./,r'',,t.';v'\-;'^:',-,v' m L/ ..4- i VI i ^-3 i--^^ •^•- ^--^ ^^^ NEW REVISED ■.:!':':»J!^c^^>' ,-\y.\vr,'.s:vYj.\' COPYRIGHT DEPOSm mi 81 33a Q\m CAMPBELL'S NEW REVISED COMPLETE GUIDE AND DESCRIPTIVE BOOK OF MEXICO By REAU CAMPBELL CHICAGO 1909 LIBRARY of CONGRESS Two Gooies Received DEC 18 1! cuss Q jpy d(. _ _ j Copyright, 1908, by Reau Campbell. Es Propiedad en Mexico de Reau Campbell J. Manz & Co., Engravers Chicago Press and Binding Rogers & Smith C( Chicago M. H. Vestal, Type Corrections Chicago Brown -Cooper Typesetting Co. Chicago The Illustrations tiuncJ below The figure; denote the pai;e on which their respective pictufts appMri are enjraved (ram photoeraphs and drawings ma-lc by the ar Franc Campbell, AtlanU. Ga.. 63. ReauCampbell. Chirajo. Ill 39. Ill )20. lil KO 177 179. 202. 203 207 2,"! ^■'7 2ij 213 2jO 263 2.',« 262. 20.-, 269, 270 313 P S.Cox.Cityol Menico.30.90.1M. 122. 137 138. 154 ' Briquet. City of Mexico. 287 R R Earle. Chicago. Ill . SO. 59. 120. 1.10. 190. 201. 201. 244 2.^2 281 28S .10: .109 313 John Faria«. Guadalajara. Mexico. 144 M.',. 100. W. H Jackwn. Denver. 4.1. 79. 80. SI. 82. 94 99 IC2 103 If.S. 272 274 F. O Luthy. Cincinnati. Ohio. 213. J M. Macom. 25. 20, 28! 232. 302. 2ci"28r29"'m"'3l"3ir35?'.''' "' "'*'•'•' " '«' " " "' «" '" '"' "'' '^* '«' '" '"-'M.^W SO.,. 20.S 209. 21.V 210 225. 22,-.. 2.14. 238. Mayo & Weed. Chicago, 10. 33. 35. 37. SB. 1 1.5. 127. 143. 151. 155. 109. 184. 190. 205. 214. 231. 242. 247 249 251. 2S3 293. 308. 311 i<>i!m!i^]%'^io'',,lT9i^'ii,':'i^^^^^^ "9 '23 'M.'" .33 141 1,3 149 157 159,106. I. C Skeelf, Chicago. 40. 124. 127. 129. 147 2IS 2.-M. 2,V<. 267. 107. 174. 182, Preface. T T IS the early traveler in a country who knows the real need of a guide ^ and descriptive book, from the fact that his journeys are made, perforce, without one, and he is compelled to find the places and things as best he can. To find these places and things, of which one may have only heard, is not unattended by difBculties. The native does not always regard them as out of the ordinary, or of special interest, and, however courteous and willing he may be, is not always able to show the way to objects of even considerable importance. I have known these difificulties as an early traveler in Mexico, and, while I rejoiced in seeing what others had not seen, I have wished for the book that might guide me over untraveled roads, till I have come to believe that he who writes the book leaves a legacy to him who comes after. The Guide and Descriptive Book of Mexico is written after the experiences of- a decade of travel in that country, and an exploring expedition made ex- pressly to secure a better acquaintance with the country, these have given a knowledge of its cities and towns, of its mountains, valleys and spreading plains, and of its history and legend, impossible from reading or hearsay. The Historical and Clerical data have been carefully culled from the best authorities and from the records of Church and State. The Legends are from the country's books and from the fascinating folk- lore of its people. Statistical and tabulated information is compiled from the latest data and from the most reliable sources. The Maps are from the latest surveys, comprising "the extension of rail- ways and routes of travel to the year of the date of the book. The Descriptions have been written under the spell; in the presence of an atmosphere of romantic adventure; while loitering in the fields of the Conquest; under the shadows of ruined temples, whose describing by the ancient chronicler sufifices, and of which no more is known to-day than then, when it was written by him that those temples were, "the work of a people iii IV which had passed away, under the assaults of barbarism, at a period prior to all traditions, leaving no name, and no trace of their existence save those monuments, which, neglected and forgotten by their successors,, have become the riddle of later generations." The Illustrations are from photographs taken during tours of the country and engraved directly from those photographs, without redrawing. The tour of exploration was made for the express purpose of the publication of a guide and descriptive book, that should guide and describe for the traveler or reader of Mexico. Every date and place of the story of Mexico, from the Grand River of the North to Tehauntepec, is noted compactly and with all the accuracy possible. Every city and town of note which has been written of elsewhere has its place here; there are some not found in other books which are in these pages, and none are more important or more interesting than the pre-historic Ruins of Mitla, visited first by my exploring expedition of 1894, and which are here written of for the first time since the earlier chronicles of the country. To the courteous citizens of the country I traveled in, to the strangers of America, England, France, Spain and Germany abiding there, to the Railway officials especially, and to my co-travelers and explorers I am indebted; to the expert artists of the engravers' craft, and of the art preservative, who have made a culmination so devoutly wished, I am deeply grateful. REAU CAMPBELL. Chicago, January i, 1895. POSTSCRIPT. After a book is in print it is the cold type that shows so glaringly the faults of omission and commission, not more apparent to any one than to its author — especially if that author has continued the study of his subject Since the first edition of this work was printed I have not ceased to travel in the country it describes — and if I knew Mexico then, and a generous public has attested that, I should know it better now; and I have left out some things that ought to have been omitted before and added that which I should not have left out at all— till now the work is well nigh complete, as nearly so as any book of its kind may be, where an advancing civilization changes its pages almost ere they are written. R. C. January, 1909 Contents, PAGE