ON AND Off
/""S
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
PRESENTED BY
PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID
BANCROFT
LIBRARY
<>
THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
ON AND OFF THE SADDLE
CHARACTERISTIC SIGHTS AND SCENES
FROM THE GREAT NORTHWEST
TO THE ANTILLES
fond of novelty "
PLINY
G. P. PUTNA S
NEW YORK LONDON
rcet 24 Bedford Street, Strand
ftnicfeerfcocfeer frees
1894
ON AND OFF THE SADDLE
CHARACTERISTIC SIGHTS AND SCENES
FROM THE GREAT NORTHWEST
TO THE ANTILLES
BY
LISPENARD RUTGERS
" Human nature is fond of novelty"
PLINY
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
NEW YORK LONDON
27 * 29 West 236. Street 24 Bedford Street, Strand
TTbe Ifcnfcfeerbocfcer press
1894
COPYRIGHT, 1894
BY
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
Entered at Stationers' Hall, London
Electrotyped, Printed and Bound by
Ubc "Knickerbocker jpress, mew
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
Contents.
PAGE
1. AUTUMN IN THE YELLOWSTONE PARK . i
2. ALASKA AND ITS ISLANDS ... 20
3. CAMPING IN THE YOSEMITE ... 48
4. A MID-WINTER EXCURSION IN THE
ROCKY MOUNTAINS .... 57
5. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND ITS ATTRAC-
TIONS 79
6. EN ROUTE TO THE CITY OF MEXICO . 94
7. A MEXICAN COCK-FIGHT . . . 101
8. THE CITY OF MEXICO . . . .119
9. BULL-FlGHTING IN MEXICO . . . 146
10. A ROCKY-MOUNTAIN PICTURE . . l66
11. THE QUEEN OF THE ANTILLES . .172
12. A WESTERN CYCLONE . . . .194
iii
•(Illustrations*
ICEBERGS IN ALASKAN WATERS Frontispiece
IN THE HEART OF THE ROCKIES . .57
OUR HUNTING PARTY RETURNING TO CAMP 166
" The effect of travel on a man, whose
heart is in the right place, is that the mind
is made more self-reliant : it becomes
more confident of its own resources."
DAVID LIVINGSTONE.
A STORY is told of a hunting
party in a remote part of the
Rocky Mountains having met an old
French priest, who, with staff in hand
and a knapsack, was enjoying a pedes-
trian tour through the country.
Prompted by curiosity, they inquired
of him what brought him to that distant
region, when he told them that his
home was in a small village in France.
A few years before, he had been laid
up seriously ill with a fever. One night,
falling into a deep slumber, he dreamed
that he had died, and on reaching
Paradise the Great Father said to him :
" My son, what did you think of the
beautiful world I gave you." With
bowed head he answered : " I never
saw anything of it except my own
little native village."
Vlll
Upon awaking, he determined that,
should he recover and circumstances
permit, he would see something of the
beautiful world.
" And that/' answered he, " is how
you find me here in these grand moun-
tains."
It has been said that of all natural
gifts a love of natural beauty surely
brings most happiness to the possessor
of it, — happiness altogether unalloyed
and unpurchasable, created by the mere
rustle of green leaves, the mere ripple
of brown waters, alike refreshing as it
is to the mind, and strengthening to
the body.
"The lightness of spirits accom-
panying bodily health carry you like
wings over the rough places that must
be traversed by weary steps, when the
wings are not there."
autumn in tbe Yellowstone
parfc.
The Drive in from the West — Scenes in a
Wild Country — A Sociable Horse- Thief
— Yellowstone Wonders — A Race with a
Prairie Fire.
FOUR prancing horses — Peanuts,
Antelope, Mag, and Grizzly —
none of them having more than two
feet at a time on terra firma, so anxious
were they to be off ; for the morning at
Beaver Cafton in northern Idaho, where
we had been resting for the night, in a
very ancient and airy tent, broke upon
us with a crispness that even in autumn
brought color to our cheeks and made
our very fingers tingle.
All seated in a good spring wagon,
our guide and driver Jim, famous for
Autumn in the
having been a cowboy in Montana, and
for having " killed his man/' one of the
necessary qualifications to be respected
by his comrades, swung aloft his wicked-
looking whip, and we were off with a
jerk, as though we had been aided by a
cannon-ball from the rear.
Our way led over an extended prairie,
with sharp mountain peaks visible in
the distance ; the scene soon changes,
and we find ourselves ascending to a
high table-land with a beautiful rolling
country on either side.
A drive of twenty miles back from
the railroad, where the shriek of the
locomotive is never heard, we began to
see signs of animal life ; prairie chickens
fly up in front of our horses, alighting
fifty feet off, so tame were they, and
with our revolvers we secured enough
to feed five times our party.
On we plunged, until, when passing
over the brow of a hill, we suddenly
came upon a herd of antelope, about
Yellowstone Park
two hundred in the band. Dumb with
amazement at our sudden intrusion,
they raise their pretty heads, and, after
a moment's pause, with a graceful bound
they fly as though swept by the wind,
their delicate limbs hardly seeming to
touch the ground.
Our shadows begin to lengthen as we
sight in the distance Snake River, where
a good game dinner awaits us, and a
comfortable, clean tent stands ready to
receive us, as we stretch our limbs after
our fifty-mile drive.
A row of nightcaps, respectively red,
white, and blue, emerged from under as
many blankets. Before the rising sun
fairly reached the horizon, and after a
splash in real ice water, we were ready
for food, and then for anything. Our
horses, especially Grizzly, seemed quite
intoxicated with the exhilarating air,
and with a dash we were on our way
again.
Plunging into dense forests for many
3
Autumn in the
miles, the monotony was broken by
the occasional sight of a flying fox,
some Indian hunters, and frequent
shots at coyotes. A little episode
illustrative of border life occurred dur-
ing the morning, which assisted in keep-
ing up the excitement. Rounding a
turn in the mountain, in a very secluded
spot, down in a kind of basin, a strange
sight greeted our eyes, quite causing us
to forget the dust that had accumulated
in them.
A small, rough log hut, surrounded by
six horsemen, each with his Winchester
levelled at it. " After a horse-thief, you
bet/' says Jim, as he cracked his whip,
and sent his horses flying, to get us out
of reach of a possible leaden shower.
Hardly had the crack of the whip
sounded, before, flash, flash, came a
volley from the hut, and as quickly
each horseman's trigger was touched,
the Winchesters belching forth a dozen
or more shots ; when a yell of truce
4
Yellowstone Park
proceeded from the hut, and the battle
was over.
All eagerness to see everything, we
hastened back to behold, standing in
the open doorway the captive, a rough
yet handsome fellow, and as cool as,
yes, several degrees cooler than, a
cucumber, as he sullenly stepped out,
saying : " I give up, fellows — got no
more lead/' Without ceremony they
secured his horse, which had been
quietly grazing near by during the
battle, and securely tying him on the
animal with ropes about his body and
limbs, leaving his hands free, compelled
him to ride about ten feet in front of
them, we all following in the rear. His
captors had been pursuing him for
seventy-five miles.
Soon coming to a stream, we all
stopped for luncheon, and a sociable
time we had — the prisoner telling how
he had evaded his pursuers by short
cuts through the mountains, covering
5
Autumn in the
his tracks, etc. Luncheon over, our
course lay in different directions, and
with a good-by we parted.
The scenery increases in beauty as we
advance, our way being through a series
of mountain cuts, beautiful valleys, high
table-lands, and often fording swift-
running streams. Lake Henry, with its
grassy shores, lies three thousand feet
below the peaks reflected in it, its
islands seeming to float on its surface.
Cliff Lake, some miles off, with an un-
known depth, the plummet finding no
bottom at one thousand three hundred
feet, is teeming with fish below and
ducks above.
After climbing a very steep mountain
which made even Grizzly want to stop
for breath, the steaming geysers of the
Yellowstone National Park burst upon
our view, about three hundred feet be-
low us in the valley. A slight shudder
at first creeps over us as we descend into
the steaming atmosphere, feeling as
6
Yellowstone Park
though we were entering the crater of a
volcano ; but the shades of evening
were already upon us, and with a few
words of encouragement from Jim our
horses soon landed us at the hotel at
Fire Hole Basin, one hundred miles from
Beaver Caflon, our starting-point.
The pen or brush is equally power-
less to describe the wonderful geysers
of the Park. One must stand in their
awful presence, see with his own eyes,
feel with his senses, and contemplate
with his mind their immensity, and
then in vain will he endeavor to solve
the great problem, — whence and by
what power are they produced ? There
are numerous theories, but we will pass
on for a closer view.
Here we are approaching them ; in
all directions we see them puffing like so
many colossal engines ; you hesitate as
your guide urges you to follow him.
While gazing in one direction, you are
startled by one of the smaller geysers
7
Autumn in the
suddenly erupting near by, throwing
its boiling contents some twenty feet
in the air.
You step about uneasily, threading
your way midst hundreds of little
geysers, sending their streams about as
high as your head. The large geysers
erupt at certain and quite frequent
intervals, the most regular being " Old
Faithful/' which spouts every fifty-five
minutes, throwing a stream six feet in
diameter to the height of one hundred
and fifty feet.
Approaching one of the larger geysers
just previous to its eruption, the earth
seems to tremble, as with a rumbling
noise, like smothered thunder, it begins
to give vent to its pent-up force. First
it shoots up a few modest spurts, then
with a rattling roar and terrible groans,
dense volumes of steam fill the air ; up,
up the boiling, seething water is hurled,
higher and higher, accompanied by a
deafening boom and a sound as of
Yellowstone Park
mighty breakers dashing against a rocky
shore, until a column of water, fifteen
feet in diameter and two hundred and
fifty feet high, stands before you, as a
river hurled upwards like a rocket.
For twenty minutes its steaming waters
shoot upwards, falling in graceful spray,
producing an enchanting effect in the
dancing sunbeams.
Space will not permit of a detailed
description of the attractions of this
locality. " Hell's Half-Acre," a lake
fairly boiling and steaming with fury;
the " Devil's Punch-Bowl," a peculiarly
and wonderfully formed bowl some ten
feet in diameter, perpetually boiling
and bubbling up several feet high ; to
gaze down the yawning depths some
fifty feet into the " Devil's Well," with
its clear, transparent, boiling waters,
makes the beholder shrink and say : " I
have seen enough."
We paid a farewell visit to " Old
Faithful" to see it by moonlight : it is
9
Autumn in the
always on time, and with watch in
hand we stood waiting.
The night was calm and beautiful,
one of those quiet, restful nights the
memory of which lingers long after;
the great pale moon appeared brighter
than usual as it looked down on us
through the clear atmosphere while the
moments ticked away, when lo ! the
dismal moan, the nerve-shattering boom
announces the time is up, and with a
deafening roar a golden lake bounds
upwards, sparkling in the moon's rays.
We stood in silence before the en-
trancing spectacle. Such a sight was
worth a lifetime, and it seemed as if
nothing of more marvellous beauty
could ever greet the human eye.
It has been truly said by those who
have seen the Grand Cafton of the
Yellowstone that no language can do
justice to its wonderful grandeur and
beauty.
Behold a mighty gorge, carved by
Yellowstone Park
the impetuous waters during countless
ages in volcanic rocks, descending
gradually until reaching a depth of
about two thousand feet.
We were fortunate to have our first
view of it on one of those bright, calm
days, when, with its own hallowed at-
mosphere, Heaven seemed to diffuse
itself over the earth's face with a solemn
smile, no less sweet than solemn.
With each fresh lift on the precipitous
terraces the view broadened until the
great valley lay unrolled at our feet.
About thirty miles long, the walls, in
many cases almost vertical, are eroded
into towers, spires, and minarets of
colors most brilliant, surpassing all the
expectations that were conjured up
in our imaginations.
The pure white of the decomposing
feldspar, blended with sulphur yellows,
intermingled with bright red, colored
with iron, the brilliant rainbow hues
in rich abundance brought out in strong
Autumn in the
relief by the dark green pines along the
cliffs serve as a background for the
warmer colors, — the whole uniting to
form a scene of enchanting splendor.
We look over the dizzy precipice far
down to where the river is boiling and
surging as it plunges on its way, battling
with mighty boulders as though pro-
testing against its imprisonment as it
lashes the solid walls. Yet all is silence ;
distance has swallowed up the sound of
its mighty roar.
The Great Falls of the Yellowstone
leap over a precipice three hundred and
fifty feet high. As we approach we
hear the suppressed roar resembling
distant thunder ; it seemed as though
the mountain, unable to support its
great weight of waters, shook to its
foundation — the cataract became a fall-
ing river.
Prodigal nature has here outdone
herself. As this mighty play of waters
plunges amid the rocks, the dense clouds
Yellowstone Park
of mist and spray produced by the
whirling mass as it dashes with the
noise of heavy artillery against the
resisting rocks produces a rainbow not
only richer in color, but grander and
clearer than we had ever seen before.
The mountains and valley caught and
emphasized the golden rays which were
flooding the scene.
Truly it has been said that the grand
in nature more than in art demands
homage.
Our four-in-hand dashed up to re-
ceive us at 7 A.M., after a breakfast by
candle-light, for our return drive. A
hard climb found us at the summit of
the mountain near by. In the distance,
seemingly fifteen or twenty miles ahead,
the view was obscured by smoke, in-
deed— a prairie fire ; not a strange
sight to any of us. On we travelled,
but the expression and earnest look
on Jim's face indicated to us that it
might be something serious.
13
Autumn in the
About noon, as we were emerging
from a dark, wild, narrow cafton in
cutting our way through the moun-
tains, we were confronted with three
prairie wolves, who were just entering
the canon we were leaving. They were
fleeing with desperate speed, and see-
ing us they stopped short, gazing about
them with a petrified stare, uncertain
as to which course to take, but they
quickly dashed by us, within twenty
feet, and soon disappeared. " A danger
signal," said Jim, as he took an extra
grip on his reins and stretched his
neck. " A big fire we Ve got about
us."
True enough, for as we passed out
into the open prairie we beheld a sight
which sent a thrill of horror through
us when we comprehended the situation.
We had been travelling westward,
while the fire had been travelling in an
easterly direction, and had already
passed to the left of us and apparently
14
Yellowstone Park
closed up our rear retreat. The horses
sniffed the air excitedly, looking about
them in a wild, uneasy manner, their
ears moving to and fro, as they nerv-
ously neighed to each other.
Away in the distance, where the
prairie met the sky, a heated, quivering
line arose, surmounted by a dark, waver-
ing cloud. It was the prairie on fire !
The wind was blowing almost a gale,
directly towards us, and the long dead
grass was as dry as tinder ; the fire was
plainly spreading rapidly, and, with a
wild shout to the horses, Jim showed
the stuff of which he was made.
Off to the right we shot at a furious
speed, leaving the road and taking to
the pathless prairie ; a band of antelope,
with eyes like fire, came rushing past
us, adding to the excitement and fury
of our horses. A glance to the left
showed that the fire was gaining on us,
as, with a horrible crackling sound, we
could see the bright flames, twenty feet
15
Autumn in the
high, shooting upwards, and tongues
of fire leaping ten yards at a time before
the gale.
The fire was fast overhauling us. The
dark rolling smoke soon overcast the
sky above our heads, seeming to im-
prison us. Jim muttered something,
and his face grew ashen, as the flecks of
foam from our wild horses flew over his
breast. It seemed as if our hour had
come.
On we went, the fire momentarily
drawing nearer, the billows of smoke
each instant growing denser and the
heat more suffocating, at times seeming
as though it would blister our faces.
Should we throw out our guns and
traps and lighten the wagon ? Not a
word from Jim, but his strong arm and
steady eye were intent on saving us, as
we thundered on at terrific speed.
Shall we ever forget that moment
when for an instant the smoke cleared,
and we realized we were being literally
16
Yellowstone Park
encircled by the raging fire— caused
by contrary and varying winds, — only
about a quarter of a mile ahead, there
was an opening of several hundred feet
for our escape ! Could we reach it
before the gap closed ?
Again the smoke wreaths whirled
around us ; our eyes were smarting from
the heat ; the panting horses, mad with
terror, blindly rushed through the dark-
ness, as we yelled words of encourage-
ment to them. Could they hold out?
It was a race for life ! A few moments
and we dashed through the opening,
then not one hundred feet wide, and
were safe !
We reined up in a short time, after
fording a stream, and with deep-drawn
sighs of relief, bounded out of the
wagon.
Our noble horses, our preservers,
were trembling with excitement, reeking
with perspiration, and almost white
with foam. We all set to work
17
Autumn in the
to rub and dry them, while soothing
and quieting them with words of praise,
for we owed our lives to these four
noble fellows.
An hour's rest and rearranging found
us ready to resume our journey, with a
determination to complete our entire
trip of one hundred miles without
stopping for the night if it were pos-
sible.
We soon left the ugly smoke behind
us, and set our eyes and minds to enjoy
the loveliness of the scene which lay
ahead of us ; indeed, we were now more
than ever sensible to the charms of
nature. The gale soon ceased, leaving
only as a remembrance a soft zephyr to
fan our cheeks; the sun was bright and
nature was all smiles.
Our eyes soon regained their wonted
clearness, and as we passed on in our
journey, leaving the wild, open prairie
for the mountains and valleys where
the quivering aspen gave life to the
18
Yellowstone Park
solitude, the whole country about us
seemed illuminated with its varied
colors, for autumn had come with her
magic touch and transformed it into a
mammoth bouquet.
The sun was slowly sinking as we
drew beside a pretty stream, where we
dismounted to take supper — one of
those lovely secluded spots that nature
sometimes kindly furnishes.
The placid waters reflected the
heavens, the weeping willows kissed
the ripple, the humble flowerets grew
unbidden within the sacred precincts,
and tranquil as eternity lay in the
breathless skies the forms of the
mighty hills about us.
After supper, just before leaving, as
we quietly smoked our pipes around the
crackling camp fire, the stillness of the
scene, in contrast with that of the morn-
ing, lulled us into silent meditation.
There are dark shadows on the earth,
but its lights are stronger in contrast.
19
Hiasfca anfc its Manbs,
i.
Along the Coast — Waters Alive with Salmon
and Other Fish — Appearance of the
Natives — Their Peculiar Habits and
Customs — An Indian Wake.
TJANDKERCHIEFS were waving,
1 1 and our restless little boat gave
great puffs of satisfaction and fairly
screamed as the cable that had re-
strained her of her liberty splashed into
the blue water and she glided smoothly
away from a crowd of sad-looking up-
turned faces out into the pretty harbor
of Victoria.
The city of Victoria, the seat of gov-
ernment of British Columbia, situated at
the southeastern extremity of Vancou-
ver Island, occupies a commanding com-
Alaska and its Islands
mercial position. Its many handsome
buildings present a pleasing picture as
viewed from the harbor. The solid red
brick government buildings, in the
Swiss style of architecture, are espe-
cially imposing. The broad drives and
general attractiveness of this little city
of some ten thousand souls engender
a slight feeling of homesickness, as we
start on our lonely journey northward
for Alaska, conscious of the fact that
soon we shall be almost one thousand
miles from the reach of the telegraph
and of the civilized world.
Before introducing my readers to
Alaska, a few words as to its extent may
be of interest. The name Alaska is a
corruption of Al-ay-ek-say the name
given by the native islanders to the
main land, and signifies " great country/'
In this respect it is well named.
Bounded on the north by the Arctic
Ocean, east by the Northwest Territory
of Canada, south and west by the Paci-
21
Alaska and its Islands
fie Ocean, Behring's Sea and Strait, it
contains about 531,400 square miles.
All the other States and Territories of
the United States combined contain
2,970,000 square miles ; hence Alaska
is nearly one fifth the size of all these.
Its vast area can thus be conceived.
