastidious
nicety which regulates social intercourse. A spray of flowers sent as
a token will be first pinned over the heart, the pin left in it, indicat-
ing the pledge as a part of the personality of the donor, hence more
sacred ; or a note may contain a pansy, with a dainty motto inscribed
on its petals.

In letter writing or in making a formal acknowledgment, polite-
ness and high-bred courtesy govern ; even the President would make
himself the individual under obligation.

No gifts are made at Christmas, but on ''■El Ano Nuevo'' ("The
New Year") tokens of all sorts and kinds, and cards, are sent to
friends, with '■'■ felicitacionesy

Visiting is the same as in all well-regulated society, except that
strangers must send their cards and make the first call. A short visit
is not appreciated, as it would indicate coldness and formality.
Everything is given up to the guest, let the time be long or short.

208 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

and a Mexican lady never continues the performance of any duty,
however urgent, or engages in anything that would distract her atten-
tion from her guests.

On entering a Mexican home, after an absence of months or years,
if you are an old friend, the reception you meet with is overwhelm-
ingly joyful. Every member of the household in turn gives you an
embrace ; you are seated on the right-hand end of the sofa, and then
a thousand kind inquiries follow in regard to relatives, and many in-
terchanges of thought and incidents that have occurred in your absence.
You are allowed to do nothing for yourself, for the entire family,
from the least to the greatest, perform a part in entertaining and
making you feel at home.

But it is a difficult point in Mexican etiquette, that of seating
visitors. Guest and host vie with each other in politeness, and some-
times several minutes are occupied in this courteous contest.

On leaving, the visitor is always entreated to remain longer, but
when he must go, they " speed the parting guest " with all the fervor
with which he is received.

Gentlemen bow first on the street, but ladies have the advantage
in the house ; for even if the President were to call, the lady of the
house is not expected to rise from her seat to receive him.

In walking, ladies hold the right arm of the gentleman. The right-
hand side of the back seat of a carriage, and the right-hand end of a
sofa, are the places of honor reserved for the guest.

At balls introductions are not necessary for gentlemen to ask ladies
to dance, and in private houses all are supposed to be ladies and
gentlemen.

A lady retains her maiden name in marriage, and her visiting cards
are engraved with her own name with the prefix of de before her hus-
band's— as, Josefina Bros de Riva Palacio. Madame de Iturbide, as
known in the United States and Europe, in Mexico is simply Alicia
G. de Iturbide.

It is better for foreigners to have visiting cards engraved after the
fashion of the country if they intend mingling with Mexican society.

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES. 209

Mexicans are as fastidious in the style and quality of paper and
envelopes as in everything else ; even the minutest detail is dc rigeur.
In high society, only the finest paper, with monogram in gold or silver,
or elaborately engraved with the name inside the monogram, is se-
lected. Some of the daintiest informal little notes I have seen, passed
between lady friends — written on the finest paper, and then by deft
fingers folded in the form of a leaf or flower, with the address on one
tiny petal. In all correspondence the rubrica ox fir ma must be used ;
neither the nature of what is written, nor the name, has any signifi-
cance without the peculiar flourish beneath. This is taught in the
schools, and the more elaborate the better. The rubrica is a receipt,
a part of every business obligation or social correspondence. Every
public document closes with ^'■Libertad y Independencia," or '■^Libertad
en la Constitution,'' and in sending an agent to a foreign country, every
document relating to the business bears his photograph — perhaps a
wise precaution.

In exchanging photographs, it is customary to dedicate them with
a pretty sentiment or verse, and the date — not infrequently the age,
also — is added.

Smoking publicly is not now customary with sefioritas, but I have
been told they indulge in this harmless and, with them, graceful pas-
time in private. Matrons smoke without reserve, and as a matter of
course, men are habituated to the indulgence everywhere — no place in
the house being exempt from the odor of the cigarette. Pipes are not
used, and a delightful offset to smoking is that there is no chewing.

Many of their forms of daily and general politeness may seem
empty and meaningless ; but there is no more insincerity intended
than in some of our own social small coin. It will be borne in mind
also that these are not the characteristics of cities or city people, but
belong equally to smaller towns and villages. In mingling with the
people, their hospitalities and courtesies should be received in the
same kindly spirit in which they are given.

Even in the country, on lonely haciendas, everything is free and
open-handed. Your servants have the freedom of the kitchen and

2IO FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

stables, the host gives up to you his place at the table, and often, on
resuming the journey, will ride half a day, to lead you safely through
some mountain defile or dangerous, bandit-infested place — and then
the parting is as earnest and as zealous as word and manner can
make it.

Natives of climes more frigid may contrast the formal bow, the re-
straint and stiffness of a possible shake of the hand, and the greeting
commonly observed by their own countrymen, with the native ease
and graceful cordiality to be met with here. Hence, an introduction
into a select circle in Mexico makes a never-to-be-forgotten episode in
the life of the favored stranger, cementing the ties which bind him to
the country.

Wherever the fates may direct him, he will often experience a
yearning to revisit a land where he was ever the recipient of a gra-
cious courtesy scarcely to be found elsewhere. But few Mexicans,
save those in diplomatic service, take up their permanent residence
in other countries, especially among the Anglo-Saxons. The coldness
and formality they there encounter freeze their own warm and cordial
manner.

Like the Frenchman, the Mexican talks quite as much with hands
and eyes as with his tongue. He shrugs also, but not so unceas-
ingly as his brother Latin.

These gestures are rendered very attractive by the appropriate
and graceful manner in which they are used. They are seen as much
in the street or horse-cars as in the house.

One of the prettiest and most cunning of all the hand motions is
called Beso Soplado, throwing kisses by gathering the finger of the
right hand in a close group, touching the lips, then throwing them
out fan-like, at the same time blowing on the hand as it is outstretched
toward the object for whom the demonstration is intended, thus indi-
cating that five kisses are given at once.

Illustration No. i of these movements, " un momentito," signifies
the desire to postpone a departure or return, or the performance of
some duty, then necessary. In a twinkling the taper fingers ex-

THE MEXICANS IN THEIK HOMES.

211

" One little

press this without uttering a word,
moment ! " Everybody uses it.

No. 2. '^ El no quiere gastar dincro" {" He owes
money but is very stingy, and from not using it to get
the money, out of his pocket, his arm has grown too
stiff to reach into his pocket for the money, consequently he is
unable to pay his debts ").

No. 3. '■' Miiy btien violinist a'" literally means one who plays well on
the violin, but in this instance he plays, instead, on the credulity and

NO. 1. '' ONE LITTLE
MOMENT."

NO. 2. " HE IS TOO STINGY
TO PAY HIS DEBTS."

1. 3. " HE PLAYS ON THE CRE-
DULITY OF HIS FRIENDS.'"

verdancy of his friends. He plays off on them by inviting himself to
dine with them, having little or nothing to eat at home, thus support-
ing himself on their involuntary hospitality.

No. 4. " Tiene b ast ante diner o" (" He or she has plenty of money").
No. 5. " Muy criticolo'' ("It is quite doubtful in my mind"). I
have seen three persons in conversation, one being
engaged in relating some circumstance or event, the
other two paying marked attention. When at length the
narrator made a digression from facts, or added a few
embellishing touches, one of the listeners, without speak-
ing a word, but throwing a world of expression into her

NO. 4. " she's VERY , 1111^ -1 1 . .1 i. ■

RICH, HAS PLENTY cycs, tosscd hcr head to one side, and at the same time
OF MONEY." planting the forefinger of the right hand on the temple,

the little boring process is gone through, and the unspoken language
14

212

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

has conveyed also the thought of the other hstener, and both are
happy.

wo. 5. A VERY GREAT
CRITIC.

NO. 6. "adios."

No. 6. ''Adios" the universal good-bye, or in saluting an acquaint-
ance then passing.

No. 7. " He's a sharper ! Don't you trust him ! He'll deceive and
cheat you without mercy."

No. 8. Salutation in the street, or from a fair Juliet in her win-

NO. 7. " he's a sharper."

.no. 8. salutation from balcony.

dow ; one of the most graceful and beautiful of the endless sign-
manual. It will be seen that it is the middle and third fingers only
that move rapidly back and forth, and not the whole hand.

No. 9. ''No es costumbre" — literally an expression of negation,
so named from impressions received during my fir.st sojourn in the
country. Even children in their play use it when wishing to say,
"You can't do that now, I sha'n't play with you."

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES.

213

NO. 9. " YOU can't do that
NOW."

An irrevocable edict has gone forth when that prophetic forefinger
goes upward and outward before the end of the
nose. The laws of the Medes and Persians may be
evaded, but " no cs costumbre " never.

In no country are family ties stronger. The
thought of separation is to them fraught with un-
speakable anguish, and even after marriage it is
not unusual to see half a dozen families living in
the same house, daughters with their husbands
and sons with their wives remaining under the
paternal roof. The time never comes in the lives
of the parents when the children are not more
or less amenable to them. Grown sons and daughters do not forget
the respect and obedience that were expected of them when children.
The reverence for parents goes with them in their wedded lives, and
even increases with the lapse of years. A man never grows too old
to kiss the hands of his aged parents or to visit them every day if
they reside in the same city, and the daughters do the same.

When the marital knot is tied, the women accommodate them-
selves to whatever fate may have in store for them with that grace
and fortitude which belong to them, rarely equaled and never sur-
passed. The time never comes in which they feel their burdens too
great to be borne with patience.

They go but little into society or mixed assemblages, consequently
their earthly happiness is summed up in home, husband, children.
Their outward deportment corresponds with the interior calm.
Whether riding, driving, or walking, they always retain a decorum and
dignity of manner peculiar to themselves. To express emotion or sur-
prise in public is not considered becoming.

In all my intercourse with them, I have seen but two who used the
trenchant weapon of sarcasm ; in their hands it cut like a two-edged
sword, and in each case their own countrymen were the victims.

Among the earliest lessons of Christianity inculcated by the Fran-
ciscan missionaries were love, charity, and self-denial, and the outcome

214 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

of these teachings of nearly four centuries may be seen to-day in the
beautiful graces and charities of the Mexican women. These high
lessons, exemplified in the lives of the teachers, were received grate-
fully and practiced faithfully by the warm-hearted people. To feed
the hungry, clothe the naked, relieve the distressed, and entertain the
stranger— surely there is no nobler mission !

Every battle-field on their soil has left its records of their tender
devotion to " prisoners and captives," without regard to name or
nationality. Our American soldiers, when in an enemy's country,
with death staring them in the face, have borne grateful witness to
their patient and tireless nursing. The Texas and Santa Fi Expe-
dition, in 1 841, written by George Wilkins Kendall, fully portrays
the kindnesses of these noble-hearted women. In a march of two
thousand miles, from Santa F6, in New Mexico, to the capital, the
condition of the unhappy prisoners was everywhere ameliorated
by the women, who, moved by pity, never failed to bring them food
— the best they had — and on every opportunity tenderly cared for the
sick and foot-sore Americans.

But, before the dawn of Christianity in Mexico, the women prac-
ticed a noble order of charity. When Netzzahiialcoyotl, the young
prince of Tezcuco, was fleeing from his enemies, weary and dust-
stained, he suddenly found himself in the presence of a young girl
who was reaping chia in the fields. He hastily informed her of his
danger and entreated her aid. She was moved to pity, and, telling
him to lie down, covered him with leaves and stalks of the maguey.
When his pursuers came up, they inquired if she had seen him. " Yes,"
she replied, "he has gone by yon road," pointing in the opposite
direction — which saved him.

Although there are hospitals, homes, and public charities in every
city, still there are not only numerous beggars, but blind, maimed, and
distressed persons — real objects of charity — seeking aid from the more
fortunate members of society. Assistance is never denied ; even
little children take by the hand, with the sympathetic '' pobrccito ! "
(" poor creature "), and lead into the house, some poor creature to be

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES. 21$

fed and cared for, having been taught to pity and never to ridicule
or despise personal afflictions.

The housekeeper is supplied with home remedies, that she may
give effect to her charitable interest in the sick and miserable. In
many places, ladies of high position on a saint's day will unite in
giving a dinner to the poor. Each one contributes to the feast, and
then, with her daughters and friends, waits on the squalid guests.
Theatrical and musical entertainments are also frequently given for
charitable purposes.

Poverty, while greatly to be deplored, is not considered a disgrace.
Almost every wealthy family has its full quota of poor relations, who
in many instances fill the places of housekeeper or upper servants.
But at the same time they are provided for comfortably and kindly.
Even where means are limited, it is common to see in a household
several children outside the immediate family taken from time to time,
and cared for by the tender-hearted lady of the house.

Two of the most interesting young people whose acquaintance I
made at the capital were the descendants of a humble Indian woman.
With her sick babe, only a month old, lying in her rebozo, homeless
and unfriended, she trudged through the rain at dusk. A charitable
lady, from the interior of a luxurious home, witnessed the scene, and
calling the woman, took the babe to her heart as if it were her own.
She proposed to her to adopt the child, promising a mother's care.
The trust was sacredly kept, and although this lady afterward
became the mother of fifteen children, the poor waif was one of the
many, and developed into a lovely woman. She married an accom-
plished gentleman and bore several children, but to the day of her
death she knew nothing of her origin.

The religious observances, as well as the customs of the country,
are kept up mainly by the women. The men naturally become more
cosmopolitan through travel and contact and intercourse with the
outside world. But whatever the cause, scarcely a man of educa-
tion can be found who does not proclaim himself a deist or an
atheist.

2l6

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

But if a long illness ensue, or death appear inevitable, the priest
and the holy sacrament are at once ordered. So I have come to the
conclusion that they consider the expression of irreligious sentiments
when in health indicative of liberal ideas, and showing a sympathy

with the " advanced " thought
of the age. While they adopt
the theory that " the first req-
uisite of man is to be a good
animal," in the hour of trial
they fall back on the time-
honored consolations.

But, despite their lack of
creed or religious faith, there
is one respect in which hus-
bands of other nations might
learn from them a profitable
lesson. They generously be-
lieve that their wives are fully
entitled to an equal share of
their business profits and to
the expending of their income.
The wife is not subjected to
the humiliation of begging a
pittance, but the whole matter
is left to her own good judg-
ment.

It is only justice to say
that courtesy and kindness are almost invariably with them the rule
in the family.

It is a knightly spirit which impels the men to the belief that their
women are not capable of sustaining the burdens of life. And when
a man marries, if his wife have a widowed mother and sisters without
means of support, it never occurs to him that it is not his dut)' to
keep and maintain them. These offices they cheerfully accept as

INTERIOR OF CHAPEL ON THE HACIENDA OF SeRORA
GUADALUPE BROS.

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES. 21/

an hereditary right, without regard to the attainments or accom-
pHshments which might be turned to account.

This chivalric conduct extends still further, in view of the fact
that estates of orphans and widows are administered with much care
and honest effort. No dread Nemesis pursues the Mexican in the
form of a mother-in-law, for, even if there be room for criticism, she
may counsel, but she never interferes.

In many homes I have seen the husband regularly, three times a
day, bring from the court-yard a flower to lay on the wife's plate.
And such little attentions are not meaningless. I have also known
many instances where the husband fondly insisted on the wife placing
herself at the table, so that she might be excused from serving either
the soup or coffee — saying, "The care of the children was enough for
her."

There is little or no intoxication among them. At the club or in
their homes they may imbibe too freely, but the effects are never
apparent in the street.

In social life there are certainly no more agreeable companions than
educated Mexican gentlemen, and they are still more delightful when
one comes to know them intimately upon the basis of friendship,
time and means being alike at one's disposal ; and wherever fate may
lead, they follow the fortunes of their friends.

One American family whom I knew were kindly conveyed on their
journey of five hundred miles, over a rough and barren country, and
nothing would induce the generous Mexican to receive one cent in
compensation ; and further, the rnozo who drove them, and the one
who rode ahead to ward off interlopers also declined any compensa-
tion, saying, " It was the master's orders."

Some of the grandest public benefactions that I have ever seen
were endowed by Mexican men ; not only hospitals of every kind,
but also institutions of learning. An instance I recall, is that of Eve-
risto Madero, ex-Governor of Coahuila, who devoted his entire salary
during his term of office to establishing public schools in his State.

The taste for ceremonious display and profusion is national, and

2l8 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

enters into all arrangements, whether of house, dress, or equipage,
being limited only by the means for its indulgence. If rustic chairs,
cornices, or brackets are used, the dainty fingers of the housewife
adorn them, until they lose the rough, unpolished appearance of the
native boughs, by means of gilding, bronze, and gay paints, the whole
combined into a brilliant mosaic.

Pots containing their lovely plants are draped with rwosses pecu-
liar to the country, exhibiting only the beautiful. But in striking con-
trast to these natural flowers blooming the year round I have fre-
quently seen in handsome houses huge artificial plants in pots, with
exaggerated coloring in foliage and flowers.

A love for all bright and lovely objects is innate with these chil-
dren of the sun. Gorgeous flowers, trailing vines, Chinese lanterns,
paintings hung in corridor or patio., brilliant-hued singing-birds, all com-
bine to form a scene of Oriental richness and beauty.

Notwithstanding the apparent tendency to prodigality, the ut-
most care is taken in every detail of domestic economy.

The carriage, with its silver mountings bright and glistening, stands
in the zagiian ready for the drive at a moment's notice, but when not
in use, carriage, horses and harness are all in their proper places, in
the best possible order.

On the first visit, a guest is cordially shown through the house by
its mistress, who may well take pride in its spotless condition. The
Mexican housekeeper dreads nothing more than an insignificant par-
ticle of polvo (dust) in any part of her domain.

Great care is bestowed on the marking of household linen, the hus-
band's initials or monogram being exquisitely embroidered on each
article. Merely to write the name in ink does not suffice, not being
considered in keeping with a refined taste.

The bedsteads are of either brass or iron — in wealthy families of the
former — and almost universally single. Much ingenuity is expended
in the draping of filmy laces in canopies of various shapes, daintily
caught back with bright ribbons and flowers, while the greatest pains
are taken in the execution of elaborate embroideries, laces, tatting.

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES. 221

and crochet for coverings, those with drawn threads being the most
distinctively national. But with all this industry piled up, I have never
seen in the country our well-known, if homely, patchwork quilt.

Pillows are more numerous than with us. I have counted thirteen
on one bed, made of either wool or cotton (feathers are limited to the
few), very thin and narrow, graded and piled up, pyramid like, and
all trimmed uniformly with lace.

Lace curtains are prime essentials of a well-arranged home and
adorn every opening, but I have seen none of our gay chintzes or
cretonnes used in this way. Mirrors are indispensable, and with the
careful forethought of the housewife, one invariably occupies a place
over the sofa, while another hangs on the opposite wall, directly be-
fore you.

On entering the sala, the most noticeable feature is the sofa, with
its invariable accompaniment of four chairs — two large and two smaller
ones — placed at either end of the sofa, parallel to each other and vis-a
vis. The unusual number of chairs in most of the houses is surprising,
and suggests occasions of reunion as their raison d'etre ; and regardless
of wealth or station, the method of arrangement is the same, extend-
ing around the room in unbroken lines, except when met by the sofa
or the triangular tables that fill the corners. The parlor furniture of
the wealthy is extremely handsome ; upholstered in damask, either pure
white, or in shades of blue, pink, or crimson, supported by stately
frames of gold or silver ; with carpet corresponding in style. But the
furniture in more general use has wooden frames covered with bright
reps ; the cushion of each, with its dainty, home-wrought lace cover,
tables with the same, all fitting to a nicety make a unique and harmo-
nious effect. Plainer houses have the same unbroken lines of home-
made chairs (the sofacita before described), with the same tables and
arrangement. Here one will see as pretty home-made laces and
drawn-thread work as in the grand houses.

Surrounded by so many evidences of a refined and luxurious taste,
the absence of books and pictures is conspicuous. Private collections
are few, but in every large city there is a public biblioteca (library), of

222 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

which the men and boys avail themselves, but the desire for knowl-
edge is not yet sufficiently urgent for these institutions to be much
patronized by women.

On the great Tacuba highway, at the eastern extremity of the
Alameda on the right, at Mariscala No. 2, stands a mansion typical of
the wealth and luxury of the capital. This stately edifice is the home
of General Vicente Riva Palacio, the distinguished statesman, soldier,
and litt&ateur.

The house is entered as usual through the zaguan, from which a
spacious stairway, branching to right and left, leads to the principal
apartments. A bronze statue of Guerrero, a leading hero of the Inde-
pendence war, who was grandfather of the owner of the house, now
stands as seen in the illustration. The stairs and floors of the corri-
dors and halls are of the finest Italian marble ; while around and on
either side are tropical plants of every shade and tint ; and on the
north side swings an aviary filled with bright-hued singing birds.

The house contains about fifty rooms, including three parlors, a
grand salon and two smaller ones, all fitted up luxuriously. The
oratorio (chapel) is impressive with its altar handsomely draped, and
the picture of the Virgin Guadalupe in the center — crosses, silver
candelabra, kneeling-stools in plush and gold, magnificent vestments,
and I was surprised and pleased to see, on either side, American
mottoes — " In God we trust," and "God bless our home."

Quite near the chapel is the comedor grande (large dining-room),
which is, perhaps, lOO feet in length and 50 in width.

The furniture is of native rosewood and mahogany, wrought in
most tasteful designs, while the floor glistens like glass, in its
varied mosaics of rare and peculiar woods. Mirrors alternate with
the massive side boards, with their rare marble slabs from the quarries
of Puebla.

In different receptacles were no fewer than 3.000 pieces of china,
many of them hand-painted in the flowers of the country, 2,000 pieces
of crystal, and silver that for quantity, variety, and brightness was
truly dazzling. Included in this was the magnificent silver service

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES.

223

STAIRWAY IN THE PALACIO HOME.

sent by Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria, engraved with the royal
arms, to Mariano Palacio, father of the present owner of the house,
as a token of gratitude for his voluntary and noble defense of Maxi-
milian.

224 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

Smaller rooms are used by the family informally.

The table linen, of finest texture, includes cloths with monogram
elaborately embroidered at either end, and napkins for every possible
use, many representing the talent, industry, and ingenuity of the
women of Mexico, being hemstitched, embroidered, or ornamented
with that original lace — the drawn-thread work — for which they are
famous.

While on the subject of needle-work, I must mention that I was
shown about thirty of the most elegant bed-spreads on which my eyes
ever rested. They consisted of velvet, silk, satin, plush, lace, crochet,
with various kinds of embroidery as center-pieces ; all quite adequate
to arouse feelings of lively admiration. The sheets, of snowy linen,
are hemstitched and embroidered, sometimes several inches in depth.
The pillow-cases correspond in style, the whole forming a collection
of rare needle-work which seemed to amount to thousands of pieces.

The sleeping apartments, in addition to every article of luxury and
ease, are furnished with single brass bedsteads, over each of which is
suspended a canopy of delicate lace, caught up with flowers and bright
ribbons, forming a veritable bower.

The sala grande bears evidence of an immense expenditure, every
thing being of European importation. In size it corresponds with
the dining-room. The carpet is shaded from pale pink to bright crim-
son ; the furniture in frames of gold, upholstered in the same shades
of the carpet. Grand chandeliers costing thousands of dollars are
suspended from the ceiling ; mirrors and sconces are arranged on the
walls, and lace curtains of daintiest weft shade the windows. In this
apartment I again encountered the beautiful hand embroidery of
Dofla Josefina, the noble and lovely wife of General Palacio, in the
chairs, ottomans, and hassocks, all executed in the finest Japanese de-
signs, some of which she told me had occupied her time for six months.

.1 must also mention the ceilings of this mansion. Some 30 feet
in height, they rest on heavy beams of wood, laid crosswise of the
room, each one perhaps 18 inches in depth, the whole giving an
effect of massive grandeur. The beams are tinted to correspond

TH£. MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES. 22%

with the ceihngs and walls, and ornamented with lines of gold. These
lines also panel the walls, and outline doors and windows.

The azotea, a notable feature in the architecture of the Aztecs,
still adorns these square-topped buildings. At the capital they
are constructed of brick, and form a delightful promenade at all
seasons. As the houses are joined together, one may walk over the
entire square, as I had the pleasure of doing.

The study of General Palacio contains, perhaps, one of the finest
collections of books and manuscripts in the republic. He possesses
a large number of the original documents of the Inquisition hand-
somely bound ; also a valuable foreign library, comprising books in
many languages. The door of the case containing the books of the
Inquisition opens over a winding stairway, and the carpet is fitted to
a nicety over the semicircle which opens and closes with the door, giv-
ing ingress and egress to the private study below. When the General
opened the door of this case, I came near going headlong below, and
the thought flashed through my mind that I was verily descending to
the vaults of the Inquisition, not knowing that the door of the book-
case was also that of the dark stairway. I was, however, rescued by
my friends, and made the descent in the usual way. I would here re-
mark that these spiral stairways are a prominent feature of Mexican
architecture.

In the room below there is a handsome case containing the swords
of General Francisco Xavier Mina and Vicente Guerrero ; the feath-
ers— pink and white — worn by the Emperor Iturbide on his hat when
entering the city in 1821 ; a bronze cast of Napoleon; and the origi-
nal sentence of Picaluga, who betrayed Guerrero into the hands of
his enemies, besides many Indian curios and bric-a-brac. In another
room were the chair of Hidalgo and the saddle that Maximilian rode
the day he was captured.

Some idea of the immense collection of books, manuscripts, legal
documents, and literary works of General Palacio may be gained,
when I say that eight handsome rooms in this grand house are devoted
exclusively by him to his scientific and literary pursuits — the large

226

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

study upstairs, from which we descended by means of the winding
stairway, and seven rooms on the ground floor, running from the front
windows on the sidewalk, along the patio, far to the rear. On the
opposite side is the family theater, capable of seating two hundred
persons, beautifully arranged and decorated. The drop-curtain and
scenery are painted from native subjects. In the season a select com-
pany occupy the boards — sometimes varied by amateurs— and play to
crowded houses of friends.

THE SALA GRANDE IN THE PALACIO HOME.

In the rear zagua?t, a carriage is ever ready for the drive, while
immediately behind this is an exquisite fairy-like grotto, with its
fountain, creeping tropical vines and gorgeous flowers, distinctly visi-
ble from the sidewalk through the open doors. On one side are
various baths, and still beyond, sewing rooms ; while on the other
are the numerous servants' rooms, all neat and well kept. Beyond
these is the vast laundry, then the stables containing stalls for many
horses, all sleek and shiny, with vehicles of various kinds, the premises
extending until halted by the rear street.

It may be interesting to know that the number of servants con-

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES. 22/

stantly employed is thirty-five — among them three housekeepers — to
say nothing of many extra ones who come in on special occasions.
The family to be waited upon by this array of domestics consists of,
at most, six members.

Externally the mansion presents the semi-feudal appearance so
often seen here — a mass of solid, gray stone, indicating little of the
extent and magnificence of the interior.

The love of music permeates all classes, and is cultivated equally
by both sexes. Thoroughness is the rule, and memorizing is always
required ; the most difificult and prolonged recitals being rendered
with brilliant execution without the score or a break. When asked
to play, the musician complies at once, and if the guest expresses
pleasure, will continue playing indefinitely.

On marriage the beautiful art is not given up ; on the contrary, is
practiced quite as much as before. In some delightful homes I have
been agreeably entertained for hours at a time by the choicest
musical duets rendered by an elderly man and his wife, the sons and
daughters, and even the grandchildren, taking their places alternately
at the piano.

I heard but little classic music, but the opera is popular and un-
derstood by all. In this, public taste is quite critical, Italian opera
taking precedence. Opera boufle is regarded as highly immoral,
although the ballet is universally popular, and introduced between
the acts of grand opera. English opera is regarded as a compromise
between them. A young Mexican friend of mine quaintly classified
Italian opera as blanca (white or pure); English, color de rosa ; and
opera bouffe, niuy Colorado (highly colored).

An enterprising manager, not a great while since, attempted to
present on alternate nights grand opera and opera boufTe. On grand
opera nights every seat and box was filled with the wealth and fashion
of the capital, while on opera bouffe nights they sang to almost empty
houses. If any laxity of morals exists in private life, immoral and
corrupting plays are certainly discouraged on the boards.

The native airs breathe a passionate sweetness, uniting with the
15

228 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

tender minor tones the high staccato movement and the short, quick
rest — a style to be observed both in the voice and instrument.

A marked difference may be noted in the melodies of the plains
and low country and those of elevated and mountainous regions — the
former being soft and pathetic, while the latter breathe the exhila-
rating spirit of the hills.

The finely attuned national ear for music assists greatly in the
acquirement of foreign languages, for which their aptness is remark-
able. I have been in families where English, French, and Italian were
spoken quite as fluently as the native tongue. In this respect they
excel our own country people. Their linguistic culture is practical,
while our students generally neither have nor make opportunities for
speaking in foreign tongues.

Closely connected with music and languages is the poetical faculty,
which seems equally inherent. It comes out on any occasion, with
surprising readiness, in little tender sentimental effusions, or graceful
compliment — tone and gesture having added emphasis in delivery.

Diminutives are universally employed, and the cita never sounds
so sweetly as when murmured by infant lips in mamacita dind papacito
(dearest or darling mamma and papa). The names we are accustomed
to use in a formal manner sound sweet and pathetic in their simpler
adaptation, as heard in Mexican homes. Aunt Julia, in our prosaic
idiom, becomes Julita — pronounced Hulita, little Julia — tia (aunt)
being entirely omitted. Everybody is called by the Christian name,
regardless of age or position in society.

Nothing is more melodious in Mexican homes than the terms ie
and tu (thee and thou). The pronoun you, usted (written V.), is not
used in the family, nor with intimate friends, te and tu being ex-
pressive of confidence. I have been corrected by heads of families
for thoughtlessly addressing some of them SiS you, instead of placing
myself in their inner circle, sharing its most sacred privileges.

In the endearing expressions, ** Tu me quieres d tnif " (" Lovest thou
me?"), " Vo, te quiero d ti" ("Yes, I love thee"), the pronouns are
repeated for emphasis.

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES.

229

Another way of putting it is, "J/r qiicrcs tu ? " (" Lovest thou me ? "),
^^ Si, te quero'' ("Yes, I love thee"). Still other loving expressions
which are heard in Mexican homes every day arc, ^' Lus dc mis ojos''
(" Light of my eyes "), and " Idolo mio " (" My idol "), '' Micorazoncito "
(" My heart's treasure "), and " Vida inia " (" My life "), all having an
added zest by the speaker's tender manner.

In the baby language of mothers, nothing is sweeter than these

CORRIDOR IN THE PALACIO HOME.

expressions. Intonations vary in different localities. At the capital
the rising inflection is generally heard, the voice running on an up-
ward sliding scale — -the marked rising inflection — as no, Bncnd, with
pleasing effect.

Great delicacy is always exercised in speaking of ages. In one
part of the country, one a little advanced in years, or even quite old.
is called viejito (a little old). In the choice society of the capital thL
term is considered wanting in good taste ; un poco grande or grandicito

230 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

(a little large) is usually employed, but the phrase carries conviction
with it.

One highly commendable trait is, that Mexicans will not say dis-
agreeable things to you, either on their own account, or repeating
what others may have said. I have been told that the women are
much given to gossip ; but if true, I have not heard them, as they are
careful never to speak unkindly or slightingly of their countrywomen
in the presence of strangers. The possible failings of their own
people are carefully held in reserve ; and the most critical remark I
heard one woman make of another was, that she was " muy buena,
pero para pura buena no serve'' ("very good, but to be purely good,
and no more, was of no value"), a nice discrimination between nega-
tive and active goodness !

''Muy Mexicano" ("Very Mexican'') is another phrase used in
the same way, referring to something slow, or out of accord with the
feelings and sentiments of the speaker.

" Muy mal criado " (" A very bad servant ") expresses great con-
tempt. Sometimes, however, it is used humorously, as when a child
teases its mother, or a friend insists on the conferring of some little
favor at an inconvenient season.

In the arts of the toilet the seftorita is fully up with her Anglo-
Saxon sisters ; indeed, it may truthfully be said she is ahead of them.
Paint, whitening lotions, and dentrifices are used freely. But no
women excel them in the care of the hair, that " glory " of woman,
and its wonderful length, its silky, luxuriant softness, amply compen-
sate them for their pains.

Houses built before the days of modern conveniences are not pro-
vided with baths, but comfortable and luxurious public baths — warm
and cold — for all classes exist everywhere. It is here the seftorita, at
least once a week, uncoils her lovely tresses, and washes thoroughly
both hair and scalp, then, with towel pinned around her shoulders,
and hair flowing in unconfined ripples from crown to tip, goes through
the streets to her home with no more concealment than if returning
from church.

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES. 23 1

Sefloritas are universally known in plain English as chickens. If
very young, \.\\Q.y zxq pollitas (little chickens). If twenty or more years,
the graver and more prophetic term polla (grown or big chicken) is
applied.

An opportunity was given me of hearing an amusing adaptation
of the term :

A number of ladies were arranging to give an entertainment for
a charitable purpose. All had stated what they would contribute,
save one, who had remained silent throughout. But when a lull came
in the conversation, she quietly remarked she would bring Xhc pollas y
pollitas. The merriment spread like contagion, for she had three
marriageable daughters.

On another occasion, at a fashionable dinner party which I at-
tended at the capital, Guillermo Prieto was also a guest.

The venerable poet sat at the extreme end of the long table beside
a blooming sefiorita, who was evidently entertaining the old gentle-
man to the best of her ability. A charming, middle-aged seflora sat
near me, and when the conversation flagged, she turned and said,
naively, "■ Oye ! oye (hear! hear)! Guillermo ! You like ihosQ polli-
tas much better than the pollas / " To which he replied, "Natural-
mente (naturally), there is nothing prettier or sweeter than d. pollita ! "
An expression of taste which could not be described as national.

But these lovely pollitas never experience the pleasures of our
debutantes. From thirteen years of age they may be candidates for
matrimony, but such an event crowning their entrance into society
as a winter in Washington would be as foreign to their ideas and
impressions of real young ladyhood as their Romeo and Juliet love-
making from the balcony or barred windows to our young ladies. So
they are always out, and yet never out !

Solteras or doncellonas viejas is the term applied to old maids.
While no derogation attaches to this position, yet often much sport
is made at the expense of those who may in any way render them-
selves odious and disagreeable. "Muy fastidiosa'' ("very fastidious,**
or "a little difficult to please") is politely applied; or "Very

232 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

good to dress the saints," meaning, that they are always at church,
and, having nothing else to do, dressing saints is a proper occupa-
tion for them.

Thirty years are allowed a seftorita ere she is launched on that
monotonous soltera journey; and they are to be found as often in
wealthy as in plainer families.

Bachelors are quite common, and they also have their special
names. Sometimes solterones, at others, solterones perniciosos (bad
or pernicious unmarried men). A Mexican lady said to me, " Life
to the solterones is never bleak nor desolate. They keep up their
houses and have everything about them that contributes to their
happiness ! "

Young marriageable men are called gallinos, older ones, gallos
(young and old roosters). And those tireless, idle young men who
stand on the streets habitually, watching the sefloritas on their way to
mass or to shop, are called by the appropriate name of lagartijos
[lizards), because they are always in the sun.

Foreigners are not long in sorting these out from the multitude, as
they make it a rule to stare one out of countenance.

They compare with the idlers of all countries, and are not a whit

behind them in deportment and dress — even the eyeglass is not

wanting.

A natural and, it would seem, national source of pride to the

Mexican, is his small and elegantly formed foot, and, not satisfied
with its original graces of slender form and arched instep, he com-
presses its size by wearing tight-fitting, high-heeled, and pointed-toed
shoes.

Apropos of this little display of personal vanity, shared by both
the sexes, I may repeat what a lady of great culture and refinement
told me in plain words, that while her husband was handsome, good,
and kind, yet, had he not possessed the most perfect foot she ever saw,
never would she have married him !

The women are by no means migratory in their habits. Indeed,
with few exceptions, they do not travel in their own country. They

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES.

233

have no seaside resorts nor watering-places kept solely for recreation ;
the change to a hacienda or to a quiet village being the chief portion
of their knowledge and experience in that line.

The increased facilities for travel do not offer sufficient induce-
ments to them to leave their homes.

One charming woman, whose acquaintance I formed at Morelia,
said to me that she had never
been ten miles beyond More-
lia but once in her life. This
was a trip to the capital after
her marriage. Then she only
remained one day, which was
spent in weeping so violently,
and in entreating her liege lord
to take her home again, that
he was only too glad to do so
without delay.

The boarding-house, as it is
known to us, is entirely un-
known in Mexico, so that in
cases of financial difficulty or
other misfortune, ladies do not
assume the care and manage-
ment of such establishments.
I only know of one instance
where a lady, suddenly reduced
from affluence to poverty, had
recourse to this method of
gaining a livelihood. Now and
then one may encounter a
casa de huespedes, where fur-
nished rooms are rented, but
this is the extent of such busi-
ness by women. And it is safe

'■-^ia^r^

WASHSTAND IN A MEXICAN HOUSE.

234 FACF. TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

to estimate that scarcely one out of ten thousand sefioritas has ever
found herself inside either a hotel or boarding-house.

Indeed, so deeply rooted is the feeling against any kind of publi-
city in the domestic life, that it is not considered etiquette for a lady,
married or single, to visit in hotels.

Foreigners are attracted by the tender, kindly manner of the senor-
itas, and frequently choose their life partners among them. But,
though loyal and devoted wives, as is well known, the fewest instances
are on record where they have been successfully transplanted to
another soil. They will not quarrel to carry their point, but sooner
or later they will and must return to their native land. The women
of other countries may fill a wider sphere, but there is no climate nor
customs like their oM'n.

A parallel is found by transplanting the American woman to
Mexico, and the Mexican woman to the United States. The one
sighs over her lack of freedom, while with the other, the excess of
freedom is an untold burden. No charm or attraction can exist for
her beyond the barred window and the circumscribed limits of the
promenade, accompanied according to custom, by some female rela-
tive or servant.

The foreigner who contemplates seeking the hand of a sefiorita,
should first arrange all business matters in his own country, bid adieu
to kindred and friends ; for when the event takes place linking his fate
with that of the object of his affections, he must become in word and
deed a Mexican, and be one of the family in every relation.

One noble trait is exemplified in the life of the Mexican woman
who shares her worldly goods with either a foreigner or countryman.
He may bring into his house his parents, his aunts, and his cousins,
even as remote as the twenty-ninth cousin, and his wife will feel it
only her duty and pleasure to be kind and tender, dividing with
them her worldly possessions.

According to law, a girl is eligible for matrimony at fourteen. She
is then as fully developed as an American girl at eighteen. Maturing
thus early, marriage takes place, and from twenty-five to thirty-five, the

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES,

235

piquancy of youth waning, they arrive at a faded and premature age.
The dearth of intellectual pursuits and the climate do their part in the
metamorphosis.

The fine physical development among the women is particularly
noticeable at the capital. Their beauty, however, grows upon and
impresses one by degrees ; their glorious soft eyes, glossy black hair,
exquisitely shaped hands and arms and small feet are more admired
the longer we observe them.

It is a pleasure to chronicle the fact that the government is
now thoroughly aroused to the impor-
tance of giving educational advantages
to the excellent, honest, and kindly dis-
posed middle class. Nothing will tend
more to niake
Mexico strong
in herself and
the sooner
place her in
the foremost
ranks among
nations, than
the disposition
she now man-
ifests of being deeply interested in the education of the masses, and
especially in that of the women. Industrial and normal schools and
colleges are now in successful operation at many central points. In
these they receive not only a practical education, but also instruction
in the various branches of art by highly qualified masters.

Treated heretofore more like dolls, or ornamental adjuncts — and in
a state of dependence — now, without fear of misconstruction, they may
enter such avenues of art and industry as will support them independ-
ently. Every latent talent is being fostered and encouraged by the
administrators of the law. Poor young girls, as well as boys, are
pensioned by either their own State or the federal government, and

AN ORCHID.

236 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

only a few years more will witness an upward and onward progress-
iveness heretofore unknown.

At home, also, their range of accomplishments is extended.
Where formerly sefloritas employed themselves in lacework and em-
broidery, they now cut, fit, and make their own dresses with taste and
skill, copying closely European and American fashions, and taking
much pleasure in the selection of the various styles.

During my sojourn at the capital, one young seftorita graduated in
dentistry. She began at once assisting her father, who was a dentist,
in his ofifice, the fact being announced in all the leading daily papers.

Happily the class which most needs this aid and encouragement
is the one most benefited by it — the excellent, faithful, and hospitable
middle class.

It need not be inferred that husbands interdict their wives from
sharing intellectual enjoyments. Yet one — a distinguished man of
letters — remarked to me that it was all very well for American
women to walk along with the men in science and literature, but it
would never do for Mexican women to know any place aside from
the home, with its relation to husband and children. If so, they
would at once grow unhappy and discontented.

A Mexican gentleman, who had lived a great deal in the United
States, and appreciated the Americans as a people, freely admitted to
me that he had made the " double mistake of marrying two American
women." If this remark savored of a lack of gallantry, it bore, how-
ever, a general truth, for the races are not, as a rule, suited to each
other conjugally.

But some of the most majestic old dames it has ever been my
fortune to know are among the Mexican women. They step as if
descended directly from Montezuma, and the manner in which they
uphold the dignity of their homes is something well worth seeing.

In neither sex is the slightest effort made to conceal age. Even
young ladies on the shady side of an " uncertain age " do not seem
aware that the least derogation attaches to that fact, but with a quiet
unconcern state the exact number of their years.

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES. 237

Having so many servants, the lives of the women are much easier
with regard to household labors than with us. There is no hurry — no
necessity for it ; but, though custom yields to n^glig^ in the mornings,
sacques and skirts, loose low shoes, and no corsets, hence no incon-
venience as from the more formal toilet of our women, their
maladies are quite as numerous. The lack of exercise, and excessive
indulgence in rich, highly-spiced peppery food, may account for many
ailments.

Children sum up, generally, ten, twelve, and sometimes as many
as fifteen to eighteen in number, many not reaching maturity. In few
instances do the mothers nurse their babes, the wet-nurse being " the
power behind the throne."

I was agreeably disappointed, however, to see so few instan-
ces of personal deformity. Near-sightedness is prevalent all over
the country, and is accounted for by the excess of light out-
side and its deficiency, with lack of ventilation, in both homes and
schools.

Mexico is an earthly paradise for children. The little monarchs
hold high sway in the affections of the people; and from the moment
they see the light it is a long hey-day of enjoyment and child-play.
Expressions of the tenderest love are lavished on them without
affectation, whether in the street, the house, or the shop, and, regard-
less of how many may have preceded him, the new baby is hailed with
delight, and takes superior rank in the household.

No country can produce more marvelously beautiful, brighter,
or more precocious children. They are happy by nature, and, though
indisposed to quarrel with each other either in the house or street,
yet somehow they manage to assert their rights.

The childish prattle in the sweet baby Spanish is melody itself,
coming from these winning and most lovable little creatures. Beauti-
ful Alfonso, the baby boy of Sefiora Calderon — a little more than two
years old — came tapping at my door one day.

Opening it, I asked, " What do you want, precious one? " Taking
my hand and looking archly in my face, he said, with baby incorrect-

238

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

ness, " Sabo Ingles " (" I know English "). " Well, then," said I,

" speak to me in English."
" Gooch," he replied, laughing,
shaking his head, and, as I
caught him in my arms, pat-
ting me on the cheek. My
name was the only word he
knew, but he had rehearsed it
with his nurse until his pro-
nunciation was perfect. After
this, every visitor was made
aware of his proficiency in
English, the whole family en-
tering into his own enjoyment
of his knowledge. No won-
der these darlings are so little
under control when they
are so cunning and interest-
ing!

National tastes and char-
acteristics are early developed.
Among the first is, that noise of any kind — laughing, crying, and walk-
ing heavily — is rude and unbecoming.

Babies do not creep because always in the arms of the nurse, who
does the greater part towards amusing them. They are so tractable
that in sitting for a photograph they naturally take a graceful, easy
position, upon which even the artist cannot improve. The portrait of
Alfonso is an instance of this kind. I took him to the artist, and
without either of us touching him, he assumed the position as pre-
sented.

Clinging as they do to inbred traits, the universal habits of
all children exhibit themselves. If they are not given the drum-
sticks of the fowl, I have seen their great luminous orbs gather
moisture until tears would overflow in distress at the appropria-

UTTLE ALFONSO. " I KNOW ENGLISH. "

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES. 239

tion by some one else of this important appendage. No child is
excluded from the table or asked to wait ; even on ceremonious
occasions their places are reserved. They are admitted into the full
confidence of the family circle, and such interesting events as births,
marriages, and deaths are discussed in their presence with the utmost
freedom.

Boys begin to smoke about ten years of age, but never do they in-
dulge in the presence of their elders — not even an older brother. Few
games and but fewer outdoor sports have been provided for them ;
and until within late years, bicycles or gymnasiums were unknown.
But they are grand little horsemen, when fully equipped in the na-
tional dress; though sometimes rather grotesque when mounted
on a hard-mouthed " billy goat " instead of a horse, accompanied by
a train of boys. One rides, another leads, and still another
uses the lash. I have seen two boys on one " billy," and this
usually obstreperous animal yielded quite kindly to the caprices of
the riders.

Girls have quite as little diversion, and often I have seen them
playing self-invented games, in close imitation of church scenes — with
altar, candles, and swinging censers — the boys acting as priests, while
the girls, as nuns or plain worshipers, would file into the imaginary
church.

The home discipline is of the mildest. If a correction be necessary,
it comes in the form of an appeal, both parents showing tender leniency.
An infraction of the household laws brings no punishment from the
mother, and if persuasion and tears will not avail, the culprit goes free.
At school the discipline is of the same character. No scolding, no
correction or use of the rod is ever permitted. The laws of the
country are express and explicit on this point, and even a parent so
inclined could not grant this privilege to the teacher. But parents
and teachers vie with each other in inculcating all the laws of polite-
ness and courtesy.

I wish I could tell half I have seen of the graces and courtesies
of these children. In the Alameda, with kindly deference, they will

240 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

always yield to elderly and infirm persons their own cozy and shady
seats. On entering a sala, where there are few or many guests, these
exquisitely polite little gentlemen will go all around shaking hands
with every one present. They never break into the conversation, but
when addressed will modestly join in it ; then, wishing to retire, will
say, " With your kind permission," and again shaking hands, move
gracefully from the company. Girls are no less imbued with the same
spirit of courtesy.

A Mexican boy never thinks himself too near manhood to pay the
compliment to his mother of kissing her hand every time he comes
into her presence. But I have sometimes seen evidences of a double
motive in this pretty custom. Every one of these lads loves to pa-
tronize the df«/(C^ vender, and to do so he must keep in the good graces
of his mother. While he stoops to imprint a kiss upon her hand,
he whispers in her ear, " Give me a medio, dear mamma, I want some
dulccs." This appeal is never resisted.

Children are entertained by their mothers with an inexhaustible
supply of tales and legends. Kings and queens are generally the
subjects of these stories, and while their origin is Spanish, much
Mexican sentiment is ingeniously interwoven with them.

Something more must be said about the dear babies and their
clothing. In the Aztec country, baby's wardrobe is an unpretentious
affair. The custom prevails of supplying only a very few simple
articles. A square yard of flannel and one of muslin, hemmed
all around and edged with lace or embroidery, known as pafiale,
are wrapped around the infant's body and worn for three months,
when little drawers — calzoncillos — are substituted. Dresses are held
in reserve, to be worn on special occasions.

In wealthy families now, however, European wardrobes for babies
are used, yet many still adhere to the original mode. At night the
nurse wraps a small rebozo tightly about the arms and hands of the
little one. She explains that baby will become frightened at his
hands and scratch himself with his nails. In some families the rebozo
is kept wrapped around the little one's arms and hands, both by day

THE MEXICANS IN THEIR HOMES. 24 1

and night, so there is no danger of his taking fright at his own devel-
opment.

Poor little babes ! They do look so uncomfortable, inveigled in
the folds of the relentless rebozo, their bodies straightened out full
length, so that neither arms nor lesrs can toss about if colic or other
baby malady should overtake them.

CHAPTER VIII.

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS.

T is not my purpose in this connection
to dwell upon the past history or
present status of the Church in Mex-
ico, except as it is connected with the
actual lives of the people.

The propriety of blending social
events, household customs, and relig-
ious ceremonies, as one subject of
description, may seem questionable to
the uninitiated reader. But when it is
understood that the feast-days of the church are holidays for the peo-
ple, and that these feast-days are numerous, and without these holi-
days there would be but little social life, the harmony of these sub-
jects will be at once understood.

I have been assured by devoted Mexican Catholics, who have re-
sided both in the United States and in Europe, that the feast-days in
Mexico are, in a large measure, quite different from those observed in
other countries, while they are so numerous that to a stranger it
seems as if there is one for every day in the year.

The bold and uncompromising policy of Cortez left the Mex-
icans no alternative but to adopt the Christian religion, which
was made acceptable by the soothing influences of the early mis-
sionaries.

Then, too, the striking ceremonies of the Catholic Church, with its

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 243

grand language in an unknown tongue and its mysterious symbolism,
rich vestments of the priests, its lights, incense, and strange, unearthly
chants of the tonsured clergy, seemed to harmonize with the singular
rites of the pagans, though so different in spirit.

The transition from the native ceremonies to the ritual of the
Catholic Church was easy to a people who loved outward show and
symbolism ; and who were perhaps more attached to form and display
and mystical devotion, than to spiritual elevation and humane senti-
ments. But these remarks apply only to the primitive races who so
soon and readily adopted the purer faith taught by the Gospel, and
abandoned those horrible, sanguinary rites that characterized them as
pagans.

They have passed through many phases of mysterious and severe
misfortunes, but still they present evidences that their ancient tradi-
tions have not been wholly lost ; and at the present time dim traces
of them are manifested in their religious symbols. Generations
have glided by, with the tales of their sorrows, joys, and calamities ;
despotisms have held their iron sway ; some of the most magnificent
structures — relics of an art superior to our own — have passed away ;
another faith is theirs; but one may discern in the rites of catholicity,
as practiced to-day in Mexico, a tinge of the Indian worship of the
Aztecs. It is said that even recently garlands have been placed by
them on the idols in the court-yard of the National Museum, and
that also in the remote caves of the mountain regions the ancient
deities are still secretly worshiped.

This is not strange. We may well imagine some remote wilds,
where the old races still exist, with their endless legends and tradi-
tions ; where the light of Christianity has never beamed. In these
secluded fastnesses still dwell their old men and women, who keep
the young in awe of the grim deities their forefathers were wont to
worship.

The government of New Spain went on under the viceroyalty for

nearly three centuries. At last the War of Independence came, and

the yoke of foreign usurpation was thrown off. But the influence of
16

244 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

the old Church was thoroughly imbedded in the hearts of the people,
Mexico was free politically from a foreign power ; but, nurtured in
absolutism, the mastery of Church over every legal power was com-
plete. The two elements — that of religious domination and of civil
liberty — arrayed themselves against each other. The former was
allied with the most powerful ecclesiastical body in the world ; the
latter, though few in numbers, was of untiring zeal and determination.

The wealth of the Church had so accumulated that it owned all
the best property in the Republic, both in the city and country.
A clerical writer of good authority estimates this wealth to have
been 86i haciendas, or country estates, valued at $71,373,000, and
22,649 lots of city property, consisting of churches and convents,
valued at $113,241,530 — a total of $184,614,800.

Other estimates have been made giving an aggregate of the
Church wealth at $300,000,000; and, regardless of the correctness of
these estimates, this vast wealth was handled by the ecclesiastical
body, who were in every instance able business men.

The rupture of Church and State, and their complete divorcement,
came about by the ponderous weight of the former. It had gone on
gathering influence and power, until, like an over-full river, it broke its
bounds. The time in human economy had come when this event was
a necessity.

In 1857, Comonfort issued the edict that eventually laid the
Church power, strong as it was, trembling in the balance. But his
policy was not completely carried out until the iron hand and fearless
nerve of Juarez grasped the whole body politic, in 1867, on the fall of
the empire. After which period this vast property was applied to the
uses of the state and government. The cathedrals and churches were
sold or converted to public uses, and by courtesy only the clergy be-
came their occupants. Even the wearing of the clerical dress in the
streets was forbidden under penalty of fine and imprisonment.

Religious parades, which had before been so imposing and mag-
nificent, were suppressed.

Both sisters of charity and Jesuits were sent out of the country

EL FLOR DE LA NOCHE BUENO

CHRISTMAS FLOWER.

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 247

with theiv personnel dind property, and even the ringing of the church
bells was regulated by law.

The civil law was upheld in every particular, even in prescribing
all those holy sacraments which the Church has always held as
sacredly her own.

It registers births, performs the marriage ceremony, and buries the
dead. While the Church ceremony is not prohibited when desired, it
is legally superfluous, and without the civil law null and void.

But with all this curtailment of power, the Church has reached a
higher moral plane, and one of greater dignity. It has been purified
by fire. It required the blood of a pure Indian to bring to terms this
great power. It was unquestionably a bold stroke to have been made
by one man, with only at first a few adherents.

The government still watches closely the movements of the Church
party, which is represented by the cathedral, while the National
Palace is the domicile of the liberal party.

The soldiers marching to and fro in front of the latter furnish a
solemn warning that not even a bell may be rung in those grand
towers, if any attempt be made to override the civil authority.

It should be, and no doubt is, the earnest desire of every Catholic
that the Church in Mexico be placed on the same footing as that in
the United States. At present there are many indications pointing
to this end.

The November feasts, beginning with All Saints' Day, were the
first of interest that I witnessed, and the brilliant capital never saw a
finer inauguration of these festivities. The rainy season was ended,
the atmosphere was bracing, as is always the case at that time of the
year, and these happy effects harmonized with the smiling faces of
the multitude, as they moved back and forth, bearing in their hands
flowers as lovely and delicately tinted as though blushing from the
kisses of angels.

Strains of delightful music were wafted to my ears upon the early
morning air from organ and choir, and the stronger and more martial
notes of stringed and brass instruments. Hundreds, even thousands.

248 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

of women and children in their best clothes wended their way to the
various churches. Business was suspended, even the school children
having a holiday ; though the public schools, fostered by the govern-
ment, make no allowance for holidays in their regulations.

The Alameda, the great central figure of every outdoor social
event, presented a picture that the mind loves to recall. A more en-
chanting scene was never opened to the appreciative eye in even the
gay and beautiful realms of Fairy Land. In splendor it recalled
"The golden prime of good Haroun al Raschid."

The great central pavilion was illuminated by iridescent lights,
which were rendered more fairy-like and bewitching by numerous
moss-draped mirrors, Chinese lanterns, brilliant growing plants, the
magnificent fountain with its silvery showers, and the basin with its
dainty, bright-colored fishes, streamers and flags with the national
ensign, the whole making a gorgeous Oriental picture, vibrating under
the modern electric light.

The Zapadores, of Exposition fame, assisted by other bands, played
alternately on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, and on special feast-
days. At night grand concerts took place, which were enjoyed by
the most cultured and elegant society. Occasionally benefits were
given for charitable purposes.

The play of Don Juan Tenorio, that is known throughout Spain
and Spanish America, comes in among the November celebrations,
being placed on the boards on All Souls' Day, and is kept there as
long as public taste approves.

But to return to the feast. The highest testimonials of remem-
brance were on that day given to the beloved dead. Every cemetery
was filled to its utmost capacity with mourning relatives and friends.
The humblest grave at Dolores (cemetery of the poor) was not for-
gotten, and at the French cemetery the scene was most impressive.
The clergy celebrated mass with full orchestral accompaniment ; lights
burned everywhere, while the glorious tropical sunshine was shut out
by the towering forest and ornamental shade trees.

Pictures of deceased friends and relatives were placed at the head-

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 249

stones, while garlands, wreaths, and floral emblems encircled them,
almost concealing the tomb ; and as the priest passed from grave to
grave, with solemn intonation and pathetic music, there were few dry-
eyes in that vast concourse. For whether we be in a foreign land or
on our own soil, any tribute to the lost ones, even in an unknown
tongue, unlooses the pent-up, silent grief of our hearts, and the pangs
of to-day are those of long ago. We "weep with those who weep."
Our tears are for them, and for ourselves, and for the griefs of human-
ity. It is a recognition of the universal brotherhood — that " touch of
nature " which " makes the whole world kin."

The most touching mass that I witnessed that day in the French
cemetery was celebrated before a monument that had been erected
to the memory of " All the mothers and the fathers who have died in
other lands, when separated from their children, who lived in far-off
Mexico."

The American dead were not forgotten, and the last resting-places
of the humble and unfortunate, as well as the wealthy and influential,
were over-laid with lovely floral tributes.

The Alameda, with its indescribable attractions, continues nightly,
throughout the month, to be filled with an elegantly dressed crowd,
who revel in this gorgeous and bewildering realm of beauty. The
holiday look everywhere is kept up in anticipation of the most uni-
versally celebrated of all the feast-days of the country, that of the
Virgin de Guadalupe — the patron saint of Mexico — which takes place
on the 1 2th of December.

She is venerated in all Spanish-America, and the story of her
mysterious appearance to Juan Diego is firmly believed by thou-
sands of every grade and class. The most ignorant Indian may not
know of the President, Congress, or machinery of government, but he
is sure to be well informed as to the merits of " Our Lady of Guada-
lupe." No doubt the tradition with its fascinating sentiment has been
the means of inducing many wandering and scattered tribes of
Indians to enlist themselves in the service of the Church.

We are told that when the patriot Hidalgo placed the image of

2^0

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

the Virgin Guadalupe on his banner, the royalists bitterly persecuted
those who worshiped at her shrine ; and at once stamped on their
own banners the representation of the Spanish Virgin, '^ Nuestra Sen-
ora de los Remediosy

These two ladies, as representing the different causes, were bitter
rivals throughout the War of Independence. But the native blood
and determination were the stronger, and when Augustin de Iturbide
became Emperor, the Indian Virgin resumed the absolute sovereign-
ty which she this day holds. So dear is her name that thousands of
children are annually christened by it.

For days before the inauguration of the festivities in honor of
Guadalupe, both the capital and the highways leading to this sacred
shrine were alive with people making preparations for the occasion.
Platforms to be occupied by bands of music were erected at every

prominent street corner, and every garden
^x\ A plaza showed signs that something un-
usual Was about to transpire.

Indians had tramped a thousand or more
miles in order to be present. They had
brought with them the various wares and
products of their own labor peculiar to their respective sections, and
sold them through the streets— among them many articles of rare,
beautiful, and skillful workmanship.

In the Zocalo the palm huts and rush-covered booths suggested an
affinity between the native Indian and the banks of the Nile, but the
novelty and variety of the surroundings
precluded prolonged speculation. The
bazars, shaded by cypress boughs, were
presided over by Indian maidens endowed
with great versatility of talent and with
an abundant supply of small talk for
every customer. Their stock in trade was
unique — Nascimicntos, representing the
birth of Christ, in figures of wax, candy,

READY FOR THE FIESTA.

AN ORCHID WITH HINK CENTER.

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 2^1

and clay being the principal ones, though one may also find many
other specimens of curious and ingenious handicraft.

Everything and everybody took on a holiday look in their new
clothes, which none had omitted except the Indians. The azoteas
were also enlivened by thousands of people, who enjoyed the brilliant
display of pyrotechnics, and every imaginable species of illumina-
tion.

A party of Americans of which I was one, with a few Mexican
friends, went to Guadalupe the night before the grand fiesta was to
take place. To adequately describe the scene would require the pen
of a Dickens. The poor, the lame, the halt, the blind had been here
congregated, as well as the hale and hearty, with \\\q.\x petates, vessels
of pottery and other things needful for the occasion. While the archi-
tectural beauty of the cathedral was displayed, the grotesquely attired
multitude was also thrown into relief.

Inside the inclosure of the church the stillness of death marked
the sleeping multitude. Overcome, perhaps, by the fatigue of the long
journey from their homes, hundreds of women and children slept
peacefully, undisturbed by the gaze of the curious foreigners who
stepped over them to enter the portals of the cathedral.

It seemed to me that hundreds of poor women, wrapped only in
their rebozos, with occasionally a blanket, were asleep, and in their im-
movable postures transfixed to mother earth. Now and then one
might be seen upon her knees, devoutly offering up the prayers of her
faith, while tears stole gently down the weather-beaten faces of others.
Here as everywhere, making himself conspicuous and well known, was
the ever-present, insatiable papoose.

Within the cathedral, the soft tones of the organ, aided and en-
hanced by the youthful voices of the choristers, filled the vast temple
with solemn harmony.

An indescribable multitude of worshipers had assembled there,
among whom Indian women on their knees, with candles in their
hands, and children strapped to their backs, moved down the grand
old aisles murmuring their '^Ave Marias^

252 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

A contrasting scene was presented as we passed through the great
doorway on our way out. Two men — one of them very old, with a
pair of green spectacles which looked as if made by a blacksmith —
were deeply engaged in singing from a home-manufactured book, as
I discovered by peeping over, a rude chant, without rhyme, reason,
time, tune, or ending. They sang with gusto, oblivious of the interest
with which we regarded them, and each utterly regardless of what the
other was singing. It was the strangest duet that was ever framed —
two cracked voices, in utter discord, the singers as serious as pictured
saints. The faces of the men, the spectacles, the book, the rattling
discord of the duet, seen and heard by the dim light of a tallow dip,
flickering in the December wind, formed a woe-begone scene that
should be painted by a Hogarth.

The chapel on the hill of Tepayac can be reached only by a tire-
some tramp up, perhaps, two hundred steps, cut in the side of the
mountain, and here we were held in unbroken admiration of the scene
below. The valley, bathed in the chastened light of a glorious full
moon, lay serenely at our feet and stretched beyond to its mountain
limits in the dim distance. The air was sweet, balmy and refreshing,
even on that mid-December night. All this was the handiwork of
nature in her sublimest moods. But what a contrast when we turned to
the \\\.i\& plaza in front of the grand cathedral and beheld the multi-
tudinous assemblage of human beings on grand parade, in fatigue
suits and undress uniforms! True, the mellow moonlight was over
them, as over us ; but nearer were the flare of torches ; the flickering
of camp-fires, by the lights of which the crowds moved about like
characters in pantomime, and with the Babel of voices, the songs of
the Indians, the fire-crackers and sky-rockets, suggested to us on the
height, instead of a vast religious congregation, rather a demoniacal
pandemonium. Now and again the swelling notes of the organ were
heard above the din, but these were soon lost in the pealing of bells
from the towers as they revolved rapidly in the gay lights of the
national colors, until the valley was filled with their deep-toned utter-
ances.

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS.

253

We went down the steps and were soon lost in the variegated con-
course, but our interest was undiminished. Confronted on every hand
by gambling booths, tents, palm huts, and a motley multitude, cook-
ing, eating and drinking, to open the way for our exit required the
strength of a Hercules. We had glimpses of men and women in the
booths who played on harp, guitar, and bandolin, and if their faces

A FEW OF THOSE WHO ATTENDED THE FKAST OF GUADALUPE.

had been carved from wood or stone, they could not have been more
immobile or expressionless.