GEOGRAPHICAL— Rivers— Lakes— Harbors— Mountains— Table-lands — Seaports — Agriculture — Forests — Mines and Mining — Manufac- tures — Climate — Railroads — Steamer Lines 7 HISTORICAL— The Toltecs and Aztecs— Conquest by Cortez— Viceroys — Independent Mexico — Empire of Iturbide — Laws of the Reform — Revolutions — American War — French Intervention — Administra- tion of Diaz 23 PRACTICAL MATTERS— Railway Tickets— Baggage and Customs Regulations — Money — Measures and Distances — Climate — Cloth- ing — Cabs and Carriages — Horse Cars — Hotels and Restaurants — Stores and Shopping — Cigars and Tobacco — Police and Military — Doctors and Medicines — Cargadores — Church Visiting — Postoffice — Express Service — Telegraph — Baths — Servants — Dulces — Streets — Customs and Costumes — Official Permits — Laundry 43 AMUSEMENTS— Theatre Principal— Theatre Nacional— Arbeu Theatre — Salon de Conciertos — Circo-Teatro Orrin — Bull Fights — Ball Games • • 61 THE CITY OF MEXICO— Tenochtitlan— Chronology— Founding by the Mexicans — Reign of Montezuma — Entrance by Cortez — Siege by the Spaniards — Founding by Revillagigedo — City Government — Markets — Flower Markets — Portales — National Palace — Mint — National Library — School of Arts — National Museum — Cathedral — First Parish Church — Churches — Religious Orders — Jesuits — Inquisition — Schools and Colleges — Hospitals — Alameda — Paseos Calzadas — Aqueducts — Monuments — Monte Piedad — Plazas — Newspapers — Streets — Panteones 71 AROUND THE VALLEY— Chapultepec—Molino del Rey— Tacubaya — Mixcoac — San Angel — Coyoacan — Tlalpam — Noche Triste — Ta- cuba — Atzcapatzalco — La Piedad — La Viga Canal — The Paseo — Desierto — San Juan Teotihuacan — Tlalnepantla — Tajo de Nochis- tongo — Guadelupe — Los Remedios 121 V VI PAGE CITIES AND TOWNS OF MEXICO— Acambaro—Aguas Calientes— Amecameca — Catorce — Celaya — Chihuahua — Cordoba — Cuautla — Cuernavaca — Durango — Guadalajara — Guanajuato — Irapuato — Jalapa — Lagos — Leon — Lerdo — ]\Iaravatio — Monclova — MoreHa — Oaxaca — Ruins of Mitla — Orizaba — Pachuca — Patzcuaro — Puebla — Pyramid of Cholula — Queretaro — Sahillo — Salvatierra — San Luis Potosi — San Miguel de-Allende — Silao — Tampico — Texcoco — Tlax- cala — Toluca — Tula — Vera Cruz — Yautepec — Zacatecas 155 RAILWAY RIDES IN MEXICO— South over the Central— Westward to Guadalajara — Eastward to Tampico — Eastward over the Mex- ican Railway — Westward over the International — Eastward over the Interoceanic — South over the National — Westward from Acambaro — The Mexican Northern Railway — South over the Southern — South over the Mexico, Cuernavaca & Pacific — The Michoacan & Pacific — The Monterey & Mexican Gulf Railroad — South over the Sonora Railway — The Tehuantepec Railway — Hidalgo Railway — Mexican National Construction Company 267 THE UNITED STATES OF MEXICO— Names of States— Capitals- Area — Assessed Values — Population — Government — Taxes 321 LOCATION, POPULATION AND ALTITUDES. 2,22 STREET CAR LINES 3^4 TABLE OF TERMS 327 CHRONOLOGICAL 339 MAPS ■ 347 Geographical. Between the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Gulf of Mexico on the east, the United States on the north and Guatemala on the south, lies the Repub- lic of Mexico, extending from the 15th to the 326. degree of north latitude, and from the 86th to the ii6th degree of longitude west from Greenwich. From north to south the length is nearly 2,000 miles; from east to west about 800 at the widest part, with an area of 772,652 square miles. Along the Gulf coast the low ground extends a distance into the interior, called the tierra caliente , or hot land; then it rises in terraces to the table-lands called the tierra teniplada, temperate land, and still to the regions of higher elevation, to the tierra fria, or cold land. In the tierra caliente it is summer always; in the tierra tefnplada eternal spring; in the tierra fria it is rarely cold enough for snow or ice. On the table lands of the interior there is a wide expanse of treeless plains, and but for the grand army of the cactus would be planiless, save in the valleys, where trees line the banks of the little rios and lakes and irrigating canals, but on the coast slopes and the low lands there are tangled forests of tropical verdure. The table lands of the highest altitude are those in Central Mexico. The plain of Toluca is about 8,575 feet above the sea; the Valley of Mexico 7,478; Puebla about the same as the Valley of Mexico, but for the most part a little higher. The table lands of the north range from 2,000 to 5,000 feet above the sea. Humboldt said he could drive his carriage from the City of Mexico to Santa Fe without the trouble of pre- paring a road; certainly he would not have found it necessary to cut down a tree, but it would be a rocky road, up hill and down dale. Climate — Not on earth is there a more equable, more delightful climate than is found in Mexico. Winter and summer alike are made up of delight- ful days; in winter of cloudless skies, in summer of cooling showers. It is an erroneous idea that it is not safe or pleasant to travel in Mexico in summer; in the interior the summer time is the most delightful. The only difference between summer and winter is that it rains in the summer 8 and does not in the winter. The rainy season commences in May or June, and lasts until October and sometimes into November. The altitude, the showers, the cooling breezes from the snow mountains make a perfect sum- mer climate, and a healthful one. Fevers peculiar to the tropics are known only in the hot lands of the immediate coast, and never experienced on the elevated table-lands or even on the slopes sixty miles from the coast. The mean temperature of the hot lands is about 80°; of the interior table- lands, as in the capital and principal cities, 70°, and the higher elevations 60°. Make j'^our outings in Mexico generally in the morning and you will avoid the showers that nearly always come up in the afternoons of sum- mer, and winds