Our first stop was at Port Townsend,
the port of entry for Puget Sound. It
lies at the entrance to that magnificent
body of water. The place is of small
consequence, but situated as it is in a
pretty bay, with some cosy residences
scattered on the hills and bluff over-
looking the beautiful still water, it is
very attractive to the eye.
Our vessel now points her bow due
north, and threads her way among
numerous islands. To the left of us
rises the Olympian range of mountains
in the distance; to the right of us,
solitary and alone, and enveloped seem-
ingly in a golden vapor, rises the lordly
Mount Baker, one of nature's own
Alaska and its Islands
grand monuments, stretching its head
some 10,600 feet above us.
We turn into our bunks at an early
hour anticipating an early breakfast.
Awaking from a refreshing sleep we find
ourselves at Nanaimo, the great coaling
station at Vancouver Island ; all hands
spend the day fishing and visiting the
coal-mines. Another night of sound
sleep prepares us for our long journey,
Nanaimo being the last stopping-place
before reaching Alaska.
Our route lies along the eastern coast
of Vancouver Island. The mountains
border closely upon the water's edge,
the shore is indented by numerous bays
and tiny inlets, and innumerable islands
are scattered in our pathway.
For days we thread our way midst
these countless islands, through narrow
watery lanes that wind among them.
One hour our craft will be ploughing
her way through a fierce, swift-running
current, soon to find herself in calm,
23
Alaska and its Islands
blue, deep waters, troubled only by a
gentle breeze encompassed all the time
by an ever-shifting panorama of rock,
verdure, thick forest, and picturesque
mountains.
Protected as we are by Vancouver
Island, no motion is felt from the Pacific
until we reach Queen Charlotte's Sound,
at the upper end of the island, when
the long swells come rolling in upon
us, and we are awakened at midnight
by being tossed about in our berths.
Early morning on deck presents to
us a beautiful scene. To our left the
great ocean reaches far away to the
horizon, not a sail or even a bird in
sight. It is a calm, restful picture. On
our right lies the main shore of British
Columbia, fringed by countless islands,
heavily timbered with spruce, the Cas-
cade range of mountains in the back-
ground. Queen's Sound, also Fitzhugh
and Smith's Sounds, into which flow the
Bella Coola, Salmon, and other rivers of
24
Alaska and its Islands
less note, are before us, great flocks of
wild fowl frolicking in their waters. At
the head of these streams are located
some of the important posts of the
Hudson's Bay Company.
Our next point of interest is Cape
St. James, the most southerly point
of Queen Charlotte's Islands. These
islands lie some seventy-five miles out
in the Pacific, from the main land. The
mountainous ones are clothed with
dense forests of cedar, spruce, and
hemlock, stretching down to the water's
edge, so dense in many places that it
seems as though there was barely room
for a single person to gain a foothold.
The Hydah Indians, numbering
about six hundred, live on these
islands. With the aid of our field
glasses we can discern them on the
shore and in their canoes paddling
along the coast. They live by hunting
and trapping mink, bear, and other
game. Their origin, in the absence of
25
Alaska and its Islands
any record, can only be surmised, but
from their features, legends, and carv-
ings, it seems probable that they are
castaways from eastern Asia.
Our journey northward partakes of
the character of usual sea-voyages : the
days pass with the regulation tramp
about the deck, stray whales occasion-
ally announce their presence by squirt-
ing aloft and bellowing their adieux as
they toss their tails heavenward and
dive into deeper waters.
Each one is now intent on catching
a glimpse of Cape Fox, the first point
visible of Alaska, that great territory
which in 1867 cost the United States
$7,200,000, a seemingly large sum at the
time, for what was generally considered
a huge iceberg, but the revenue now
derived from its possession, and its
prospective revenue, must convince
the most incredulous of the wisdom
of the purchase.
We are now entering the waters of
26
Alaska and its Islands
Alaska. After journeying northward
some two hundred and fifty miles,
passing the Prince of Wales Island to
our left, we reach our first stopping-
place, Fort Wrangel.
Clustered on the shore to greet and
stare at us are the native men, women,
and children, and an odd-looking lot
they are. The men as a general thing
are offerfsive in their appearance, with
great, large, broad heads, and heavy,
sullen countenances.
The women, as a rule, are homely,
with here and there an attractive face,
most of them arrayed in brilliant-
colored blankets and gaudy petticoats,
trimmed with a fringe of deer-skin, just
long enough to conceal partly the bare
feet and ankles. From the wrists is
suspended a string of sliells or pebbles,
a species of Alaska bangle ; from the
lower lips of many of the women a
silver pin protrudes, called a labrette, —
some, however, are made of wood.
27
Alaska and its Islands
Many of the younger women have
their faces blackened. In some cases
this is done to preserve the complexion
which, strange to say, is even valued
among such a barbarous tribe, while in
other cases it is done as a mark of
mourning for the dead. The blackening
is done with seal oil and soot.
In front of the native huts are
erected " totem sticks," which are large
poles standing up some thirty to sixty
feet high ; they are really an Indian
coat-of-arms. Each family of any
account has its own " totem stick "
erected in front of the house of the
head of the family, the size of the stick
and the amount of carving indicating
the wealth and position of the pos-
sessor.
The figures most generally carved on
the poles represent eagles, alligators,
and fish, also heads of men and beasts.
The hieroglyphic carvings on the poles
are said to portray the curious legends
28
Alaska and its Islands
of the far distant tribes and many of
their strange customs. In the song of
" Hiawatha " Longfellow says :
And they painted on the grave posts,
On the graves yet unforgotten,
Each his own ancestral totem,
Each the symbol of his household,
Figures of the bear and reindeer,
Of the turtle, crane, and beaver.
The peculiar usages of these people
may be imagined, when it is stated that
when a chief dies his wives all pass to
his next heir ; in many cases they fre-
quently fall to the lot of the son, grand-
son, or nephew, as the case may be ;
the curious state of the family circle
is thus evident. In some instances
these widows purchase their freedom
by giving blankets, but this is done
chiefly only among the rich.
A study of their habits is most
interesting. They do not seem to
understand comfort, or else do not
desire it. As is well known, it rains in
this region about three hundred days
29
Alaska and its Islands
in the year. The natives naturally
become accustomed to being rained
upon, and probably inherit a love of
moisture.
During our day at Fort Wrangel,
while the sun was shining, a family of
Thlinket Indians a short distance back
in the country were huddled together in
their hut ; but as soon as it commenced
to rain, one and all emerged, sat around
on logs and chatted, seeming to enjoy
it. The natives take little account of
time ; they paddle along the coast for
hundreds of miles on the most trivial of
errands, the question as to where they
stay or sleep apparently being of small
consequence.
The fish stories as told by those
who have visited Alaska might seem to
be greatly exaggerated, but such is
probably not the case. The fish sup-
ply here is apparently inexhaustible.
Salmon appear in solid schools six and
eight feet deep.
30
Alaska and its Islands
The Strickeen River back of Fort
Wrangel and the outlets of some of
the inland waters to the salt water are
at certain seasons actually choked with
squirming salmon, causing them, in their
eagerness to pass through, to crowd
each other above the surface of the
water, thus creating for the time a solid
bank of fish. Smaller fish are also to
be found in surprising quantities. Her-
ring swarm in the channels. The candle
fish, about six inches long, which is
delicious eating, can be caught by the
million. A pailful can be had from a
native for the merest trifle. A host of
other varieties abound until the lover
of fishing here, tires of the sport.
Leaving Fort Wrangel, we continue
our journey northward, the scenery
increasing in its beauty. The timbered
shores, to which we had by this time
become so accustomed, do not grow
monotonous, but rather seem to in-
crease in grandeur. The endless brill-
si
Alaska and its Islands
iant green of these mountainous islands,
kept verdant by the almost continuous
rains, lend a peculiar charm. Our vessel
steams through channels so narrow at
times that the rushing waters seem to
bear us onward without any effort on
our part.
The entire country through which
we wind our way is so abundantly tim-
bered that one feels almost bold enough
to assert that no such wooded region
exists elsewhere on the globe ; from
the highest mountain peaks to the
water's edge great mammoth trees
stand like a compact army.
Early morning found us approaching
Juneau, opposite Douglas Island. The
boom of our little cannon, echoing all
around us through the mountains,
awakens the inhabitants, who stand idly
staring at us as we throw ashore our
cable. Here are located the great mines
and a large stamp mill.
The usual modes of amusement com-
32
Alaska and its Islands
mon in all mining camps are resorted to
— gambling, drinking, and its accom-
paniments. During the night the
dance-houses are alive. At the most
prominent one, the owner and fiddler,
who acts in the capacity of orchestra
and general manager, informed us that
he came to Alaska intending to give
his attention to missionary work, but
finding a good opening to coin money
in this line of business, he could not
make up his mind to leave it.
Indian girls to the number of twenty-
five to thirty, ranging in age from twelve
to sixteen years, were the bait to attract
customers, and well they served their
purpose. White men largely outnum-
bered the Indians, the latter being
rather shy about displaying their terpsi-
chorean powers. After each of the
dances, chewing-gum and apples are
presented to the girls, while the men
drink " hoochinoo," a drink distilled
by the Indians, made from molasses or
33
Alaska and its Islands
sugar, with flour, potatoes, and yeast,
altogether the vilest and most powerful
of spirits.
At midnight, we were present at a
kind of " wake " over the daughter of
an Indian chief, who had suddenly died
and was to be cremated the following
day. Clad in high top-boots, each per-
son carrying a lantern, we tramped
over a pathless bit of country some
distance back from the coast, through
a muddy, slimy soil. Some time before
we reached the spot the groans and
shrieks of the mourners could be heard.
Arriving at the chiefs hut, our guide
first crawls in, crouching low, and dis-
appears. Soon emerging, he leads us
in single file through the opening, only
two feet high.
A weird sight presents itself. In the
centre is a fire of loose logs and brush ;
the smoke, after filling the hut as well
as the lungs of the occupants, passes
out through a hole in the roof. Seated
34
Alaska and its Islands
around the fire on the ground are the
wives and relatives of the chief. At
the farther end, on a kind of bed, lie the
remains of the chief's pretty daughter,
a girl of eighteen. Her black hair lay
loosely over the pillow. A tiny red
handkerchief encircled her pretty
throat ; a deer-skin was laid over her
body, and over it her exquisitely
moulded arms were gracefully crossed ;
at the head and foot of the body a pine
knot was burning, sending flashes of
light over the scene.
All was silent as we advanced to
view the remains, the wind whispered
mournfully without, and she looked in-
deed as though she but slept. The
chief stood at the head ; a huge fellow,
with a hard, villainous countenance ; he
embraced us warmly, much to our dis-
comfort. After this ceremony we all
squatted about the fire, enlarging the
circle of mourners, and fell in with the
general chorus as best we could.
35
II.
Glaciers — A Tramp through Inland Forests
— Game, etc. — Sitka Waters by Moonlight.
OUR next objective point is Chilcat,
in latitude 59° 13', being nearly
the same latitude as Cape Farewell, at
the southern extremity of Greenland.
Bundled in our warmest clothes, we
were on deck to welcome the rising
sun, a sight of rare beauty at this high
latitude. The morning star stood over
the tops of the mountains, growing
fainter and fainter, proclaiming in her
silent way that the gates of day were
unclosing.
The rainy mists of the morning rolled
away, and quickly the scene of a mo-
ment ago was changed to one of rare
beauty. The morning was superb.
36
Alaska and its Islands
The blue waves danced and sparkled in
the sunlight ; a fresh, cold breeze blew
from the north, and our little vessel,
seemingly inspired with the gorgeous
scene, ploughed her way right merrily
through the clear waters.
Chilcat is of small interest. It is in-
habited by the Chilcat Indians, a small
tribe. A few miserable dwellings are
scattered along the shore. An estab-
lishment is located there in which they
extract oil frbm herring, which are
found in the waters near at hand in
countless numbers. Steamers rarely
penetrate farther north in the inland
waters than this place. It is about two
hundred miles in a direct line from
Mount St. Elias, which rears its head
19,500 feet above sea-level.
We took on board at this place two
prospectors, who had just arrived from
the Yukon region, after an absence of
two years. Almost every vestige of
clothing with which they had started
37
Alaska and its Islands
had gone the way of all material things,
and from their feet up they were clad
in skins, reminding one much of the
pictures of Robinson Crusoe. Besides
venison and fowl, they had subsisted
largely on berries, crab-apples, and fish.
In their wanderings, as they informed
us, they discovered that the Indian
tribes in the interior live largely inde-
pendent of each other, and at distances
of about two hundred miles, and gen-
erally speak different languages.
The afternoon found us steaming in
a southerly direction for Sitka. Not-
withstanding the fact that our eyes and
senses had from the beginning of our
trip been charmed with the scenery,
the route from Chilcat to and around
Baranoff Island to Sitka fairly surpassed
anything yet experienced in point of
variety and beauty.
Although during our journeyings we
had encountered, as all travellers to
Alaska must expect, abundance of rain
38
Alaska and its Islands
(at Fort Tongass the rainfall was re-
ported as 118.30 inches for the year),
we were now favored with perfect
weather. The deep clear waters were
as calm as an inland lake. Around us,
here and there, floated icebergs as blue
as the purest indigo, while gigantic
glaciers like frozen fortresses look down
upon us, — amid such varied, rapturous
scenes the eye almost aches, and the
spirit inclines to weary.
For reasons 'best known to our pilot,
we anchored for the night. It was a
superb night. The moon, three-quarters
full, tinged everything with a brilliant
hue. About us was a fleet of icebergs.
The snow upon the mountain peaks
glistened like polished silver as the
moon rose in the heavens. Great
schools of whales, snorting monsters,
gambolled about us. The silvery water
lay rising and falling, a picture never
for a moment the same, yet every
moment more beautiful.
39
Alaska and its Islands
The following day brought us to
Sitka, the capital and chief city of
Alaska, on the west coast of Baranoff
Island. Under the name of New
Archangel, it was formerly the capital
of Russian America.
As our vessel approached its moor-
ings, native men, women, and tiny
children came paddling out to meet us
in their canoes, some to pick up any
cast-off articles from tin cans to cigar
stumps ; some to sell us fur caps,
baskets, and various useless articles, and
others, by smiling glances or mournful
appeals, to win from us our loose
change or anything we had to give.
A view of Mt. Edgecomb, with its
pointed snow-capped summit, is ob-
tained from Sitka. Looking seaward,
" Sitka's Thousand Isles " arrest the eye.
The city itself is old and dilapidated ;
the most conspicuous structure is the
Greek church, built in the form of a
Greek cross, with a green dome in the
40
Alaska and its Islands
centre. It contains a curious font, and
a fine painting of the Virgin and Child,
a copy of the celebrated one in Moscow.
The drapery of the figure is silver, the
halo around the head being of gold,
leaving nothing of the original painting
to be seen but the faces and back-
ground. The church is reached by
three broad steps leading to four doors.
No woman can pass the threshold of
these doors, but the sterner sex can
enter and view the gorgeous vestments,
and bishop's crown loaded with pearls
and amethysts.
On the edge of the city the Sitka
Indians have their huts, some of them
being quite comfortable and warm. As
usual, the fires are built in the centre of
the room, the smoke finding its way out
by a hole in the roof. They usually
consist of one apartment, the various
members of the family distributing
themselves on an elevated platform
around the edge of the room.
41
Alaska and its Islands
The natives have the large head and
broad face, a distinctive feature of all
the Indians we observed in Alaska. As
is well known, large heads are found
in cold regions, and smaller-sized in
warmer ones. It is argued that men
with large heads endure cold better
than those with small ones. More vi-
tality being required to sustain life in
cold climates, nature gives largest heads
in colder regions.
The Lapps have the largest heads
in Europe in proportion to their size.
Then come the Norwegians, Swedes,
Danes, Germans, French, Italians, the
Arabs having the smallest heads of all
men in Europe.
The climate of this part of Alaska is
by no means severe. The Japan cur-
rent, the " Kuro-Siwo," a black stream
of warm water flowing northward from
the coast of Japan, tempers the at-
mosphere, bringing fogs and mists that
envelop the mountains and valleys.
42
Alaska and its Islands
Space will permit but the briefest
mention of many other interesting
features of this great country. As to
vegetables, fine potatoes are raised in
certain sections, onions, and a great
variety of berries, as well as crab
apples, many of them in a wild state.
Among the interesting sights are the
numerous seals which are constantly
seen gliding swiftly through the water,
their black heads and large shining eyes
just peeping above the surface.
On account of the mass of accumu-
lated timber of ages, fallen trees, stumps,
limbs, and entangled underbrush, to-
gether with the marshy softness of the
ground, step after step your foot sinks
into great sods of reeking moss, and
pedestrianism is by no means rendered
easy.
After careful preparation we sallied
forth on a tramp back in the country.
The vast forests of gigantic fir, cypress,
and hemlock trees, by which we were
43
Alaska and its Islands
soon surrounded, fairly bewildered us ;
many of them measuring over thirty feet
in circumference. It is fair to assume
that, while there are larger trees in the
world than are found in this distant
country, there does not exist on the
globe trees of equal magnitude in such
vast numbers.
The trunk of one huge king of the
forest lay prostrate across our path like
a great wall some ten or more feet high.
Other large trees had taken root from
the top of the prostrate trunk, drawing
nourishment from the fallen monarch,
and tossed their proud heads a hundred
feet in the air.
From the large trees the " sons of
nature " make their canoes, some of
them seventy feet long, very wide and
deep, and with a capacity for a hundred
or more warriors.
Around, and all about us, as we pull
our now heavy limbs after us, our long
walking poles sinking deep in the mire,
44
Alaska and its Islands
crawling animals with glassy eyes and
slimy coats come out of their holes and
gaze at us as we unconsciously intrude
upon their domains ; possibly humanity
had never before trespassed upon them.
Returning, we pass near the spot
where it is said that " all the good
Indians live " — the Indian bury-ground.
The hunter and trapper can find here
abundant game. Bear, deer, wolf, fox,
beaver, ermine, marten, and other small
game are prolific. The feathered tribe
are also well represented. Flocks of
sea-gulls float over the water, or crowd
the projecting rocks ; ducks, geese, and
snipe fly hither and thither ; the king-
fisher, with its peculiar lonely whistle,
and the eagle perch themselves on
dizzy cliffs, and look down contentedly
on the animated scene.
The shadows were commencing to
lengthen as we returned to Sitka.
After our fatiguing but interesting
tramp, our vessel was preparing for her
45
Alaska and its Islands
start homeward during the early morn-
ing hours.
We mount the deck of our " floating
castle " and clamber into the rigging
and watch the retiring sun with an
indescribable sense of pleasure. Before
us lay the island-studded sea enshrouded
in a soft golden haze ; the heavens were
divinely painted, the distant waters re-
flecting its gorgeous colors, as the red
disc sank from view ; gleaming bars of
light shot over the scene, the waters
blazing back a crimson greeting.
The night wore on ; beneath the
shadow of those mighty hills lay the
black deep waters, until the heavens
sow it with stars and transform it into
a fairy scene. The full moon rose
calmly in the dark blue vault of the
night sky. It is the same old moon
greeting us here in this region far away,
that from childhood we have gazed
upon and wondered at, in places far
remote.
46
Alaska and its Islands
The ship's bell tolls, — how the hours
have sped ! It is midnight, — the match-
less moonlight for which this latitude is
noted, with its softest beams bathes the
slumbering city. It is nature's holiest
hour. The music of the rippling water
falls gently on our ears. Never did
sound so sweetly harmonize with scene
as on this night when in my rapture I
said to the passing hour, " Stay, for
thou art fair."
47
Campino in tbe U)osemite.
Autumn Days and Nights in Famous
Scenes — A Welcome Camp-Fire — Among
the Big Trees.