The defects, by night-time, in a picture so realistic, were concealed
in a measure by the glamour of moonlight and torchlight, but the
longing of unsatisfied human nature urged us to return on Sun-
day afternoon to take a more prosaic view of it in the broad, open
daylight. It was a cruel and a crucial test. An army of beggars in

254 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

rags, hundreds of children — faces unwashed, hair unkempt — sallied
around, gnawing on great chunks of meat, playing in huge basins of
soup, scooping up frijoles v^'xth. tortillas, or scrca.\w'\ng2ind fighting with
the myriads of dogs. Gambling was in full force ; women were cook-
ing in every way known from the time of Adam, selling everything,
screaming their prices, and, like the tireless venders they are, seldom
failing to secure a purchaser. Some presided in booths, gayly lined
with fruits and flowers, and danced, sang, and patronized you, while
generously overflowing with pulque. The air was filled with an indis-
criminate jangle of most unearthly sounds, from a variety of very
earthly instruments, which, with the dust, the odor of meat cooking
and the fumes from the crowd added, made us hurry along to the
chapel on the hill, where a treat was in store for us. The Indians
from the fastnesses of the Sierras, in the far north were to dance in
their peculiar costumes.

Animated by insatiable curiosity, and anxious to witness the entire
ceremonials, I pressed through the crowd of pobres to the inner circle.
What a scene ! The wildest, most fantastically decked beings that
mortal eye ever beheld were in the inner space. The old men, adults,
and boys, with their immense panaches of variegated colors that tow-
ered to startling height ; their curiously wrought dresses that were
strongly marked with the national colors, somewhat resembling the
kilt of the Scottish highlanders ; their ornamented moccasins ; the
women and little girls with their curious masks of coarse gauze, in
black and white, crowned with immense wreaths of feathers, of every
variety, intermingled with flashing tinsels, with tawdry dresses of
many colors, and in fashion not unlike the kilt of the men and boys,
made a scene that was grotesque and fantastic beyond description.
Then the dance ! They formed circles — the men on the outer circle
and the women on the first inner circle — and again other circles of
the younger Indians of both sexes, forming one within the other.
The everlasting jangle and trum-trum of the ghastly jarana covered
with the skin of an armadillo, looking like an exhumed skeleton, with
the finery of flaunting ribbons floating around it, its harsh notes min-

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. ^S7

gling with the drowning wail of the wild musician who played as
though in a frenzy, were in keeping with the whole scene. The circles,
with all their varied colors, danced in opposite directions with a slow,
bouncing step that was half a waltz, half minuet, and as they pro-
ceeded they grew more excited — more frenzied — the musician seem-
ingly more infused with his awful duty, and the dancers stepping
higher and highef, the circles wheeling more rapidly, until the ear was
overpowered and the eye confused with the endless changes of faces,
colors, and sounds. It was the wildest, most mournful dance that
mortal could invent ; and it seemed as if the souls of the devotees
were in the movement. It was a sort of paroxysm of physical devo-
tion, and seemed to exhaust its votaries.

Having concluded the dance to the honor and glory of Guadalupe,
they filed into the church chanting a low, monotonous hymn. I was
the first to enter after them, followed closely by my friends. When
they reached the altar, where a large picture of the Virgin was sus-

pended, all dropped down on their knees in regular lines of fours,
and began crossing themselves and murmuring their pater-nosters.
Catching the spirit of the occasion, and unwilling to wound their
acute religious sensibilities by the close proximity of idle sight-seers,
we followed their example and knelt for a few moments. But so ab-
sorbed were the devotees, or so natural our movements, that we
remained unnoticed among the worshipers.

The man who played on \}ci&jarana (harana) recited prayers, the
others responding. After this they sang a litany, accompanied
by low moaning sounds, as if in anguish of spirit, while every
eye was fixed steadily upon the patron saint in mute appeal, and
tears streamed spontaneously down these bronzed and hard-used
faces.

After half an hour thus spent upon their knees, they arose, and
still accompanied by the strange music from the ghastly instrument,
that seemed to have taken on a more unearthly character, moved
backward, making a low courtesy at each step, and, as they filed out
noiselessly in their strange tongue, sang in chorus :

258 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

" From Heaven she descended,
Triumphant and glorious,
To favor us —
La Guadalupana.

II.

" Farewell, Guadalupe !
Queen of the Indians !
Our life is Thine,
This kingdom is Thine.

III.

" Farewell, Guadalupe !
Queen of the Indians !
We who leave you to-day
Know not who may come again."

When they withdrew from the church, our party following closely,
the dancing was resumed with added fervor. Before I was aware of
the fact, my feet were going up and down, out and around, in imita-
tion of the Indians, and greatly to the amusement of my friends and
the spectators, some exclaiming, *' Que chula ! Mira la niiia bai-
landa! " (*' How pretty ! Look at the child dancing! ") which broke
the spell, recalled me to myself, and joining my party, we went down
the hill. But before we had gone down ten of the almost countless
steps, one of the most picturesquely attired of all the Indians was
walking by my side, making a bargain with me for the sale of his
crown and feathers-
While the scene I had just witnessed had, at times, an effect to
excite merriment, the contrary feeling of sadness and almost rever-
ence prevailed. I could not but feel awe in the presence of those
dark children of the wild mountains as they performed their mystical
devotions and sang the rude barbaric songs that had in their tones
the strangeness of another world. They were so earnest, so devout,
so loving to the Mother of the shrine, and their grief so deep, when

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 259

they plaintively looked on her image, and bowed in a sorrowing fare-
well, that they excited a sympathetic feeling in the coldest heart.

I was forcibly reminded of the lines of our great American poet,
who so fully appreciated the mystery of Indian character, religion,
and tradition :

" Ye whose hearts are fresh and simple.
Who have faith in God and Nature,
Who beheve, that in all ages
Every human heart is human.
That in even savage bosoms
There are longings, yearnings, strivings,
For the good they comprehend not.
That the feeble hands and helpless,
Groping blindly in the darkness.
Touch God's right hand in that darkness,
And are lifted up and strengthened."

At the sacred shrine of Guadalupe, eight days after the feast has
been duly celebrated by the Indians and common people, the wealth,
beauty, and fashion of the capital wend their way thither to tender
their renewed obligations to the patron saint.

I was a guest at a sumptuous celebration in honor of the Seftora
Dofia Guadalupe Bros, who invited me to participate in the cere-
monies and festivities of her dia de santa.

At seven o'clock in the morning mass was celebrated in the chapel,
with the administration of the Holy Communion, followed by an im-
pressive sermon from the young cura of the church of Santa Vera
Cruz — Daniel Escoban A full orchestra dispensed the sweet and
solemn strains of Mozart.

Many distinguished society people were there, among them the
wife and daughters of General Corona. The ladies all wore black
dresses with lace mantillas.

The numerous lighted tapers were gifts from foundling and orphan
institutions, of which the Seftora Dofla Guadalupe is a benefactress.
All were deeply moved by the solemnity of the services, the more

26o FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

evidently so that their noble hostess and relative was weak and in-
firm in health.

After mass a light breakfast was served in the grand dining-room,
consisting of coffee, chocolate, and breads in great variety. The
•sumptuous and elaborate dinner took place at three o'clock in the
afternoon. The orchestra in the corridor, supplemented by the sing-
ing of birds in the aviary, filled up the pauses with sweet sounds.
Covers were laid for a hundred guests, the ^lite of society, among
them many of the most distinguished men in Mexico — writers, orators,
statesmen — including Altamirano and the venerable Guillermo Prieto.

In the evening a brilliant ball was given in the sala grande, and for
several days dinners and balls and general rejoicings followed. The
gifts received by the Doila Guadalupe were numerous and elegant,
and had the additional charm, in most instances, of being useful, hand-
wrought articles of every imaginable kind. One chair alone, the gift
of Dofia Josefina, had required six months to embroider.

General Palacio and wife, the noble Josefina, gave their aunt a
funcion particular, in the way of a theatrical performance in the
house, which was again a brilliant affair. Three short plays were pre-
sented, a melodrama, a tragedy, and a comedy.

The players were amateurs, friends of the family, and acquitted
themselves admirably. I was particularly impressed by the talent
displayed by a young comedian, Francisco Cardona, who continually
brought down the house with his hits on the times.

The feasts of Guadalupe at Morelia were unusually brilliant.
Thousands of the faithful attended the matins in the cathedral The
houses were decorated and the pyrotechnical display was very fine.
At sunset,, and as soon as the bells chimed, an allegorical car, repre-
senting the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe, started through
the principal street from the portico of the cathedral toward the San
Diego Church, followed by great crowds. Fireworks crossed the sky,
giving it the appearance of a dome of fire.

In Queretaro these feasts were equally splendid. The city was con-
verted into a great garden. Triumphal arches spanned the streets.

BITS FROM GUADALUPE.

M-KaivSi

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 263

The capitol was covered with fluttering streamers, banners and bunt-
ing of tri-color, stretched from balcony to balcony, from post to post
and from roof to roof. At night the illumination was general. Quere-
taro seemed wrapped in a mantle of fire. The towers of its church
and the roofs of its highest buildings were crowded with flames of dif-
ferent colors that oscillated in the winds. Fireworks were kept up ,
till midnight.

A Mexican Christmas is very unlike one in the United States.
No merry jingle of sleigh-bells is heard in this sunny land where
the rigors of winter are unknown, and the few lofty peaks, where
alone snow is ever seen, would hardly tempt the most adventurous
tobogganist.

As there are no chimneys, Santa Claus is deprived of his legitimate
and time-honored entrance into households, so the delightful and
immemorial custom of hanging up stockings is unknown to Mexican
children. But perhaps they enjoy themselves quite as much after their
own fashion as ours do. One circumstance in their favor is the long-
continued celebration, which, beginning on the evening of the 17th of
December and continuing till New-Year's Day, is one long, delightful
jubilee.

The celebrations in honor of Guadalupe extend from the 12th un-
til the posadas, or nine days' festivities. The last prayers on the lips
of the faithful and the last tones from organ and choir in praise of the
patron saint, hardly die away ere the Christmas rejoicings begin.

The word posada signifies an inn, and the whole observance is a
relic bequeathed by the Spaniards. The celebration is limited almost
exclusively to the capital and the larger cities, and may be considered
more as a social feature than belonging specially to the Church —
though really combining the elements of both.

It is a reminder of the Nativity, based on the Gospel narrative, but
with additions. When Caesar Augustus issued the decree that " all
the world should be taxed," the Virgin and Joseph came from Galilee
to Judea to enroll their names for taxation. Bethlehem, their city,
was so full of people from all parts of the world that they wandered

264 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS,

about for nine days, without finding admittance in either hotel or
private house. As nothing better offered, they at last took refuge in
a manger, where the Saviour was born.

The first act of the posada represents the journey of the Virgin
Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and the difficulties
they experienced in finding shelter. The family and invited guests
march in procession through halls and around corridors, holding in
their hands lighted tapers and singing solemn litanies. Before the
procession, the figures of Mary and Joseph are borne along by ser-
vants or young boys. Each door they pass is knocked upon, but
no answer or invitation to enter is given, and so the procession con-
tinues to move around, singing and knocking, until, at last, a door is
opened, when they all enter and mass is said and hymns are sung with
all possible solemnity, after which the other interesting features of
X}s\^ posada are presented, as hereafter related. Sometimes a burro is
introduced to represent the faithful animal that carried the holy
family in their journeyings.

All over the city is heard the litany of t\\.Q posadas, sung in a hun-
dred homes, as the pilgrimages wind in and out of the rooms and
round the improvised shrines. Venetian lights hang in the patios, and
fireworks blaze skyward in every direction. One of the most interest-
ing features is the infantile resort set up in the southern part of the
plaza. The Zocalo is a bewitching place ; lights flash through the
branches of pine and cypress, and the place is alive with children of
the first families of Mexico.

The breaking of the pinate is the chief sport of the posada. The
pinate is an oval-shaped, earthen jar, handsomely decorated and cov-
ered with bright ornaments, tinsel, gay flowers, and flaunting stream-
ers of tissue paper. The common people are experts in the manufacture
of these curious objects, and when a vender of them is seen peram-
bulating the streets, it is worth while stopping to examine his stock in
trade. There are turkeys, horses, birds, monkeys — in fact, every beast,
bird or fowl of the air that is known. In addition, there are chil-
dren almost life-sized, and even brides, with the trained dress, veil and

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS.

265

orange blossoms. But oh ! the hapless fate of these earthen brides !
They are soon beaten and smashed into atoms by the fun-loving crowd.
The holy figures are left in the chapel after the litanies are
ended, and then, either in the patio or a room selected for the pur-
pose, the fun of breaking the pinate begins. It is suspended from the
ceiling, and each person desiring to take part is, in turn, blindfolded.

HIS STOCK IN TRADE OF GAY PiRaTES.

Armed with a long pole, he proceeds to strike the swinging pinate.
Often a dozen people are blindfolded before the final crash comes, and
the dulces go rattling over the floor. Then such racing and chasing !
The first posada that I attended was impromptu without the pro-
cession, litany, or Mary and Joseph ; the pinate was a monkey, and
my young Mexican friends insisted I should be the one to break it.
Being duly blindfolded, and armed with a long pole, while the crowd

266 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

of Spanish-speaking people looked on, asserting that I could and would
not fail in the effort, I set confidently about my task. But no sound
came of broken crockerj'^ or falling dukes.

The rule was, that every one should have three trials. After the
third stroke imagine my chagrin, when the handkerchief was removed,
to see the monkey above my head, slowly descending, grinning and
wriggling his tail. A wild and clamorous burst of laughter went up
when I discovered the trick. They insisted that I should have
another stroke at his monkeyship ; so, acting on the rule, " If at first
you don't succeed," blindfolded and pole in hand, I advanced, and,
with one vigorous stroke, shivered it, amid shouts of laughter and
rounds of applause. No dukes were ever so sweet to me !

A happy event for me was an invitation from General Palacio's
household to attend the posadas in their house, affording me the
opportunity of witnessing a distinctively national custom in all its
true elegance.

Mary and Joseph were represented by two wax figures, placed
upon a flower-wreathed, moss-embowered vehicle, made for the
purpose, and propelled by an enthusiastic youth. The procession,
consisting of the family and invited guests, formed on the corridor,
which had been profusely decorated for the occasion. 'Y'\\q posada
began with the singing of a hymn, in which all participated with due
solemnity. We marched around the corridor, with candles in our
hands, preceded by the images, knocking at a door each time, but
were always refused admittance by some one inside the rooms. At
last we knocked at the chapel door, where we sang a petition, as if
Mary and Joseph themselves were imploring admittance. Questions
from within called forth the natural responses from the wayfarers
without, who sang, '"The night is cold and dark, and the woman who
seeks a night's lodgings is the Queen of Heaven, having not where to
lay her head."

The door at once opened, the weary pair entered, and the proces-
sion moved into the chapel singing a ringing anthem, which to me
had the spirit of our ever-familiar " All hail the power." The litany

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 267

and prayers followed, after which we went down stairs to the theater,
where the fun and merrymaking began in earnest, leaving Mary and
Joseph alone in the chapel.

Once seated in the theater, two of the gentlemen guests, dressed in
the uniforms of gcns-d' amies, presented themselves, bearing silver
trays — one loaded with brilliant badges in the national colors, and the
other with handsome finger rings, ornamented with settings of various
stones. These badges and rings were passed to each guest with the
most courtly grace by the pompous, sham getis-d'armes, who could ill
conceal a smile on their sober faces. My ring was of seed-pearls and
sapphires.

A long chit-chat followed, as we adorned ourselves with badges
and compared ringSc The ladies were seated in a circle, and the men
passed around in groups, or singly, and all being acquainted, the live-
liest sallies and repartee were heard on every side, and good humor
and mirth to overflowing filled every heart.

At length a bell rings, the curtain rises, and an enchanting scene
greets our wondering gaze : a vine-embowered stage covered with a
wealth of tropical plants and flowers ; mossy grottoes, sparkling
fountains and mimic cascades, which seem a part of nature's own
handiwork; ornaments of precious metals wrought in most elaborate
patterns, gorgeously attired characters ; all under the blaze of the
dazzling lights, form a scene which might have been produced by the
Genii of Aladdin's Lamp.

Two gentlemen in costumes of the time of Louis XIV., richly
overlaid with gold and silver embroidery, were discovered. One was
dressed in blue coat, with white knee-breeches, while the colors of the
other were pink and cream color. Both wore flowing, curled wigs.
They stood on opposite sides of a richly carved table, on which
was a glittering display of magnificently wrought silver, comprising
not only the plate of the Palacio family, but also the service pre-
sented by the Emperor of Austria. Two servants dressed as pages in
satin suits, wigged and powdered, stood near the cavaliers, and with
profound respect presented salvers loaded with fruits and flowers.

268 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

The tableau was broken by the cavaliers and pages passing down
from the stage and serving each guest with liqueurs and wines in tiny-
glasses, and delicious sweets prepared in the household.

H'Wx's, Posada sprang from the fertile brain of the General himself,
and all the actors therein were members of the household and invited
guests. He proved himself an adroit " stage manager," as few
of the participants knew the extent of the varied and humorous
programme.

Two young ladies of the household, dressed as nuns, then presented
us with those curious and grotesque rag dolls — the invention of the
natives — almost as large as real babies.

We had scarcely recovered from the effects produced on our risi«
bles by the dolls, when the gens-d' amies entered bearing trays. On
one, dainty little parcels were arranged, tied up most artistically in
bright-colored silk handkerchiefs. The other contained lovely bou-
quets and boutomiieres, and cornucopias of what we supposed to be
sugar plums, but on our opening them proved to be hair-pins ! The
silken bundles enveloped the homely peanut and tojocotes, the most
insipid fruit in Mexico.

Thus did our genial host keep us constantly amused and enter-
tained with his rapid and ingenious transitions from the grand and
gorgeous to the mirth-provoking and ridiculous.

One of the elegant courtiers who figured upon the stage, came
to me at this moment stating that in the patio there was another
Posada of a still more interesting nature, and he wanted me to witness
it. We there found assembled a crowd of excited children with the
servants of the household, in addition to those who came with the
guests, all eagerly enjoying the sport of breaking the pinate, which
was in the form and about the size of a five-year-old girl. This figure
was clothed in a white dress of some diaphanous material decked with
tinsel ; long black hair, plaited and tied with ribbon, hung down her
back. Suspended by wires she swung in mid-air, calmly unconscious
of the severe castigation in store for her. I was politely invited to
join in the drubbing, but all my efforts failed to demolish her. When

FAS'J S AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 269

she finally became dismembered, I was presented with the legs to take
off as souvenirs of the occasion.

On our return to the theatre we heard in the distance a peculiar
music. As it approached, the unusual sounds were accounted for by
the appearance of a band of forlornly dressed Aztecs with their ancient
musical instruments, followed by a train of attendants of the same
race. In the rear came a hand-wagon laden with boxes of bonbons,
fruits and sweets. When this singular band entered the brilliantly
illuminated theater, the contrast excited boundless merriment. Our
host appeared at the door and was greeted with shouts, when he
entered and made a humorous little speech. The Indians continued
their ear-splitting strains in stolid impassivity, apparently quite un-
conscious of the grandeur of their surroundings. To look on their
emotionless and expressionless faces would extract a smile from an
Egyptian mummy.

At this juncture General Palacio whispered in my ear that very
soon he intended to give an entertainment mas serio (of a more
dignified nature), in order that I might witness in his own house
every form of social life known to the capital. The VeladaLite-
raria^ mentioned in the chapter on Mexican Literature, will give some
idea of the elegance of this convivial reunion.

The scenes were interspersed with dancing, and now the witching
strains of the danza again rose from the orchestra, and away went the
gay sefioritas and caballeros, responsive to its intoxicating measures.

This ended, again the curtain rose and our eyes were greeted by
the representation of statuary by several of the gentlemen guests.
Their superb physique, clad in stockinet, posed in the most graceful
manner, imitated to perfection the sculptured forms of the Dying
Gladiator, Brutus and the Conspirators, and many other classic and
historical groups.

A sefiorita then entered, dressed in one of the prettiest cos-
tumes of the country, called La china Poblana.^ Nothing could have

* Described in chapter on " The Common People."

270

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

been more striking and brilliant or more becoming to her dark,
rich beauty. A bright crimson skirt, embroidered with white,

reached partly to the waist, where
it was supplemented by an upper por-
tion of green. The bodice was simply
a white chemise, exquisitely wrought,
leaving neck and arms bare. Around
her form was twined in graceful fash-
ion a silken rebozo, combining in its
gay stripes the national colors which
marked the rest of her costume. Green
slippers were on her dainty feet, and
white silk stockings showed to where
the petticoat began below the knee.
She was a harmony in red, white, and
green — a patriotic symphony.

She held one end of a long pole,
while a friend, also in national costume,
held the other. Dozens of pretty little
baskets decked off with gay ribbons
were suspended from the pole. Each
guest was given one, nobody suspecting
its contents, until alive chicken made its presence known by fluttering
in its futile efforts to escape.

At that moment General Palacio appeared at the door, when the
company greeted him with much applause, singing out, " Long live
Riva, Riva Palacio ! "

The next scene revealed to us a single carved column, surmounted
by a richly ornate capital. It seemed singular, and we wondered
what it meant after the splendid scenes we had just witnessed. Sud^
denly, as by magic, a swarm of mocking-birds emerged through the
top of the column, each decorated with ribbons of the national colors,
and fluttered through the hall.

Little shrieks of delight went up from the ladies, and all eagerly

THE PRETTY " CHINA POBLANA. "

J^'ASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 2/1

pursued the frightened birds, making captures. Order being restored,
we turned our eyes again to the stage to behold the mysterious column
slowly opening, revealing to our astonished vision exquisite articles
of vcrtu, bric-k-brac, curios, and magnificent ornaments of every de-
scription, all glittering against a crimson background. These were
distributed as regalos to the guests.

, The entertainment closed with z. grande finale. Upon the stage
were assembled in one heterogeneous but effective tableau, gentle-
men of the court, nuns, La bonita china Poblana, pages, flowers, silver,
grotto, and, in the background, our genial host. This was the prelude
to a recherchd collation in the comedor grande.

Dancing was kept up until simrise, but those of us who reluctantly
withdrew were gently reminded by our host that we were expected to
carry home our chickens.

On that glorious Mexican, moonlit night, with all our bundles,
regalos, and chickens squawking at every step, we must have looked
like the remnant of a Mardi Gras procession, as our figures were
thrown full length on the broad street in exaggerated silhouette.

Posadas on so grand a scale are given in comparatively few houses.
But the litanies, wax figures and procession are generally a part of the
programme, varying according to means or taste.

Every night for more than a month, and for a month longer, at
regular intervals, in this hospitable mansion, entertainments of
various kinds were given — grand balls, dinners, and brilliant the-
atricals. My invitations were as numerous as the entertainments,
where, whenever possible, I found myself, ever at home, an honored
guest.

In rural districts, where posadas are not given, one of the chief
Christmas recreations is the pastorela. This signifies an idyl, and is
used symbolically to represent the announcements of the birth of
Christ to the shepherds. A little girl dressed in white, with wings
attached to her shoulders, represents the angel, while the shepherds
are furnished with crooks, with which they beat time to their chant-
ing. The infant Jesus, represented by a doll, is rocked in a cradle or

272 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

swung from the ceiling, and on Christmas eve is baptized, the god-
father and godmother being selected from the company.

This pastoral is much in use on the Rio Grande frontier, where
there is a dearth of amusement, and generally among the plainer pop-
ulation. When practiced by the wealthy, it is enlarged upon until
it assumes grand proportions. The pastor ela begins sometimes a
week or more before Christmas.

The Feast of the Epiphany, known in Mexico as the Fiesta de
los Tres Reyes (Feast of the Three Kings), which comes on the 6th
of January, has connected with it an interesting social event. This is
known as the Bail^ de los Compadres. It is not so commonly observed
now as formerly, but is none the less interesting.

A coffee cake is made, in which is placed a bean, and at the dinner
which follows mass on that day this cake is placed under a napkin
and then cut by some one of the guests. The one who gets the bean
is known as king; if a woman, queen. If the former, he drops the
bean into the glass of the lady whom he selects as queen. If a lady
gets the bean, the same process is gone through, with the difference of
sex in the selection. They embrace h la Mexicano, becoming at once
compadres. The king makes the queen a present, and must also give
a ball within the month of January.

At the ball the names of all the ladies are put into a hat and the
gentlemen draw. The lady whose name the gentleman draws be-
comes his compadre for the evening, and much merriment follows.

El Candelario, or the feast of Candlemas, comes on the 2d of Feb-
ruary. It commemorates the purification of the Virgin, and is the
occasion on which the candles are blessed and consecrated, to be
used the ensuing year, in extreme illness, death, earthquakes, and
thunder-storms.

The day is celebrated at Tacubaya in a novel way. The streets
are filled with gambling booths, where all kinds of games of hazard are
played by the common people ; not only by the men, but women also
of every age yield to this fascinating pastime.

On the 5th of February the Church celebrates the death of

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. VI

Mexico's only martyr, San Felipe de Jesus. He was martyred in
China, and his baptismal urn stands in a wooden frame in the cathe-
dral beside the tomb of the Emperor Iturbide.

The carnival season comes with its throngs of gay, promiscuous
maskers, but without a representation of our King Comus. Some of
these are said to represent the spies sent out by Herod in search of
Christ ; if so, they seem to enjoy themselves amazingly.

Lent is duly observed, especially by ladies, who perambulate the
streets dressed in black, on their way to and from church. At this
time the Zocalo has two of its sides adorned with booths and rustic
tents, in which various delicious drinks are sold by captivating Indian
maidens. In accord with the season fewer toys are sold in the streets,
but as the people pass they halt to partake of a drink of aqua de chia,
aqua de pina and or chat a.

On Palm Sunday large quantities of palm, plaited in every imagin-
able form and tied with ribbons, are taken to the church and blessed.
They are then placed on the iron rods outside the windows to protect
the house from lightning or any other dread calamity.

During Holy Week, bells, organs and choirs utter not a sound, the
stores are closed, and the world has a holiday. On Holy Thursday
it is customary for both ladies and gentlemen to turnout in their new
suits. The ladies appear in handsome toilets, the result of weeks of
labor for the dressmakers, while the gentlemen display a correspond-
ing industry on the part of the tailors.

Good Friday sees an entire change. The whole republic is in
mourning, and the smiling faces of yesterday are superseded by down-
cast eyes and sober mien, as the vast concourse of people pass silently
on their way to church.

In the afternoon is celebrated the feast of the Tres Caidas
(Three Falls), which commemorates the three falls Christ suffered on
his way to Calvary. After each fall the priest preaches a short sermon.
Then follows the ceremony of the Tres Horas (Three Hours), when
the scenes of the Crucifixion are represented in pantomime and
with effigies. On the evening of the same day there is a service

274 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

called pesame, a visit of condolence to the Virgin on the death of her
Son.

The last day of Holy Week, Sabado de Gloria, or Saturday of Glory,
is devoted to the death and disgrace of Judas. Effigies of the traitor
are hung all over the streets, and, being filled with powder, burst as
they fall to the ground. This catastrophe is celebrated by the rat-
tling of myriads of matracas, wooden rattles, that make the head ring,
mingled with the shouts of the populace.

Numerous and grotesque paper effigies hung across many of the
most prominent streets, and the Judases, filled with bamboos of
powder, were tied to the balconies, roofs of buildings, and lamp-posts.
Many of them had silver coins pasted upon them, representing the
thirty pieces of silver for which Judas sold Christ. When the Judases
burst, the eager crowd gathered up the coins and then proceeded to
tear into shreds the effigies, in order to avenge the treachery of
Judas.

On the i6th of April, the annual Fiesta de las Flores (Floral Festival)
is inaugurated on the Viga Canal. None of the feasts of the capital
affords more pleasure to its citizens. The paseo is deserted, while the
boulevard beside the Viga is enlivened with hundreds of elegant equip-
ages filled with the dite of the capital, as well as pedestrians and
horsemen, who repair thither to witness the festival of the Indians.
The canal itself is literally overspread with boats large and small,
some with a covered space in the middle and a deck at each end, all
manned by swarthy Indians. Indian women and girls in their well-be-
fitting costumes, with wreaths of poppies on their heads, and garlands
around their necks, guitar in hand, sing in every imaginable key the
madrigals of their people, dancing as they go. On the shore the
best bands play, and the same scene of animation is presented for
days.

The 24th of June is the Fiesta de San Juan Bautista (St. John the
Baptist), the patron saint of all bathers. This is a day on which the
Catholic world of Mexico bathes and puts on clean clothes.

Small boys dressed up as miniature soldiers, with imitation

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 275

swords and guns, parade the streets, making an animated scene. It is
a holiday that any mortal who cares for St. John may enjoy inexpen-
sively.

A legend received by the common people has it that ablutions
made in honor of the Herald of the Saviour " give beauty to the
maiden, vigor to the matron, and freshness to the old maid."

Regardless of the truth of this, the bathing establishments every-
where are liberally patronized on this day. Such pushing, jostling,
screaming, and lofty tumbling as these devotees of St. John do, is
enough to call forth tears from the Mexican Mars.

The public is entertained with as much freedom as though it were
a bull fight, and it shows a generous appreciation in long and contin-
ued applause. In one tank one hundred and fifty or more bathers
may be seen at once, throwing themselves head first, diving and swim-
ming, or standing half submerged, or perhaps jumping from the
spring-board.

To all these gyrations add the screams of the multitude, the
shrieks of the bathers, and the people on shore selling a thousand
and one articles beneath the rays of a scorching sun, to complete the
scene. Though many pursuits and avocations arc carried on, the
dominating and supreme desire of the crowd is to get wet.

This feast of water costs but a real, and on that day the populace
shows its appreciation of the opportunity for so insignificant a sum to
be made wet from crown to sole.

Superb masses, probably not surpassed anywhere in the world, are
celebrated for the dead. A very grand occasion of this kind was when
the Spanish Colony honored their dead king at the Profesa Church.
This was the most imposing church service that I witnessed.
The interior attested the faultless taste of the decorator. An im-
mense catafalque stood in the center with white and silver drapings.
The bust of Alphonso was wreathed in immortelles, the whole sur-
rounded by the arms of Spain. Columns were draped with black and
great black streamers were suspended from the dome and gracefully
festooned from the altars. Wax candles of remarkable size and length

2/6 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

were lighted all around and throughout the church, while clouds of
incense floated over all. Each one in the large congregation was pro-
vided with a candle two feet in length. The music, both orchestral
and choral, was grand. Chairs were provided for all, and the floor
was handsomely carpeted. The best of society was represented, and
I never saw a more elegant assemblage, all in deep black. President
Diaz with his cabinet occupied seats near General Jackson and his
friends, so there was a commingling of nationalities as well as of tears
on that day.

Funeral cards are elaborate both in style and diction. The follow-
ing will give an idea of the forms in general use :

" Died yesterday at half-past twelve, Sefiorita Dolores Garcia. Her
mother, brothers, and relatives, in informing you of this sad event, beg
that you will lift your prayers to the Eternal for the repose of her
soul, and be kind enough to attend her funeral, which will take place
to-day at four o'clock at the Church of Santa Vera Cruz."

The sending of cards or letters of condolence follows, as a matter
of course, and where families have an extensive circle of acquaint-
ances, every day in the week finds them writing to their afflicted
friends.

Below will be found another still more poetic in its language, which
was sent me upon the death of the gentleman named, who was the
father of Sefior Alberto Bianchi, the well-known author and journalist:

A la sombra del arbol santo de la Cruz, ayer a las ocho de la noche, volo al seno de su
Criador el alma del

SR. D. ALBERTO BIANCHI

(padre).

Sus atribulados hijos piden para dl oraciones a la piedad de sus hermanos en Jesucristo.

Mexico, Setiembre 23 de 1886.

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS 2//

(Translation.)

Under the shade of the holy tree of the Cross, yesterday at eight o'clock at night, ascended
to the bosom of his Creator, the soul of

SR. D. ALBERTO BIANCHI

(father).
His afflicted children ask for him prayers from the piety of his brethren in Jesus Christ.

Mexico, September 23, 1886.

The wearing of mourning is universal, not only for jiear relatives,
but also for friends. A young lady dies, her companions don the
somber garb for thirty days ; if the father or mother of the girl should
die, it is worn for fifteen days. By this time some other relative or friend
may die, when the custom is again in force, and may be indefinitely
prolonged. During all this time they seclude themselves from society.
On visiting a house of mourning, likewise, custom prescribes a black
dress ; and for these ever-recurring occasions mourning costumes are
an essential part of every lady's wardrobe.

Ladies do not attend funerals, but visits of pisame (regret) are
made immediately after death, and for nine days those who cannot
call send letters or cards of condolence.

The national feasts are those of the i6th of September and the 5th
of May. Differences of opinion may exist upon every other subject ;
but on those days, the former recalling the grito (call) of Hidalgo for
Independency, and the latter the victory of the Mexicans over the
French at Puebla, all hands and hearts are united in giving them a
fitting and enthusiastic welcome.

Courtship is something of a serious matter as undertaken under
Mexican auspices. The probation may extend from five to ten years,
or may even exceed that of Jacob, and at the end of this period
the devoted Romeo has perhaps never entered the house — possibly
not even spoken to his Juliet. Patience is a virtue all possess; and
as time is of no consequence, they content themselves with waiting
for something in the future. The lover walks slowly back and forth

before her house for hours at a time, days and nights alike. Perhaps it

2/8

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

is from this fact that he assumes the unromantic appellation of hacienda
eloso (playing the bear). He may also play the bear on horseback, and
his " ladye faire " knows by intuition when he will pass, and, securely

screened from pub-
lic gaze remains be-
hind the curtain on
the balcony and
merely shows her
head or salutes him
with her finger-tips.
She goes to church
or on the plaza, sure
that he is not far
away, and though,
they do not speak, a
glance or smile each
day is worth a life-
time. But frequently
tiny billets doux find
their way to the
angel u p s t a i r s , by
means of strings, and
the family is none
the wiser.

I remember to
have seen one young
man "playing the
bear" until my deep-
est sympathies were
enlisted in his behalf. Day by day he repaired to the same spot, on
the corner of the street opposite my window, at No. 6 la Primera de
la Providencia. For months the trying business had gone on, until
he was reduced to a mere skeleton, and his hollow eyes had that ex-
pectant expression which marks the victim of love in Mexico. So

LOVE-MAKING FROM THE BALCONY.

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 279

interested was I that I determined to know something of the fair
creature to whom the luckless swain was yielding up his mental, moral
and physical strength.

The father of the girl was so much opposed to the match, the
young man being only a medical student, he forbade his going nearer
than two squares of the house.

Having seen the effect of "playing the bear" on this lover, I was
curious to see how the girl sustained the ordeal. Directed by his fixed
and steady gaze upon the house, I found her standing on the balcony
with only her head visible. Her eyes were fixed on him, and now and
then the dainty little hand made motions towards him. After a few
months thus spent, the poor fellow disappeared from the corner,
which was perhaps the end of their love-making.

I was told by several English-speaking Mexicans that the larger
proportion of the young men of the country greatly prefer " playing
the bear " from the sidewalk, to entering the homes of the sefioritas,
even if permitted by custom.

I witnessed the opposite of this in the case of a young Mexican
girl who had been reared by an American sister-in-law. Lupe was
pretty and attractive, and naturally at an early age was the recipient,
from the young men who had come within sight of her, of numerous

bearish favors; but two of them, Fernando and Julio ;

became more deeply enamored than the rest ; but the sister was de-
termined there should be no " playing the bear," so she invited the
young men to call at the house. 1 have seen as many as ten or twelve
in her parlor in one evening, all animated and interested — each one
being only too pleased to take his turn at a few moments* conversation
with the sefiorita.

But a denouement, quite unexpected, came. One of the young men
who had become desperately enamored of the girl, found he had a
rival in one of his friends. A dispute arose, some of the boys espous-
ing one side and the remainder the other, until bloodshed seemed in-
evitable. No case in chancery ever required more skillful diplomacy
than this, calling for the good offices of at least half a dozen outside

28o FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

friends to adjust the matter and prevent a catastrophe. The rupture
between the boys was never healed, but neither of them won the
seftorita. So, after all, perhaps it is better that they should have
"bear playing" in order to win their wives. I confess that
after witnessing these love affairs I was for once, as our latter-day
politicians say, " on the fence," and quite as ready to fall on the
" bear side " as on that of our less conventional, more modern love-
making.

A Mexican lady related to me a method of courtship somewhat
different. A seftorita is sometimes made aware of the interest a
young man takes in her, by being continually followed when walking
along the street. In the course of time he writes a letter which he
leaves with the porUro, and it is always necessary to enlist the interest
of these men by the bestowal of a little cash. She pays no attention
to his first letters, but after a while she may perhaps notice his ad-
vances. He goes to the house each day and finds out her movements
from the />or/ero, governing himself accordingly. At last, accom-
panied by a responsible friend, he makes bold to call on the father
and asks her hand in marriage. Then the father asks the girl if she
is willing to marry the young man. She replies she cannot say until
she has met him. When at length he calls, every member of the
family, and even the servants, have the privilege of being present.
After this, he is the novto oficial (accepted lover), but even if the mar-
riage be postponed six months or as many years, he is never left alone
for a moment with \)Ss fiancee.

Once admitted as novio ofiical, it may be imagined that the fervor
of his devotion will find vent in many lover-like expressions. As in-
dicative of their warm, poetic imagination and passionate Southern
nature, I append a few of the most characteristic of these phrases as
used by both sexes :

Nifia de mi alma ! Child of my soul !

I Me quieres ? Dost Ihou love me ?

Te adoro, te idolatro ! I adore thee, I idolize thee !

Me muero per ti ! I die for thee !

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS.

281

Eres mi dicha !

Te amo mas que a mi vida !

Eres mi unico pensamiento !

Me mato por ti !

No te Divides de mi !

Siempre seras mi !

Tu seras mi solo amor !

No me enganes !

No sabes cuanto te amo !

Oye, hijito, i me quieres de veras ?

Que feliz soy 4 tu lado !

No dejes de escribirme !

I Vienes maftana ?

Ingrato, Ya lo s6 todo !

Pero hija, eso no es cierto !

I No me crees ?

Perdoname corazoii !

Adios chula, hasta manana !

Suefto contigo !

Thou art my happiness !

I love thee more than my life !

Thou art my only thought !

I kill myself for thee !

Do not forget me !

Thou wilt always be mine !

Thou wilt be my only love !

Do not deceive me !

Thou dost not know how much I love

thee !
Say, my boy, dost really love me !
How happy I am by thy side !
Don't fail to write me !
Will you come to-morrow ?
Ingrate, I know all !
But daughter, it is not true !
Dost thou not believe me ?
Pardon me, heart !

Good-bye, precious, until to-morrow !
I dream of thee !

The seflorita is not intentionally, or by nature, a flirt. She would
scorn to inveigle in her meshes the affections of her admirer. But, in
addition to her irresistible eyes, there are certain little social and toilet
graces which she unconsciously employs in a most expressive manner
that never fail to bring him to her feet.

The most effectual and indispensable toilet accessory is the fan.
Of every size, style, and color, it is often an expensive item in a
fashionable lady's outfit. When manipulated by the fair owner —
opened wide and waved in graceful challenge, raised to eyes or lips
in witching coquetry, or even when peacefully folded in jeweled
fingers — its language is varied and expressive.

Great care and attention is bestowed upon the pafiuelo (handker,
chief), which plays, too, an important part, second only to that of the
fan.

For a young man of moderate means, matrimony is a serious
undertaking. He not only furnishes the house and home, but the

282 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

bridal outfit as well. But in some of the wealthier families parents
furnish the greater part of the latter themselves, restricting the pur-
chases of the groom elect to perhaps the bridal dresses, the jewels,
and other accessories. An ivory-covered prayer-book is an indispens-
able offering from the groom. The bridal tour is one expense from
which he is now exempt, but as facilities for travel increase, perhaps
in the near future, this item may be added to his already long list of
expenditures. I believe the event of matrimony is no less trouble-
some than the long and tedious courtship. The war of reform made
three marriage ceremonies necessary. Two months before, the young
people must register at the cathedral, giving date of birth, in what
city or country, vocation, etc., whether widow or widower. After
this, the priest registers the same at the civil office, and their inten-
tions must be placed on a bulletin board outside the office for
twenty days. For five Sundays the priest publishes the bans. After
this, accompanied by the notary public, he goes to the house of the
bride, where she is asked if she acts of her " own free will and accord,"
and other necessary questions are put with as much freedom as
though the subject were a transfer of real estate. A few days prior
to the church wedding, the judge of the court, accompanied by six
witnesses, the priest being one, performs the civil marriage. The
dress worn on this occasion is presented by the groom.

I witnessed a church wedding at " Santa Brigida," and the Mexi-
can ceremony is a pretty one. The groom passed many coins
through the hand of the bride, indicating that she is to handle and
control the household funds. They knelt at the altar with lighted
candles in their hands, emblematical of the Christian faith, and a
silken scarf was placed around their shoulders, after which a silver
cord was put around their necks, and the ceremony was complete.

An American who contracts marriage in Mexico, regardless of
faith or creed, must have three ceremonies — two in Spanish, and
one more in either English or Spanish. This is the invariable
rule even when marrying his countrywoman. He must, besides,
make public notice of his intention by having it announced on

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 283

a bulletin board for twenty days. He may evade or escape the latter
by the payment of a sum of money — it is said from $60 to $150; but
in any event, he must have resided one month in the country. The
three ceremonies consist of a contract of marriage — civil marriage,
the only one recognized by law since 1858 — and the church service,
which is not compulsory with Americans, and may be celebrated in
their own homes. The first two must take place before a judge, and
four witnesses, at least, including the American Consul. The contract
of marriage includes a statement of names, ages, lineage, business,
and residence of the parties. The ceremony of the civil marriage —
the legal one — is always in Spanish.

The length of time required for the completion of one of these
marriage arrangements maybe from one or two days to three months,
as the parties understand facilitating such matters. But once such a
knot is tied, it would be a difificult task to have it loosened by even
the expert fingers of a Chicago lawyer.

Weddings are not generally widely announced. Intimate friends
are invited to the marriage in the church, and afterward participate
in the festivities that follow at the house. After the wedded pair are
established in their own home, they send cards which read :

"■ Tirso C alder on y Julia Hope
tienen el honor de participar a Vd. su enlace, y se ofrecen d sus ordenas
en la casa, inunero d a de la primera Providencia " (" have the honor to
inform you of their marriage, and their house as above mentioned is
at your service "). In other words, you are considered a friend of the
newly-wedded pair, and they will be happy to see you in their
house.

Cards announcing a birth are thus expressed :

" Tirso C alder on y Senora
tienen el gusto de participar d Vd. el nacimiento de su hijo, y lo ponon a
sus ordenes," which means, in few words, that this gentleman and his
wife have the pleasure of announcing the birth of their son, and place
him " at your orders."

284

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

Baptism occurs within ten or fifteen days after birth, and, as is
customary in the Catholic Church, children bear the name of some
saint. Birthdays are not noticed, but the celebration of the dia de
santo, or day of the saint for whom the child is named, is the most im-
portant event in his life. Cards are sent announcing the baptism thus :

Nacio el 6 de Julia de 1883

y fue bautizado

en la Parroquia de la Santa Veracruz

el 18 del mismo mes y ano

sus padres

SeNor Tirso Calderon

SeNora Julia Hope dk Calderon.

SUS PADRINOS

Sr. Lie. Eduardo Ramirez y
Adame

Srita. Guadalupe Adame.

having a seal upon it, either of ten cents in silver or a one dollar
gold piece.

When ten or fifteen days old the infant is taken in charge by the
padrinos (godfather and godmother), and after much elaborate prepa-
ration is carried to the church and baptized. These godparents are
called comadre and compadre by the child's parents, in preference to
their legitimate names.

The names of children of both sexes are identical, by simply chang-
ing the termination of a or o, and often even this is not done. Jos6
Maria is the same for both, but Pomposa is the feminine for Pom-
poso.

Within a reasonable time a great dinner follows, at which many
handsome gifts are displayed for the young innocent. Cards of con-

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 285

gratulation are sent, if nothing more, but more frequently it is some
delicious article of food or drink, or a piece of jewelry.

Social usages show no signs of change or relaxation, even with the
advancement so manifest in every other direction. Many of them may
seem formal and useless — based on the tedious Spanish etiquette —
but they are not without charm as well as meaning; and in comparison
with our own rather free and informal ways one might wish that a
happy medium might be found. Many of the customs are admirable ;
and always the culture, ease, kindliness, and elegance with which they
are observed must commend themselves to our brisk, business-loving
and energetic countrymen.

Those agreeable features of American and English home life, in-
formal luncheons, teas, and the unceremonious happening-in of a few
friends to a " feast of reason and a flow of soul," or perhaps games and
music, and whatever else may be, are wanting among the Mexicans.
The merenda, a mid-afternoon luncheon, which takes place after the
siesta, consists of a cup of chocolate or cofTee with some sort of fancy
cake or bread. It is the only small social feature of every-day life, and
a friend may drop in and partake of it without ceremony. But they
are happy in their own way, and a departure from it would be rather
painful than otherwise. The love for pomp and ceremonious display
leads them to discard simple and unostentatious entertainments,
which makes a narrow limit to their social existence. Hence, if the
wealthy indulge but seldom, those of less means, being unable to cope
with them, though in comfortable circumstances, abstain from any,
except on occasions of domestic festivals — christenings or weddings.
But there are many smaller hospitalities which always prove accept-
able. One is scarcely seated before being asked to have something,
and generally delicious chocolate is served sin ceremonia.

A high estimate is placed on dress and external appearance. The
taste for rich and gorgeous clothing belongs to them by heredity —
Montezuma himself giving an example. We read of his mantle of the
plumage of rare and brilliant-hued birds, his gold-embroidered cloth-
ing, that " his half boots were set with jewels, their soles being of

286 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

solid gold ; " and that he always allowed four days to elapse between
the wearing of each suit.

In these latter days the taste displays itself in every way to be im-
agined, and they judge others from their own stand-point. Quickly
is the dress of a stranger summed up, even before an impression has
been made as to his face, being able to give a minute description of his
clothes, even to the pocket-handkerchief and shoes, two articles of
dress in which every Mexican takes pride.

To enter the higher strata of society, one must give external proof
of his fitness by his dress. After this, his merits are duly weighed.
The first appearance of a stranger, both in dress and manner, makes
his future position. I have often been amused at seeing the very dig-
nified and quiet manner in which the inspection is made, the distin-
guished invited guest never for a moment supposing himself a subject
of scrutiny. But however incorrectly he may speak the language,
under no circumstance will he encounter a smile, and he is kindly
assisted in mastering its many difficulties.

The last decade — the period of railways — has marked a new era
in dress, for even in the smaller cities and towns the people are leaving
off to some extent the ancient styles of their progenitors and are
donning the newer modes. The old-fashioned silks that stand alone,
the laces and shawls, worthy heirlooms, have been relegated to the
silent shades. Even the black lace mantilla is no longer used except
for church. On Sunday mornings in the alamedas of all cities, hun-
dreds may be seen, but the graceful devotees have already attended
morning mass, and now the assembled sight-seers may view them in
the national mantilla.

Later in the day, and on all other occasions, Parisian hats are
worn. But the seflorita is never so charming, so fascinating, so haloed
by mystical romance, as when her glossy tresses are crowned with the
graceful mantilla.

No people on the continent indulge more in the luxury of fine
clothes than those of the Mexican capital. Here the votaries of
wealth and fashion receive their toilets direct from Paris, from the

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS.

287

king of dressmakers, M. Worth ; while the men are fully up to the
standard of either Europeans or Americans.

But the gentleman of ease and wealth, supported by the profits of
his landed property, is one
thing when in the city, clad in
European dress, and quite
another on his Jiacienda ar-
rayed in the native garb he so
delights in. The swarthy com-
plexion takes on a different
cast enhanced by color. The
suit of cloth or buckskin,
trimmed with a profusion of
flashy silver ornaments, a red
sash about the waist and full,
loose tie at the throat, a gayly
bedecked though very heavy
sombrero, all go to make up a
costume eminently becoming
to the dark beauty of the
wearer.

Mounted upon his gor-
geously caparisoned steed,

whose equipments sometimes cost thousands of dollars, he presents a
striking picture of a " gay cavalier."

No more charming feature exists in Mexican life than the bril-
liancy and variety of color in the costumes of the liacendado. The
effect of this picturesque attire is mcst pleasing, not only from
its intrinsic beauty, but also for the novelty to English and
American eyes, accustomed only to dull, conventional garments
worn alike by all our classes. May the hacendado never change his
colors !

Sisters have a fancy for dressing exactly alike, so that not a button,
hook, or article of jewelry varies. I have counted in one morning six

288 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

of them promenading arm and arm and talking in a low, confidential
manner.

The prevailing style of dressing the hair is the plaited coil low
upon the neck and the crimped bang across the forehead. But fash-
ionable society belles have long since adopted the more modern high
coif. The men universally appreciate the value of exposing the entire
brow, consequently their hair is invariably arranged a la pompadour.

Mexican gentlemen manifest their appreciation of feminine beauty
by gazing intently at ladies whether in the Alameda or at the theater.
This custom, which would be generally resented as impertinent by our
fair ones, is there well understood and accepted, as it is meant — a
flattering tribute to their charms. Between acts at the theater or
opera the men rise to their feet and with leveled glasses pay admiring
homage to the seftoritas whose dark-eyed beauty has attracted their
attention. The pretty language of the fan then comes into admirable
play, and the maidens nod gently to each other in appreciation of the
gallantries of these knights, and with blissful memories to carry away,
the evening ends happily for all.

It has been said that the gallantry of these caballeros is rather
wearisome and tedious, but I scarcely imagine that any lady of refine-
ment could feel herself otherwise than honored at being the recipient
of their courtly attentions. They are punctilious to the last degree in
observing the most insignificant courtesies of daily life. If ascending
a stairway accompanied by a lady, she always takes his arm, and in
descending he precedes her a step or two, holding firmly her hand so
as to avoid a misstep. This attention is even ofTered to strangers
with as much naturalness and with far more regularity and prompti-
tude than our own countrymen relinquish to us a seat in the street-
car.

In saluting ladies, gentlemen still observe the Spanish form, ^'A
las pies de usted " (" at your feet "), the response to which is ^'Beso d usted
la mano " ( " I kiss the hand to you "). And in closing a letter they
always add " B. S. M." — " Beso sus manos" (" I kiss your hands ").

A few current complimentary phrases in society are : ''Tan hermosa

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 289

como siempre " ("As charming as ever ") ; " Es Vd. * muy simpdtica "
("You are very captivating"); ''Soy su mas humilde servidor'' ("I
am your most humble servant ") ; " Puedo tenor el gusto de bailar con
Vd. esta pieza ? " (" May I have the pleasure of dancing this piece with
you ? ") To this last remark the answer generally is, " Si, senor, con
muc ho gusto " (" Yes, with much pleasure "). Not to be outdone, the
gentleman replies, " El gusto es para mi — cuanto honor, senorita / "
(" The pleasure is mine — what honor, Miss " ).

On retiring from a visit, as long as in sight, the salutation with the
hand, the bow, the ''A los pics delisted, sefiorita,'' are continued, until
one feels as if transported to the days of chivalry.

All Mexican cities have their social organizations, which on one
evening in each month give a handsome ball that is attended by the
Mte of society. With all their tropical embellishments, growing
plants, and sparkling water from the fountains in the patio, singing
birds, brilliant flowers, and salons of grand proportions and magnificent
furnishings, added to the elegant costumes of the guests, it makes a
delightful event in the lives of the people and an enviable one for the
stranger.

But dancing is an inherited accomplishment with the native Mexi-
can, the younger members of society learning from those more experi-
enced in the ways of the world. Grace and ease of movement are in-
separable in the Mexican make-up, but nevertheless as a rule they do
not dance as gracefully as one would expect. Teachers of Terpsi-
chorean art have not, from some cause, with their divine talents, pene-
trated that country. But unquestionably they will follow in the
wake of railways and other attendant comforts and perhaps give a
strong contest for precedence over the time-honored customs.

The danza is the most distinctively national of all the dances, and
bears a strong resemblance to the Habanero, as known in Cuba. Its
slow and rather pathetic music, played by native musicians on na-
tional instruments, renders this dance fascinating to both natives and

* Abbreviation for usted (you).

290 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

Strangers. The latter find some difficulty in catching the time, but a
little practice soon makes them perfect.

Beyond all things it is a boon to the Mexican lover, for it is only
when treading its slow, dreamy measures that he can without restraint
convey to the dark-eyed darling of his heart the thousand tender
utterances that glow afresh at every motion. They can with propriety
dance together every danza on the evening's programme and excite
no comment.

The danza, though resembling in some respects our waltz-quadrille,
differs greatly from it in many essential features. The " sets," if
they may so be termed, consist of but two couples. The first figure is
a " ladies' change ;" next, the lady with her right hand on the gentle-
man's left shoulder and his arm around her waist, the couples balance
four times to each other ; then, joining hands, they again balance, go
partly round a circle, then back again, after which they waltz away.
This waltz may be continued ad libitum, the waltzers pausing at any
moment in their revolutions to go through the same graceful maneu-
vers with any other couple similarly disposed. They generally make
a point of not dancing twice with the same couple during one dattza.

In a country so favored by climate, the stranger is early impressed
by the limited amount of outdoor amusements in which the women
participate ; in lawn parties, picnics, or riding they rarely indulge. The
men are understood, of course, to ride almost unceasingly, but
sefloritas, though graceful equestriennes, seldom do. At the capi-
tal riding is more frequent than elsewhere, and some of the most be-
witching beauties — whom Hebe herself might envy — I saw on horse-
back enjoying the lovely environs of Mexico.

I recall a gay party of twelve sefioritas near Tacubaya, ambling
along on the broad avenues lined with great trees which stretched out
their friendly arms to ward off the scorching rays of the sun. With
navy blue and plum-colored habits, big white straw sombreros, their
horses handsomely equipped after the fashion of the country, they
made a striking picture. Two brothers and three tnozos attended
them, and they laughed and had a good time.

FASTS AND FESTIVALS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 29 T

The tamalada is an outdoor diversion somewhat corresponding to
our picnics. It usually occurs in the afternoon, in some quiet wood
or beautiful garden, and begins with dancing, which is kept up
throughout the afternoon and evening. The refreshments are tamales,
after which the entertainment is named — atole de Icche and chougas.
The latter is simply sliced bread with piloncilla (syrup made from
brown sugar) and grated cheese thickly spread over each piece, the
whole arranged in pyramid form, and is a most delicious dish. A dia
de campo (day in the country) with a gay tamalada party, is a most
agreeable recreation. Pity that it occurs so rarely !

One of the most brilliant national and social events at the capital
in which I had the pleasure of participating was the annual distribu-
tion of prizes, on the night of January 30th, to the cadets of the Mili-
tary Academ.y, at Chapultepec.

The National Theater, where it took place, was gorgeously deco-
rated with banners, streamers, and military emblems. Flowers were
everywhere — wreathing the cannon which lined the entrance, sur-
rounding trophies of war, combining with the white moss of Chapul-
tepec and dark evergreens, in festoons from light to light — even can-
non-balls reposed on them and bayonets were converted into bouquet-
holders.

In t\\Q patio electric lights, in the form of stars, shed their white
radiance over the scene and mingled with the lights from a thousand
Chinese lanterns and Venetian lamps which swung between the flag-
draped and flower-wreathed pillars.

The main entrance was lined with soldiers who, with the cadets,
presented arms when President Diaz, accompanied by members of the
Cabinet, entered and passed through to the great stage reserved for
the presidential party and high army ofificers.

The interior of the theater presented a grand spectacle ; every
column was covered with national colors arranged diagonally ; flags
of all sizes and the ensign of the Republic were draped artistically
on the walls and hung from every available point. Three hundred
gay and gallant cadets were ranged with military precision on either

-292 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

side the grand aisle, forming a guard of honor, themselves the motive
and main feature of the occasion.

Boxes were filled with people prominent in fashionable and public
life, a central one being reserved for Madame Diaz. An excellent
orchestra and pupils from the Institute for the Blind furnished the
music.

The prizes were handed to the cadets by the President.

In the literary exercises poems appropriate to the occasion were
read by Juan A. Mateos and Anselmo Alfaro, but the most noted was
the official address delivered by the ** Poet Laureate " of the Republic,
Guillermo Prieto.

It would be a graceful compliment for the students of Chapultepec
Military Academy to be invited to participate in our competitive inter-
State or national drills.

CHAPTER IX.

FROM MEXICO TO MORELIA ALONG THE MEXICAN NATIONAL.

SKY such as
only a Mexi-
can sky can be,
when the sun's
rays wove gor-
ge o u s o r i -
flammes across
the snowy
mountain
peaks; an atmosphere, trans-
lucent to the eyes and an
eHxir to the lungs, bearing
on its health-giving wings
the perfum^e of a thousand
flowers ; all these were the delightful accompaniments of a holiday
jaunt on which we set out in gay spirits one brilliant afternoon in
October.

Our party consisted of Madame de C (whose guest I was) and

her bright little daughter, Lotita, and servant. The objective points
of our excursion were Toluca and Morelia, on the Ferrocarril Nacional,
and as the railway had then been opened only a short time to the
latter place, it was an event of no small magnitude, our visit to these
famous old cities. In a charming letter to the Two Republics Madame
19

294 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

de C — -■ — thus expressed our sensations on taking our depar.
ture from Mexico : " After we leave Colonia station, as the cars
carry us rapidly past the familiar landmarks, the restfulness
of the landscape seems reflected in ourselves. But for the
church towers and the roofs and the fortified walls of Chapulte-
pec rising abruptly from the plain, the historic valley of Anahuac
with its snowy sentinels, shining lakes, and circle of blue moun-
tains, presents the same air of tranquillity that invited the Toltecs,
weary from their long wanderings, to establish their lares and
penates here."

The Mexican National Railway, or Palmer-Sullivan, has its west-
ward extension now under construction from the capital toward the
Pacific Coast at Manzanillo. The Texas frontier at Laredo is the
starting point of the main line, but so far it has only reached Saltillo
on its way to the capital.

The western division of the National Railway has revealed the
natural beauties of a region which hitherto have been as a sealed book
to the ordinary tourist and traveler, the country being not only almost
inaccessible, but also bandit-infested. The difficulties of engineering
were also of a kind to appall even daring and progressive Ameri-
cans. As an instance, seventeen bridges were constructed across
the Rio Hondo in the space of a few miles, and a very insignifi-
cant stream it is in appearance, but its crooks and turns are quite
amazing.

The intrepid little engine winds about the valley, now and again
apparently thrusting itself against the foot-hills and mountains ; then
over dark abysmal ravines, spider-webbed bridges, and around horse-
shoe curves where both ends of the train almost meet; then across
gurgling waterfalls ; through Indian villages, forests of pine, and along
grassy slopes, continuing in its serpentine course to give one every
phase of scenery to be desired. The most lovely view is that of
the capital and the Lake of Tezcuco smiling and shimmering in the
distance.

Our attention is divided between Nature's handiwork as shown in

FROM MEXICO TO M OR ELI A.

295

the diversified and lovely scenery and the dwellings and mode of life
of the inhabitants.

The humble huts of the Indians have an indescribable charm im-
parted to them by their quaintness of construction. They cannot
exceed six feet in height, and with their roofs of straw, maguey leaves,
or, as with many, planks laid on loosely, held in place by countless
stones, each one weighing one or two pounds, reminded me of a peg-

THE INDIAN VII LAGE OF SAN' IR ANnsriTA.

soled shoe before it is worn. They begin in the valleys and run in
irregular lines up the mountain sides, until one wonders how it is that
some mighty landslide or upheaving earthquake does not sweep these
frail structures from their lodging places.

These Indians own patches of land, and each one has his portion
divided from his neighbors by rows of maguey. They cultivate
wheat, corn, oats, and barley; and the different shades of green run-
ning in geometrical lines, transversely and obliquely, reminded me of

296 FACE TO FACE WITH 7 HE MEXICANS.

that feminine product, tlic crazy quilt. The observer wonders in
which representative of the two civilizations is the geometrical in-
stinct most highly developed — the crude Indian, unaided by a modern
thought, or our"ladye faire," with every stimulus from her neighbors'
ingenuity and an inexhaustible supply of gay materials from well-
filled storehouses near by.

A simple placard on which we read "Crina," informs us that we
have reached the highest point on the road, and the highest station
in Mexico — at io,OCXD feet above sea level, and at a distance of forty
miles from the capital. Here respiration becomes difificult, and over-
coats and wraps are in demand.

After this, we enter the beautiful Valley of Toluca, which is well
covered with haciendas, on which corn and beans are chiefly culti-
vated. For the first time we see the bright red-tiled roofs that here
cover every house, large and small. The haciendas have numerous
ranchitas (little houses), in size about five by seven feet, mounted on
poles ten feet high. They are entered only by means of a slender
ladder. In these strange appurtenances of farm life a watchman
takes his station at night, armed with his rifle, and guards a certain
number of acres from the molestation of robbers. The road passes
near the famous battle-field of Monte de las Cruces, where was fought
one of the most sanguinary battles of the War of Independence. A
monument now marks the spot. The Valley of Toluca is larger than
that of Mexico, and is more generally cultivated, being well supplied
with water for irrigating purposes.

Toluca, the capital of the State of Mexico, is about 1,000 feet lower
than the high point before described, and 1,000 feet higher than the
City of Mexico. The climate is delightfully cool ; in fact, for most
constitutions, far too cool to be comfortable. The high altitude,
together with the coolness, often affects with nervous prostration
strangers, especially ladies, requiring days to overcome. The
city has a population of about 25,000, is neatly paved, and rejoices
in an abundance of clear, fresh water, flowing at all times through the
streets. It has many fine old convents, now used as hospitals or

FROM MEXICO TO MOKELIA. 297

schools. Foremost among the latter is the " Instituto Literario," one
of the most widely known of all the institutions of learning in the
republic, and it has the honor of having educated many of the most
distinguished men of the country. Each municipality has the privilege
of sending one student, who must stand a rigid competitive examina-
tion. The institution has five patios and covers an immense space of
ground, and is provided with a fine library, museum of natural history,
every appliance for the study of physiology, physics, history, and
chemistry, besides music and drawing. The students have a gymna-
sium, warm and cold baths, comfortable dormitories, and for all these
advantages the price of board and tuition in the school is only $16
per month. The number of students at the time of our visit was 220.
Many of them gathered around us, and conducted us through the
gardens and buildings. They entertained us delightfully with recita-
tions and choice music, and extended many other courtesies. A
bright-eyed little Indian boy of only eleven years stepped out grace-
fully before us in the garden and delivered a charming address of
welcome to the "two sefioritas," in which he stated that both the
professors and students of the " Instituto Literario " were honored by
our visit, and it was their wish that we should return at some future
day. They all accompanied us to the portal of the college, where
the usual custom of shaking hands, intermingled with all sorts of
good wishes, was gone through, and the last that we heard was a
long and continuous "^'fl'z^j'," amid the flutter of handkerchiefs and
waving of hands from the gallant young students of " El Instituto
Literario."

In striking contrast to the Instituto Literario was a public day-
school for the poorer children of the town. At seven o'clock in the
morning, we saw dozens of small urchins filing into a building oppo-
site our rooms. Not believing it possible that these were school hours,
we went over to see for ourselves, and there sat the little folks, some
on low chairs, some on benches, while others were down upon the
floor, book in hand, and all studying together and aloud, reminding
one of the chatter of magpies.

298

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

These tireless little seekers after knowledge were not released from
their arduous duties until six in the evening; eleven long hours, ex-
cepting the noon-day recess, sitting there, rebozo-wxz.^'^Q.d. and book-
absorbed.