blowing dust and sand after mid-day in winter. A more perfectly delightful climate is hardly possible to imagine, and possibly exists in few other countries. Rivers — The rivers of Mexico are more dignified by the appellation than, from the amount of water flowing within their banks. They are little more ROPE BRIDGE. than creeks, but as to length they are entitled to be called rivers. With the exception of the Rio Panuco, and one or two others, the rivers of Mexico are not navigable, and then only for a short distance from their mouths. The lack of tributaries, and the immense amount of water drawn ofif for irrigating purposes, is the reason given for the small size of the streams. For the most part they are, during the winter, but straggling brooks, or it may be, their beds are completely dry, but in the rainy sea- son become raging torrents. The Lerma is the longest river in Mexico, running its whole length within that country, being nearly 700 miles long. The Rio Grande, which rises in the United States, is over 1,500 miles long. The Panuco, at Tampico, is a beautiful stream, navigable some 200 miles or more through a tropical country, the banks fringed with that verdure so often described by travelers in the tropics. The navigation of these few miles of deep water in Mexico is to be one of the attractions for tourists in that section. The jetties at the mouth of the Panuco make the harbor at Tampico one of deep water. The Rio Lerma rises on the west slope of the Sierra Madre, not far from Toluca, and runs in a northwesterly course till it empties into Lake Chapala, and, curiously enough, leaves the lake again, only a few miles from its mouth, and becomes another river, the Santiago, flowing on to the Pacific Ocean. The Mexican National Railroad erosses the Lerma near its source, east of Toluca, and at Acambaro, running along its course be- tween the two points. The Central crosses the Lerma three times; near La Piedad, again at La Barca and a third time at Ocotlan, where it becomes the Santiago, after passing through Lake Chapala. Humboldt said that the Lerma could be made a navigable river, as he also said he could drive a carriage on the table-lands from the capital to El Paso ; in either case there would be many ups and downs to be encountered. The Santiago, or Lerma, empties into the Pacific near San Bias. The river at Morelia, along which the National Railroad runs near that city, is called the Morelia River, though there are other names. The Grijalva River, named for the commander of the Spanish fleet, who was the first white man who ever saw it, rises in Guatemala, and empties into the Gulf at Frontera. The Rio Usumacinta also has its source in Guatemala, and empties into the Gulf near Frontera. The Rio Balsas, also called Mescala and Zacatula, rises in the State of Tlaxcala and flows westward, and empties into the Pacific at Zacatula. The Papaloapan rises in the mountains and empties into the Gulf at Alvarado. The Rio Coatzacoalcos rises in Oaxaca and empties into the Gulf at the town of the same name. Atoyac is a favorite name for rivers ; there are several of them in the States of Puebla and Vera Cruz. Nearly all of the rivers m the south of Mexico, as the Papaloapan, San Jose and others, are navigable for light draught boats for some miles — but withal of interest to the more venturesome traveler. The Rio Nazas is one of the rivers that loses its waters in the marshes of the great Bolson de Mapimi. The Sonora, Yaqui and Mayo rise in the mountains of western Mexico and empty into the Gulf of California. Lakes — The lakes of Mexico are of exceeding great beauty. Than those of Chapala and Patzcuaro no prettier waters are anywhere in the world — not even the romantic Como, the tales of whose beauties are so eloquently told, can surpass their islands and wooded shores, and only the villas are lacking to make them as picturesque as Como or Maggiore. Lake Patzcuaro is the highest navigable water in Mexico, and next highest on the continent, Yellowstone Lake only having a higher altitude. The islands look like the peaks of submerged mountains with only the tops above the water; on their rugged sides, seeming to cling to them, are some huts of the fishermen of the lake, and up near the top of one the square white tower of a church rises above the trees, the sonorous sounds of whose bells float over the beautiful waters. There are canoes for freight and passengers, and a few rude sail boats making voyages between Patzcuaro and the islands and mainland ports up 10 the lake, and to Tzintzuntzan, where the celebrated picture by Titian is, in a ruined church. Lake Patzcuaro is near the city of that name on the west- ern division of the Mexican National Railroad; it is about thirty miles long and twelve miles wide. Lake Cuitzeo is also on the same division of the National, thirty miles west of Acambaro, the junction point with the main line. Lake Cuitzeo is forty-five miles long and ten wide. The islands are very much like those in Lake Patzcuaro; some of them are inhabited. One, '"La Isla de los Burros," is the objective point of a very interesting voyage from the sta- tion at Querendaro, where canoes may be obtained. The island is inhabited by a hardy tribe of Indian fishermen, who know little of the main land, and care less — a happy contented lot, living ofif of what they can catch, the little white fish about the size of a minnow or whitebait, which, when they are dried in the sun, are ready for the table, if there was one on the island. The lake is literally alive with water fowl, and so unused to the gun that many a good shot may be had. On the eastern shore there are some old salt works, and near the station of Querendaro some hot springs, the LAKE PATZCUARO. Steam rising from the marsh in white columns. Near the track, where one of the largest springs rises, is a pool so arranged that the waters can be turned in or out, as the water may be too cold or hot. On the bushes, on the trees, on the