THE smile of the rising sun was just
waking the earth, the glow of the
morning was speeding down the moun-
tain side, announcing to the valley
below the advent of another day, as we
emerged from our tent at the edge of
the valley, where we had camped late
on the previous night. In thirsty
draughts we drink the freshness of the
hour, and in the glow of enthusiasm
eagerly seek our first view of the great
valley.
Before us is a scene such as a flying
bird has, bewildering and dizzy to our
48
Camping in the Yosemite
untutored eyes. The whole panorama
of mountain, valley, and sky was mag-
nificent ; the night vapors were rolling
away ; far down in the valley, the dark
green pines fringed the base of the
stupendous perpendicular rocky walls.
Midway up, the thick white mist veiled
from view the rugged rocks, above
which arose, in strong relief against
the clear autumnal sky, the " cathedral
spires/' seemingly to rise from some
floating chateau in the air.
Saddling our ponies, we prepared to
explore the yawning gulf below us ; the
clear invigorating air stimulates our
ponies to hilarious activity, rendering
useless the clanking steel at our heels.
Following the zigzag road down the
mountain side, views of rare beauty
and impressive grandeur present them-
selves at almost every turn.
Like a glittering wire of steel, the
Merced River, resembling a tiny brook,
gleams so far down in the valley that
49
Camping in the Yosemite
the murmur of its waters is not heard.
The " Bridal Veil" Falls, so appropri-
ately named, throw a gauzy sheet of
sparkling water from the dizzy rocks
nine hundred and forty feet above the
valley.
Gazing up from the bed of the valley,
one is dwarfed by nature and abashed
by her grandeur. Great walls of rock
imprison us on every side. " El Capi-
tan," called by the Indians To-tock-a-
nu-la, "great chief of the valley," an
almost perpendicular mass of solid rock
rising three thousand three hundred
feet above the valley, is on one side.
" South Dome," the Indian name being
Tis-sa-ack, " goddess of the valley,"
touches the hurrying clouds five thou-
sand feet above us. " Round Tower,"
prettily entitled by the " sons of the
forest " Hun-to, meaning the " watching
eye," two thousand four hundred feet
high, lies as an infant among its com-
panions. On every side we are en-
50
Camping in the Yosemite
compassed by noble mountains of
magnificent proportions, the highest
being " Cloud's Rest," towering six
thousand one hundred and fifty feet
above the valley, crowned with dainty
pink clouds breaking and floating about
its brow.
Mirror Lake, calm and restful, re-
flecting minutely the bold rocky walls
above it, as well as the tiny twig that
has sprung into life far up on a ledge
on the mountain, presents a picture of
surpassing beauty ; the essential still-
ness of the scene seemed to attune our
souls to musing, as in silence we con-
templated the placid water. All was
still save a passing flock of wild doves,
their silky breasts reflected in dazzling
rays on the bosom of the lake, the
mighty walls of rock throwing back
the echo of their plaintive cooings.
Vernal, Nevada, and Yosemite Falls
pitch their foaming waters over the
rocky cliffs, the latter two thousand six
51
Camping in the Yosemite
hundred feet above us. Clambering up
the trail to Glacier Point, we firmly
grip our long poles as we gaze down a
precipitous cliff, three thousand two
hundred feet, into the valley below.
The cunning hand of art has not
marked the course of these cooling
streams that fall so gracefully to make
green the valley below, or piled up these
mighty rocks, but all about us we are
made to realize the marvellous work
of "The Great Architect "!
Midst the varied scenes the hours
quickly pass, the declining sun bidding
us hie to our camp. The higher moun-
tain peaks, like monarchs mighty in
their superiority looking down on their
fellows, now send the shadows of their
greatness upon them. Our feelings as
we wander over the mountains at this
twilight hour are quite untranslatable.
Long before reaching camp the sun
had sunk behind the great hills and the
dull, gray sky warns us to hasten on
52
Camping in the Yosemite
our way — as the moon on which we
had counted to light our returning trail
would be obscured. A gentle wind
arose, gradually increasing into a gale,
until at every opening in the mountains
it rushed upon us with increasing force.
Darkness was slowly gathering over
the world and folding it out of sight ;
cold winds swept down through the
gloomy gorges, shaking and bending
low the trees, showers of dead leaves
raining about us ; high up in the peaks,
mingled with the hoarse winds howling
tempestuously, could be heard the
crackle of dead limbs, and now and
then the crash of some mighty tree,
uprooted and hurled prostrate among
its fellows.
Reaching camp, located in a cove
sheltered from the wind, a steaming
supper around a brilliant camp-fire
soon makes us oblivious to the roaring
winds about us ; a pleasurable sense of
lassitude seems to render our Havanas
53
Camping in the Yosemite
more fragrant as, seated in this temple
of nature, we watch the fantastic
wreaths of red fire dance in the air
against the pitchy darkness of the
heavens, rising and falling in such
graceful forms that the eye is riveted
in admiration.
The morning dawned in all its
autumnal splendor — one of those fair
mornings when the air is laden with
a subtle, dainty gladness, and every
pulse within us seems to throb with
new life ; the rude winds had robbed
many of the trees of much of their
foliage, leaving the bare limbs like a
network on the skies, and the ground
illuminated with golden leaves.
We rode forth elated with the scene ;
the mode of movement was exhilarating,
and all was brightness and splendor;
the little squirrels wait for us in the
trees and perk their heads from their
safe retreat as we pass under, the
music of the mountain stream blend-
54
Camping in the Yosemite
ing harmoniously with the rustling dead
leaves.
The pen can but inadequately convey
an idea in any way realistic of the mam-
moth trees — Sequoia gigantea — located
some distance from the valley. One
must stand in their presence and gaze
upon them, so straight and tall, as in
their silent majesty they sway their
heads three hundred feet above you,
and wander around their huge trunks,
measuring from eighty to one hundred
feet in circumference, and ride through
a miniature tunnel, cut through one of
the larger trees, capable of permitting
the passage of a large mountain coach ;
while another giant of the forest,
measuring some thirty to forty feet in
diameter, can shelter in its hollow
burned-out trunk over a dozen eques-
trians, still having walls sufficiently
thick to sustain the huge tree above !
We pitched our camp in the after-
noon near a mountain stream, where
55
Camping in the Yosemite
its waters, having overflowed its boun-
daries, had formed a beautiful sheet.
The sun, like a weary traveller, was sink-
ing in the western sky, stretching its
crimson rays across the scene, the waters
flashing back the brilliant colors ; the
mountains are painted in golden tints,
and the trees, seeming all ablaze, sway
to and fro like mammoth torches.
Softly the twilight fades into night.
One by one the silvery points of light
break out of the darkened heavens, and
the great red moon, like a ruby in the
sky, slowly rises seemingly from its nest
in the distant mountains, sending her
salutations across the tremulous wave-
lets of the water in a golden shaft of
light. The odor of decaying leaves per-
fumes the air, as we close our eyes on
this beautiful Indian summer night,
wondering if such' a day will ever dawn
again.
Ill
I
u.
O
cc.
if
u g
f I?
H fIDMfflinter Excursion in
tbe IRocfc^ fIDountains.
A Mining-Camp Hotel — Miners at Work
and Play — Thirteen Thousand Feet in the
Air — Scenes and Incidents of the Trip —
An Encounter with a Bear.
A HEARTY breakfast over, we
stepped out into the crisp, in-
vigorating air, so familiar to those who
have wintered in a high altitude. Our
shaggy, rough-coated ponies were await-
ing us, each surmounted with a huge
Mexican saddle — as comfortable as an
old-fashioned arm-chair.
In full flush of morning enthusiasm,
we started — our party of three and a
guide. We had our chaplain, full six
feet two, and thin — well, to use his own
words, he had not enough flesh on his
bones to catch a shrimp. He was al-
57
A Mid-Winter Excursion
ways hungry, but he was capital com-
pany and venerably interesting.
Our professor was a rotund, jolly
fellow, whose face had expanded under
the influence of good living, until his
second chin had extended beyond the
limits originally assigned for it ; he was
plumply serene and ponderously gra-
cious, fond of society, a lawyer by pro-
fession, one of that tribe who fatten on
the disputes of mankind, with gold-
rimmed spectacles and a very red nose —
(a red nose has always been presumptive
evidence of overwork at the bar !), —
entertaining and full of anecdote.
As for the writer, he was " an every-
day young man/* devoted to travel,
fond of studying the world and its
people, possessing a passionate love for
fine scenery and the beautiful things in
nature.
Our guide sitting erect on his pony
was an ideal figure of a Rocky Moun-
tain pioneer — tall, erect, and muscular,
58
In. the Rocky Mountains
tanned by the storms and exposure of
many years — the picture of health ; a
frame on whose close-woven fibres dis-
ease could find no space to enter; his
broad-brimmed hat, buckskin suit, and
spurs with rowels like miniature wind-
mills, all combining to render the scene
complete.
Nothing is so contagious as enthusi-
asm and we all soon caught the com-
plaint.
Our start was made from an altitude
of over ten thousand feet above sea-
level, yet the mountain peaks towered
well above us, glittering brightly in the
early morning sun. The way at first led
along the bleak mountain side, with
deep snow-drifts all about us ; for a
long distance we rode in almost silence,
enjoying the luxury of breathing such
air, the mere smell of which seemed to
kill twenty years. On one side, as far
as our theatre of vision reached, was one
unbroken plain of snow ; on the other,
59
A Mid-Winter Excursion
the eye was untrammelled, with nothing
to mark the view save the strangely
chiselled peaks that stood like sentinels
above us — the ensemble forming a
wilderness of solitude.
Our course soon changed, and, enter-
ing a gorge, we plunged deeper into
the heart of the mountains. Striking a
narrow trail, we passed huge boulders
scattered here and there, dropped by
the glaciers in their migrations in ages
long ago. Crystal streams, foaming
madly, work their way down the moun-
tain side, some starting from a dizzy
height and, dashing against the ragged
rocks, reach the pool below in finest
spray ; others come thundering down
in all their might, rush on in their
course, and are lost in the river below.
With the aid of our field-glass we could
discern, thousands of feet below us, the
silent flowing stream, born among the
snows of the high mountains.
For many miles we continued our
60
In the Rocky Mountains
way amid these ravishing scenes and
enchanting sounds, each one wrapped
in a glow of imagination. The snow,
which had for some time been falling,
now increased in violence, until we
found ourselves in the midst of a raging
storm, accompanied by a furious wind,
which howled about us wildly, at times
rendering our progress difficult. We
soon, however, discerned in the dis-
tance a collection of tents — the mining
camp, which was our intended haven
for the night.
Shortly before reaching the camp,
our attention was attracted to a small
procession coming toward us. Ap-
proaching nearer, we perceived a poorly
clad miner bearing on his shoulder a
tiny coffin of plainest construction, be-
hind him his weeping wife and a few
followers. The little one, as we after-
ward learned, had fallen down the shaft.
We drew up our ponies to one side, and
raised our hats as the little procession
61
A Mid- Winter Excursion
silently passed on its way — the wind
sighing a requiem and the snow furnish-
ing a pall.
Reaching the camp after our long
day's ride, we were not reluctant to
dismount and stretch our limbs. We
halted in front of one of the larger
tents, on which was a rough sign,
" Bordin and Login." A small boy
with an ancient, shiny suit of clothes
and danger-signal hair, stood within,
staring at us ; in the corner of the
" parlor/' squatted on the floor close
to the stove, was a little girl, who
did not notice our entrance. After
our repeatedly inquiring of her if we
could see the proprietor, she yelled,
" Mamma ! " when we were startled by
seeing a woman's head suddenly appear
in a forest of curl papers ! Meekly in-
quiring if she could accommodate us,
and receiving an affirmative answer, we
seated ourselves.
The landlady shortly made her ap-
62
In the Rocky Mountains
pearance, fixed up in the latest style,
eyed us all separately, and evidently
satisfying herself that we were all right,
gave a grunt. She was a woman of
fickle temper, and ample avoirdupois —
full of business and not bad-looking —
so thought our professor ! Did we
want supper? If so, what? Our chap-
lain suggested mountain trout or any
kind of fish ; he was awful hungry, and
could eat anything, from a shark to a
bathing suit. He liked fish because he
believed it to be the restorer of youth,
the fountain of perennial previousness.
If she had no fish, well, then, anything
would do.
We took our seats and awaited de-
velopments. First came soup in large
tin pans — true, it was hot, but our
landlady had attempted too much in
trying to make a five-cent bone furnish
soup for a dozen hungry boarders !
Next we had some fine venison and
potatoes, which we were voraciously
63
A Mid-Winter Excursion
devouring in silence, when, looking up,
there stood our hostess with arms
a-kimbo, who, gazing at us with ap-
parent astonishment, said : " Well, you
ain't a crowd I 'd like to grub by con-
tract."
Supper over, we sat around the big
stove and listened with interest to the
stories of the miners, of the ups and
downs of their lives, their hopes and
anticipations, all of them being pro-
spectively rich ; this it is that stimu-
lates them to cling to the hard life they
have selected.
A stroll through the camp was sug-
gested, the whole party joining. There
* were two rows of tents, about twenty-
five feet between them, constituting
the so-called street. Most of the tents
were well lighted. Peeping in at the
windows or doors, we found the occu-
pants chiefly engaged in playing cards.
A number of the tents were exclusively
drinking saloons.
64
In the Rocky Mountains
About midway down was a large
tent with an American flag waving over
it — a red sign reading " The Home "
being swung to the breeze. This ap-
peared to be the main rendezvous of
the miner. The painful strains of an
accordion were audible, and here gam-
bling in its various forms was in full
blast.
Here was seen the anxious and worn
faces of those who were risking their
hard-earned wages. " Gaming, hot
fever of hope and fear," — a pitiable
sight indeed !
Many were sitting about asleep,
drowsy from drink ; others riotous and
boisterous in behavior. No law was
here to restrain or check the human
passions. Here was an opportunity to
study human nature — one side of
human nature. It has been said that
the face is the soul translated into
flesh ; if such is the case, what must be
the condition of these souls?
65
A Mid-Winter Excursion
Returning to our tent, thinking over
the strange scenes, we found our cots
arranged about the stove, ready for us,
and each one rolling himself in one of
those marvellously made Navajo blank-
ets, made by the Indian tribe of that
name, — blankets which seem to defy the
tooth of time, — we were soon in
dreams.
The gray dawn had only just peeped
through the windows, when the camp
was astir. A refreshing sleep had re-
newed our appetites. Our chaplain
said that a few Sundays previous, after
walking two miles to Sunday-school one
afternoon, he was so hungry he came
very near eating the infant-class, and
this morning he was equally hungry,
and the manner in which he attacked
an elk steak gave evidence of his ve-
racity.
During the morning we descended
into a mine several hundred feet.
The night's revelry was over, the men
66
In the Rocky Mountains
had slept off the effects of their dissipa-
tion, and the sound of the pick and
shovel was heard on every side ; all in
utter darkness, save the tiny candles in
their queer-shaped iron candlesticks,
stuck here and there. The superin-
tendent informed us that with a few
exceptions the miners were constantly
changing from one mine to another, as
the fancy struck them. We stood gaz-
ing on the active scene and could not
help thinking what a busy world this
is ; the workers are always changing,
but the work goes on and will go on
forever.
It is said that the Greenlanders live
in the hope of a warm heaven and in
fear of a cold hell ! We should think
that miners would live in the hope of
fresh air in heaven, for on our arrival
at the top of the shaft the ecstasy we
experienced at again inhaling the
fresh air was beyond description, and
we gave ourselves up to the full enjoy-
67
A Mid-Winter Excursion
ment of filling our lungs with all they
could hold.
A steaming cup of coffee, a word of
thanks and remuneration to our land-
lady, and we were ready for our return
trip. The professor lingered for just a
quiet word with our fickle hostess, — a
whisper — after which he took off his
spectacles on purpose to wink at her
and then put them on again.
We took another course returning,
passing over some high ridges at an
altitude of over thirteen thousand feet.
Further than a slight quickening of the
pulse, no unpleasant sensations were
experienced in consequence of the rare-
fied air. Those who admire the grand
in nature can see it in perfection here.
We follow our guide as he slowly and
cautiously picks his way on the lofty
and precipitous cliff, along whose
side a narrow shelf has been cut, from
which the descent is perpendicular for
one thousand feet or more.
68
In the Rocky Mountains
We crawl through gorges with walls
of supreme height on either side, and
emerging are presented with a diversity
of fine views. The pen is powerless to
describe adequately the splendor of the
scenery that breaks upon our view at
every turn. We undertook to reach the
summit of one of the high peaks; a
narrow trail led by steep grades, follow-
ing a part of the way the banks of a
mountain stream and affording ex-
tended views through the clefts in the
mountain.
Dismounting within about a hundred
feet of the top, we found it a hazard-
ous pastime for the bridge of the nose
to clamber up, but we succeeded, until
we stood seemingly to touch the
hurrying clouds. On one side stretched
a plain like the illimitable sea, without
a bound, rolling silent and white ; in
the other direction, irregular peaks in
wild confusion bewildered the eye.
Nothing in this world could surpass the
69
A Mid-Winter Excursion
grandeur of this scene. We all stood
in silence, each one surrendering him-
self to his thoughts, and a glow of
enthusiasm was lighted within us.
It has been questioned if a fulfilled
desire is ever as perfect as we anticipate
it ! To us it seemed as if these scenes
must be the summit of earthly magnifi-
cence, and we felt as though —
' ' 'T were worth ten years of peaceful life,
One glance at that array."
Remounting, we continued our
course, gradually descending, and soon
the first exciting incident occurred.
Our guide, a man of few words, rode
about twenty feet in advance of us. He
suddenly reined up, looking intently on
the ground. On reaching him we learned
the cause — the snow was falling, and
the fresh footprints of a bear were
clearly visible. In an instant every one
had his rifle in hand ready, — for what ?
Before we had time to exchange a word
70
In the Rocky Mountains
the black form of a huge beast was visible
on the white snow on a rock below us
not over 100 feet distant.
Our dog " Wanda," a big fellow, a
cross between a mastiff and a bull-dog,
darted down the rocks after the beast,
seizing him by the hind foot. The bear
quickly wheeled about and with a slap
of his paw drove him off. The dog, not
a novice at hunting this kind of game,
quickly let go his hold, only retreating
however, far enough to keep out of
reach of the bear, but ready to spring
at him again.
Quickly dismounting, we threw the
reins over the heads of our ponies,
letting them drag on the ground, a cus-
tom of the cowboys when leaving their
ponies, trained as they are to remain
thus where left, unless something of an
unusual nature disturbs them, when
they, of course, may wander off.
The bear, with a growling dog behind
him, and we in front of him, snarled
71
A Mid-Winter Excursion
and snapped viciously at the air, evi-
dently maddened aft the intrusion,
tossed his head from side to side, un-
certain which way to go, apparently,
however, not anxious to leave, as we
looked at him over the barrels of our
Winchesters, — when flash ! a ball from
one of our rifles crashed into his breast.
Seemingly as with one bound he was
on us ; our ponies plunged wildly, the
hanging reins entangling their feet ; two
of them fell over in a heap, while each
of us seized our knives, ready for close
work if necessary.
Wanda, appearing to realize our
danger, again sent his teeth deep into
the bear's hind leg, and as he turned to
shake him off another ball was sent into
his fat side, but it seemed to have no
effect except as a stimulant for renewed
activity.
We all kept close together lest in the
fight, now getting rather hot, we might
shoot each other ; the bear, at times,
72
In the Rocky Mountains
being at very close quarters, should
we surround him we could not shoot
except at great risk to ourselves.