It was an exaggeration of our " old field " system, and these little
Mexicans enjoy a great advantage over their white neighbors ; pun-
ishment of any kind being prohibited by law, and their "tender
thoughts" and "young ideas" are spared the painful necessity of

NKVADO I)K TDI.l'CA.

being taught to "shoot" by the aid and persuasive eloquence of a
hickory switch.

By means of tram-cars, we made a charming trip to the Hacienda
de la Hucria (plantation of the Garden), the most productive in
the Valley of Toluca. We ascended a hundred feet to the mile for
nine miles, and shivered with cold as we went. The hacienda is at
the foot of the Nevado de Toluca, a perpetually snow-capped moun-
tain, which aided us in the delusion that we had entered the arctic
regions.

FROM MEXICO TO MORELIA. 299

The hacienda has more the appearance of a town or municipality
than anything else, having a store, 2. fotida, a very fine large flouring-
mill, and produces great quantities of wheat. All the farm work is
done by American machinery, and, in addition, one thousand men are
employed the year round, who earn from 18 to 50 cents a day. In
reply to our interrogation as to how they could exist on so small a
sum as 18 cents, the administrador (manager) said that "until the
peon was educated to where he felt the need of something more than
tortillas and Chili peppers to eat, it was not likely his ambition would
be much stimulated. It is only by the education of the young chil-
dren that any such thing may be expected."

We were greatly interested in a young deaf-mute, who is employed
as gardener on the hacienda. He had graduated at the School of Deaf-
Mutes at the capital, and afterwards took a course in horticulture and
agriculture at the Agricultural College there. He wrote on the slate
in three languages, Spanish, French, and English, and seemed de-
lighted to converse with us in the latter language. The borders and
walks were marvels of beauty, but the former were rather startling, as
they represented huge snakes, made of various kinds of bottles, and
white quartz and lava, broken in tiny bits, with their great mouths
wide open, as if to swallow anything that came in sight. Rustic
fences of exquisite shape and style have been planned and arranged
by this gardener, and at regular intervals on the rustic fence he had
placed dainty baskets of ferns, brought from the mountains. He has
ten men and two carpenters to carry out any of his designs. He was
much pleased with our praises of his skill and taste.

We were the recipients of many social kindnesses from prominent
citizens, to whom we bore letters of introduction. Among them
Governor Llalan, the Governor of the State, received us with all the
grace of a cavalier in the grand salon of the palace. Upon
the walls of this elegantly furnished apartment there hung the
portraits of all past Governors, while supported on handsome
easels in the corners, were those of Hidalgo, Juarez, and George
Washington.

300 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

The same rule, I found, existed in every State capitol that I visited,
but not in every case was there a portrait of Washington.

A nephew of General Miramon, Sefior Enrique Rodriguez y Mira-
mon, the civil engineer of the State, together with his accomplished
wife, bestowed upon the strangers most kindly attentions.

On one of our strolls we noticed a time-worn sign over a sadly
defaced portal, which read: "■ Boletus del sol" ("Tickets to the
sun "). We had been constantly mystified by the signs on both stores
and streets, but this one eclipsed them all. A closer investigation
proved it to be the ancient bull-ring of the town, and this sign indi-
cated that those who had depleted pocket-books might sit on the
sunny side for a less price than in the shade, por el sombre (a canvas
awning) making the only difference.

Living in Toluca is cheap, and as a summer resort for those who
are not affected by the altitude, no place in the Republic offers greater
inducements. The hotel El Leon de Oro (The Golden Lion) is
neat and well kept, as well as reasonable in charges. There is an
excellent market, pretty little Zocalo,and an admirable band of music
composed of boys, from eleven to fifteen, belonging to the public
schools.

In this country, on every hand, striking contrasts and marked
characteristics present themselves. Everything is possessed of an in-
dividual interest — each person or object in itself striking — collectively
furnishing fine groupings for pen or pencil.

It was in Toluca that I heard strains of natural, human music that
could not be surpassed by the Miserere, or the most plaintive measures
of the Requiem, and saw a life-picture that Hogarth, with his fine ap-
preciation of the natural, would have loved to depict, and which would
rival the real and the ideal creations of Salvator Rosa.

I was slowly walking along a humble street, noting the striking
objects that to me had all the fascination of pictures for the child. I
heard loud wails as of a woman in anguish, and in the plaintive patois
of the town, the words " Pobrecita mia ! Muerta ! Muerta ! " (" My
poor little baby is dead ! dead ! ") Then followed low cries of calm-

FROM MEXICO TO MORE LI A. 30I

ing grief, as though it were all driven back on the heart ; then sobs,
sighs, silence. Accompanying the mournful song of human agony,
a mother's heart-breakings, with " pobrecita mia ! " the perpetual
refrain, I heard a solemn voice that was deep and mellow, with rich,
persuasive inflections, half barbaric, but full of music, that seemed to
charm away the wild grief that was welling up from her soul. The
sobs ceased, the sighs were hushed, the consoling voice was silent.
I looked in through the open portal and saw a touching life-scene —
a tableau. An aged cura^ clad in sweeping black gown, his long white
locks streaming over his shoulders, stood with feeble, trembling, up-
lifted hand, his voice mute, his heart in prayer. Slowly his hand
descended with the gentlest touch upon the bowed head of a poor,
weeping Indian woman, kneeling at his feet, holding in her arms,

hugged to her bosom, her dead baby.

* -A -it -x- * * % -Sf

Leaving Toluca to visit Morelia, the country presents the same
aspect as seen elsewhere. Here and there rocky plains and sterile
spots are guarded by glistening church towers, leaning against moun-
tains covered with dark pines. Again, green fields and pastures, un-
told acres of alfalfa, wheat, and other cereals, inform us of a climatic
change and a more favored condition of the soil.

To the end of our journey we have constantly in view the Nevado
de Toluca, and are also haunted by a small river which follows us un-
interruptedly, and is known as the Rio Lerma. Near Toluca there is
a lake of the same name. The Lerma River, while at first appearing
so insignificant, assumes in its course an important position, in the
hydrography of a scantily watered country. It increases in size
and volume as it flows through the States of Guanajuato, Mexico,
and Michoacan de Ocampo — even passing through Lake Chalapa,
and at last finds a suitable outlet in the waters of the great Pacific.
On its long and tortuous course it changes its name several times — a
custom not uncommon with Mexican streams.

At Flor de Maria there is a solitary station, with an excellent
eating-house, connected with the railway. We pass near the rich

302

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

mining region of El Oro and others — also the Cation de las Zopolotes
(turkey-buzzard) — and at length we reach Pomoca, near Tepeji del

Rio. Here we have a re-
minder of the heroic death
of one of Mexico's bravest
sons — Melchor Ocampo.
A house in ruins and a
garden in dilapidation are
interesting mementoes of
his tragic death.

The quaint old towns of
Maravatio and Acambaro,
founded in the sixteenth
century, also come forward
with their stirring revolu-
tionary recitals. Every-
where we are reminded of
the unparalleled struggles
of the Mexican people for
liberty.

The town of Acambaro
is the dividing point of the
National Railway, one branch extending to Celaya, with a prospect at
some future day of reaching Saltillo, the present terminus of the
eastern division. By the western division we proceeded to Morelia,
then the terminus. The traveler, so desiring, may make a pleasant
tour through the middle States by the National, and return to the
capital by the Central road.

In closing our journey of twelve hours from Toluca to Morelia, we
passed beside the lovely lake of Cuitzco, just as the lingering rays of
a semi-tropical sun, with all their bright-tinted hues, were thrown
across this picturesque lake. Cuitzco is the result of a volcanic con-
vulsion, and its waters are salt. The wild scenery surrounding it is in
keeping with the peculiar little mountains in the background, its rich

WATER-CARRIER OF GUANAJUATO.

FROM MEXICO TO MO R ELI A. 303

vegetation interlaced with vines and flowers of tangled growth, in
all making a scene in the short Mexican twilight well worth remem-
bering.

Darkness closed us in from further observations, and at half-past
nine we found ourselves comfortably settled in the Hotel de Michoa-
can. The camarista was both voluble and agreeable, with a hint of
officiousness thrown in for good measure. At seven in the morning
he entered our rooms without knocking, his hair standing erect upon
his pumpkin-shaped head, and without preface or embarrassment
stated it was not the custom in that part of the country to eat any
dcsayuno (breakfast) except chocolate or coffee and bread. He evi-
dently thought we looked doubtful as to the truth of his information,
as well as of other marvelous things he told us concerning the hotel.
To emphasize his statements, he stepped across the room and handed
us each a copy of the regulations of the hotel. His face wore a mas-
terly grin and his hair seemed to move back and forth " like quills upon
the fretful porcupine," as he pointed exultingly to the literal English
translation. He proudly directed our attention to Article XVHI.,
which read thus :

" In conformity with an order from tlie police, people coming to take lodgings
into this hotel are obliged to let know their names, trades, and countries, as well as
the place whence they do come, and tiiose to which they are bound to, so that the
whole be inscribed in a book which is kept for that purpose at the hotel office."

Article VH. informed us that :

" In the amount of room rent, the inward room service and the candle for
enlightening it at night are only included ; whatever other service the lodger may
require is to be considered an extra charge, and, of course, paid for separately."

On reading this, I asked him if he did not also furnish matches.
He turned his head, disdainfully surveying us from the height of his
superior knowledge, as he replied with increasing emphasis and long-
drawn intonation : '■'■ No se flora, en este hotel siempre faltan jabon y ccril-
los " (" In this hotel we never furnish soap or matches ").

Here were the identical words of Poinposo at the San Carlos ! The

304 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

possibility of a pre-arrangement flashed across me, of course to be in-
stantly rejected. The printed rules were before us, thirty of them,
mostly restrictive. But in my travels I found every hotel well pro-
vided in this respect, the English translations being always waggish in
their literalness.

The lover of ancient art, and of objects that have a history, may
find in Mexico an inexhaustible fund of interest in visiting the nu-
merous convents that exist everywhere. In many cases they have
been purchased by private individuals and are used as residences.
The government owns others, and has established in them colleges
and municipal and industrial schools. In no place have I found
these establishments more interesting than at Morelia. One of the
most extensive is El Carmen, the venerable convent of the Car-
melites. We visited it one evening, but time did not permit us to
explore its spacious interior, and we decided to return and complete
the inspection.

The Carmelites, on leaving the country, had presented this con-
vent, with all its belongings, to a private citizen.

We visited many others, and always with an increasing desire to
investigate further these remnants of the past. Among them were
San Juan de Dios, La Merced, and San Diego. Special mention
belongs to the last named. The convent of San Diego stands at the
opening of the San Pedro Park. Attached to it is the sanctuary of
Guadalupe, erected in 1708, a beautiful specimen of Doric architecture,
adorned with columns, entablatures, and shields. This consecrated
building served as a retreat for the bishop and clergy. The convent
was founded by the will of a citizen of Valladolid, who in 1747 left
$21,000 for that purpose, with the condition that the sanctuary be
annexed to it. Accordingly the building was erected and the old
sanctuary enlarged. Many years later the magnificent altar was con-
structed which now adorns the church. The tall cypresses which
screen the entrance were planted in 1807. They no longer shelter the
devotees nor the monks pacing up and down in pious meditation ; for
the convent of San Diego, like so many others, has been secularized,

FROM MEXICO TO MORELIA.

305

and families and individuals enjoy the rare privilege of dwelling
in these noble tenements with their frescoed walls and deep re-
cesses.

Our curiosity was not satisfied with regard to El Carmen, one of
the oldest and most dismantled of all the convents in Morelia, having
been established in 1593. Intent upon gratifying this curiosity, we
bent our steps thither quite early one morning and were amply repaid.
In many places the walls were moss-grown and dilapidated, while here
and there the tangled vines and grasses and broken columns gave em-
phasis to the signs of decay that marked the ruin. Sitting complacently
upon a broken, fallen column, we beheld an object that filled us with
horror — an Indian mendigo, a representation in one, of the ancient
Aztec, the pobre Mexicano, and the gentleman of the nineteenth
century.

His head was covered by a mass of straggling black hair that fell
like the mane of a buffalo over
his penetrating black eyes, which
were turned upon us with a fur-
tive suspiciousness by no means
comfortable. He was barefooted
and shirtless. His trousers of
white cotton were of rather in-
significant dimensions, having
only a full width to each leg.
Surmounting the whole, tipped
slightly to one side, was an an-
cient stove-pipe hat. Time did
not admit of a further inspec-
tion, and taking refuge in some
rapid evolutionary movements, we rushed through the big open doors,
which creaked mournfully on their hinges, on into the vault-like hall,
up the steep, shaky steps. It never occurred to us to look back, so
sure were we that this remarkable specimen of humanity was in close
pursuit. At the top of the stairway, ere we had recovered our breath

AN OHJECT OI" HORROR.

306 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

magically a door opened and a swarthy, dark face peeped out, as if
to say, " What in the world are you two women doing here ? " We
took no time to see how he looked ; and shaking with alarm, yet
convulsed with laughter, we turned hastily from this dark hall to one a
little less obscure. The unusual noise and scampering of feet attracted
the attention of the occupant of another room, and before we could
catch our breath, another door opened and the head of a veritable
Apollo looked out. This last apparition was too much, and the floor,
polished by the feet of past generations, seemed to give way beneath
our own, and we collapsed on its slippery surface. Overcome by imagi-
nary terrors, we calmly awaited our fate. Seeing our alarm and ghost-
like paleness, he came forth with the manner characteristic of an
accomplished Mexican gentleman, and kindly offered to serve us in

any way possible. Madame de C quickly explained, in beautiful

Spanish, the cause of our fright and consequent flight, and before she
had finished he, too, was in the full enjoyment of our unexpected
merriment.

Ere we had arisen from our humble position on the floor, we
glanced upward at the walls, lined with pictures, where our attention
was riveted upon one of them which would of itself have put us to
flight. It represented some penitents at confession, while the devil,
painted red^ pranced around on all fours, evidently angered because
these devotees were lost to him.

Our Apollo informed us that he was a law student in one of the
colleges, and had chosen a room in El Carmen because of its peculiar
quietude. He accompanied us in a deliberate inspection of the time-
stained office. It is doubtful, however, if we were in a sufficiently
equable frame of mind to contemplate serenely the beauties of the
numerous exquisite paintings which adorned the walls. The grand old
organ stood mute yet eloquent ; its language uttered in the past, its
tones never more to be repeated.

When we descended to the ground, the cause of our fears sat un-
moved, not having changed his position since we left him, save
tipping his hat a little more to one side, while the expression on his

FROM MEXICO TO MORELIA. 3^7

face was as guiltless of any knowledge of our approach as his body
was of a shirt.

Probably the largest bachelor establishment on the American con-
tinent, perhaps in the world, is that of Baron Guillermo Wodon de

S . In the war of reform, when church property was confiscated

and sold to the highest bidder, this gentleman became the purchaser
of an extensive convent, and no transformation could have been more
complete than that he wrought in the venerable building. The walls
which had echoed only the sighs and prayers of pious nuns now re-
sounded with the voices of the bachelor occupant and his bo7is-
cainarades. That the Baron makes an admirable host, we, with our
friends, can testify, having been delightfully entertained at this
metamorphosed hall. Our entertainer combined the grace and cour-
tesy of the manner of his native country with that of the land of his
adoption.

A more charming climate, both summer and winter, is not to be
found in the republic than that of Michoacan, which is sixty English
miles from the capital. It is so temperate that one experiences no
dizziness.

The State is rich in minerals — gold, silver, and precious stones. It
possesses woods of endless variety. Among them we saw in the
museum the cork tree, pitch-pine, red and white cedar, red, white,
and black walnut, wild olive, mahogany, poplar, ash, red and white
oak, willow, laurel, beech, rosewood, ebony, and many others impos-
sible to mention. Everywhere in the State fine fruits abound, and
skirting as it does the tierra caliente^ those of both tropical and tem-
perate climes alike flourish. Here, for the first time, I saw in perfec-
tion the cJiirimolla and granadita.

In 1839 Madame Calderon de la Barca made the journey from the
capital to Morelia on horseback, and regretted that so much beauty
was wasted. She says : " We are startled by the conviction that this
enchanting variety of hill and plain, wood and water, is for the most
part unseen by human eye and untrod by human footstep." These
beauties are now no longer concealed. The railway has penetrated

308 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

the country in more than one direction, and has rendered accessible its
most romantic scenery, while opening up its varied and valuable pro-
ductions.

The district of Uruapan has become famous for its exquisite
lacquered ware bearing the same name, and which has received gold
prizes at the Philadelphia, Vienna, and Paris Expositions. The finest
specimens of the work yet exhibited, strange to relate, have been ex-
ecuted by two or three families. As explained to me by one of the
workers in the market of Morelia, simple old-fashioned gourds, gener-
ally cut into plaques, are used as the basis of operations. They first
apply some neutral tint as the groundwork, after which the artist>
with an ordinary pocket-knife, makes the design in either fruit oi
flowers — perhaps after the order of an engraver on wood — and then,
little by little, the colors are deftly put into these indentures by the
fingers, time being allowed for each to become entirely dry before
adding another. These paints are prepared by the Indians them-
selves from the native dye-woods, and as a variety of colors is used
in the process, much time is expended in making this wonderful ware.
Not the least important in the various processes employed, is that of
rubbing, when thoroughly dry, the entire picture with a curious admix-
ture of oily substances, of which the ordinary caterpillar is the princi-
pal. But there is good sense, and reason as well, in resorting to so
obnoxious a thing as a caterpillar, for it completes an object that is
not only one of great utility, resisting alike grease and water, but also
gives a ware that is to the last, even when worn into shreds, an article
of fadeless beauty.

In the State of Michoacan there is the most picturesque lake in
the republic. Since my visit there the railway has reached its shores,
rudely awakening it from the slumber of ages. Humboldt visited
Patzcuaro, and speaks of the lake as rivaling the world-famed Lake of
Geneva. Even in this land of grand and romantic scenery it stands
alone in its exceeding loveliness. A pleasure boat has been recently
launched upon its limpid waters for the recreation of health-seekers
and tourists. The town of Patzcuaro supplies good accommodations

FROM MEXICO TO M OR ELI A.

309

in its comfortable hostelries, and its Inhabitants are fully alive to the
advantages of being in communication with the rest of the world.

The early Spanish fathers appreciated the natural beauties of
this region, and founded here a bishopric and the College of San
Nicolas, which, however, were both subsequently removed to Val-
ladolid, the college being united with that of San Miguel in 1580, at
the same time transferring its name to the latter institution.

The tourist visiting any of the larger cities of Mexico is much sur-
prised to find schools and colleges with modern equipments such as
would reflect credit upon any country.

At Morelia the most notable of the colleges are the "Colegio de San
Nicolas" — of which Hi-
dalgo was regent — and
" El Seminario." Each
of these has about five
hundred pupils. The
Church, or Conserva-
tive party, patronize
and control " El Sem-
inario," while the Lib-
erals maintain the for-
mer. A bitter feud
has been naturally
aroused between the
students of the two
schools, and not so very
long ago they would
draw themselves up in
battle array, and pro-
ceed to pelt each other
with stones until all
were satisfied. San
Nicolas was the first

institution of learning established on the American continent, having
20

COl LEGK OF SAN NICOLAS.

3IO FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

been founded about the year 1540. Two or three years later, in 1543,
it was placed under the protection of the Emperor Carlos V.

A magnificent library that is open to the public is connected with
this institution. The population of the city is about forty thousand,
and its public benefactions are numerous and excellent. Among
them I noted a hospital for men, and a separate one for women ; Civil.
Hospital, Hospital del Corazon de Jesus, and Monte de Piedad, and
many others. Not only are these institutions cleanly and well kept,
but they are also spacious and airy. Since the reform war, and the
separation of Church and State, many of the convents have been con-
verted into hospitals. The afflicted inmates have a permanent and
agreeable source of diversion in gazing upon the highly embellished
walls of these stately institutions.

There are separate prisons for men and women, and also a general
penitentiary. Cotton factories and other industrial establishments,
including the manufacture of exquisite pottery, place Morelia in the
van of progressiveness. The temples of worship are magnificent, and
the public edifices of great elegance, while well-kept /«:«/^^<7«5 (ceme-
teries), paseos and alamedas add to the long list of its attractions.
A favorite place of recreation is the beautiful avenue known as the
Calzada de Guadalupe. It was originally constructed for the accom-
modation of the faithful who visited the Sanctuary of Guadalupe,
where it terminated.

The Morelianos are exceedingly conservative, and neither Ameri-
cans nor other foreigners have obtained any extensive foothold ;
nevertheless, there is a growing undercurrent of liberalism, which in
many ways manifests itself. They have a city of many natural advau'
tages, but while it is one of the most beautiful and interesting in the
republic, it will be many years before the Anglo-Saxon race will
reside there in great numbers.

We are everywhere forcibly reminded of Spanish domination in
the architecture, which, like the language, has changed but little.
Cities may differ in building materials, but the ancient Spanish is uni-
versally copied. However, it must be acknowledged that the Anglo-

FROM MEXICO TO MORELJA.

311

Saxon can make no improvement on the style of architecture in its
suitability to the climate and the exclusive lives of the people. But
there is often seen a free admixture of every known order of architect-
ure, for in a newly finished building we saw the Doric, Corinthian,
Pompeian, Romanesque, and Spanish. The interior decorations were
exclusively in the gorgeous Pompeian.

To the stranger the most attractive points in the prevailing archi-,

MONUMENT TO MORELOS — " CALLE REAL."

tecture are \.ht por tales, those inviting retreats along the sidewalks,
and the aqueducts, which may be seen for miles, with their high,
massive arches, through which one catches glimpses of blue sky, lofty
mountain peaks, and peaceful valleys, animated with charming pas-
toral scenes.

The city has stately proportions and attractions that are peculiar

312 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

to itself. We never tired of exploring the historic places which have
from its founding been objects of unfailing interest to all visitors and
travelers. Calle Real was an especial source of pleasure as we
viewed it from the Plaza of the Martyrs, upon the corner of which
stands the monument erected to Morelos. Watching the itinerant
venders from our shady retreat, and the idlers who added their statu-
ette-like figures to the monument, the whole resting tranquilly
under the motionless trees above them, we could but feel that the
hapless poor have an aptitude for posing, and in lending themselves
to this occasion the scene was at once thoroughly harmonious and
national.

One gets strong ideas of imperialism in the decorations and fur-
nishings of the municipal buildings and halls of congress. A city of
twelve or fifteen thousand inhabitants has the mayor's office fitted up
as if that functionary were a representative of royalty. The legisla-
tive halls have an appearance of regal magnificence with their im-
mense, lofty apartments, gayly frescoed and lined with portraits of
the governors of the State; mirrors, chandeliers, and carpets of richest
texture ; and the dais with its canopied chair for the executive. For
me, all this splendor, while it suggested the influence of the viceroys,
found a suitable solution in the national love of bright colors and dis-
play.

Two lines of chairs facing each other extend from the dais to the
further extremity of the hall, where another official occupied his ele-
vated seat, but without the canopy.

The legislature was then in session, and having letters to Governor
Jimenez, then newly installed, we were courteously invited by him
to visit the palace. We gladly accepted and had the additional
pleasure of seeing that august body in session in this the Virginia
of Mexico. If Morelia has gained that name, it is not alone because
of her many distinguished sons, who have long since passed from
these living scenes, but, without intending or wishing to detract from
the men of any other part of the Republic, the members of the legis-
lature of Michoacan were the most commanding in appearance of

FROM MEXICO TO M OR ELI A.

313

any assemblage that I saw in the country. The dark, Indian type
prevailed, with large, well-shaped heads, eyes of unusual brilliancy,
broad, square shoulders, erect figure, and graceful bearing.

In one of her admirable descriptive letters Mme. de C. thus men-
tions the hospitality of the citizens of Morelia : "The tropical banana
and many creeping vines with gorgeous blossoms, among them the
Boiigainvilla, hanging in great clusters of pink, crimson, and purple,
such as we do not see elsewhere, beautify the patios of the hospi-
table Morelianos, who, when the stranger stops to admire the luxuri-
ant growth and wonderful coloring of the flowers, cordially invite
him to enter and examine at leisure." Of the hospitality of the More-
lianos to us, she says : " I wish there were time and space to tell of
their kindly reception of two foreigners ; of the simple yet elegant
manner in which the family of the intelligent young editor of the
Gaseta Oficial {Official State Paper), Seflor Ojeda, entertained them at
an afternoon tea, and of the gracious goodness of which the honored
visitors were the grateful recipients from other kind acquaintances, to
whom letters of introduction were presented."

My personal tribute is, that in all my travels in Mexico no place
has left upon my mind more pleasing or lasting impressions. Though
so conservative, the hospitality of its people is pure and genuine.

Our own distin-
guished countrywo-
man, Mrs. Mary Hal-
leck Foote, like Mad-
ame Calderon, made
the journey from
Morelia to the capital
on horseback. Her
admirable i 1 1 u s t r a-
tions of the scenes
in and about that
quaint old city, to-
gether with her

FIRST PATIO IN COLLEGE OF SAN NICOLAS.

3H FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

charming descriptions of the people, appeared in the Century
Magazine for 1881-82, She says: "I had fallen into that helpless
attitude toward the outer world which is like a spell over the
women of the country. The return of the engineers and the dis-
cussion of plans for our homeward journey on horseback broke up
the dream — one last drive on the paseo in the splendor of the
low sunset light, then a bustle of packing, and talk of saddles and
horses, servants for the road, and of steamer days and telegrams,
last calls and a sense of multiplied obligations, which fate might
never permit us fitly to recognize. When the railroad is completed,
and the tides of travel ebb to and fro, if our friends of Casa

G are among those northward bound, may they find as gracious

and courteous a welcome as they gave the strangers within their gates."

The closing wish finds a hearty echo in the breasts of two other
American women who gratefully add their heartfelt testimony to
the kindness and hospitality of the dwellers in that historic city. Just

four years after Mrs, Foote's visit, Madame de C and myself bade

our entertainers there a warm, and sad adios.

Our two weeks' vacation had drawn to a close. At the hour when
the mellow chimes of the grand cathedral were calling to matins, when
the sound of bells far away in Indian villages fell softly on the newly
awakened senses, the military responding with drum and bugle-call,
we bade adieu to this delightful mediaeval city and its interesting in-
habitants, and returned with mental and physical energies renewed to
our complex nineteenth century life and its manifold duties.

CHAPTER X.

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY.

'EXICO maintained her struggle for in-
dependence through eleven years. At
the outset, no people could have been
less prepared for such a contest. Their
weapons of warfare were primitive and
few in number. They possessed no
knowledge of military tactics, and their
leaders were unfitted by training and
profession for warlike deeds. But in
that era of social and political ferment
the chances were many that their
efforts would ultimately be crowned with success ; and while the diffi-
culties attending the high enterprise must have seemed at times alm9st
insurmountable, their faith in the issue was unclouded.

Doubtless they also derived both stimulus and encouragement
from the assured success of the American Republic, and gladly
risked their lives in the hope of a like glorious consummation.

A better grounded or more righteous cause never existed than
that of Mexico against the tyranny and usurpation of the Spaniards,
who filled every place of power and emolument in the government to
the exclusion of the Creoles and native population.

This state of affairs was long accepted as inevitable; but the idea
of the divine right of kings and the immutability of established order
received a rude shock when Napoleon overturned so many of the
sovereignties of Europe, and among them that of Spain. Grand
possibilities opened then before the vision of the foremost few, and
these animated by the purest patriotism, unavoidably joined forces

3l6 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

with men who sought only personal aggrandizement and the oppor-
tunities for place and power.

The result of the coalition of such conflicting elements may be
read in the rapid succession of events, one military leader succeeding
another, and, fired by jealousy and the dread of rivalry, summarily
disposing of his predecessor. The popular idol of to-day may to-
morrow be a victim to his own superiority, as envy, like death, loves
a shining mark. His place in history cannot be augured from his
fate at the hands of his countrymen. Time avenges all such, and
many who were executed as traitors are now revered as martyrs, their
dust the choicest treasure of the Grand Cathedral and San Fernando.
The strife in which they lived is past ; the passions to which they
were sacrificed are stilled forever, and only their great deeds survive.
They live in the hearts of their countrymen, and in every part of
the republic their memorials are to be found in the forms of mural
tablet or shaft.

The facilities now offered for travel in Mexico place within the
reach of all who desire it, the privilege of visiting in person the
historic places mentioned in this connection ; and at almost every turn
of-the railway the eye may rest upon some evidence of a sanguinary
contest or memorial of stirring event.

It was my pleasure and privilege to make pilgrimages to many of
these places, and often while gazing upon shaft or cross my heart
has been thrilled as I recalled the unparalleled struggles of the Mexi-
can people for liberty.

"HIDALGO, THE WASHINGTON OF MEXICO."

Let us turn for a moment to the first scene in the grand drama
for liberty.

The hour is midnight. The inhabitants are wrapped in a calm and
delightful repose. The gray-headed veteran and the child with
golden curls — youth and innocence, old age and infirmity — are alike
in profound slumber, in blissful unconsciousness of the coming storm.
It is in the unpretentious town of Dolores — suggestive name ! The

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 317

streets are quiet, but a glance toward the little church, henceforward
to become in verity the Mexican Faneuil Hall and cradle of liberty,
reveals dimly the outlines of men
moving stealthily about in the
gloom. They gather at length
in a group around a central figure
arrayed in priestly garb, a slender
form telling of abstinence. See
his eyes beaming dove-like gentle-
ness and benediction ! See the
warrior-soul slumbering in the
meek priest ! See those eyes,
once filled with woman-like gentle-
ness, transformed to balls of fire
that burn into the hearts of
men, enthusing them with his
own terrible thoughts! The eagle-
glances that pierce the semi-dark-
ness blaze into the dusky coun-
tenances of his followers ! He
waves his thin white hands, so
oft engaged in supplication and
in eloquent gesture, aiding his sacred oratory, as in words that burn
he denounces the oppressor. The priest is a warrior now ; the hand
that has been so often raised in gentle benediction now strikes in
wild gesture as though it held a sword. It would have blessed — it is
now ready to smite !

Thus stood the venerable Miguel Hidalgo on the night of the 15th
of September, 1810, as in animated tones he addressed his Indian
allies, concluding with the exhilarating cry, " ViVA NUESTRA Senora
DE Guadalupe ! " " Viva la Independencia ! " The banner of
revolt is raised above their heads ; he makes the sign of the cross,
murmurs a prayer, and the humble cura of Dolores moves down the
narrow street in front of his bronze adherents, releasing captives,

THE PATRIOT HIT)AI,GO.

31 8 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

thus adding to their ranks, and in turn placing in captivity the lead-
ing Spaniards.

Ere the morning sun shed his first beams on the streets of Dolores,
the bells pealed forth melodiously at so early an hour as to cause sur-
prise to all within hearing. Soon the residents of the town and peo-
ple from the adjacent /«^(^/^j- were seen gathering around the portals
of the church they loved so well. The cura is there, but not to cele-
brate the mass on this Sunday morning; for the work of revolution
has already begun. From the pulpit he addresses that Indian multi-
tude as " My dear children," and urges them to rend asunder the
despised yoke of tyranny and to reclaim the property and lands stolen
from their ancestors. '* To-day we must act ! Will you, as patriots,
defend your religion and your rights?" "We will defend them,"
shouts the crowd. " Viva nuestra Senora de Guadalupe!'' and "Death
to the bad government ! Death to the Gachupines ! " " Live, then,
and follow your cura who has ever watched over your welfare," is
the reply of Hidalgo.

The cura of Dolores has addressed his congregation for the last
time ; and though bravely and resolutely determined to meet the issue
without faltering, the thought is a painful one. Heretofore he has
warned them to flee from the wrath to come, administered the holy
sacrament and signed them with the cross in baptism ; henceforward,
in this new crusade against oppression and usurpation, he is their
leader to victory or death !

Miguel Hidalgo y Costillo was the second son of his parents, who
lived in the province of Guanajuato.

From his early youth he was a close student, and when still quite
young he had attained considerable proficiency in philosophy, and
also in his theological studies in the College of San Nicolas in Valla-
dolid. He received his degree of bachelor of theology at the capital,
and was appointed successively to the curacy of two wealthy parishes
in the diocese of Valladolid. The death of his brother was the
means of his appointment as cura of Dolores, which gave him a
salary of about twelve thousand dollars a year. He became a scien-

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 319

tist, philosopher, and political economist, and was, besides, a linguist
of high order. He invested his means in various ways ; grew silk-
worms, planted grape-vines, put into successful operation a porcelain
factory, and many other industries for the advancement of the people
about him.

When the sphere of his knowledge is considered, he is found to
have possessed an amount of information far in advance of his con-
temporaries, while his social and conversational gifts were exception-
ally fine.

Hidalgo was fifty-eight years old when he raised the grito, but he
had been long maturing the plan that finally triumphed over all
obstacles.

We now return to Dolores, where the disaffected had already
swelled into a formidable insurgent force. From thence they pro-
ceeded to San Felipe, gathering reinforcements by the way. They
next surprised San Miguel, arriving at dark. They were received en-
thusiastically by the population, and proceeded without bloodshed
to arrest the Spaniards; AUende, who was Hidalgo's chief support,
and a brave officer, assuring them that no harm should come to them.
A cheer was raised for independence, the colonel taken prisoner, and
a thousand royalist troops added to the insurgent army. Here they
procured the picture of the Virgin Guadalupe, which was transferred
to their banner to lead them to victory.

They next advanced on Guanajuato, a city of seventy thousand
inhabitants, the capital of the province, and the emporium of the
Spanish treasures. Only thirty miles from the starting-point at
Dolores, but in this short distance, the gentle zephyr of insurrec-
tion had become a perfect hurricane of revolution, and though the
arms of the insurgents were so rude and miscellaneous in character,
consisting of clubs, stones, machetes, arrows, lances and heavy swords,
they did not hesitate to oppose themselves to the trained and armed
Spanish garrison, and were victorious through enthusiasm and force
of numbers.

Here Hidalgo remained for ten days, during which he proclaimed

320 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

the independence of Mexico, and had himself elected Captain-Gen-
eral of America and Commander-in-chief of the army. The treasure,
said to have amounted to five million dollars, provided him with the
sinews of war.

We next see him at Valladolid, carrying all before him with the
same violence and excessive severity as at Guanajuato. About this
time he was joined by Morelos, also a priest, and a former pupil at
San Nicolas, where Hidalgo had been regent. He had heard of the
revolution, and in October hastened to ascertain the truth concerning
it from Hidalgo. He traveled a long distance before overtaking him,
but when assured that his sole aim was the independence of Mexico,
full of patriotism and reverence for his old teacher, Morelos tendered
his services, and received a verbal commission to organize an army
and arouse interest in the southwest. This was their last meeting.
The grand old college of San Nicolas had nurtured them both, and
given an impetus to their endowments which would render both fam-
ous.

After the departure of Morelos, Hidalgo proceeded toward the
capital, then under the command of the viceroy Venegas. With his
large army of undisciplined Indians he began the march, and reached
Monte las Cruces on the 30th of the month, and there encountered
the Spanish forces, commanded by Truxillo and Iturbide. Here for
the first time the raw recruits of Hidalgo came in contact with can-
non. It is said that the Indians, in their frenzy, rushed forward and
clapped their straw hats over the muzzles of the guns, hoping to
evade the death-dealing missiles.

In this engagement, Hidalgo, though victorious, lost heavily. He
then went within sight of the city, but declined to enter, though
urged by Allende to do so. The victory of Las Cruces had been so
dearly bought that another such would have been certain ruin.

Although at this time Hidalgo had cannon captured from the
enemy, and his forces were in a more soldierly condition than ever be-
fore, nevertheless at the bridge of Calderon he was defeated by Gen-
eral Calleja. He then determined to retreat to the north, and with

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 321

his best officers and several thousand men reached Saitillo in January,
1811. Leaving Rayon in command, he concluded to hasten to the
United States to purchase military equipments with which to cope
successfully with the efficient Spanish troops. He reached the Texas
boundary with a large sum of money, when he was betrayed by
Elizondo,* a former friend and compatriot, and taken a prisoner to
the city of Chihuahua.

The triumphs of his brief career were as marvelous as his defeat
was signal and irretrievable. Henceforward the floor of his prison cell
must be the theater for the closing scenes of his eventful life. No hope
of escape could penetrate those low, gray, pitiless walls! Defeat and
captivity have transformed him, and he. turns once more to his early
vocation. The intrepid warrior is again the gentle priest ! The eagle
glance which enthused the hearts of his countrymen is once more
softened in dove-like gentleness and benediction ! The hand that
smote is now raised in supplication as he implores Divine support and
guidance. As he paces to and fro, he surveys the bloody path over
which he led his victorious army, and while the retrospect discloses
ghastly horrors, he pleads, in extenuation, grim necessity ; but his un-
daunted spirit glows afresh as he recalls his glorious successes. He
has opened the path to freedom, and the grito of Dolores will not
cease to reverberate over the mountains and plains of Mexico until the
work of liberation, begun by him and his compatriots, is completed.

In the long trial that followed, even the chains and shackles could
not detract from the dignity and patience that characterized him.

On the 27th of July Dr. Valentine, as delegated by Bishop Olivares
of Durango, pronounced the sentence by which Hidalgo was degraded
from the priesthood. On the 29th he was summoned before the eccle-
siastical tribunal, clad in clerical garb, and relieved of his fetters for
the first time since his incarceration. He was then arrayed in the

* The treachery of Elizondo was avenged when in 1813 he went on an expedition to
Texas and was mortally wounded, when in bed, by one of his lieutenants. He died on the
bank of the San Marcos River, September, 1813.

322 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

vestments of his holy office. While on his knees before the representa-
tive of the bishop, he listened to the explanation of the causes which
led to this painful and humiliating scene. He was then stripped of his
sacerdotal garments, and turned over to the civil authorities, after
which he was again shackled and taken to his cell.

Ere the first streak of dawn, on July 31, 181 1, Hidalgo was sum-
moned to prepare for the closing scene. With the utmost serenity he
partook of his last breakfast. He then declared his readiness to go
with the guards, and assured them of his forgiveness. So heavily
ironed that he could scarcely walk, his courage and fortitude did not
for an instant fail him. He even remembered and asked for some
sweets left under his pillow, and divided them among the soldiers.
The sun had not yet risen and orders had been given that his head
should not be mutilated, so he calmly placed his hand over his heart,
as a guide for their aim. A platoon fired, wounding only his hand;
Hidalgo remained motionless, but continued in prayer. Another vol-
ley severed the cords that held him to his seat, and he fell, though
still breathing. Life was only extinguished when the soldiers had
fired three more volleys near his breast, the veneration in which he was
held doubtless interfering with the accuracy of their aim. Heroic to
the last, thus died Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, and the fame of the
Washington of Mexico, as he is called, grows brighter with succeeding
generations.

Allende, Jimenez, Aldama, and Santa Maria had met the deaths of
martyrs to the cause of liberty on June 26. The next day Chico and
three others were shot, all meeting their death bravely, though forced
to kneel like traitors and receive the fire of the musketry in their
backs. Those who were priests were first stripped of their sacerdotal
robes ; then, after death, each one was dressed in the habit of his
order and laid away with becoming respect.

The heads of Hidalgo, Allende, Jimenez, and Aldama were placed
in the four angles of the public storehouse in Guanajuato. Their
bodies, however, were deposited in the chapel of the Franciscans,
where they remained until 1823, when Congress ordered them, with

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 323

their heads, to be placed in the cathedral at the capital with all the
honors a grateful country could bestow.

JOSE MARIA MORELOS.

The death of Hidalgo left the leadership to Morelos, then operat-
ing in the southwest, whose superior genius designated him as a fitting
successor. Posterity delights in knowing the birthplace of distin-
guished men, but on this point authorities differ with regard to Mo-
relos. Some claim Valladolid, others Apatanzingan ; but from his
having spent a great part of his early youth in and near the former
city, it is generally conceded to be the place of his nativity. His youth
and early manhood were passed in hardy outdoor occupation, and
although he was studious and ambitious, it was not until the age of
thirty-two that he entered the college of San Nicolas, where he studied
philosophy under Hidalgo, and,
in accordance with his incli-
nation, prepared for the priest-
hood. He became ciira of
different small towns near by,
and his frugal habits enabled
him at a later period to pur-
chase a plain home in Valla-
dolid.

At the time of becoming a
soldier Morelos was forty-five
years old. On receiving his
commission from Hidalgo he
went to his curacy and there
collected twenty-five trustwor-
thy men, whom he armed
with muskets, and began the
march to the southwest. I
have looked on much of that
barren territory of several hun- jo^^ mar.a m,.rk.,os.

324 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

dred miles, and wondered how in those perilous times he could have
traversed it safely with his little band. At the various towns and
hamlets, however, he received reinforcements, and sometimes whole
militia companies seceded to him ; but these were undrilled and
unarmed. With this crude material and humble beginning Morelos
inaugurated a thorough and systematic course of instruction in military
tactics ; so that in less than two months he had not only a well-drilled
force of two thousand men, but had also inspired them with much of
his own ardor and patriotism. He believed more in a small force
with efficiency than in large numbers without discipline. His army
continued to increase, and one victory led to another; he often took
by surprise Spanish garrisons, imprisoning their leaders, and inducing
the troops to unite with him. With this army he contended again
and again successfully with the first commanders of the time and the
country.

Indeed, the tide of events had so favored him that he naturally
felt that the great cause of independence was assured. This was
accentuated when, in the latter part of 1811, he was joined by
Mariano Matamoros, another Indian priest, who, from the evident
force of his character, would lend valuable aid to the great work.
Morelos made him a colonel, and together they waged the war more
vigorously than ever. If one considers the previous lives of these
men, the genius they displayed must appear the more extraordinary.
Their .special talent was latent until it burst forth in those brilliant
actions which startled the world. The military ability of Morelos
elicited encomiums from one of the greatest captains of the age —
Wellington; while Matamoros is described by Alaman as the most
active and successful leader of the insurrection.

The first great event after Matamoros joined Morelos, occurred at
Cuantla, where the latter had intrenched himself. Here General
Calleja, in command of the royalist forces, being repulsed with heavy
loss, determined to besiege the town. For this purpose a second
Spanish force was sent out, and the siege was continued for nearly
three months without reducing their defenses or diminishing the

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 325

ardor and resolution of the patriots. Famine attacked them, and
they were driven to the necessity of eating worm-eaten hides ; but
capitulation meant certain death, despite the offers of pardon made
by the viceroy. All now seemed favorable for Calleja to caj)ture the
whole army, but notwithstanding his military prowess and reputation,
with an ample supply of men and munitions of war, the Indian priest
completely outwitted him. With masterly strategy Morelos with-
drew from the town at night, and had been gone two hours before
Calleja knew of his departure.

In September, 181 3, Morelos called the first Congress at Chilpan-
zingo, the first act of which confirmed his title of Generalissimo, and
a month later independence was declared.

It is not possible in this brief sketch to chronicle or enumerate his
brilliant victories, in many of which he was aided by such chiefs as
Matamoros, Galeana, the Bravos, Guadalupe Victoria, and Guerrero,
most of whom figured afterward in the history of the country.

The city of Valladolid was a desirable point for the head-quarters
of either army, being in the center of a wealthy and populous country.
Morelos approached its confines, and stretched his infantry in a line
in front of the city, while the cavalry occupied the hill of Santa Maria.
Here it was that he met with an overwhelming defeat at the hands of
Colonel Iturbide, from which he never recovered. Soon after, he lost
his chief support by the capture of Matamoros, who was executed on
February 3d following, in the public square of Valladolid, now called
Morelia in honor of Morelos. From this time Morelos met with a
succession of defeats and reverses until November 16, 181 5, when he
was taken prisoner, contending with characteristic bravery against an
overwhelming force. He was carried to the capital, tried, and de-
graded from the ranks of the clergy, the bishop shedding tears during
this last ceremony. He was then conveyed to San Cristobal, a
village north of the lake, where the closing scene was to be enacted.
Having said the last prayer, Morelos himself bandaged his eyes, and
was led forth bound, and dragging his shackles. He complied with
the order to kneel, murmuring calmly, " Lord, thou knowest if I have

326 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

done well: if ill, I implore thy infinite mercy." "The next moment
he fell, shot in the back, passing, through a traitor's death, into the
sphere of patriot-martyr and hero immortal."

Among the many historic places that I visited, none interested
me more than the house of Morelos in Morelia. In the drawing-
room I saw a finely executed portrait, placed there by the Junta
Patriotica (Patriotic Club) in 1858. In this the expression of
the face shows that blending of firmness, energy, frankness, and
magnetism, which distinguished him, as well as the humor and
gravity of his character, and other evidences of the genius of this re-
markable man.

In the same room there hangs a frame containing a piece of the silk
handkerchief which served to blindfold him before his execution at
San Cristobal. At the bottom of the frame I read with pathetic in-
terest these lines :

" This is the venerated relic,

The mournful bandage with which the tyrant

Hid the gaze of Morelos,

When the martyr of the Mexican people

Offered to his beloved country

His precious life as a sacrifice."

In front of the house is a commemorative tablet with this in-
scription :

" Illustrious Morelos ! Immortal hero !

In this mansion which thy presence

once honored,

the grateful people of Morelia

salute you.

September 16, 1881."

It will be seen that in the portrait of Morelos a handkerchief is
wound around the head. This somewhat eccentric habit of his was
adopted as a measure of relief from headache, to which he was sub-
ject. His frame was massive and in harmonious development corre-

THE EMPEROR AUGUSTIN DE ITURBIDK.

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 329

sponded with his head. He was consistent in everything, and recog-.
nizing the fact that war was a cruel necessity, he spared neither
himself, his friends, nor his enemies. His piety was sincere and
unostentatious, and throughout the five years of arduous service in
behalf of his country, he did not omit his religious duties. He never
went into an engagement without previously confessing himself ; but
after his first battle, always delegated to the chaplain the celebration
of mass.

THE EMPEROR AUGUSTIN DE ITURBIDE.

With feelings of more than ordinary interest I now turn to a
contemplation of the life of Augustin de Iturbide. A peculiar chain
of circumstances has associated his memory intimately with my own
experiences and first days spent in Mexico, imparting a flavor of ro-
mantic interest to the details that follow.

It will be remembered that in exploring the immense old house in
which I lived, my curiosity was richly rewarded by the discovery of
the dust-covered and cobwebbed portrait of a beautiful woman. The
soft eyes beamed on me from the painted canvas and the lips parted
as if to speak. For two years it remained a mystery, but at length I
ascertained that it was the portrait of Dofia Ana, the beautiful wife
of the Emperor Iturbide. More than two years passed, and I again
returned to the land of the Aztecs ; even now scarcely expecting to
tread the soil which had nurtured both Iturbide and Dona Ana. But
I had not only the pleasure of visiting at Moreliathe identical houses
in which they were born and reared, but also had the happiness of
enjoying the acquaintance and friendship of, with one exception, the
last living and only descendants of this handsome and distinguished
pair. Augustin de Iturbide was fifteen when his father died, and the
management of large estates devolved upon him.

His parents were of noble birth from Navarre, in old Spain; but
Augustin was a native of Mexico, having been born at Morelia, Sep-
tember 27, 1783. He was married, at twenty-two, to the lovely Dofla
Ana Maria Huerte, also of a distinguished Spanish family. The same

33° FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

year in which his father died he joined a volunteer miUtia regiment
in Morelia, and in 1805 entered the regular royalist army. His first
experience of real military life was at the encampment at Jalapa,
and in 1809 he gave material aid in crushing an embryo revolution at
Morelia.

It is said that Hidalgo so highly appreciated the military talents
displayed by Iturbide, that he offered him the position of lieutenant-
general before the first grito at Dolores. He declined this office and
afterward, as colonel of the royal army, took part in many brilliant
engagements, directed mostly against Morelos, the recognized succes-
sor of Hidalgo. The dashing young colonel, full of enthusiasm for
the maintenance of established law and order, and the grave, clerical
leader, had been nurtured among the same scenes.

Mention has been made of the defeat of Morelos by Iturbide at
their native city. One of the most memorable events in the War of
Independence was this encounter on the hills of Santa Maria, which
skirt the city. Iturbide, who was second in command, sallied out
with a small party to reconnoiter. Seeing defects in the position of
the insurgents, where Matamoros had not taken due precautions in
forming his line, he determined to seize the advantage, and with only
three hundred and sixty cavalry, he dashed up the hill, accessible
only by a steep path, where they were much exposed to cross-fires
from the revolutionary army. He gave a loud cheer and rushed for-
ward with his gallant band, creating dismay and confusion in the
forces of Morelos. Not expecting such an attack, they were panic-
stricken, and, it being then after dark, believed that the entire royal-
ist forces were upon them. A desperate battle ensued in the dark-
ness of the night between the insurgents themselves, during which,
after his gallant feat, and with captured banners and cannon, Itur-
bide retired in safety to the city, where he was received with enthusi-
astic demonstrations.

He received no promotion for that service, and Calleja said in
after years, " Colonel Iturbide deserved more than I thought proper
to give him." Soon after this brilliant action he became involved in

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 331

dissensions with the military authorities, in consequence of which he
retired to private Hfe. But, smarting under the injustice that had
been shown him, he conceived the idea of devoting his talents and
services to the liberation of his country. The royalists evidently
feared his marked abilities, should he again come upon the scene. A
bishop, writing to Calleja, then viceroy, said of Iturbide, '' That young
man is full of ambition, and it would not surprise me if, in the course
of time, he became the liberator of his country." Later events
proved the correctness of the prediction.

The seed sown by Hidalgo was nurtured by Morelos, and, in due
time, the whole grand scheme was harvested by the strong arm of
Iturbide.

In the opinion of many writers, Morelia has given birth to the two
most brilliant men in Spanish-America — Morelos and Iturbide.

For four years the cause of independence languished, though a
guerrilla warfare was for a time kept up by Guerrero, Guadalupe
Victoria, and others. In 1820 the troubles in Spain urged the Mexi-
cans to a renewed effort for independence. Iturbide was again called
upon by the viceroy, and given the command of the army of the
southwest. In the distracted condition of the country, he knew the
only safe and practicable plan would be to accept and then carry out
his own design of freedom. Having a secret understanding with
Guerrero, under pretense of an engagement, he soon afterward coa-
lesced with that leader, taking his army with him. Thus it was, after
all the struggle and sacrifice of years, independence was achieved by
a bloodless victory. Iturbide then formulated " the plan of Iguala,"
an embodiment of his ideas of government, the first article of which
declared the independence of Mexico.

It was well received at the time and accepted alike by the leaders
and people. Soon after, on his thirty-eighth birthday, he entered the
great capital triumphantly, surrounded by his aids, greeted with all
the enthusiasm and manifestations of delight which the people
were capable of displaying. Keys of gold were handed him with
great ceremony on a silver salver. The country showered honors

332 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

upon him, and on the night of May i8, 1822, he was made Emperor.
In his address to the people he said, " If, Mexicans, I do not secure
the happiness of the country; if at any time I forget my duties, let
my sovereignty cease." He was crowned by the bishop, but with his
own hands he placed the diadem on the brow of Dofla Ana. An im-
perial household was established with imposing splendor, and money
was coined in his image. He also instituted the Order of Guadalupe,
a return to the days of chivalry, and designed to add to the prestige
of the government. But '* uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,"
and Iturbide was no exception to the truth of the apothegm. Only
nine months from his coronation, pressure of circumstances and po-
litical changes forced him to abdicate. A sentence of exile was pro-
nounced against him, and three months later, with his family, he was
on his voyage to Italy.

To the soldier accustomed to a life of action, exile was intolerable;
and possessed of an irresistible desire to return, within a year he made
the homeward bound journey which proved fatal. A new and hostile
government was in power, and Iturbide had lost his old influence.
Not knowing the stern attitude of the government toward him, he
landed July 14, 1824, at Soto la Marina, on the gulf coast; and
scarcely had he touched his mother soil when he found himself a pris-
oner.

General Garza, the military commander, unwilling to act on his
own responsibility, referred the matter to the State Congress of Ta-
maulipas, then in session at Padilla. With much show of respect and
seeming confidence the ex-Emperor was conducted thither. He ar-
rived late at night, hopeful and unsuspicious, having himself been
placed by Garza in command of the escort which accompanied him.
The next morning he was informed that he must prepare for death
that afternoon. He remonstrated, asserting his innocence of any
desire to disturb the existing order of things, and referring in proof
of this to the presence of his family on shipboard. On finding the
decree inexorable, he said, " Tell General Garza I am ready to die, and
only request three days to prepare to leave this world as a Christian."

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 333

But even this was denied him, and on the evening of July 19th, when
the shadows began to gather and all nature was sinking to rest, they
led him forth to execution.

With noble and commanding mien ; with all his beauty and valor
and social gifts ; his smooth white brow, encircled with wavy light
brown locks, now bared to meet the last decree of fate, the pa-
triot stood undaunted, in Roman dignity. In clear tones he ad-
dressed these words to the soldiers : " Mexicans, in this last mo-
ment of my life I recommend to you the love of your country and
the observances of our holy religion. I die for having come to aid
you, and depart happy because I die among you. I die with honor,
not as a traitor ; that stain will not attach to my children and their
descendants. Preserve order and be obedient to your commanders.
From the bottom of my heart I forgive all my enemies." The ofificer
came to bind his eyes, to which he objected, but being told that it was
a necessary form., he unfalteringly bandaged his own eyes; then being
requested to kneel, he did so, and the next instant received the fatal
volley which terminated his brilliant and eventful life. His remains
were buried in the dilapidated old church at Padilla, where they rested
until 1838, when, with somewhat tardy justice and appreciation, an
act of Congress was passed by which they were removed to the capi-
tal. They now rest in a stately tomb, in the great cathedral, with
those of the noblest and best sons of Mexico. Here also lies Mo-
relos, his old-time opponent. Cradled in the same city, their final
resting-place is beneath the same dome.

On a tablet in the front wall of Iturbidc's house I read the follow-
ing inscription :

"On September 27, 1783,

Augustin de Iturbide,
The Liberator of Mexico,
Was born in this house.
Morelia, September 16, 1881."

The i6th of September, being the Mexican 4th of July, was a fit-

334 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

ting time for Morelia to remember her two most distinguished
sons.

The title of Liberator was conferred upon Iturbide in 1853, nearly
thirty years after his death, and two years later the anniversary of
his death was declared a public holiday. On that day a grand
mass is celebrated in the cathedral of Mexico for the repose of his
soul.

The ex-Emperor left a wife and eight children, but only the two
youngest and Dofla Ana accompanied him on his fateful return voy-
age, the others being left at school in England. The widow went first
to New Orleans, afterward lived in Washington, then in Baltimore,
finally taking up her permanent residence at Philadelphia, where in
1861 the once beautiful Dofia Ana ended her eventful life, and now
rests with several of her children in a vault of St. Mary's Church in
that city.

The Princess Josefa, the only surviving child of the Emperor, re-
sides in the City of Mexico. She remembers the coronation of her
father and the pomp of court life which followed during his short
reign. It was my pleasure to make her acquaintance, and I found her
a woman of rare conversational gifts as well as great personal charm
of manner. She is remarkably well preserved, and still shows a vigor-
ous and cultivated intellect; is a fine linguist, and possesses a vast
amount of historical information.

But the one who connects the past with the present is Prince
Angel de Iturbide. He attended the Jesuit College at Georgetown,
D. C, where as a school-boy he met and loved Alice Green, the
lovely daughter of Nathaniel Green, of that city. The wooing was
persistent, and finally this charming and accomplished woman became
his wife. In the course of time the laws which had banished Dofia
Ana and her family relented, and the Iturbides were allowed to return
to Mexico.

Now comes an old, old story, but one which loses nothing by fa-
miliarity. In the checkered fortunes of Mexico, a prince of the house
of Habsburg and an Austrian archduke was invited by the conserva-

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 335

tive party to preside over a new empire. Shortly after his arrival in
Mexico he invited the Princess Josefa to take up her residence in the
imperial household as a member of the family. She accepted, and was
accorded the highest distinction by Maximilian and Carlotta.

Feeling the insecurity of his position and hoping to conciliate the
discordant element among the Mexican people, Maximilian proposed
to adopt the grandson of the Emperor Iturbide — son of Don Angel
and Alice Green de Iturbide — and, should his empire succeed, the
young Augustin, then three years old, would be heir to the throne.
But a condition was made that his parents should leave Mexico
without delay. The government then owed them a large sum of pen-
sion money, which it was agreed should be paid them in case of com-
pliance.

The prospect was brilliant, and the parents thought that to some
extent the arrangement would bring reparation for the wrongs in-
flicted on the child's grandfather, and so consented. The beautiful
boy, with soft golden curls, gentle blue eyes and sweet baby prattle,
became at once the idol of Maximilian and Carlotta. But the mother
was bereft of her darling, and the compact was no sooner agreed to
than regretted ; she and her husband were to leave Mexico immedi-
ately, and the separation from her only child might be final and last-
ing. She reached Pueblo en route to Europe, but the anguish was too
great, and she returned to the capital, hoping to regain the custody of
her child. Marshal Bazaine received her with kindness, and she then
addressed a heart-rending appeal to Maximilian. But under the guise
of being taken to the palace she was decoyed from the city and forced
to return to Pueblo. In Paris she met Carlotta, then on her ill-fated
mission to procure aid for the fast crumbling empire. They had a
memorable interview, and soon after, as Madame Iturbide herself told
me, Carlotta received the death-blow to her hopes, and even when
ordered to Italy by Napoleon, evidences of a tottering reason were
manifest. Throughout these trying scenes Madame Iturbide main-
tained the dignity befitting a brave and high-bred woman.

When Maximilian felt his fate fast overtaking him, he sent

336 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

Augustin to Havana, and at the same time communicated with
Madame Iturbide, who joyfully met and received again to her tender
heart her idolized boy. He is now a strikingly handsome young man,
twenty-three years of age, six feet in height, and possessing wonderful
physical strength. He has a finished education, both European and
American, and is an accomplished linguist. He is also a lover of scien-
tific knowledge, and exceptionally well read in history. Added to these
natural and acquired advantages, he has artistic tastes, sketches from
nature, and is skilled in music. In 1885 he was awarded the gold
medal at the college at Georgetown, D. C, for the best oration de-
livered at the closing exercises. The hero of a romantic story, he ap-
pears unconscious of the notice he has attracted, and retains his modest
demeanor and genial disposition, with the dignity and social graces
which render his society delightful to all who come in contact with
him. On his handsome country estate he leads a business life,
and never seems happier than when there, dressed in his buck-
skin suit and silver-decked sombrero, and mingling freely among his
employees, who adore him. The minutest detail of hacienda life
claims his careful attention, showing a happy adaptability to circum-
stances.

The elegant residence of the Iturbides at the capital stands on the
grand Paseo, immediately to the right of the statue of Carlos IV.
Both there and at their hacienda of San Miguel Sesma, I have
enjoyed their graceful hospitality and unrestricted friendship. On
these occasions Madame Iturbide related many interesting incidents
and reminiscences of her boy's early life. Among them, to me, one
of the most amusing was the manner in which Augustin, when a little
more than four years old, spoke his first English. His cousin. Plater
Green, a few months older, fell from a tree, when Augustin ran to
his parents, crying out : " Plater he up de tree — Plater he down de
tree — Plater he no cry — Plater he one very man ! " After this he
would speak no more Spanish. Although brought up according to the
Mexican custom of dependence on a servant, he early manifested the
desire to throw off such bondage and prove his self-reliance. At the

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 339

age of fourteen, all alone, with $i,ooo in his pocket, he sailed from
Vera Cruz to New York, thence to Liverpool, and from there to
Oscott College, near Birmingham, where he presented his letters to'
the president, and entered himself as a student. His life is still
before him, and with his rich natural endowments and intellect-
ual culture, his career will doubtless be worthy of his lineage and
training.

The accompanying portraits furnish an excellent representation of
mother and son.

Madame de Iturbide, herself, is one of the most remarkable women
of her time. Beautiful in her youth, she is still strikingly handsome
in face and figure. Of distinguished presence, queenly in manner and
bearing, she impresses one as possessing in reserve the strength of
will and purpose which sustained her in so many trying circumstances.
All the elements of kindliness, courtesy, and dignity are combined in
her, to which is added a personal magnetism which calls forth the
warmest regard and devotion from all who enjoy the privilege of her
friendship. During the thirty years since she went to Mexico, a
bride, she has been a close observer of men and things. She is a
living compendium of information on subjects of general interest, and
is especially delightful in recounting those historical incidents which
have come under her own observation.

In every transaction of business Madame Iturbide has proved her-
self equal to the occasion ; and in the various lawsuits in which she
has been engaged before the Mexican courts, she is said by competent
authority to be as well versed in the jurisprudence of the country as
the lawyers themselves. She is much attached to her Mexican
friends, who warmly reciprocate the feeling, never losing an oppor-
tunity of showing their devotion to her. Americans everywhere may
take pride in the fact that she is their countrywoman.

VINCENTE GUERRERO.

My interest in the history of Mexican independence was deep-
ened by meeting and associating with many of the descendants

340

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

of the statesmen and patriots who bore a conspicuous part in those
thrilling scenes. All who are linked by lineage or ties of consanguin-
ity to the heroes of the revolution, preserve sacredly every reminder
and relic of their progenitors. Amid such surroundings, my desire
for information was stimulated, and the impressions then received
remain among the choicest treasures of memory garnered during my
sojourn in old Mexico.

Vicente Guerrero was one of the leading spirits of the revolution-
ary period, and is revered in the history of his country as a man of

unyielding patriotism, strict integ-
rity, and stanch loyalty to its
cause. After the death of More-
los, the germs of independence
were kept alive and nurtured by
Guerrero, who operated in the
southwest, and was the most con-
spicuous figure among the insur-
gents when joined by Iturbide.

In the conflicts which have been
waged on Mexican soil, guerrilla
warfare has always borne a lead-
ing part, the inaccessible mountain
fastnesses yielding immunity from
danger of pursuit. This was the
method pursued by the leaders after the fall of Hidalgo, Morelos, and
Matamoras. When at last independence was achieved, Guerrero took
an active part in every important movement until his death.

He was the third president of the republic, and had served only
a short time when he was deposed by Bustamente, then vice-pres-
ident. He retired to his country estate, Tierre Colorado, in the vici-
nity of Tixtla ; but being informed of a plot against his life, he left
there and joined Alvarez, then in revolt against the government which
had succeeded that of Guerrero. Fearing his influence, his death was
determined on, and when, despite the warnings of Alvarez, he went to

VICENTE GUERRERO.

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 341

Acapulco, the opportunity came to carry out the nefarious plot A
Genoese named Picaluga owned a vessel then in the port of Acapulco,
called the " Colombo." Knowing the desire of the parties in power to
get rid of Guerrero, he made a compact with Minister Facio to decoy
Guerrero on shipboard, and, for the sum of $50,000, to deliver him over
to his enemies. This was accomplished by Picaluga inviting Guerrero
to breakfast with him on board, and on rising from the table he caused
him to be seized and shackled and conveyed to Guatulco, where the
trial for his life soon began. A long list of crimes was brought against
him, any one of which, to a man of Guerrero's integrity and patriotism,
would have been impossible. After this show of justice, he was sen-
tenced to be shot, and forced to listen to the reading of his sentence
on his knees. On February 14, 1 831, he was executed at Cuilapa, which
later avenged the wrong by changing its name to Ciudad Guerrero.

A strong feature, consequent on the taking off of these heroes,
was the quick rebound of public opinion. They were required
to receive sentence kneeling, and not infrequently further humili-
ated by being shot in the back as traitors ; but scarcely were they
dead ere another party arose to avenge them ; and in due time the
nation issued its decree that their remains should be removed to a
more honored spot, and laid away with imposing ceremonies.