rocks, and stuck in the ground, are rude crosses made of sticks and twigs, left there by grateful bathers whose ills have been cured by the genial waters. Lake Chapala is the largest lake in Mexico. It is nearly lOO miles long and is thirty-three miles at the widest point. It is near the line of the Guadalajara division of the Mexican Central Railway near the city of that name. The stations of La Barca and Ocotlan are at the head of the lake from whicli ports small steamers and sail boats depart for the beautiful lake side resort of Chapala and other villages. "La Libertad'" was the name of Lake Chapalas first steamboat. She ran from La Barca to the towns and villages up the lake, and the voyage was one of the most delightful in Mexico, through the "floating islands" to the towering clifTs with sparkling cascades tumbling into the lake from far up the rocks, by the picturesque towns and villages, of which the town of Chapala is a resort of ancient renown, from its pure and healthful climate, its hot springs and most picturesque scenery. 11 The steamer "La Libertad" had her machinery built in California, and was transported by piecemeal on burros over the mountains from San Bias. In the Bolson de Mapimi are several lakes, of which Mayraii and Parras are the largest — twenty to thirty miles long by ten to fifteen wide. In the Valley of Mexico and near the City are Zumpango, Xaltocan and San Cris- tobal on the north, Lake Texcoco on the east and Xochimilco and Chalco on the south, La Viga and the other canals connecting them with the City. All are very shallow and without an outlet, except what results from the great drainage canal and tunnel. The steamboat has not made its advent on the lakes of the Plain of Mexico; transportation is carried on by long flat-bottom boats propelled by poles in the hands of strong men. There are regular packets between the City and the towns and villages on the lake shores, some of them of ca- pacity for fifty or sixty passengers, and where voyages cover many miles and two or three days' time, they have accommodations for eating or sleep- ing in the most primitive style. The passengers are mostly country folk bringing their wares or garden truck to the city markets. The burros and dogs lend their presence to make up a picturesque ship's company. ON LAKE CHAPALA. Cortez came across Texcoco in some such flat-bottom boats from the eastern shore when he laid siege to the City of Mexico; but there was deeper water in those days, and the feat was not without its merits. If you are rowing or sailing on any lake in Mexico let it be done in the early morn- ing or at least before noon; winds will come up very soon after mid-day and will not subside till the sun goes down — not that there is danger, but smooth water makes more pleasant voyages. Motttitaiiis — Ask a native, "What mountains are those?" His answer — no matter where he is or where the mountains are — is "Las Madres." Another appellation is "las sierras ;" the word "sierra" means a saw, the sharp peaks resembling the teeth. Certain peaks here and there take names from their fantastic shape, curious color, or from an incident of history or legend, as fxtaccihuatl is the "White Woman;" Malintzi, called "Malinche," was named from an appellation of La Marina, the guide, interpreter and wife of Cortez. There is no mistaking the Saddle Mountain at Monterey, as a perfect saddle is on its crest ; or the Mountain of the Mitres in the same valley — the bishop's mitre is as plain as if cut out with a scissors. The only active volcano is that of Colima. Above ranges high peaks are raised to the jline of perpetual snow, and 12 volcanoes still produce fire and brimstone. The following are the most im- portant: Ajusco, Federal District 13,612 Cerro de Culiacan, State of Guanajuato 10,640 Cerro del Proafio, State of Zacatecas 7,762 Cerro de Patamban, State of Michoacan 12,290 Cofre de Perote, or Nauchampatepetl, State of Vera Cruz. . . 13,403 Cumbre de Jesus Maria, State of Chihuahua 8,230 Gigante, State of Guanajuato 10,653 Ixtaccihuatl, States of Mexico and Puebla 16,060 Las Navajas, State of Hidalgo 10,528 Los Llanitos, State of Guanajuato 11,013 Matlalcueyatl, or Malintzi, State of Tlaxcala 13,462 Nevado de Colima, State of Jalisco I4,350 Nevado de Toluca, or Xinantecatl, State of Mexico 15,000 Orizaba, or Citlaltepetl, State of Vera Cruz 17,356 Pico de Quinceo, State of Michoacan 10,895 Pico de Tancitaro, State of Michoacan 12,653 Popocatepetl, States of Mexico and Vera Cruz 17,782 Veta Grande, State of Zacatecas 9»965 Volcan de Colima, State of Jalisco 12,728 Zempoaltepec, State of Oaxaca 11,965 Table-lauds — The plains of Mexico vary in extent from a score of square miles to many thousands; they are arid and they are fertile, they are as a desert and as a marsh. The Bajio, in the State of Guanajuato, is a very fertile district well watered, and near to it the Cazadero (hunting place), in Queretaro, a district of grazing. The Plains of Apam are noted for the growth of the maguey and its production of pulque; on one side of these fertile lands is the arid Plain of San Juan; to the north and east, just on the edge of the terrace, are great marshes almost covered with water. In the State of San Luis Potosi a desert extends from a few miles north of the capital nearly to Saltillo. In the States of Coahuila, Durango and Chihuahua are the lagoons and marshes of the Bolson de Mapimi. On the table-lands of the interior altitudes the cereals of the temperate zone are grown to the extent, in many places, of two crops a year where the lands are well irrigated; in the Nazas Valley cotton grows so luxuri- antly that it does not require replanting till from four to five years. The Coast is almost devoid of harbors and safe roadsteads except at Tam- Dico, where the mouth of the Rio Panuco has been jettied over a thousand feet out into the Gulf. The outward scour of the river cleans the sands from the bar, affording an entrance for the largest ships