The snow was now sprinkled with
blood flowing from the wounded beast,
when with a desperate rush and a
bound like that of a wild cat he leaped
forward, Wanda hanging to his leg, and
before we could fire again his great ugly
paw, with distended claws, struck the
professor, reeling him over as though
he were an infant.
A moment's delay on our part and he
would have crushed out his life. Too
close to fire, we plunged our knives into
the hind quarters of the bear to draw
him off, when the professor, with a torn
jacket, but uninjured, sprang to his feet,
full of pluck and courage, to fight for
his life.
The bear had turned on us, and with
our faithful dog still getting in his work,
which seemed to bewilder the beast,
he paused as if not knowing what next
73
A Mid-Winter Excursion
to do. Our knives had sunk deep into
him, and loss of blood was evidently
making him dizzy ; that moment's
pause gave us our chance.
The professor drew his revolver,
and before the bear again had a
chance to turn about, he put a ball be-
tween the two eyes of the wounded
animal, and the huge monster dropped
on his knees ; almost simultaneously,
each of us sent a ball crashing into his
head from our revolvers, and he sank
to the earth to rise no more.
" When he hits 't is history,
When he misses 't is mystery."
We soon " pulled ourselves together/*
remounted our ponies, after loading up
to be ready for any other emergency,
leaving our bear to enjoy his long
sleep.
At noon we arrived at a small cabin
occupied by some prospectors, rough,
uncouth fellows. Halting for rest and
74
In the Rocky Mountains
lunch we entered. One man was mak-
ing coffee, in which he was boiling some
eggs> " to save time/' as he said. The
most talkative of the party wrestled
hard with English. He said : " I ain't
much on English, but I can talk Spanish
powerful." He and the rest of the
party did not seem unfamiliar with the
perils of the bottle, for drink was visible
on every face. He said " he could drink
whiskey in ten different languages."
One of the men had an ugly wound
on his nose, which was much swollen.
He was busily occupied in one corner
bathing it. In reply to our inquiry, he
said " he had bumped against the busi-
ness end of a six-shooter the previous
week; hoped soon to be all right
again." With his injured nose we
thought it must have shut out the
landscape a great deal.
Chinamen are generally not numer-
ous around or near mining camps, being
in ill favor with the miners. Here was
75
A Mid-Winter Excursion
the only one we saw, a seemingly bright
fellow, who said he was naturalized,
and with a smile said : " Me pliceman
on my mother's side and washwoman
on my father's side." He was chattering
to himself in his " tea-box" language,
when one of the miners, with an oath,
informed him " that if he did n't make
less noise, he 'd start a lead mine in
him." It had its effect.
Off again, we enjoyed the ever-
changing scenery. The sun was about
sinking in the west as we neared our
journey's end. We drew up on a pro-
jecting cliff and paused. The storm had
cleared and the skies were bright. As
the light of declining day seemed to
mingle earth and heaven, blending the
harsh mountain tops with the sky, it
seemed as though here was everything
to awaken the soul and inspire the
mind : the music of the dashing waters,
the mountains, the skies, the out-
stretched world below.
76
In the Rocky Mountains
Our jolly host came out to greet us,
and a blazing fire awaited us. Without
ceremony we were soon seated at a
well-laden table generously supplied
with the choicest of game. Our gracious
host soon appeard with two bottles of
" extra dry " — just off the snow — would
we accept them with his compliments?
Our chaplain arose and with a beaming
smile, addressed him, saying, that as we
were all extra dry too, he would accept
them on behalf of the company ! Our
professor, who, with the aid of his spec-
tacles, had espied the pretty daughter
of the host, remarked that he had some
good qualities in his cellar and some
charming ones in his daughter !
A good dinner and a quiet evening
over some choice cigars which our
chaplain discovered in one of his deep
pockets, during which we talked over
our pleasant winter's picnic in the
Rockies, and watched the dying embers
in the big wood fire until their bright-
77
In the Rocky Mountains
ness had all but faded, brought to a
conclusion one of the most enjoyable
trips of our lives.
We had studied both nature and
human nature ; we had seen varied
characters strongly marked and broadly
colored ; we had viewed the noblest and
wildest of scenery in the dreary solitude
of mid-winter, and in the midst of raging
storm. Truly, indeed, pleasure delights
in contrasts ; it is from excitement we
learn to enjoy solitude, and from soli-
tude excitement.
It was one of those enjoyable epi-
sodes in life which linger in the memory
like a charming landscape.
Southern California anfc ite
attractions.
Southern California^ its Many Attractions —
A Night in Chinatown — A Ride through
the Santa Clara Valley — Fine Ranches —
A Visit to the Home of " Ramona " —
Beautiful Sunsets — A Mining Camp in
Old Mexico.
TRAVELLING southward from San
Francisco we pay flying visits to
San Jose and Santa Cruz, the former a
beautiful city surrounded by orange
groves and attractive gardens ; the lat-
ter, a city of about ten thousand peo-
ple, including the suburbs, beautifully
situated on the bay of Monterey.
It has a fine climate throughout the
year and one of the best beaches for
surf bathing in this country ; many
pretty "flower-embosomed*' homes,
with rose-crowned gardens, are scattered
79
Southern California
through the city, making it a favorite
resort.
Across the bay is the well-adver-
tised and justly celebrated resort,
Hotel del Monte, at Monterey, sur-
passing, in beauty anything of its kind
on the Pacific coast, situated in a grove
of live oaks and pines of great size,
while on all sides the grounds are alive
with blooming roses, pansies, callas,
and heliotropes, as well as countless
other varieties of flowers, interspersed
with rare and beautiful tropical plants
growing in rampant luxuriousness.
Continuing our journey some four
hundred miles in a southerly direction,
we reach Los Angeles, " Puebla de la
Reina de los Angeles " (Town of the
Queen of the Angels). It has a climate
almost perfect, there being but a differ-
ence of about fifteen degrees in the
mean temperature during the year.
The society is most attractive, many
of our brilliant men and women having
80
Southern California
gathered here seeking an equable
climate, and one can here surround
themselves with genial companions
drawn from the ranks of the clergy, the
legal profession, artists, men of leisure,
etc., while a warm greeting generally
awaits the stranger.
The immediate surrounding neigh-
borhood is simply enchanting ; as we
extend our walk to the upper end of
the city, we find some of the most
charming residences, being, in many
cases, the homes of wealthy merchants.
Here and there, dotted along the fine
wide road, are pretty villas embowered
inperfume-laden and ever green orchards
of semi-tropical fruits and plants. A
hammock gracefully swings in the soft
breeze, whilst its occupant lays aside her
book to reach for an orange which
hangs from the tree sustaining her airy
couch. Farther on we find some hand-
some and costly villas, encompassed on
all sides by fruitful vineyards, and we
81
Southern California
pause for a moment as our eyes rest on
luscious bunches of grapes, and trees
heavily laden with lemons, oranges, or
olives, while under the large long leaves
near by, we see peeping out a huge
bunch of bananas.
Strolling off to the side streets, we
still find ourselves amidst pretty cot-
tages of modern architecture, mostly
surrounded by luxuriant fruit trees,
many of the orange trees being strongly
propped up, to help sustain the great
weight of their abundant fruit.
The Sierra Madre mountains are seen
in looking eastward from Los Angeles,
and serve as a beautiful background as
one approaches the city. The wild
scenery in these mountains is cele-
brated. Saddling our ponies, we pene-
trated into some of the wildernesses ;
the scenery being of the grandest. We
gave our ponies their heads as they
picked their way along the narrow
cliffs, stepping carefully here and there,
82
Southern California
sometimes almost jumping from rock
to rock. As we looked down into the
yawning chasm, we sat in silence, feel-
ing our own insignificance amidst these
grand works of nature.
As we were about to return, assem-
bled on a high cliff, the sun was just
setting, and as our eyes wandered off
into distance, the fleecy clouds were
lighted up with the grandest of crimson
and golden colors. No wonder the
Persians worship the sun ; so we
thought, as its last rays shed a delicate
light on the golden valley of orchards
and vineyards at our feet.
The Chinese, in Los Angeles, are
quite numerous and almost monopolize
a certain portion of the city ; they are
quiet and orderly as a class, attentively
minding their own business, but, never-
theless, always a target for the ever
present hoodlum.
Through the kindness of one of the
city officials — a courteous lawyer and
83
Southern California
gentleman — we were escorted on a
most interesting tour through " China-
town," as it is called. Starting out at
eight o'clock one pleasant evening, we
called first at some of their stores;
business being about over for the day,
we found them in clusters, old and
young, eagerly gathered about the
counter, at their greatest of amuse-
ments—gambling. Not a word was
uttered by any, so absorbed were they
in their game, and, after casting a hasty
and wondering glance at us, they
ignored us entirely.
Passing on, and visiting many stores,
we came to a restaurant, about 10 P.M.
First entering a small office we passed in
at a door to find ourselves in the dining-
room ; here seated at tables are several
Celestials, quietly but hard at work on a
dish of thick kind of soup, which they
caused to disappear rapidly by throw-
ing into their mouths with chopsticks.
A fat cook busy at the stove is
84
Southern California
seen in the rear humming a dismal
air. The man who does the waiting,
being considered quite a musician, is
called upon for music and favors us
with a series of howls and groans which
he calls a song ; and then on his one-
stringed instrument he makes us feel
generally uncomfortable. As the music
progresses and the musician seems to
warm up to his work he howls like a
dog and rolls his eyes wildly.
A movement is heard above, and, on
looking around for the cause, we find
dozens of pairs of sharp eyes looking
down at us from above; thus, while
supposing ourselves in the company of
two or three Chinamen, we realize that
a score or more of them are about us,
and we find that the apartment is, as it
were, cut in two, thus giving two floors
to an ordinary-sized room, a ladder
being used to ascend to the sleeping
apartment above. Thus one fair-sized
room can be used for a restaurant
85
Southern California
below, and lodge twenty persons or
more on the shelves above ; but they
seem happy and contented.
As they are packed together in such
a state, we wonder how they can
emerge looking so cleanly each day;
but they are particular about their ap-
pearance generally, and carefully bathe
every morning.
The night is wearing on, and mid-
night brings us to a dark, dreary spot,
where, hand in hand, we are wonder-
ingly led through passage after pass-
age, first up, then down, until our
leader knocks at a door, being answered
by a Chinaman, who, after a glance,
recognizes one in authority, and quietly
ushers us in. We find ourselves in a
dimly lighted temple, a weird, strange
looking place with an altar. We are
conducted to an apartment in the rear,
behind the altar, and there we find a
singular scene.
Reclining on couches, smoking
86
Southern California
opium, are the priests, who at first
look amazed at the intrusion, but
soon relapse into their stolid, fixed
expression. One of the priests, by
request, kept telling us his feelings as
the smoking gradually affected him,
and if he told the truth, as he probably
did, he soon became too happy to talk,
and the expression on his face certainly
denoted intense and almost supreme
happiness.
We accepted an invitation to take
some tea, which was very hot and
without sugar. The custom of offering
hot tea to all visitors is a universal one
among the Chinese, the omission of
the courtesy being considered ex-
tremely ill-mannered.
Near the city are some of the finest
ranches in the State ; one notably
large ranch, producing oranges, lemons,
olives, figs, limes, almonds, walnuts,
pineapples, bananas, and a great va-
riety of tropical and semi-tropical fruits.
87
Southern California
A short ride out of the city brings
one to the San Gabriel Mission,
founded in 1771. The walls are dilapi-
dated, as are all these old Spanish
missions, but the ancient bells still
hang in their belfry, and a piece of the
worn-out rope hangs from the bell, the
monks who handled it having long
since been laid away in the dust.
The valley called the San Gabriel is
considered, by many who have visited it,
the most perfect spot on the face of the
globe. Shielded from the north wind
by mountains, everything unites to make
it all that the heart could wish for.
There are innumerable charming
rides and drives in and about Los
Angeles. Pasadena, a perfect garden
of a settlement, is near at hand, and
some lovely rides extending a few
miles into the mountains near-by bring
us to some most attractive ranches.
We greatly enjoyed a ride to Santa
Barbara, about 150 miles to the north-
Southern California
west, passing through the Santa Clara
Valley. The road is sandy, and at
times very dusty ; but the noble moun-
tains on either side make it most
enchanting. The last part of the ride
for some miles is on the beautiful hard,
white beach, and the breakers roll up at
times to the horses' feet. For quite a
distance the mountains rise abruptly
from within twenty feet of the shore,
hence the roadway at high tide is but a
few feet wide. We find good use for
our guns, as ducks, geese, and snipe are
plentiful, and we land in Santa Barbara
with a bag full.
Many invalids in search of a salu-
brious climate find their way to this
place and derive benefit from its genial
atmosphere. The heavy night fogs
keep the soil damp, making the city a
veritable flower garden.
On our return trip we stopped at
some of the large ranches, notably that
one rendered famous by " H. H.," the
89
Southern California
home of " Ramona" where we remained
and were delightfully entertained for
several days.
Our next point was Coronado Beach
about 125 miles south of Los Angeles,
one of the most attractive places on
the California coast. As yet it may
not quite compare with Monterey as to
the extent of its cultivated and beauti-
ful grounds, but nature has favored it
in point of situation, and time will
make it the most delightful resort in
this country.
The Hotel del Coronado in spacious
elegance surpasses any hotel in this
country. The blue waves of the ocean
roll up to its very doors, a magnificent
beach stretches away in the distance,
and bathing, fishing, sailing, and shoot-
ing offer inducements to the robust,
while invalids can rest on its sunny glass
enclosed corridors. It is one of those
rare spots on earth where nature seems
to have lavished all her charms.
9o
Southern California
The days pass swiftly to a sojourner
in Southern California. The easy, loaf-
ing life is delicious, and so varied and far
from monotonous that as the time comes
for us to leave we wonder if we shall
ever find anything so perfect again !
When we took our seats in the cars,
late one afternoon, we gave long, linger-
ing looks behind, regretting to leave
the most attractive place we had seen
in the West, and some of the most
charming people. As we moved off, the
picture was a gorgeous one. As the sun
sank from skies as mild and soft as
Italy can boast,. we gazed out of the
window of the car to take in the pano-
rama of loveliness till day had deep-
ened into night.
Our trip eastward took us through
Southern Arizona, interesting without
being attractive. From a small way
station we branched off to visit a new
mining camp in the northern part of
Old Mexico, a wild, untamed part of
91
Southern California
the country. The scenes at night in
this camping village were interesting.
The light of the fires was reflected
on the white tents, flickering on the
faces of the groups sitting about them
in careless attitudes, and on the mov-
ing forms of the tall, gaunt Mexicans
as they passed from tent to tent. In-
side some of the larger tents parties of
hilarious miners and pretty black-eyed
girls sat around. On entering one we
found the whiskey bottle playing an
important part, and another white
liquor, of Mexican manufacture, which
we were informed was deadly in its
effects. They were gambling, and
money seemed abundant.
While very picturesque in the dis-
tance and from without, we found the
young girls of the most degraded kind,
drinking and gambling the same as the
men, and were glad to leave tent life in
Mexico and resume our journey.
We stopped at Las Vegas, in New
92
Southern California
Mexico — 6400 feet elevation, — a lovely
spot with a fine hotel, famous for its
hot springs. Remaining a few days,
we rode up " Old Baldy," some 11,000
feet high, the view from the summit
being superbly fine. At Santa F£, the
most ancient of cities in this country,
we found much to interest us.
One must travel through the Great
West to conceive of its vastness, and
one must go to Southern California to
see the beauties of America. A wealthy
resident of Los Angeles informed us
that he had travelled over almost the
whole world ; had tried innumerable
climates, " but here" said he, " I find
the brightest and loveliest spot on
earth, wildness and beauty, surrounded
by mountains and hills; here I have
decided to make my home, and here I
shall remain until I die ; and, when
Death shall come, I wish to take my
long sleep in this sunny valley, until
I awake in the * City of the Angels' "
93
En IRoute to tbc City of flDeyico*
A Rapid View of El Paso and Northern
Mexico — The City of Chihuahua — Pic-
turesque Scenes — Its Ancient Cathedral.
TWO HUNDRED bright-colored
lanterns swung gayly in the
breeze, their cheery light flashing out
into the gloom, like so many flying
meteors. The regimental band was
blowing itself into wrinkles, keeping the
merry dancers hard at work.
A few hundred feet away lazily
flowed the Rio Grande, of small con-
sequence at this point, save that it
divides the sister republics, both of
which contributed their quota to the
farewell ball tendered by the officers of
the cavalry regiment stationed on the
border at El Paso, Texas. The Mex-
ican beauties from across the river,
94
En Route to the City of Mexico
with their rich olive complexions,
showed in pleasing contrast to the
unusual number of blonde American
ladies present, and with the glittering
uniforms of the military the scene was
a charmingly brilliant one.
The gayety of the evening was
tempered, however, by a feeling of
sadness, for early on the morrow the
regiment was to break camp, being
under marching orders to leave for Ariz-
ona, to pit their lives against the roving
Indians, to fight them in their fast-
nesses, while our party were to leave
for a pleasure trip through old Mexico.
The morning broke dark and threat-
ening, but found us brimming over
with enthusiasm for our journey,
snuggled in our cosy seats in the car,
facing due south, behind a panting
engine. " All aboard ! " — and we
smoothly glide forth on our way.
Our eyes wander off into the dis-
tance, and 'midst great clouds of dust
95
En Route to the City of Mexico
we discern the cavalry, thirteen hundred
strong, on their way over the barren,
trackless prairie to hunt their hidden
foe. A feeling of melancholy creeps over
us as we watch them disappearing in
the distance, until they appear as a
mere speck on the edge of the horizon.
The gentle rain commenced to fall,
as though nature itself wept in sym-
pathy.
El Paso del Norte (meaning the
northern pass), just over the river on
the Mexican side, is a sleepy old Mex-
ican town, the main points of interest
being a musty and very ancient cathe-
dral, doubtless grand in its day, a well-
patronized cock-pit, and skating-rink.
It is the gateway to Mexico, possesses
a salubrious climate, and some pretty
gardens, which are visible here and
there. The first glimpse of Mexican
life is here seen, but not of sufficient
interest to detain the traveller, who an-
ticipates penetrating farther into the
96
En Route to the City of Mexico
country. An indifferent examination
of baggage here occurs by the custom
officials, and we are off again.
A ride of 255 miles over a country
possessing nothing of special interest
brings us to the city of Chihuahua
(pronounced She-wah-wah), capital of
the state of the same name, a city of
17,000 inhabitants. The houses are
mostly built of adobe, generally in one
story, and the long, straight streets,
flanked on either side by these low,
whitish-colored houses, soon become
monotonous to the eye.
The Grand Plaza, in the centre of
which a handsome fountain is situated,
is the lounging place of the citizens of
all grades, and their characteristic
indolence is strongly impressed upon
the stranger as he sees them sunning
themselves by day and contemplating
or gossiping at night with the ever-pres-
ent cigarette, as they stroll hither and
thither. The crowds as they saunter
97
En Route to the City of Mexico
about in their native costumes present
a scene pleasingly picturesque, the som-
brero, the serape, and the reboso in
varied colors rendering it a pretty
sight. Here we see an aquadore with
a large jug of water on his back, sus-
pended by a leather band about his
forehead ; in front of him hangs his
smaller jug, sustained by a band pass-
ing around the back of his head.
Again, those of the wealthy class
with their elegantly silver-trimmed som-
breros, heavily braided short jackets,
tight-fitting trousers, studded down the
sides with buttons of silver. Mingling
with the crowd are also the poorer
classes, with their gaudy serapes loosely
thrown over their shoulders, and wear-
ing huaraches (leather sandals, fastened
with straps over the instep and across
the ball of the foot), a close inspection
often revealing the fact that the blanket
is the sole covering to the upper part of
the body.