The historian Alaman, whose work on Mexican independence is
perhaps the most important that has been published, was a member of
the cabinet under Bustamente when Guerrero was tried and executed.
After the downfall of that administration, the whole ignoble pro-
ceeding was looked upon as downright murder by the succeeding
government, and three members of the late cabinet, Alaman,
Espinosa, and Facio, were impeached.

But it was thought that the last named was almost wholly respon-
sible, as he had entered into the moneyed bargain with the treacher-
ous Picaluga. The trial was postponed from time to time, until at
length the cause was regarded as a party affair. Alaman was finally
acquitted, his suavity and finished education no doubt assisting him

in his defense. Facio went to Europe, and never again mingled in
22

342 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

politics. Picaluga, the Genoese, was sentenced by his government to
death, and mulcted in heavy damages ; but as he could not be found,
he escaped punishment. Gonzales, who received the hapless Guerrero
at Guatulco, died miserably, a slow, torturous death.

Many tributes to the public and private virtues of Guerrero may
be found in various places ; and his name is perpetuated in that oi\
one of the States of the Republic. It was said of him that " his
modesty overshadowed his intelligence to the extent of not allowing
him to enjoy the fruits of his services as his talents deserved."

Guerrero left a wife and one child, a daughter", who became the
wife of Mariano Riva Palacio, afterward one of the most distin-
guished lawyers and public men of his time. Their son is General
Vicente Riva Palacio, so often mentioned in these chapters.

I would like to dwell at length on the Bravos — Leonardo, the
father, and Nicolas, the son. They loved their country with exalted
patriotism, and devoted their lives to its liberation. Nicolas is spoken
of by historians as one of the noblest specimens of manhood that
the times produced. They were no less attached to each other than
to their country.

After the battle of Cuantla, the father was taken prisoner, tried,
and condemned to be shot. Venegas, the viceroy, so highly appre-
ciated his abilities that he offered Bravo his life if he would induce his
brothers and Nicolas to join the royalists. But liberty was his watch-
word ; he scorned the oiTer, and paid the forfeit. A number of
Spanish prisoners had been offered in exchange for him, but the
viceroy, appreciating the value of a Bravo, had declined in his turn.

The grief of Nicolas for his father was deep and lasting ; but even
under this great sorrow his magnanimity shines forth grandly. He
had then in his camp, as prisoners, three hundred Spaniards, many of
them wealthy and influential men. His power over them was abso-
lute; and had he taken their lives in retaliation for his beloved
father's death, perhaps justice and the usages of war would have said,
" Well done ! " But hear his noble words to them :

" Your lives are forfeit. Your master, Spain's minion, has murdered

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY.

34o

my father; murdered him in cold blood for choosing Mexico and
liberty before Spain and her tyrannies. Some of you are fathers,
and may imagine what my father felt in being thrust from the world
without one farewell word from his son, — ay ! and your sons may feel
a portion of that anguish of soul which fills my breast, as thoughts
arise of my father's wrongs and cruel death.

" And what a master is this you serve ! For one life, my poor
father's, he might have saved you all, and would not. So deadly is
his hate, that he would sacrifice three hundred of his friends rather
than forego this one sweet morsel
of vengeance. Even I, who am no
viceroy, have three hundred lives for
my father's. But there is yet a
nobler revenge than all. Go ! You
are free! Go, find your vile master,
and henceforth serve him, if you
can! "

In gratitude to him for sparing
their lives, the soldiers, with tears
in their eyes, offered their services
in his cause, and were faithful to
the last. General Bravo after-
ward bore a conspicuous part in
the history of his liberated country.
He lived to take part in the Ameri-
can war, his last military service being at the defense of Chapultepec
and Molino del Rey. He died in 1854, at the age of sixty-eight,
beloved and admired by all who knew him.

Equal in luster are the lives of other leading heroes of independ-
ence, whose deeds might shine in the bright galaxy of a Plu-
tarch. Guadalupe Victoria was one of these immortal and brave
spirits the record of whose career resembles more a fabled romance
than a veritable history of real life. When the power of Spain
seemed re-established, Victoria retired to the mountains, where he

GUADALUPE VICTORIA.

344 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

was hunted like a wild beast by order of the viceroy, at one time a
thousand soldiers being employed in the search. A report of his
death gave him a respite, and he lived alone in secluded and inacces-
sible fastnesses, without seeing a human being for two years and a
half, until news was brought to him of the revolution of 1821, when
he hastened to join Iturbide. He became first president of the re-
public, and, although every opportunity for peculation and private
gain was afforded him, remained so poor that he was buried at the
public expense.

GENERAL SANTA ANNA.

I congratulated myself upon an opportunity of visiting and be-
coming acquainted with the daughter of General Antonio Lopez de
Santa Anna, the Seflora Guadalupe de Santa Anna de Castro. I
found her an agreeable conversationalist, with pleasing manners and a
happy faculty for entertaining. Her son was present, and during my
travels in Mexico I have met few young men of more sprightliness
and intelligence. He is about twenty-five, has a finely shaped head,^
blue eyes and fair complexion, resembling his mother, while his bear-
ing is graceful and dignified. He speaks English fluently, havings
been secretary of the Mexican Legation at Washington. Let me
whisper to my young countrywomen that Augustin de Castro is un-
married and greatly admires American young ladies. With manifest
pride he showed me his gallery of American beauties.

Sefiora Castro, with a kindly appreciation of my curiosity, dis-
played some of the magnificent clothing worn by her father. The
coat was gorgeous, with the national ensign embroidered with gold.
A blue satin dressing-gown, with cords and tassels of gold, was deco-
rated in the same way. Most interesting, however, was his mantle of
the Order of Guadalupe which he had re-established. It was of blue
satin lined with white moire-antique, and must have swept the floor
for at least three yards. There was an imposing life-sized portrait of
Santa Anna, on horseback, reviewing the troops on the paseo before
Chapultepec. It was taken in one of the later terms of his presi-
dency.

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 345

The second wife of General Santa Anna was very young when
married. It is said that she had in her possession a valuable auto-
biography of her husband, which the family endeavored in vain to
procure from her for publication. It is, presumably, a vindication of
his career, and now, since the death of Madame Santa Anna, it will
likely be obtained.

In her sprightly way Sefiora Castro related to me particulars of
her family, which consists of two
daughters and her son Augustin.
Knowing it to be customary for mar-
ried children to live in the house
with parents, I innocently asked if
her married daughters lived with
her. Quickly she replied that
" sons-in-law make poetry about
their mothers-in-law when out of
their houses ; if in them, it was not
possible to predict what their utter-
ances might be." Their elegant
home stands on the first square to
the left in going from the Alameda
to the Zocalo.

The name of Santa Anna is general santa anna, when president for the
more familiar to Americans, and """"'^ '""^-

(From an Oil Portrait.)

particularly to Texans, than that

of any other Mexican. With it is associated the story of the Alamo,
the massacre of Goliad, and the triumph of General Sam Houston at
San Jacinto.

When only twenty-three years old, Santa Anna entered the arena
of politics by disrupting the empire established by Iturbide, and the ca-
reer thus begun was consistently carried out. At an early age he had so
mastered the arcana of scheming and revolution as to reflect credit on a
veteran in the cause, demolishing and creating sovereignties, often
grasping victory from defeat, and gathering strength when all seemed

346

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

lost. He was five times president, and was the means of deposing,
probably, twenty rulers. As a commander of men, his resources and
ability were remarkable. After the most disastrous defeat he gen-
erally managed to retire from the scene still holding the confidence
of his ragged, half-starved army, increasing it materially while on the
move.

From 1822 to 1855 he was the most conspicuous figure in public
life. If deposed, he withdrew to his beautiful hacienda of Manga de

MANGA DE CLAVO, THE HACIENDA OF SANTA ANNA.

Clavo, near Jalapa. If exiled, he went without remonstrance, con-
fident that his lucky star would again lead him to the front, and with
fertile brain every ready to plan a revolution or arrange a coup d'etat.
But it may be truly said that in either case he was punctual to
respond whenever his country demanded his services.

When the war with the United States came on, Santa Anna had
shortly before returned from exile. He at once took command of an
army of 20,000 men. He first met with a heavy defeat by General
Taylor at Buena Vista, then at Cerro Gordo by General Scott, and
when he retreated to defend the capital, defeat still followed him, and

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 34/

Molino del Rey, Chapultepec, and the capital surrendered to General
Scott. His last move, in the vain endeavor to retrieve his fortunes,
was to besiege Puebla, when he was again defeated, this time by-
General Lane. After the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, in 1848,
Santa Anna sailed for Jamaica. During this last exile the condition
of the country bordered on anarchy, and the need of a strong govern-
ment was so imperative that in 1853 Santa Anna was recalled. He
was enthusiastically received, and appointed president for one year,
when a constituent congress should be called. But instead of the
latter, he instigated a new revolution, by which he was declared presi-
dent for life, with the title — well calculated to provoke a smile — of
" Serene Highness." A despotic spirit was soon manifested, and the
result was the revolution of Ayutla, led by General Alvarez, one of
the heroes of the wars of independence. After this memorable
event, a desperate struggle of two years ensued, when Santa Anna
abdicated, and left for Havana, August 16, 1855. Afterward, being
a man of leisure, he visited Venezuela, where he remained two years.
He then retired to the island of St. Thomas, where he lived quietly,
probably meriting his title of "Serene Highness" more than at any
other time in his career.

He returned in the early part of the French intervention, pledging
neutrality ; but having issued a manifesto calculated to cause disturb-
ance, was ordered by Marshal Bazame to leave the country, which he
did} retiring again to St. Thomas.

After the fall of Maximilian, he returned to Vera Cruz to find
himself a prisoner under sentence of death. Though this was not
carried out, he was required to leave Mexico forever. From this
time until the death of Juarez, in 1872, he resided in the United
States. He returned once more to his native land, aged, feeble, and
broken in spirit and fortune, and died in the City of Mexico on June
21, 1876, aged eighty-four years. He was buried at the church of
Guadalupe, only a few prominent individuals following the funeral
coretge.

Not the least singular circumstance in the stormy and checkered

348

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

life of this remarkable man is its ending. Having passed through
every phase of danger, while so many of his contemporaries fell in
battle, or met death on their knees, he bore a charmed life, and,
surviving defeat and exile, returned to the scenes of his grandest
triumphs, and breathed out his last days on his own soil surrounded
by his family.

In the accompanying illustrations we see him first as president,
covered with the insignia of his successes ; and the later portrait pre-
sents him as he looked at the time
of his death. The contrast is strik-
ing and mournful, telling of failure
in a man possessing so many ele-
ments of greatness, who might have
held the highest place in the hearts
of his countrymen long after his
physical frame had moldered into
dust.

The signing of the Federal Chart
in 1857 was one of the most import-
ant of all the memorable events in
Mexican history. Its anniversary
is wisely observed as a national holi-
day.

Of the large number of signers,
there remain only twenty-five sur-
vivors. Several of these are octogenarians, while others fill places of
trust and importance in their country's service. Foremost and best
known to us are Seftor Ignacio Mariscal, at present Minister for
Foreign AfTairs : Seflor Romero Rubio, Secretary of the Interior;
General Ochoa ; and the veteran statesman, politician, and soldier,
Guillermo Prieto — all of the capital.

We now come to consider a few of the leading spirits of the war
of reform which began to be prosecuted when Santa Anna stepped
aside from the political arena.

GBNBRAL SANTA ANNA.

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 349

BENITO JUAREZ.

Let US now take a pleasant stroll through the Alameda and along
the great highway leading to Tacuba, until we come to the grand old
church and '^XQ.X.X.y plazuella of San Fernando, and the Pantheon, bear-
ing the same name. The little plaza is shaded by giant trees, fragrant
with myriad flowers, carpeted with soft, green turf, and the air ren-
dered sweet and delicious by the ripple of the sparkling fountain ;
a place for day-dreams, so quiet and redolent of the past. But, in pur-
suance of our object, we suddenly find ourselves within a broad, grated
doorway, and the next moment a polite little old man, clad in do-
mestic, comes forward, hat in hand, with a smile, and the question :

" What will you have ? "

"We wish to see the monument to Juarez ; " whereupon he leads
the way, halting as we halt to read an inscription on this or that tomb
or vault, and volubly relating the history of the occupants of this
grand old burial-ground. He became so interesting at last, that I
found myself desirous to know something of him, this plain, humble,
polite old man. Without ceremony I asked :

" Tell me something of yourself."

" Muy Hen, senora. You have heard of the battle of Chapultepec,
between the Americans and Mexicans?"

" Yes ! " I replied ; '* but what has that to do with you ? "

He shook his head, as he recalled the scenes then enacted, and
responded :

" I was the bugler on that awful day, and saw our dear old flag go
down and the Americans take possession of that place, so sacred to
every Mexican."

He then went on to relate the tragic and heart-rending incident of
the death of the gallant forty-eight students, boys from fourteen to
twenty, who had their swords wrested from their hands and died no-
bly in defense of their country. We listened to the old man's remi-
niscences as we passed the tombs of Zaragoza, Miramon, Mejia, and
others ; but welcomed the timely silence which fell on the party as we

350

FACE 70 FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

reached the tomb of Mexico's greatest statesman, patriot, and soldier,
her Indian president, Benito Juarez. Here he lies, stretched out in
majestic, marble dignity ; so life-like, so realistic, as to cause a sudden
thrill of awe in the beholder. It was a touching inspiration of Manuel
Islas when he chiseled this sublime efifigy, with the mourning figure
of La Patria bending over it. Summer and winter this noble tomb is
fragrant with floral offerings most gorgeous and beautiful, laid there
by his grateful countrymen.

In striking contrast with the grandeur of his last resting-place was

the early home of the Champion of
Reform. I see it now, a simple
adobe structure containing two or
three rooms, without windows, their
earthen floors cleanly swept, and
with, perhaps, only one or two doors
for the whole building. The roof
was of either adobe or planks ; if
the latter, it was held in place by
numerous stones, while climbing
and clinging tenderly to the un-
sightly walls were tropical vines and
plants which, in the profuse luxuri-
ance of nature, covered the whole
with their blossoms of gorgeous
tints, finally disappearing over the housetop, and transforming the
humble home into a bower of beauty. The enclosure was composed
of the organ-cactus, standing like sentinels warding off all intruders.

The village of San Pablo Gueltaco reclines unevenly on a rocky
spur of the Sierra Madre in the State of Oaxaca, whose shores are
washed by the waters of the Pacific. The hamlet has its narrow,
irregular streets, its forest trees, tropical flowers, and luscious fruits,
and in the grateful shade stands the neat white church to which the
devout, in undisguised simplicity and piety, repair at all hours of the
day.

BENITO JUAREZ.

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HIS70KY. 351

The Enchanted Lake hes near, reflecting in its translucent depths
the tropic growths surrounding it, and suggesting the romantic and
shadowy traditions of the past.

Two hundred Indian aborigines constitute the entire popu-
lation of San Pablo. They live by tilling the soil in the old-time
honest way. The parents of Benito Juarez cultivated their few acres
and tended their cattle with the rest, in happy equality. Amid these
primitive surroundings the champion of Mexican independence and
reform, on March 21, 1806, first saw the light. He never knew a
mother's love, she having died at his birth, leaving him to the care of
his grandmother and uncle. Here he lived until he was twelve years
of age, and was so thoroughly an Indian that not one word of Spanish
had ever passed his lips.

About this time he attracted the attention of a worthy citizen of
Oaxaca, who took him into his service, and recognizing the boy's
talents, determined to give him the best possible educational advan-
tages. He placed him in the ecclesiastical seminary, with a view to
the priesthood, but finding that profession repugnant to his tastes,
within a year he threw off the robes and turned to the law. He en-
tered the college of Oaxaca, where he pursued his legal studies,
teaching at the same time. Here he graduated with honors, and in
1834 was admitted to the bar. During these years he distinguished
himself in every branch of study, and his conduct was most exem-
plary.

He did not long pursue the practice of law, but devoted himself
to political affairs. Quite early he began to study the welfare of his
country, being deeply imbued with a sense of the importance of a
radical change in affairs. The Conservatives imprisoned him for his
outspoken utterances, but the effect was to add strength to his vigor-
ous thought.

In 1842 he became chief justice of the Republic, which office he
held for three years. He was made governor of his own State in 1847,
and remained so until 1852, on every possible occasion introducing
liberal measures and useful reforms. As a determined enemy to des-

352

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

potism, he was exiled by Santa Anna, when he took up his residence
in New Orleans, where he lived for two years in great poverty. On
the revolution of Ayutla, in 1855, from which event dates the law of
reform, Juarez returned and joined with Alvarez, who commanded the
revolutionary forces against Santa Anna. The success of the revolu-
tion made Alvarez president, and Juarez became minister of justice
and religion. His first move was a bold one — the abolition of the
special clerical and military courts, under which these two classes had
enjoyed immunity from the general laws. Congress sanctioned the

TOMB OF JUAREZ, IN SAN FERNANDO.

whole, but a change of administration followed, when the new presi-
dent, Comonfort, fearing the progressive liberalism of Juarez, ap-
pointed him governor of his own State.

The promulgation of the Federal Chart in 1857 made a decisive
change in the political outlook. In this year Juarez was elevated
to the office of justice of the supreme court — a position equivalent
to that of vice-president of the United States. In 1858 he be-
came president, but the strength of the reactionary party was
such as to cause him to transfer the government from one point to

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 353

another until he reached Vera Cruz. A strong defense was his rec-
ognition as president by the United States in 1859; but it was not
until 1 861 that he was enabled to establish his government at the
capital, having defeated Miramon, who was at the head of the church
party. The next year he was confirmed as president, and at once set
about reorganizing the whole body politic. The suppression of re-
ligious orders, the confiscation of church property, and the suspension
of the payments of foreign debts and national liabilities were the
most prominent acts of his administration.

Mention has been made in another chapter of the wholesome
effect of his vigorous measures, and the great work still goes on.
Juarez seemed to have been born to redress the wrongs of the times,
and events so shaped themselves in his stormy career as to develop
the wonderful firmness and strength of his nature. After the issuance
of his decree suspending the payment of national indebtedness,
France, England, and Spain united to invade the country. The allied
forces reached Vera Cruz ; but Juarez having pledged himself that the
interests of creditors should be protected, all withdrew except France.
Under pretense of protecting its citizens, but really with a view to
establishing a monarchy in which the interests of the church would
be paramount, the French government sent an army of invasion, April,
1862, under General Forey, whose first movement was the capture of
Puebla. Juarez, finding the capital insecure, retired to San Luis Potosi.
In 1864, protected by French bayonets, Maximilian ascended his un-
certain throne, while the government of the people, represented by
Juarez, moved from one point to another until it finally rested at Paso
del Norte.

While here, President Juarez was frequently invited to cross the
river, and visit the American ofificers at Fort Bliss ; but he always
declined, fearing that such an act might be construed into an aban-
donment of his own beloved soil.

In June, 1866, he began his southward march. Over much of the
same ground which he had traveled a fugitive, he now led his victori-
ous army. In February, 1867, Marshal Bazaine, with his army, sailed

354 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

for France, leaving Maximilian behind in a hostile country. The
latter was entreated to leave, but his fate withheld him.

Juarez soon had possession of Queretaro, where Maximilian had
concentrated his few remaining soldiers. The story of the execution
of Miramon, Mejia, and Maximilian, on June 19, 1867, needs no repeti-
tion. For some time public opinion, especially outside the republic,
censured the execution of these distinguished men ; but in counting
the cost of their venture, they must have anticipated death in case of
failure. The memory of Juarez is undimmed by the shadow of aught
that would detract from his glory. Had he never done another act
save that of divorcing Church and State, his name should remain for-
ever embalmed in the hearts of his people.

Although every opportunity to acquire wealth was afforded him
in the various positions he held, the truth comes down to us that he
died a poor man. His family relations were of the happiest nature,
and in the society of wife and children he enjoyed relaxation from the
cares of state and public affairs.

He was re-elected president in 1871, and, after so much storm and
contest, he might have hoped to live out his days in undisturbed
calm ; but though physically strong, his nervous system gave way at
last. He died on July 19, 1872, aged sixty-six years, revered and
honored by his contemporaries and a shining example for future gen-
erations. The recumbent marble figure in San Fernando is but a
faint tribute to his worth.

Among the many pleasant people of historic association whose
acquaintance I made at Morelia, was the polite and accomplished son
of Melchor Ocampo, who was a prominent figure in the early reform
movement, and whose name is familiar to many of our own country-
men of that period. The young man gave us the life of his father,
from which I have made a few touching extracts. The enthusiastic
compiler, Eduardo Ruiz, properly dedicates the work to the students
of San Nicolas, because, as he says, " the last thought of Ocampo,
before his execution, was of the students, whom he called his sons."

One of the choicest spirits of the time, and associated with Juarez

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 355

in the reform agitation, was Don Melchor Ocampo, Governor of Mich-
oacan. He had also been a cabinet minister under Alvarez, in 1855-
56. Alike in his brilliant and studious youth, and in the dignity of
his mature manhood, he devoted himself to the cause of emancipat-
ing his country from military depotism and from the tyranny of those
retrograde ideas which had so long retarded her progress. He was a
poet and a scholar, as well as a patriot, philanthropist, and statesman,
and his pen and sword were alike consecrated to the service of his
country. Like many of his contemporaries and fellow-workers in the
field of reform, he did not live to enjoy the fruits of his labors ; but
who will therefore say his life was incomplete, or not fully rounded
out?

His tragic death exemplified all the manly virtues of his life,
and it is fitting to relate how grandly and calmly this Mexican hero
died.

He had retired to his country place near Pomoca, where he sought
a quiet interval from the cares of state, solaced by friendship and sur-
rounded by his trees and flowers.

In the early morning of a day in May, 1861, a company of reaction-
ary soldiers, with their captain, approached the house. They entered
and arrested a gentleman whom they saw there, Don Entimio Lopez,
under the belief that he was Ocampo. The soldiers were about to re-
tire with their prisoner when Ocampo appeared on the scene. He
had been in an inner room, and had just discovered the presence of
the soldiers, and his friend's arrest. He approached the captain, ask-.
ing, tranquilly:

" For whom are you looking? "

" Ocampo," was the reply.

" Well, I am Ocampo : release this gentleman ; he is my guest."

Without giving him time to get even his hat, they marched off with
him to Tepeji del Rio, where, on being presented to General Marquez,
the cause of the proceeding was clear and the issue certain. This
general had given orders that any one taken prisoner who had labored
in the cause of reform, should be instantly shot.

35^ FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

Ocampo proved his heroism in the trying hour of death. He slept
calmly the night before his execution. The next morning, June 3,
1 86 1, he was notified that his hour had come. Standing beneath the
shade of a grand old tree, he leaned against its trunk ; then asking
for pen, ink, and paper, he wrote in a firm hand an addition to his
last will and testament in behalf of his family, remembering also some
orphan children, and adding a clause bequeathing his library to the
Colegio de San Nicolas. Then placing his hands upon the tree, he
raised his head as if in prayer, when the discharge of firearms added
another to the long list of martyrs to the cause of liberty in Mexico.

In appreciation of his character and services, his native State has
added his name, and is now known as Michoacan de Ocampo. His
remains were taken to the capital, and, after lying in state in the na-
tional palace, were laid to rest in San Fernando, in the glorious com-
panionship of his co-laborer in reform, Juarez.

Mexico has her hundreds of noble and heroic sons, many of whom
have reached their three-score and ten years. They have served her
in victory and defeat, and through her darkest hours have never
swerved in their patriotic allegiance. Some of them now occupy ex-
alted positions in diplomatic relations with foreign countries.

Among those who have grown gray in her service are Seftor
Navarro, for a quarter of a century Mexican consul at New York. He
was a strong adherent of Juarez, and is a native of Morelia. Another
is Seftor J. Escobar, the venerable consul at El Paso, Texas, who has
faced danger in all its forms, braved defeat time and again, but never
lost his love of country. On one occasion at Chihuahua, during the
French intervention, he was imprisoned and made to sweep the streets
with the common prisoners of the town, for attempting, with others,
to celebrate the i6th of September in honor of Hidalgo. The ladies
and children turned out en masse and strewed flowers along his way as
he performed his humiliating task. He has filled various responsible
public offices, having been Secretary of Legation at Washington
1 861-2-3, and was also sent to England during the war between the
States as a confidential agent of his government.

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY.

357

The pages of history have not recorded a more stirring event than
the war between the United States and Mexico.

Benjamin Franklin wisely said, " There never was a bad peace nor
a good war," and taking up these sentiments after the lapse of a cen-
tury, Hubert Howe Bancroft says: * " If the injustice of all war was
never before established, it was made clear by the contest between the
two republics of North America.
The saddest lesson to learn by citi-
zens of the United States is, that
the war they waged against their
neighbor is a signal example of
the employment of might against
right, or force, to compel the sur-
render by Mexico of a portion of
her territory and, therefore, a blot
on her national honor." " The
United States," he continues, *' had
an opportunity of displaying mag-
nanimity to a weaker neighbor,
aiding her in the experiment of
developing republican institutions,
instead of playing the part of
bully."

In a severely caustic spirit he continues : " The United States
could have secured peace by ceasing to assail the Mexicans, who Vv^ere
fighting only in self-defense ; but the much desired peace they resolved
so to secure by war that a bargain, which was nothing better than a bare-
faced robbery, should be secured. It was not magnanimity but policy
which prompted Polk and his fellows to pay Mexico about twenty
million dollars when she was at the conqueror's mercy. It gave
among the nations, howsoever Almighty God regarded it, some shadow
of right to stolen property. * * * The total strength of the army

GOMEZ FARIAS, THE FIRST MAN TO RECOMMEND
THE TAXATION OF CHURCH rROPERTY.

* History of Mexico, 1824 to 1861, page 544.

358 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

employed by the United States in Mexico from April, 1846, to
April, 1848, consisted of 54,243 infantry, 15,781 cavalry, 1,789 ar-
tillery, and 25,189 recruits ; making a total of 96,995 men. The
total number called out by the government exceeded 100,000
men. The number that actually served in Mexico exceeded 80,000
men, not all called out at the same time, but in successive periods.
At the close of the war, according to the adjutant general's report,,
there were actually 40,000 in the field. * -■* * The so-called im-
provements of warfare, in the opinion of men, justify the continu-
ance of warfare on the ground that the destruction of life and the
infliction of suffering have been undiminished by the new devices.
God s.ave the mark ! Killing men is not a trade susceptible of im-
provement ; the experiences of the Mexican war show that neither
side dispensed with the horrors of ancient practices.

" The gain in territory by the United States was immense, com-
prising a surface of 650,000 square miles. From the mines alone it is
computed that precious metals have been extracted to the extent of
$3,500,000,000. Besides this, we must remember the vast wealth of
Texas, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah.

" The loss in money to Mexico will never be ascertained. * * *
And yet, unhappy as the results were for it, one must acknowledge
that its honor was maintained. The treaty represents, indeed, its
great misfortune, but does not involve perpetually ignominious stipu-
lations, such as many another nation has submitted to at the will of
the conqueror."

A bitter dose is this that Mr. Bancroft has prepared to go
down to posterity as the history of that war. But in accepting
his faithful research, and reluctantly admitting the truthfulness
of his assertions, a part of the public, at least, will attribute his
severe criticisms of President Polk to a wide difference of political
opinion.

It is not the writer's intention to cast any reflections upon Presi.
dent Polk or his administration, or to arouse bitter feeling in the sur-
vivors of that struggle. No one more upholds the bravery and

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 359

integrity of her countrymen. The war seemed to have been one of
the exigencies of the times and our neighbors fit subjects for spolia-
tion.

But did not Mr. Bancroft present his honest convictions, he would
repudiate that boasted freedom of speech of which every American
citizen is proud.

It is well, however, to have both sides of the question, and if this
historian appears too severe to the average American mind, we have
the writings of a sweet and gentle woman, which frankly take up the
wrong-doings of her countrymen after the conquest of California. Let
every American read for himself Helen Hunt Jackson's pathetic story
of Rainona, and deplore the wrongs that were heaped upon the Teme-
cula Indians, as well as other native races, who lived in California
at and after the time of the conquest. How her generous nature
revolted at the injustice of her own countrymen; and ere she closed
her eyes in their last sleep, she presented her views in so eloquent
a manner as to produce a deep and powerful impression throughout
this great nation.

Her Century of Dishonor likewise unfolds a pitiable story of the
course of our government towards the Mexican Indians. Her last
words ever penned were the outpourings of her spirit in the form of
a prayer to President Cleveland in behalf of the Indians. May it be
good seed sown in good ground which shall come forth and produce
abundantly in future generations !

Another thought is here suggested, which has already taken form
in the minds of many eminent writers, such as David A. Wells, Joa-
quin Miller, Solomon Buckley Grif^n, and numberless others, equally
well known. The proposition is, that every banner, cannon, or
other trophy captured during that unhappy contest be returned to
Mexico. It would be but a just though tardy reparation of a great
wrong.

If the matter were placed before Mrs. Cleveland, and the power
given her to do as she in the goodness of her gentle heart and purity
of purpose thought best, we are sure of one thing this Queen of

3^ FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

Hearts would undoubtedly say: "Give them every one back; I
want to see fitting justice done to these people."

For the benefit of those who have not looked into the causes of
the Mexican war, especially for the younger generation who may not
have had access to standard works on the subject, I will state that the
bone of contention was the boundary line between Texas and Mex-^
ico, when the former was about to relinquish her claims as a republic
and seek admission into the United States. The strip of country in-
volved in the controversy was that lying between the Nueces River
and the Rio Grande, about 300 miles long and with an average width
of 75 miles, equal altogether to 22.500 square miles. The Mexicans
claimed the Nueces as the boundary, while the Americans claimed
the Rio Grande.

Several of the most distinguished men of Mexico have married
American women. Among them is Seflor Mariscal, who at Washing-
ton, in 1866, married Miss Clara Smith, a brilliant American beauty.
They have four lovely daughters, and live in great elegance at the
Mexican capital. Seflor Mariscal has been secretary of the Mexican
Legation in Washington ; twice minister to the United States ; once
minister to England; twice minister of justice; twice minister of
foreign affairs, and justice of the supreme court. At present he fills
the office of Minister for Foreign Affairs. Seflor Mariscal enjoys the
unbounded esteem and confidence of all who know him, and in public
affairs no man is considered more upright and honorable. His superior
intelligence and intimate acquaintance with the affairs and history of
other countries and peoples have enabled him to render that assist-
ance to his own country that perhaps no other could give ; while his
conversational powers and social accomplishments make him a leading
figure in society. He is a native of Oaxaca.

General Ramon Corona, one of the bravest and most faithful of
Mexico's sons, was minister to Spain for eleven years, having returned
home in March, 1885. He is a man of distinguished appearance, a
true type of the gallant soldier, with a splendid physique, noble head,
fine, open expression, and the polished manner and gentle courtesy

>^i^^^-*:i>^i-t-*

. — -^C^:a>^-d-<rf^i-^

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 3^3

which belong to his race. He began life as a soldier more than thirty
years ago, during twenty of which he was in active service, and par-
ticipated in more than fifty battles. Since his return from Spain he
has resumed his command in the army.

In 1867 he was married to Mary Ann M'Entee, a Californian, but
then residing at Mazatlan. They have an interesting family of seven
children, among them a grown son and two charming daughters.
Mrs. Corona, herself, is an exceedingly handsome woman, and is much
beloved for her kindness and benevolence. Their home, one of the
most delightful and elegant that I visited, stands at the western ex-
tremity of the beautiful and historic Alameda. General Corona is
now governor of Jalisco, his native State, of which Guadalajara is the
capital.

Seftor Matias Romero, now and for many years Mexican minister
to the United States, married Miss Lulu Allen, of New York, but at
the time of her marriage, I believe, resided with her parents at Wash-
ington. They have no children.

Seftor Romero is a statesman of liberal and progressive ideas, and
worthily represents his country.

The marriage of Bertha, daughter of General E. O. C. Ord, of the
United States army, to General Trevifto, of the Mexican army, is
still fresh in the public mind. She died at Fortress Monroe in 1883,
leaving one son, Geronimo, known as "the International Baby."
President Diaz was sponsor at the baptism, which occurred in Mon-
terey, Mexico.

General Trevifto is a fearless and intrepid soldier who has served
his country in the council and on the field, and always with zeal and
fidelity.

Seftor Augustin Arriaga, son of General Arriaga, one of the lead-
ing spirits of the Reform war, and who wrote the Constitution of 1857,
married a charming American lady from Troy, New York. Including
Madame Iturbide, who, as before mentioned, married Angel Iturbide,
there are six prominent men of to-day in Mexico whose wives are
Americans.

364 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

In looking over her political career, we see that since 1821 Mexico
has had above fifty rulers, the majority of whom have been generals
or in some way connected with the army ; while the church, with its
chief functionaries, has played an important part. This was a nat-
ural condition, in view of the instability of all governmental relations,
and these military rulers have been generally men of ability, although
but few were permitted to hold the reins of power to the end of their
respective terms.

Congress is held in the Theatre Iturbide. It would be difificult
to find a more dignified and distinguished body of men. In their
debates and arguments they maintain a polished, courtly manner,
while their language is classic, fluent, and eloquent. There is no
lounging, nor lolling, nor placing of feet in rectangular positions,
but each one deports himself in a becoming and graceful manner.
In this body there are above two hundred members, ranging from
young men of twenty-five years to venerable, gray-haired states-
men.

The Senate is a still more august body, being in great measure
composed of men with a lifelong experience in public affairs. There
are about sixty members, and their sessions are held in the National
Palace.

It was truly gratifying to see the galleries filled with men from
the humbler walks of life, who, from their intense interest and atten-
tion, were evidently digesting every word that was spoken by these
silver-tongued orators.

General Porfirio Diaz, for the second time president of the re-
public, is a native of Oaxaca, and received his education at one of
the leading institutions of that State. Without special military in-
struction, but following an evident inclination, at an early age he
joined the army as sub-lieutenant. He was always on the liberal side,
and took part in the revolution of Ayutla. As a colonel he fought
bravely against the French, and was captured by them, but made his
escape from his prison in Puebla. For victories over the French and
imperial armies, he was successively promoted to brigadier and gen-

zyO /ur^/t,^^'^^

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 367

eral of division, and finally became the most conspicuous military
leader in the war of the intervention and empire. When Escobedo
captured Queretaro and Maximilian, Diaz was besieging Mexico at
the head of an army of sixty-five thousand men, and soon after the fall
of Queretaro he took the capital, thus re-establishing the republic.

As a rival of Juarez, General Diaz in 1871 aspired to the presi-
dency, and after the death of the former he probably would have
succeeded to the executive power but for an article in the constitu-
tion which required that the office devolve on the chief-justice, then
Sebastian Lerdo, one of the most scholarly men of the country. Be-
fore the expiration of the term to which Lerdo was elected, Diaz
had inaugurated a revolution, and Lerdo was forced to retire, taking
up his residence in New York.

But the first genuine peace that Mexico knew was when Porfirio
D az became president on the 5th of May, 1877. He had fought
bravely and suffered much ; had been the hero of many desperate
adventures and hairbreadth escapes, and had fully earned all the
honors his country saw fit to confer upon him. He rescued her
from a state of continuous revolution, and by his strong arm and
steady nerve guided the battered ship into a haven of quiet. All
went well for a period of four years ; peace reigned, the tariff was
revised and the finances improved, while those gigantic railway en-
terprises were projected which have since then opened up the country
to the admiration and interest of the world.

At the expiration of his term — no man being allowed under the
constitution to hold the office of president for two consecutive terms
— the reins of government were placed by General Diaz in the hands
of his friend and companion-in-arms, General Manuel Gonzales. The
wonderful natural resources of the country had recuperated and
rallied under the fostering care of Piesident Diaz, and hopes were
high that, in this era of peace and prosperity, the troubles of the
country were at an end. But brave soldier as Gonzales had proved
himself to be, he was unequal to the demands of the occasion. The
history of his administration is well known.

368 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

The stormy debate in Congress on the subject of the EngHsh debt,
immediately preceding his retirement, will never be forgotten ; when
Salvator Diaz y Miron — only twenty-six years old — turned the tide
of politics in the National Assembly, and aroused the people to a
sense of the wrong and injustice to which they were called to submit.
The students from the various colleges who had never before taken
a part in politics, gathered into the Theatre Iturbide, and, hearing
his burning words of eloquence, were enthused with the same spirit
and patriotic zeal. This inaugurated a new departure in the politics
of the country, and henceforth the brave and gallant youths of the
Mexican republic were to become a power in the land, and eventually
prove her lasting regeneration and redemption.

On the first day of December, 1884, at eight o'clock in the morn-
ing, with severe republican simplicity. General Diaz was again in-
stalled as chief executive. The treasury was empty, the national
credit at its lowest ebb, and the whole country groaning under
the burden of her difficulties. But President Diaz was fully equal
to the requirements of the situation, and, with the full confidence of
the people, he again set himself to the task of repairing the injured
ship of state, and setting her afloat in smooth waters.

Although beset by so many obstacles, he has proved his supe-
rior judgment and intelligence, and his thorough knowledge of
the wants of his country. In this second administration she has
progressed slowly, but steadily, in all that constitutes a nation's
prosperity. Public education has received a stimulus before un-
known, the arts and sciences are nurtured, business enterprises en-
couraged, and peace reigns within the borders of the republic.
Knowing the importance of cultivating international good-will, the
President is doing all in his power to encourage American enterprise
and to insure the safety of life and property.

General Diaz is a man of the highest appreciation of those who
have in any way served him during his many perilous adventures.
One of the most thrilling of these occurred after the disastrous battle
of Incamole, in the State of Tamaulipas, in 1877, when the forces

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 369

of General Diaz were utterly routed, and he was fleeing before the
enemy. He made his way through Texas to New Orleans, but as
his followers were badly demoralized, it was evident that without his
encouraging presence the cause of the insurgents was lost. Disguising
himself in a slouch hat, pulled down close over his eyes, blue goggles
and a white beard, he embarked on a vessel bound for Vera Cruz.
He appeared to be a respectable gentleman, with weak eyes and a re-
markable rotundity of figure. He registered as Dr. Rodriguez, and at
once retired to his state-room, where he was confined by incessant sea-
sickness. His identity was unsuspected by any, with the exception of
one of the lady passengers, the wife of a Mexican revolutionist.

At the port of Tampico a regiment of Mexican government
soldiers came on board to take passage for Vera Cruz. General
Diaz, fearing discovery, doffed his disguise, and, taking a life-
preserver, plunged naked into the water, hoping to swim to the
shore, ten miles distant. The captain, supposing him a lunatic, sent
a boat after him, when his suspicions of the swimmer's insanity were
confirmed by his resisting their attempts at rescue. He was, however,
hauled into the boat and brought back to the ship. The boat had
hardly touched the gang-plank, when the aforesaid lady rushed for-
ward with a large sheet and enveloped the rescued man. Thus con-
cealed from observation, he was brought on board and given in charge
of the purser of the vessel, Mr. A. K. Coney. To him Diaz revealed
himself, and begged for protection, which the purser promised to give.
The colonel of the regiment, suspecting his presence on board, and
also the purser's cognizance of the same, offered the latter, in Diaz's
hearing, $50,000 for information of the insurgent. In the president's
words, his heart sank when he heard the tempting bribe, quickly to
beat, however, with admiration and gratitude at the rejoinder of the
noble young American, " I know nothing of Diaz."

On the arrival of the vessel at Vera Cruz, he was smuggled off un-
der the guise of a lighterman by the faithful purser. After many
other adventures, and when the fortunes of war had placed the refugee
at the head of the republic, one of his first official acts was the ap-

37© FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

pointment of Mr. Coney as consul to Navarre in France, afterwards to
Paris as consul-general, and later as consul to the port of San Fran-
cisco.

President Diaz has been twice married, his present wife being Car-
men Rubio, the lovely daughter of the Hon. Romero Rubio, Secretary
of the Interior. Madame Diaz is now only twenty-four years of age ;
her figure is lithe, willowy and petite ; her beauty rather of the Moor-
ish type, her complexion delicately pink, like a sea-shell ; eyes large
and luminous, with a wealth of raven-black hair peculiar to the women
of her country. She is extremely graceful and cordial in her manners,
and bears with remarkable composure the honors showered on her as
first lady in the Aztec country and mistress of the Mexican " White
House." In her dress she is fully up to the European standard,
and, her toilets being ordered direct from Worth, she enhances her
beauty with rich fabrics and warm hues. In addition to her personal
charms, she adds the accomplishment of being a linguist of a high order,
speaking English and several other languages with equal fluency.

There are no " White House receptions," nor general social demon-
strations, such as we know at our own capital. There is no contest
for precedence between the wives of members of the cabinet and
diplomatic corps, and perhaps the peace of the country is none the
worse for that.

Never before, perhaps, have two as youthful, beautiful and noble
women occupied their respective exalted positions as Carmen Romero
Rubio de Diaz and Frances Folsom Cleveland. They are near the same
age, each the pet and idol of her respective people. In Mexican
homage and courtesy Madame Diaz, by common consent, is called
" Carmelita " throughout her realm — a pet name her people have given
her expressive of their love and tenderness.

I recall with much satisfaction my acquaintance with President and
Madame Diaz, and the gracious courtesy and hospitality with which I
was welcomed in their home. The last personal reminder of this dis-
tinguished pair was received on the eve of my departure from the
capital, when President Diaz at my request inclosed the photographs

ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY. 373

of himself and wife, and, in the autograph letter, as seen in front of
book, bade me God-speed on my homeward journey.

President Diaz is one of the most dignified public men to be seen in
any country. He is now about fifty-five years of age, of medium
size, and of erect, strikingly military bearing. He has a rich olive
complexion, grayish hair, and dark, expressive eyes, which in repose
are peculiarly thoughtful and pathetic, but which light up in speak-
ing, and must have flashed with electric fire in battle. His face is
martial, even heroic, and his whole bearing expresses strength and
confidence in himself and in his people. His manners are most
polished and genial, and his conversational gifts exceptionally fine,
indicating kindliness and good feeling and a strong personal magnet-
ism. He is a patriot of the purest order, a statesman, an honest man,
and on the Western continent to-day there is not a more brilliant

military genius.
24

CHAPTER XL

A GLANCE AT MEXICAN LITERATURE.

HE little that survives of primi-
]| yT i^ I tive Mexican literature comes
ffl |',| down to us from a period of
-'•^, ; \^ barbarism, which, though
clothed in external and mate-
rial splendor, was destitute of
intellectual culture and moral
enlightenment.

It is hard to believe that the
noble and poetic verses of Net-
zahualcoyotl, the most noted
of early Mexican writers, had
their birth and growth in the
midst of such an environment.
This fact, however, but serves to emphasize another fact which the
modern writers of Mexico so brilliantly sustain, which is, that the
literary and poetic faculty is inherent in the Mexican race. And from
those early days down to the present time we see the unusual triple
combination of soldier, statesman, and writer. This statement re-
ceives its verification by a glance downward from the fifteenth cen-
tury, when Netzahualcoyotl was the poet-chief of Texcoco, through a
long list of warrior-authors to the brave and accomplished Guillermo
Prieto, who has nobly served his country by both sword and pen.

The twelve Franciscan friars sent over after the conquest by the
General of the Order, were men of profound learning, and may be

A GLANCE AT MEXICAN LITERATURE.

375

called the pioneers of Mexican literature. They attempted and
accomplished one of the most stupendous undertakings ever con-
ceived by the most enthusiastic philanthropist. They had not only
to learn the language of the Indians to whom they came to preach,
but to master, also, a great variety of dialects. This done, they
formed of these vocabularies and grammars, leaving an invaluable
heritage to their successors in this field of labor. By their patience
and devotion they humanized a savage people and christianized a
pagan nation.

Cortez compelled the natives to yield to him by force of arms, but
his work was but the beginning of their subjugation ; the friars com-
pleted the conquest by the milder but more potent agency of religion.

It has been related of one of these good brothers, Toribio Bena-
vente, that coming one day to the town of Tlaxcala, and being un-
able to preach to the people because of his ignorance of their language,
he pointed to the heavens, thus signifying his holy mission. The
Indians were struck with the contrast between the humble dress of
the friar and the gayly bedecked Spanish soldiers, and spoke of him
pityingly as " motoliniaJ" The good father, inquiring the meaning of
the word, was told that it meant a poor person. " Then," said the
friar, " this shall henceforth be my name."
From that day he signed himself Moto-
linia, and was ever after known by that
name.

The life of Father Bernardino de
Sahagiin affords a noble exemplifica-
tion of the spirit of Christianity. With
the exception of thirty years spent in
his native Spain, his whole life was /•

r
passed entirely among the Indians. For \

sixty-one years did he labor for their

advancement and education. He was

not a fanatic, seeking to convert by fire

and sword, but the loving and patient bernard.no de sahagun.

37^ FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

teacher. He wrote theological, educational, and historical works.
The most noted among the latter is his General History of the Affairs
of New Spain. He died in 1590, at the advanced age of ninety-
one.

In his last illness he was removed to a hospital, but insisted on
being taken back to the Indians, that he might breathe his last among
the people he loved so well.

Bernal Diaz del Castillo, a companion of Cortez, wrote, fifty
years after the conquest. The True History of the Events of the Con-
quest of Neiv Spain. The name of this work is a correct exponent of
its nature, for it is conceded by all who have seen it to be a faithful
record of scenes and events by an eye-witness. No better history of
the country and the times it deals with could be placed in the hands
of our own school children. Its simple, charming narrative style
would render it extremely attractive to the young. Its reproduction
in our language would be an undertaking well worthy of some of cur
enterprising school-book publishers.

Of the famous Bishop of Chiapas, Father Las Casas, much has been
written. His two historical works were for a long time condemned
to oblivion, but have been lately revived. He was a true friend to
the Indians, and did all in his power to protect them from the cruelty
of their conquerors. His defense of the Aztecs is the subject of
Para's great painting.

Father Olmos was one of the earliest writers. Arriving in 1524,
four years after the conquest, he was one of the first who made a
grammar of the Mexican tongue. He also wrote several other works,
most, if not all, of which are lost to us. The manuscript of his gram-
mar lay for a long time in the Paris library, and was at length pub-
lished in 1875.

Under the name of the manuscript of Zumarraga, two important
chronicles were written at the request of Don Juan Cano, the son-in-
law of Montezuma, for the purpose of eulogizing that monarch so that
the King of Spain might return to Dofia Izabel (the wife of Don Juan)
the birthright of which she had been dispossessed.

A GLANCE AT MEXICAN LITERATURE. 177

Mufioz Camargo was an Indian chronicler whose principal work is
the History of Tlaxcala, which, though local in name, is very general
in its information.

Oviedo was the first chronicler of the New World. He wrote the
General and Natural History of the Indians, in fifty books, of which
the first nineteen were published in 1535, and were again printed in
1547, and afterward appeared translated into other languages.

Ixtlilxochitl was the original chronicler of the Texcuxanas, and
few writers enjoy his fame and reputation. He became an author so
as to study the interpretation of the ancient paintings. In his closing
years he officiated as court interpreter to the Indians ; he died about
the year 1648.

Friar Augustin de Vetancourt, of the Franciscan Order, contributed
many valuable works and treatises on Mexico and the affairs of his
day and time.

Carlos de Sigiienza was one of the most erudite students of his pe-
riod, and a native Mexican. He made an earnest study of the tradi-
tions of the early Mexicans, especially those that bore traces of
Biblical origin or intimations of Christianity. He died a learned man,
and his works are a high literary authority.

The valuable researches and records of these historians could never
have been made but for the work of their predecessors, who rendered
inestimable service to history by recording facts gleaned from the
" wise men " who had formed the councils of the deposed Indian
monarchs, and from the chiefs able to interpret the " picture writings "
which then formed the national records and literature.

After a period of prostration the revival of letters began in Mexico
toward the close of the seventeenth century. The impetus was inau-
gurated by Clavigero, Veytia, and Guma, noted historians, and Boturini,
a great collector of hieroglyphics and manuscripts.

The next period was distinguished by the advent of such lumi-
naries as Quintana Roo, Ortega, Galvan, and Jose Joaquin Fernandez,
who rose upon the literary horizon amid the storms of civil dissen-
sions.

378

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

LAS CASAS.

This brings us down to the present time — that of our own contempo-
raries, whose productions are
actually better known and
appreciated in Europe than

by their American neighbors.
* * -x- *

Like New York, the Fed-
eral Capital of Mexico is the
center towards which all the
genius of the provinces,
whether literary, artistic, or
scientific, gravitates. For
there, as in the metropolis of
the United States, all brain-
workers expect to gain, at least,
appreciation, while many hope to win renown.

The principal cities of Mexico, such as Toluca, Morelia, Guadala-
jara, Guanajuato, Puebla, Merida, and many others of like size, have
their literary associations, but El Liceo Hidalgo, at the capital, ranks
highest ; and is, in fact, intended as a National Institute. It was
established on the 15th of September, 1849, and ^^^ known many
vicissitudes during this time, but of late years it has renewed the
original designs of its founders.

On each recurring Monday evening the society meets at its hand-
some hall, and it is then the brilliant genius and flowing wit of the
members may be fully enjoyed. Scientific essays and literary pro-
ductions are read before this Lyceum, and nothing that is unsound,
unscientific or weakly sentimental, can escape the censorship and rigid
criticism of such able men as Riva Palacio, Ignacio Altimirano, Vigil
Pimentil, Juan de Dias Peza, Juan Mateos, Ramon Manterola, Ireano
Paz, Francisco Sosa, and others.

The meetings are well attended and appreciated, not only by the
cultured part of society, but also by many of the plainer and less
educated of the population. Not infrequently bevies of ambitious

A GLANCE AT MEXICAN LITERATURE. 38 1

college boys are numbered among the most attentive listeners to all
discussions and debates, giving expression to their enthusiasm in
rounds of applause. But the pleasure of these reunions is greatly di-
minished to the stranger who finds nimself seated so as to look at
the guests on the opposite side of the room, and the only view he
has of the speaker is obtained by twisting his neck and looking in
a sidewise direction. However, the aim of the society is of a pure
and lofty nature, its sole ambition being the encouragement and
development of native talent, and right royally is it succeeding, so
that it matters little as to how or where one sits.

The name of Vicente Riva Palacio occupies an exalted place in the
history of his country. It would seem, therefore, an act of injustice to
place him only among the writers, when he has played so grand a
part among the gallant heroes in " grim-visaged war." For, from the
age of twenty-three to the present time, he has filled almost every
place of honor that could be bestowed upon him by his people. A
man of brilliant genius and liberal ideas, he enjoys the reputation of
being the most humorous and versatile of Mexican writers. It is
somewhat surprising that, although by profession a lawyer, we yet
find him, also, a statesman, a leading politician, a soldier, a poet, a
journalist and dramatist, and in each position he has reached high
distinction.

As a politician, he has filled acceptably not only the office of
Governor of several States, but has also been Justice of the Supreme
Court and Cabinet Minister. From 1870 to 1879 he was Minister of
Fomento (public works, commerce, industry and colonization), during
which time he used signal efforts for the development of the country
in the extension of railways and telegraph lines, the improvement of
public buildings and roads. Like others of his countrymen, he has
suffered imprisonment, but his confinement was cheered by the
muses, and some of the sweetest poems he ever penned was when
behind the prison bars.

As a writer, his works are not only extremely popular in his native
land, but throughout the whole of Spanish America. By request of the

382 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

Federal Government, he edited the national history entitled "■Mexico
d travers de los Sighs'' (" Mexico Viewed through the Course of Ages ").
Among the most popular of his novels is that of The Hill of Las
Cainpanas, which is a thrilling and faithful account of the last days
and execution of Maximilian.

At this time Riva Palacio is enjoying the honor of Envoy Extra-
ordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from Mexico to the court of
the noble Queen Christina of Spain. As his time is not fully absorbed
in his diplomatic duties, he is now writing a historical brochure, and
will also soon publish a volume of Mexican legends in verse.

General Palacio's magnificent mansion is the grand center and
rallying point of all toilers after lore, and it is there his courtly
hospitality shines resplendent, dispensed with equal impartiality to
all, whether they be distinguished and acknowledged in the world of
letters or only humble aspirants for fame. They here meet together,
a common brotherhood, and among them all the host is himself the
most brilliant and witty.

An entertainment, probably not excelled intellectually and socially
by any given in a private house during the winter, was the Velada
Literaria (Musical and Literary Reunion), given by General Palacio on
the first night of the New Year, and of which he had previously given
me a hint.

The house throughout was a grand scenic illumination, of which
the center was the sala grande, with its brilliant assemblage of
elegantly dressed people. Diamonds shimmered and flashed, adding
to beauty which might be sufficient of itself, the charm that jewels
and the accessories of wealth can give, and lighting up the faultless
Parisian toilets.

Several ladies were present whose jewels summed up from $100,000
to almost double that amount.

An unusual feature was the reading of a beautiful poem by Seflora
de Flaquer, the editress of El Albtim de la Mujer — the only paper
at the capital edited by a woman and devoted to the interests of
women.

A GLANCE AT MEXICAN LITERATURE.

383

All the leading writers of the city were present, and each one
read an original poem written specially for the occasion. With some-
thing of the enthusiasm of the time, I recall a charming poem by
Juan de Dios Peza. His rich, soft voice is wonderfully effective ; its
sonorous intonation and smooth inflections, added to the eloquent
gestures of the
reader, carried
his hearers along
with rapturous
enjoyment.

But Altimi-
rano, Francisco
Sosa, Juan Ma-
teos, and others,
as they stepped
before the audi-
ence with digni-
fied and graceful
bearing, received
an equallyhearty
greeting.

Our distin-
g u i s h e d host
read a poem full ^h^

of dramatic
feet, based
the tales of the
pirates of the

Gulf. A most weird and peculiar effect was added to this reading
by a piano accompaniment composed and dedicated to the author
by a seftorita, a musician of great celebrity. The voice of the reader
and the tones of the piano flowing in admirable accord, now moved
the audience to tender sympathy, again aroused soul-thrilling emo-
tions or blood-curdling horror at the will of poet and musician.

384 FACE TO FACE WITH TffE MEXICANS.

Among the many brilliant renderings of musical compositions, was
the remarkable performance on the violin of two boys of twelve and
thirteen years. Without book or break they played throughout the
music of // Trovatore with marvelous technique and admirable ex-
pression.

The exercises of the evening closed with a superb banquet given
in the comedor grande. The flow of wine was only equaled by that
of wit. The Mexicans seldom indulge to intoxication ; their frequent
potations " cheer but not inebriate " — only add brilliancy to their con-
versation without clouding the intellect.

In all that elegant assemblage I was the only American guest pres-
ent, of which distinction I was justly proud, and endeavored to wear
with becoming dignity the honor of being the sole representative of
our great nation.

My embryo book was made the subject of many kind toasts drank
to its success, and the hope was expressed that its effort toward bring-
ing in friendly contact the two nations, would be appreciated by my
own people.

One of the most erudite and brilliant of the literati in Mexico is
Ignacio Altimirano, who is also an eminent jurist, and was at one
period a judge of the supreme court. Altimirano is a corresponding
member of the Spanish Institute, also of several literary societies in
France, England, and Germany.

He is a pure descendant of one of the Indian races. He won the
prize in his municipality in Oaxaca, and his education was completed at
the " Instituto Literario " at Toluca. On going there, some one observ-
ing his marked Indian parentage, laid his hand kindly on his head and
said : " Nothing will ever come from this brain." The utter fallacy of
the prophecy is too well known, both in this country and in Europe.

The most popular poet in the republic is the venerable Guillermo
Prieto, who may justly be styled " the Mexican Stranger." He has
also been called the Robert Burns of the republic, and, like the
Scottish poet, he sings the songs of the people. Identifying himself
with them in feeling, he is able to express their every emotion, and in

A GLANCE AT MEXICAN LITERATURE. 385

their own tongue. Not even the despised leperos are neglected, but
with that exquisite " touch of nature " that he possesses, he finds
and acknowledges kinship with these degraded pariahs. Guillermo
Prieto is not merely a poet ; he has served his country on many battle-
fields, and was the chief counselor of Benito Juarez during the most
perilous days of Mexico's national existence.

Prieto's Romanccro Nacional, published about a year ago, is a col-
lection of historical incidents related in verse, and is so highly appre-
ciated that the Federal Government has ordered it to be used in all
the national colleges.

Even now, at the advanced age of eighty-one years, Seflor Prieto
holds the position of Professor of Ancient and Modern History in the
Military College at Chapultepec, and has not only compiled a history
of Mexico, for the cadets, but has written an excellent work on politi-
cal economy for the instruction of his pupils.

"The Mexican Longfellow" is Juan de Dios Peza, whose exquisite
poems are best appreciated by the aristocratic and cultivated classes.
Seflor Peza has now in press a volume of Indian traditions.

The distinguished philologist, Don Francisco Pimentel, is also a
lit&ateur, but, with a noble and holy object, has devoted the greater
part of his life to the study of the native Mexican languages, and
now speaks twelve of the Indian dialects. Seflor Pimentel has greatly
encouraged the study of the Nahuatl and Ottomie languages in the
Government School of Agriculture, because he fully coincides in the
opinion of the great educator and philanthropist, Seflor Herrera, who
maintains that the only way to elevate the Indian races is to learn
their native dialects and then go to thQir pueblos, or tribal settlements,
to instruct them in those matters most essential to their mental
and moral development. Seflor Pimentel is a member of various
scientific and literary societies in France, Germany, and the United
States.

Alfredo Chavero, although more generally known in Europe and in
this country as an archaeologist, is not only a literary man but an emi-
nent lawyer, and is to-day president of the Chamber of Deputies. His

386 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

quota of that invaluable history called Mexico a travers de los Siglos
has just been published.

Seftor Chavero has written numerous dramas and zarztc^las, several
of which have been enthusiastically applauded in Cuba and the prin-
cipal cities of Mexico.

Chavero's most important work, entitled A Study of the Aztec Cal-
endar Stone, has created quite a sensation among archaeologists. He
maintains that this relic was an altar dedicated to the " Sun God."

The talents of Mariano Bdrcena are so varied that he may justly
be called the Crichton of Mexico. He had accomplished at the early
age of thirty-nine a vast work in the study and application of various
arts and sciences.

Sefior Bdrcena has acquired a brilliant reputation as a botanist and
mineralogist. He has also had charge of the national observatory for
several years ; nevertheless he has always found time for the composi-
tion of poetry and music, and has long been a corresponding member
of several scientific associations in Europe and the United States.

Since the decease of Barreda and Ramirez, who by common con-
sent were the leaders of the new " Schools of Philosophy," the fore-
most philosophers in Mexico are Parra and Ramon Manterola. The
former is a positivist, very austere in manner and inclined to be a
recluse, while Manterola — an ardent searcher for truth, devoting the
best years of his life to the study of mental and moral philosophy —
aims at introducing practical reforms which will speedily ameliorate
the condition of his people. Sefior Manterola, as one of the editors
of El Economista, has made valuable suggestions which the Federal
Government adopted, thus paving the way for the recent abolition of
the *' Alcabalas," or Inter-State Customs. During his leisure hours
Sefior Manterola has written some dramas, which have been well
received in Mexico ; and it is even whispered that one of these
dramas is to be translated for the American stage.

As a savant, a lit^rateur and moral reformer, few Mexicans have
surpassed Padre Carrillo, a native of Yucatan. Padre Carrillo has
devoted many years to the study of philology, is a member of the

A GLANCE AT MEXICAN LITERATURE. 387

Ethnological Society of New York, and a corresponding member of
the Imperial Academy of Berlin, and of the Spanish Institute.

The journalists now residing in the Federal capital are so numer-
ous that it will not, in this limited space, be possible to mention more
than a few of the most brilliant and useful writers — such as Jos6
Maria Vigil, Ireano Paz, Arroyo de Anda, Francisco de Sosa, who is
also a poet, a historian, and the biographer of many distinguished
Mexicans; Enrique Chavarri, best known by his nom de plume
" Juvenal ;" Cassasus, whose excellent translation of Longfellow's
Evangeline received the approval of El Liceo Hidalgo ; Garcia, editor
of El Monitor Republicano ; young Lombardo, who, in his Impressions
During a Tour of the United States, makes a very just appreciation of
our country; Alberto Bianchi, the author of a work on the United
States; Juan Mateos, a publicist, poet, and novelist, whose Btic-
cancers of the Gulf, while historically true, is a wonderful piece of
word-painting ; Bernabe Bravo, a facile and agreeable writer ; the
" Duque Job," whose real name we have forgotten ; and Justo Sierra,
who has won many laurels as a poet, and is the author of a history of
Mexico that is considered a reliable text-book.

An entire volume might be devoted to the poets of Mexico, most
of them rarely gifted men. The poems of Manuel Flores, entitled
Pasionarias, equal some of the best productions of Byron. Jos6 Maria
Ramirez, a popular poet during the second empire, edited La America
Literaria, La Tarantula, and contributed to other journals. Later in
life Ramirez professed atheism, and styled himself a philosopher.

Jesus de D. Cuevas merits distinction among the poets of the day,
for his aspirations are pure and noble. Senor Cuevas has written
several dramas, two of which have been translated into English.

Yucatan, the land of song and romance, is justly proud of the poet
and dramatist Peon Contreras, who now resides in the Federal capi-
tal. Some of his dramas have been performed in all the large cities of
the Republic, and are always well received.

Campeachy is the birthplace and present home of the gifted writer
Don Pablo Araos, whose poems are not merely sentimental, but of a

388 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

moral and philosophical character, evidently intended to elevate his
countrymen.

Prominent among the literati of Yucatan are Sefiores Castella-
nos, Cisneros, Aldama, Sanchez Marmol, and Perez Ferrer.

The latest work of the distinguished archaeologist, Pefiafiel, giving
illustrations and explanations of numerous Aztec hieroglyphics, was
published under the auspices of the Federal Government, and is re-
garded as a boon to historians.

I must not omit to mention Seflor Ignacio Mariscal, Minister for
Foreign Affairs, who, in addition to his diplomatic abilities, has shown
marked literary talent. Sharing the poetic gift common to his coun-
trymen, he is not only the author of many meritorious works in both
prose and poetry, but has also made fine translations of Longfellow's
Evangeline and Poe's Raven.

Manuel Acufia was an impassioned writer of great talent, and
among the modern writers none have made a stronger or more lasting
impression. His betrothed becoming the wife of another during his
prolonged absence was more than his soul could bear, and he took his
own life, which had been rendered unendurable by her faithlessness.
His poem, A Rosario, expresses the keenest pangs of disappointment
mingled with undying love for the faithless one. The closing verse is
eloquent of his utter wretchedness. He says: " But now that a black
gulf has succeeded the entrancing dream — farewell ! Love of my loves,
light of my darkness, perfume of all flowers that bloomed for me ! my
poet's lyre, my youth, farewell ! "

Mexican journalists are a bold and fearless set of men and express
their disapprobation of any public cause with but little regard to con-
sequences. Therefore the best of them may any day find themselves
political prisoners in Belem.

There are but two American newspapers published in Mexico — the
Two Republics, a daily, and the Mexican Financier, a weekly. The
first is owned and edited by Mr. J. Mastella Clarke, the latter is the
property of Boston capitalists, and ably edited by Messrs. Levy and
Guernsey. These gentlemen are on very harmonious terms with the

GUILLERMO PRIETO.

A GLANCE AT MEXICAN LITERATURE. 39^

native editorial fraternity, and belong, with them, to the " Mexican
Press Association."