and a safe harbor large enough for all purposes. At Vera Cruz ships anchor opposite the city and dis- charge cargoes and passengers under the lee of a great sea wall, so that the lighters are dispensed with and ships discharge and load at the piers. It has taken nearly 400 years to find out that a safe harbor could be made at Vera Cruz. At Coatzacoalcos, the Gulf terminus of the Tehuantepec Railway, a deep water harbor has been secured, as the physical advantages of the port are capable of great improvement by jetties. On the Pacific Coast the harbor of Salina Cruz, near Tehuantepec, the sea wall and harbor works are about completed. At Acapulco is one of the finest harbors in the world ; at Manzanillo, Mazatlan, San Bias and Guaymas are protected harbors. The mountains on this coast are washed by the sea, while on the Gulf are wide expanses of lowlands with the hills farther to the interior. 13 Agricultttre and Forests — The lands of Mexico, with its diversified cli- mate, grow the vegetable products of the world — corn, wheat, rye and bar- ley, of the temperate zone, on the uplands; sugar cane, coffee, the finest in the world, vanilla, cotton, indigo, rubber, tobacco, jalap and cocoa in the hot lands, while every variety of cactus produces something of use, from the fibre of the ixtle to the pulque, tequila and mescal of the maguey. The Maguey, the American Aloe, is probably the most popular plant that grows in Mexico; from the various branches of the maguey family are produced the intoxicating drinks of the country, pulque, tequila and mescal. The maguey is what we call the Century plant, from the idea that it blooms once in a hundred years — which is correct — it blooms but once in its life. Tequila and mescal, both transparent liquors, are obtained by a distillation of the root and the lower leaves after roasting; the liquor is very strong, GATHERING PULQUE. having a large percentage of alcohol. Pulque is the fermented sap or juice of the maguey. When the plant is about to bloom the stem that would in a few days run up to a height, is cut out, forming a bowl, into which gathers the sap that ^vould otherwise produce this long stalk; this juice or sap, called agua miel, honey water, is gathered a gallon or two each day till the plant is exhausted, when it dies and another one is put in its place that will not produce for eight or ten years. A peon and a burro laden with empty hog-skin bags or bottles go through the fields; finding a plant that is ready the peon takes a long slender gourd that has a small hole ifi each end; one end in the bowl of sap in the plant the other in his lips he draws the sap into the gourd until it is full, then empties it into the hog- skins, and when they are full they are emptied into a cask on a near-by cart, taken to the hacienda, fermented overnight and taken to the City in the 14 morning. Pulque spoils (if it can really spoil) within twenty-four hours. If drank at all it must be done at once; which may account for the energy of the Mexican in this direction. All the vegetables and fruits known in North America are found in the gardens and orchards of Mexico, and all those of the tropics are in the fields and forests of the tierra caliente — oranges, lemons, pine-apples, ba- nanas, and scores of others as the granadita, mamey and the chirimoya that are never heard of except in Mexico. There is an infinite variety of flowers in Mexico, comprising all those of temperate and torrid zones. In the forests are all the hardwoods, mahogany, rosewood, ebony, as well as the oak, pine and cedar of less value. In a great extent of country, in the interior, wood of any kind is scarce, and timbers for manufacturing pur- poses are freighted from distant points. The possibilities for agricultural im- provement are unbounded. BRINGING OUT SILVER. Mines and Mining— This subject may be treated in one word, silver. It is everywhere, in every state, in every hill and mountam. It is probable that the total production of silver in Mexico, since the opening of the mines to date would reach $4,000,000,000. Gold exists in small quantities, it is a curious fact that the ornaments found by the Spaniards in the houses o the native kings and nobles were all of gold; silver was hardly nientioned among the trophies taken to Spain. There is little iron, except at Uuiango where there is a mountain of it that is from seventy-f^ve to ninety per cent, o pure metal. Coal of fair quality is mined extensievly. Lead there is, ami some copper; also quicksilver, cinnabar, salt, bismuth, alum, asphalt, naphtha and petroleum; sulphur is taken in huge blocks— pure sulphur from the 16 crater of Popocatepetl, the mining of which has been going on since the time when Cortez' soldiers let themselves down by ropes and baskets to gather material for powder for the conqueror's cannon. The most primitive methods of mining are yet in use in Mexico, but mod- ern machinery is being introduced. The shafts, sometimes hundreds of feet deep, are worked with a wandlass and mule-power, and in some places the miners pass up and down on ladders or steps cut in the side of the shaft. The peon miners do not mind the heat or the water, but trudge along day after day for the smallest wages or a percentage of what he handles. The old patio process, for the amalgamation of silver, invented by Bar- tolome Medina in 1557, is still used in some old mines. The ore is first crushed in a mill which consists of an immense rolling stone turned by mules; the smaller particles fall through a seive, the larger ones a.re crushed again, and so on, are passed through other revolving stones till the ore becomes a pr-.