98
En Route to the City of Mexico
The pretty senora, poorly clad, with-
out even a sandal, is lounging at the
fountain, her shabbiness concealed by
the usual black shawl gracefully thrown
over her head and shoulders, extend-
ing well down the body, showing
bronzed feet and ankles, well modelled
and graceful, though neither small nor
soft in appearance ; the ever feminine
characteristic is not wanting even here,
for, conscious of her beauty, she lifts
her water-jug from her shoulder, and
resting it on the edge of the fountain
glances about with her brilliant black
eyes ; her soft olive complexion, beauti-
fully chiselled features, and regular
white teeth render her a fascinating
picture.
The Church of Parroquia, called the
Cathedral, is an imposing edifice, facing
the Plaza, said to have cost $1,000,000
— erected by levying a tax of one real
(\2\ cents) on every mark ($8) of silver
obtained from the mines near by.
99
En Route to the City of Mexico
We visit it toward evening ; it is twi-
light as we enter. We seat ourselves
on one side to observe the service,
which, being a feast day, brings to-
gether a large number of worshippers
— the rich and the poor, the high and
the low, jostle each other for a place on
which to kneel, but all is quiet when
the service begins.
The choir, without organ, renders the
most enchanting music ; the charm of
the twilight hour, the stillness of the
multitude, as in their varied costumes
they devoutly kneel, the great dome
throwing back the echoes of the soft-
est melodies, above which, at times, we
can catch the twitter of birds as they
fly from arch to arch, into which is
mingled the soft sounds of the cooing
pigeons in the towers, producing for
the moment a sweet confusion — all
these combine to present a scene that
does not seem of earth and that will
never fade from memory.
100
H flDeyican
AT the urgent request of a promi-
nent citizen, we were prevailed
upon to remain over and witness a
" Peleas de gallos " (cock-fight), with the
assurance that it would not last longer
than five hours. We noticed bills
posted about the streets, with illustra-
tions suggestive of such an event, and
our curiosity being aroused, we con-
cluded to avail ourselves of the oppor-
tunity to see the great battle.
At ten o'clock in the morning,
seated in a very antiquated vehicle,
drawn by a pair of mules, we found
ourselves being slowly dragged through
the long, narrow, monotonous streets,
the rate of speed being far from exhil-
arating, as they scrambled along with
the aid of language prepared expressly
A Mexican Cock-Fight
for them — it is an undisputed fact that
a mule is never fresh or in good spirits
when there is any work to be done.
Approaching the suburbs we enter
a beautiful, well-shaded avenue, over
which the stately cottonwood trees
nod their shadowy crests, breaking the
rays of the morning sun ; a glistening
stream of purest water, creeping its
way through the winding road, glides
at our side.
A sudden branch off from this pleas-
ing grove brings us to an unattractive
collection of buildings, many of them
seemingly deserted dwellings.
In various directions we see approach-
inggalleros (cock-fighters), each carry-
ing a gamecock with a string and a
small bit of wood attached to his
leg. Alighting, we are ushered into a
small adobe building, having no win-
dows, the open door admitting the
necessary light. Here were dispensed
a variety of decoctions, pulque, the
A Mexican Cock-Fight
favorite drink of the Mexicans, pre-
dominating, made from the century
plant. Here were gathered those in-
terested in the approaching event;
earnest discussions regarding the rela-
tive merits of the birds were indulged
in, and a bedlam indeed it was, 'midst
clouds of cigarette-smoke enough to
smother any one but a Mexican.
Passing through a narrow passage,
we each pay one peseta (twenty-five
cents), and enter the place where the
fighting is to occur. A large high tent
is here erected, covering some 200
feet square. Around, close to the
sides, are perhaps a couple of hundred
coops, inside of which can be seen the
game creatures, each crowing lustily, as
if he had just won a battle.
The galleros are flocking in, many of
them, after entering, squatting on the
ground, holding in front of them their
birds, hoping some Mexican "sport"
may purchase. Many Mexicans on
103
A Mexican Cock- Fight
entering carefully inspect the various
birds and after selecting their favorites,
strike a trade with the owner, after
which they go around offering to back
them against others. Frequently the
cocks will push their way out between
the bars of the coop, and, although tied,
make frantic efforts to reach another
bird, displaying great ferocity ; often
fights occur when two neighbors thus
secure their limited freedom.
In the centre of the tent is something
similar to a large tub in shape, a round
enclosure some twenty-five feet in di-
ameter, sides three feet high, the bot-
tom, of dirt, being smooth as a floor.
This is the cock-pit ; arranged around
this are rows of seats snug up to the
pit, ascending as in a circus.
The audience, a large one, is a study.
The dignified, handsomely dressed
Spaniard, with small piercing eyes like
jet, standing in the pit, is the manager
and is said to make a handsome income
104
A Mexican Cock-Fight
from the business ; being a good judge
of the staying and fighting qualities of
gamecocks, his bets are apt to show up
on the credit side, and his advice is
eagerly sought for, but he is a man of
few words.
Seated 'midst the crowd on the op-
posite side is a Mexican dude, wearing
a collar that raises his ears, trousers
that fit like skin, a roundabout jacket
braided in yellow, and a sombrero with
a silver band ; near him a forlorn speci-
men of a Mexican tramp, a man with a
dirty complexion and handkerchief to
match around his neck, insubordinate
hair, standing on end; he thrusts his
hands into the place where his trousers'
pockets used to be, as though he were
chilly.
Two picturesquely dressed Spanish
girls just beyond, with blackest of hair,
over which is carelessly thrown a black
lace scarf, dressed in garments of bril-
liant colors, displaying on their well-
105
A Mexican Cock-Fight
turned wrists broad gold (or gilt ?) brace-
lets, and innumerable rings on their
delicate fingers, as they listlessly elevate
to their lips sweet-scented cigarettes,
clasped by silver holders ; the smoke
curls lazily about their heads, as they
languidly converse, seemingly uncon-
scious of the delicately pointed high-
heeled French shoes just peeping from
beneath their rustling silks! Again,
the humble daughter of thefleon, almost
in rags, is an earnest spectator, perhaps
accompanied by her father and mother.
All sorts and conditions of people are
here.
While the spectators are gathering,
the birds are being prepared ; here is a
Mexican looking more like the father
of a family than one interested in cock-
fighting ; he has a sharpening stone,
and is hard at work sharpening the spur
for his pet, like the delicate blade of a
knife sharpened like a razor on the
outer edge, curving the reverse of a
106
A Mexican Cock-Fight
sickle, so that when the bird jumps up-
ward and strikes, it will cut rather than
penetrate like an ordinary spur ; the
cock is held, and he carefully binds the
spur on his right leg, only one spur be-
ing used. The comb and wattle of the
bird has been cut close to the head, to
prevent an opponent from catching
hold ; the tail is cut short — the whole
bird, in fact, being trimmed down to as
fine a point as possible.
He carries him to the pit; his oppo-
nent is already there ; both are handled
as carefully as though they were tender
children, the owners fondly stroking
them, examining their eyes, legs, etc.
The birds are then weighed, the rule
being that they must weigh within a
few ounces of each other.
Two men in red shirts, professional
cock-fighters, then each take a bird ;
going to opposite sides of the pit, they
fill their mouths with cold water, and
spray it over their birds ; advancing at
107
A Mexican Cock-Fight
the signal of the manager, they hold
the birds beak to beak ; they snap and
bite as their eyes flash like fire — they
are famous Spanish gamecocks, the
greatest fighters in the world ; with this
breed, when once the fight begins,
death alone on one side will end the
battle.
At another signal the men step back
and drop the cocks to the ground — one
is a dark red, the other a lighter shade ;
both are strong-looking birds ; they
stand and look around a moment, walk
by each other, and then turn with a
rush and clash like two bulls.
The dark red springs up, bringing his
spur over the other's head, too high ;
by the time he reaches the ground, the
other springs at him, sending his spur
clean into his eye ; a shout ascends
from the backers of the light red, and
a dismal silence hangs over the friends
of the dark red.
As the fight grows more exciting the
108
A Mexican Cock-Fight
dude emerges from his altitudinous
collar, excitedly waves his sombrero,
offering odds on the light red ; in a mo-
ment the Spanish young lady is on her
feet, shaking her bracelet in response to
his wager. A few words in Spanish,
and the bet is made.
On goes the battle, the chickens leap-
ing and lunging at each other with their
razor-like spurs ; men and women are
wild with excitement, yelling strange
words of joy or disappointment as the
battle progresses. The cock-fighters
creep around the ring, each following
his bird, but never being permitted to
touch them ; they yell to their pets in
wild Spanish oaths.
In five minutes the two birds are so
covered with blood about their heads
that it is evident they cannot see, but
still they fight, until a lunge from the
light red lays his antagonist on the
ground ; he still plunges and fights as
he lies on his side, until at a signal the
109
A Mexican Cock-Fight
birds are seized by the galleros and
taken to their respective corners.
One grasps his bird, opens its mouth,
and, finding it full of blood, he puts his
own mouth to that of the bird, and
sucks it out, also breathes into its nos-
trils, again he sprays the bird with cold
water from his own mouth — both sides
again are ready, and the birds fight
more vigorously than before.
For fifteen minutes they cut and
slash, the light red with his two eyes
seeming to have an advantage over his
antagonist with but one. He makes a
desperate dash, sending his spur seem-
ingly through the brain of the other.
The dude cannot contain himself. He
rises, mingling his voice with the yells
of the multitude, then seats himself
with a nine-inch smile settled on his
countenance.
The dark red still fights, showing
wonderful endurance and pluck. It is
evident that both his eyes are gone,
no
A Mexican Cock-Fight
but his legs are strong. He plunges
about at times, vainly trying to reach
his foe. Blood is flowing from the
mouths of both chickens, but the light
red, with the advantage of his eyesight,
sends his bloody steel, cutting away
every feather from about the head of
his blind opponent ; both look very
weak ; a moment's pause, and the light
red, with desperate energy, sends his
spur crashing into the head of the
other, rolling him over on the ground.
The dude, all smiles and shirt collar,
wildly yells his joy ; the light red,
weak and shaky, attempts to crow ; but
before he had finished the final note,
the dark red jumped to his feet and
leaped into the air, sending his spur
clean into the brain of the light red,
dropping him at his feet — death, the
great peacemaker, had parted them for-
ever. Then, although a victor, he sank
to the ground, and in two minutes was
dead also. The dude took a reef in
A Mexican Cock-Fight
his smile ; the young lady beamed as
a gold coin landed in her lap, thrown
by the bony fingers of the man with the
collar. The excitement was intense,
and a jabbering of voices filled the air.
We waited to see a few more battles,
but were glad to leave, happy to think
that such exhibitions were not permit-
ted in the States.
Cock-fighting was fashionable in
Greece some 500 years before Christ,
and in England for a long period it was
a favorite sport. The Briton practised
" cocking " before the landing of Caesar.
Henry VIII. established the Royal
Cockpit at Westminster, and even dur-
ing the present century some "mains"
have been fought in it. A writer on
poultry mentions a cock-fight in India
for a lac of rupees (;£ 10,000), but Eng-
land in olden times was the head-
quarters of cock-fighting.
After dinner at a Mexican restaurant
composed of very unpalatable stuff,
A Mexican Cock-Fight
" very little to eat and a good deal of
tablecloth/* we started homeward by a
circuitous route to see the city. It
presents but little variety — a bull-ring
in the distance was shown as one of
the sights.
Along the roads burro trains were
slowly moving, carrying every conceiv-
able thing, from potatoes to a stove ;
men and women sauntering along as
though they had eternity to do it in ;
some of them bearing immense pack-
ages on their heads, all of them pos-
sessing that peculiar gliding hip motion
which characterizes the gait of those
accustomed to carry heavy weights on
their heads.
It was nearly twilight when we
reached the plaza. The usual evening
crowd was gathering there ; the gay
cavaliers on their handsome horses
pranced about ; the poorer citizens
chatted and smoked ; the fountain
splashed in the softened sunbeams;
A Mexican Cock-Fight
strains of sweetest music were in the
air, and all the world seemed happy.
Early morning finds us on our way.
Passing southward, the country trav-
ersed is generally barren and sterile.
Through the States of Chihuahua, Du-
rango, and Zacatecas (in the first two
of which garnets and rubies are found),
there is little of interest save here and
there some towns which owe their
existence to the rich mines ; lack of
water and fuel being a great barrier to
the growth and progress of the
country.
At these towns the extreme poverty
of the people is sadly apparent, many
of them existing in " dug-outs/* and
many of them in the open air, without
shelter, the naked bodies of both men
and women of all ages being visible
under the filthy strips of rags that hang
about their bodies, some of the profes-
sional beggars having nothing but a
loose skirt about their loins.
114
A Mexican Cock-Fight
The main place of interest is the
city of Zacatecas, one of the oldest
mining towns in Mexico, being the
richest in mineral wealth. It has an
elevation of 8000 feet. A view from a
hill near by presents a superb landscape
of the surrounding country, the spurs
of the Cordilleras adding much to the
beauty of the scene.
We pass Agua Calientes (meaning
hot water) noted for its hot springs,
Silao, Queretaro, the latter founded by
the Aztecs about the middle of the
fifteenth century (opals are found here) ;
its imposing and shapely bright-colored
domes and towers are prominent ; the
palm, banana, and other tropical trees
add to its attraction. Leon, a large
city of 80,000 souls, claims attention,
next in size to the City of Mexico, cele-
brated for its manufacture of leather
goods.
Passing on we enter a cultivated val-
ley, dotted with fields of corn and
A Mexican Cock-FIght
wheat; the /«*» with his primitive
plough toils in his sleepy way; soon
the tropical climate commences to show
its effects in the arid soil, that stretches
as far as the vision reaches, possessing a
climate warm in winter and almost un-
bearable in summer; the country seems
deserted by *nan amf beast*
In this desolate region vegetation
assumes its wildest forms; the pear
cactus grows to large proportions, bear-
ing a fruit called "terxa" eaten by the
natives; the Spanish bayonet, with its
slender green leaves, readies a height
of twenty-five feet or more ; the nopal
or cactus tree assumes the strangest
of forms; the magiuy or aloe, often
called the "centmy plant," covers
thousands of acres, ai laming -^ height
of Lioiii ten to fifteen feet. From this
is made the national drink, ** pulqme"
the fermented sap of the plant. It has
a miflrHJi appearance, and possesses an
r.~~. :r
116
A Mexican Cock-Fight
Mescal is also made from the same
plant.
Nearing the City of Mexico, we see
the pack trains of the ever-faithful burro
— that little animal without which, it is
said, Mexico could hardly exist — loaded
down with live chickens and vegetables
for the city markets.
In the fields a dozen yoke of oxen,
attached to a single plough, are lazily
driven by a sleepy peon, his shining
body naked save for a small cloth sus-
pended from the waist, glistening in
the sun. Great herds of goats, highly
valued for their hides, graze in the
fields.
It is early morning as we approach
the city, and through the clear atmos-
phere can be seen the celebrated vol-
cano, Popocatapetl, 17,700 feet high,
being the highest mountain but one in
North America.
Seated at the open window, the vel-
vety softness of the morning air gave
"7
A Mexican Cock-Fight
us new life ; we saw arise that ball of
gold so soon to illuminate yonder val-
ley. The city allured us on, its towers
and domes glittering as the last star
faded from view and the morning rays
broke forth, presenting a scene of
striking beauty.
118
City of
A Morning Entry — Street Scenes — Flower
Girls and Beggars — A Favorite Drive —
Night Aspects — The Paseo and Canal —
A Passion Play — Guadalupe.
THE rosy morning was just steal-
ing forth as we entered the City
of Mexico ; the morning star, with its
solemn eye of light, looked down from
out the brightening sky on the great
slumbering city — its many pinnacles
and domes standing out in strong relief
against the glowing heavens. Strange
thoughts, that always fill one's mind on
entering an old city — a city steeped in
the lore of history and traditions, and
brimming over with legends — crowded
upon us.
Our feelings and fancies are envel-
oped in an atmosphere of poetry and
119
The City of Mexico
romance as we gaze about us — the old,
odd buildings seemed to speak to us
of ages and a tribe long since passed
away, and make us feel that this world
can go on without us if we would but
think so.
We had hardly stepped forth into
the street when there fell on our ear
the shuffling tramp of a body of march-
ing men ; we turned, only to behold a
band of professional convicts — desp'er-
ate characters, so we were told — guard-
ed by officers with drawn revolvers;
a more hardened, desperate-looking
set, it has never been our lot to see ;
their iron bracelets clanked a dismal
tune as they sullenly went their way ;
such filth and degradation can hardly
be conceived. We carried away with
us a lasting souvenir of the stench-
laden atmosphere. And yet there was
a horrible fascination in closely observ-
ing them, as a study of morbid mental
anatomy, — the anatomy of a being
120
The City of Mexico
whose mental constitution is so de-
praved, so lost to all sense of honor as
to seemingly take delight in deeds of
crime.
Our sympathies always have been
with the poor, helpless worm that the
ever-glorified early bird captures, and,
notwithstanding the hour, we were cap-
tured by the ever-present cabman, who
bore down upon us, overpowering us
with his wild gestures and torrent of
Spanish overflow, not one word of
which could we understand, in spite of
the careful study of our phrase-books
for two whole days before.
An informal inspection of our baggage
by the customs, over, found us whirling
in one of the noisest of cabs to the hotel.
All cabs are required by law to display
on a flag-pole, about six inches high,
erected by the side of the driver, a
green, blue, red, or white flag, the color
designating the grade of the cab and
the price per hour ; a green flag being
The City of Mexico
first-class, and so on ; when engaged
the flag is hauled down.
After being carefully delivered at the
hotel, we mount to our rooms, phrase-
book in hand. Desiring some creature
comforts which were wanting in our
rooms, we lustily called, "Camarista " —
(chambermaid) — when a little sallow-
faced fellow, who looked as though he
had just dropped from a Christmas-
tree, came running to us, and, with the
regulation gestures and antics, per-
suaded us that he was the chamber-
maid ! And throughout our travels in
Mexico we found men generally serv-
ing in that capacity.
The City of Mexico, capital of the
republic, with a population of about a
quarter of a million, as is well known,
is situated on ground that was for-
merly an island in Lake Texcoco. The
name is derived from Mexitli, the
Aztec war-god.
In brief, the story of its origin runs
122
The City of Mexico
thus: The Aztecs, while wandering
about the country, met a rival tribe,
the Colhuans ; being defeated in battle
and pursued, they marched to the val-
ley of Mexico. An oracle had com-
manded them not to found a city until
they had come to a spot where an
eagle should be seen standing on a
rock. They shortly after beheld, in
their wanderings, an eagle perched on
a cactus growing out of a rock ; hence
they founded a city, calling it Tenoch-
titlan — meaning " cactus upon a rock."
Under this name it was the capital of
the old empire of Anahuac.
Hence on the national flag, as also
on some of the coins, will be seen the
device of an eagle with a serpent in its
beak, perched on a cactus protruding
from a rock. The city has an eleva-
tion of 7400 feet above the sea level,
and a mean temperature of 60° Fahr.
A stroll through the streets reminds
one, in some respects, of portions of
123
The City of Mexico
Paris. They are straight, many of
them broad and attractive. French-
looking shops adorn the principal
street, which leads from the Plaza
Mayor to the Alemada, the favorite
rendezvous of the citizens. The for-
mer is situated opposite the great Ca-
thedral, the largest in North America,
an edifice begun in 1573, and completed
in 1667, at a cost of $1,800,000.
It covers a space of about 400 x 200
feet. The architecture is an irregular
mixture of Gothic and Italian styles.
Two majestic ornamented towers with
statues, stand some two hundred feet
high. The interior is rich with superb
paintings and numerous crucifixes and
candlesticks of gold and silver, adorned
with jewels.