The Mexican newspaper reporter is not so ubiquitous and perse-
vering as his American brother. I have known of houses being en-
tered by lightning-rod men, sewing-machine agents, and other inevi-
table invaders, but an " interviewing " reporter penetrating the
sanctities of a home is a thing unheard of. The rattle of the family
skeleton is not a healthy subject for the versatile talents of a knight
of the quill. The costumbres del pais, backed by the powerful aid of
barred windows and heavy doors, forbid all such investigations, and
he would as soon think of leaping into the Gulf of Mexico as daring
to break through those Mede-and-Persian laws or storming those for-
bidding portals.

The Liceo Morelos is also an institution of merit. It unites with
readings, recitations, and scientific discussions, amateur theatricals,
tableaux vivants, and other social features. The latter entertainments
are generally given in honor of some of its members, which include
the most brilliant men of the capital, among them many journalists.
Ladies, also, are numbered in its membership.

Social reunions are held in compliment to various members of the
society, and every eulogistic speech relates to the person thus distin-
guished.

On the occasion of the birthday of Senor Augustin Arroyo de
Anda, one of the most prominent members of the Mexican Press
Association, he, together with his wife, was thus honored. A few of
the compliments of the evening were embodied in the following
flowery language :

"The presence of Seflora Arroyo de Anda brings always to my dreaming mind
the ideal type of Goethe — the beautiful personation of Marguerite in the most per-
fect and inimitable poem, Faust."

Another:
- " Although the modest violet hides its blue flowers among the leaves of the plants

392 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

surrounding it, nevertheless its delicious perfume discovers it to those who pass near;
so you, if your modesty makes you seek solitude, in exchange, the beautiful perfume
of your virtues and qualities of lady and wife discover you to those that have the
pleasure of admiring you."

" To SEfJOR DE Anda :

"Happy you, sir, that pass another birthday among the thousand demonstra-
tions of affection that you have been known to conquer by your virtues and by your
talents. The Mexican Bar is rejoiced. The society sees in you one of her chosen
sons. The country regards you a good citizen. Home proclaims you sovereign.
You have the happiness of the noble and beautiful and virtuous lady that united
with yours her destiny. What more would you desire ? Nothing more, since you
are happy. And humanity, also, owes you much. You have defended its sacred
statutes in those unfortunates whose defense you have made so many times with
brilliant effect. "

At these reunions the versatility of talent of Mexican writers is
remarkable. One of them delivers a eulogy in prose upon some
prominent person. The enthusiasm runs so high, knowing the genius
of the speaker, that he is called upon, amid storms of applause, to
transpose the speech into poetry, which is done upon the spot, with-
out a moment's preparation. In the theatrical entertainments, each
one takes a part, and they often play to crowded houses of
friends.

Among her women writers, Mexico may well be proud of such
poets as Esther Tapia de Castellanos, Seflora Castro, Isabel Prieto de
Landazuri, Laura Klinehaus, Refugio V. de Ortiz, and of such prose
writers as Seftora Flaquer, all of whose productions are an honor to
their sex.

Seflora Castro writes under the name of Mariposa Indiana (Indian
Butterfly). She is of pure Indian origin, which fact is suggested in her
noni de plume. On the eve of my departure from the capital, I was
made the recipient of the following graceful little poem, written in
memory of our meeting. Of course it loses much in the translation,
but the sweet sentiments remain intact. The poem was accompanied

A GLANCE AT MEXICAN LITERATURE. 393

by pressed pansies (" for thought "), an invariable custom with the
Mexicans ; also a note, which I append as characteristic of the people
as well as of the writer's own individuality:

SeSJorita : Please accept this little poem as a slight appreciation of the very
pleasant afternoon we passed together in Tacubaya, in which you won my regard and
affection by the love you seem to bear my country and its people.
Pray receive the sincere regard of one who will never forget you.

B. S. M.,

A. IsiDRA DE Jesus Castro.

Adios to Fannv !

• One afternoon in April
I winged my way to see
A friend in Tacubaya.
Judge of my agreeable surprise
Upon finding there two beauteous nymphs —
Two flowers of America's soil —

And as I was ever an enthusiastic admirer of beauty,
I saluted them with pleasure.
Later on, as the sun was sinking to rest,
Gently touching and tingeing with its golden radiance
The soft fleecy clouds,

One of the nymphs, as she bade us farewell.
Said she was about returning to her native land.
Then methought it were well
To give the lovely peri a token,
And sent to her this flower, called heart's-ease.
This floral offering expresses all
T fain would tell her.

Nymph of gentle presence, when far away,
Think of Mexico, and return some day.
And when on the wings of the breeze
Thou sendest a message to us.
Always remember the sublime beauties
Of my idolized country.

394 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS,

Adios ! thou cherished nymph !
Adios ! oh ! lovely fairy
Forgive me if I importune thee ;
But to-day, when thou homeward goest.
Receive the fond farewell of
' La Mariposa Indiana.' "

CHAPTER XII.

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE.

The Silent Aztec Child of the Sun.

HE silence of dead centu-
ries

That lie entombed
on yonder hills

Is his. These dream-
ful poppy seas

Wave on ; and all their
languor fills

The land ; he lists, as
if he heard

God speak through
some still gorgeous
bird.

His babes about ; the golden morn
Strides godlike down the lofty hill :
His wife and daughter grinding corn —
Two women grinding at a mill."
Oh, mystery ! This sun of old
Was god ! was god ! and ample gold.

His golden hills had flocks of snow,

His valley fields had fat increase.

He saw his white sails fill and blow

By restful isles of flower seas.

The wood-dove sang his ceaseless loves-

His harshest notes this soft wood dove's.

396 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

The Spaniard holds his lands ! Upon
His fields, his flocks, his hold is tight !
But, oh, this glorious golden dawn,
The golden doors that close at night,
His gold-hued babes, her russet breast
Are his ! The world may have the rest.
Mexico City, April. JOAQUiN Miller.

It was my good fortune to meet Mr. Miller at the Mexican capital
and hear him recite the above poem before it had taken form on
paper. Being in deep sympathy with the subject of this chapter, he
kindly presented me with an autograph copy to insert in my book. Its
tender pathos and quaint versification cannot fail to be admired, and
are worthy the genius and wide fame of this gifted " Poet of the
Sierras."

Whether seen beneath the brilliant white sunshine of a cloudless
day on his native plains, or under the mellow effulgence of the peer-
less Queen of Night in the valley, consecrated by the shrines of his
forefathers, the " Silent Aztec Child of the Sun " presents a picture
unique in the history of the world. He is the primitive man, un-
moved by the march of civilization around him, but in every lineament
and movement, reflects the griefs and struggles of past centuries. He
lives surrounded by the traces of those mysterious races which preceded
him. All speak of the mutations of the world — the subjugation of
mighty powers — and he has accepted the inevitable with a sad and
unresisting stoicism.

He is ever picturesque. In his mountain home engaged in pastoral
pursuits, in holiday attire on his patron saint's day, or in rags under
the electric lights of a great city, the traditions of the past hang over
him, investing him with the interest attaching to the pathetic last
man.

To-day men and women may be found with accredited documents
proving their descent from Montezuma and the princes of Tezcuco,
but owing to inertia their claims are unasserted.

The conquest and Spanish domination wrought a metamorphosis

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE. 399

in the life and character of these Indians. Vast estates were once
theirs. Their flocks and herds roamed at large upon the plains of
their fathers. The blue sky, the shining lakes, the forests and
mountains belonged to these children of the sun. To-day they are in
dire poverty ; the lands once tilled by their vassals they now till for
others. They are the patient burden-bearers of this once grand
Indian Empire. If their yoke is not easy, nor their burden light, we
hear no complaint.

If we compare" them with our North American Indians, we are
struck with the contrast presented. At one fell blow the Aztecs were
conquered, their spirit of independence crushed out. We have con-
tended with our Indians for more than two hundred years. They
have scalped and murdered the white man and burned his home, but
as yet we have not been able to grapple the subject.

He retreats, we follow, and so long as he is not completely sub-
dued, so long will he continue to pursue his own barbarous course.
He feels the time coming when the'white man will possess his all —
when not a foot of land, and perhaps but a mere remnant' of his
traditions, will be left to him. While he can, he will carry his revenge
in his own hand. He wants nothing — cares for nothing — if he has not
his hunting-ground. He has no local habitation and no handicraft
to amuse and divert him from the thought that each day provides
for itself; and he must keep his arrows sharp, his flint and steel in
readiness, to meet the pale faces that pursue him.

The Mexican Indian leads a peaceful life and remains on the
same soil, even though it be his no longer. He is satisfied, feeling
the worst is past and perhaps a better day in store for him. Shut
up in his hut of adobe or palm, without either light or air, the chase
and the camp have no charms for him. It troubles him little that
he belongs to a conquered race. The independence of Mexico has
not yet accomplished much for these people, yet they are content.
Would that the great question of our own Indians might be settled,
and that they could regulate their lives in as useful and peaceful a
manner as their dusky-hued brethren in the land of the Montezumas !

400

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

The Mexican Indian is by inherent custom an agriculturist, and
notwithstanding the fact that the conqueror imposed upon him burden-
some and distasteful labors — among them that of mining — he at the
first opportunity returned to his favorite vocation, to which he still
adheres at the present day.

He is an uncompromising antagonist to any change of locality,

and clings to the place
of his nativity with un-
wavering fidelity. There
is but little mirthfulness
or merriment in his com-
position. An intense be-
liever in the supernatural,
it cannot be better illus-
trated than by the fact of
Montezuma, in spite of
all his splendid resources,
yielding with so little re-
sistance to Cortez' small
band of four hundred and
fifty men; for he must have
felt convinced that the
Spanish conqueror was the
one designated by prophe-
cy and tradition to possess
the land.
" According to what you declare," said he, " of the place whence
you came, which is toward the rising sun, and of the great Lord who
is your King, we must believe that he is our natural Lord."

Without being inventive, they are great imitators and marvelously
ingenious in the construction of the infinite variety of curiosities of the
country.

Straw, wax, wood, marble, grass, hair and mother earth are all
successfully treated by these dexterous brown fingers. True to the

BEFORE HER HUMBLE COTTAGE HOME.

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE. 4^1

life are these imitations, even the tiniest wax figures not more than
an inch in length, representing venders of vegetables, fruits, or other
commodity. But to me the most wonderful are the productions of
the Guadalajara Indians in clay and glazed pottery. Of the latter,
their pitchers, vases, water-jugs, animals and toys of all sorts are beau-
tiful, while in the former an extraordinary artistic conception is
evinced. In an incredibly short space of time they will model for you
a life-like bust, either from the life or from a photograph. The strength
of expression and fidelity to the subject are remarkable.

Their plumaje (feather-work) is delicate and artistic. Cortez and
his men were much interested in the cloth woven of feathers, so
intricate, multicolored and beautiful. They no longer manufacture
feather cloth, but expend their skill in this line in the representation
on cards of all kinds of animals, birds and landscapes.

On feast-days these ingenious people have their stalls on the Zocalo,
with their street agents, and business is animated. Each one of these
days finds still another variety of toys, and some of them are indeed
laughable. For the 1st of November they have cross-bones and skulls,
funeral processions icalavcras in wood), and death's-heads in imitation
bronze, with glaring eyeballs and grinning teeth. All these are ar-
ranged on a miniature table, with a small bottle ior pulque, and on one
corner a cake or piece of bread of the kind the dead may be supposed
to like.

Their rag figures and dolls are a comical invention. They make
baskets with taste and ingenuity, from the size of a thimble to one
or more yards in height. They excel in frescoing. They manipulate
tissue-paper into decorative forms, and in numberless ways display
aptness and imitative skill.

In brief, these productions of their natural ingenuity would require,
in other countries, years of patient toil and study, if they could even
then be reproduced. But I have been told that any attempt to edu-
cate them in their peculiar branches of art would be the means of
losing their entire knowledge. This wonderful skill is purely the result
of an artistic tendency — a faculty handed down from his ancestors.

402

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

But, as may be seen in other avenues of business in this land of
rest and romance, they work on insignificant articles for days or weeks,

seemingly to the exclusion of
all else, and then dispose of
them for a mere trifle.

The Indian voice is soft
and low, almost flute-like in
its sweetness, in this quality
contrasting with the shrill
tones frequently heard in the
higher ranks of society. Their
step is light, even cat-like, in
its softness — a characteristic
of all classes, regardless of
station.

On dias de santo and other
feast-days, outdoor gambling
of every description is indulged
in by this class, while bull-
fights and pulque-diXmSdw^ con-
stitute their principal pleas-

A CHICKEN VENDER.

ures.

The love for spectacular display is also a predominating char-
acteristic with them. It is shown in the pleasure taken in sky-
rockets and all pyrotechnics, especially if accompanied by a band of
music.

Their taste also finds expression in the universal love of flowers.
Not only are the humblest homes embellished with such gay and gor-
geous flowers as would constitute the choicest treasures of a northern
hot-house, but in the streets and markets, edibles and other commodi-
ties are exposed for sale side by side with them, and for a tlaco or
medio one may buy a lovely bouquet.

They are also great admirers of pictures, and groups may be seen
any day in the principal cities, gazing intently on those exhibited

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE. 4^3

in the windows. But I have caught glances, pathetic to the last
degree, as they peered through windows where shoes and stockings
were exposed for sale.

The laboring class rise early and work late, rarely going home be-
fore the close of the day. Their wives bring them their dinner, and the
whole family sit down to the bread of contentment upon a curb-stone.

The large number of unoccupied and non-producing among the
common people may to some extent be accounted for by the bounty
of nature and the cheapness and great variety of food-products. It is
little wonder that they have no ambition to rise higher in the social
scale, when the luxuries of life, without the least adulteration, may be
obtained for a mere song. The idle, indigent and thriftless have equal
advantages in the food they eat, with the toiling and industrious.
The atole of all kinds, the barbecued meats, soups, beans and rice,
together with the great variety and cheapness of fruits and vege-
tables, render their dietary one to be envied. From six to twelve
cents will purchase a substantial and well-cooked meal, and it is an
interesting event in one's experience to see the motley assemblage
in the market place, and to hear their gay sallies at the mid-day
meal ; so that in many respects they have decided advantages, so
far as relates to food, over even people of affluence in some parts of
the United States.

The climate, also, brings its blessings to the poor. They may sleep
in a house, if it can be afforded ; if not, their lodging may be in the
streets, the recesses of the churches, or any place that Morpheus may
overtake them.

Clothing may be domestic or muslin, with a blanket or rebozo, and
no special inconvenience is experienced. But, however poverty-stricken
and wretched their condition, the women are always expert and
canny with the needle. A woman with scarcely a change of raiment
will embroider, crochet, and do plain and fancy sewing that would put
to the blush our most dexterous needlewomen. She sits on the side-
walk from morn till eve, selling a basket of fruits, but not a moment
does she lose from her stitching.

404 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

One fact worthy of being chronicled is, that the common people are
making a considerable effort toward advancement in learning to read
and write, even while employed as servants in families. I saw several
at the capital who, unaided, were studying Spanish one day and Eng-
lish the next.

Mexico has a population of about 10,000,000, of which one and a
half are pure white — Americans, Germans, French, English and Span-
iards— and two and a half mestizos — leaving about 6,000,000 of
Indians.

It has been estimated that there are five hundred different dialects
in the country. The Indians have, in the main, retained their own
race and tribal characteristics. Spanish is the language of many
of them, but numerous tribes are to be found who speak purely in
their own tongue, and cling to their own traditions, dress, and, to
some extent, their own peculiar forms of religious worship, seldom
intermarrying with others.

In the sixteenth century, according to Mexico h travers de los Siglos
the types were classified as follows, and, barring the natural increase of
population, they remain about the same to-day :

Children of Spaniards born in the country are called Creoles.
" Spaniards and Indians " Mestizos.

Mestizos

' Spaniards '

' Castigos.

Castigos

' Spaniards '

' Espafloles

Spaniards

' Negros '

' Mulattos.

Mulattos

' Spaniards '

' Moriscos.

Negros

' Indians '

' Zambos.

Occasionally race characteristics, after lying dormant for perhaps
generations, crop out unexpectedly in families, causing quite a shock
when they appear. A dark, or as is sometimes the case, black child
makes its appearance, and this is called Salta atrds (a leap over
several generations).

The mestizos are the handsomest, and the zambos must rest con-

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE. 405

tent with occupying the position of tlie ughest and most unattractive
of the races.

As to the real merits of this classification, it is not possible for me
to speak. 1 only know how the various shades and complexions im-
pressed me as a subject for study. The dark, olive-tinted types seized
upon my fancy from the date of my advent into the country. I felt a
deep and sympathetic interest in them, as being the more directly con-
nected with the aborigines. In their quiet and humble manner I read
the history of a conquered people. In these dark shades there exist
at least two different types. The pale though dark, swarthy, bloodless
face, with melancholy, expressionless eyes and dejected bearing, in-
dicates the one, while the other, the type above all others pleasing and
interesting to me, possesses a rich brown skin, with carmine cheeks and
lips ; glistening, white teeth, united with great, wondering, half-startled,
luminous eyes, soft and shy as those of the gazelle. Even their forms
and gait are different, the one thin and shambling, the other, plump,
full-blooded, graceful and active. Their politeness and humility,
even among the most ragged and degraded, are touching. This is not
confined to their bearing toward superiors, but is also shown to each
other.

The salute of the poorest to his bronze-colored compatriot as they
pass, makes the air musical with their liquid Indian idiom. Their code
of etiquette is expansive enough to cover that practiced in the grand-
est homes in our American cities. In this respect the wealthiest
hacendado has no advantage over the humblest peon who toils for him
a natural life-time. They are strictly careful never to omit the Don
and Dona to each other, and "where you have your house," and
*' muy d su disposicion"- — terms synonymous with the higher classes —
are in no way modified by the lower. Even their children are taught
to say, on being asked their names, su criado de V. (your humble
servant).

The talent for music is even more striking than that of the cult-
ured higher classes. It is no unusual thing to hear every part of an

air carried through in perfect harmony by full, rich, native voices,
26

406 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

entirely ignorant of the first principles of the art which they so suc-
cessfully practice.

The government is now doing a great work by granting pensions to
all meritorious persons in the cultivation of any talent. I saw in the
Conservatory of Music, in the capital, two Indian girls who had walked
from Quer6taro, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, to present
themselves as pupils in that admirable institution. I heard them sing
selections from Italian opera, and the sweetness, strength, and range
of their voices were far beyond the average, and produced a profound
impression upon the audience.

The brass bands, with which travelers' ears are regaled everywhere
in the country, are composed of this part of the population. It is
no uncommon thing to see bands composed entirely of young boys,
from twelve to eighteen years, who render the music in such a manner
that a master from the Old World would find but little to criticise and
much to commend.

Their music is of a sad, melancholy kind, even that danced or
sung at their fandangoes. La Paloma is a universal favorite, and as
they sing it, often their bodies and faces look as if it were an appeal
to the Virgin or some of the saints, rather than an air for enlivenment
or amusement. In this way the sentiment and deep-toned pathos in
their natures find expression.

The large class of useless, lazy, indigent, ragged, and wretched
objects in the streets of a Mexican city impresses the stranger that
there is no good among them. But there is a large and industrious
population possessing kindly and gentle impulses, the women prac-
ticing, as far as possible, the tender charities of the cultured higher
classes.

Even the lepero, the representative of the very lowest and most
degraded of the male element, assumes the extremes of two condi-
tions. On the one hand, he has no compunctions of conscience in
appropriating the property of another, nor does his moral nature
shrink, perhaps, from plunging the deadly dagger into the back of his
unsuspecting victim, while other vicious and ignoble traits are imputed

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE.

407

to him ; but, on the other hand, he has a heart and much of the sen-
timental and romantic instinct which invests him with many of the
attractions of the bandit.

The most beautiful and distinctive female type of the common
people is the China (Chena), familiarly known as the China poblana.
With many added attractions she may be considered the counterpart
of the French grisette. But the China has a rich and luxurious tropi-
cal order of beauty that is especially her own, with hands, arms, and
feet that could not be excelled for artistic elegance by Praxiteles.
She has the warmth of nature and faithful devotion which charac-

THE ARTIST S REVENGE.

terize all Mexican women. Her peculiar costume, now rarely seen,
possesses a semi-barbaric charm that interdicts all rivalry ; but it will
soon be a memory of the past, having given place in great measure
to a more modern style.

The common people have, generally, a great dread of having their
pictures taken. A sort of superstition haunts them that the process will
deprive them of .some part of their being, either corporal or spiritual.
This dread was realized when the artist took her revenge on a curious
crowd who had gathered so closely around us as to almost impede
the manipulations of her pencil. I was constantly on the qtii vive
for some of my former niozos who had left me some years before to go
to their families. I was certain on one occasion that I had found one
of them, but he had risen from the rank of mozo to a cargador, with
all the dignity and equipments of that .station. When he entered the
house where I was, on an errand, the resemblance to Miguel Rodriguez

4^ FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

was SO striking that I told him so, and begged him to allow himself
to be sketched. But no sooner were the initial marks made upon
the paper, than, looking on to examine the work, he became filled
with unreasonable but not-to-be-combated terror, saying, perhaps
the man he looked like had robbed me, and so, with the inevitable
finger motion, and a " No, I cannot permit it ! " turned and fled out
of the room, down the steps, and up the street like a deer before the
hounds.

In writing of this class, I have allowed them to speak for them-
selves, and surely no history is more reliable and complete than that
related by the actors in the events recorded.

They are possessed of a certain amount of piquancy, as expressed
in their peculiar dialect and idioms. With this there is united also a
strong vein of humor, and they usually see a point as quickly as any
people.

In consideration of the fact that they have but little education,
their native shrewdness and intelligence are surprising. The most
highly educated and enlightened cannot cope with them in the
matter of barter and sale and the counting of money. By instinct
they know just how, when, and where to strike the weak point of a
stranger in any business transaction.

Americans are special objects of interest in this line. They always
imagine that all Americans are possessed of boundless wealth.

The love of money is well developed, and the possibility of win-
ning even a tlaco at gambling is sufficient to induce them to lose a
whole night's sleep.

These people are made up of that mixed race of natives and
whites called mestizos.

Their social life is of a free nature, and consequently but few
marriages take place among them. The women are vulgarly called
gatas (cats), or garbanceras (bastards) ; the former are those who
usually perform the offices of chambermaids, nurses and cooks, the
latter generally do the marketing.

As the shops where the marketing is done are kept by the common

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE. 409

people, when a marchanta (customer) appears, the shopkeeper begins
to pay her compliments, and say things with double meanings. She
usually answers in the same manner, which causes the shopkeeper to
laugh. If the servant is at all attractive, and the clerk understands
that she is a match for him, and sees that she receives his compli-
ments with pleasure, he takes her basket, keeps on talking to her, and
tries to keep her as long as possible. They carry on something like
the following dialogue by the clerk saying to her :

" Que cosa se le ofrece, mi vida ? " (" What do you want, my
life?")

" No sc enoje porque hasta eso sale pcrdie^ido'' (" Don't get mad, for
you will only be the loser").

^^ No Ic import a, anda dispacheme," she replies ("Mind your own
business, come wait on me").

" Plies deme la mano y digame como se llama' (" Well, give me your
hand and tell me your name"), he rejoins.

Her reply to this is full of stinging sarcasm, which finds vent in the
following way :

" Or a si ! que encamisado, tan igualado ! Parece que soy su jugete.
Anda dispacheme y no este moliendo que se me hace tarde y la nina me
regafia porque me tardo con el maridadd" (" Well, I should say you were
a naked upstart. One would think I was your plaything. Come, wait
on me, and don't bother me, for it is getting late, and the mistress will
scold me for being so long doing the errands").

When he sees she is a little angry, he gives her back the basket
with the things she has bought. She then throws the money to him
on the counter, in an angry manner, for him to take out the cost of
what she has bought. When he gives her back the change, he takes
her hand, which she pulls away, after he has given it a squeeze. The
next day she returns to the same shop or stand, but this time she pre-
sents herself a little less reluctantly than before, and without mind-
ing at all what is said to her. On the contrary, she leads him on, by
throwing little stones at him or giving him a sly pinch.*

At the end of a month or two they make an appointment to meet

410 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

where they may take advantage of the opportunity to treat of their
love affairs more freely. The day, hour and place being appointed,
by means of which they can see each other alone (which is the first
object of all lovers), they get permission from their employers, and
dressing themselves the best they can, hasten to the trysting place.

The first time they look at each other they are somewhat discon-
certed, and try to pretend indifference. But she is not so severe in
her manner but that he feels authorized in venturing on a caress.
From that time he thinks it proper that she should not serve any longer
where she has been, although she has been giving him a part of all her
wages. In reply she says she " does not want to lose her peace
of mind, because men always say the same thing to women, and
she does not want him to repent by and by and put her out into the
street." But at last she adds, " If you will not forsake me and will
treat me kindly, I am disposed to love you ; only you must tell my
parents, and, if they consent, and your intentions are good, you can
rely upon my being your sweetheart."

After this, the man takes the woman by the hand or puts his
arm around her and covering her with his own serape, which is the
general custom, they go to some stand where things, if not of very
good quality, are excessively cheap, and eat enchiladas and tamales
and ^x'xViV pulque.

Often the honeymoon does not last long ; dissension and strife
are apt to ensue, and the old story of domestic infelicity is repeated.
Still, though the woman concludes her husband does not love her,
if he does not use the rod, they are not so miserable as might
appear.

A woman of the common people prefers a man of her own class,
however poor and rough he may be, to one of a higher station, what-
ever offers or promises he may make her. For they still preserve the
traditional aversion which the Creoles and native races have always
felt for foreigners.

Among the Indians the violation of conjugal faith is more rare
than in any other class of society, not even excepting the middle

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE.

411

class, which, beyond question in Mexico, as in all other countries, is
the most moral and upright.

When legal marriages occur, the parents make every arrange-
ment when the young people have arrived at an age at which they
are able to bear the responsibilities of married life. When such a
case presents itself, the parents of the lover go to the house of the
sweetheart, and take with them a chiquihuite (a certain kind of big
basket), containing a turkey, several bottles of native brandy and
other drinks, bread, ears of
dried corn, and peppers of
different kinds. The first
time the parents of the lover
go to ask for the girl's hand,
they organize a sort of pro-
cession, composed of some
of the relatives and friends
of the family and a band of
music, which plays without
intermission from the house
from which they start to the
dwelling of the maiden.

Once there, the band
and the rest of the proces-
sion are profoundly silent,
while the petition is being
made.

The first request is gen-
erally refused by the parents of the girl, until they consult with the
relatives and ascertain the will of her who is sought in marriage. If
the result is favorable, they appoint the wedding day ; if unfavorable,
the answer is reduced simply to returning the basket with its contents.

As soon as the news in the affirmative is received, the family of
the bridegroom invite all their friends to the fandango vhich is given
on the day of the wedding, in honor of the newly-married couple.

A MOUNTAINEER.

4^2 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

The bridegroom appears in pantaloons and short jacket of cash-
mere, white embroidered shirt, red sash, raw hide or deerskin shoes,
and a highly decorated, broad-brimmed hat. Followed by his family,
padrinos (those who are to give him away), witnesses, and those who
have been invited, he proceeds to the house of the bride, where he is
overwhelmed with attentions from the family.

The dress of the bride consists of a blue skirt with red sash, and a
chemise with a deep yoke and sleeves elaborately embroidered with
bright-colored beads, a red silk handkerchief with points crossed in
front, and held by a fancy pin. The handkerchief serves to cover the
neck and breast, leaving the arms free. She also wears many strings
of beads, and silver hoop ear-rings of extraordinary size. Her hair is
worn in two braids, laid back and forth on the back of her head, the
ends tied with red ribbons. She wears babuchas, a kind of slipper
made either of deerskin trimmed with beads or of gay cloth. The
toilet is completed with a white woolen mantle, cut in scallops
trimmed with blue, and hanging from the plaited hair.

After they have proceeded to the church and have been married
according to the usual religious ceremony, they go to the house of
the bride, accompanied by the greater part of the inhabitants of the
village where the marriage has taken place, followed by sky-rockets,
music, and shouts from the boys. In the house there is a large room
decorated with wreaths, flowers, and tissue-paper ornaments, with,
palm-leaf mats and wooden benches running around the room. Here
the wedding feast takes place, presided over by the bride and the
madrina (the one who gave her away), who sit on the mats at one end
of the room, while the bridegroom and h'xs padrino, and other guests,
occupy the wooden benches. There they receive the congratulations
of relatives and friends. But before the dinner, the bride removes
her wedding finery, and puts on a house dress, and grinds all the corn
that will be necessary to make the tortillas for the repast.

When the dinner, which generally takes place about six o'clock, is
over, the dance begins, accompanied in its motions by songs which,
though agreeable, are somewhat melancholy. The older guests re-

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE, 413

main at the table d.x'v!\Vvi\^ pulque and recalling their youth, until this
cheerful beverage reconciles them to the epoch in which they live.
The greater part of the night is spent in this way.

The following day they repair to the house of the bridegroom,
where the feast is concluded with another dinner and dance ; the only
difference being that on this occasion the bride has nothing to do with
the preparations.

The two days which are devoted to the solemnization of the wed-
ding being spent, the couple receive the blessing of their parents and
retire to their own house to enjoy the honeymoon.

The following is a specimen of a street conversation between a
man and woman of the common people.

Says the man : " Pos ondeva mi vida,pos de donde sale tan linda como
una rosa f ni signiera habla ? " (" Where are you going, my life ? Where
do you come from as nice as a rose? Don't you want to speak to me ? ")

" Pos ande habia de ir? Mire que pregunta ! " (" Where am I going?
Listen, what a question ! "), she replies.

" Pos claro ondc va ? b ya porque lleva su rebosito nuevo se la hecha de
lado ! " (" Well, that's all right, but where are you going? Now that
you have on your new rebozo, you are beginning to put on airs ! "), he
retorts. At the same moment he catches her by the rebozo.

" Oh, su^lteme, mire que aburricion con V. todos los dias que lo encu-
entro me ha d'estar moliendo ! Caramba con K f " (" Oh, let me alone!
what a nuisance you are ! Every day I see you, you bother me so !
Goodness, what can I do with you ? ") she vehemently replies.

" Pero no se enoje. Me quiere 6 no me quiere ? digame y si no me dice
no la dejo ir I " (" Don't get mad. Do you love me or not ? tell me,
and if you don't tell me I shan't let you go"j, says he, pacifically.

" Dale otra vez, pos ya no se lo dije el otro dia que no me ande moles-
tando ? " (" But didn't I tell you the other day not to bother me
again ? ") says she.

" Cuando me lo ha diclio ? mire nada mas que embustera I " (" When
did you tell me that ? See what a story-teller you are ! ") answers the
man.

414 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

^^Bueno, si no me deja, se lo digo al gendarme que ahi viene ! " (" Well,
if you don't let me go, I'll tell the policeman who is coming there ! ")
she threateningly answers.

** Digaselo, el no tiene que ver con mis ncgocios ! " (" Tell him, then ;
he has no right to know my business ! ") says the man, inso-
lently. And when she sees that she can't go, then she says, entreat-
ingly:

'^ Que quiere ? y dejene ir que se me hace /«r^^ " (" What do you
want ? Let me go, now, because it is getting late ").

He : " Pas ya se lo dije que si me quiere 6 no f " (" 1 have already
asked you, do you love me or not ? "),

" Pos yo lo quisiera pero dicen que es casado, pos para que tne quiere?
entonces vayase con su nuyer ! " (" I should like you, but I was told that
you are married; if so, what do you want with me? Go on to your
wife ! ") she replies.

" Mir^ I nada mas lo que son las jentes de mentirosas. Quien se lo
dijo ? Si fuera casado, no la quisiera, pos digame nada mas " (" See
what story-tellers the people are ! Who told you ? If I was married,
I wouldn't love you. Only tell me"), he retorts.

" Bueno, que deveras me quiere ? " (" Well, is it really true that you
love me? ") she now pleasantly replies.

" Pos Hasta la par^ d'enfrente, como no ? V. mas dulcc que un
acitron y mas buena que' I pan calientc. Qualquiera s^namora de V. nada
mas con que se le quite un poqiiito el genio de Suegra que tiene, ejitonces
si valia la plata, pero no tenga cuidado que yo se lo quitare I " (" I love
you about as much as that wall in front of us. Why not ? You're
sweeter than preserves or candy, and better than hot bread. Whoever
sees you will love you, only you must leave off some of that hot
temper such as mothers-in-law have, and then you'll be equal to a
silver mine; but never mind, don't bother yourself, I'll get all that
out of you !")

After this, her hot temper gets the better of her, and, tossing his
hand from her shoulder, and releasing the rebozo, she says :

" D^jeme I d^jeme ! " (" Get out the way, and let me alone ! "), and,

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE. 415

wrapping her rcbozo more tightly about her head, passes rapidly from
his sight.

Under ordinary circumstances, the common people are easily con-
trolled, but if anything occurs suddenly to rouse their slumbering
wrath or animosity, every animate object had better retire before the
advancing frenzied multitude. Face a stampede of buffaloes — jump
into the raging sea, or risk the relentless cyclone — but always keep
clear of a Mexican mob. Let their anger be aroused at a bull-
fight because of the inefficiency of the torreros or the tameness
of the bull, the further one gets from the scene the better for him.
They demolish the ring, tear down its whole interior, smash the
benches and seats into atoms, and did not the rurales, or strong
police force, take charge of the bull-fighters, they would be in dan-
ger of losing their lives. The mob comes down upon them like a
thundering tornado.

It has been estimated that the number of people who serve in one
capacity or another is about one-fifth of the common population.
That part relating to the household is in a great measure an insepa-
rable adjunct of it; but there are also separate services that are per-
formed by people on the outside, who come daily for the purpose.
The low wages, and the generally poverty-stricken condition of the
masses, place the servants in a state of extreme dependence.

An average house in the city has from ten to twenty servants, and
I have seen some grand houses where thirty or thirty-five were em-
ployed. Each one has his or her separate duties to perform, and
there is no clashing and no infringement one upon the other. A
larger number of Mexican servants can live on peaceable terms than
those of any other nationality. It is a rare occurrence to hear them
quarreling, whatever disaffection may exist.

The leading servants of the household may be classified as
follows :

El porter 0 — The man who takes care of the door.
El cochero — The driver.

4l6 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

El lacayo — The footman.

El caballerango — The hostler.

El mozo — A general man for errands, etc. (I have given an idea of him in all
his glory.)

El cargador — A public carrier.

El camarista — In hotels he is the chambermaid ; in private houses he attends
the gentleman of the house, brushes clothes, etc.

La reca>nerera — Female chambermaid, as employed in private houses.

Ama de Haves — Mistress of the keys, literally ; the housekeeper.

Cocinera — The cook.

Galopina — The scullion.

Pilmama — In the Mexican idiom, piltoutli niita intama-cargar) — The woman
who carries the child out to walk.

Chichi — Mexican idiom, chichihua — Wet-nurse.

MoUndera — The woman who grinds the corn.

Costiirera — Sewing woman.

Planchadora — Ironing woman.

The position oi porter o is the most responsible one about the house.
Both day and night he is charged with the safety and well-being of
its inmates. They are generally excellent and reliable men, and per-
form their duties with remarkable zeal and fidelity. In large cities
he does nothing but guard the door, but in smaller towns the posi-
tion of portero is often merged in that of mozo, or general man. At
the capital one man will have the responsible care of a large building,
in which perhaps ten or a dozen families reside. They all look to
him for the safety of their rooms or apartments. He lives with his
family in some dark little nook under a staircase, or, if the house is
so arranged, he may have a comfortable room with a window on the
street ox patio.

A Mexican lacayo in his picturesque hat and faultless black suit,
elaborately trimmed with jingling silver, is indeed a " thing of beauty
and a joy forever," but not a single instance have I ever heard of a
seftorita's eloping with him : the difference in station is never over-
looked when it comes to matrimony.

These servants have deep attachments for the family with whom

J-ETATK, JARAMA AND POTTERY VENDERS.

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE. 4^9

they live. They sometimes serve in one a life-time, and when no
longer able to do so, are succeeded by their children, in the same
capacity.

In case of a death in the family where they are employed, they at
once don the somber luto (black), and never appear outside the house
without it for six months. •

This faithful attachment is especially and frequently shown by the
pilniama. She will tenderly and patiently nurse each child in rota-
tion, and to the last one her devotion is unimpaired. She also takes
charge of baby's clothes, and herself washes the dainty fabrics, rather
than intrust them to a lavandera. Children have their own pet name
for the pilmama, abbreviating it into nana, " Quicro mi nana " (" I
want my nana ") being frequently heard. The chichi (wet-nurse) does
nothing but give sustenance to the babe, and is never permitted
to leave the house except under the surveillance of the ama de
Haves.

This latter functionary has entire charge of the household linen.
She directs the army of servants under her, and is a kind of queen-
bee in the hive. She holds herself far above the servants, will carry
no household packages, and is very tenacious of the dignity attaching
to her position. Indeed, it not infrequently happens that she is a
relative or connection of the family. She has frequently three or
four assistants.

Mexican servants as a whole are tractable, kind, faithful, and hum-
ble. They shrink instinctively from harshness or scolding, but yield
a willing obedience to kindly given orders. They are accused of being
universal thieves, in which accusation I do not concur, although,
indeed, the extremely low wages for which they work might seem to
warrant, or at least excuse, small peculations. But they have this
redeeming trait, that they generally appreciate the trust placed in
them, and this sometimes to a remarkable degree. Instances were
not uncommon during the days of revolution when portcros, vtosos,
and other servants voluntarily sacrificed their lives in defense of the
life or property of their employers. But they have their peculiarities,

420 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

acquired and engendered by the various circumstances that have
hedged them about, for which all allowance must be made. If due
patience and tact be exercised in the outset by foreign housekeepers,
they will surely become deeply attached to the entire household, and
better servants are not to be found. Especially is this true with
regard to American children, to whom they become extremely de-
voted. But it must be remembered that their customs are overgrown
with the moss of centuries, and care must be exercised in disturbing
it by foreign methods of labor, or the application of new ideas. They
know their own way, and have a repugnance to any interference with
their precious " costumbres."

In their various employments their deportment is of the most quiet
kind. If the mistress desires their attention, unless near at hand she
does not call their names, but merely slaps her hands together, which
attracts immediate attention. This clapping is practiced in the street
as well as in the house. Nothing would sooner confuse a servant than
calling her name in a loud, harsh key.

On the frontier the mistress is known as seiiora, but in interior
towns and cities she is always the nina (child), no matter if she has
reached a hundred years.

The hand motion by which a servant is summoned is the reverse
of our beckoning sign — the palm being turned outward.

The wages of a cook are from $2.00 to $5.00 per month ; coach-
man, from $10.00 to $30.00; serving women, $3.00 to $8.00; and so on
in like proportion.

With these small sums entire rations are not furnished them.
They are paid a medio and quartillo each day, independent of their
wages, to buy coffee and bread in the morning, and bread and pulque
for each dinner and supper; or they are paid 62^ cents every eight
days, for this purpose. In some places a medio s worth of soap is
given them each week to have their clothes washed, and the lower the
wages, the less soap they get. The value of this soap is often col-
lected a month in advance, thus leaving a glaring deficit in their clean
clothes account.

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE, 421

They generally leave the last place in debt, which is assumed
by the new master. If the servant's wages be $4.00 per month,
and she owes $12.00 or $25.00, as the case may be, she draws only
$2.50, leaving $1.50 for her abono (amount of indebtedness).

A singular method of keeping accounts is that employed by the
untutored common people. I saw an Indian on the line of a certain
railway who had engaged to furnish goats' and cows' milk for the con-
tractors. The cows' milk he purchased from another party; the ac-
count with the railway and that with the party from whom he bought
the milk were kept on a stick stripped of the bark in alternate sec-
tions. Certain kinds of notches were then cut on either side, indicat-
ing pints or quarts ; other notches, straight or oblique, represented
^luartillos ( 3 cents), medios (6 cents), or realcs (i2| cents), the payment
for the same.

An error occurred in the settlement of the accounts, which the
book-keeper did not observe, but which was discovered by the Indian,
and, though against himself, he would only settle according to the
notches on his stick.

Customs may vary in different provinces as to the way of keeping
private accounts. At the capital the lives and ^^ costumbres'" of the
servants are different from those in small towns and interior cities.
I append the account of a cook at Santa Rosalia, which will give
an idea of the forms called librettos there used between servant and
employer. In the table given below it must be stated that j^ crossing
the line means ten dollars, and V above the line, five dollars ; q cross-
ing the line is one dollar, while a small naught above the line is half
a dollar; a straight mark crossing the line ( | ) is a real _• and a short
one above the line is a medio.

By this it will be seen that '' Gertrude Torres, under a certain date,

agrees to cook and do whatever work is required of her in the house.

She enters the house owing her former employer thirty-four dollars.

Her new master assumes this debt, without which she could not have

changed her place. Her wages are four dollars per month, and from this

sum Don Santiago Stoppelli retains three dollars toward the liquida-
27

422

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

tion of the original amount. The accompanying plates show how
these accounts are kept.

^^/f^^?!-

r ^i^'j^:if-£^

The furnishing of the homes of the common people is necessarily
meager ; sometimes only mats laid upon the dirt floor serve for beds,
or a few rudely made bedsteads and chairs, with pictures of the saints
and a quantity of home-manufactured toys, constitute the outfit.
They zx^jente ordinario, but their houses are reasonably clean. One
corner of the room is generally devoted to an infinite variety of pot-
tery suspended on nails, This is collected from all parts of the coun-
try, and is their chief household treasure ; even small children can
point out the different kinds and tell where each piece was made.

Let one enter when he will, he is sure to be greeted politely, and
to have the kindliest hospitality extended to him. I remember one of

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE.

423

Ji>

the houses into which I went where a pretty young woman of twenty
years sat crocheting, while the baby slept in his petate cradle and the
husband lay sick on his humble cot in the corner. She cordially wel-
comed me, and when I was seated, he, though feeble and trembling,
raised himself upon his el-
bow, tendering me the hos-
pitality of his pobre casa ;
then asked his wife to pre-
pare for me a cup of coffee
or chocolate, which she
did.

I condoled with him on
his illness and hoped he
would soon be well. To
this he replied he hoped
so, but as he had consump-
tion, there was little chance
for his recovery ; but if it
were possible, he would like
to get well, " in order to
serve me the rest of his
life ! "

I was agreeably surpris-
ed to find so many sewing-
machines, and that the wo-
men understand their use
quite as well as we do. A machine agent informed me that the
women of this class are as prompt to meet their installments as
those in any country. But the price of sewing is so very cheap — only
one cent a yard — that they must do a great deal to render themselves
self-sustaining.

Baties are cared for with great tenderness. They are wrapped
as tightly as possible in " swaddling-clothes " until about one month
old, when the calzoncillos (little breeches) are substituted, for both

-^ — y.-t/'x/

424

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

YOUR OBEDIENT SERVANT.

boys and girls. The accompanying illustration represents a girl of

two months. I asked the mother if it were girl or boy. ^^Mujer"'
(" woman "), she answered, '■'Felicita Rodriguez
criada de V." Never was there a more delighted
mother than when I asked her to hold the baby
until its picture could be made.

The cuna (cradle) is a concomitant of every hum-
ble dwelling. It is sometimes suspended from the
{jy ceiling, but quite as often it hangs under the
table. The material of which it is composed is
usually palm or maguey, and its quaint little oc-
cupant looks quite comfortable, snugly sleeping
in the rebozo, while the cradle sways back and
forth of its own accord.
These poor women are often the mothers of such beauties as

would arouse envy in the breasts of many aristocratic parents. Miguel

Mondregon, whose picture is here given, was one of these children.

His mother was a cook. We met him in

the street in Tacubaya on the opening

of the feast of Candlemas, and when

asked his name, he gave it, taking off his

hat, as seen in portrait, which is an ex-
cellent likeness of him, and saying: " -£"/

criado de V." His style of dress is typ-
ical of his class. No urchin was ever

happier than he when paid his real y

medio (i8 cents) to stand, hat in hand,

while being sketched.

His cheeks and lips were like cherries;

his mouth a perfect Cupid's bow ; his

complexion brown as a frijole ; and his

eyes great, soft, melting, glorious orbs.

An old woman, standing near, hearing our

comments upon his beauty, remarked :

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE. 425

"■ Yes, he is a beauty now, but wait till he is twelve or fourteen
years old, and he will be mas scrio,'' meaning that he lost his
spiritiicllc expression and became coarse and sallow. Pity it is that
this loveliness is so evanescent.

The cvangelistas (letter-writers) have a distinct position to them-
selves. They subserve a valuable purpose to the great army of ser-
vants and low-class people, who, through them, carry on a correspond-
ence with their lovers. With a board on his knees, or perhaps some-
times a plain little table, and a big jug of ink, and pen behind the
ear, the evangclista is ready to serve his customers. Anxious lovers
stand around awaiting his leisure, the desire to transmit their
sentiments making his services in high demand. Note paper, va-
riously shaped, is at hand, and for a medio or real, a letter is fur-
nished that will be expressive of grief, jealousy, love, and overweening
affection.

Love-letter ivritten by " un evangelista"

Aprrciable SeSJorita.

(2uisiera tener el lenguaje de los angeles ; la dulce inspiracioii de un poeta ; 6
la elocuencia de un Ciceron, para expresarme en terminos dignos de Vd. Pero por
desgracia mi mente la cubre el velo de la ignorancia, y no puedo menos que tomarme
la libertad de revelar a Vd. mis aficciones ; pues desde el primer dia que tuve la
dicha de conocer a Vd., la calma ha huido de mi, y dominado por la pacion mas
violenta, me adverbio a decir 4 Vd. que la Amo, con el amor mas puro y berdadero, y
que aun me parece con ^sta declaracion que hago 4 Vd. de mi amor, que no supera
el ardor que mi triste y afligido corazon sufre, mientras tanto obtengo la contesta-
cion de Vd. quedo impaciente por saber el fayo de vida 6 de muerte que d^ Vd. a
su apasionado.

Es cuanto le dice a Vd. quien a sus pies besa.

Manuel Gomez y Suarez.

[ Translation.^

Esteemed SeSJorita.

Would that I possessed the language of the angels, the sweet inspiration of a
poet, or the eloquence of a Cicero, that I might then express myself in a manner

426 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

worthy of you. But alas ! my intellect, my brains, seem veiled in ignorance, and I
cannot resist taking the liberty of revealing my love, my affection. When I first
had the happiness of meeting you, my peace of mind fled, and governed solely by the
most violent passion for you, I dare tell you I love you, with a love most pure, m.ost
true, and notwithstanding this declaration of my love you will not even then realize
what my sad, afflicted heart suffers until your answer reaches me. I impatiently
await your fiat, whether of life or death, to your devoted, passionate one.
Meanwhile I say to you, that I kiss your feet.

Manuel Gomez y Suarez,

A character which must be considered in the Hght of a nuisance,
is to be found in both sexes all over the country. Plausible and
gifted with all the '^suavidad en el modo " of their betters, they ply
their vocation in the street, as well as in private houses. If in the
street, they come upon you unawares. Suddenly brown fingers are
thrust under your nose, holding a comb, a toy, jewelry or a piece of
dry goods or embroidery. You dare not even look at it, or feign the
least knowledge of their presence, for if you should do so, they will
haunt and pursue you for squares without ceasing. Enter a store,
and be ever so much interested in the purchase of some article or
textile fabric, here comes the irrepressible vender and again puts the
article in your face, this time with a great reduction in price.

Another class with which strangers are sure to be annoyed, are
the women with black shawls drawn tightly about their heads and
faces ; neat calico dresses, cat-like tread, though invariably in a hurry,
and with the most benignant expression on their countenances. If in
your house, they approach you most humbly, with many kindly in-
quiries after the health of the family in general, and as to how the night
has been passed. While doing this, the shawl goes slightly back, re-
vealing some article of needlework, a handsome shawl, silk dress, or
whatever else they may choose for gulling you. A long history of
the article follows, ending by a high price being asked for it. You
don't want it, so the price is reduced until perhaps you look a little
more inclined ; but at last no sale is effected. She goes away ap-
parently much disappointed and almost with tears in her eyes. But

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE.

427

be patient ! she will come again with softer tread, and with such
honeyed words as will surely win their way.

She makes her appearance the second time with a handsome tray
in hand, on which rest several kinds of tempting dulces. These she
tells you have been sent by Dofla So-and-So, also naming the street ;

CRADLE OF A POOR BABY.

that she has heard you are a stranger, and sends these as a token of
her regard.

Nothing remains but to accept them with -many thanks for her
interest, and the hope that she will soon call on you.

The next day the thoughtful woman again enters, with a humility
of manner that even Uriah Heep could not excel. She makes all
manner of inquiry as to the health of each inmate of the household.
She then states that it was a mistake about the regalo she had brought

428 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

a day or two before (of course you have long since eaten them) ; that
the Dofla told her to sell them at a certain house, and she had made
the mistake. You ask her the price, that being the only alternative,
and it is a startling one. She is paid, and perhaps never again
appears in your house, but she has amply paid you off for not buying
the first article she offered.

Happily these people do not exist in great numbers, and, though
incorrigible wherever found, strangers soon discover their transparent
tricks.

The rebozo is the boon of all these women, as they can carry
securely concealed any number of articles without being detected by
human eyes.

The rebozo also often assists in making the head of the wearer
assume a ludicrous shape. Take a rear view, as the women sit
cuddled up in groups of several dozen, or even hundreds, on the
celebration of some feast, and with the flickering lights of a thousand
torches dancing over their tightly drawn head-gear, the resemblance
to a school of seals, with their heads peeping out of the water, could
not be more perfect.

The molendera is a woman who does the grinding on the metatey
whether corn for tortillas, coffee, or spices. Should the molendera set
up an establishment of her own, and make tortillas for sale, or, as is
sometimes the case, go at certain hours each day and make them for
families, she then becomes a tortillera.

These tortilleras are a separate and distinct class, and have their
own rules and regulations for conducting business. They employ ten
or a dozen women, who grind the corn and make the tortillas. When
made, the women who sell them in the markets and streets come
with their baskets and take them away, paying wholesale rates.

The proprietress of the establishment is called the patrona, and
the Queen of Sheba never moved about with more dignity and con-
sequence.

She pays her employes each day a real y medio, I have made
it convenient to drop in at the hour for settling up with them.

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE.

429

She has a little chair or stool before her, herself unostentatiously
occupying the space in front of it on the floor. The real in silver,
and six cents in tlacos for each ** grinder," are laid in little piles, each
one being named for the woman to whom it is to be paid. The
patrona sits by and looks on serenely after counting over and over the
piles, with satisfaction and self-importance emanating from her, and
expressing in unspoken language — "You poor contemptible ^ grind-
ers^ you have no position ! "

Jay Gould, in his mansion on Fifth Avenue, when reflecting on his

■"Till-.

A TORTILLA ESTABLISHMENT.

enormous investments, could not feel more remote from the toiling
multitude in the street beneath him than the patrona of the tortilla
establishment feels her superiority to her subordinates.

I never went into one of these places without being most cordially
invited to be seated. On accepting the invitation, an animated con-
versation would follow, while eating the delicious hot tortillas, fresh
from the smoking comal, and admiring the animated bronze statuettes
that ambled and capered about without even the disguise of a fig leaf.

Invariably they desired to know my nationality. If I told them to

430

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

guess, they were sure to say France, Andalusia, or Spain, but " an
American never ! "

The portrait of Gregoria Queros represents one of these function-
aries, and also the pure type of an Indian that she is. One might
easily imagine her to be the mother of a hero, not only by her face,
but also by her conversation.

On entering her house, she began by asking the usual question, and
guessing I was from France. But when told I was an American, she
turned her head doubtfully to one side, as if in reflection. The silence
was broken by m.y asking her :

" What do you think of the Americans ! " and the somewhat
startling reply came :

" Los Americanos soft como los Indios barbaros " ( *' The Americans
are the same as wild Indians").

" Why do you say that ? " I asked.

" Because," she answered, " in 1847, when I was sixteen years old,
they came down here and fought terrible battles all over this country.

Just think of Chapultepec,
Molino del Rey, and Churu-
busco ; ah ! what sad days
those were to us ! "

"Well," I added (en-
deavoring to recall her from
reflections so painful), " what
other objections have you to
them?"

*' They are never satisfied.
They always want more land
and more money. This is
what they live for."

During this interesting
colloquy she preserved a
politely respectful demeanor,
and felt evidently pained to

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE. 43 1

be compelled to tell me such absolute truths. A sharp neuralgic pain
in her face brought forth a moan and a sigh, when she explained that
for a whole year she had never been able to go for one day without
the handkerchief on her head.

I asked her if she knew President Diaz.

"Who? Porfirio ? I don't know him personally, but he has
the reputation of being a very good and brave man ; but — he has
already been married twice."

I could only infer that hi.'? bravery and courage would vanish, if he
should ever try matrimony again. I never found either a man or
woman of that class, who spoke of the president by any other than
his Christian name.

The lavandera is an important outside servant. Owing to the
construction of the houses, in part, and to the fact of the water
being conveyed to them from the city fountains, washing is rarely
done on the premises.

The lavanderas also have their own rules and regulations, and are
as rigid in exacting the observance of them by their subordinates and
satellites as any other class.

In some cities and towns the lavandera is not also \h.& planchadora.
She does not even starch the clothes, but is supplied with soap for
the washing. At those places presided over by a patrona, the
contract is taken for all, but the custom is to charge by the piece
and never by the dozen. But in the smaller towns and cities she
will receive a real a dozen for washing alone, having soap fur-
nished.

When she returns them, the planchadora comes, counts, and, on
being supplied with starch and coal or wood, again takes them away
to finish the job. There is, however, an agreeable offset to all this
— ^^the planchadora is also the apuntar ; she mends carefully every
article requiring it before taking her work home.

At the capital there are laundries inside the houses where lavande-
ras may go and rent, for a medio a day, a compartment of brick in
which the water flows from a fountain.

432

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

WASH-HOUSE AT THE CAPITAL.

Springs usually burst from some steep declivity of the neighbor-
ing mountains, and not infrequently in the descent to valley and

lowland the
water circles
and winds
about through
the adjacent
trees. In such
desirable loca
tions are the
spots coveted
i by the lavan-
'i deras. Some-
'^ times for the
distance of two
miles they
may be seen like a bright fringe along the edge of the stream, in
costumes which would
delight a painter in
search of the unconven-
tional.

On these occasions
their hair is unbraided
and hangs in a superb
mass of rippling waves
to the end. The only
dress is a red woolen pet-
ticoat and the chemise,
both of which serve only
to enhance the classic
beauty of form disclosed
by the peculiar costume.

Six or seven days of the week, kneeling in graceful attitudes,
these laundresses may be seen expending their tireless energy on the

WASHERWOMEN IN THK lOt-NTKY.

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE.

433

ropa (clothes). Armed with the crude washing equipments of the
ancient Egyptians — only a stone slab, or at best a wooden tray resem-
bling our bread-trays — they make their week's washing whiter than
the whitest. However it is accomplished, the fact remains that with-
out boiling, washing-soda, washboard, tub or bucket, and even in
many cases without soap, this
perplexing branch of domestic
life is brought to perfection.

The aguador is the most I
noted of all the classes who
serve outside the residence. As
there are few houses furnished
with pipes, the water supply is
transported by this functionary.

His costume is peculiar to
himself and well adapted to his
vocation. It varies in every
province. That worn in the City
of Mexico is the most pictur-
esque, and deserves a descrip-
tion. Over a shirt and drawers
of common domestic he wears
a jacket and trousers of blue
cloth or tanned buckskin. The
latter are turned up nearly to the
knee. With his leathern helmet,
broad leather strap across his forehead, called frontera (from which
depends the chochocol, or water-vessel), leathern apron, and sandals of
the same, called ^w^r^r///, we might imagine him to be a man in armor,
so completely is he enveloped in this substantial equipment.

The piece that covers the back, and on which the chochocol rests, is
called rcspaldadera, or back-rest ; that which reaches from the waist to
the knee, delantal or apron ; and that which protects the thigh, the
rosadcra. All these pieces are fastened by means of thongs to a

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BiS^^^^^H|

'in^PH

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'wBim^^

"^l^j^^Hl

' "^^B^^^^H

7—

-rrj^ .-'

^^:;y|| ■■'

i^yK? ,.

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PS- '1

WATER-CARRIER.

434 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

leather waistcoat, which serves to support and balance the large jar.
Both jars are attached to straps which cross on the head over a palm-
leaf cap with leather visor. It is essential that these vessels corre-
spond in size and perfectly balance. If either be suddenly broken,
the aguador at once loses his balance and falls to the ground.

On the opposite side to the rosadera he carries a deerskin pouch
called barrega, adorned with figures. This pouch serves for carrying
the nickel coins and pitoles, or small red beans with which he keeps an
account of the number of trips he makes, being paid at the end of a
week or fortnight, according to the number of beans he leaves at a
house. He also keeps a corresponding "tally-sheet" with beans, and
compares notes with his employer when being paid.

The aguador is a person of importance ; nobody knows better than
he the inner life of the household that he serves. He is often made
the messenger between lovers, and when for any reason he may refuse
to perform that office, the ingenious lover resorts to artifice, and by
means of wax fastens the missive upon the bottom of the chochocol,
and the unconscious aguador thus conveys it to the expectant fair one,
who informed of the device, is ready to remove the epistle. He often
wonders why the young mistress comes out so early in the morning
to meet him, and that he so frequently finds her lover standing at the
door of his house.

The aguador scarcely ever dines at home. His wife meets him with
a basket covered with a napkin at the entrance to some house, and
there, together with his children and companions, he dines with good
appetite and without annoyance of any kind. Then he goes to the
fountain where he is accustomed to draw water, frees himself of his
jars, and stretches himself in the shade to take his siesta; or he
spends the rest of the day at some pulque shop, playing a game
called " rayeula " with his companions, or repeating pleasantries and
proverbs to the maids that happen to pass near him, and drinking
pulque. But in the midst of this monotony, they also have their
days of enjoyment, their days of merriment and diversion. The feast
of the Holy Cross arrives, and when day begins to dawn, they burn

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE. 435

an endless number of rockets and bombs, which they call salva or
salute.

When the sun rises, the sign of the cross has been already placed
on the spring of the fountain, or in the center, if the fountain is in a
public square. The said crosses are adorned with rosaries or chains of
poppies and cempazuchitl. On that day the water-men bathe, dress
themselves in their holiday clothes and go to dine in community, eat-
ing heartily and drinking white and prepared pulque the greater
part of the day.

One of the poor waterman's joys is the Saturday of Passion Week,
or Sabado de Gloria ; but this day is not so animated as the former,
for it is confined to strewing flowers on the water of the fountain and
burning an image representing their profession.

The following account of the superstitious beliefs of the Nahoan
Indians is taken from Mexico a traves de los Siglos. They had sin-
gularly materialistic views in regard to death. They believed that
Mictlan (literally hell) was reached by the dead after a long and painful
journey. Their hieroglyphics indicate that the dead must first cross
the Apanohuaya river, and to do this it was necessary to have the aid
of a little yellow dog {techichi) with a cotton string tied around his
neck, which was placed in the hands of the dead. Dogs of no other
color could be used, as neither white nor black dogs could cross the
river. The white ones would say, " I have been washed," while the
black ones rejoined, " I have been stained." These dogs were
reared by the natives for this special purpose, and the techichi
is that well-known favorite among perros, now called the Chihua-
hua dog.

After crossing the river, the dog led his master, devoid of clothing,
between two mountains that were constantly clashing together, then
over one covered with jagged rocks, and then over eight hills upon
which snow was ever falling, on through eight deserts where the winds
were as sharp as knives. After this he led him through a path where
arrows were flying continually ; and, worst of all, he encountered a
tiger that ate out his heart, when he fell into a deep, dark, foaming

436

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

river, filled with lizards, after which he appeared before the King of
Mictlan, when his tortuous journey was ended and his identity ceased.
It was also a belief that when the body began this journey it must
have been buried for a period of four years. In this belief it was not
the soul, but the body in actuality that made the mysterious jour-
ney.

For those who enjoy euphonious names, I will state that the name
of the last stopping place was "" Izmictlanapochcalocca, on which the
alligator Xochitonal is encountered ; the alligator is the earth's symbol
and Xochitonal the last day of the year, which shows the body here
reached the last stage of its existence and became dust of the
earth."

When the two are united we see readily the connecting link in
their ideas : that at the end of a certain time the body is converted
into dust, and the dead are finished forever.

The Milk Tree for Dead Children — El Arbol de Leche de los Nifios-

Muertos, embodies another super-
stitious tradition of the Nahoa
Indians, which was the existence
of a mansion where children
went after death. This was
called Chihuaciiauhco, from a
tree which was supposed to grow
there, from the branches of
which milk dropped to nourish
the children which clung to
them. It was believed that
these children would return to
populate the world after the
race which then inhabited it
had passed away
The superstitions of to-day among the Mexican lower classes,
though without this post-mortem materialism, are quite as strong and
as closely adhered to. They are almost numberless, and the most

A CRLBSTIAL MONOPOLY.

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE. 437

insignificant has its own place, not to be substituted by any other.
Evidences of this appear in the performance of the simplest duty.
Let them begin to make a fire, and the first movement is to make
the sign of the cross in the air before the range ; or if about to cook
any such articles as tortillas, many of them, as preliminary, make the
cross and utter a few words of prayer. The moon has much to do
with these fancies, and many of their individual failings are laid to
the account of that luminary.

These are carried with humorous effect into the smallest minutiae
of household labors. In killing fowls, they pull the head off, then
make the sign of the cross with the neck on the ground, and laying
the chicken on the place, declare it cannot jump about ; but I noticed
they always held it firmly on the cross.

Many of them keep a light burning both day and night in their
houses. In the majority of instances, the light is merely a wax taper
placed in a glass half filled with water, with a little oil on the top.
Beside the taper a cross is fixed.

On one occasion, I went into a tortilla establishment where were
eight or ten women grinding corn, and seeing the light I asked the
patrona why she kept this light burning.

"Because," she answered, "I want God and all his saints to keep
this house from evil spirits. We have to work very hard all day, and
when this light is burning they dare not come near."

" Do you keep it burning always? '* said I.

* Yes, always ; without it we would be in total darkness." Then^
turning to me, she asked :

" Have you not God and saints in your country? "

" Yes ; but we believe that God will protect us without the
light, and we do not depend on the saints ; " which ended the col-
loquy.

I have been at times much impressed with the seriousness and

sentiment so evidently underlying these little superstitious actions.

The old tamalera, the music of whose grito appears in these pages,

came to our house the evening I left the capital. She released her
28

438 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

burden from her back, and then began as usual to chat with me, her
extreme age and trembling frame appealing strongly to my sympathies.
When I had sung her grito over and over with her, she made the
sign of the cross over the olla in which she kept her tamales, then
crossed herself, saying : " In the name of the Divina Providencia may
I have enough customers to buy these tamales, that I may go early to
my home. I am weary of trudging these streets, and mi pobre casa is
far away." Before leaving, she turned to me, and, with tears stream-
ing down her face, placed her hand on my head and said : '■^ Nina, you
leave us to-night to go to your home, that is far, far away in another
land ; may the Divina Providencia take you safely there ; may you
find your people well, and some day before I die, may you return to us
here, and sing again with me this grito ! "

On the feast of All Souls, they place a table on the sidewalk con-
taining such articles of food as their dead friends and relatives liked
best — even to \.\i& pulque. When morning comes, it is, of course, all
gone, and the donor is duly happy, because she imagines the dear
dead ones have returned and partaken of their favorite food, when in
reality, mischievous boys have consumed these precious edibles. On
this day the various venders and outside help come for their gifts,
just as newsboys come for their contributions on New Year's. These
gifts are disguised under the name of calaveras—^nVis. Each one
asks in his own characteristic fashion, the paper carrier in the follow-
ing verse :

" Your faithful carrier
Cheerfully presents himself,
Encouraged by the hope
Of obtaining your favor :
You who are a subscriber,
Applauded everywhere
For that sincere loyalty
With which you are accustomed to pay :
He only comes to beg you
To give him his 'Calavera.'" .