- ., this powder is carried by water through a trough to a paved patio or court, and when the mass is about two feet deep, blue vitriol, salt and quicksilver are thrown into it by handfuls till sufficiently impreg- nated, then a herd of mules is driven round and round in the patio till the mass is thoroughly mixe'd, taking from two to four weeks. The silver mud is then taken to the washers, or tanks, and stirred in the water till the amalgam of silver and quicksilver, being heavy, sinks to the bottom; this mass is taken then to a sort of distillery and the mercury, separated by distillation, leaves the pure silver to be smelted into ingots. Manttfactures — Mexico has advanced wonderfully in manufactures in the last decade, till, within herself, she could supply all wants of her people without the imports from the outside world, could clothe them from head to foot, feed them, give then wine to drink and houses to live in. Statis- tical information as to manufactures is not expected here. The percentage of increase is not easily calculated. The advance has been from the primi- tive hand loom of reeds to the factory of the most improved machinery. The lack of the important factor of fuel will necessarily relegate the manu- factories to the timbered regions, or to the line of the water-powers of the country, where fuel is not needed. The forests are for the most part in remote sections and in the hot lands. Coal is not yet mined in sufficient quantities, though it exists in many parts of the Republic, and there are abundant evidences of petroleum, and some flowing wells. The water-powers have never been utilized to their fullest capacity, and there are great possibilities in this direction, as at Juanacatlan, near Guada- lajara, where a wide river makes a sheer fall of seventy-one feet. It is used only for street car power, an electric light plant, and one mill and a factory, but the whole river from its source to the mouth has scores and scores of sites for other factories and mills. Carpets and woolen cloths are made at Soria, near Celaya, at Salvatierra, and several other points; calicoes and cotton goods in the Federal District and in many of the larger cities; blankets and zerapes at Durango, Sal- tillo, San Miguel de Allende, Aguas Calientes, Guadalajara and San Luis Potosi; saddles, bridles, shoes and leather goods at Leon, Maravatio and the City of Mexico; cigars and cigarettes at Vera Cruz, the City of Mexico, and the larger cities; breweries are at Monterey, San Luis Potosi, Chi- huahua, Puebla, Orizaba, Guadalajara and Toluca; foundry and rolling mill near the iron mountain at Durango. Chihuahua and Monterey are the larg- est manufacturing centers of the country; the factories include almost every branch of trade. 16 The great Hercules Mills near Queretaro are among the finest cotton factories in the world and second to these only are the mills on the line of the Mexican Railway near Puebla, and at Nogales near Orizaba. Smelters and reduction works for getting out silver are located in all the great mining towns. Sugar mills are in the cane country, but as yet the refineries are very few. Crockery and pottery are made at Puebla, Guada- lajara, and m very many smaller towns and villages. The onyx of Puebla is famous for its delicate beauty. It is manufactured into very handsome ornaments and used extensively in the manufacture of tops for stands and tables, altars, fonts, etc., for shrines and churches. All of Mexico's manufac- tures are infant industries, but growing very rapidly. CURVED BRIDGE ON THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RY. ^ TRANSPORTATION. Mexican Railway was the first completed line in Mexico. It ex- tends from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico, 263 miles,-passing through a very rich region, both in the tropics and the table-lands. Cordoba and Orizaba are the principal cities in the ticrra calicntc. The line is famous the world over for the beauty of its scenery, and that between Maltrata and Esperanza is beautiful beyond all description. From Esperanza the line runs through a succession of fertile plains; the most noted are the famous pulque Plains of Apam. A tramway extends from Esperanza to Tehuacan. A branch from Apizaco to Puebla and from Omctusco to Pachuca, Connections are made 17 at Puebla with the Mexican Southern Ry. ; at Cordoba with the Vera Cruz & Pacific; at Pachuca with Mexican Central and Hidalgo & Northeastern. Mexican Central Railway from El Paso, Texas, crossing the Rio Grande to the old town of Paso del Norte, now called the City of Juarez, runs almost due south 1,224 miles to the City of Mexico.-^ Passing the cities of Chihuahua, "^ Jimenez, Gomez Palacio, Torreon, Calera, Zacatecas, Aguas Calientes, Lagos, Leon, Silao, Irapuato, Salamanca, Celaya, Queretaro, Tula and San Juan del Rio on the main line. Connections of branches and other hues are made as follows : At Chihuahua with the Chihuahua & Pacific, and Kansas City, Mexico & Orient; at Escalon, Mexican Northern; at Conejos, Central Durango ; at Bermejillo, Mexican International and Mapimi Railroad; at Torreon, Mexican International and Coahuila & Pacific and Monterey divisions ; Parral, Parral & Durango ; Jim- enez, Parral branch ; Gomez Palacio, San Pedro branch ; at Paredon, Saltillo branch ; Adrian, Santa Barbara branch ; San Bartolo, Rio Verde branch ; Sal- amanca, Mex. National; Irapuato, Guadalajara division; Silao, Guanajuato branch ; Aguas Calientes, San Luis Potosi and Tampico division ; Rincon de Romos, Tepezala branch ; Pachuca, Panuco branch ; Lecheria, Tulancingo, Pachuca and Apulco branch; Yuricuaro, Zamora branch; Guadalajara, Mazatlan and Ameca divisions ; La Vega, San Marcos branch ; Celaya, Mexican National ; San Luis Potosi, Mexican National; Tampico, Monterey & Gulf division; City of Mexico, with Cuernavaca division. It is impossible to enumerate the points of interest ; they are in almost every mile. The most important are : the view of Chihuahua on the west side; San Pedro Bridge; Bolson de Mapimi on the east side; approach to and passing of Zacatecas and Guadalupe, seen from the east windows ; Bar- ranca de La Encarnacion ; approach to Lagos and Leon ; Irapuato for straw- berries and Celaya for dulces, both every day in the year ; Queretaro for opals ; and just south of the