Here one sees gathered, at almost
any time of day or night, the scantily
clad peon, bending low in prayer, never
for one moment, however, unmindful
of his cigarette, which still smokes
124
The City of Mexico
from his sallow, bony fingers. Again
the richly costumed Spanish beauty,
with languishing manner, kneels near
by, her beautiful hair artistically " dis-
arranged " over her shapely head.
On another side of the Plaza Mayor
is the palace, the largest building in
Mexico, measuring nearly six hun-
dred and eighty feet. Many rare
paintings are here found, and the cele-
brated Maximilian coach. In the cen-
tre of the Plaza is the Zocalo, where
concerts are given on certain days.
This is the place to see a most pic-
turesque gathering of the natives of
all grades and classes, many of them in
striking and attractive costumes, stroll-
ing, lolling, and chatting, while listen-
ing to the music, which is of a high
order, generally performed by the mili-
tary band.
A select party of gentlemen, stand-
ing near by, probably men of leisure,
are arrayed for an afternoon stroll, each
125
The City of Mexico
with a handsome sombrero of light
gray color, made of felt, having a very
wide brim, the crown trimmed with
silver braid, the brim heavily embroid-
ered with silver thread ; a short jacket
trimmed with braid, and tight-fitting
trousers, studded down the side with
glittering silver buttons.
Within a few feet comes the ever-
present beggar, one of the pests of
Mexico, bareheaded, with trousers that
have existed through unnumbered gen-
erations, the remnant of which is hardly
sufficient to cover one limb, the only
other covering to his body consisting of
a shirt so tattered as to reveal beneath
his dark scaly skin.
The foreigner is a favorite mark for
a beggar. He crawls up to you with a
groan that would break the heart of a
paving-stone, crosses himself, and looks
unutterable things. You gladly toss
him a medio (6\ cents), and quickly
seek a purer atmosphere.
126
The City of Mexico
A little farther on a young Mexican
girl, whose parents have a stand at the
flower-market near by, where the choic-
est and most exquisitely arranged bou-
quets can be had at absurdly low
prices, stands drinking in the music,
while plying her trade among the
throng. She well understands the art
of selling, in her simple, pretty cos-
tume, rather decollett, her head uncov-
ered, her bodice fitting closely to her
pretty figure, the short skirt girded
closely to the limbs. She was a pic-
ture there, with a bunch of crimson and
white flowers in her hand, which
seemed to blend their delicate tints
with her pretty olive complexion — the
gentle breeze softly stirring her loosely
arranged hair, catching the last bright-
ness of the sun's rays.
We stand admiring the scene, much
of which was beautiful, and all was
striking and interesting, when our med-
itation is interrupted by a hollow
127
The City of Mexico
whisper in our ear, and, turning, be-
hold another beggar, an old woman.
A rapid inventory of her features made
our blood stand on end (let us say).
Such a countenance, such rags we had
never seen. Another medio, and we
quickly escape.
Sauntering behind come a quartette
of Spanish ladies, doubtless of the
higher order — the elderly ladies digni-
fied and haughty ; the younger ones
pretty and graceful. Not all Mexican
women are pretty, but certainly many
of them render themselves attractive
by means best known to themselves.
The delicate and refined outlines of
their features, the soft tint of their rich
complexions, the dreamy expression of
their large, dark, quiet eyes, added to
great symmetry of form, make them
strangely fascinating.
One of the most attractive drives is
the Paseo de la Reforma, or Calzada
de Chapultepec, laid out under the su-
128
The City of Mexico
pervision of Maximilian. It is a spa-
cious avenue, several miles in length,
adorned with monuments and statues
of high merit ; an imposing monument
of marble and bronze erected in honor
of Christopher Columbus stands out in
bold relief against the sky, being one
of the most attractive.
At certain distances circular spaces
some three hundred feet in diameter,
called Gloriettas, are devoted to monu-
ments. This grand drive leads to the
celebrated grove and castle of Chapul-
tepec. The grove, once a swamp, is now
overgrown with cedars of magnificent
proportions, some of them attaining a
size of forty feet in circumference, their
mighty limbs fringed with beautiful
gray Spanish moss, so abundant there.
The castle occupies a commanding
position on a rocky hill considerably
above the plain. The President of the
republic resides here in princely style,
and the National Military School has
129
The City of Mexico
its quarters within the walls of the
structure. The view from the castle
is one of unsurpassed beauty ; the city
below, the mountains in the distance,
the cultivated fields, all aiding to cre-
ate a panorama of rare beauty.
The return drive late in the after-
noon through the noble avenue of
trees was most charming. The soft
air, fragrant with the breath of the
mountain and plain, served to fit us
still more to enjoy the scene ; the
gentle breezes fanned our cheeks, after
the heat of the day; the coolness and
the twilight seemed to descend like a
benediction upon the earth.
Showy equipages, with pretty, laugh-
ing women, dashed past us ; officers in
their gold-braided uniforms and with
clanking spurs, riding handsome horses,
accompanied by prancing ponies lashed
by delicate hands, passed in quick suc-
cession. In the distance, reaching up
into the skies, stood grave and wor-
130
The City of Mexico
shipful the grand volcanoes Popocate-
petl and Iztaccihuatl, the former about
17,000 feet high.
Reaching the city by twilight, we
enter one of the fashionable restau-
rants, where are gathered the wealthier
Mexicans for dinner. Near at hand
are palms and pretty plants, from the
midst of which rises a cooling fountain,
its sprays of sparkling waters serving
to refresh the evening air. Many of the
ladies, while sipping their Media taza
cafe, gracefully puff sweetly-scented
cigarettes held in pretty silver holders.
A walk about the city at night pre-
sents many odd scenes ; the narrow,
crooked streets, with beautiful old bal-
conies overhanging the way, on which
whole families assemble clad in airy,
light-colored garments, is one of the
interesting characteristics. The houses
are built of heavy masonry, with stair-
ways of stone, everything being fire-
proof.
131
The City of Mexico
Entering one of them, we find an
open courtyard or patio, adorned in
the centre with statuary, flowers, and a
fountain ; passing on, we look into the
wide-open doorway of another house,
occupied by those of the poorer classes.
A few earthern pots, two or three large
stones on which to grind their corn are
visible ; near the door is a woman on
her knees, grinding corn for tortillas.
A young girl mixes it with water, pats
it into flat, round cakes, and puts it to
bake on a stove. We invested in a few,
but did not repeat the purchase.
The streets are well guarded at night
by police ; at the intersection of the
streets there stands in the centre a guar-
dia civil with a lantern ; hence in a sud-
den emergency, an officer is readily
found. In the centre of the city is the
Alemada, a beautiful park, with foun-
tains, and walks, and abundant growth
of trees and plants. In many parts of
the city, even in the better localities,
132
The City of Mexico
an unpleasant and unhealthy odor
arises. There being no sewers, it is
what might be expected.
Churches abound, and we pass them
seemingly on every side; their towers and
domes clearly outlined against the sky,
assist in rendering the scene impressive.
The city was once a collection of
nunneries and monasteries, and, while
the large gloomy buildings still exist,
they are now used for schools and other
purposes.
The evening air is soft and pleasant,
and we linger in the streets until the
clocks notify us that the small hours
are near at hand ; but this season of
the year, called el extio — the dry season
— makes us feel as though we were
sacrificing much to go in-doors and shut
out such lovely air. The other season,
la estacion de las aquas, or the rainy
season, comprising the months of June,
July, August, and September, is damp
and consequently less agreeable.
133
The City of Mexico
An early morning start brings us first
to the flower-market. Whole families
seated about are busily engaged in ar-
ranging flowers of rare beauty and frag-
rance. Such a wealth of roses ! Their
sweet breath has a language more elo-
quent than words. The flower-girls, with
their olive complexions and brilliant
eyes of jet, their white teeth, beautiful
hair in long braids carelessly swung
over well-rounded shoulders, with skirts
gathered short to the uncorseted waist,
nimbly ply their delicate fingers so
rapidly that they weave bouquets as it
were by magic, the roses, the lilies, and
the forget-me-nots dropping into their
places, and forming garlands and
wreaths of endless variety.
Then to the market square, near the
palace, where a throng of lazy men and
loosely-dressed women, with robust
voices, implore you to purchase almost
every article of household necessity,
including fruits and vegetables. Water-
134
The City of Mexico
carriers, with their earthen jars slung
over their heads, are passing to and
fro, delivering the morning supply of
water from house to house.
The little burro, that tiny quadruped
so necessary to Mexicans, hardly yet
awake, is pushed along by his master.
The little fellows, in groups of a dozen
or more, are loaded down with every-
thing from a chicken to a stove. The
slightest laxity on the part of his
master, and he stops short to nibble at
the nearest thing at hand, be it an old
shoe or a tin can. The question was
once asked, " Can a burro driver be a
Christian?'* the answer being, " He
might if he tried very hard, but he
would have to give up driving burros.'*
Mexico presents few scenes of in-
tenser interest than the Paseo de la Viga
and the canal adjoining it ; it is well
worth the ride in the horse-cars to visit
it, especially during Holy Week. The
journey is one of unbroken interest.
135
The City of Mexico
The dignified Mexican lady and her
two daughters opposite to us in the
cars puff their cigarettes with an air of
elegance as though they knew they
were doing the correct thing ; the Mexi-
can gentleman near by holds his pretty
baby as she plays with and pulls at the
vicious-looking revolver suspended at
his side ; while his well-powdered wife
chats with a bedecked officer.
Following us, on the same track,
comes an open car, painted black and
hung with mourning; in the centre,
elevated on a narrow platform, in full
view, is a coffin — a hearse, indeed, on
its sad errand.
Approaching the more sparsely set-
tled districts, bands of goats are seen
nibbling among cacti and thorny plants.
These animals are reared in large num-
bers through the whole country for
their tallow, the milk being little used ;
a good fat goat yielding about ten
pounds of tallow; hence the poorer
136
The City of Mexico
classes derive a revenue of some conse-
quence from breeding the animal.
On the larger estates — haciendas —
these animals, as well as sheep, which
are also largely bred for their tallow,
rather than the wool, which is inferior,
are reared in immense herds ; also
cattle, mules, and horses ; herds of
8000 and 10,000 are often seen on one
estate. The vaqueros, or herdsmen,
who live among the herds, are probably
the most daring horsemen in the world.
We have now arrived at the Paseo
de la Viga and the canal of the same
name running parallel with it. The
scene is a busy one. The Aztec boat-
men are bringing in on their flat-
bottomed boats or canoes, from the
so-called floating islands, the vegetables
for the market.
Scores of Indians are there, with
rafts on which is constructed an awn-
ing. We hire one ; and reclining on the
bottom, the Indian skilfully " poles "
137
The City of Mexico
it up the stream as he chants a tune,
doubtless of his own composition.
Canoes are shooting in every direction,
some loaded with vegetables, others
with human freight.
The chinampas or floating islands
are really a thing of the past, but the
sail through the narrow canals cut in
the marshy soil, where fruits, vege-
tables, and flowers grow abundantly, is
enchanting. Some of the canoes are
gaily ornamented, some have mandolin
players, the delicate music blending
sweetly with the ripple of the water as
the canoes dart back and forth.
Along the banks the natives in their
picturesque costumes are gathered in
large numbers. It is Holy Week, and
many are making a holiday of it ; some
are indulging in their favorite drink,
pulque, others in orchatay chia, and
other Mexican beverages ; all are smok-
ing as usual ; the lottery-ticket vender
pleadingly urges you to buy, as he or
138
The City of Mexico
she thrusts a ticket into your face ; the
children are assisting in the babel by
vigorously twirling the matracas, a
rattle producing a shrill sound in-
tended to represent and ridicule the
cries of the Jews, " Crucify Him/* as
they followed Christ to His death.
Beyond is the Euramada, a long
arbor-like summer-house, under which
is playing the military band, the music
being of rare excellence. The tech-
nical brilliancy, the deft gradation of
tonal coloring, the intensity of feeling
with which it was rendered was indeed
alluring.
The spacious avenue, bordered with
trees, presented a scene that few cities
can surpass in point of brilliancy ;
elegant carriages of every variety,
drawn by spirited horses in richest
harness, rolled briskly along; eques-
trians of all ages, seated on saddles,
which in many cases are studded with
buttons of gold, dash past, a glistening
139
The City of Mexico
revolver being in most cases a conspic-
uous part of their " get-up." With
hardly an exception all are superior
riders, possessing grace and dash rarely
seen elsewhere.
We return by another route, driving
over a shaded road, the fierce rays of
the sun at times, however, penetrating
the abundant foliage, scorching us in
spots. The adobe one-story houses of
the poorer classes were dotted along
the roadside ; the laborers were having
their usual midday siesta of about three
hours, and few were visible. By the
roadside flowed a stream — careless and
indolent, it seemed to love the country
and was in no haste to reach its destina-
tion ; a few children were wading and
playing in the cool water, while seated
on the bank, about preparing for a
bath, and engaged in earnest conversa-
tion, were two women in nature's
broadcloth ; they seemed quite indiffer-
ent to our presence.
140
The City of Mexico
During the afternoon we witnessed
one of the strangest customs of this
strange country — the burning of the
Judases ; figures as large as life, repre-
senting Judas Iscariot, were perched
up on poles, and in many instances
strung across the street from house to
house, filled with firecrackers and other
noisy explosives, and amid the shouts
of the people and the ear-piercing
rattle of the matracas, these images
are exploded and burned, creating a
wild scene.
The theatres are more numerous than
attractive. We sat for ten hours wit-
nessing the celebrated " Passion Play."
Families having boxes brought along
the babies as well as the family dogs.
They had their lunch-baskets, and
parents as well as the older children
smoked cigarettes, all the while witness-
ing the play, which certainly was most
impressive and solemn, and a large num-
ber were seemingly deeply affected by it.
141
The City of Mexico
The suburb of Guadalupe contains
the most celebrated sanctuary in the
republic, built in 1622, costing some
$800,000; the railing extending from
the choir to the altar is of pure solid
silver. The origin of its erection was
told us by an aged Mexican, who smiled
as though he mistrusted our believing
it.
"An old Indian, named Juan Die-
go, once saw in a rainbow the figure of
a woman ; she told him she was the
Virgin, and that he must go to the
Bishop, state what he had seen, and say
that she desired a temple built on the
hill near by; she ordered him to pluck
some flowers from a barren rock, where
none had previously grown ; he did as
he was commanded, but at first the
Bishop paid no heed to him, and in
turning away the Indian dropped the
flowers, when the Bishop suddenly fell
prostrate on seeing the image of the
blessed Virgin seemingly painted on
142
The City of Mexico
the cloak of the Indian." This cloak,
with the image of the Virgin, is seen
in the temple; ribbons, showing the
size of the Virgin's head, are sold at
the door.
The small chapel in the rear, and the
cemetery are full of interest. Our an-
tiquated informant solemnly ushered
us around the cemetery, explaining
points of interest. On some tomb-
stones was carved the word " Perpetu-
idad" These, he explained, meant
that the families owned the plot and
the monuments for ever, paying for
such the sum of $250. A payment of
$100 secured the plot and monument
to the purchaser for a period of six
years, after which time the plot as well
as the monument or tombstone could
be resold to others. Small altars, can-
dles, lamps, and trinkets adorn many
of the graves.
We do not attempt a description of
the museum, where pictures of rare
143
The City of Mexico
merit of the old masters can be seen.
Again the Sacrificial stone, on which
thousands and tens of thousands of
human beings have been sacrificed^
their still pulsating hearts being cut
out, while the red blood of the victims
streamed down the deep gutters cut in
the stone for that purpose.
Our last evening was devoted to
a ride in the country. The warm
though beautiful day had a fit closing
in one of the most glowing sunsets that
ever brightened earth. We rode away
over the roads that had grown hard
under the tread of generations, leaving
behind us the throngs that hasten end-
lessly through the crowded city. The
busy crowds — what restlessness, what
fruitless ambitions, fainting hopes, des-
perate despair, hold the brains of these
creatures.
The fresh, green fields of nature
seem to rest us. The broad expanse
of country, the sweep of mountains
144
The City of Mexico
wrought in noble beauty, made har-
mony for the soul. The crescent moon
was set like a silver signet in the sky,
and shadows lay minutely pencilled on
the turf below. There was a transparent
stillness in the air which it seemed un-
holy to disturb, guarded as we were by
the ever-living stars, which were twink-
ling high in the sky.
145
in flDeyico.
An Unnatural and Degrading Amusement
— Morbid Blood thirstiness of Spectators
— Sickening Sights — An Illustration of
the Power of Kindness.
BULL-FIGHTING, a remnant of
barbarism, still exists in Mexico.
Not being permitted within the city
proper, the bull-ring has been placed
just six feet outside the city limits, and
here is the Plaza de Toros del Huisachal,
where the best bull-fighting occurs.
The drive out through the beautiful
avenue, Paseo de la Reforma, presents
an opportunity to study the various
grades of the Mexican populace. Few
private equipages were visible, but hired
cabs, hacks, and every kind of vehicle
were brought into requisition, while the
146
Bull-Fighting in Mexico
roads and pathways were crowded with
throngs of the lowest and dirtiest of
pedestrians, from the ten-year-old boy
and girl to the infirm and aged, all hur-
rying breathless and perspiring to the
exciting scene. Arriving at the Plaza
de Toros, a struggling mass of human-
ity is excitedly rushing for tickets and
seats.
The bull-ring is a large, circular,
wooden building, roofless, with seats
arranged like an amphitheatre, the rear
ones and most elevated being private
boxes — lumbreras — the prices for them
ranging from four to eight dollars ; the
seats are classified according to their
relative position to the sun — the entrada
general a sombra, or general admission
to the shady side, being one dollar, and
the entrada general d sol to the sunny
side being thirty-seven and a half cents.
The arena is large, nearly twice the size
of an ordinary circus-ring.
Outside of the arena, and extending
147
Bull-Fighting in Mexico
the entire distance around, is a strong
board fence some six feet in height,
creating a space of some five feet be-
tween the ring and the front or lowest
row of seats. This is necessary as a
protection to the spectators, should the
bull leap over the side of the ring, which
he frequently does. Inside the ring,
at equal distances, are placed screens,
leaving sufficient space only for the
body of a man between them and the
side wall of the ring ; these are resorted
to as places of refuge by the bull-fight-
ers, when too closely pursued by the
bull in his madness. The amphitheatre
is said to hold about twelve thousand
people.
The crowd, to the number of at least
ten thousand, soon fill the amphithea-
tre ; yells and shouts and the jabbering
of the mixed crowd fill the air, and
"Toros," "Toros," is heard on every
side. A wilder and more restless assem-
blage can hardly be conceived.
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Bull-Fighting in Mexico
We were allowed a private view of
the bulls before the fighting began, and
we bravely looked through the cracks
of the enclosure in which they were
separately corralled. They were huge
creatures, with restless, sullen eyes, and
horns of ugly preportions, seemingly
shaped for the purposes of goring.
Returning to our lumbrera, situated
next to the judge's, we seated ourselves
as the time approached.
The band strikes up a stirring march
at the blast of a bugle from the judge's
box, the heavy gates are thrown open
— all eyes are turned — here come the
toreadoresy bull-fighters, in the Salida
de la Quadrilla, dressed in fancy bril-
liant-colored costumes, spangles glitter-
ing in the sun, like so many diamonds.
All are bareheaded, with the excep-
tion of the matadores ; they wear short
round-about velvet jackets, some black,
some of crimson and other glaring
colors, knee-breeches, white stockings,
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Bull-Fighting in Mexico
and low shoes or slippers. Short cloaks,
trimmed with gold lace and braid, care-
lessly thrown over their shoulders, com-
plete their costumes.