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE.

439

The curandera is another outside household appendage. She is
the professional nurse, and as such is faithful, ready, and attentive.
In this capacity her services are invaluable. She may also assume the
role of practicing physician, and with numerous remedies and herbs of
every kind, she becomes quite a power in the land. There is a world
of witchcraft and superstition in the practice of the curanderas, and
the common people stand in great awe of them.

In the rural districts their pharmacy consists of ground glass,
beaten shells, white lead, and an infinity of herbs. Their diagnosis
embraces calor y frio (heat and cold), and their therapeutics are
always directed toward
these two conditions. A
disease quite common
which these women assume
to cure is cmpeche, a condi-
tion where undigested food
adheres to some part of the
stomach. To dislodge the
empeche, they give white
lead and quicksilver, at fre-
quent intervals, in com-
pound doses. For paraly-
sis, they have been known
to give blue and red
glass beads, ground up
in equal portions, a table-
spoonful at a dose. Strange
to relate, the patient re-
covered.

If a child is slow in learning to talk, they recommend a diet of
boiled swallows. This is infallible. If he is slow about walking, his
legs should be rubbed with dirt. This accounts for the fact that
pelado (poor) children acquire the use of their limbs sooner than those
of the higher classes.

^I becatne a doctor by tny natural intelligence.''^

440 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

The portrait of Vicenta gives an excellent idea of the intellectual
development of these women doctors. From a conversation I held
with her, I feel confident she had some believer in " Altruistic Faith "
as partner in the practice of her profession ; for when I asked her
how she became a doctor, she coolly replied : " By my natural
intelligence."

CHAPTER XIII.

TO PUEBLA, CHOLULA, SAN MIGUEL SESMA, AND ORIZABA — ALONG
THE MEXICAN RAILWAY.

ri't

E left the capital at early
dawn for a visit to Puebla
and other places of interest, along
the Mexican or Vera Cruz Rail-
way, which penetrates the tropic
glories of the tierra caliente.

Swiftly we sped along the smooth
rails, passing numerous wayside shrines,
where, in the not remote past, earnest
devotees halted for a prayer as they
wended their way on their knees to re-
new their vows at the great temple of
Guadalupe. Picturesque Indian bur-
den-bearers trotted along beside the
cars, peering through the windows, now and then taking off a
hat or waving a hand in salutation to some passing acquaint-
ance.

We whirled through fields of maguey, growing in parallel lines
which intersected each other. The rapid motion of the train causing
these lines to successively converge and diverge, the figure of a star
was constantly being presented, and I could not but be delighted in
fancying I saw pictured on these distant plains the emblem of my
own great State.

At San Juan Teotihuacan our nineteenth century civilization in-

A BUNCH OF GRANIDITAS.

442

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

trudes on that of pre-historic times. In this Mexican Pompeii
cemented floors and frescoed walls exist whose colors of green,
yellow, and red are exceedingly brilliant. A strange and complex
order of architecture, with columns and frescoed stonework, is
revealed, and the remains of temple, amphitheater, or monument
have been partially exhumed. What grand disclosures await the

,\*vc'^*»

^s*-*!'^'

A HAY-RICK.

scientist when full explorations have been made of the buried
Mecca, the ancient city, the temple, or place of sepulture of the
Toltecs ! The Mexican Government has now placed the exhuming
of these wonderful ruins under the charge of Seflor Leopold Batres,
an enthusiastic archaeologist, under whom the work is progressing
satisfactorily.

At Apizaco we leave the main line for Puebla, distant thirty
miles. The entire journey from Mexico consumes only six hours, and
the dust is the sole drawback to this delightful trip. But even this
discomfort is largely mitigated by passing occasionally through valleys
in a high state of cultivation, where the mind is constantly diverted
by new scenes and objects of interest. Among them are the peculiar
corn-cribs and hay-ricks, the latter built in imitation of churches, with
cross, column, and spire in the distance, almost rivaling those of
stone and adobe. When at last Puebla is reached, the mind is fully
prepared to take in all things new and strange.

PUEBLA, CHOLULA, SAN MIGUEL SESMA, AND ORIZABA. 443

A fluent English-speaking German — interpreter for the hotel —
assured us that the " Casa de las Diligencias " was the best house, and
we soon found ourselves in a grand old convent, with corridors lined
with gorgeously blooming plants, while the cleanly spread tables
reminded us that we had left Mexico without breakfast.

The camarista, with long black hair ci la pompadour, keen, beady
eyes and rigid lips, presented himself to register us in a book and
enroll us on the big bulletin. We ordered separate rooms, and,
gathering up our luggage, he preceded
us and placed all our chattels in one
apartment.

" But the other room — where is it?"
I asked.

" You have two beds," he answered. ^Plh

" Well, but we also want two rooms," (^^\
I rejoined. v jj

Snapping his eyes, and drawing his
lips more closely than ever, he mut-
tered in a long-drawn half whisper : " Dos cuartos y ciiatro camas
por dos senoritas Americanas solitas ! Valganie Dios / " (" Two rooms
and four beds for two seftoritas alone ! ") Then, letting his voice
fall still lower, he continued : " Qiic cosa curiosa ! " (" What a curious
thing ! ") This man of business had evidently made up his mind that
one room with two beds was the proper thing for dos senoritas
Americanas solitas.

The point of difference being duly settled by the administrador,
we were gratified to find in our rooms no printed rules, and that he
with the pompadoured hair would have no occasion to announce,
like the ot\\Qr camaristas, " Falta jabon y cerillos," as both soap and
matches were bountifully supplied.

It was the carnival season ; and from our windows we had views
of ludicrous rag-tag processions parading up and down, grotesque
enough to call forth smiles from a Niobe. Before my window, in a
pretty house with red-tiled front, I saw a seflorita, from behind a gay

CORN-CRIB.

444

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

awning, wave her dainty fingers at her lover on the sidewalk, where
he stood at least four hours daily.

Puebla has a population of one hundred thousand, and is one of
the handsomest and best-built cities on the American continent, being
constructed of gray granite. It is the City of Churches — perhaps more
emphatically so than many others that have received the name. The
schools, colleges, and public library are upon a grand scale. Public
benefactions of the highest order are numerous — hospitals for chil-
dren, the deaf, dumb, and blind, for men and for women. Of the

CASA DE MATBRNIDAD.

latter, the Casa de Maternidad (Maternity Hospital), the newest and
handsomest, was founded by a private citizen, who left in his will the
sum of $200,000 with which to build and furnish it. The material is
red brick and white stone in alternate layers, and the spacious
interior is exquisitely neat and orderly. Every possible comfort and
convenience that could be afforded in any like institution anywhere,
is here liberally dispensed.

Puebla enjoys, and justly so, the reputation of being the most
cleanly of all Mexican cities. The streets, like those of Mexico, run
at right angles — north and south, east and west — and are swept every

PUEBLA, CHOLULA, SAN MIGUEL SESMA, AND ORIZABA. 445

morning; the sidewalks are well paved, and all have their individual
sub-sewers. They are admirably drained by a slight incline towards
the middle, and at every corner there is a stone bridge — a guarantee
against overflow and in the rainy season the consequent inconveni-
ence to pedestrians.

The elevation above sea level is more than seven thousand feet,
but the climate is mild, and being free from dampness, is far more
desirable than at Mexico.

Like every other Mexican city, Puebla has a large share of histor-
ical associations. Founded by the Spaniards in 1531, it has since that
time figured conspicuously in the stirring scenes which have occurred
in the country. One of the most desperate encounters that took
place between the French and Mexicans was here, and in commemora-
tion of this event has originated one of the greatest national festivals,
bearing the name of Cinco de Mayo (5th of May).

This city has been called the Lowell of Mexico. Manufactories of
cotton, blankets, crockery, tiles, glass, thread, soap, matches, and hats
abound. Some of the latter were snowy white with silver trimmings,
the prettiest I ever saw, and in such numbers that every bare head
might have been covered — which I regret to say was not the case.

Puebla is called the " City of the Angels." The tradition runs that,
in the building of the cathedral, when the artisans ceased from their
labors at the close of the day, the angels continued the work at night.
This building is the central architectural feature of the city. Bishop
Foster, on his visit there, thus wrote of it to The Christian Advocate :
*' The cathedral itself is surpassingly grand in every respect, quite
equal to its better-known and more famous rival in the national capi-
tal, and must take rank among the first twenty cathedrals in the
world. It is more chaste than, and quite as costly as, its great com-
petitor. Its chapels and shrines, arranged along its transepts, are rich
in pictures, images, and adornments. Its high altar is of amazing
proportions, symmetry and elegance; filling the vast and high-arched
nave, it is most impressive. The choir, occupying the portion of the
nave in front, is of elaborate finish in carvings and costly lattices. The

44^

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

vast columns and capitals are of Mexican marble, as are all the bases
of the altars throughout. Everywhere the precious stones of Mexico
give beauty and substantial worth to the interior of the vast pile.
. . . It comes down to us from an age which it is probable will not
repeat itself. . . . The exterior is not comparable to the interior,
though of vast and impressive appearance, and of the universal mix-
ture of Spanish and Moorish architecture, built of hewn granite, and
swelling grandly above the surrounding structures."

One who appreciates the ancient in architecture will find ample

STREET IN PUEBLA.

scope for the gratification of his taste in Mexico. Wonderful masses
of stone are reared with a grand and impressive simplicity, and retain
their interest even when stripped by time, change, and decay of all
their once florid and gorgeous ornamentation. In the last stage they
are pathetic and venerable. In one of our rambles we came suddenly
on a convent through which the street had been cut, and high up in
the niches and recesses we saw life-sized statues and frescoes of great
beauty.

We visited churches and convents, many of which are devoted to
hospitals and other secular purposes. At the home of the Methodist
missionary, in the old building of the Inquisition, we saw niches built

PUEBLA, CHOLULA, SAN MIGUEL SESMA, AND ORIZABA. 447

like chimneys into the walls. It was horrifying to think that these
were the identical places where once unhappy victims were immured
in living tombs.

A better view is here obtained of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl
than at Mexico, the crater of the former being plainly visible without
glasses, while the position of his snow-capped sleeping companion is
reversed. At Puebla we have her side view from the feet, while at
Mexico the head is toward the city.

Pueblanas enjoy the luxury of ice brought daily from these mount-
ains. The ever-faithful Indian has his own unique method of trans-
portation, and constitutes himself the ice-wagon. He first wraps the
ice in straw, and then, to avoid the disagreeable results of leakage, he
fastens underneath the cargo large leaves of maguey, which form a
conduit. Thus comfortably equipped, these tireless creatures trot the
whole thirty-six miles, between the hours of two and ten in the morn-
ing, receiving for their pains and trouble one dollar!

It was a gala day in Puebla. The venders of fruit, fancy wares,
flowers, and vegetables had assembled from all quarters, in the market.
A whole family from Cholula were there — the man and his wife sell-
ing vegetables. As they had bright faces, we stopped to converse
with them. The usual curious crowd gathered about us, intent upon
hearing every word. Questions being in order, I asked the Cholulan
what he knew of the Conquest.

" Only what my forefathers have told me," he replied.

"Tell me," I said, "what they told you." He began at once, and
related the entire history without a break, as handed down to him,
not forgetting to dwell upon the virtues and graces of Dofia Marina.

" What do you think of Cortez?" I asked.

" When he came, we were all in darkness " — shutting his eyes to
suit the words ; but he brought us la luz de la Santa Cruz — the light
of the holy cross.

Here I saw the pretty brown-skinned Indian women of San Pablo,
a village in close proximity to the city. Their dresses were of uncut
manta, washed until snowy white. Kiltings began at the sides, falling

44S FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

in classic folds, and ceasing near the front in a broad plain space.
There was no fullness in the back, which seemed to add to their ease
of movement. A broad, hand-wrought, bright-colored sash, tied at
the side, held the skirt in place. The chemise had a deep-pointed
yoke, elaborately embroidered with various-colored beads. They
wore on their heads a kind of hood, also of manta, which partly con-
cealed their shoulders, but left in ease and freedom their exquisitely
molded arms. With hair hanging far below the waist, in full braided
plaits, lips and cheeks of cherry-red, eyes softly glowing, and white
teeth shining, the whole twenty that we saw would have made a gor-
geous picture, but my efforts to procure even one portrait were un-
availing, owing to their inherited prejudices. As they passed before
us in close Indian file, with hardly a hair's-breadth space between
them, all stepping as lightly as sylphs, under their burdens of fruits
and vegetables, each one spoke to me, and in answer to my inquiries,
gave me a kindly ^^ adios, nina^

As but little is known to the outside world of the vast resources of
the state and city of Puebla, I append the translation of a letter on
this subject to El Diario del Hogar, a paper published at the capital :

" Excepting the capital of the republic, Puebla is the city which
has most railroad stations, there being at present six, ample and well
built — namely, the Mexican ; that of the line of Izucorde Matamoros;
that of the Texmelucan line ; that called San Marcos ; that of the
Carboniferous Zone ; and the Urbano, or city line. In its neighbor-
hood the city has coal on the ranches of Santa Barbara ; it has the
inexhaustible quarry on the hill of Guadalupe, from which have come
the pavements, houses, palaces, churches, and other great or large
edifices in adjacent towns. This stone is dark and of a very fine
grain. Further, Puebla has a quarry on the hill of Loreto, from
which is taken a soft stone called xalnenen, used in building. There
is the kaolin which supplies the factories of Puebla, where are manu-
factured the tiles that were known as talanera. There is a very
fine clay for red earthenware and brick, which supplies the potteries
in the suburb of La Luz, and the eighty-nine kilns for making the

FUEBLA, CHOLULA, SAN MIGUEL SESMA, AND ORIZABA. 449.

Roblano brick, which is known to have the consistency of stone, and
the greater part of the plain on which the city is built is of a calca-
reous nature. There is abundance of chalk, or marl, for making lime,
and this is manufactured in more than sixty kilns which run the year
long. There is also another quarry at a league's distance, whence
comes in great abundance the stone called chiluca in the capital.
From the river Tetlaxcuafar, which traverses the city, and from the
full-flowing Atoyac, half a league away, is taken gravel in abundance,
and divers sorts of sand for building purposes. Three leagues off
plenty of iron is found and a large foundry is kept running, there being
others for bronze in Puebla. The neighboring mountains of Ualintze,
of Tepenene and Tepozuchitl furnish the town with wood and some
charcoal. The city has sweet water and sulphur water, and sundry lit-
tle streams which all the year nourish the farming and gardening lands.

" Besides these elements, all of which it seems almost an exaggera-
tion to attribute to so restricted a territory, we must mention that its
easy means of communication find at a distance of seven leagues the
mountains of Tecali and Tepeaca, which consist entirely of translu-
cent marble, fine and vari-colored, which is called ' Mexican onyx,'
as well as other solid marbles used for pavements. These mountains
of marble would suffice to build a hundred cities of the size of Lon-
don, Paris, Pekin, Vienna, or New York, without including in the cal-
culation the mountains of transparent marble of Tecuantitlan, in the
district of Acatlan, whose territory covers seventy square leagues of
stone-fields of divers marbles. The city of Puebla, instead of being
built of dark granite, might consist of buildings of transparent mar-
ble— a city unique on the continent : it certainly has the material near
at hand.

"Brief reference might be made to the resources of Puebla which
may be made available at reasonable rates, by means of the easy
modes of transport. The range of coal of the district of Acatlan
commences at Tefeji de Rodriguez and ends at the Pacific shore in
the State of Guerrero, spreading over the State of Oaxaca until it
reaches Tehuantepec. To the north of the State extensive fields of

450 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

coal in the district of Alatriste and that of Noreste los de Tezintlan.
Native quicksilver is plentiful in the districts of Atlixco and Mata-
moros, and gold and silver mines are worked clandestinely. In the
districts of Tecali and Chiantla lead abounds of a high grade. In
Chiantla and Acatlan are iron mines, worked only on a small scale.
In the district of Chalchicomula exist abandoned mines of gold and
silver, the chief one being called ' La Preciosa.' In the district of
San Juan de los Llanos is the famous ' Hucha,' now abandoned, and
the ' Cristo.' In Tetla de Ocampo are those gold placers which
formerly gave the town the surname of ' The Golden.' In the same
district is the tract of kaolin which gives life to the manufactory of
porcelain or stoneware called ' cuayuca.' In the district of Zacatlan
one of the cities furnishes abundance of quicksilver, and another rock
crystal ; beyond Ahuacatlan there is a mountain, conical in shape,
known as Zitlala, which in the Nahiiatl tongue means * star,' this
name having been bestowed by the natives by virtue of its brilliancy,
like a sparkling star, in the rays of the rising and the setting sun.
This is simply one great rock crystal, whose tiniest fragments resem-
ble diamonds. In the district of Huactunango are various mines of
gold, silver, and iron, which no one has engaged to work, and in Tefiji
are three crags where emeralds are found, but which the natives of
the Zapoteco race have concealed from the eye of the explorer. As
a specimen of these emeralds, in a little town in the district of Cho-
lula existed one of these gems, three-quarters of a Spanish yard in
length, which served as the ara, or consecrated stone, on the altar of
the church. Maximilian had it in his hands, and offered for it
$i,OCO,ooo, which the Indians would not accept. Later, an armed
force went to attack the town, to capture this gem, which was worth
more than $2,000,000, but they were repulsed. In consequence of
this attempt, the Indians concluded to lose the emerald by design, to
protect it from the covetous. However, that remarkable treasure
found its way into the hands of the wily Jesuits. They, in order to
secure it, promised eternal salvation to the dead, the living, and the
as yet unborn, in the vicinity of that town, that they might obtain

PUEBLA, CHOLULA, SAN MIGUEL SESMA, AND ORIZABA. 453

the stone and cut it in portions as they have done, to sell it piece-
meal beyond the seas. This is historical : it were better the neigh-
bors of the town had received their $1,000,000 for the jewel, rather
than only the hope of eternal glory for the past, the present and the
future crimes among them. An emerald of immense value suffered
Hell for those who have sinned and who shall sin, giving them a key
to open the doors of Heaven eternally at their will.

*' In the district of Chalchimula there are also marbles, and in Ala-
triste there are great hot springs superior to those of the capital of
Puebla, and equal probably to those of Aguascalientes and of Atoto-
nilco el Grande, of the State of Hidalgo.

" Treating of the vegetable kingdom, the districts of Huachinango,
Zacatlan, Tetela, Zacapoatla, Tlalauqui, and Tezuitlan produce the
finest woods in the world, such as the varieties of cedar, ebony, the
mahogany, zapatillo, the oyametl, pine, ocotl, juniperus sabina, oak,
madrono, bamboo, ayacohuite, liquidambar. India-rubber tree, and
that which yields the gum chitle. and, above all woods, the writing-
tree, whose veins of color upon a j^ellowish ground form monograms,
flourished letters, abbreviated words, and a thousand capricious figures
and profiles. This wood has been adjudged, at the Expositions of
Vienna, Paris, and Philadelphia, the finest from the five continents.
In the districts of Acatlan, Chiuatla, and Matamoros, belonging to this
State, to the southward, are produced the aloe, silk-cotton tree, log-
wood, tamarind, hiiizacha (a species of acacia), mezquit, venenillo, tlal-
huate, huaje, and other woods with Mexican names, whose qualities
and duration leave nothing to be desired. Some of the trees produce
the most exquisitely fragrant gums, known as myrrh, incense, and co-
patle^ besides the rich essence of the aloe. The yellow dye known as
Zacatlaxcatl, so highly prized in China, Cochin-China,Tartary, and Ja-
pan, is abundantly produced in these districts and in Tecamachalco
andTelmacan. The palm which is used for mats and common hats is
produced in the districts of Tepip, Tepeaca, Tecali and Tehuacan ; and
in the last named, cactus of the most extraordinary dimensions, as well

as the vine from which is made a wine superior to that of Spain and
29

454 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

Italy. In the district of Tlatlauquitepec is raised the famous ramie,
or vegetable silk, which has enriched and given a name to Asiatic
India. This plant was with difficulty brought to France and accli-
mated in Provence, but without success as an industry. It was then
brought to Louisiana in the United States, and, although acclimated, it
was never successfully treated by mechanical means, notwithstanding
American effort. The magistrate of the Supreme Court of Mexico,
Licentiate Mariano Zavala, brought from Louisiana a small lot of
ramie, which was planted and successfully developed in the village of
San Angel ; but his attention did not go beyond curiosity. One day
he was visited by his friend, D. Manuel Ortega y Garcia, of the dis-
trict of Tlatlauqui, and Zavala presented him with the plants, six in
number, telling him the mode of cultivating them. Ortega y Garcia
went to the little village and transplanted the plants with brilliant
success. In two years his plantations contained forty thousand plants
two and three meters in height, although the plant obtains no greater
height than a meter and a half in Asia. Ortega knew that the treat-
ment of ramie was impracticable by the mechanical means employed
in Europe and America ; therefore he studied chemical means for that
purpose, and after much endeavor, he succeeded in separating the
fiber and presenting to the Minister of the Interior fine skeins, dyed
in three colors, three meters and a half in length, which are now dis-
played spread over statues in the salon of the Minister Riva Palacio
and in the house of the venerable editor, Don Ygnacio Complido, who
also received a gift of several skeins. The ramie propagates prodi-
giously in portions of our warm, moist climate, as in Cordoba, Tlat-
lauqui, Cuetzala, and Huachinango. When the plant is developed,
the sprouts bearing four or five leaves are removed and planted a
Spanish yard apart, with surety of the success of the new plantation.
The ramie is little sensitive to changes in temperature, and it neither
breeds nor nourishes worms or caterpillars; neither gives life to mil-
dew or parasitic growth. Each plant produces from $1.75 to $2.25
worth of fiber, the cost of its cultivation amounting to six cents. Thus
the profit is greater than from tobacco, coffee, cacao, or cotton : more-

PUEBLA, CHOLULA, SAN MIGUEL SESMA, AND ORIZABA. 455

over, from the refuse fiber is manufactured fine Chinese paper, and
coarse wrapping-paper.

"The State of Puebla has a variety of climates, from that which is
oppressively hot to one cloudy and cold. In some northern dis-
tricts are produced cotton, tobacco, vanilla, coffee, rice, sugar cane,
and all the fruits of the cold zones and the hot ; in the southern dis-
tricts the fruits of the hot zones, cotton, tea, coffee, and the Mexican
agave of the species oyamec, which produces the niezcal liquor. The
best sugar plantations are in the south, and they produce molasses,
aguardientes, and sugar of various grades. In this zone are the im-
mense grazing lands of cattle, goats, sheep, and horses ; the salt mines
of Chiautla, Chinantla, and Piaxtla, and the purgative-salt of Chietla.
In Atlixco are produced pease, rice, corn, beans, chile pepper, barley,
benne-seed, and some wheat. The districts of the north yield the same
products, excepting the wheat, the salt mines and the grazing on a
large scale ; in exchange, Zacatlan produces apple-brandy superior to
the Spanish Catalan, and delicious wines from the orange, quince, and
blackberry. In the central districts grows the best wheat raised in
eastern Mexico, all the fruit and grain of cold climates, the mulato
chile, whence comes a soda refined here, and another which is treated
in France ; also wool and bristles.

" The flora of this State is abundant and varied, as known to the sci-
entific commission exploring the territory, and its products would
supply the perfumeries and drug-shops of the world.

" The races and classes inhabiting Puebla are as follows: The His-
pano-American, which is the principal one ; the Aztec, the Chichi-
meca, the Tatonavue, the Cuatocomaque, the Tepounga, and the Miz-
teca, whose tongues and dialects to-day, as well as a great part of their
customs, are of the primitive people. The capitals of the most popu-
lous and cultivated districts outside the State capital are : Tehuacan,
preeminent in agriculture and commerce ; Teziutlan, under the same
conditions, where live some capitalists, almost millionaires. The city of
Chalchicomula is agricultural and industrial, in the line of mills. At-
lixco and Matamoros are beautiful, rich, and productive of utensils.

45^ FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

Zacatlan, agricultural and industrial in the branch of liquors, and
Tecamachalco, given to agriculture and milling. The garden spots of
the north are : Zacatlan, with its natural beauty, its fair, lovely race,
and distinguished families ; Teziutlan, with the panoramas its territo-
ries offer ; its people white and elegant, and the culture of its sons ;
Zacapoaxtla, with its florid vegetation, its agreeable, fine, mixed race,
and the inclination of its sons toward literature, distinguished above
all the people of the State ; the inhabitants of Tetela de Ocanepo,
whose people are clever and unpretentious — every one here can read
and write, understands domestic history, general geography, geometry,
numbers, the use of arms, and constitutional rights. In the towns
forming the district of Tetela there is no Roman Catholic guild, nor is
there need of a police judge, because here occur no robberies, no homi-
cides, no quarrels, no impositions, no adulteries, nothing of crime or
disorder. The Tetelanos are the Lacedemonians of the State of
Puebla. The gardens of the south are : Picturesque Atlixco, watered
by a hundred streams of crystal flood, with its orchards of varied
fruits, its thickets of mixed flowers of loveliest hue, and withal a
cultured society ; Izricar of Matamoros, traversed by an overflowing
stream like Atlixco, with its proud buildings, its lovely brown women,
its ardent temperament, its fertile meadows, and its valuable sugar
plantations, which bring enormous rental to their owners ; Acatlan,
land of fire, with its forward meadows, its fruitful ground-plots, its sugar-
mills ; its cane-flelds, and its active commerce with the Pacific coast."

Tram-cars, built in New York, run in all directions from the city,
some extending from ten to fifty miles, to villages, sugar haciendas,
and factories. To Cholula it is but seven miles over the lovely green
valley of Puebla, and in making the trip, we constantly enjoyed fresh
and charming views. These included an ancient aqueduct and an
old Spanish bridge across the river Atoyac, which affords water-power
for factories and foundries.

We see the great pyramid of Cholula for miles before reaching it
— a grand and imposing monument to the aboriginal builders ! That
these ready-handed Indian workers should have erected a mountain,

PUEBLA, CHOLULA, SAN MIGUEL SESMA, AND ORIZABA. 457

without beasts of burden or implements of any kind, and by passing
the brick from hand to hand, surpasses the calculations of ail scien-
tists.

It is built of adobe bricks of irregular size, from sixteen to twenty-
three inches in length. The erection of this stupendous structure
could never have been imposed upon freemen, and must have been
the work of slaves or prisoners of war. According to Prescott, the
base covers about forty-four acres — other authorities say sixty —

PYRAMID OF CHOLUI.A.

while Baron Humboldt suggests a comparison with "a square four
times greater than the Place Vendome in Paris, covered with layers
of brick, rising to twice the elevation of the Louvre." The platform
on the summit is more than an acre in extent.

The sides of the mound face the cardinal points; but the regular-
ity of its outlines has been broken and defaced by time, and the
whole surface is covered with the dirt and vegetable growth of ages.
From this circumstance many have supposed that the elevation was
not artificial, at least as regards its interior ; but so far as explorations

45^ FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

have been made, there is no reason to doubt that it is entirely a work
of art.

In addition to trees and shrubs covered with vines and mosses,
lovely wild flowers of delightful fragrance abound everywhere. We
gathered our hands full, and pressed them on the spot as souvenirs of
the Pyramid of Cholula. Relic venders in rags followed us around
with a unique collection of cross-bones, pottery, idolos, and the cus-
tomary bric-k-brac. We were ready purchasers, being willing to
believe almost anything on this historic and pre-historic ground.

Much speculation has arisen as to the object in rearing so stupen-
dous a work, whether constructed for religious use, or as a place of
sepulture for kings and notables. A recent theory is, that it was
erected for defense, as a place of refuge for an agricultural popula-
tion otherwise unprotected.

According to Humboldt, "In its present state (and we are igno-
rant of its original height), its perpendicular proportion is to its base
as 8 to I, while in the three great pyramids of Gizeh, the proportion
is found to be 1^*^ to i^''^ to i ; or nearly as 8 to 5."

A table made by Baron Humboldt, relating to the proportions of
various pyramids, is as follows :

Pyramids Built of Stone.

Cheops.
Feet.

Height 448

Base 728

Pyramids of Brick.
One of five stories in Egypt near Sakharah, height, 150 feet; base, 210 feet.

0/ Four Stoiies in Mexico.

Teotihuacan. Cholula.

Feet. Feet.

Height 171 172

Base 645 1355

Humboldt continues : " The inhabitants of Anahuac apparently
designed giving the Pyramid of Cholula the same height, and double

Cephren.

Mycerinus.

Feet.

398

162

655

580

PUEBLA, CHOLULA, SAN MIGUEL SESMA, AND ORIZABA. 459

the base of the pyramid of Teotihuacan. The Pyramid of Asychis, the
largest known of the Egyptians, has a base of 800 feet, and is, like
that of Cholula, built of brick. The Cathedral of Strasbourg is eight
feet, and the cross of St. Peter's at Rome forty-one feet, lower than
the top of the Pyramid of Cheops.

" Pyramids exist throughout Mexico — in the forests of Papantla,
at a short distance above the level of the sea ; on the plains of Cholula

EL CASTILLO, OR " HILL OF FLOWERS."

and of Teotihuacan, at an elevation which exceeds those of the passes
of the Alps.

" In the most widely different nations and in climates the most dif-
ferent, man seems to have adopted the same style of construction,
the same ornaments, the same customs, and to have placed himself
under the government of the same political institutions."

A contemplation of this pyramid naturally led us to think of those
other wondrous structures, Papantla, Misantla, and Mapilca, erected
by the Totonacs, and situated between Jalapa and the Gulf coast ;
and also Xochicalco, Uxmal, Palenque, and others in other parts of
the republic.

460 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

But little is known about the famous and ancient ruins bearing the
poetical name of Xochicalco, or " Hill of Flowers." This ignorance is
probably due to its isolated and rather inaccessible position. The
cerro (hill) is three hundred feet in height, and its summit reached by
five winding stone stairways.

Crowning the eminence is the Castillo, a building measuring sixty-
four by fifty-eight feet. This structure is composed of great blocks
of porphyry, held together without the aid of mortar, and covered
over with strange and grotesque sculpturings of men, beasts and fishes.

The origin of this unique and wonderful structure is shrouded in
mystery. Who were the builders, and for what purpose it was built,
none can tell. As a writer remarks, " It has outlasted both history
and memory."

When we consider that the immense blocks of stone were probably
all brought from great distances and borne up the hill by what means
the imagination cannot conceive of, we are struck with amazement at
the magnitude of the undertaking and the patience of the builders.
Entirely without mechanical appliances, how they accomplished the
feat of transporting and placing those huge stones, fills us with a
wonder only equaled by a contemplation of its sister enterprise, the
pyramids of Egypt.

The pyramid of Papantla is built in six stories, and a great stairway
of fifty-seven steps leads to the top, which is flat. Strange shapes of
serpents and alligators are carved in relief over the sides.

As these " peculiar people " so frequently planned their structures
with some mysterious regard to " the times and seasons " and to the
heavenly bodies, it is thought by some that the three hundred and
sixty-six niches in the walls of this temple bore some connection with
the ancient Toltec calendar.

But to return to Cholula. The deity worshiped by the ancient
Cholulans was more peaceful and less bloodthirsty than Huitzilopotchli,
the terrible and warlike god of the Aztecs. He was known as " god
of the air," Quetzalcoatl, and in his hands was intrusted everything
relating to agriculture and the arts. So happy was his reign that it

PUEBLA, CHOLULA, SAN MIGUEL SESMA, AND ORIZABA. 4.6^

became known as the Golden Age. " Under him the earth teemed
with fruits and flowers without the labor of culture. An ear of In-
dian corn was as much as a man could carry. The cotton, as it
grew, took of its own accord the rich dyes of human art. The air was
filled with intoxicating perfumes and the sweet melody of birds."

The great pyramid or temple of Cholula was said to have been
erected in his honor; and if a grander monument exists, made of
earthly material by human hands, history has not recorded it.

From the apex of this colossal structure we gazed on the open
plain of Cholula, and toward Tlaxcala, the " Land of Bread," whose
hardy inhabitants, having first been defeated, became the fast and
faithful friends and allies of Cortez. In the end this proved to be the
key to Mexico. After the conquest, as an acknowledgment of their
uniform good faith, the Tlaxcalans were exempted from servitude.

The little band of Spaniards, numbering only four hundred and
fifty, accompanied by six thousand allies, marched to Cholula, which
then had a population of two hundred thousand. They were hos-
pitably received and supplied with provisions. But soon Dofia Marina,
the faithful interpreter of Cortez, discovered a plot for their destruc-
tion. Cortez assembled the caciques, acquainted them with his knowl-
edge of their treachery, and demanded an escort on his way to Mex-
ico. The next day thousands were assembled in his quarters, when,
at a signal, the Spaniards attacked them and at least three thousand
were slain. The natives trembled at the prowess and vengeance of
the " white gods."

Cholula is now a mere village. Its four hundred pagan towers
have long been demolished, but from the eminence where we stood I
counted twenty spires and crosses on the Christian temples of the ad-
jacent Indian hamlets.

The imagination may find full scope in contemplating this grand
scene. Looking northward stands the mountain Malinche — the name
given to Cortez by the Indians — brown and sere in the distance, on
whose rugged and massive sides not a plant grows nor a flower blooms
to break the monotony of its awful self. Popocatapetl, Iztaccihuatl,

464 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

and Orizaba stand guard over the enchanted valley, their snow-white
tops vying in crystal whiteness with the fleecy clouds that encircle
them, while the calm, fleckless vault around and above tempers the
grandeur of the view, and soothes the spirit into sweet poetic seren-
ity. We turn from it in silence, with feelings of reluctance and regret.

Returning at sunset, we had a new source of diversion in a lively
conversation with two sefioritas and their mother. They gave us their
names and the number of their street, informing us that there we
would " find our house."

Despite its many advantages, I was surprised to find so few Eng-
lish-speaking people at Puebla. But, strictly conservative as it is, we
traveled about, sketching and making notes as freely as inclination
led, meeting only kindness and courtesy from all classes.

In this connection a pleasing little incident occurred further indica-
tive of the natural kind-heartedness of the people. We had gone
there quite alone and unattended, not taking, as we generally did,
letters of introduction, preferring to travel incog. Walking on the
street, I became suddenly ill, and sought relief in a neighboring drug-
store. The proprietor insisted on my remaining for some time, giving
me several doses of medicine, which were efficacious. On leaving, he
handed me a prescription and a bottle of the medicine, and positively
refused all compensation. " No," he said, "you ladies are strangers
here, and alone ; you shall not pay me anything."

We left with regret, which was only counterbalanced by pleasur-
able anticipations in fulfilling a promise to visit Madame de Iturbide
at her country-seat near San Miguel Sesma.

At Apizaco we were met by Don Augustin, her son, who had come
from the capital to escort us to the hacienda, distant five miles from
the station of Esperanza. The carriage was in waiting, and soon the
spirited team was hurrying us along over the plains. Never before
had I seen the Mexican aloe or maguey in such magnificence. Its
" clustering pyramids of flowers, towering above their dark coronals
of leaves," lined the drive on either side, to the very door. Here
we met a royal welcome from our distinguished countrywoman. Sur-

PUEBLA, CHOLULA, SAN MIGUEL SESMA, AND ORIZABA. 465

rounded by her numerous retainers, we could easily imagine ourselves
in a feudal castle of the middle ages. The illusion was deepened on
seeing her two little Indian attendants, whom she had taken from the
common herd and dressed as hacendados, in buckskin suits and sil-
ver buttons. I was not surprised at their satisfaction in their finery
when Madame Iturbide assured me that, save the possibility of a sin-
gle garment, these were their first clothes. These little brown-skinned
monkeys were constantly bobbing in and out — with " si, nifia " between
each breath — bowing, and waiting on us with as much zeal as if on
them devolved the sole dispensing of the honors and hospitalities of
the mansion.

In the late evening we promenaded on the azotea while our host-
ess regaled us with delightful reminiscences of her life in Mexico.
We inspected with the prince the whole interior working of the
hacienda — visited the cows, the horses, and the finest specimens of
swine I ever saw, so immense that they almost rivaled the cows.

Madame Iturbide told us that, in accordance with a long-estab-
lished custom, the peons would sing at half-past four o'clock in the
morning. Promptly at the hour, the recamarara awoke us to hear
the song.

The place of assembling was near the family residence. The first
that came, turning his face to the east, began singing, and continued
until all had arrived, when they chanted in chorus.

The Alabado ; or, Song of Praise to the Morning.
" Praised and uplifted (or upheld)
And also glorified
Be the divine sacrament !
Give us to-day sustenance 1
Give us Thy divine grace !
And succor us, O Lord !
In the work of the day.
And thou, Mother of the Word,
Immaculate and pure conception,
I beseech thee from my heart
Not to forsake me, Mother mine."

466 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

The music made a deep impression on my sensibilities. At times
it seemed like the gentlest breathings from a reed instrument ; then it
would mellow down to mere sighing sounds, like whisperings from an
^olian harp. It was mournful, pathetic, imploring, and was the lan-
guage of the soul in quaint, almost unearthly sounds. These weird
strains were wafted to my ear on the calm morning air, and the invo-
cation inspired me with the same sad and dependent thoughts and
feelings so deeply rooted in the hearts of the dusky chanters of the
dirge-like melody.

Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson, in Ramona, makes mention of the
observance of this beautiful custom by the Mexicans in the early days
of California.

We were shown that remarkable grass known as raiz zacaton, from
which whisk-brooms and stout brushes for heavier uses are manufac-
tured. The top is a luxuriant green, several inches in height, but no
use is made of it, only the root being profitable. The peons employed
to gather this fibrous substance call to their aid powerful mechan-
ical appliances to remove it from the soil, so deep does it extend below
the surface, and so tough are its myriad tendrils. It is exported all
over the world and constitutes one of the most important products of
the haciendas in this section of the country.

This hacienda, like all others, has its administrador, and an impor-
tant ofifice is his. While in many respects his duties are similar to
those of an overseer, yet he differs very materially from that function-
ary. In the present instance the young gentleman who fills this posi-
tion is a college graduate, speaking several languages, a bachelor of
arts, and a justice of the peace. His accomplishments do not in the
least militate against his eflficiency as administrador, for he manages
the estate most admirably, enjoying the utmost confidence of the
family. He preferred his assured salary of twelve hundred dollars a
year to the uncertain returns of the practice of his profession.

During this visit I obtained a better insight into the life of the
peons than I had before known. From their evident contentment, I
concluded that their condition was not, after all, so lamentable as I

PUEBLA, CHOLULA, SAN MIGUEL SESMA, AND ORIZABA. 467

had imagined. If they have but little of worldly goods, they are
rich in a politeness which redeems defects of face or person. In
meeting a superior, their great clumsy straw sombreros are quickly
removed by hard, horny hands, and the words gently uttered : ''Ave
Maria Santissima ! " The superior never fails to perform his part
of the salutation, and touching his hat brim answers, "En gracia con-
cebida'' ("conceived in grace"). If they pass twenty times a day,
the same rule is observed. I was amused to see the little monkeys
in the house practicing the formula.

A charming incident of the visit was a drive to the upper part of

the hacienda, which extends along one of the spurs of Black Mountain.
Don Augustin rode close beside the carriage on his beautiful Andalu-
sian mare, Beso — " Kiss." Our way for miles lay beside the primi-
tive aqueduct of hewn logs which for two hundred years or more has
supplied the hacienda with water from mountain springs. San Miguel
Sesma is one of the oldest haciendas in that part of the republic,
and extends over more than twenty square miles. The sides of the
mountain are covered with pines, oaks, and a variety of other woods.
At every turn we enjoyed views of sublime scenery, and at the top six
geographical heights were plainly visible — Orizaba, Popocatapetl, Iztac-
cihuatl, Malinche, Black Mountain, and, in the dim distance, Perote.

468 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

We crossed a slight ravine, which, a rod or two below us, had, with-
in a few years, deepened into a fissure of one hundred and ninety feet.
To me it was almost as frightful as the Nochistongo. On descending
the steep side of the mountain, the prince performed a daring feat,
which exhibited his remarkable physical strength. The cockero seemed
unable to restrain the mules and carriage from rushing headlong over
the precipice. Instantly, and with the unerring precision of a profes-
sional ranchero, Don Augustin hurled his lasso, and deftly catching it
around the step — Beso frothing and leaping — held back the wagonette
all the way down.

Our delightful visit ended, we pursued our journey, the prince
kindly escorting us to Orizaba. A few miles from Esperanza we leave
the scorching winds, blinding dust, and perpetual upheaval of power-
ful column-like whirlwinds through which the cars run for some dis-
tance, and come to inviting shade and refreshing breezes, as we wind
and twist about the mountains in leaving the table-lands. The descent
is grandly wild and beyond the power of pen to picture, and travelers
who have reveled in the beauties of Old World scenery give prece-
dence to this. A writer on the subject said it is '' as from earth to
heaven — a little bit of Paradise." We remained on the platform to
obtain an unobstructed view until our senses were dazed and giddy,
as the brave little double-headed Fairlie engine pulled us safely, ap-
parently on mere threads, along a lofty peak, darting through tunnels,
crawling around curves, over slender bridges, at times hundreds of
feet above some frightful abyss.

The pretty village of Maltrata looks white and peaceful in its snug
retreat at the foot of the table-lands. We are told it is twenty miles
away, but directly through it is only two and a half.

We purchased roses, tulipans, and other flowers of tropical growth
for a mere song, from Indian venders, as well as orchids of dazzling
loveliness, with their glowing yellow, pink, and red centers.

Notwithstanding the apparently dangerous route of this railway, I
was reliably informed that no accident had ever occurred by which
lives had been lost. It was under construction for thirty years, cost

PUEBLA, CHOLULA, SAN MIGUEL SESMA, AND ORIZABA. 469

thirty millions to build, and has survived no fewer than forty different
managements, besides time and again losing its charter by revolu-
tion ; but its completion at last attained was a great boon to the re-
public. On its way to the capital it ascends seven thousand six hun-
dred feet, and its length is only two hundred and sixty miles : and
" this is the short and long of it."

As is the case with all railways in Mexico, whether of tram or
steam, there are first, second, and third class rates. From Mexico to
Vera Cruz, the first-class ticket costs $16. 50 — the second class, $12.50 ;
but there are no Pullmans attached, and the difference consists in
having neatly padded coaches for first qlass, while plain chairs in com-
mon coaches accommodate the less fortunate.

From Maltrata the foliage and vegetation assume a more tropical
appearance, but there are wanting the tangled masses of vines and
luxuriant growths one naturally expects to see. The heat, however,
grows more intense, and when finally we halt before the pretty sta-
tion house at Orizaba, everything and everybody seems wilted and
panting under the heat. Don Augustin saw us safely to the " Hotel
de las Diligencias " — a name which has a peculiar and particular at-
traction for hotel proprietors all over the country. Don Augustin
gave us the desired information that the hot ©Is had retained the
names of former times, when they were head-quarters of the
stages.

Orizaba has perhaps twenty thousand inhabitants, and consider-
able manufacturing interests. The Alameda is a quiet, shady park with
an abundance of glorious flowers peculiar to the section. Among
them I saw nothing grander than the sweet-scented Datura arborea —
generally known as the Floripondio — hanging like snowy bells, ready
for the fairies to ring; and the Tulipan vibrating in the soft breeze,
like flaming banners. I had seen both of these at the capital
and other points, but they are insignificant compared with those
grown in the tropics.

The Zocalo, the cathedral and the market — the latter always a place
of interest to me — were duly inspected. But the heat was so intense,

470

FACR TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

that the

great quan-

t i t i e s of

fruits and

vegetables

lay scorched

and wilted

under the

quaint palm urn

brellas that were no

more than tissue paper

between them and the burning sun,

and the venders had no desire to

talk, and this languor had on us,

likewise, a depressing influence.

With the usual number of niu-
chachitos following with evident
satisfaction all our movements,
we strolled along the principal
streets, across picturesque bridges,
sketched and made notes by the
Molino de Guadalupe, whence
we caught a lovely view of a
shrine of Moorish design, across

SCKNES IN THE TROPICS.

FUEBLA, CHOLULA, SAN MIGUEL SESMA, AND ORIZABA. 47^

a broken aqueduct, against a setting of blue in the distant moun-
tains.

The coffee tree, with rich, dark green leaves and bright red ber-
ries— resembling cranberries — grows side by side with oranges, lem-
ons, bananas, the cocoa-palm and gorgeous flowers, all in tropical luxu-
riance, overhanging low adobe fences.

The coffee berry is not allowed to ripen on the tree, but when in
the red state, the branches, laden with fruit, are cut and left for several
weeks to dry in the shade. After this, women and children bark it,
when it is ready for shipment.

The city is walled in by mountains, and during the months of Feb-
ruary, March, and April — as I was told by an old inhabitant — is vis-
ited almost nightly by wind storms. According to our own experi-
ence these rival the wildest hurricanes.

Our rooms were on the north or front of the hotel, consequently
adapted to give the wind full sweep. Sure enough, at midnight, the
tropical storm came up without a note of warning — moon and stars
shining brightly in a cloudless sky — but if the Furies had been let
loose our terrors could not have been intensified. Panes of glass were
shivered to atoms over our heads, doors were lifted from their hinges
and thrown with violence to the floor ; everything movable was tossed
in wild confusion, and '' las dos scnoritas Americanas solitas " expected
to find themselves in the morning gray-headed from fright.

In the midst of the awful din and hubbub of the storm the
mocking-birds on the corridor added their shrill quota to the general
confusion of sounds, and I was humorously reminded of the experi-
ence of Mr. William Henry Bishop at Cordoba, when he spoke of
their " dulcet ingenuity," and declared that a " planing-mill or a foun-
dry full of trip-hammers would be a blessing in comparison."

Orizaba had now lost interest to us, and at the right hour we went
to the station, expecting to continue the journey to Vera Cruz and
Jalapa, but hearing a rumor of yellow fever, we decided to return to
the capital.

Meeting Father Gribbin on his way from the coast, and fearing to

472 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

encounter another storm at the hotel, we accepted his kind invitation
to the house of his friends, Mr. and Mrs. John Quinn, who reside at
Mr. Braniff's factory, four miles from the city.

The hospitality of our whole-souled entertainers was greatly
enjoyed after our stormy experience of the night before.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE.

HIS tradition," says the historian
Altamirano, " as written by Don
Luis Becerra Zanco about 1666,
because of the simplicity of its
language, and also because of its
reflecting more the characteristic
sweetness and softness of the
Nahautal language, in which the
tradition was undoubtedly orig-
inally preserved, is the most au-
thentic."

The subject of Guadalupe has
been one of such intense interest, that about sixty-one Mexican and
Spanish writers have written elaborately on it. So prominent is she,
that thousands of children are annually christened by her name.

The tradition, as generally believed, is as follows: "At an early
hour on the morning of December 9, 1531, Juan Diego, a humble
Indian, who had been recently converted to the Catholic faith, was
quietly pursuing his way from a town adjacent to the City of Mexico,
to mass. Pausing for a moment at the foot of a mountain known as
the Cerro del Tepazac, which is about three miles from the city, he
was held spell bound by sweet and sonorous singing, which seemed to

474 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

proceed from a great number of birds that sang in perfect accord and
harmony.

" It seemed to him that the entire rocky hill above him was vibrat-
ing and echoing the sweet notes of the myriad, tiny-throated warblers,
and raising his eyes to that point, he beheld a beautiful rainbow,
formed from the brilliant rays reflected from the center of the cloud.
The Indian was held in silent wonder and admiration, but without
fear he stood, contemplating in his heart the strange revelation.

" Ere he had recovered from his surprise, the singing ceased, and
at once there issued from the clouds a voice, soft and gentle as a
woman's, calling him by name, ' Juan,' and begging him to draw near.

" He hastened to climb the hill, and there he beheld in the midst
of the light a most beautiful lady, whose clothing, he said, shone so
brightly that the rays from it lighted up the rough cliffs of the rocks
which rise from the summit of the hill until they seemed to him like
precious stones, cut and made transparent ; and the leaves of the
prickly pear, which are small and stubby at this point, on account of
the barrenness of the place, seemed to him like clusters of fine
emeralds, and their branches, trunks, and thorns like shining gold ;
and even the ground of a small plane on the summit appeared to him
to be of jasper, dotted with different colors.

" The lady, with gentle, smiling face, spoke to him in the Mexican
language, and told him that she was the Virgin Mary, the true Mother
of God, and that she wished to have a temple in that place, where all
those who loved her and sought her might come for comfort in their
afflictions.

" She commanded him to go to the palace in the City of Mexico
and tell the Bishop of her desire.

" The Indian threw himself upon his knees and promised to obey
her commands. According to promise, he went directly to the house
of the Bishop, to which he gained admittance only after great trouble
and delay. Being at last in the presence of his lordship, he fell upon
his knees and delivered his message.

" The Bishop was much astonished at the communication, and

THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE. 47S

judging it to be a dream or an imagination of the Indian, he sent
him away, telling him to return in a few days, after he had had more
time to consider it.

"Juan Diego, sad and disheartened, returned on the same day as
the sun was setting. When he reached the hill, he found the Virgin
again awaiting him.

" She repeated her commands, and the Indian promised to return
on the following day.

"He kept his promise, and the Bishop told him to go back to the
Virgin and ask for some sign, and sent with him a servant.

"When they reached the hill, the Virgin was there awaiting him.
She still repeated her commands, and he then went home, finding one
of his uncles dangerously ill. They sent him to the city for a priest
to deliver extreme unction. He thought to avoid the Virgin by
passing at the foot of the hill, and what was his surprise to find her
descending the hill to meet him.

"At this, the fourth apparition, she gave him the desired sign,
telling him to*go to the rugged rocks, where nothing had ever been
known to grow, and there he would find fresh, sweet, Spanish roses,
covered with dew.

" The Indian did as he was bid, and found the roses as she had
promised. He filled his blanket with them and took them to the
Bishop.

" There in the presence of his worship and numerous attend-
ants, he threw the roses on the floor, and as the blanket unfolded,
they beheld with astonishment the image of the Virgin imprinted
upon it.

" They then became convinced that the apparitions were genuine,
and set about to erect the church on the Cerro del Tepazac, where
the vision had appeared."

The tilma, or blanket, which received the marvelous imprint of
the Virgin, is still preserved sacredly in the Cathedral of Guadalupe,
and visitors, by paying a small fee to the sacristan, may see it.

CHAPTER XV.

AMONG THE CHILDREN,

^^^^HE following is one of the numerous

^-■^ stories related by Mexican mothers

to their children, and one which

Seftora Calderon often told her little

son, Pepito, in my presence:

THE STORY OF GAITAGILENO.

Once there lived a king, who had a
\\^ very beautiful wife. The king went
^-=^ off to a dreadful and tedious war, and
on his return, the queen's bosom friend told him many false and ma-
licious stories of the queen's unbecoming conduct during his absence.

Without waiting to have an explanation with his wife, or endeav-
oring to ascertain the truthfulness of the woman's assertions, he de-
termined to rid himself of her as quickly as possible.

The queen never suspected the cause of her husband's displeasure,
nor that her bosom friend had been the cause of her sudden misfor-
tune.

One day, without warning, the king caused her to be placed in a
close carriage, and accompanied by her mother, he proceeded with
them, over a rough and uninhabited country, to a famous but
isolated castle. On arriving there, the great doors sprang open
as if by magic, the carriage drove in, and then the doors clanged
together again, with such force and fury as to startle the queen, who
had no idea that she was to be thus imprisoned ; for when those great
portals closed in that manner, no human voice or power, save that of
the king, could cause them to open.

AMONG THE CHILDREN. 4/7

Before going to the castle, the king had taken the precaution to
have the great cellars filled with every kind of edible, — corn, rice,
frijoles, wine, cheese, ham, — and also huge chicken-coops, filled with
fine fat chickens.

Here, after seeing that the two women could not suffer for want of
food, he left them and returned to his own palace.

In the course of time, a son was born to the queen, whom she named
Gaitagileno ; and day by day he grew more sprightly and beautiful ; and
it was soon made clear to the mother and grandmother that he was a
boy of remarkable intellectual strength. But ere long, like the birds,
he wanted his liberty, and could not believe that the world was no
larger than the limits of the castle.

When he attained the age of seven years, he took two ropes and,
with the cunning ingenuity of a boy, lassoed the water-spouts in
the court, to the house. There were other spouts that opened out
upon the street.

Gaitagileno climbed up on the first lasso, and from there he went
over the top of the house, and then lassoed the front water-spout, from
which he made his descent to the ground, and escaped from the castle.

After this, he ran with all his might along the highways and coun-
try roads, asking every one he met if he could point out to him the
way to the king's palace.

As might be expected, the shock was so great to his mother that
she came near dying of grief for her lost boy, and so continuous was
her weeping that she became blind.

Gaitagileno had heard that the king was his father, so he was will-
ing to risk and suffer a great deal that he might be the means of finally
releasing his mother from her long imprisonment.

After a perilous journey, footsore and weary, he at last reached the
king's palace. He knocked violently on the door, and when it
was opened to him, the servants refused to admit one so poorly
dressed, for he was attired completely in coarse brown clothing. The
doors closed on the poor boy, but he was undaunted, and again
began knocking. On opening the door again, they told him the king

478 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

was not at home, but that he must tell them what he wanted, and as
soon as the king returned they would make known his wishes.

He told them he had heard that the king wanted to employ a sec-
retary, and he had come asking the position.

The king was not at home, but the queen's old friend, who had
supplanted her in the king's affections, was there, and as she belonged
to a family of witches, she knew it was the king's son.

At that moment the king returned, and on learning the boy's er-
rand, and having tested his ability as a scribe, he was so pleased with
the lad that he gave him the position.

The woman was much displeased at this, and at once set about try-
ing to get rid of the boy, although the king still did not know the boy
was his son. She pretended to be so pleased with Gaitagileno that it was
the greatest desire of her heart that her sisters should know him, and at
once asked for and obtained the king's permission that he should go
on a visit to them. She then wrote a letter, which she gave to Gai-
tagileno, telling her sisters, who were witches, who he was, and that
they must be sure to bewitch him and make him suffer a great deal.

He read this letter in the carriage, and as he had taken pen, ink,
and paper along with him, he wrote another letter in exactly the same
handwriting as the first, but telling them exactly to the contrary, and
that they must show him all through their palace. They received him
with kindness, and the youngest one at once offered to go with him,
leading the way into the garden, where he found gorgeous flowers,
grand old walks, and an exquisite fountain in which were fishes of
brilliant shades swimming about unconcerned, while birds in their
cages sang their sweetest songs.

The stones about the fountain were black and enchanted, and the
birds and fishes were princes.

They went into a large hall where were the pictures of all the fam-
ily, and before each there was a lighted candle. She said to Gaitagi-
leno : " If you cut the faces out of these pictures you will at the same
time cut the real faces of living people ; and if you put out the light
of any one of these candles in front of the pictures, the person will

AMONG THE CHILDREN. 479

then die." She had shown him in the garden plants of immortaHty,
and a tree the leaves of which would, if applied to the temples, restore
the sight.

When night came on, Gaitagileno waited for all in the house to be
asleep, when he quietly stole into the garden. He had a magic whis-
tle, with which, if he blew one way, everything would wake up ; and
if another way, all would go to sleep.

Having assured himself that all were asleep, he went into the hall
where the pictures were, and, taking a knife, the first thing he did was
to go before the face of the woman who had supplanted his mother,
and said: "Infamous woman! you have been the cause of all my
mother's sufferings." He then cut the picture, and at the same mo-
ment, in the palace, the king saw a knife pass before the woman's
face, and she screamed aloud, ' An invisible hand has wounded me ! "
and at once expired.

He then went before each of the other pictures and put out the
lights, and all the people died whom they represented.

He then went to the garden, gathered some leaves from the tree
of immortality, and some from the plant to restore sight, blew his
whistle, and at once all the fishes and birds and stones became disen-
chanted ; and great was their joy to be in their natural condition
once more.

They took Gaitagileno on their shoulders, strewing flowers as they
went, and, accompanied by strains of sweetest music, proceeded to the
king's palace singing, " Long live Gaitagileno ! "

On entering the city, he found the whole population in deep
mourning. Everywhere mourning emblems were displayed, which
he ordered torn down, and red flags put up in their places.

The king was angry, and desired to know why he had presumed to
do this. " Because," said Gaitagileno, " I am your son, and the old
woman was an infamous wretch, and has made my mother's life a tor-
ment.

" Come with me at once and restore her to her rightful place as
queen, and release her from that awful prison."

48o

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

They started at once in the king's carriage, and when they reached
the saguan,\h& boy exclaimed in a loud voice : "Mother! Mother!

It is I, your long-lost son, who, with the
king, your husband, have come to restore
you to your rights."

He embraced her, and then applied
the leaves to her temples, and she opened
her eyes once more to see her husband
and son before her.

The king fell upon his knees and
begged to be forgiven, and they all re-
turned to the palace, where they were
received with great joy. Gaitagileno was
loved and respected by all who knew
him, and, leading a noble and worthy life,
was known as the savior of many nations.

One of the many sweet lullabies I
have heard the mothers sing to their
children is as follows :
" Se fueron las Yankis al Guaridame,

Y el Yankie mas grande
Se parece k Pepito.

A la pasadita tra-la-ra-la-ra.

" Se fueron las Yankis k la Ladrillera,

Y el Yankie mas grande
Se parece k Elena.

Y a la pasadita tra-la-ra-la-ra."

" The Yankees went to Guaridame,
And the biggest Yankee there
Looked like Pepito.
To the pasadita, tra-la-ra-la-ra.

" The Yankees went to the Ladrillera
And the biggest Yankee there
Looked like Elena.
Chorus : To the pasadita, tra-la-ra-la-ra."

THE GOOD 'NANA.

Chorus .

Chorus

AMONG THE CHILDREN.

481

The air of this ditty is extremely musical, and though the words
do not suggest anything particularly soothing, yet, crooned by the
low, sweet voice of the mother, it never fails to produce a quieting
and soporific effect upon the most recalcitrant infant.

This is as popular with the Mexican tots as " Rock-a-bye baby " or
kindred melodies are with ours.

Their nursery tales, too, as well as their ditties, bear an analogy
to our own.

The Nana is preparing the children for bed ; the little ones chatter

LISTENING TO THE STORIES.

and yawn alternately, and the nurse is hoping that their drowsiness
will spare her this time her nightly task of story-telling. Not so, how-
ever. Tucked at last in bed. with the exception of the youngest,
whom she holds on her lap, one calls out: " Cuentome ! client ome ! "
("Tell me a story, tell me a story! ") The others quickly chime in —
" Cuentanos ! " (" Tell us a story.")

^'' Biicno, pero estaji qiiictosy (" Very well, then, but you must be
quiet "), she answers. Then taking in hers the baby's fingers she
begins :

482 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

'' Nina chiquita y bonita" ("A pretty, sweet little girl "), holding
up the little finger.

'' El senor de los anillos" (" The gentleman gives the ring "), hold-
ing up third finger.

" El tonto y loco " (" Idiotic and crazy "), holding middle finger.

*• El lama cazuelas " (" Licks the cook-pot "), elevating forefinger.

''Mata las animalas" ("Kills the little animals"). This last is
accompanied by the very expressive gesture of tapping the thumb-
nails together.

If this charming recital fails to act as a narcotic to her little
hearers, she goes on with :

" Este era un rey que tenia tres hijas,
Y las metio en unas botijas y
Catrape el cuento ha acabado.

" Este era un rey que tenia tres hijas,
Los vestio de Colorado
Catrape el cuento ha acabado."

(" This was a king- who had three daughters,
And he put them in earthen jugs —
Now my story is ended.

" This was a king who had three daughters,
And he dressed them all in red —
Now my story is ended.")

And so on to yet more blood-curdling and fascinating romances
till slumber seals her listeners' eyes, and her task ceases.

CONUNDRUMS.

" Por dentro Colorado y por fuera como salvado ? " Answer : El
mamey (one of the favorite fruits of the country). Trans. : ^'^Red in-
side and like bran outside? The tnamey." Another: '^ Agua pasa por
mi casa. Gate de mi corazon. El que me lo adivinare de le parte el
corazon." Answer: "The Aguacafc'' ("the vegetable butter)."
Trans. : " Water passes through my house. Try my heart. Whoever
guesses it, his heart will break."

AMONG THE CHILDREN.

483

They are not unlike those peculiar *' riddles " with which the chil-
dren of the Southern States were once so familiar, coming from the
lips of our black "mammies." One, especially, I remember, sug-
gested by my first quotation : " Throw it up green, it comes down
red." Ans. : " Watermelon."

The accompanying illustration is descriptive of a game in which
Mexican children take great delight.

This droll little sketch was roughly made by a young lad, a friend
of mine, in describing the game to me. All Mexican children are
natural artists, and some of these play-pictures are remarkably well
drawn.

They first draw an oval (i) and say, "This is a man's house;**

dh^

• **■•- — •* •»"

then a small circle (2) near
the center indicates an ob-
servatory on the house. A
canal (3) is next made,
leading to house. Another,
but larger, ellipse (4) is
drawn, attached to house ;
this is the wall around the
man's farm. Within this
wall another (5) is built
which is the inclosure of
his orchard. In the night

" EL PATO."

4^4 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

thieves endeavor to force an entrance into the orchard by means of
ropes (6) thrown over the wall. These ropes are fastened to the ground
by iron spikes (7). The man from his observatory sees the approach
of the robbers, and hastens with his servants (8) to the rescue. Guns
are fired, and a brisk fusillade (9) takes place. — A pause at this part of
the story reveals the astounding fact that the picture of a pato (duck)
has been evolved during the recital of this thrilling narrative.

That " boys will be boys " all the world over, and the teasing in-
stinct universal among them, is demonstrated in the following dia-
logue. Says one mischief-loving lad to another :

" Quieres que te cuente el cuento del gallo peldn / " {" Do you wish
me to tell you the story of the bald-headed rooster?")

" Si" (" yes "), answers his companion, eagerly.

" JVo te digo que si, que si quieres que te cuente el cuento del gallo
peldn ? " (" I did not tell you yes ; I said, do you wish me to tell you
the story of the bald-headed rooster ? ") says the first boy.

" Si" again answers the other, growing impatient.

Again the aggravating lad repeats his question, and again his com-
panion signifies his anxiety to hear the interesting tale. And so it
goes on till either the story-teller tires of the amusement or the wrath
of his disappointed listener brings the unchanging query to an end.

This story reminds one of the abortive attempts to spell Con-stan-
ti-no-ple.

CHAPTER XVI.

SCENES FROM MY WINDOW.

THE striking characteristics which
abound in all parts of Mexico are
more plainly exhibited in the capi-
tal itself than elsewhere.

The preponderance of the full-
blooded Indian is noticeable in
the lower classes ; high cheek-
bones, coarse, straight hair, the
same sidewise trot, tipping from
right to left, and all pigeon-toed.