city the road passes under the great stone aqueduct of the city's water supply and into a fine valley, and afterwards to the Plain of the Cazadero to Leiia, the point of highest altitude, 8,140 feet. At Tula are the ruins of Toltec temples ; the road, continuing, runs through a beautiful valley to the great Nochistongo Canal, seen on the west side. From Huehuetoca may be obtained the first view of the great volcanoes of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl, and the plain, valley and City of Mexico. The scenery on the line from San Luis Potosi to Tampico is unsurpassed in Mexico, and the roads to Guadalajara and Guanajuato are rich in scenic beauty, as also the Mazatlan division. "^ Cuernavaca Division of the Mexican Central extends from the City of Mexico to Cuernavaca, Puente de Ixtla, Iguala, and the Rio Balsas, with an — ultimate destination on the Pacific coast at Acapulco. "^The road crosses the broad plain of the Valley of Mexico, passing historic points, Molino del Rey, Chapultepec, Padierna and Contreras. The scenic beauty of the line, as it passes up the hills on the southern border of the plain, is magnificent, and the views southward in the State of Morelos and beyond are grandly beautiful. ^ Mexican International Railroad enters the Republic of Mexico at the City of Porfirio Diaz, crossing the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass, Texas, and runs 383 miles westward to its junction with the Central Railway at Torreon. Connection is made at Reata for Monterey.— The principal cities and towns are " Monclova, Jaral and Paila ; near the latter are the famous vineyards of Parras. The road skirts the southern border of the Bolson de Mapimi, and all along the line are fine views of mountain scenery, making the ride an interesting one. 18 After Torreon the road enters the San Jnan Valley and extends, south- westerly, 157 miles across the plains, over a fine roadway to the beautiful city of Durango. There are branch lines at Sabinas for Hondo ; at Baroteran for JMusquiz ; at Pedriceha for Velardeha ; at Torreon for Tlalmalilo ; at Durango for Guan- acevi; at Horizonte for Bermejillo; at Monclova for Cuartro Cienegas ; at Hor- nos for San Pedro; and at Matamoros for Tlalmalilo; at Mesquite for Carbon. I liter oceanic Railroad has its main line from the City of Alexico to Vera Cruz. On the eastern division the principal points of interest are Texcoco, Irolo, San Martin, Puebla, Perote, Jalapa and Vera Cruz. On the western division are La Compahia, Tlalmanalco, Amecameca, Nepantla, Cuautla, Yaute- pec and Puente de Ixtla.^The scenery is pleasing beyond description; the great volcanoes are in full view for many miles ; in fact, scarcely out of sight during the entire journey. Leaving Mexico, the road passes along the shores of Lake Texcoco, seen from the east windows, while Lake Xochimilco and Chalco can be seen from the other side. At Los Reyes is the junction of the Morelos division. On the main line the points of interest are the hacienda of General Gonzales — Texcoco — Molino de Flores — the pulque Plains of Apam, Puebla, Pyramid of Cholula, Voicano of Orizaba, Perote and beautiful Jalapa. From San Lorenzo there is a "cut off" to Oriental, which shortens the line to Vera Cruz. From Los Arcos on the main line five miles west of Puebla, the Matamoros branch leads off in a southwesterly direction, extending into a rich sugar dis- trict around Cuautla. From Virreyes a branch extends northward to San Juan. and another to Teziutlan. Connections at Puebla with ]\Iexican Southern, and Ixtla with Mexican Central. 1^" National Railroad of Mexico has its northern terminus at Laredo, Texas, Nuevo Laredo being the city in IMexico on the opposite bank of the Rio Grande. The line runs in a southwesterly direction 802 miles, to the City of Mexico, passing the cities of Monterey, Saltiho, Catorce, San Luis Potosi, San ]\liguel de AUende, Queretaro on the main line, with Celaya, Salvatierra, Acam- baro, Maravatio and Toluca on the old line. At Monterey the road crosses the Monterey & Gulf division of the Mexican Central and connects with the Matamoros division to the Gulf, and Mexican International Ry. At Saltillo the connections are with the Coahuila & Zacate- cas and the Coahuila & Pacific division of the Mexican Central. At Vanegas connection is made with the Vanegas, INIatehuala & Rio Verde Railroad. At San Luis Potosi is the crossing of the Tampico division of the Mexican Central ; at Rincon there is a branch to San Luis de la Paz and Pozos. At Gonzalez the old line runs due south to Acambaro crossing the Mexican Central at Celaya. From Soria there is a branch to Salamanca and Jaral. Acambaro is the junction for Morelia, Patzcuaro and Uruapan. At Maravatio connection is made with the Michoacan & Pacific; at Toluca with minor branches. All roads lead to the capital,- and all have their points of interest. These are not lacking on the National, and daylight schedules are to be chosen whenever it is possible. To be especially noted are the following: the beautiful Monterey Valley, the City, Saddle Mountain, Mitre Mountain. Bishop's Palace, on the east side; the ride through the canons to Saltillo; on the east side see the mountain peak with a hole in the top, as if made with a monster cannon shot; Hacienda Ramo-> Arispe and approach to Saltillo; battlefield of Buena Vista, iust south of Saltillo; Catorce, station for the great mining town of the same name; Bocas, with its beautiful hacienda (on the cast side) and 19 village ; San Luis Potosi, on the west side ; Dolores Hidalgo, once the home of the patriot priest; San Miguel de AUende, the city on the hill, seen from the east windows ; the canon and valley of the Laja. From Gonzalez the main line is through a picturesque region of fertile valleys, hills and canons — see the aqueduct of Queretaro the Hercules Mills and from Huehuetoca the first views of the Volcanoes of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl. On the