They march forward to the time of a
quickstep, foremost being the mata-
dores, those who kill the bull with a
sword, the heroes of the day, then the
bander iller os, who thrust the cruel iron-
barbed darts into the neck of the ani-
mal ; next the capas, who tease the bull
with gayly colored cloths, followed by
fas picadores riding on horses, spear in
hand, with which to torture the mad-
dened beast, the horses being blind-
folded to prevent their fleeing when the
bull charges them ; finally come six
richly harnessed mules, three abreast,
with jingling bells ; these are to drag
out the carcasses of the dead.
They march around the ring to the
cheers of the multitude, and, halting
before the judge's box, the matador
looks up to receive his orders. A few
150
Bull-Fighting in Mexico
words in Spanish, and the bull-fighters
distribute themselves around the ring,
while the mules are conducted back to
their quarters. A pause here occurs,
the previously tumultuous crowd set-
tling into silence.
The exciting moment has arrived.
All eyes turn to the judge's stand — he
rises, and blows a shrill blast on the
bugle. The creaking sound of the
rusty hinges alone breaks the silence,
as the heavy gates swing open — ten
thousand pairs of eyes are fixed on that
spot.
A hasty glance at that sea of faces
revealed a sight never to be forgotten ;
nervous expectant excitement was de-
picted on every face, some pale, others
flushed, but all intent on one thing.
Another moment's delay, and in dashed
a huge black bull, his head high in the
air, his eyes flashing fire. He pauses a
moment, lashing his sides in fury with
his tail, while pawing the ground as he
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Bull-Fighting in Mexico
looks about him, seemingly puzzled at
the sight, as the red cloths are taunt-
ingly shaken at him.
From his back gay-colored streamers
are flying to the breeze ; these are a
portion of a huge rosette which is
attached to a large hook, and as the
bull enters the arena a man reaches
over the side fence and plunges the
hook into the animal's back, the pain
caused thereby serving to increase the
fury of the already excited beast.
The band strikes up a brilliant waltz,
silence gives place to intense excite-
ment, and amid the urgent yells and
calls of the crowd to the capas, they
menacingly run forward, and, as the
breeze catches the bright-colored cloths,
the bull lowers his head, and tossing
his tail wildly in the air, he charges on
the nearest one at hand — the capa skil-
fully jumps to one side, leaving the
cloth suspended on the horns of the
bull. Tossing it off, he makes a rush
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Bull-Fighting in Mexico
for another of his tormentors in the
centre of the ring; so quick was he,
however, that the fleeing bull-fighter
reached the screen a few inches only
ahead of the infuriated beast, and saved
himself by taking refuge behind it.
The other capas, seeing the peril of
their fellow, rushed after the bull, yell-
ing and waving their cloaks to distract
him ; the animal, quickly turning, and
seeing himself encircled, made a desper-
ate charge, chasing them pell-mell across
the ring, most of them clambering des-
perately and ungracefully over the side ;
but one fellow, less agile than the rest,
was caught on the horns of the bull
and hurled violently over into the front
row of the audience, the small boys
scrambling away vigorously to make
room as they beheld the new arrival
approaching. The fellow, being caught
in his side, was badly injured.
While being carried out amidst the
cheers of the crowd, a number of silver
153
Bull-Fighting in Mexico
dollars and smaller bits of money were
thrown to him.
A moment later a picador, spear in
hand, driving his spurs into the sides of
his horse, dashed across the arena, amid
the cheers of ten thousand voices. At
first the bull seemed inclined to retreat,
and apparently was about doing so,
when the picador swiftly thrust his
sharp spear into him, a stream of blood
trickling down the side of the perspir-
ing animal.-
The eyes of the bull rolled viciously,
he savagely tore up the ground with his
forefeet, and lashing his tail, he lowered
his huge head for a charge ; gathering
himself, he made one desperate plunge,
sending his horns into the body of the
poor horse, lifting horse and rider for
an instant clear into the air.
The horse fell on his side, the picador
partly under him ; but quickly extricat-
ing himself, he sought shelter behind a
screen near at hand. The bull, with
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Bull-Fighting in Mexico
bloodshot eyes, drew back as though
looking for the picador •, and, seemingly
not knowing just where to wreak his
vengeance, again rushed at the horse,
tearing a yawning gap in his side, from
which his entrails protruded. The
terrified, suffering horse struggled to
his feet and ran a dozen yards, but
quickly sank to the ground, trembling
with fear and pain — a sickening sight
indeed; he ceased to move in a few
moments.
Another shrill bugle blast from the
judge's stand, and the banderilleros
come forward for their part of the
sport. They each hold two long sharp
barbs, decorated with gayly-colored
streamers. Bowing to the judge, upon
a signal from him, they advance to the
centre of the ring, holding aloft the
barbs while advancing towards the bull.
The already furious beast needs little
aggravation to battle, and with lowered
head he makes a furious onslaught,
Bull-Fighting in Mexico
receiving in each shoulder one of the
barbs, which the practised hand
swiftly and surely thrusts several
inches deep into the quivering flesh.
A thrust into the shoulder of a bull,
however infuriated, invariably causes
him to pause in his charge, and hence,
if the banderillero is successful in plant-
ing the barbs in the correct spot, he
has time to escape, but the feat re-
quires him to come in dangerous prox-
imity to the horns of the bull.
Again the other banderillero runs for-
ward, and amid the yells of delight and
approval of the now over-wild multi-
tude, he thrusts two more darts into
the bleeding animal, which feat is re-
peated until the poor brute is decorated
with half-a-dozen or more of these em-
blems of barbarity.
The maddened, bewildered, wounded
bull now stands in the centre of the
ring, with blood oozing from a dozen
wounds. He bellows loudly in his
156
Bull-Fighting in Mexico
frenzy, paws the ground, and looks
around at his tireless tormentors.
With an evident effort he again
charges with a rush, as the crowd
shouts with delight and the band plays
its gayest strain ; almost crazy, and
dizzy from the loss of blood he rushes
wildly across the ring, and in despera-
tion leaps over the fence. His hind
feet catching, he lands in a heap — the
audience in that neighborhood quickly
scatter; but the danger is slight on
account of the high protecting fence.
The bull-fighters quickly drive him out
again into the ring, and after more teas-
ing and tormenting the sound of the
judge's bugle causes them to cease.
The gates swing open, the picadores
retire, and one of the matadores — neither
of whom thus far has taken any part in
the sport — presents himself before the
judge's stand, holding in his left hand
a sharp pointed sword about three feet
long. A brief command from the
Bull-Fighting in Mexico
judge, he lifts his broad-brimmed som-
brero and vigorously sends it twirling
into the centre of the ring — displaying
a head of black hair, closely cropped,
with the exception of the centre of the
back of the head, where it is permitted
to grow to a length of about six inches,
this being tied up with a ribbon resem-
bling closely a pig-tail as it stands out
from the head. This is the insignia of
most of the famous matadores.
An attendant hands the matador a
small flaming red cloth, and he now
advances to the bull. He is of medium
size, a man apparently with muscles
of steel and nerves like electricity.
Eyes of jet, quick as lightning, ever on
the alert and accurately correct, well-
poised on his limbs, he steps forward
to his dangerous task with a delightful
air of confidence.
Not every man with mere strength
and courage can be a matador ; it
requires, in addition to these other
158
Bull-Fighting in Mexico
characteristics, calm, cool judgment at
a certain very critical moment. When
the bull charges on a dead run, he must
stand his ground until the horns of the
beast are within two feet of his breast,
and at that perilous moment elevate
his long sword, and with a single thrust
sink it into the spot where it cuts the
pulsating heart of the animal ; a
moment's miscalculation, and his own
life may be sacrificed.
The other bull-fighters retire to one
side, leaving the arena largely to the
matador and the bull. The music stops,
and silence prevails. The red shawl is
swung back and forth towards the bull,
who stands across the ring with lowered
head, panting and bleeding from many
wounds.
The keen-edged sword of the ma-
tador glistens as he elevates it prepara-
tory to giving the coup de grace. He
advances coolly but cautiously, his eyes
riveted on the bull, who, a moment
159
Bull-Fighting in Mexico
later, tossing his head, comes crashing
forward, straight for the matador, who
remains transfixed to the spot with his
sword raised. The horns of the bull
are just grazing the breast of the
matador, whose gleaming steel de-
scends like a streak of lightning, bury-
ing it to the hilt into the quivering
flesh, and the bull, as if shot, drops to
the ground, amid howls of delight
from the multitude, while the music
bursts forth in a lively strain.
For a few moments the matador,
who stands as a hero, is showered with
glittering coin and bundles of cigars,
tokens of approval from his blood-
thirsty admirers.
Jingling bells announce the approach
of the mules, who are driven in and
quickly attached to the horns of the
bull, and, making one circle of the
ring, they bear away the carcass that a
few moments before so proudly entered
the arena the ideal of a noble animal.
160
Bull-Fighting in Mexico
The bulls used at the exhibition were
bred for the purpose at some distance
from any habitation, and had rarely
seen a human being. Seven of them
were killed ; some of them almost de-
clining to fight until goaded up to the
point.
Two handsome animals declined
charging the matador, thus depriving
him of the opportunity of giving the
coup de grace, hence the cachetero was
called upon, who, when the bull is
rather exhausted and weak, runs up
behind him and thrusts a small dagger
in the nape of the neck just above the
spinal column, when the animal drops
dead on the instant. During the vari-
ous fights three horses were ripped open
and disembowelled, a painful sight ex-
cepting to one thoroughly heartless.
During the afternoon some Mexicans
were constantly addressing foul epithets
toward some of the capas, whose actions
they disapproved. Being remonstrated
161
Bull-Fighting in Mexico
with by a guardia civil, one quickly
drew his revolver and discharged it at
him, fortunately hitting no one. He
fled on being pursued, when the officer
quickly drew a lariat, and, with marvel-
lous skill, lassoed him, and in the
space of a few seconds wound the cord
about him, binding the prisoner as
though he were in a strait-jacket,
picked him up, and bore him off.
The dead carcasses of the bulls are
sold at high figures to the butchers, the
meat being considered enriched by the
increased activity of the blood just be-
fore being killed.
The whole exhibition was painful and
even sickening. The killed and maimed
horses, the noble bull — a bovine mon-
arch— to be thus cruelly used to pander
to the lowest taste of the most depraved,
made us feel as though in the progress
of civilization the time must be near at
hand when such exhibitions will be a
thing of the past.
162
Bull-Fighting in Mexico
The power of kindness over animals
has been frequently illustrated, but
never more clearly than by the follow-
ing incident which occurred in Spain
some years ago, an account of which
the writer recalls.
Notice had been posted on all the
public places that on a certain day the
bull called " El Moro " (the Moor)
would be introduced into the arena, and
that when he should have been goaded
to the uttermost fury, a young girl
would appear and reduce the animal to
quiet subjection.
The people of Cadiz had heard of
" El Moro " as the most magnificent
bull ever brought into the city, and it
soon became known that the girl thus
advertised to appear in so strange and
daring a part was a peasant girl of Es-
para, who had petted the bull and fed
it and cared for it during the years of
its growth.
On the appointed day, as might be
163
Bull-Fighting in Mexico
expected, the vast amphitheatre was
filled to overflowing with an anxious,
eager crowd. Bulls had been killed and
dragged away, and then the flourish of
trumpets announced the coming of the
hero of the day.
With a deep, terrific roar " El Moro "
entered upon the scene. He was truly
magnificent — black and glossy, with
eyes of fire, dilating nostrils, and wicked-
looking horns. Ike picadors attacked
him warily, and hurled their banderillos
(small dart-like javelins, ornamented
with ribbons, and intended to goad and
infuriate).
The bull had killed three horses off-
hand, and had received eight banderil-
los in his neck and shoulders, when,
upon a given signal, the picadores and
mat adores suddenly withdrew, leaving
the infuriated beast alone in his wild
paroxysm of wrath.
Presently a soft, musical note, like
the piping of a lark, was heard, and di-
164
Bull-Fighting in Mexico
rectly afterward a girl, not more than
fifteen years of age, with the tasteful
garb of an Andalusian peasant, and
with a pretty face, sprang lightly into
the arena, approaching the bull fear-
lessly, at the same time calling his name,
"Moro! Moro! Ya voy!"
At the first sound of the sweet voice
the animal had ceased his fury and
turned toward the place whence it came,
and when he saw the girl he plainly
manifested pleasure. She came to his
head and put forth her hand, which he
licked with his tongue.
Then she sang a low, sweet song, at
the same time caressing the animal by
patting him on the forehead, and while
she sang the suffering monarch kneeled
at her feet. Then she stooped and
gently removed the cruel banderillos,
after which, with her arms around " El
Moro's " neck, she led him toward the
gate of the torril.
165
a IRocfc^flDountain picture.
Winter Scenes among the Glaciers of the
Selkirks in British Columbia.
THE mad torrent, swollen by the
snows of a thousand hills,
sweeps down with turbid waves, like a
falling ocean, in a mass of milk-like
foam, tossing about with impetuous
force great cakes of ice and heavy logs,
shooting them through the rocky clefts
as though urged on by demon hands.
The falling snow, lashed into fury by
the rude wind, drifts into fantastic forms
as it lodges on decayed stumps of old
trees and on the jagged rocks, while
huge dome-like piles of snow constantly
confront us, rendering our task of travel
not an easy one. The great forest of
trees, many of mammoth proportions,
are clothed from root to branches with
166
o
z
I-
A Rocky-Mountain Picture
a veneering of glistening ice, producing
an effect of startling beauty.
As we work our way up the narrow
canons, cut like enormous trenches
through the solid rock — oftentimes
wading neck-deep through the soft
snow — icicles of gigantic proportions,
like inverted church steeples, hang from
dizzy heights above us. Occasionally a
thrilling sound falls on the ear, as one
of these monsters, unable to sustain its
own great weight, breaks from its place,
and plunges into unknown depths,
bearing with it everything it touches,
the great rocks about us serving as so
many sounding-boards to intensify the
sound.
Ascending some of the higher points,
vast snow-fields are before us, peak after
peak rears its white head far in the
distance, deep black gorges frown in
their ugliness near by. About us stand
the mountains in their majestic holy
stillness, held in the relentless embrace
167
A Rocky-Mountain Picture
of the mighty glaciers. Frequently the
deep thundering sound of an avalanche
is heard, and we cautiously examine our
standing-ground.
Pushing on, small glaciers are visible
on all sides, winding their way down
through the mountain ravines. Ahead
of us one of the grandest glaciers of
the Selkirks is visible, pronounced by
some to be several hundred feet in
depth — a sea of ice slowly working its
course to the valley below, doing battle
with and conquering huge rocks on its
way.
Here we see enormous slabs of
clear green ice, as big as the side of a
house, tumbled together, some standing
erect, like immense gravestones. Now
we are startled by a sharp crackling
sound which resounds through the
mountains, as some large bulk of ice
topples over, or settles deeper in its
place.
One may read for a lifetime and form
168
A Rocky-Mountain Picture
no conception of such scenes as here
present themselves ; cold type cannot
reproduce them or do them justice.
Turning from the impressive grandeur
of this enormous field of ice, the eye
wanders off to the " snow-masses " of
the wild mountains. The ever changing
effect of light and shadow on these
snowy peaks and the great white amphi-
theatre are before us, the ensemble
forming a wilderness of solitude. We
stand and gaze on the entrancing scene
so silent and lonely.
This is the home of the big-horn
sheep, the mountain goat and the bear,
while deer and wapiti are found in
plenty farther down. Far below on
the mountain trail a band of Indians
are jogging along on snow-shoes over
the deep snow, swaying, in their usual
shuffling gait, with the uniformity of a
single man.
In another direction we have a faint
glimpse of the small but turbulent
169
A Rocky-Mountain Picture
glacier-fed Illicilliwaet River, the glacial
mud tingeing it a peculiar pea-green
color ; high above and beyond are gla-
cial mountains heaped against the
sky.
Before returning a blaze of sunlight
breaks through a rift in the clouds, scat-
tering them, presenting a scene inde-
scribably grand, the vividly blue sky as
a background, the white clouds hover-
ing about on their shadowy wings, the
sea of ice in varied colors glistening
and shining like so many prisms, the
panorama of mountain, the whole con-
course of whitened peaks reflecting the
brilliancy, the frosted trees which catch
the sunshine on their icy coats, the soft,
white snow sparkling in its freshness —
all contribute to the glory of the pic-
ture.
The wind has died away, as though
its office was now completed ; calmness
pervades the landscape ; we are shut
away with nature, so near that we can
170
A Rocky-Mountain Picture
almost feel the throbbing of her mighty
heart. Here she is at home.
As the sun begins to sink, universal
silence reigns ; all is still save the faint
sound of the unseen torrent we had left
behind. Nature is at rest.
171
<Slueen of tbe Entitles.
i.
Approaching Cuba — The City of Havana
and Its Harbor — Morro Castle — Street
Scenes in a Tropical City — The Old
Cathedral with its Tomb of Christopher
Columbus — Holy Week and Its Impres-
sive Ceremonies.
THE blue and brilliant sea was sleep-
ing beneath a cloudless sky as we
skirted the Florida coast ; the warm
southern sun flooded the long sandy
shore, which glistened like polished
steel, till it soon became a thread-like
line almost lost against the horizon.
We were approaching the end of our
voyage, after a rather tumultuous
passage.
With the exception of a few heroines
who unflinchingly defied the aromatic.
soups, tussled bravely with enticing
172
The Queen of the Antilles
tongue, and courageously explored the
mysteries of pastry opulent with un-
questioned mince-meat, all the ladies
vanished from sight soon after leaving
port. They now all reappeared on
deck like so many chirping birds after
a storm, looking prettier and happier
for their rest. The gentlemen, with
cigar or pipe, were sunning themselves,
spinning yarns, or intent over news-
papers several days old.
A group were gathered in another
part of the deck devoting themselves to
trolling. After hauling in a fair mess
of the finny tribe, the stout line com-
menced to jerk, growing taut a^id slack
alternately. It was apparent that some
big fellow had swallowed the red-flannel
bait, and, disgusted with the deception,
was frantically endeavoring to liberate
itself. All hands laid hold, when, after
a hard pull, there floundered on deck,
surrounded by an admiring crowd, a
huge green and gold-tinted dolphin ;
173
The Queen of the Antilles
its beautiful color, however, quickly
faded after being exposed to the air.
The chief officer, with the traditional
pipe in the starboard corner of his
mouth, was being catechised as to the
exact time we would reach our destina-
tion, and a host of other necessary
interrogations. The snow-white sea-
gulls, "gleaners of the sea/' were wheel-
ing gracefully overhead or resting on
the quiet water. So the hours pass,
and the sunshiny day steals into twi-
light. We sit and enjoy the delicious
semi-tropical air, as one by one the
ever-faithful stars break out through
the darkened sky, until the whole
heavens are spotted with "golden
tears/' which men call " stars."
Early morning found us on deck;
ahead of us lay "The Queen of the
Antilles." The morning was warm and
vapory, a struggle was going on between
the mist and the rising sun, and our
straining eyes only beheld blurred out-
174
The Queen of the Antilles
lines of surrounding objects. But the
mists were already ascending, and soon
the old fort " Castillo del Morro "
(" Morro Castle") stands out before
us in strong relief, grim and hoar,
seeming as if it had taken root on the
bold cliff, while farther on we see the
" Castillo la Cabafta," with its fortifica-
tions on the " Heights of la Cabafta."