The poorer classes all wear the
scrape, which, owing to its brilliant
coloring, adds greatly to the effect-
iveness of a street scene. Many a
housewife, artistically inclined, looks
enviously at these beautiful wraps,
and longs to drape them as curtain or portiere.

Day by day, seated at my window, I watched the various groups
that by some strange and happy chance seemed to fall together for
my pleasure and entertainment.

The number and variety of articles which are transported by both
men and women are certainly noticeable to the most indifferent ob-
server. Young backs are early trained and disciplined, and the boys
and girls bear burdens that might stagger a burro.
31

MV WINDOW.

486

FACE JO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

CARRYING THE CLOTHES
HOME.

Clothes are taken home from the laundry in a droll manner. Men
carry on their heads baskets containing the smaller articles, while sus-
pended around the sides are stiffly starched,
ruffled and fluted skirts, dresses and other arti-
cles of feminine apparel. In the rainy season
the cargador has his trousers rolled up, so that
there is nothing visible of the man but a pair of
long, thin, brown legs.

I saw another man toiling along with an

American two-horse load of corn husks on his

back, held in place by ropes, the whole reaching

from about a foot above his head down to his

ankles, and almost closing him in, in front.

Venders of charcoal step nimbly along with from twenty to

twenty-five bags of this commodity strapped about them, their bodies

so begrimed as to render it hard to decide whether they belong to

the Aztec or African race.

One obtains a glimpse of rural life in the frequent passing of herds
of cattle, all without horns, and in the noisy gobbling of droves of
turkeys as they are driven through the city. Halting only when
their proprietor finds a purchaser, they strut through the streets of
the metropolis as unconcernedly as though on their native hacienda.
Life seems to glide along very pleasantly with these people. As
they pass along the street, they hail each other quite unceremoniously^
the lack of previous acquaintance forming no bar
to a familiar chat. Groups of more than a dozen
of these venders, representing as many different
commodities, will often congregate together,
their forms almost concealed from view beneath
their loads. Then, after a general hand-shaking,
each goes his way, crying his wares.

One rainy afternoon I witnessed an amusing
quarrel between five Indian women. Each car-
ried a child in her rebozo and held another by the hand, making in all

POTATO VENDER.

SCENES FROM MY WINDOW.

487

** ten little Indians." They stopped immediately under my window.
Their scanty drapery reached a little below the knee, and their
shoulders were covered only with their rebozos. Evidently, there was
a subject of disagreement between them, which was explained when
three men of their own race came across the street and joined them.
Then followed angry gestures, bitter intonations, and threatening
attitudes, until the passers-by and occupants of the houses eagerly
watched the quarrel. The children, quietly indifferent, and as if the
affair had no possible interest for them, munched away on their tor-
tillas. The dispute became so violent that I expected as a result to
see at least half a dozen dead Indians, but was disappointed.

The man who figured most conspicuously in the scene offered his
hand to one of the women. She turned scornfully away, but I no-
ticed, in so doing, she touched the
arm of another woman and chuckled
in an undertone. He spoke to an-
other. She gave him one thumb
only, looking shyly in his face. The
next one gave him her whole hand,
when he knelt and humbly kissed it,
as though it belonged to his patron
saint. Then, slipping her hand in his
arm, and with her two little Indians,
they walked off, leaving the rest of
the party to a further discussion of
the affair.

Then came a party of three — a
huge dog, a grown boy, and an inno-
cent miichacho about one year old.
The dog was so loaded down with
alfalfa that he could scarcely move.
The big boy walked beside him, guid-
ing him with lines. Mounted upon his brother's shoulders, with
his feet around his neck, was the little mischief, holding tightly

A FAMILIAR TYPE.

488

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

with both hands to a tuft of hair on each side of his big brother's
head.

Diagonally across the street is the Theatre Principal. The play,
"Around the World in Eighty Days," had for some time past occu-
pied the boards. On the outside was an immense painting represent-
ing an elephant caparisoned with gold and led by an oriental, while
mounted on the elephant, and seated after the fashion of a man, rode
a woman dressed in gay colors, and over her a canopy with red
draperies. Palms and other tropical trees appeared in the distance.

On the same canvas, and in contrast to this peaceful scene, ap-
pears another of quite a blood-curdling nature. A locomotive comes
screaming and pufifing along. Suddenly myriads of wild Indians,
painted red, with feathers on their heads and deadly weapons in their
hands, make a furious attack upon it. They ride on the cow-catcher.
Dead Indians and horses are piled around, and the headlight throws
1 a ghastly illumination over

all !

I witnessed a general re-
view of the infantry troops
in the city, a sight which was
strictly national in its char-
acter, and made a showy
and amusing picture.

Mounted upon gayly ca-
parisoned horses, the officers
presented a handsome and
soldierly appearance, in
their uniforms of dark blue,
elaborately ornamented with
l3 red and gold. The soldiers,
neatly attired in blue, piped
^ with red, and wearing pure
white caps, were also quite
imposing. But the sublime

BASKET-VENDERS.

SCENES FROM MY WINDOW. 489

suddenly culminated in the ridiculous, when in the midst of so much
glitter, pomp and circumstance — waving of plume, helmet and sword
— not less than fifty burros, meek and unconcerned, entered in the
midst of these gallant defenders of their country, and, as if by right
of pre-emption, plodded in serpentine lines the whole length of the
procession. Some bore mountain loads of golden wheat straw, others
charcoal, and pulque in sheepskins, with other articles too numerous
to mention. The soldiers kept up their steady tramp, tramp, tramp ;
they moved not a muscle, spoke not a word, as the bands played
their most exhilarating airs. Now a man, bearing a trunk or wardrobe ;
an Indian woman, selling fruits, with her children on her back ; men
with baskets, chairs, shoes, tanned leather, and others selling duiceSy
joined the procession. At length the acme of a typical Mexican scene
was reached when the burros unceremoniously raised their nozzles and
brayed loud and long. As far as I could see up the street, the military
and their self-constituted escort formed an indistinguishable mass.

I had scarcely recovered my equilibrium from the effects of the
procession, when a carriage and horses came flying down the street in
wild confusion. The Jehu sat bolt upright, with feet outspread from
side to side, as if " down breaks " was in order. His eyes glared
wildly from their sockets, as, with clinched teeth, he held desperately
to the lines. The animals were evidently uncongenial to each other,
one being a young mule, the other an unbroken pony. They reared
and plunged violently, while Jehu used every expletive known to the
Mexican language. But as this treatment proved unavailing, he
jumped down from his lofty seat, and ran beside them, jerking the
lines and screaming at them. Still they heeded him not. At this
critical moment a sympathetic bystander conceived a fresh and vigor-
ous idea of assistance, and as he ran along, jerked from the shoulders
of an uninterested pedestrian (who had not even seen the runaway
team) his red blanket, and waving it before the frightened animals,
threw them trembling and panting on their haunches. In a twink-
ling Jehu was on the box, and, laying on the whip, was soon out of
sight.

490

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

I glanced across the street directly afterward, and saw a boy who
had passed several times that day, selling butter, which he carried in
a soap-box, the cover an odd bit of matting, and the whole sus-
pended from his head in the usual way.

Entering the zaguan, he threw down his cage, and taking the but-
ter out — each pound wrapped in a corn-husk — laid it in rows, and
gave his head a scratch, took his money from his pocket, and began
to count. Over and over he counted and scratched, evidently appre-
hensive that his accounts would not balance. The scratching and
counting went on for no inconsiderable time, his face still wearing a
puzzled expression. At last the solution came in the recollection of
some forgotten sale. He rose, a broad grin overspreading his here-
tofore perplexed face, slapped himself on the hip, laughed, hastily
slung his cage on his back, threw his blanket over his shoulder, and
the last I saw of him he was vocalizing his occupation : " La man-te-

quil-la'' {" Butter for sale ").

The gritos (calls) of the street
venders become each day more
interesting to the stranger. Each
one is separate and distinct from
the other, and each one is an an-
cestral inheritance. In them, as
everything else, the " costumbres"
rule, and the appropriation by
another vender of one of these
gritos would receive a well-
merited reprimand. But how
indescribable is the long-drawn
intonation, with the necessary
nasal twang of these indefati-
gable itinerants! A word with
only four syllables stretches out
until one may count a hundred.
For the sake of conveying

INDIAN MOTHER AND CHILD.

SCENES FROM MY WINDOW. 491

some idea of these street cries, I have with much difficulty pro-
cured the music of two or three of the leading ones. This is a
branch of musical composition that has received but little or no
attention from musicians, but by all means some effort should be
made to preserve them in their originality, together with exact por-
traits of the venders as they now appear.

The gritos at the capital possess many interesting features which
can be heard in no other city in which I have sojourned ; they are want-
ing elsewhere in that fullness of pathetic and yet humorous melody.

The vocal powers, thus exercised, attain a surprising develop-
ment, as the voice of an ordinary woman may be heard for squares
away.

The most noted of all the female ^rzVo^ is that of the tamalera, a
description of whom appears elsewhere, an old woman from the State
of Guerrero, who counts among her patrons many wealthy citizens.

TAMALERA.

No - to - man la - ma - les de chi - le y cap - u - li - nes

The husky, tremulous voice of a young Indian woman fell upon
my ear one morning as I was crossing the threshold of the San Car-
los. Around her neck was a strip of manta filled with vegetables.
On seeing me, she began importuning me to buy. They were fresh
and crisp, but I said to her :

" I am a stranger; I have no home here, and have no use for such
things."

" But, nina,'' she added, imploringly, " I am sick, have no home,
and under these vegetables in the rebozo is my sick baby, only two
weeks old."

Stooping to peep under the load of vegetables, there I saw the
tiny babe, tucked away in the rebozo, and sleeping as soundly under
its strange covering as though swinging in its palm-plaited cradle.

The mother asked me to stand godmother to the baby at the

492 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS,

Cathedral, one week from that day, but as that was impossible, she
seemed reconciled when she found her hand filled with small coins,
and bidding me a grateful farewell, she went on her way singing her
song of the " costmnbres"

^liiili^l^i^^^^^P^_5si

Com-pra usted ji - to-tna - te, chi-cha-ros, e-jo - te, cal - a - ba - ci - ta ?
Won't you buy tomatoes, peas, beans, pumpkins ?

These gritos are rather more melodious than those to which our
ears are accustomed, such as, " Ole rags 'n' bot-tuls ! "

The melodramatic tones of the newsboys at night, when many of
the most popular papers are sold, had a more foreign sound than any
that came to my ear. The boy who sold El Monitor Republicano rolled
it round and round his tongue until finally it died away like the hum
of an ancient spinning-wheel.

Another boy, with an aptitude for languages, sings out, ^^Los Dos
Republicos" (The Two Republics "), translating as he goes along, ^'Peri-
odica Americano ;'' while another, not to be outdone, yells out exult-
antly, '^ El Tiempo de la manana'' ("The Times for to-morrow").
Only the word manana was distinctly articulated, which gave em-
phasis to his vocation, as the Times is printed in the evening and sold
for the next day.

An amusing admixture of sounds was wafted to my room one
night in the following manner. Two boys were calling at the high-
est pitch. One was selling cooked chestnuts, and the other the Times.

They managed to transpose the adjectives describing their respect-
ive wares. " Castaiias asadas " (' Cooked chestnuts "), shouted one.
"£/ Tiempo de manana, con noticias importantes " (" To-morrow's Times
with important notices "), screamed the other. They were quite
near together by this time, one on the sidewalk, and the other in the
street ; and when the air was again made vocal, a spirit of mischief
had crept into the medley of sounds. The paper boy led off with

SCENES FROM MY WINDOW.

493

mock gravity, " El Tiempo de manana asada ! " (" To-morrow's Times
cooked ! ")

''Castaiias de manana con noticias importantes ! ''' ("To-morrow's
chestnuts with important news ! ") yelled the chestnut boy, and away
they went, laughing and transposing their calls, to the amusement of
all within hearing.

VENDERS OF COOKEU SHEEp's HEADS.

CHAPTER XVII.

WHAT THEY EAT, AND HOW THEY COOK IT.

MAY live without poetry, music, and art ;
We may live without conscience, and live without

heart ;
We may live without friends ; we may live with-
out books ;
But civilized man cannot live without cooks."

According to the light of history, it has
not been a civilization commensurate with our
own that developed the skill of the cook in
Mexico, any more than the more lofty gifts of " mu-
sic and art."

When the conquerors arrived at the palace of Montezuma, they
were amazed to find it complete in every appointment, and display-
ing a magnificence and grandeur they had not seen equaled; while,
according to Bernal Diaz, his cooks must have been fully up to the
standard of any that " civilized man " of to-day can employ.

Among their accomplishments these Aztec culinary artists under-
stood more than thirty different ways of dressing meats. At one
meal they served up " above three hundred different dishes for the
monarch, and for the people in waiting more than one thousand.
These consisted of fowls, turkeys, pheasants, partridges, quails, tame
and wild geese, venison, musk, swine, pigeons, hares, rabbits, and
numerous other birds and beasts. Besides these there were other
kinds of provision, which it would have been no easy task to call
over by name."

Mexican ladies take great pride in their cook-books, and watch

WHAT THEY EAT, AND HOW THEY COOK IT.

495

with deep interest the accuracy with which the ama de Haves carries
out the receipts. The cooks, however, frequently have their own
books, from which, without further instructions, they execute tri-
umphs of gustatory art.

The first glance at a Mexican kitchen is anything but satisfactory
to an American woman, with her ideas of a cooking-stove and its
shining equipments. But notwithstanding the fact that their only
furniture is pottery, Mexican cooks are too much attached to their
antediluvian ways to be able to appreciate or accept any innovations.

The estiladcra (water-filter) is primitive in its simplicity. It is
made from a porous, volcanic rock peculiar to the country. The
water percolates through the pores and
drips into a vessel below. Bits of char-
coal are generally thrown in, and the
water is as cold as ice and sparkling as
crystal. Could these stones only be im-
ported, a vexed question might be solved
— or at least a troublesome subject simpli-
fied— among our own people.

The same leisurely and ease-loving
methods that characterize the business
life pervade also the home. The most '1
engrossed man of affairs quietly leaves his
office with all its cares behind him, and
takes to his home only his social endowments. He makes his mid-day
meal one of enjoyment and the occasion of a happy mingling with
the family circle.

After dinner the siesta follows, and business comes to a lull, until,
perhaps, three o'clock in the afternoon.

Unfailing ceremony — a national characteristic — is observed in the
serving of every meal. Whether there be three or twenty varieties
of dishes, no two are served at once.

The climate seems to demand a rich and highly spiced diet, and,
to make it still more luxurious, both fruits and nuts are freely used.

THE ESTII.ADF.RA.

496 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

But, to judge from the amount of dyspepsia prevailing there, it would
seem that even Mexican digestion succumbs to it.

No bread is made in the family, while griddle-cakes, waffles, and
muffins are unknown. Pies, tarts, cakes, or pastries have no extensive
place in the menu ; but their desserts of various kinds, made of eggs,
milk, and fruits, are excellent. If, however, they are deficient in
homely bread preparations, nature has given them a double compen-
sation in. the various delicious fruit beverages, compounded not only
in the homes of the wealthy, but also of the humble folk. Among
these I may mention two or three:

Agua de pina (pineapple water), a simple beverage, and one that
may be prepared in our American homes.

Beat, roll, or grind the pineapple very fine ; then run through a
sieve ; add sugar to taste and water to make it sufficiently thin to
drink. Allow it to stand for a little while ; then add ice, and it
is good enough for a king.

Agua de chia is made from a very fine seed that I have never
seen in the States, but it is a delightfully refreshing drink.

Horchata — known to us as orgeat — is made from muskmelon seed,
beaten and strained, with sugar, some lemon juice, and a little cinna-
mon. Add ice, and you have a beverage to please the most fastid-
ious.

In a Mexican home the day begins with the simple desayuna.
This consists of a cup of chocolate, coffee, or tea, with bread, and is
usually taken in the bedroom, frequently in bed. There is no fixed
hour for this repast, which is partaken of according to inclination, no
two members of the family being expected to take their desayuna at
the same time. To all who enjoy the last drowsy morning nap there
is an inexpressible charm in this mode of life.

The cares of the world are at long range, and one respectfully de-
sires them to approach no nearer. No clanging of breakfast bells
breaks rudely upon this delicious and intoxicating slumber ; no scowl-
ing or looks askance from hostess or landlady, for in all probability
she, too, is snugly esnconced in tht arms of Morpheus.

WHAT THEY EAT, AND HOW THEY COOK IT. 497

The servants are up and at their usual labors, but they move
about noiselessly as specters; not by the stirring of a leaf molest-
ing the sweet repose of the blissful sleepers.

The most vigorous-minded gringo soon succumbs to this delight-
ful custom. Though his former habit had been to rise with the sun,
and eat an enormous breakfast of hash, chops, steak, eggs, hominy,
batter-cakes, hot rolls, and what not, he at once and almost insensibly
falls in with the native custom, and in a short time out-Herods
Herod. He will linger longer under the covers, caring less and less
for the matutinal cup.

At twelve o'clock the family reunion takes place, when the
altnucrzo — breakfast — is served. This, however, with its numerous
courses, is really the dinner.

Soup is an indispensable part of every Mexican dinner, and is
used not only at the mid-day meal, but often, too, at cena (supper).

The soups are of infinite variety and generally excellent. One
lady told me she knew how to make one hundred different kinds. I
have partaken of as many as twenty in her house. At Seflora Calde-
ron's I have seen seven varieties in one week, and all tempting and
delicious.

I give receipts for two kinds, and although both are called sopa,
one is served as a vegetable and always comes the first thing after the
liquid soup. One is not to take the place of the other.

Queen of Soups. — Make a broth of chicken. When cooked very ten-
der, take the breast and the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs, adding to
these four ounces of beaten almonds, a small piece of bread steeped
in milk, with a good deal of black pepper and a little nutmeg. Beat
all well together, having previously picked the chicken into shreds.
Beat one &^^ well, and then add the above mixture, after which beat
again. Then make of the paste small balls and drop into the broth.
Add a lump of butter to the broth, and a little sherry if desired.
Truly delicious.

Sopa de Arroz — rice soup — is a very rich yet palatable dish. In-
deed, it is rather too rich foi" the average American stomach. They

498 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

take a large, open casuella (pottery vessel) in which about half a
pound of lard is allowed to come to a boil, having ready a few
onions cut into the finest particles, which are thrown in and cooked
to a crisp, together with a small piece of garlic if liked. One or two
pounds of rice, already washed and dried are then thrown into the
boiling lard and tossed continually with a large spoon until well
browned. Next, a pound or more of fresh tomatoes beaten into a
jelly is thrown in and well stirred, with a few peppers, chopped fine,
and a small quantity of salt. Enough boiling water is then poured in
to cover the rice, a top placed over the vessel, and the whole is cooked
slowly for two or three hours without stirring. It is often served
with fried bananas. Where fresh tomatoes are not to be had, canned
ones will answer as well, and I am sure this dish will be enjoyed
by many Americans.

Puchero is one of the most popular of all Mexican dishes. It is not
generally liked by strangers at first, and a taste for it requires consid-
erable cultivation. It is made by boiling a shank of mutton in water
for two hours without skimming. Add to this carrots, parsnips, green
corn in the ear, cabbage, sweet and Irish potatoes, onions, apples,
pears, squashes together with their bloom, thyme, pepper and sweet
marjoram, as well as other Mexican vegetables and fruits not known
outside the republic.

Very little water is used, hence each ingredient comes out steam
cooked, and as nearly whole as though the component parts were
boiled separately, but without a particle of salt or seasoning or any
richness whatever.

Mexican housekeepers have an endless variety of methods for
seasoning and dressing their meats. In a well-appointed household
it is no uncommon thing to have the same meats prepared differently
several times in a week.

Perhaps it may be somewhat due to the fact of the wretched man-
ner in which the butchers do their work that they must resort to boil-
ing, spicing, and other means to make the roast desirable. But when
once prepared, the palate of Epicurus himself would be appeased.

WHAT THEY EAT, AND HOW THEY COOK IT. 499

Ham, cheese, eggs, spices and the many deHghtful herbs of the coun-
try are formed into a paste, and by means of skewers the entire
roast becomes impregnated with the aromatic, spicy flavor.

Their sauces and gravies, however, I do not consider as good as
our own.

The most popular method of preparing turkey is called Mole de
Guajolote. Cut up as you would a chicken, and fry in boiling lard
until well done, and then take one pound and four ounces of large,
dried peppers, four ounces of filberts, four of almonds, half an ounce
of cinnamon, a piece of garlic toasted in the fire, a few of the seeds
and veins of the pepper, a few cloves, a little anise, coriander, and
black pepper, a quart of tomatoes, the skins taken off, and boiled until
soft. All the above is put into a dish of hot lard for a few moments,
stirring constantly to prevent burning. When brown, take out and
grind very fine. Have ready a large dish with hot lard ; stir in the
above ; let it fry a little, then put in the fried turkey ; then water
enough to cover the turkey; let all boil together for several hours until
tender, salt to taste, and serve hot.

Tamal de Casuella (Corn-Meal Pot-pie). — One quart of meal
scalded, with a little salt added, and four table-spoonfuls of melted
lard. Any kind of meat that is preferred may be used, but generally
the Mexicans take both pork and chicken, boiled until tender. Stir
into the meal a double handful of flour, two eggs, and on this pour
enough of the broth to make a thin batter. Take three or four large
red peppers chopped fine, with plenty of tomatoes ; beat thoroughly
together and cook in lard. Then put the meat, well chopped, into
the same lard. Grease another dish or pan with lard ; spread the
meal mixture on the bottom and sides, as for a chicken pie; then put
in the meats, and cover with paste, and bake very slowly. When
almost cooked, melt a little more lard and dress it all over ; then put
it in to bake again.

Their list of salads quite exceeds ours, and reasonably so, as they
have so many vegetables, fruits, and herbs, which, combined, impart
to them a peculiarly pungent and delightful flavor. The following is

500 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

one that is national and distinctive, being made and used only on
Christmas night, and for that reason is known as

Esalada de la Noche Buena (Christmas Salad). — Wash and dry the
lettuce, then chop fine. Put in a dish, oil, vinegar, sugar and a little
salt ; stir these well together ; then add the lettuce, also beets sliced,
with bananas, lemons and oranges, and some peanuts broken fine.
Take pains that the fruit is placed on top.

Every day in the year a Mexican housekeeper can have some
kind of delightful salad on her table. The lettuce is whiter and more
crisp than we generally see ; the cauliflower grows to immense size,
and is correspondingly good, while tomatoes, equally fine in color and
flavor, gratify at once both eye and taste, supplying at any moment
a depleted larder. But while these are all of superior quality, the
popular taste prefers them served up in omelettes, with pepper, eggs,
and spices. Fortunately, eggs, which fill such an important place in
the national dietary, are always excellent and bountiful.

A delicious omelette is made of green peas, string-beans, potatoes,
carrots, parsley, onions, pepper, and tomatoes, cooked a little and
then chopped into a fine mass. Beat five or six eggs, in proportion
to the quantity of vegetables, mix thoroughly, and salt to taste ; add
a lump of butter, then bake in a pan until nicely browned on top.

Embueltos de Huevos. — Beat six or more eggs, as for a scramble ;
have some lard boiling, throw in the eggs ; then when cooked suffi-
ciently, put on these any amount of grated cheese according to taste.
Make a sauce of onions and tomatoes, with a few peppers chopped
very fine. After stirring as for an omelette, cut the eggs into short
pieces, pin them with a straw, and then pour the sauce over them.

Chili y Huevos co7i Queso (Pepper and Eggs with Cheese). — Toast
the peppers in the fire, remove the seeds and cut into small slices.
Have some hot lard in a saucepan, into which throw a handful of
chopped onions, the same of tomatoes. Pour in water, and when it
is boiling, break in as many eggs as liked ; put in the sliced peppers,
and when on the dish, ready to serve, cover the whole with grated
cheese. This is excellent.

WHAT THEY EAT AND HOW THEY COOK IT.

501

Chilis Rcycnes (Stuffed Peppers).^ — Take a dozen large green bell-
peppers, toast them in the fire, then remove the skin and seeds.
Have ready boiled meat minced very fine, a few cooked onions
chopped with tomatoes, a little cinnamon, two or three cloves, a few
currants and a boiled egg, all made into a paste. Having previously
ground up all the spices as fine as possible on the indispensable
inetate (which for that purpose is as excellent as any of our spice-

KITCHEN AT THE CAPITAL.

mills), great care must be taken to have the paste smooth, then
slit the peppers, carefully stuff them with the mass, and close care-
fully. Beat four eggs, whites and yolks separately, after which put
them together, dip the peppers in, and then fry in a large quantity of
boiling lard until quite brown. Some make a sauce of chopped onions
and tomatoes poured over, but this is superfluous.

Stuffed Squashes. — Boil the squashes and cut them in halves, rc-
32

502 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

moving the seeds. Take tomatoes, onions, and a very small piece of
garlic, and cut all very fine. Fry the mixture a little in lard ; after
this, stuff the squashes with it ; then, with bread-crumbs beaten fine,
fry the stufifed squashes in lard, when they are ready for the table.

Frijoles, the native beans, are as much a boon to the rich as to the
poor. Twice a day they close the meal, and even on ceremonious
occasions are not dispensed with. A failure in the bean crop would
prove as great a misfortune in Mexico, as a falling off in the potato
crop in Ireland.

There is some little art in cooking them, and under no condition
are they considered wholesome to be eaten the day on which they are
cooked. They are boiled first until tender, and when required, are
fried in a quantity of lard with a little chili thrown in.

Housewives have much skill in the preparation of their sweetmeats,
and the Mexican preserves and crystallized fruits are certainly supe-
rior to our own. They possess the remarkable feature of retaining the
original color and flavor of the fruit. The climate is favorable to their
preservation, but as they have only the earthenware of the country in
which to put them up, it seems strange that they should remain
delicious to the last. I subjoin a few of their dulces.

Queso de Almendra (Almond Cheese). — To one pound of almonds
add one pound and a half of sugar, the yolks of eight eggs, and six ordi-
nary glasses of milk. Put the milk on to boil ; when well cooked, set
aside to cool until the cream rises ; then remove this. Stir the sugar
in the milk, and when well dissolved, strain through a fine sieve. After
this, put in the yolks of the eggs, well beaten ; then put on the fire.
Have the almonds thoroughly beaten as fine as a powder, and when it
begins to boil, put them in, stirring continually. Add a little ground
cirmamon. This is done when you can see the bottom of the vessel
each time you stir across it. It may be cut any size preferred while
still in the vessel, and it is a very delicious duke.

Copas Mexicanas. — Here we have a very dainty and attractive
dessert. The yolks of twenty-two eggs beaten until very light, one
pound of powdered sugar and twenty four lady-fingers beaten as fine

WHAT THEY EAT, AND HOW THEY COOK IT. 503

as a powder. First put the sugar with the eggs, then beat them well
together; lastly, add the lady-fingers with vanilla to taste. To be
served in small glasses or cups. I can recommend this.

Another .—^\iXQ.Q pints of milk, half a pound of sweet almonds, two
pounds of powdered sugar. Beat the almonds to a powder ; mix
with the sugar. Have the milk boiling and stir constantly. While
still boiling, put in the almonds and sugar and stir until the whole is
the consistency of a thick paste. Put away to cool for the next day.
Then take one pound of butter, and beat with the paste until very
light ; the yolks of sixteen eggs beaten very light ; add to the paste,
stirring all well together. Beat the whites of the sixteen eggs to a
stiff froth, as for icing, adding a small proportion of powdered sugar.
Put the first mixture in cups or glasses and place the white on top.

Huevos Realcs (Royal Eggs).— Beat a dozen yolks until very light,
then put them in a vessel, and put this again into one of boiling water
to remain until they are well done. Put half a pound of sugar into a
pint of water to cook together like a syrup. Before the syrup has
cooked to a candied state, cut the yolks into shapes, or small pieces
and put them into the syrup to boil. When cooked to an agreeable
consistency, place in a dish, and on each piece of &^^ place almonds
and raisins.

The botanical and mineral kingdoms possess untold wealth, not
only valuable to the chemist and pharmacist, but also to the house-
keeper, who, for a trifling sum paid to an Indian, may supply herself
liberally with domestic nostrums.

Tequisquiti, a mineral combining the properties of both soda and
ammonia, is a standard remedy for indigestion, gastritis, or other
stomach troubles. It is also valuable in the bath.

Tisa, another mineral, resembles prepared chalk, and is not only
used as a remedy, but is also the refuge of the housekeeper for bright-
ening her silver, glass, and paint. Mountains of these and kindred
minerals are to be found almost anywhere, an ever-ready boon to
the housekeeper. These are all supplied and dispensed, for the most
insignificant consideration, by the serviceable and ubiquitous Indians.

S04 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

The maguey that furnishes, in one way or another, food, shelter
and raiment for the toiUng miUions, is also lavish in the bestowal of
various medicinal gifts.

Pulque — the national beverage, a prolific and profitable product of
the maguey — affords many remedies. For coughs, they drink warm
pulque ; for indigestion, pulque with a little starch or tequisquiti ; and
it has been recently discovered that for Bright's disease and diabetes
it is a sovereign remedy, while it is a specific for lung trouble, by plac-
ing under the bed at night a large vessel filled with pulque from which
the patient inhales its healing fumes.

In proof of its wonderful virtues, a Mexican lady told me that the
venders of pulque are always blessed with health, flesh, and strength.

For ear-ache, Mexican mothers resort to the leaf of a plant called
Santa Maria, which is reputed to have a magical effect on the sufferer.

For headache, a rose leaf pasted on the temples, with perhaps the
addition of some kind of salve, is said to be a sovereign remedy, and
is used by all classes.

For catarrh and colds, rub the breast, forehead, and soles of the
feet with hot tallow, in which a little snuff has been stirred. Be care-
ful not to wash the face the next day.

For chills and fever, take a dose of oil. followed by a tea made
from Hojosen and the camphor-tree, to produce perspiration. Then
rub the body with a salve made from the Balsatno Tranqiiillo or
lobelia, and the leaf of the cactus, bitter like quinine. Eucalyptus,
which grows luxuriantly in many places, is also used.

For whooping-cough, the patient is kept closely in a room
without a breath of fresh air for forty days ; emetics are frequently
given, and pitch is burned at night.

For measles and scarlet fever, tea is made from violets and the
Noche Buena flower; the patient is also quarantined for forty days.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE AMERICAN COLONY.

mention has yet been made in these pages of
the little band of my own countrymen which
has sought and found a home in Mexico. This
orphaned colony, numbering between six and
eight hundred, has been kindly adopted by Mrs.
Cornelia M. Townsend, of New York, who has
resided there upwards of twelve years, and
right nobly does this gentle woman fulfill her
high trust and merit the title that has been bestowed upon her of
" Mother of the American Colony."

Since the successful inauguration of railways in Mexico, thousands
of our people have drifted there — some for health, others for pleasure,
and still others to improve their financial condition. The Mexican
capital has naturally been the great rallying point with them, and
whatever their successes, trials, sorrows, or misfortunes, their fellow-
countrymen, in greater or less degree, have endeavored to aid and
encourage.

Some time ago an American Benevolent Society was formed by
the most prominent permanent American residents, which numbers
about fifty members.

Of this society the American minister is ex-ofificio President ; Mr.
I. Mastella Clark, Vice-President; Mr. W. I. De Gress, Secretary; and
Mr. Frederic P. Hoeck, Treasurer. The payment of $i a month
entitles one to membership, and it is a noble way to spend that dol-
lar, the object being to render effective aid to their suffering and
distressed countrymen, whose increasing numbers demand active co-
operation.

5o6 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

With only a limited amount of funds, together with sums gener-
ously donated by the temporary tourist or traveler, the Association
has accomplished a vast deal of good. But much remains to be done.
A hospital is now being constructed under the auspices of the society,
but the scheme is too great for its resources.

The hospital cares for the homeless, sick and unfriended stranger,
for whom every comfort is provided. But there is another great and
imperative need for the strong and healthy — for deserving and
industrious young Americans, cut off from social privileges and from
the softening and refining influences of home.

Comparatively few American families live in such a way as to en-
able them to offer those hospitalities which would be a safeguard
from the many allurements and temptations that naturally fall in the
pathway of these young men. To meet this want and avert the dan-
ger, Reading-Rooms or a Friendly Inn should be established, where
evenings may be passed with comfort and profit. The business en-
gagements and limited means of these young men preclude the possi-
bility of accomplishing this for themselves. Connected with rail-
ways, telegraph or telephone, or mining enterprises, they are con-
stantly shifted about from place to place. Others would come in for
the benefits they had received and the good work be continued. A
wide field exists for the philanthropist, in providing for the comfort
and welfare of our countrymen in Mexico.

The Protestant churches, including Episcopal, Methodist, South
and North Presbyterians, Baptists, Society of Friends, are all estab-
lished and have in successful operation excellent day-schools, employ-
ing the best teachers, both men and women.

To me no music was sweeter than the young voices of these dark
children of the Mission Sunday-schools, singing in their own tongue,
in perfect harmony, " O, Paradise ! O, Paradise ! " and " Nearer, my
God, to Thee," with other hymns, their sympathetic natures respon-
sive to these inspiring melodies.

Among the teachers engaged in the mission schools, I found
"Clara Bridgman," the charming correspondent of the New Orleans

INTERIOR OF MEXICAN EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL.

THE AMERICAN COLONY. 509

Times- Democrat, an accomplished young lady of the Crescent City,
who labors assiduously as a missionary, asking no compensation but
to serve the Master.

Bishop Riley, of the Episcopal Church, has begun a great work in
Mexico, and it should not be allowed to languish for want of means.
Substantial aid is required in order to carry it out according to its
original inception. All communications or contributions to this pur-
pose should be sent to No. 43 Bible House, New York City. To
give some idea of the progress of the work and its wonderful results,
I quote the following from a recent work on Mexico:

" In 1879 I-^^- Riley was consecrated Bishop of the Valley of Mexico.
His broad culture and thorough knowledge of the Spanish language
and character especially fitted him for the high ofifice to which he was
called. He brought to the field of his labors the fortune that was his
by right of inheritance, and he has been instrumental in having more
than 100,000 Bibles distributed in Mexico; 49 churches were estab-
lished, numbering several thousand communicants; 10 schools, and 3
orphanages, enrolling about 500 children."

Bishop Riley's unselfish devotion to the cause and the sacrifices
he has made for it, should be more widely known, and Episcopalians
generally should rejoice at the strong foothold obtained by their
church. The handsomest of all the Protestant church buildings is
secured by them for their worship, and the congregations are large,
attentive and devout. Of the transformation of this building from
a Roman Catholic Cathedral to its present use, Janvier writes : " Here
masses were heard by Cortes, and here for a time his bones were laid.
Here through three centuries the great festivals of the church were
taken part in by the Spanish Viceroys. Here was sung the first Te
Deum in celebration of Mexican Independence, the most conspicuous
man in the rejoicing assemblage being General Augustin Yturbide —
by whom, virtually, Mexican Independence was won ; and here, sev-
enteen years later, were held the magnificent funeral services when
Yturbide — his Imperial error forgiven, and his claim to the title of
Liberator alone remembered — was buried. Around no other build-

5IO FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

ing in Mexico, cluster such associations as are gathered here. And
even now, when the great monastic establishment has been swept
away, and the church itself has become a Protestant Cathedral, the
very wreck of it all serves to mark, in the most striking and dramatic
v/ay, the latest and most radical phase of development of the nation's
life."

Christmas was celebrated in a manner truly American. Santa
Claus visited the children, while roast turkey, plum-pudding, and
much other good cheer was in every American household.

Trinity Methodist Church was filled to overflowing, on the occa-
sion of the children's festival on Christmas Eve, under the supervision
of the Rev. John Butler, the faithful pastor of the Northern Metho-
dist Church.

Pines were brought a long distance, and loaded with presents for
five hundred pupils, members of the Sunday-school and orphanage
connected with the church. Bishop Foster, from Boston, delivered an
eloquent address.

At the hall of the Union Evangelical congregation, a cantata,
"The Message of Christmas," was produced, the Rev. Mr. Sloane, of
the Baptist Church, assisted by ladies, managing the affair.

The Methodist Church South also held a pleasant reunion of its
congregation, presided over by its pastor, the Rev. Mr. Patterson,
Church of the Messiah.

The Rev. Mr. Green, of the Presbyterian Church, united with his
flock in a fitting observance of the occasion.

The American colony, and English-speaking people generally,
joined en masse in these Christmas rejoicings and church services.

At the Episcopal Cathedral, the great festival of the church was
duly observed, but at that time the Chapel for English and Americans
had no rector. Since then, happily, the English Church has sent over
a zealous and accomplished young clergyman, Mr. Sherlock, who was
cordially received, as well by the Americans as by the English.

It was a source of extreme gratification to me, as an American, to
see in what high esteem our former ministers were held. Ex-Minister

THE AMERICAN COLONY. 51I

and Mrs. J. W. Foster left the kindliest remembrances behind them,
and I often heard them mentioned in the highest terms, especially
Mrs. Foster, who seemed to have thoroughly studied and appreciated
Mexican character. At the time that I was at the capital, she, too
was on a visit there, accompanied by two brilliant Washington belles.
On her arrival, according to the custom of the country, she at once
took a carriage and called on all her Mexican friends.

Ex-Minister Morgan and family also left similar pleasant impres-
sions, and Consul-General Strother (" Porte Crayon ") seemed to have
endeared himself to both natives and Americans. Consul-General
Porch, too, became very popular during his brief stay.

Our people may congratulate themselves on the peculiarly fortu-
nate manner in which they have been represented in our neighboring
republic.

There are two American dentists, two physicians, and about
twenty-five merchants, besides mechanical agents of various kinds,
and cotton brokers.

Father Gribbin is the only American priest, and no countryman of
his fails to receive from him the kindliest attentions.

Among the best appointments made by President Cleveland was
that of General Henry R. Jackson as Minister Plenipotentiary and
Envoy Extraordinary to the Republic of Mexico.

A Bayard " without fear and without reproach," in him are com-
bined the high chivalrous character, noble intellect, and generous
heart that have commended him to the esteem and veneration of his
own countrymen, and the highest consideration of all.

Diplomatic service was his by heredity, his father having been Min-
ister to France for a number of years, while the General himself was
sent to Vienna as Charge d' Affaires in 1853, and was promoted to Min-
ister Resident in the summer of 1854, but resigned in the summer of
1858, having spent five years in Austria.

He is widely known as a man of letters, a poet, and an eloquent
orator.

General Jackson occupied the elegant house of President Diaz, and

512

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

there dispensed a wide and generous hospitality, in which he was ably
seconded by Mrs. Jackson, who with charming grace joined her hus-
band in extending those social courtesies to Americans for which they
were noted in their beautiful home in Savannah, Mrs. Jackson's recep-
tions were held on Thursday afternoons. On Thanksgiving Day (1885)
Minister Jackson entertained splendidly the entire American Colony,
Not only in state and social affairs did he represent the American
people, but to the unfortunate he lent an ever-ready and sym-
pathetic ear, no countryman being too obscure or too miserable to
claim his personal attention.

General Jackson took a deep and active interest in establishing the
American Hospital. The matter had long been under advisement.

Simon Lara, of Spanish parentage,
born in New York, an American by
virtue of his birth, but having lived
the greater part of his life in Mexico,
was the generous father and founder,
having donated the ground and
money to the extent of twelve
thousand dollars.

The colony celebrated Washing-
ton's birthday by laying the corner-
stone. Americans came from all ac-
cessible points, and under the circus
tent of Orrin Brothers the interest-
ing ceremonies were held. The Stars
and Stripes waved over the largest
and most enthusiastic assemblage of
Americans ever known at the capital, while Mexican sympathy was
manifested by General Carillo furnishing the Seventh Regiment Band
for the occasion.

A liberal sum was raised in addition to Mr. Lara's benefaction and
one thousand dollars donated by General Jackson.

The corner-stone, with the simple inscription, "The American

SIMON LARA.

THE AMERICAN COLONY. 513

Hospital, 1886," was laid by General Jackson. The box containing
some of the customary deposits was consigned to its place, when the
General, tapping the stone three times with a trowel, uttered impress-
ively the words, "In the name of the Father* and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost, and of suffering humanity."

Miss Waldo, an accomplished artist from New York, painted the
portrait of Simon Lara, and Mr. Balling that of General Grant The
latter was raffled twice, bringing several hundred dollars, each win-
ner donating it to the hospital.

A lady from Texas suggested that to these two be added the por-
trait of General Robert E. Lee, which was promptly responded to by
a Virginia lady living at the capital, who painted one and placed it in
possession of the society — the three to adorn the walls of the hospital
when completed.

Orrin Brothers contributed a grand benefit performance at their
mammoth circus.

The following is the address of General Jackson delivered on the
occasion :

Ladies and Gentlemen : That was a marvelous work of the pagan imagination
which peopled the earth, the air, and the water with countless divinities ; giving to
every stream its naiad, to every grotto its nymph, to every intellectual taste and
aspiration its grace or its muse, and to every home its household gods. Vainly,
however, shall we seek through the pagan mythology for god or goddess of that
Charity pronounced by St. Paul to be greater than Faith, greater than Hope ;
although Carita had been a name more divinely melodious than Venus or Pallas
or Juno. As the pagan heaven was but a reflex — its gods but echoes — of the breath-
ing world, it is fair to conclude that the word when pronounced by the pagan tongue
failed to express that passion in the human soul. It was not known to the Greek;
else he had not erected his altar in Athens " To the Unknown God." Whence, then,
came it? — this emotion, more potent than the thunderer Jove, hurling the bolts
fabricated for him by the forger Vulcan ? Whence came this power supreme, which
is now restoring its lost law of gravitation to the moral universe ? I know not !
Indeed, indeed, I know not ! unless it fell from heaven into the stable of Bethle-
hem, proclaiming by its fall, and by its first touch, in material form, of the earth,
that the lowliest of spots may be glorified by birth the most divine ; that the image
of a common Father may be stamped most deeply upon the poorest of the poor;

SH FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

that, as in the heavens above there is but one God, so upon the earth below there is
but one common humanity, bound to him by one — the only perfected — prayer ; to be
made by all in one, or by one for all: ''Our Father, give us this day flwr daily
bread."

That prayer may be made by acts as well as in words. It is recorded of the Italian
monk, Fra Giovanni— named in life "Angelico," known after death, as " Beato " —
that he prayed with his brush ; his every picture was a prayer to God. And never
since he first learned to lisp the hallowed words at his mother's knee, never more
fervently "in spirit and in truth," has the noble gentleman who gives to Charity
the ground upon which we stand, repeated that heaven-born prayer, than is he now
repeating — nay ! than he repeats it all the while ; for the heart of his charity never
ceases to beat ; no race or nationality, no line of latitude or longitude, can bound its
action. 1 venture to say that, although he is devoting these precincts to his own
immediate countrymen, who maybe destitute sufferers upon a foreign soil, your gate
will never be closed with his assent against the forlorn stranger who may be help-
less, homeless, friendless, and destitute ! And we, too, are about to embody in
material form the same God-given prayer. Humble, indeed, the structure which
we shall raise, if compared with the Parthenon at Athens, or the Coliseum at Rome ;
but the Coliseum and the Parthenon have fallen to ruins — the inimitable creations of
Phid.as, himself called "the divine," scattered over earth, beautiful bones of a
dead civilization. And so too, the wood and the brick which we will use shall
crumble into dust ; the very iron yield to the destructive forces of material nature ;
but again and again and again shall they be renewed ; the very earth upon which
they will rest shall embody our prayer. The civilization vitalized by that spirit
which fills with its adorable presence the heavens, the earth, the air, and the water ;
which, "in the beginning" "was with God ;" "without which was made nothing
that was made ; " in which " we live and move and have our being ; " and which, by
the universal and irresistible power of moral attraction, is ever drawing the hum-
blest of earth's sentient and intelligent creatures toward the One Omnipotent God,
can never, never, never, die !

Since writing the above, General Jackson has resigned and returned
to the privacy of home Hfe. The American Colony, as well as many
prominent Mexicans, showed their appreciation by giving him the
grandest ovation ever tendered an American, with the single excep-
tion of General Grant. As a further token of esteem, they presented
him with a painting of the unrivaled scenery of the Valley of Mexico,
executed by Velasco.

^e^e-y '^.^c.c^

^<^^^^,

THE AMERICAN COLONY. 51/

On receiving the gift, General Jackson made the following address,
which I cannot forbear giving in full, not only on account of its in-
trinsic merit and eloquence, but because it so fully embodies my own
sentiments toward these people he, too, so thoroughly appreciated :

Mr. Chairman, and Gentlemen of the Committee, Friends and Countrymen :
What have I done to deserve this repeated demonstration from you ? Surely the
resolutions of the loth of September were all that heart could desire, and more than
was called for by any merit of mine. And yet you iiave come to honor me anew by
your presence, by the kind words of the chairman of your committee, and by
another enduring testimonial of your regard — this beautiful picture of the Valley
and City of Mexico, by a distinguished Mexican artist. Next to the resolutions
themselves, nothing could be more grateful to me ; for next to my own, I do love this
country. Grand and beautiful Mexico ! how happy would I be to render her ser-
vice ! Hither I came with the hope of doing something, however small it might be,
in the great work of drawing her people as close to our own in sympathy as God
has placed them in territory.

But you, my countrymen, who have made your homes upon her bosom, you who
are affixing permanent interests to her soil, you are the best diplomatists for a
work like this. By obedience to her laws, by respecting her government, by pro-
moting her welfare, above all by honoring her nationality, you can win for your
country the affections of her proudly sensitive, but kind-hearted and courteous
people. I say by honoring her nationality, for we should never forget that nation-
ality is the God-given life of a people. Laws, constitutions, and governments are, at
last, the mere work of man; but nationalities — these are the creatures of God ! The
hand which in cold blood would destroy a nationality is an impious, a heaven-
defying hand. It would poison a family ; it would inurder a man ; for man, family,
and nationality are all alike the creatures of God. A republic of republican
nationalities, held together by the one common constitution, given by Him in his
Sermon on the Mount, must be the final civilization of the world.

What I said when I came, I repeat as I go : the Republics of this continent can
surely prosper only by the faithful discharge of mutual obligations — of all to each,
of each to all, of each to each. They cannot afford to be false, the one to the other;
to demand anything which is not clearly right ; to submit to a.nything which is
manifestly wrong. They should rejoice with each other in prosperity ; they should
aid each other in distress. Had I the power to-night, I would give to the nationality
of Mexico, to the prosperity and happiness of her people, wings that should bear
them far above her snow-capped mountains, up toward the eternal stars!

And now what siiall I say to you, my countrymen — my own dear countrymen ?
33

5l8 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

To you who received me with open arms when I came ; who have ever been so
generous to me, who have viewed with so kindly a heart all I have said, all I have
done — in parting from you, what shall 1 say ? Nay, what can I say ? There
are times when emotions crush out words. But far away is' a Georgia home, whose
doors will be ever ready to swing wide open to you and to yours ; upon whose walls
will be hung the resolutions, so beautifully engrossed, and this picture, side by side,
in loving companionship. Inexpressibly dear will they be to hearts which must here-
after have a dual life ; one there, the other here ; one in Savannah, the other in the
grand original of this beautiful picture ; hearts which will be ever awake to all that
may befall you, to all that concerns you, and even to the last will cherish the hope
of meeting you again ; if not here, if not there, somewhere in the boundless universe
of God.

The last word must now be spoken, the word that breaks the future off from the
past ; the word that wrings the heart, and leaves it to the tumult of its own pulsa-
tions ; " the word that makes us linger ; yet, farewell ! "

CHAPTER XIX.

A FEW OF THE POPULAR SONGS AND DANCES OF THE PEOPLE.
HIMNO NACIONAL.

Poesia de F. Gonzalez Bocanegta.
Coro.

i™

Mttsica de JAIME NUNO.
P

rteE

— N

-#—

0 0- '—0 — • 0 — »— I —

:^=i:

— N— ^

-0-

,^™

Me - xi - ca - iios, al gri - to de guer -

> 3

tfce=?:

^w^^

— 0 0-, — a — 0 0 — 0 — •— • -• — 0 #-T — • —

pan

pp .^00-^
> ^ I 1^

- ce - ro a - pre - stad y el bri - don Y retiein- ble en sus cen-tros la

I J • V-0 ' 9 .^ ^.^ • .^

■ — r-R — I — I— J — I 1-*— ' 1 •-

5z:t5i^:t±=i:!=rjt==?^:1:
• — : — ^0 — * u 0 1 ^-

^=E;

-#-•-

,— •-

-^-I

-#--

tier - ra Al go - no - ro ru- gir del ca - Son ;

=;=:J=

Y retiera-

^^ t=

s. -l^t|k^_ ^.i|— 4| 4»— 4# r-^— t— ' \

520

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

- ble en bus cen-tros la tier

ra Al so - no - ro ru-gir del ca -
loco.

»-;-•-•-;-# — » •-!H ^Q#-!-#-#-;i»-' — w-.-is — r» — ' — ^-* — • — ' — I — • — H

*i_|^ 1 — -A-0— 1 liV • -#-#- '-0-\ 1 ■- 1 P 1 1 '

Ld '-d

/•Ts Estrofa.

^ - y— — #- • —0~V-0 0 - — \^ 1- — p^^ 1 —

Ciiia I oh pa - tria ! tus sie - nes de oli

. — A ^ — -I==f:

a De la

paz el ar - Ci'in - gel di - vi

no, Que en el cie - lo tu eter-no des-

tn-^

g__.

^Eg-^^i^^i^S^^^^iP

- ti - no

Per el dedo de Di oa se es-cri - bio.

J— f-1^-4

d=J=J.:

— H 1 1 g=.

POPULAR SONGS AND DANCES.

521

-^-v

Pro - fa - nar con su plan-ta tu

L_ 1— |j_-i — P— a^ i t —

n'v — "t77?-7— -?-i-?-T-T-^-^?-T-7-T-?-T--TH — rj^ l~fc~^

#^-t/-J=I-H P A-

§i^;

l?z^iz2f^=i— -i=lz^=5=Ife^J?f^

2-*-

-^r-^f=

BJ^

:^=F:

- lo, Pien-sa i oh pa-tria que-ri-da!que el cie

lo Un 80I-

f— *^ p_jjL..i_y_p y— i^— I y_L_j:j_^p y^_ *_:_^3

;=1^-

'^t .-J-^,t-

lB=^

3=E=

tl-^

i=F

4--

b^-

da -do en cada hijo te dio, Un sol - da- do en cada liijo te dio.

II.

En sangrientos combates los viste,
Per tu amor palpitando sus senos,
Arrostrar la metralla serenes,
Y la muerte 6 la gloria buscar.

522 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS,

Si el recuerdo de antiguas hazaftas
De lus hijos inflama la mente,
Los laureles del triunfo tu frente
Volverin immortales a ornar,

CORO.

III.

Como al golpe del rayo la encina
Se derrumba hasta el hondo torrente,
La discordia vencida, impotente,
A los pi^s del arcfingel cayo.

Ya no m4s de tus hijos la sangre
Se derrame en contienda de hermanos ;
Solo encuentre el acero en sus manos
* Quien tu nombre sagrado insult6.

CORO.

IV.

Del guerrero inmortal de Zempoala
Te defiende la espada terrible,
Y sostiene su brazo invencible
Tu sagrado pendon tricolor.

El sera del feliz mexicano
En la paz y en la guerra ei caudillo,
Porque 61 supo sus armas de brillo
Circundar en los campos de honor.

CORO.

jGuerra, guerra sin tregua al que intente
De la patria manchar los blasones !
i Guerra, guerra ! los patrios pendones
En las olas de sangre empapad.

•jGuerra, guerra ! en el monte, en el valle
Los caftones horrfsonos truenen,
Y los ecos sonoros resuenen
Con las voces de /Union ! /Libertad!

CORO.

POPULAR SONGS AND DANCES. 523

VI.

Antes, patria, que inermes tus hijos
Bajo el yugo su cuello dobleguen,
Tus campifias en sangre se rieguen,
Sobre sangre se estampe su pie.

Y sus templos, palacios y torres

Se derrumben con horrido estruendo,
Y sus ruinas existan diciendo :
Ue mil heroes la patria aqui in€.

CORO.

VII.

Si 4 la lid contra hueste enemiga
Nos convoca la trompa guerrera,
De Iturbide la sacra bandera
jMexicanos! valientes seguid.

Y a los fieros bridones les sirvan
Las vencidas ensenas de alfombra ;
Los laureles del triunfo den sombra
A la frente del bravo adalid.

CORO.

VIIL

Vuelva altivo a los patrios hogares
El guerrero a contar su victoria,
Ostentando las palmas de gloria
Que supiera en la lid conquistar.

Tornaranse sus lauros sangrientos
En guirnaldas de mirtos y rosas ;
Que el amor de las hijas y esposas
Tambien sabe 4 los bravos premiar.

CORO.

IX.

Y el que al golpe de ardiente metralla
De la patria en las aras sucumba,
Obtendr4 en recompensa una tumba
Donde brille de gloria la luz

524

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

Y de Iguala la ensefia querida
A su espada sangrienta enlazada,
De laurel inmortal coronada
Formara de su fosa la cruz.

CORO.

jPatria! jpatria! tus hijos te juran
Exhalar en tus aras su aliento,
Si el clarin con su b^lico acento
Los convoca k lidiar con valor.

jPara tf las guirnaldas de oliva !
j Un recuerdo para ellos de gloria !
;Un laurel para tf de victoria !
iUn sepulcro para ellos de honor !

CORO.

AGLAE.

Danza.

RULES OF THE DANZA.

To the first eight bars of music, which is repeated, making sixteen bars in all, two couples place them-
selves vis a vis as in a quadrille, only much nearer together. Then opposite couples give right hand
across and left hand back and then balance four hands, your partner holding you with one hand as in
a round dance and giving his other hand to the other lady, while you give yours to the other gentleman.
Then follow sixteen bars of a slow waltz time.

F. G. Sedano.

ESE^

-^0

-Hf^.

-"^-1

^^^^^^^^

iE^^^:

S-w-n-0- -f-^ -0- -t- ff-)—- «• .

EtEE^^^SE^E^

cs^ii — P ^"i • 1 0—^j—0 r^ #-tfi » pi — I — ^-^ — •-•—- n— € 1

POPULAR SONGS AND DANCES.

525

tr. tr.

-.-F^==^

:.J=5=^f:zz:.tg=r-_^f=g

±=?=?=3:: ; : -=i=?=^==¥=:

TALIA.
Danza,

F. G. Sedano.

^-f#-

/■/■

^ I h III, r-^-f ' h3--G J

i^ Up

'. u/

#^,*-^-

■* ■#■

1st.

V M.

^^^fi^^^^ps^jf^^ii

526

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

1st.

^ • •-

<t-

0 — T"^^* * 'f g — r~ — f-i ! — ! — I 1-

-# — y

:4=ir=r=#=ri=r

EE3=fc^SE5

-£— ^— » — I — p— f-p' — *—£ — ^— ^— »-pp— £— I »— »— [— ^1- ^ ^-'^■i— 4-

g^g=:|=:jv=gz=j3=pj=zz:=:gz:z=zpd=^=f-^
-^'ff— g »— p — ^ 0 0 — t-j—0 • 1 y— f—

-F-^

3±?EEi]

EUFROSINA.
Danza.

,^#--*-4-i- 5.-1-5

^Eg^gEE_^=^|.gEE^^3^E^£

F. G. Sedano.

f-t-

rr ^ — ^ y p— 1-# y

■i=T-

A
-f-f-

:^E

:i:=t^:^

:t=f

S:|z:Jzi=:==«^i==g=ii==?=^:zi!z=z=?z==:rfi— ^

0 — j^ p — cs — y F— "^^ — y F — "^i* — ^ F '

:E^E^:£glS

,_-k:^

POPULAR SONGS AND DANCES.

527

^=gii^i__~r p— ^=^^— ^-P»— U:=g— g— L*^*— ^— S— P^=: — ^ji

LA GOLONDRINA.
THE MEXICAN ''HOME SWEET HOME."
Cancion.
Introduction. Moderato. - — ^

jii^

A '!1"S>;' 2 i ':f - ^^ ?«« *l^« timid swal - lo'^at

^ aoTi- rfe z . ra m - loz y fa - ti - get - - . .

528

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

^^B^^M^^^^m

distant bourne seeks her un - tir
da La go - Ion - dri - na que i

ing wing ?

aqui ae vd ?

To reach it
Oh, si en el

- — -j s #—•—•—• •— •— I »—f • — «— J -I ^

=i^-.;=;=>(=;=Fj---±F.-;z::^~— =^i=t^. — ■t.iJ3i^=^^^~i

safe, what needle does she follow,When darkness wraps the poor,wee,8torm-tossed
ai - re ge-mi-rd es - tra - via - da Buscando a - bri - qo y no lo en- con- tra-

••-0-0- ■#-■#-■#- -f"f"€-

f-t-f-pJ-i-i-i — r^-

Z-0 — I — i-S-* -'-i — I — H

thing ?. . . .Whither so thing ?. . . .To build her nest near to my couch, I'll
rd, A-don-de i- rd Junto a mi le - cho le pan - dre su

_N _■«-«■ ^ ^

— — rrtxr* ^^f-rx-* ^t^— [=-h-h— h-h-h-i

■0- ^^

^?^^E

call her ; VVhy go so far bright and wann skies to keep !

ni - do En don-de pue - da la es-ta ci-on pa-sar :

'#--»-S /T\ ■0- •0- •0- -0- -0- -0- ■0-0.^

Safe would she
Tambien yo es-

'^-£^

her. For I'm an ex
do Oh! Cie-lo son

ile sad, too sad to
to sin poder co ■

be ; no evil should be-fall
- toy en la region per-di

•0-^-0- .■#-♦• -e- -f-f-^ ■%■ ■%■ ■§■ <• ft- -^ ■*••

— #-# - m m 0 0 0 1 "-F - F F W F 1 0 0 • ^a ^ 1

4t=-.-=t5E^»EE=EE^'=lE3EEEi

'. 0-0-0-0 1 0 • —0 —

POPULAR SONGS AND DANCES.

529

'Z'^'^ff

♦ ^

■•-#■+- +-

iiliiiiiiiiiiii^^l^^]

9 ''r — A »-— "^— S-

.S^

2. My fatherland is dear, but I too left it ;

Far am I from the spot where I was born ;
Cheerless is life, fierce storms of joy bereft it;

Made me an exile lifelong and forlorn.
Come then to me, sweet feathered pilgrim stranger ;

Oh ! let me clasp thee to my loving breast,
And list thy warbling low, secure from danger,

Unwonted tears bringing relief and rest.

2. Deje tainbien mi p atria idolatrada,

Esa mansion que me mird nacer ;
Mi vida es hoy err ante y angustiada,

Y ya no puedo d mi mansioTt volver.
Ah! ven, querida amable peregritia ;

Mi corason al tiiyo estrechare,
Oire til canto tierna golondrifta,

Recordare mi patria, y Ittego Harare.

530

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

LOS NARANJOS O ADELA.

Danza.

Lento. Tempo dl Dama.
:^ ^ ^ .

^^-£^.

m^m^^s^^^^^^^^^

ff:

^ ^ -0-

'i. — ^ ^ I — I 1 L^

-^ #-

;P=2:

-g_

: > 3 r^ >

1 \—-\ — , — F

0 — i — • — 0^ — — • — • — — 0 0 —

I — r~f ~i — F^— f-f-^-r=F -f—^ — ^-

p i Re - cuer-das

m — 2 1 — f '^—i n

I-

5=?=5

:r-#_,_<r

-^-.r^^

ni • na,

^—\ m — I — I — •— ?* 1-- — +-

^r^-r

■>^=r

^-r

i^ii^^^ig

de a-que-lla tar - de cuando en el

- i:

^iiiUPi^^l^P^

I .

bosque de los na - raojos jiin-tos tuy yo, mano _entre

Lr^=|^^=E^^f^r=t=^^

POPULAR SONGS AND DANCES.

531

^feF^3ft#=gi^#"M

tanque, donje sm luces, quebraba el sol ? \ Be-cuer das

I M. rit.

.Alii en con tramos u - na Pi

ra-gua, u - na Pi - ra-cyua que se me-

fcj=J=?^Zf-:-I-f— 1— « j-^-'-r-i—i-. . 1 . ml « ten.

c! - a qufi se „,e . c! - a, co - mo las o - las, co . mo las o- las, del mar a.
-zul. Tu soiia - do-ra mi-rasteal a-gua, yo a pa-sio - na-l^^S^-de hi-

532

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

no-jos

.es-to de hi

P
ca

a tus

S^^^^ii*P^¥P

mi I t III i ,^-.^--;4

-i^^^ *-F— -Re - cuer-das
»ies. . >>>,, -^^ -^

t till l_^-rfe-|-i;rr=FM=:>fc8Es3|S31

■^ ff 3

pies. ^ >^>ll>ii . ^ m ._5 r^— 31

— * ^ ^t:^_ •g-;:^f zij^lf =Ft=^Epe^g£gE*E^E§=M

J Dukes momentos

Que ya parsaron '•

Y los Naranjos
Testigos nuestros
Existen aun
•jQuien comoellos
Decir pudiera
Constancia siempre
Siempre constancia
Hasta morir !

jAdela mia I
De tus desprecios,
De tu inconstancia,
No apures mas

POPULAR SONGS AND DANCES.

533

La amarga hiel.
Con tus caricias,
Con tu carino,
Con tu ternura,
HAzme dichoso,
H^zme felfz.

3. Mas, si el desden
De In faz bella
No tornas dulce

Y apasionado
Cual antes vf ;
A los Naranjos

Y BUS azahares,
Tierna querella
Del corazon
Entonare.

jAdela, Adela !
Vuelve hacia mi
Que sabes te ama
Mi corazon
Con frenesf.
Se siempre mfa
Cual tuyo soy,

Y con tu amor
H^zme dichoso,
Hazme felfz.

AY QUE NIQUELl

T. Inidnal

liE^^i^i

No te puedo ver,

no te quiero hablar porque con tu

-r

ip^aife^igg

534

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

\y ! H K— — ^-! ^»H t^l ^"1 ^ =*^- *-=•

que] .

me vas a en ga - nar.

Ni-quel so-lo

-=— ff-» « — 0 — ___bq^_^_i^ — i__ _ 1 1_

A^ A A

- — g — #-t?^— i— ^— T— 4 ~"" y^

1=:1^

tie - nes

Niquel nada mas

^^. — y — w — » J — -I n — l-aj — J — T' ^—W- — -g

ii=ESEsg=53ig§&li3ESE=&

;«<.

pla

ta se

fue

ion, se fue

mar. No te puedo

__. r «^— » T — 0 » -J — 0 0 , — I-

"4 iJiii^^tF I^i^^^il-J V

fe^=JEi=^E^EfaEi!i^=g^E

- res, in-can-ta pro - be.

-# » 0 T » •— • T W — W— W—y

i@EilfeSE|E|^ESi|^3EEEE^

. . . .mostrar-te la

pun

tn, la punta del

^^_ trt-tr i** i-it-i.

!^' ti ^

POPULAR SONGS AND DANCES.

535

... In fiel me enga - Sas - te pueril me enga - fie.

fc?=S=f=?=?:

^^g^^£=£=ggg^=gi:^^^]

. . [ay que Niquel ! con tu Niquel pa-g^is-te-mi fe.

——». »— 5 — 2 — I • — » — » — I # — # — •— I — -— (- — 11

LA PALOMA.
COUPLETS ESPAGNOLS.