Our steamer had no sooner made
fast to its buoy in the harbor (few, if
any vessels, except those carrying the
Spanish flag, going to the wharfs), than
we were surrounded by a fleet of boats,
hotel runners, and swarthy-skinned
native boatmen (guadanos\ who by
their lusty yells endeavored to capture
us as passengers. The health officer
having satisfied himself that all was
right, we deposited ourselves in one of
the small boats, which in color, and the
style of its canopied awning, resembled
somewhat a gondola, and quickly
pointed for the shore.
i75
The Queen of the Antilles
The city of Havana, with a popula-
tion of about 250,000, is situated upon
a tongue of land, the head of which is
protected by the two forts previously
referred to. The streets of the city
impress one as being inconveniently
narrow ; the distance between the curbs
is about twenty feet, with sidewalks
three feet in width, being constructed
thus to avoid the rigor of the sun ; in
some places large awnings are stretched
across the street from house to house.
Two of the principal thoroughfares,
O'Reilly and Obispo Streets, are so
narrow that a city ordinance requires
vehicles to pass up one street and down
the other, excepting in cases where
parties have to stop frequently. Small
victorias, to the number of about five
thousand, fairly overrun the city, driven
in a manner wild and reckless ; acci-
dents are of frequent occurrence.
People drive in them on the slightest
provocation, rates being very low, forty
176
The Queen of the Antilles
cents in Spanish paper money (equal to
about eighteen cents American money)
for any continuous trip within the city
limits. The horses are puny, miserable-
looking creatures, but rarely fall or seem
to tire. The drivers are an iniquitous-
looking lot, dirty, as are often their
carriages, the odor of cigarette smoke
seeming to envelop the whole estab-
lishment.
The hotels are large and airy, with
marble-tiled floors and stairways ; both
the walls and ceilings being painted in
bright, cool-looking colors. My bed-
room, with a ceiling from fifteen to
twenty feet high, looked out on an
inner open court ; the clear sky above
was refreshing to the eye, but from the
yard below an unsavory odor arose.
For an extended period in the past, the
various occupants of the rooms on the
court must have contributed their share
of banana-peels, cigar stumps, and gen-
eral rubbish, all of which was now
177
The Queen of the Antilles
festering in the sun. Here at night
assembled the Spanish cats of the
neighborhood to make their tender con-
fessions, in true operatic style, upward
through the whole chromatic scale.
The theatres are not attractive to one
accustomed to those in the " States " ;
they look bare and uninviting. A visit
to one of them of medium grade proved
of interest. Reserved seats are sold
either for the entire performance, or
can be had for each separate act, an in-
termission of fifteen minutes between
each act affording time to purchase
tickets.
The ballet was the prominent feat-
ure, and for those fond of that style of
entertainment it must have thorougly
satisfied them. The theatre was packed ;
at each side of the stage stood a policia
in his untidy uniform.
The curtain ascended, disclosing to
view a picturesque grouping of fairies
in draperies that looked as though they
178
The Queen of the Antilles
had been spun from the substance of
dreams* Behind them, in the habili-
ments of a king, stood a repulsive-look-
ing creature, with a bovine counte-
nance, one who looked as though he
would tackle a circular saw without
flinching, apparently thus placed to
bring out to better advantage the fair
performers.
In the centre of the stage appeared a
huge lily; as the orchestra launched
forth into a thrilling waltz, the fairy
queen emerged from the flower, her
form rising like a tremulous evening
star. She had a fetching dimple in her
chin, and a smile for all. Her toilette
commenced rather late, and ended very
soon.
Noiseless as a feather or a snow-
flake falls, she touches the ground ; her
sylph-like form glides through the air,
her footsteps falling as lightly as a sun-
beam on the water, the floor seeming
to bend and wave beneath her ; a scarf
179
The Queen of the Antilles
floated about her, as though she was
resting on a cloud.
" With complexion like the rose
'Mid the snows,
Due to powder on her nose,
We suppose,
She twirls upon her toes
In abbreviated clothes,
And exhibits spangled hose
To the beaux."
The audience of pale-faced, excitable
Cubans arose from their seats, shower-
ing her with all manner of Spanish
compliments, growing wild with en-
thusiasm. Sitting through a single act
in clouds of cigarette smoke quite satis-
fied our curiosity.
The Cathedral, the foundation of
which was laid in 1656, and completed
sixty-eight years later, is of Gothic and
Latin architecture. It contains the
tomb of Christopher Columbus, whose
ashes lie in a vault of the Cathedral.
As is well known, at the ripe old age
180
The Queen of the Antilles
of seventy-one he died in 1506, in Val-
ladolid, Spain, where he was buried
with great funeral pomp. In 1513 his
remains were transported to a convent
at Seville, and deposited in the chapel
of Santa Christo ; again in 1536 they
were removed to Hispaniola, and in-
terred in the Cathedral of the city of
San Domingo. On the cession of His-
paniola to the French in 1795, the
Spaniards, valuing his remains as
precious relics, connected with the
greatest epoch in Spanish history, de-
termined to bring them to Cuba, and
on December 20, 1795, in the presence
of dignitaries of the Church, also civil
and military officials, the vault was
opened.
Finding the fragments of a leaden
coffin, a number of bones, and a quan-
tity of mould, they were carefully col-
lected, placed in a leaden case, secured
by an iron lock, this again being en-
closed in a velvet-covered casket. Amid
181
The Queen of the Antilles
chanting of masses, booming of artil-
lery, and an imposing procession, the
remains were conducted to the ship.
On the arrival in Havana, they were
received with great ceremony, and con-
veyed to the Cathedral, being deposited
at the side of the grand altar. Thus at
the very port from which three hundred
years previous he had been carried off,
loaded with ignominious chains, and
apparently blasted in fame and fortune,
his ashes were now received with august,
impressive solemnity and devout re-
spect.
At the side of the altar is a bust in
relief of the great man, with a tablet
bearing the inscription :
" Oh ! restos e imagen del quande Colon
Mil siglos durad, guardados en la urna
Y en la remembranza de nuestra nacion. "
" Oh ! remains and image of the great Colon
A thousand years endure, preserved in this urn
And in remembrance of our nation."
182
ii.
Holy Week in Havana — Impressive Pro-
cession— Charming Drives and Tropical
Scenes — Importunate Beggars.
BEING a holy day, a grand mass
was being celebrated in the
Cathedral. The Captain-General and
his suite attended, arrayed in their
gaudy uniforms, the former coming in
his carriage with attendants in red and
gold livery. The lady worshippers in
many cases wore evening costumes,
silks, satins, and laces being in profu-
sion. The organ with its golden lips
breathed forth the sweetest anthems,
their melody echoing through the great
arches.
During the afternoon a procession
occurred, composed of the military and
priesthood. The narrow streets were
thronged with a living mass of hu-
manity in holiday attire.
183
The Queen of the Antilles
First came the military, a loose-look-
ing lot of men, many of the regiments
in linen uniforms, and generally untidy,
with arms reversed, and hands clasped
in front ; they marched however fairly
well.
Following them came boys in long
black gowns marching in single filer
each one bearing before him an emblem
of the Crucifixion. The first lad held
aloft a cross, followed by another,
about twenty feet in the rear, bearing
three nails, again another with a spear,
another a ladder, the next a sponge,
the last one carrying a crown of thorns.
Following came priests with candles,
their eyes cast upon the ground, and,
with the slow, measured step and
solemn music, the scene was indeed
impressive, as the platform bearing a
life-size recumbent figure of the dead
Christ followed.
The final scene in the procession was
a life-size figure of St. Catherine, dressed
• 184
The Queen of the Antilles
in a purple velvet gown of rather
modern style, standing erect on a plat-
form borne by a number of barefooted
negroes. Unfortunately, through a
mis-step of one of the bearers, the plat-
form tilted, and the figure suddenly
took a plunge headlong into the street,
remaining for a few moments in a
position, to say the least, decidedly
undignified. After some difficulty and
persuasion, she was prevailed upon to
resume her original position, and thus
ended the procession.
The Prado, the main avenue of the
city, with its promenade of three miles,
is adorned on either side with Indian
laurel trees, and is one of the conspic-
uous attractions of the city. In the
centre of the Paseo is the park, in
which stands a statue of Isabella la
Cattolica, by the sculptor Vega. A
mob overthrew the statue on her ex-
pulsion from Spain, it being reinstated
however when her son Alfonso XII.
185
The Queen of the Antilles
ascended the throne. During the even-
ing the military band frequently plays
here, when the display of carnages
and citizens is very imposing.
The cafe's facing the park are a fea-
ture of the city, and are crowded every
night, the gentry appearing to make
them their chief rendezvous. The most
fashionable of these resorts, the Grand
Cafe* del Louvre, is very spacious, with
lofty ceilings ; its wide doors open on
the street almost as though no wall
intervened. Here assemble the more
select to chat while sipping their
cooling drinks, and wafting circles of
sweet-scented smoke from choice cig-
arettes.
Wines are cheap in Havana, hence
of course it has been decided that
the water is not good ! Claret, beer,
and mineral waters are largely used by
all classes.
The climate of Cuba is very uniform ;
the mean temperature of the year at
186
The Queen of the Antilles
Havana is 77° Fahr. The coldest day
is about 60°, the warmest being seldom
above 90°. The rainy season is from
May to November; the dry season,
called la seca, prevailing in winter.
The dwelling-houses are mostly built
of calcareous stone, upon which the
island itself rests, being generally two
stories high, with very thick walls ; the
windows of the first floor being nearly
on a level with the street are protected
with iron bars, having solid wooden
shutters inside ; hence, when the occu-
pants of these apartments desire air
and light, it exposes them to the gaze
of every inquisitive passer-by ; a few of
the finer houses, only, having the shut-
ters panelled with glass.
One large double front door serves
as an entrance for the occupants of
the dwellings, as also for horses and
carriages ; it is generally adorned by a
massive knocker. As the huge door
swings open, a broad marble-lined pas-
187
The Queen of the Antilles
sage-way is before you ; the house is
arranged in the hollow-square plan.
In the homes of the wealthier class,
the variegated marble walls and stairs
polished to a high degree, present a
rich appearance. Much of the finer
marble used is quarried from the " Isla
de Finos," an island about seventy
miles southwest of Cuba.
Many parts of the city are rendered
offensive by foul odors, the houses in
many cases being drained by open sur-
face sewers ; the refuse and decayed
matter are washed into the gutters,
from which there arises a loathsome
vapor.
As in most Spanish cities, beggars
are numerous, and impudently impor-
tunate ; the last day of the week they
come forth with special energy to ply
their vocation, it being recognized as
"beggars* day." Old women, thin and
emaciated, in reckless costumes, glide
up to you, and after emitting a cloud
188
The Queen of the Antilles
of smoke from the mutilated stump of
a cigar, pour forth a volley of Spanish
gibberish ; the only way to quiet them
being either to toss them a bit of silver,
or hurl back a current of English with
a rapidity equal to their own style, this
latter mode being generally very effec-
tive in its results.
Where beggars are so numerous it is
difficult to sift the wheat from the
chaff. Blind, diseased, and distressedly
crippled creatures crawl from behind
posts and trees with a hollow whisper,
some seeking alms, others offering
cigars for sale, three for five "pull-
hards/* also lottery tickets.
The Cuban and Spanish gentlemen,
as a class, are pale and delicate in ap-
pearance. It has been said " that he
who drinks beer, thinks beer, and he
who drinks wine, thinks wine " ; as a
nation of inveterate smokers, their
dreams must surely end in smoke.
Beautiful women are a rarity in
189
The Queen of the Antilles
Havana ; with a few exceptions, they
are pale and unattractive ; they powder
their faces excessively, rendering them
a chalky whiteness. Some of the young
girls, before they have reached the pow-
dering age, are very pretty.
Visiting a flower garden a short dis-
tance from the city, a young girl, about
eighteen years of age, came out to
greet us. A rare beauty she was, with
a complexion of richest olive tint, well-
rounded cheeks of delicate pink, large
lustrous eyes, overshadowed by long
lashes, while from her shapely ears hung
ear-rings of expansive circles; as she
stood near the porch of her humble
home, the sunbeams played around her
head like a halo. She was indeed a
picture.
A drive to one of the country villas
a few miles from the city afforded us
an opportunity to view the luxuriant
tropical scenes for which the island is
so justly celebrated. The graceful
190
The Queen of the Antilles
palmettos, which bordered the road
through which we drove, waved their
giant leaves, as though beckoning us
with their long fingers to this paradise
of flowers. The grounds were prolific
with countless varieties of the palm,
and brilliant flowers, while profusely
distributed on every side were banana,
cocoa-nut, orange, lemon, olive, and
other tropical products.
Havana has its " bull-ring " and
" cock-pits," both of which amusements
occur on Sunday. Like in all Spanish
countries, the natives never seem to
weary of the stirring scenes they pre-
sent, and patronize them liberally.
To those partial to a tropical climate,
living in Havana has many attractions.
The natives rise early, and in the fresh-
ness of the soft, balmy air take their
coffee and roll ; the military band fre-
quently plays about seven A.M., and in
the still air its melody can be heard at
a considerable distance.
191
The Queen of the Antilles
Business is attended to until break-
fast at eleven o'clock, after which one
returns to remain until the hour for
dinner, any time from four to five
o'clock, after which he rides, drives,
or seeks the caf£ during the cool of the
evening.
It is an easy matter to get into Cuba,
but the facilities for leaving the island
are fraught with vexations, even if pos-
sessing a passport. We had our pass-
ports, and on presenting them when
applying for return steamer tickets, a
young man, with a low-neck vest, and
a collar that looked tired, leisurely
brushed the ashes from his cigarette,
as he condescended to glance at the
documents, trying at the same time to
make himself look taller, by turning up
his moustache.
Retiring to a rear office, he reap-
peared with a gentleman wearing a wide
smile and a narrow coat, pompadour
hair, and a black moustache. They
192
The Queen of the Antilles
were joined by another, whose capa-
cious shirt-front was lighted with Koh-
i-noors, his diminutive head surmounted
by a silk hat, vintage of 1850 !
A long consultation, during which we
were thoroughly scrutinized, they all
then disappeared, and we were left in
suspense. The gentleman with the silk
hat soon reappeared, all smiles and
diamonds ; after slowly rolling and
lighting a cigarette, he returned us
the passports with permission to leave
the island !
193
H Weetern Cyclone.
Peculiar Atmospheric Conditions Preceding
the Storm — Approach of the Funnel-
shaped Cloud Bringing Death and
Destruction in its Path — A Scene of
Devastation.
0
AN oppressive sultriness had per-
vaded the atmosphere during the
day, the heat had been uncomfortable,
and the earth was parched and dry for
the want of long-needed rain.
Clouds had been forming on the hori-
zon, with promises of a refreshing shower
in the evening, — a welcome boon to the
sweltering people. Slowly the bank of
clouds increased in size, while an omin-
ous greenish tinge appeared in the sky,
— the air became hotter and very close,
great beads of perspiration stood on our
foreheads, a strange sensation produced
194
A Western Cyclone
by the peculiar state of the atmosphere.
People looked at each other with an
uncertain gaze, horses shifted restlessly
and neighed to each other, while dogs
whined and slunk away to places of
safety.
Here and there a gleam like a glitter-
ing dagger flashed from the darkened
heavens, the sky grew blacker than ink,
and forked lightning rent the clouds.
Terror was now taking possession of
every one, and intense fear was depicted
on each face.
When suddenly from all sides the
cry rent the air — "A cyclone, my
God, a cyclone ! " Then up loomed
in the distance the fatal and dreaded
inverted cone, covering a large part of
the southern sky. Twisting and twir-
ling, the great black column, rising tow-
ard the zenith, came rushing down
toward the town.
As soon as the big double spiral was
formed, it began moving at a terrific
A Western Cyclone
rate in a zigzag course. Just as it
reached the town, the huge black funnel-
shaped cloud swooped down, a rush of
wind, a patter of hail, and the demon
was doing its deadly work.
Houses were lifted bodily and dashed
into kindling wood ; the air was soon
filled with pieces of board, roofs of
buildings, limbs of trees, and rub-
bish ; tall sturdy trees uprooted and
twisted off near the ground were sent
flying like chaff through the air ; grave-
stones were thrown flat, and in many
cases nothing was left to show where a
house had stood. Railroad cars were
tossed over like toys, and the heavy
steel tracks were twisted and bent as
though they were wire.
Far and near the prairie was strewn
with debris, when suddenly the inky
black cloud seemed to remain motion-
less, then with renewed vigor it surged
forward to snatch in its terrible embrace
everything in its path.
196
A Western Cyclone
Animals were hurled through the air,
furniture, stoves, pianos, and human
forms bruised beyond recognition,
formed a part of the flying mass, as
the force of the monster increased.
For a quarter of an hour the demon
plunged on its way, and the terrible
uproar and devastation raged. Then a
sudden silence came, broken only by the
cries and moans of the victims — a heart-
rending sight indeed! The wails of the
wounded fell with sickening distinctness
on the evening air, now rendered clear
and bright, also purified after the storm.
The dead, mangled and torn into shape-
less forms, were scattered in every
direction.
Here the body of a mother, crushed
under a beam, holding in her arms the
battered form of her babe ; there a man
struck down in the full vigor of man-
hood, with a hole in his skull from
which a smalj rod of iron protruded.
Farther on, a whole family lying dead,
197
A Western Cyclone
covered with mud and their own blood.
What desolation was here, presenting
as it did, the aspect of a battle-field
after a conflict !
Massive iron railway bridges were
wrenched from their firm foundations
and hurled one side ; heavy iron safes
were lifted and carried long distances.
The country beyond was covered
with great masses of rubbish ; every
conceivable kind of household furniture,
clothing, food, merchandise, dry goods,
hardware, and farming implements were
mixed in with the bodies and dismem-
bered victims, some dead, others so
wedged among the rubbish as to be
unable to be released. Such a sight
can never be obliterated from the
memory of one who has ever witnessed
it.
One entire family living on the edge
of the town was saved by taking refuge
in their cellar. The house was not car-
ried away, but was shaken as though by
198
A Western Cyclone
an earthquake, and falling, temporarily
imprisoned them all. A few hours'
work brought them their liberty.
Beside an uprooted tree lay a beauti-
ful girl, fashioned in one of nature's
finest moulds — no mangled corpse, but
doubtless stunned by falling timber.
She had just breathed her last. Beside
her was seated a young girl watching,
her eyes streaming with tears, dumb
with terror.
Parents were seeking their children,
and children their parents ; husbands
and wives in agony of despair were
rushing hither and thither unable to
find each other, while brave hearts and
strong hands were aiding their less
fortunate brethren.
A little girl was wandering about
among the wrecks in search of her doll,
as she lispingly told us, whilst rubbing
the sleep out of her eyes with her tiny-
hands, not knowing that all the rest of
the family had perished.
199
A Western Cyclone
One man was whirled aloft a hundred
feet, and in descending dashed with
terrific force against a tree, meeting
instant death.
Out among the ruins, wandering aim-
lessly about, was a rather elderly man.
He looked haggard, taking no notice
of the curious people constantly passing
him in their eager search for friends.
His home had been levelled to the
ground, and he was loitering near the
spot where his house had stood. He
was evidently a poor man with little
more than his home.
Approaching him we asked if he
had lost anything besides his house;
he stopped, reached out and grasped
our hands and said, " My baby;"
he could say no more, but sat down
on the ruins of his home; strong
emotion had unsealed the fountain
of his eyes, the tears rolling down
his cheeks as his voice thickened. His
entire family had perished, a wife and
200
A Western Cyclone
four children. We could not say
" Cheer up/* but passed on, leaving him
sitting alone and desolate.
As we wandered away from the sad
scene, realizing that in the brief space
of fifteen minutes a pretty town had
been wiped out of existence, happy
homes broken up, some families entirely
gone, others with but a few remaining,
they perhaps maimed and crippled for
life, we could not help pondering how
the sublime mystery of Providence goes
on in silence, giving no explanation of
itself.
201
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