A FAVORITE SONG AMONG THE COMMON PEOPLE.

Allegretto.

^^t

NEJJE^;iE|Ej;^E^^i

>^-

Cuan - do.

sa - li

de laHa-

N — I

•J 1 — i — ■!■ — 1-. 1 k-h- y 1 1- «

lir.

si no fui yo.

Yu - na.

E®^

:b=:^=:

:?=J-

nan - ga sa - Hit voy yo.

dolce.

■V-
Que

lin - da Gua - chi

-N-

V — ^ y^P=

vi no tras de

* — 0 J— . —^ 1 — — I 1 1 1-

mi. . . .que si

se - nor si a tu ven

ta - na

nbi:

He - ga u

-^^— — -0 —
na Pa -

536

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

XJZZJL

P N-F — N s V s -N-4^ — ^i. ^

J i — 1 1^? |J |J 1 ^ — I -J

-s>-

tra - ta - la
*— —

-y-

ri no que t)S mi per

— ^ zh

so - na.

+-;-

^t^i^^

cuen - ta - la - tus

mo - res bien de
— =- 3-

da. .

^ N

la de flo - res quees co - sa

^i^^-

=1=^'

Ay ! clii - ni - ta que

3 3

ay que da me tu a - mor ay!

Ay ! chi - ni - ta

que

--—^ M * at #— F-* p-

3 3

ay ! que da - me tu a - mor

ay!.

g=l

^-=^=i-

-^-T— I

^-f

que ren- te con - mi - go chi-ni - ta a - don -de vi

vo yo.

El dia que nos casemos

Valgame Dios !
En la semana que hay ir

Me hace reir
Desde la Yglesia juntitos

Que si senor
Nos hiremos a dormir

Alia voy yo
Si a tu ventana llega, etc.

POPULAR SONGS AND DANCES. 537

3
Cuando el curita nos seche

La bendicion
En la Yglesia Catr^dal

Alia voy yo
Yo te dare la manita

Con mucho amor
Yel cura dos hisopazos

Que si senor
Si a tu ventana llega, etc.

4
Cuando haya pasado tiempo

Valgame Dios !
De que estemos casaditos

Pues si senor
Lo menos tendremos siete

Y que furor !
O quince guachinanguitos

Alia voy yo
Si a tu ventana llega, etc.

CHAPTER XX.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.

REVIOUS to the advent of rail-
ways, and especially the comple-
tion of the Mexican Central,
Mexico was a sealed book to the
majority of Americans. To take
up an abode there at that time,
one was as securely bottled,
corked and labeled for utter iso-
lation from kindred and friends,
as though banished to Kamt-
chatka or the South Sea Islands.
Without railways, telegraphs
and their attendant blessings,
Mexico was left to her own internal strife and commotion ; the in-
centives to progress were wanting ; while Texas, only across the
river, possessing these advantages, has, in an incredibly short period,
grown to be one of the foremost States in the Union, basking serenely
in the sunlight of an unprecedented prosperity.

Considered geographically and topographically in the great feder-
ation of nations, the United States and Mexico should be on better
terms, commercially and socially, than any other people. The one is
situated mostly within the tropics — in the torrid zone ; the other in the
temperate; and together they produce all those commodities which are
necessary to the comfort and convenience of their respective inhabit-
ants. Their shores are girdled by the same vast water belt, and by
nature they were intended to be the full complement of each other.
Mexico can produce enough coffee of every grade to supply the world,
to say nothing of her sugar, India-rubber, indigo, dye-woods, vanilla,
as well as numerous other articles of prime export. She has also

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.

539

a large and varied assortment of delicious fruits and an unlimited sup-
ply of the precious metals which regulate the commerce of nations.

But Mexico is not a manufacturing country, and, perhaps, will
never be, while the United States has great need for a wider market
for her manufactured goods, which Mexico can purchase of no other
country to the same advantage. But as yet our trade is not one-tenth
part of what it should be. Lamentable the fact, we have been the
very last foreign power to place ourselves on a proper footing with our

THE OLD AND NEW CIVILIZATION.

near neighbors. A deep and subtle influence lies at the foundation.
In the fullness of our well-earned greatness and self-esteem, we consti-
tute ourselves teachers and judges of customs, business relations and
social intercourse, under conditions far different from our own. We
have made a high standard for ourselves, and if other people do not
approximate it, they must be at fault.

But this failure to understand each other is due to several causes.
In the first place, we have made no effort to understand them, and,
again, unworthy representatives of our country do not hesitate to de-
nounce, publicly upon the street, both the government and the people,
and declare in boastful fashion the ability, if not the immediate inten-

540 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

tion, of the American eagle to swoop down upon them and " wipe
'em out in sixty days." They talk unreservedly and offensively about
the prospects of a speedy annexation ; of a protectorate, and the
gigantic scheme of absorption, all of which cannot fail to engender much
ill-feeling and animosity. It recalls afresh to the sensitive Mexican
mind the " North American invasion " — the loss of valuable territory,
and the general distress that pervaded the country.

Then again we have been full of unjust doubts as to the integrity
of our neighbors. The consequence has been that the keen discrimi-
nation of our friends across the water has long since gathered to
themselves the friendly relations as well as the profitable emoluments
of trade which legitimately belong to us.

To compete successfully with the diplomatic methods of the Eng-
lish, French and Germans requires tact and skillful manipulation. Of
the many Americans who gaze from afar with longing eyes on the
prospect for business investments, it is safe to say that not one in five
thousand has the slightest idea of the nature of the difficulties to be
met and overcome in order to realize these prospects. In endeavor-
ing to establish business relations, it must be borne in mind that it is
not with one race he has to do, but with various shades, mixtures and
types ; with sentiments and prejudices, diverse and in common, all to
be met, pandered to, and softened into harmony.

The average American has the impression that, should he locate in
Mexico, and exercise his accustomed force and energy, much sooner
will he reach the acme of his hopes and the realization of his golden
dreams. Delusive thought ! It does not require much time to un-
deceive him. He finds that no push whatever is expected or re-
quired ; in fact, the less he has the better, for he must learn to bend
to the slow — very slow — methods of the Mexican ; to accept the dolce
far niente of the country. Business customs and habits confront him
which yield but slowly to modern ideas, while the necessary schooling
in the manana system, and the still more difficult lesson that, Toots-
like, time is of " no consequence," must chafe his restless spirit, and
dampen his impassioned ardor.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.

541

It requires a discriminating eye and a suave, agreeable manner to
obtain and hold the trade. So many things must be consulted and
considered that in other countries have no relation whatever to busi-
ness ; but without which everything is tame and void of interest to
the Mexican. It is necessary to study carefully the language, cus-
toms, habits and sentiments of the people ; to familiarize one's self
with the business methods, custom-house laws and the tariff. Usually
in the haste to acquire a foothold, the smaller and more important

NATIONAL PALACE AT THE CAPITAL.

details are lost sight of, but it is only by observing them that success
will follow.

The prejudice of Mexicans against Americans is not so strong as
the enemies of American interests would have residents of the United
States believe. The various concessions, granted Americans both in
the past and present, by the State and Federal Governments of Mex-
ico, are proofs of this fact. But a wider and more extended com-
munication between the two countries — more travel through Mexico
by Americans and vice versa — would conduce to a better understand-

542 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

ing. Let our people make an effort to know the " Mexicans in their
Homes," and an open hospitality be tendered to them when they visit
our country. No diplomacy could be so effective.

As an American woman I am justly proud of our institutions, of
our prowess, strength and unity of purpose. We have indeed left
behind us in our onward march of progress every other nation, and
are pre-eminently the " heirs of all the ages." No country nor clime
can compare with ours, and our representative men and women take
rank and precedence wherever they come in contact with those of
other countries. Perhaps it is the consciousness of our greatness that
makes us less adaptable than others.

But our modern progressive institutions cannot thrust themselves
unceremoniously and without caution upon a country whose civiliza-
tion dates back more than two hundred years before our own. We
must learn to " apply our hearts unto wisdom and pass into strange
countries, for good things were created for the good from the begin-
ning."

We must educate ourselves up to the point of believing that we
can attribute the frailties and defects of any people as much to human
nature as to national forces.

Whatever our differences of race, training and feeling, we can all
do something for the happiness and well-being of those around us, and
if other opportunities fail, there is always room for the bestowal of a
helpful and sympathetic word.

But in no country do fame and friends come to us unless we have
earned as well as desired them. Usually, like success, they come as
the hard-bought recompense of persevering effort, and of patient
waiting, and at last must rest with ourselves. We must carry into
our common lives that grand and ennobling sentiment that unless we
trust we will not be trusted.

In brief, if you go to Mexico, do not hope to effect radical
changes, or constitute yourself judge and reformer, but rather be pre-
pared, instead of teaching, to be taught. Go determined to see
things in a just light, to make liberal allowances for whatever does

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 543

not coincide with your own habits and training, and accommodate
yourself with becoming grace to what you will there meet.,

The much-desired first step toward the establishment of a mutual
understanding and an international interest was taken at the New
Orleans Exposition of 1884-5, which marked a new era in the history
of Mexico, and throughout succeeding time will be turned to, as a
beneficent agency, having brought before the public mind in the
United States the various resources, the taste, skill and ingenuity, as
well as the musical talent and proficiency of the Mexican people.

Following closely upon this was the Mexican Editorial Excursion
to the United States, when the men who wield the instrument
" mightier than the sword," were feasted and toasted everywhere.
Being thus enabled to see the representative American on his own
soil, either with the entourage of high position in political and social
life, or at home with his household gods about him, they each and all
returned with a better feeling toward our people.

One of these editors, Seflor Alberto Bianchi, has published a book
with' illustrations, descriptive of the journeyings and impressions of
the excursionists. Since their return they have interested themselves
largely, in their different sections, in the cause of public education,
and some have established normal schools.

But the future greatness of Mexico depends more upon the de-
velopment of her internal resources than upon the introduction of
foreign manufactures ; more, too, upon her agricultural and domestic
industries than on mines, mining, or the now widely scattered facto-
ries and mills. An untold wealth lies dormant in her bosom, an un-
computed richness in her veins. The seemingly insignificant agencies
which by cultivation have given impetus and strength to our own
internal greatness, are to-day in their infancy in our sister republic.

With a population of ten millions, Mexico cannot, strictly speak-
ing, be called a consuming country, for the reason that the majority
of her people are the humble poor who live solely on home product ;
who neither know nor ask anything beyond inanta, tortilla, chili, and
cigarette. It is quite manifest, however, that trade with the United

544 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

States is yearly increasing. There is now a market for hardware of
all kinds ; agricultural implements, axes, wagons, carriages, harnesses,
pianos and organs ; also for prints, fine cottons, mill and mining tools
and machinery, hosiery, flannels, woolens for ladies' and gentlemen's
wear ; glassware, lamps and gas fixtures, furniture, leather, hats, trunks
and valises, fire-arms, scientific and surgical instruments, etc.

England and Germany have heretofore controlled the trade in
hardware and agricultural implements, while France has maintained
the supremacy in fine fabrics. But the superiority of American ma-
chinery and manufactured goods has been recognized, and it is now
evident that in these lines we are driving other competitors to the
wall.

The fact is generally conceded that temporary traveling agents,
unless already acquainted with the language, tastes and habits of the
people, can effect no good. A permanent residence is necessary,
whereby they are enabled to study the all-important details. Great
care should be exercised, in the selection of these agents or commis-
sion merchants, that they be of a genial, conciliatory disposition,
steady habits, and gentlemanly address, never in a hurry, and give
attention to dress and personal appearance.

The enterprising North American commercial traveler, always in
a hurry, rushes in upon a quiet Mexican business man, opens his grip,
exhibits his samples, and fails to effect a sale. The reason is obvious:
he has disgusted the merchant by his too eager and energetic manner.
How different with Europeans ! They have caught the spirit and
habit of the Mexican to a nicety. Not alone in the outside world of
business, but in the home life also, are they more in harmony with
him. They have learned what we have yet to learn, to make haste
slowly. The German or French agent will negotiate through diplo-
macy, and seek by social courtesy first to enter the good graces of the
Mexican merchant. When they come in contact, both are probably
well aware what the ultimate aim and object is, but of trade or busi-
ness not a word is spoken. The agent inquires after the health of the
merchant and his family. They smoke, chat of travels, and other

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 545

kindred topics. The pride of the Mexican is naturally gratified when
he finds one man at least who knows how to take things slowly and
pleasantly and without brusquerie. Perhaps half a dozen such inter-
views occur before a word is spoken about business, but the agent,
beyond all doubt, has secured his victim.

The apostolic injunction to " let patience have her perfect work"
must here be heeded in the business world no less than in the higher
discipline of life.

Good faith in all transactions is a prime necessity ; therefore it is
essential that goods supplied should be according to samples. Two
intelligent Mexican merchants with whom I became acquainted, in-
formed me that their own experience had been unsatisfactory in buying
from traveling agents. Goods furnished not only did not correspond
with samples in color or texture, but even the prices were different.
They also said that in such matters other foreign sellers were careful
to send exactly what was ordered, even if it required much time and
labor. European importers cater to the popular taste, even to the
packing and shipping of goods, making a reduction in bulk and weight
by shipping in bales instead of boxes, giving long credit on all bills,
and by every available means endeavor to save trouble to their custom-
ers. Calculations are also made that the native railroads, in the shape
of burros or carts, may readily transport the goods to interior cities.
Americans generally overlook these details, and ship their goods in
heavy wooden boxes, in every way objectionable.

Besides, the fastidious taste of the Mexican as to color and texture
is lost sight of ; they forget his whole nature is antagonistic to dull
colors, coarse woof, and unseemly assortment. The French have
caught the popular fancy in taste and delicacy. Light and airy fabrics
with cunning devices, adding unique effects to the artistic arrange-
ment, catch at once the Mexican eye.

Foreigners from the old country are content to make a very little
headway at a time, and to utilize every facility they can command to
the very best advantage. If they prosper in business, the young
brothers and cousins at home are not forgotten, and as soon as cir-

54^ FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

cumstances will permit, they are brought out to act as clerks, and fill
other places of confidence, proving invaluable aids to the heads of
the establishment and strengthening their position.

An evidence of how other foreigners study to please the Mexicans,
even to the details of dress, I observed in traveling with a young
Englishman who had lived in the United States for six years. He
was then about to join his brother, who had resided for some years in
Mexico. Naturally this subject was under discussion between us.
He frankly told me that his brother had written to him on no account
to wear anything that looked American, and especially to refrain from
wearing an American slouch hat, as the Mexicans detested that article
heartily. Take warning, my countrymen ! If you cannot wear a
beaver, then a Derby — a stiff, half high, or the genuine wide-brimmed,
silver-decked sombrero.

He certainly had obeyed the injunction, for he was a live represent-
ative of John Bull, from the apex of his prim-sitting hat, to the tip
end of his square English foot. But I was glad to see him thus pre-
pare himself for his future life associations, and candidly told him I
should expect to hear of a marvelous success from his sojourn in
Mexico.

After my arrival in the capital I found his brother's firm, that of
B., S., R., C. & Co., had made for themselves an enviable name as
architects, mining engineers and contractors. I had the satisfaction
of seeing with my own eyes that the wise head which had planned
his brother's advent into the country had practiced literally what he
preached. As an equestrian, the native gorgeousness quite melted
into insignificance by comparison ; while in whatever society, foreign
or native, he was a shining light and noted for the suavity of his
manners.

The last I heard of the newly inducted young traveler bent on
conquest, he was mounted on a litter going to Oaxaca, a seven days'
journey, as a mining engineer.

Mexicans are not generally wholesale merchants. Those who have
sufficient means to become such, prefer investing in haciendas, which

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 547

are a sure source of profit and much less trouble. The smaller retail
trade, however, is chiefly controlled by them, and in this field they are
both able and successful. They are declared, on competent author-
ity, to be strict, if somewhat slow, in meeting their obligations. But
slowness, where everything is slow, need not necessarily be considered
detrimental ; and it may generally be assumed that if they do not pay,
it is because they have not the money — a condition not surprising in
the financial depression of the last few years.

Native retailers manage their business most skillfully. With a full
estimate of the value of everything they desire to exchange, barter, or
sell, they will ask the outside price, at the same time reading critically
thcv character of their customer; if the price demanded will not
secure him, most graciously and gracefully they will accept a lower.

To their powers of manipulation may be accredited the fact that
in no part of the country have the Jews, to any extent, been able to
obtain a foothold in mercantile life. The Mexican is even more
suave, more entertaining, and more determined in his mode of selling
than the most smooth-tongued representative of the Israelitish race.
He can sustain himself comfortably on a smaller profit, and is content
to do so, as long as he is assured of holding his customer. The native,
however, has not a monopoly of the retail trade. Frequently he has
associated with him either a Spaniard, Frenchman, or Italian, and
again these are established with success, independently.

The capital is naturally the great emporium, the business of the
country being concentrated there. The cities and towns along the
Rio Grande may possibly conduct some traffic with the United States,
and certainly an immense amount of smuggling is done; but the main
supplies come from the capital.

Mexico affords a striking illustration of the extremes of wealth and
poverty. A late estimate by one who is well informed gives her
only about five hundred thousand people who are wealthy ; while the
remainder is divided between those with moderately comfortable in-
comes and the absolutely poor. But among the former there is a
large professional and shop-keeping class, who always appear well

548 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

dressed, and with more or less indications of competency, but whose
incomes are meager and uncertain.

Those who have accumulated large fortunes are, after all, at a loss
how to find suitable investments. A distinguished Pvlexican statesman
has estimated that an uninvested capital of $50,(X)0,000 exists in the
City of Mexico to-day, a sum large enough to build and equip a rail-
way to some extreme point of the republic.

This is the case in every large city. Immense sums of money are
m the hands of the rich in absolute bulk, without any outlet or means
of investment.

Stock companies and co-operative plans do not strike, as tangible,
the popular fancy. The best thing generally is for this class to build
houses and rent them, or lend their money at very high rates.

Banking privileges are not usually resorted to by either the trades-
people or the merchant princes. The " Bank of London, Mexico and
South America " has been established for twenty-one years, yet even
now the majority of people do not avail themselves of it. Merchants
use it for exchange, and also as a means of safety for large sums in
silver dollars, this last sometimes for a very short time, perhaps for
one day and night, after which their mosos may be seen carrying it
back in meal-bags. Perhaps a prejudice may attach to mere bits of
paper as the representatives of big silver dollars, but checks are not
used after our method, nor is banking resorted to except as a means
of commercial convenience. For the mechanic or tradesman no
facilities whatever exist in the way of savings banks for the deposit
of their small earnings. Consequently more or less extravagance is
indulged in, or the money is hidden away without profit to them-
selves or to the country.

Notwithstanding the rainy season, success in agriculture in Mexico
depends almost solely on the facilities for irrigation. Every drop of
water is skillfully utilized. Often, indeed, the entire body of water is
turned from its legitimate course, and employed in irrigating a large
and otherwise profitless region. If a river runs near to or through
several haciendas^ the proprietors unite in constructing a dam across

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 55 1

it, with large ditches to convey the water through the fields. They
employ a man to take charge of its distribution, and during the farm-
ing season he must be on hand both day and night, to turn the water
on and off, as may be necessary.

Lands rent for one-third and one-half of the crop. The propri-
etor furnishes no teams, and the yield of corn is from thirty-five to
forty bushels per acre.

A hacienda, it must be understood, is a large plantation, and not
a ranch for cattle, although one proprietor may own both. In this
case, the farming is kept separate from the cattle raising. A church
and store are inseparable adjuncts to the well-kept hacienda. The
peons buy the necessaries of life from the store, which of course
keeps them always in debt, thus securing their services. Unless the
proprietor of some other hacienda pays the debt, they of course can-
not leave.

There are two classes of peons, those who are in debt and those
who are not. The former are by far the more numerous, and are
called calpaneros ox gananes. The names and salaries of the principal
employes are as follows :

Administrador ,v^\\o is paid from $70 to $100 per month.
Mayordomo, " " " 30 " 60 "

Ayudante, " " " 15 " 30 . " "

Sobre saliente, " " " 8 " 25

Capitan, " " " 8 " 20 " "

Trojero, who has charge of the keys and keeps the ac-
counts of the hacienda j paid from $15 to $30 per
month ; and a doctor, who is also paid by the
month.

The priest is paid for his services as they are rendered. The
founder, wheel-wright, and carpenters are paid by the job.

The mayordomo and the capitan are allowed horses and certain
perquisites from the hacienda.

These capitans are rare characters in and of themselves. Though

552

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

in letters he may be the most ignorant, yet in that little narrow skull
he can carry more accounts than the most
expert book-keeper. He knows the ante-
cedents of everybody and everything on
that place. He is a peon just as they are,
but in many ways he shows his power over
them.

The accompanying illustration, taken
from life at San Miguel Sesma, shows him
in the robes and dignity of his ofifice.

Every night the raya (an account of the
days' doings) is gone through by the mayor-
domo and capitan, who come to the office of
the hacienda to give an account to the ad-
tninistrador of what has been done during the
day. The names of the peons are read, and
the captain answers : *' Cetonale " (** He has
worked to-day "), or " Homo cleno " (" He has
not "), as the case may be. The mayordomo has a box full of beans
kept for the purpose. Each time the captain answers " Cetonale " or
"Homo cleno,'' a bean is pushed aside. When the calling and answer-
ing are finished, the beans in the two piles thus formed are counted,
and the result entered in the day-book. The captain retires and
the mayordomo takes orders for the next day.

Everything is kept as systematically as in a banking business.
The books of the hacienda are under government seal, and any one
wishing to purchase the property may satisfy himself by looking at
them.

Haciendas have their marketable small products, such as pulque,
wood, milk, lumber, charcoal, beans, sheep, goats, and many others
known as esquilmos. Hogs are also fattened, but they are little used
save to make soap, which is excellent in any part of the country.

The impression prevails that the peon is in such a state of servi-
tude that he can be easily compelled to adopt any methods his

LL c xrirw.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.

553

A MKXILAN PLOWMAN.

employer may see fit to impose upon him ; but the fallacy of this is
too well known by all who have tried the experiment of farming.
The peon, like the rest of his race, has an instinctive dislike to

any innova-
tions, and
h e clings
to his rude
methods of
a g r i c u 1-
ture, driv-
ing the
new-fan-
gled no-
tions to the
wall, or
stacking
them in the

fields, while he unceremoniously returns to the ancient forked stick.
He hugs the rawhide harness thongs and straps, and the primitive
fixtures of his forefathers, and will not yield them up without a deter-
mined resistance.

In the hope of compromising matters with these ultra-conserva-
tives, a wide-awake Chicago firm has recently invented and patented a
steel plow that is the exact reproduction of the forked stick and makes
a furrow much deeper, whereby finer results are obtained.

I visited several haciendas, and on each more or less of our agri-
cultural implements were used. Every agent with whom I conversed
spoke hopefully that finally the products of our manufactories would
prevail over any and every competition. But with the inherent preju-
dice of the peon, it is not a source of wonder that even a progressive
hacendado hesitates to introduce any new form. On some plantations
both the ancient and modern work side by side. But on many large
estates one sees as yet only the usages of the Romans or ancient
Europeans. It is easy for the mind to travel backward to the days

554

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

when the Moors conquered Spain. They did not desire the advance-
ment of the people, and, bent on conquest, introduced few improve-
ments except those connected with their warlike enterprises.

In their turn the Spaniards have impressed the character of their
civilization upon the Mexicans.

A further retrospect, and we find ourselves face to face with Bible
scenes. The glean-
ers follow closely
after the harvesters,
as then ; the story
of Ruth may per-
haps find many a
parallel here.

Some Mexican
writers have remon-
strated against the
introduction of la-
bor-saving machin-
ery, fearing it would
militate against the
interests of that
large proportion of
the population —
the laboring class. But as the undeveloped resources are so immense,
it will probably be long before interference in that direction will be
felt, for the cry still goes up for more laborers for both mines and
haciendas.

One of the principal causes of this want may be attributed to the
constant recurrence of feast-days, the observance of which occupies at
least one-third of the time. It is anything but a pious spirit that in-
duces the laborer to take advantage of these occasions, but rather his
innate love of ease and dissipation. These days are to him more holi-
days than holy days. But it is astonishing how little these people can
exist upon. In spite of their small wages being in this way so mate-

ADOBE HOUSES.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 555

rially decreased, they manage to live, and not uncomfortably either,
on a mere pittance ; whole families, sometimes, spending but twelve or
even six cents a day.

The following extract is from a late letter to the Boston Herald, by
Mr. F. R. Guernsey, the regular correspondent of that paper. Mr.
Guernsey has resided in Mexico for several years, and is a very close
observer and accurate narrator. This is what he says on the subject
of introducing foreign labor: " What Mexico needs is such a flood of
immigration as is being poured on the shores of the Argentine Repub-
lic, that Mecca of the Italian farmer class. A proposition was recently
made here for the introduction of Irish immigrants into the State of
Oaxaca, where large tracts of land could be secured for them at very
low rates, and coffee and tobacco culture introduced on a large
scale. I have no doubt that a large Irish colony, started in Oaxaca
under intelligent supervision and with due provision for getting their
crops to market, could be built up into a prosperous community. The
Irish, being mostly Catholics, would not provoke religious hostility
among the natives, and their sympathetic and gay temperament would
commend them to the nation at large. There is land enough, and to
spare, in this favored country for all Ireland, and here the sons of
Irishmen would become men of property and influence. There are
many Irish names in Mexican history as there are also in Chilian an-
nals. An ' O'Donaju ' was famous here in old days, and along the west
coast of South America the ' Lynches ' and Cochranes ' are noted
names. The ' Morans ' are a noted family here. Other names common
here suggest Irish ancestry. This matter might well be studied by
persons interested in settling Irish emigrants on land of their own, and
so giving to their children an honorable career beyond the reach of
grasping landlords. Several colonies in this country are prospering,
especially that founded at Ensenada, Lower California, under the
auspices of the International Company, a Connecticut corporation.
The railway system of the country, as it increases, will make markets
for regions now isolated, and thus render agriculture more and more
remunerative."

5 $6 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

The difficulty of transportation remains a serious drawback to
every enterprise to be carried on in the republic. This is so obvious
as to render credible the statement that an over-crop is as detrimental
as an insufficient one. When there is a large surplus, much waste
must ensue for lack of the means of transportation. If the crop is a
short one, the natives must go on foot and carry " corn from Egypt."
In any case it is the masses oi pobres who suffer, and the need for not
only more railways, but also for wagons and roads, is a real one. If
only the hoarded wealth of the country were thus applied, Mexico
would not long be in the rear of other countries.

Under the present land tenure, the owners almost escape taxation,
while the peon, or the man who takes the products to market, must
pay enormous taxes, at the gates of the cities, where the tax gatherers
are located. A barrel of flour may be taxed a dozen or twenty times
before it reaches the market. Every State, city, and municipality
through which it passes has its own laws of taxation. Every page of
a merchant's ledger or cash-book must have a stamp. Every receipt
must have one at the rate of one cent for every $20. Tickets of
all sorts — even to the theater — contracts, bills, and a number of other
things must have stamps. But the man who owns houses pays no
taxes except when they are rented. This, it may be added, is the
reason of the high rents.

The lack of water naturally limits and impedes manufacturing, and
the scarcity of fuel places a dead incubus upon it. The government
has nurtured and given all the aid and encouragement in its power to
such enterprises, but it is difficult if not impossible to rise superior to
such great natural obstacles. Wood commands from $15 to $18 per
cord, which is, of itself, enough to interdict the use of steam. But
there is a solution in the future to this question of fuel. There is no
wider field for enterprising capitalists than the opening up of the vast
coal deposits that exist in the various States. In Durango there are
very fine deposits of hard coal. In other places many varieties are to
be found ; and the States of Oaxaca and Puebla abound in coal of a
fine quality. Surely this will prove a great blessing to the country,

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.

557

and a powerful agency of progress. Petroleum also exists in great
abundance, but is still undeveloped. Though Mexico is a land of
light, still more light is needed.

The culture and manufacture of silk promise success in the future.
Mulberry trees flourish in many localities, and the climate is so fine
that silk-worms require no protection.

There are sections well adapted to the growth of cotton, but it is
cultivated only to a limited extent ; the principal part of that used
being supplied from the United States.

The mining and working of the precious metals had been carried
on for centuries before the discovery of the New World. We read
that the conquerors were amazed and their cupidity excited by the
richness and splendid workmanship displayed in the costly peace-
offering of Montezuma. Bernal Diaz enumerates among them " thirty
golden ducks exactly resembling the living bird ; also, a round plate
about the size of a wagon-wheel, representing the sun, the whole of
finest gold, a most extraordinary work of art ; and a round plate, even
larger than the former, of massive silver, representing the moon,

with rays and other figures on
it, as well as a quantity of gold
trinkets," all displaying the most
beautiful and skillful workman-
ship.

Mining investments for Ameri-
cans have generally proved a sad
experience. But still they ven-
ture, working and waiting, hop-
ing against hope. They give up
comfortable homes to labor and
toil as never before, deprived
of every comfort, and at last are
forced to leave the scenes of
their unfruitful labors ruined in
fortune and hopes, and with en-

AN AMERICAN MINER.

558

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

ergies broken and crushed. Some of the most utterly miserable-
looking men to be seen are these unfortunate American miners. A
few have been successful, but they make the exceptions to the rule.
Mining laws, however, are said to be excellent, and are quite as favor-
able to the foreign capitalist as to the native.

In the production of fruits alone Mexico has advant\ges over other
countries. In many places by stretching out the hands one may

.vi^l^iSSWgS#i^^

BASKET OF FRUIT.

gather both temperate and tropical varieties. While many have been
imported, a large proportion are indigenous and daily tickled the
palate of Montezuma. But peaches, apples and other temperate
fruits are in a neglected condition, and consequently lack flavor. For
the rest, nature is sufficient for her own free gifts.

The infinite variety and constant succession of fruits, all the
year round, offer an attraction to growers as well as to those engaged
in canning and preserving. Besides those familiar to home growth,

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 559

as peaches, pears, lemons, and oranges, or known to us through com-
merce, as the banana and pineapple, new, strange and delicious fruits
meet the eye and invite the taste. At first Americans generally have
a distaste to the native fruits of Mexico, but after a time relish them
very much.

The accompanying illustration shows a few of the most peculiar of
these fruits. The long, white one on the left is a lemon from Jalapa ;
it is nearly ten inches in length and about five inches in its largest
diameter. The one in the center of dish is the chirimolla (custard-ap-
ple), delicious, and bears a stronger resemblance to a delicately
flavored custard than to anything else. Another species of this
fruit is the anona, which is seen on the right ; it is brown, while the
former is green. Both have the shape and appearance of the pine-
apple, and flourish in the latitude of the orange and lemon. Both
have black seeds. The anona is so soft it is always brought to market
enveloped in palm-leaves. The small fruit on the right, in front, is
a mango, and the small one to the left is the agiiacatl, or vegetable
butter, commonly called aguacate, grows in almost all parts of Mexico.
Some are green, others black; some as large as a man s fist, others
the size of a marble. If the skin is removed and the substance spread
on bread with a little salt, it is a good substitute for butter ; it also
makes a delicious salad. By putting the seed in a bottle, as with hya-
cinth bulbs, this fruit may be grown in all warm latitudes. Then
there are the various kinds of zapotes ; cJiico (small), brown skin ; pri-
eto (black pulp, green skin) ; ainarillo (yellow pulp and skin), long,

very large seed and
delicious; blanca
(white), green skin,
white pulp, and the
zapote of Santo Di-
mingo. All have a dif-
ferent skin, flesh and
flavor, but the yellow
and white are the

MANGO AND SEED.

560

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

YELLOW, BLACK, AND WHITE ZAPOTES.

most delicious. Along the Gulf coast there are miles of forest of the
chico zapote. It is a ver>' large and valuable tree, having dark, rich foli-
age, and for timber growth is almost unequaled. Pieces of the wood
have been
taken out of
the ruins of
constructions
that were al-
ready ruins
when the
Spaniards
came, and
they were

still as solid as though in use only a year. The mango is a large and
lovely tree and is indigenous; the fruit is a reddish yellow, kidney-
shaped, with fibrous flesh, and a large stone much the same shape.
The flavor is at first objectionable to strangers, because of the strong
turpentine taste, but this is finally overlooked. As it hangs on the
trees in the hot lands nothing can be more beautiful than these
great bright bunches of twenty-five or thirty hanging from the
boughs.

The mamey is another attractive looking fruit of oblong shape, meat
of salmon-red color, but a little education is also necessary for its

enjoyment. When taken from
the tree the fruit is warm
throughout. The xicama, an-
other curious fruit, looks exactly
like a turnip, but with none of
the flavor of the latter. The
granadita is delicious, and bears
a striking resemblance in ap-
pearance and flavor to our
" May-apple." There are about
MAMv AND SEED. fofty varictics of oranges, be-

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 561

sides several of lemons and lin:ies. Then there are capulins (wild
cherries), the juice of which is used in tamales ; the tejocote, ciriielas,
cidras, all small fruits, besides cicapnatl (peanut), as also many other
delicious nuts ; the calabaza (pumpkin), one of the chief articles of
food for the poor ; the cana (sugar-cane) ; the cacao, from which choco-
late is made ; the guavaba (guava) ; granada (pomegranate) ; several
kinds of figs, pears, and grapes ; also, charvicannos (apricots), mora
(mulberries), ^«r^«w^r« (blackberries), ^r(7j^//« (raspberry). The acci-
tuna (olive) thrives anywhere on the table-lands. Then there are the
sandia (watermelon), the camote (sweet potato), the endless and de-
lightful varieties of the tuna (prickly pear), and the maguey {agave
Americana), known to us as the century-plant, which furnishes every-
thing from a needle and thread to a house-top, as well as a variety of
food and drink. Of the latter, several varieties are made, chief
among which is pulque, the national beverage. The manufacture of
this liquor is as peculiar as it is interesting. Just before flowering
time (which occurs much oftener than once in a hundred years) the
heart of the plant is extracted and a sap rises to fill the cavity. The
tlachiquero, whose business it is to collect this sap two or three times
a day, places one end of a gourd syphon in the cavity and the other
end to his lips, and, by suction, draws the juice up into the body of
the gourd. It is then emptied into a sheep skin which he carries upon
his back, and from this put into a vat, also of sheep skin, which, like
the other, has the wool turned inward. The odor imparted to the
liquid by these skins, as may be imagined, is anything but agreeable.
On bringing it to the lips for a draught, the first impulse is to seize the
nose, without which precautionary measure it is doubtful if the induc-
tion into this beverage would ever be made. It is much pleasanter to
the palate, however, than to the olfactories, and its effects upon the
system are generally beneficial. It possesses medicinal properties and
is considered a specific for Bright's disease. The cultivation of the
maguey is quite a source of income, as a single plant yields about
one gallon of sap a day, and rarely more than one hundred and twen-
ty-five quarts in all, after which it dies.

562

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS^

The other liquors besides pulque which this plant produces are
tequila and mescal. The former, named after the district in which it
is principally manufactured,
possesses an agreeable flavor,
somewhat resembling Scotch
whisky. Mescal is made
from a liquor obtained by
pressing the leaves of the
maguey in a mill. Both
mescal and tequila are trans-
parent, while pulque has very
much the appearance of the
milk of the cocoa-nut.

Tanneries are to be found
at many places, but the
leathgr must be of very infer-
ior quality, if one may judge
by the rapidity with which
shoes break and wear out.
There is no greater incon-
venience to Americans than
the style and quality of
shoes. Generally it is not possible for them to wear those made on
Mexican lasts. I have seen in the windows of shoe stores, "Ameri-
can shoes made here," but the samples shown were far inferior to our
home productions, and did not even resemble them. But for the
artistic repairing of old boots and shoes the Mexican cobbler can
certainly claim precedence. Shoes so old and dilapidated that even
mothers could not use them instead of a switch on refractory chil-
dren, or that would not be available for throwing after departing
bridal parties, he will repair and return as good as new, for fifty
cents. He sits on his stool on the sidewalk, himself unshod, verifying
the ancient proverb, perhaps waiting for the maiiana on which to
be<iin his avocation.

THE TLACHIQUERO.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.

563

More paper factories are needed, and no country offers greater
inducements, as the maguey is ever at hand to furnish pulp for
the enterprise. France and Belgium have heretofore supplied the
market, with a moderate amount from Germany and England. If
i\mericans do not go there to manufacture paper, they should cer-
tainly be able to compete with all others in supplying the market
with a superior article.

Considerable attention is now paid to the importation and breed-
ing of fine stock of all kinds, and
Mexico offers unsurpassed facili-
ties for this purpose, by reason of
the equable climate and extensive
pasturage. For, while cattle men
annually lose thousands in their
chosen sites in the United States,
in Mexico it is perennial spring-
time for man and beast.

The meats are excellent in fla-
vor and quality, the mutton being
especially delicious. But a diffi-
culty lies, generally, in the butch-
ers, who cut and slash it in so many
directions that it is difficult to tell
what part of the animal you are
eating.

Butter everywhere is a very scarce and inferior commodity.
Housewives know nothing of making and caring for this article, which
to Americans is a prime necessity. The most primitive means are
employed in its manufacture. In some places the milk is put into a
sheep or goat skin, then fastened on a mule or burro, usually the
latter, and trotted at a rapid rate. Inferior in quality as it is, I have
never seen a pound sell for less than from four to six reals. The
natives make a cheese from goat's milk that is quite good when one
becomes accustomed to it ; but no attention is given to cheese-mak-

A STREET SHOEMAKER.

5^4 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

ing, as we know it, although the facilities are at hand, in the labor,
the cattle and feeding, as well as in the tastes of the people, who use
it largely in their cuisine. At the capital a pound of American cheese
costs 62^ cents (five reals). The finest butter and cheese in the world
could be produced on the beautiful and abundant alfalfa. Our people
should look into these openings for enterprise, particularly as the
Mexicans themselves would be constant patrons.

The refining of salt is another much needed industry, for which
ample material exists in immense deposits that are in the same con-
dition to-day as when the conquerors came. A five-cent sack of
American table salt costs three reals, while what is generally used is
in the crudest state possible, requiring to be washed, dried in the sun.
and then ground on the inetate before it is ready for use.

Bacon and ham are both imported, the United States now furnish-
ing the greater part. The price is never less than five to six reals a
pound, even at the capital.

Finer hogs can be produced in no country, and vvith mountains
forever snow-covered, and railways offering inducements to shippers,
pork packeries and meat-canning establishments could easily be estab-
lished and made a paying investment. No improvement can be made
on the lard, which is beautifully white and sweet ; but the supply in
no wise reaches the demand, as shown by the price, which I have
never known to be less than from twenty-five to thirty-seven cents, or
three reals a pound.

Wheat is one of the best products of the soil, and flouring-mills
convert it into excellent flour, but either the mills are not numerous
enough or the supply of wheat is deficient, as prices are exorbitant —
the cheapest I have seen costing three dollars and a half for fifty
pounds.

Fond as the Mexicans are of dainties and delicacies, the cracker and
wafer, so indispensable in our dietary, are not made in the country,
with the exception of one or two factories at the capital from which
they are supplied at three reals a pound. Factories of this kind
would develop the general taste and doubtless also prove profitable.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 565

By all means let some enterprising spirits establish goose ranches.
Strangers are particularly impressed with the unyielding pillows and
beds, encountered everywhere in hotels ; and with few exceptions they
are little different in private houses.

Both climate and soil are favorable to the production of broom-
corn, and, as the native manufacturers are less skilled in broom-making
than in almost anything else, I surely think this manufacture would
be a desirable enterprise. American brooms, when obtainable, cost
one dollar apiece.

I could go on enumerating the smaller industries which would
find a ready demand, and require but little capital. But it is unneces-
sary. It has only been my aim to show that everything stands wait-
ing for the ready hand and determined will of some who may desire
to begin life in that old country on a moderate scale and grow tc
affluence.

There is no opening whatever for either American matches or
match-makers; for the matches of the Mexican match-maker are
matchless ; a rule that holds good in more ways than one, and may
even apply to scenes from the balcony.

I have found an elysium for the Smiths, Browns and Joneses. By
merely crossing the Rio Grande, they will find themselves answering to
extremely high-flown names, without legal or legislative intervention,
or arousing the suspicion that they left their country for their coun-
try's good. Plain William Brown becomes Guillermo Moreno, James
Smith flows oiT euphoniously into Santiago Esmith, while John Jones
murmurs in the mellifluous Castilian as Don Juan Jo-nis (Huan Honis).

The very serious question of American families taking up their
residence in Mexico is one that demands especial care. We of the
United States have such a profusion of comforts, even among the
plainer classes, that it is not to be expected of an American woman to
settle herself contentedly in her Mexican home with the scanty allow-
ance of furniture and otherwise primitive household arrangements
she there encounters. As before stated, hotel life is not proper or
customary for families, and there are no boarding-houses ; the whole
36

$66 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

matter must at once resolve itself into the setting up of one's own little
household kingdom. Furniture is not only extremely scarce but high-
priced, and furnish the house the best one can, with what is to be had,
and with a limitless amount of pottery cooking utensils, still there will
remain an aching void in the list of supplied necessities. If house-
hold goods are brought from home, taxes and custom-house duties
will fully quadruple their original cost. No American woman thinks
at first that she can exist without a cooking-stove, but, to carry one
along that has cost twenty dollars at home, it will, when turned over
to her, have cost six times its original value. When in its place and
man or burro have trotted their score or two of miles with a double
handful of wood for cooking purposes, another diflficulty is added
when the cook tells her : " It will give me disease of the liver," or,
" No es costumbre." It is then her disgust reaches a supreme height.
If she fails to take pillows and bedding along, it is possible that she
may " lie on the floor and cover with the door," or rest on such sub-
si iutes for beds as would break the bones of a Samson or Goliath.

This may seem paradoxical, having described the elegant furnish-
ings of some Mexican mansions; but stores exclusively for furniture
are not general, with some exceptions at the capital and in the larger
interior cities.

The Mexicans have been always accustomed to order their house-
hold furnishings direct from Europe or the United States, and
strangers generally on going must risk the chances of buying what
they can second-hand from some one moving away, or have a carpen-
ter manufacture some, on his own plans and specifications. But do
not calculate on the time for it to come into your possession. Mean-
while a cot and a few Mexican blankets are blessings in exchange for
the soft side of an earthen floor.

You may be able to rent rooms in families, and in gems of pre-
cious pottery prepare your meals after your own fashion. Sometimes
you will be able to procure comfortably furnished rooms, and have
meals sent from a fonda, but you will very rarely find a Mexican
family who will furnish them. You may have a room in their house,.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. S^7

and be freely invited to a place at their board, but to receive money
for anything but the rent would be an infringement upon their estab-
lished usages and ideas of hospitality.

While the vegetables, meats, and fruits are not so high as in the
United States, and are generally better, other necessaries make ex-
penses mount up amazingly.

American men accommodate themselves quite readily in Mexico to
the inconveniences of the home life — natural enough, when they have
none of the worry — but, with a few exceptions, I have never seen an
American woman in the country who was not continually pining to
return home.

So far, no educational advantages exist for American children ;
and this of itself is a source of great perplexity. But the children
themselves are extremely adaptable to everything in the country,
learning the language with wonderful rapidity, and in their childish
communications adopting the customs of Mexican children. Like
these, they are universally petted and adored by all classes, from the
servants to the highest society. I have seen one American child
engage the attention and interest of every Mexican in a railway car.

An American gentleman and his wife who had resided a number
of years in Mexico, and had had four children born to them in that
country, were returning to Texas. These little ones had completely
identified themselves with the country of their nativity and repudiated
that of their fathers. Soon after crossing the Rio Grande, they
stopped at a ranch house, and seeing some other American children
bare-footed, they ran excitedly to their mother, exclaiming with
mingled scorn and pity, ^^ Mira, mama! las gringitas sin zapatitas ! ^
(" Look, mamma! those little gringos without shoes ! ")

Anglo-Mexican children will never admit that they have American
blood in them.

Generally there is but little social interchange between the women
of the two countries ; but when it takes place, warm friendships are
apt to ensue. I wish my countrywomen residing there would make
more effort in this direction, that the people of both countries might

568 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

know and understand each other better ; for men, left to themselves,
with all their diplomacy, lack the finer tact and instinct of women in
uniting and binding together widely separated elements.

Those who intend to become residents will read with interest the
late laws relating to foreigners.

There is a law of naturalization lately published that is important
to Americans. Subjoined is a copy of the official notice :

" Americans are hereby notified that, in conformity with Article I., Chapter V.,
of the Law on Foreigners, of June, 1886, foreigners who may have acquired real
estate, or have had children born to them within the republic, will be considered by
the Mexican Government as Mexican citizens, unless they officially declare their
intention to retain their own nationality, and to that effect obtain from the Department
for Foreign Affairs a certificate of nationality, on or before December 4, 1886.

" Said certificates may be obtained for Americans through the Legation or the
Consulate-General of the United States in this city.

. " Applications for the same must be accompanied by one dollar for the necessary
revenue stamps, also by a personal description of the applicant

"Legation of the United States, Mexico, August 20, 1886."

Still another law requires that all foreigners should be matriculated
at the Department for Foreign Affairs, that their nationality may be
declared and recognized. Foreigners who wish to have a hearing be-
fore the courts of the country should not fail to comply with this law,
as business interests are not secure without it.

The climate is all that is claimed for it — even more ; and it is
recommended as a safe retreat for those afflicted with pulmonary or
throat troubles. But, even here, a disadvantage arises. If they im>
prove and all goes well, it is not safe to return to their homes and
this is the thing above all others they most wish to do. If they remain,
the lungs will harden and heal over, causing little or no pain or incon-
venience, and life be prolonged to a good old age. But the artificial or
real strength imparted by the delightful climate lures them into a feel-
ing of security. But a return home makes the decline more rapid than
the improvement has been. However, if in the earlier stages of the
disease, they will make up their minds to live in Mexico, taking all
things as they find them, I believe many permanent cures will be

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.

569

effected. I have seen some fine specimens of robust strength and
health which were only gained by exercising a firm will and determi-
nation— a trying and almost impossible achievement to the invalid.
While the strong and healthy American will readily accustom himself
to the food, the sick naturally longs for home cooking. Occasionally
a friendly countryman will have a few comforts, and such fare as is
suited to the palate of the invalid, which he is generally pleased to
share.

Mexican physicians, as a rule, are highly educated and accomplished
men ; having not only excellent advantages in the Medical School at
the capital, but a large proportion being graduates of celebrated
European colleges.

Consumption is not by any means confined to the stranger. It
undoubtedly originates among the natives, and usually with fatal re-
sults. Another disease in this fine climate, and as much to be dreaded,

is catarrh ; and a
simple cold soon
takes this form. No
class is exempt from
it, and perhaps from
this the custom
arose of wearing the
blanket, shawl, or
handkerchief over
the nose and mouth.
That their fine air,
so celebrated and
lauded by visitors,
should be blamed
for every malady
that flesh is heir to,
seems a contradic-
tion. But in this as
"ON ACCOUNT OF THE AIR." iH everything else

570

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

there is a special fitness, for strangers soon find themselves following
the same custom. Ask at any time a man or woman of the poorer
class why they draw the blanket over the mouth, and you will at once
be answered with, " Por el aire " (" On account of the air ").

Police regulations are admirable. The men are uniformed, and
stationed in the
middle of the
streets where
they cross a t
right angles;
and regardless
of wind or
weather, each
one remains at
his post eight
hours at a time,
blowing his
shrill whistle
every quarter of
an hour, in an-
swer to the call
of his co-guar-
dian of the

peace. The quiet and order that prevail in all towns and cities attest
their efficiency.

The body known as the Rurales constitute in Mexico to-day the
most competent preservers of the public peace existing within her
borders. They were once lawless and abandoned men, who led lives
of wild adventure, many of them being bandits, fearing nothing.

. When General Porfirio Diaz became President, he felt the necessity
of providing the rural districts with an efficient mounted police force.
The utmost forethought could not have predicted such grand results.
Being as they are familiar with every mountain pass and lonely defile,
fearless riders, and possessed of extraordinary strength and undaunted

POLICEMAN OH DUTY.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.

571

courage, they have proved their prowess and valor from first to last.
It gives one a feeling of security and satisfaction to see a company
of these sturdy horsemen entering a city or town, after a toilsome
journey in the wild mountain fastnesses. They wear a gay and
picturesque uniform of buckskin, the pantaloons decorated on the out-
side seams with silver buttons, coat and vest of the same material,

a gorgeous red sash, and a red cravat or silk handkerchief around
the neck, and sombrero with silver cord and tassels. Behind the
gayly-equipped saddle a red blanket is folded and snugly secured,
adding an extra charm of color to the invincibles. They come and
go as if in haste, the rattling of their accouterments always attract-
ing the attention of strangers.

Land and sea can alike testify to their courage. On January i8th,
1886, the American whaler Ranger ran ashore at Ensenada on the
Lower California coast. The crew were swept into the sea, and would

572 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

inevitably have perished but for the courage and humanity of a party
of Rurales, One poor sailor was swept out of their reach, though
they made superhuman efforts to save him.

The President of the United States, through Mr. Bayard, and in
appreciation of their valor, forwarded to the Rurales memorials, con-
sisting of a gold watch and chain for the chief, with this inscription :

" Presented by

The President of the United States

Pedro Miramontes,

Chief of the Rural Guard, Ensenado, Mexico,

For humane and praiseworthy services in behalf of a boat's crew of the U. S. steamer

' Ranger,' January i8, 1886."

Silver medals were given to the others of the rescuing party.

Upon the subject of American interests in Mexico, I am glad to
introduce the opinion of Judge J. F. Crosby, of Texas, who was at the
Mexican capital during my stay there, and in an interview with a
representative of the Two Republics, thus freely expressed his views
with regard to the prospects and safety of American enterprise in
Mexico :

" I do not only believe but know from actual observation that
American enterprise has a most promising future in Mexico. The
people of Mexico are not nearly as prejudiced against Americans as
superficial observers would have the people of the United States be-
lieve. That they are down on men who claim to be Americans, but
are devoid of gentlemanly instincts, and show no respect for the re-
ligion and customs of a people whose hospitality they ask ; who slander
their wives and daughters, and charge the Mexicans with being dis-
honest and treacherous, is not to their discredit. But they are anxious
for the good will of the American people, and if the Americans who
have visited this country had been half as anxious to win the respect
of the Mexicans, both countries would be better informed about each
other than they are now. The upper ranks of the Mexicans are the

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 573

equals of anybody in culture, patriotism, and human virtues, while the
lower classes, although seemingly degraded, are as law-abiding, intel-
ligent and gentle as any people could be under similar circumstances.
I know of what I speak when I say that these people, high and low,
have fought harder and suffered more for the establishment and main-
tenance of republican institutions than the much exalted founders of
our own republic ever dreamt of doing. Being forced, ever since they
first asserted their independence, to defend it against invaders and con-
spirators, these people have not had the opportunity to pay that at-
tention to the interior development of republican institutions which in
the United States has taken a natural course, excepting the forcible
removal of the curse of slavery, which, by a little good judgment on
both sides, might have been brought about in a quiet and peaceable
manner. Indeed, the Mexican people, as such, are entitled to the
highest respect on our part. But the trouble has been, and is to-day,
that people come here from the United States expecting to make
fortunes in a day, and believing that everybody has to receive them
as superior beings, and very often act in a highly offensive manner.
There are such people now here, right here in Mexico, who misrepre-
sent the American character, and in their talks to visitors misrepresent
Mexico in a scandalous manner. I am glad to know that The Two
Republics accepts it as a duty to neutralize the harm such people are
doing."

On being asked if he considered it safe for Americans to make in-
vestments in Mexico, he said :

" I do indeed, and have proven it by my own acts. The Mexican
Government is ever ready to encourage American enterprise, and has
quite often got the worst of its bargains. It has been led to promise
support to enterprises beyond its power of fulfillment. And this
makes me think of the charge that Mexican officials are corrupt and
are bleeding American investors. It is quite possible that concessions
have been bought, and that some Mexican officials have betrayed
their trusts; but that is as much the fault of the investors, familiar
with the crooked ways of legislatures, both State and national, in

574 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

the United States, as of the officials. As a rule, I am free to con-
fess that, as far as integrity is concerned, Mexican officials compare
very favorably with their counterparts in the United States. My
advice to investors is, to avoid middlemen of all kinds, and to deal
directly with head-quarters. They will find how easy and pleasant
it is to deal with the Mexican Government. Treat a Mexican like a
gentleman, and he will treat you the same."

He is very sanguine as to the opening of lands for settlement in
Mexico. He says :

" I believe that the present government fully appreciates the ne-
cessity of breaking up the large estates. My opinion is, that Mexico
must very soon open wide to immigration, the same as the United
States have done. It is only a question of time, when a foreigner will
have the chance to acquire full political equality with the native citi-
zen. In the mean time, I know that many estates have passed and
will pass into the hands of American and other capitalists, who will
naturally break them up into small homesteads, in order to secure the
largest returns for their investments. The spirit of the times is felt
by the Mexican leaders, and it will not be long before, through their
efforts, the Republic of Mexico will be as much the home of the free
and the brave, in the sense used in the United States, as thelatter. I
repeat it once more, Americans who mind their business, who behave
like sensible men, and treat the Mexicans with the respect they de-
serve, will find a splendid field for enterprise in Mexico. Their prop-
erty and their lives will be well protected, as far as the government
can afford such protection, that is, to the same degree as they are pro-
tected in the United States. But they must obey the laws of the land,
and always realize that they are enjoying the hospitalities of a country
which still considers everybody not a native a foreigner."

Judge Crosby lived for many years on the frontier of Texas, and as
early as 1854 became judge of the immense district comprising all the
territory west of the Pecos. .Since then he has held important rela-
tions with our railway system. Eminent in scholarship, in legal lore
one of the brighest lights of the Texas bar, and with exceptional op-

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 5/5

portunities for knowing the subject thoroughly, Judge Crosby's opin-
ions are entitled to the highest consideration.

He says further : " During my judicial career nobody gave me less
trouble than the Mexicans, but I have to confess that I was very often
called upon to protect them against sharp, not to say dishonest prac-
tices, on the part of the Americans who flocked into that country.
The criminal branch of my court was almost exclusively occupied by
the trial of offenses committed by lawless men who claimed to be
Americans, and the only time I was in danger was when these outlaws
tried to assassinate me while holding court. My life was saved
through the intervention of Mexicans from both sides of the Rio
Grande, who had heard of the conspiracy in time, and, forming a
guard around the court-house, kept the scoundrels off."

In a recent letter to the author Judge Crosby says :

" My acquaintance with Mexico and her people dates back to a
period of forty years, when, as a sixteen-year-old youth, I served
under Jack Hays, the original Texas ranger, at the battle of Mon-
terey. From that period to the present, I have never ceased to in-
terest myself in all that has concerned Mexico and her future. I
have made a study of her constitution, her laws ; the manners, cus-
toms, traits of character, etc., etc., of her people, as well as the charac-
teristics of this most beautiful and virgin portion of the North Ameri-
can Continent. Mexico is certainly the newest and yet the oldest of
all North America."

Judge Crosby is at present engaged with some New York cap-
italists in developing the Corallitos property in Chihuahua, one hun-
dred and fifty miles southwest of El Paso, which comprises 800,000
acres of farming and mining lands, and in which thus far $700,000
have been invested.

I am glad to testify to the fact from personal experience that
ladies may with safety and propriety travel on any of the lines of
railway throughout the country, getting off at any city or town and
inspecting it to their satisfaction. Only this suggestion I would
make : at the hotels where you stop procure a guide, who knows all

576

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

the places of interest, and pursue your way quietly, not making undue
remarks nor laughing in a loud tone at what may seem ludicrous.

Mexican affairs have been severely criticised by many writers ;
and objections of every character have been urged. It will be found,
however, that there is neither fairness in statements made, nor is there
much display of deep study into causes.

Among the chief complaints are : (i) The instability of the Mex-

THE CITY OF MEXICO.

ican government and the proneness of the people to revolution. (2)
Border troubles between Mexico and Texas. (3) Non-progressiveness
of the Mexican people. (4) Want of wholesome internal laws con-
ducive to the happiness of all classes.

History shows that the government of Mexico has been unstable ;
and that the beautiful country has, until within a decade or so, been
the scene of oppression and strife, ever since the day when Hernando
Cortez first unfurled the Spanish flag, and burned his ships on her
shores. But when it is considered that the country was filled with
independent peoples, each with its own traditions and customs, living

i3SlH|!i!t|B''P^J"'''?^"^'^"^^-

CHURCH OF SACRE MONTI, AMECAMECA.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 579

in great cities, and with independent governments, and not nomadic
in their character, but holding the soil of their ancestors, it is not sur-
prising that the change from the ancient civilization of the aboriginal
races to the modern has been slow, and that governmental disturb-
ances-have been frequent. No race that was fixed has been ever
suddenly induced to adopt the laws, customs and religion of its con-
querors ; and the tardy progress of Mexico has been largely due to
the restraining influences and prejudices of the original inhabitants,
who slowly discard the habits of their ancestors for the teachings of
modern civilization. It takes centuries to work such a transforma-
tion. Then, too, the immutable doctrines of the Church, with its un-
varying teachings and ceremonies, serve in a measure to influence the
people to receive with caution and by slow degrees anything that
would change their social and political condition. These remarks, of
course, apply particularly to the original races that occupy Mexico —
remnants of the ancient tribes. Mexico has progressed as rapidly as
could be expected, when the large number of her aboriginal inhabit-
ants is compared with the feebler bands of European strangers that
mastered the government, and engaged in the attempt to indoctri-
nate the people with a new religion, new government, and strange
customs.

The English in North America had none of these diflficulties,
because they met a nomadic people, and there was no decided at-
tempt to assimilate the Indians with the Europeans; hence the seem-
ing advance in the United States and Canadas. There were no fetters
on progress, and the new world kept pace with the old in North
America, while Mexico, Central and South America were held re-
tarded by the almost invincible customs of the aborigines.

With races mixed, revolutions are inevitable for a time. The
situation of the country, and the remarkable dissimilarities of the
people, render a strong central government impossible. Rival parties
with interests dissimilar, headed by bold leaders, are the natural con-
comitants of an unstable government ; and they multiply and more
frequently collide where government is in a transition state, perfect-

580 FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

ing itself by slow progression. The internal dissensions that have
heretofore distracted Mexico, and her failure to adopt the standard
in progression as fixed by her neighboring republic, are some of the
inevitables ; and there is no remedy save time and perseverance on
the part of reformers who are kindred spirits with the Mexican
people. No foreign power need ever expect with ruthless hand to
break down Mexican customs, laws, peculiarities and institutions.
Such changes as are made must be made slowly. With the American
idea of government in Mexico the worst evils would arise. The
ultraism of American. reforms would defeat all reform.

Mexico has taken no backward step. Since she made her natural
secession from the Spanish crown she has progressed, and her insti-
tutions have advanced in proportion. From each revolution she has
emerged, purified, strengthened and with government better fitted
for a people who in the end will enjoy full liberty under a pure
republic. Her revolutions are the fires through which she must pass
for refinement. They accomplish in a brief, though desperate, period
what it might require ages to perfect by moral suasion.

While the "home rule" has been tumultuous in the extreme, yet
it was the only government that was destined by the Allwise to sur-
vive ; to stand at last, perfected in its own way, a fitting monument
to the sore trials and afflictions of a brave people.

The antagonism between the United States and Mexico is unques-
tionably more largely due to border troubles than to any other cause.
The dividing lines between countries have always been scenes of
trouble, and, considering the causes that exist for unfriendly feeling,
the difficulties that occur on the Rio Grande are not remarkable. On
either side of this line the stormy elements break with tumult, the
one against the other. The floating, unsettled population drift to
both borders, and the magistracy on both sides is feeble.

Let there be a better magistracy on both borders. Let both
governments bend their energies to hold in check the wild, disorderly
elements that seek their boundaries, hoping to be under no rule. It
is only by mutual effort in this direction that these troubles can be

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 5^1

suppressed, for it is in these regions that the strong arm of the law
should be most heavily laid. In general, too, the chief disturbers of
the peace are unworthy of protection.

Let the consulates be filled by discreet and just men. When they
can be selected from among those living on the border, speaking each
other's language and having some acquaintance with each other's cus-
toms, a great advantage is gained.

Neither government should be regarded as intending wrong, vio-
lating the laws of nations or treaties, until the case be too plain for
dispute. When either republic violates the rights of citizens of the
other, let peaceful arbitration heal the breach.

A new era is dawning in Mexico. The advent of railways is open-
ing a wide field ; her people are rousing from their slumber. The
government is extending her protection over the poor as well as the
rich classes, and rapid progress is witnessed on every side. The
wealthy and powerful of the Mexican Republic owe it to themselves
to let the spirit of freedom and independence find full growth in the
bosoms of all, from the toiling peon on the hacienda to the wild, dark
Indian in the fastnesses of his mountains.

The administration of President Diaz marks a glorious epoch in
Mexican history, and the law recently passed by Congress, making a
second term constitutional, gives a still brighter outlook for the
future. A few decades with governments like that inaugurated by
him and the co-operation of the powerful men in Mexico, and the
republic will take rank with the foremost nations.

Far from placing a bar to her progress, it behooves us to extend
the right hand of fellowship, and hasten rather than impedie a consum-
mation so devoutly to be wished by all lovers of republican institu
tions. He who would attempt to retard this great work and seek to
incite the lawless border element to a breaking up of the existing
harmony would be possessed of the remorseless spirit of the piratical
Norseman and the inhumanity of the buccaneers, combined with the
desperate ambition of the barbarous Huns.

It will only be when Americans have lost their love of freedom
37

582

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

and pride of country that they will look with indifference upon such
disturbance of our sister republic. This will never be; our wise
statesmanship will see to it that the Mexican people be left to perfect
their institutions according to those immutable laws that govern from
the dawn to the close of a nation's life.

ADIOS.

My task is ended, my mission is accomplished. To show how dis-
similar are the two republics in character, customs and traditions has
been my aim ; to lead to a fraternal regard, the one toward the
other, has been my hope.

Vividly, while portraying them, have the scenes so varied and
the strange characters with whom I mingled, floated in my mind.
Scenery and characters are associated with friends whose names are
linked with a thousand tender memories.

While there were so many ties that bound me to Mexico, there
were others of a national and friendly nature ten-fold stronger, and
my heart turned again to my native land.

I was leaving the brilliant Mexican capital. The leave-takings of
my friends may all be concentrated in one typical adios that still
lingers unfading in rich vividness. Little Alfonzo, an ideal for a

584

FACE TO FACE WITH THE MEXICANS.

painter, passionately clung to me, his great liquid eyes looking lov-
ingly into mine as he whispered his broken adios between his sobs.
He was the child type of the warm friends of maturer years whom I
was leaving.

The sun was setting behind the distant blue mountains ; strains
of sweet minstrelsy floated on the evening breeze; the panorama of
singular characters passed me on their accustomed rounds. As the
train moved gently along, I peered back and saw the distant lights
gleaming in the city, and heard the long-drawn sweet tones of the
evening bugle call, that seemed, as it dwelt on its last notes, to hold
me bound in sweetest music, bidding me a yet more sorrowful fare-
well.

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' F

Iglehart, Fanny Chambers Gooch

1215

Face to face with the

12A.

Mexicans

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Full text of "Face to face with the Mexicans : the domestic life, educational, social, and business ways, statesmanship and literature, legendary and general history of the Mexican people, as seen and studied by an American woman during seven years of intercourse with them"

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