old line are the cotton mills at Soria; cafion near Maravatio ; cafion of the Zopilote, south of Solis, where is shown the rock of El Salto de Juan Medina, where the famous bandit leaped his horse from the top to the chasm below, rather than be captured ; Zirizicuaro, on the east side; valley and city of Toluca; ascent of the Sierra Madre to a point 10,000 feet above the sea; passing around the village of Ocoyo- cac, and a few minutes later a thousand feet above it ; grand view of valley and volcano of Toluca; mill and aqueduct of Jajalpa; battlefield of Las Cruces ; grand view from the mountain top after passing La Cima ; the plain and valley of Mexico; the City and the volcanoes on the east side; descent of the eastern slope ; the "Moonstone" near Rio Hondo ; Naucaulpan ; Los Remedios on the west ; Chapultepec on the east ; old aqueduct on the east side. On the western division, connection at Acambaro, the attractions are no less, as it passes through the beautiful lake region, Lake Cuitseo and Lake Patzcuaro, and to the cities of Morelia, Patzcuaro and Uruapan. >-- ^ Mexican Northern Railway extends from Escalon on the Mexican Central to Sierra Mojada, 78 miles. Mexican Southem Railway runs from Puebla to Oaxaca, 228 miles, passing through the important towns of Tecom.avaca and Tehuacan, with an ultimate destination at a Pacific port on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. A tram line leads from Tehuacan to Esperanza on the Mexican Railway. — The road has a good passenger equipment, and runs through a country wildly picturesque, where primitive Mexico may be seen as nowhere else. Convenient schedules are operated to and from Puebla, connecting with those of the lines from the capital. The line runs at the bottom of the caiions, instead of on the clififs, as in the case of almost all the other lines, presenting views unlike those seen anywhere else. Just below the beautiful city of Oaxaca, reached by a broad, level carriage road, are the big trees of Santa Maria del Tule and the wonderful ruins of Mitla. Connections at Rosendo Marquez and Tlacotepec with Tlacotepec & Huajuapam de Leon Railroad; at Oaxaca with Oaxaca & Ejutla Railroad. Hidalgo & Northeastern division of the Mexican National Ry. runs from the City of Mexico to Pachuca and the mining cities beyond ; the road runs through a country rich in scenic beauty. There is a branch line to Irolo the main line now reaches Tortugas with an ultimate destination at Tampico. Montery & Gulf Division of the Mexican Central Railroad extends from Tampico, on the Gulf, 387 miles to Trevifio, on the International Railroad, crossing the Mexican National Railroad at Monterey,- passing the ■ — ~ cities of Victoria, Linares, Montemorelos and numerous smaller towns and villages of more or less interest to the traveler, in the newly opened country through which the line passes. The constantly changing scenes in the mountains and valleys from Trevifio and Monterey to Linares and Victoria make the journey over the Monterey & Mexican Gulf road a pleasing one, to which are added those of tropical beauty on the southern division of the line south of Victoria and all the way down to Tampico. Sonora Railroad runs from Benson, in Arizona, to Guaymas, on the Gulf of California, 353 miles, passing Hermosillo, the capital of the State of 20 Sonora, and through a country intensely interesting and possessing a wealth of scenery. The harbor of Guaymas is one of the finest on the Pacific coast, land-locked by high mountains that make it a very beautiful as well as a very safe one. This line is being extended south to Guadalajara, at this writing has reached the city of Culiacan. Parral & Dttratigo Railway runs from Parral to Durango through a rich timber and mining district. Coaiiuila St Pacific Divisioti of the Mexican Central from Saltillo on the National runs westward to a connection with the main line and the International at Torreon, passing the city and wine district of Parras. Vera Cruz 65: Pacific Railway has its northern and eastern termini at Cordoba and Vera Cruz, connecting at the south with the Tehuantepec Rail- way at Santa Lucrecia. - The line traverses a rich and very interesting tropic country, where rubber, tobacco, sugar, coffee and all the tropic fruits are grown in profusion. This is the shortest transcontinental line north of Tehuantepec. Occidental Railway runs from Altata on the Pacific coast to Culiacan, the capital of the State of Sinaloa. Vera CrttZ Railways run from Vera Cruz down the^ coast to Alvarado. Coahuila & Zacatecas runs from Saltillo on the National to Conception del Oro, with an ultimate destination at Zacatecas. Chihualiua & Pacific from Chihuahua has the Pacific coast for its final destination. Jalapa & Cordoba Railway will in the near future connect those two cities. The line is through a tropical country, and the ride over it to Coatepec, ^ico and Teocelo is one of the most interesting in Mexico, through coffee and orange groves, pineapple and banana gardens. Xico & San Rafael Railway east from, the City of Mexico is to extend to Puebla. Oaxaca & Ejutla Railway from Oaxaca southward traverses a rich mining district. Nacozari Railway runs south from Agua Prieta in the State of Sonora to Nacozari, Mexican Central Railway has a line from Manzanillo on the Pacific coast to Colima, the capital of the state of that name and thence to Guadalajara; also a line from Zacatecas to Guadalupe and Troncoso. Merida & Valladolid, Merida & Progreso, Merida & Peto and Merida & Izatnal Railways in Yucatan form a system reaching from Pro- greso to the interior of the state. United Railways of Yucatan run from Merida southwesterly through Yucatan to Campeche, with branch lines to interior points. San Marcos 6c Httajuapam Railway runs from Rosendo Marquez on the Mexican Southern southward through a fertile agricultural and rich mining country, and north to San Marcos. The minor raiKvays are Consolidated Copper, from Naco on the El Paso & Southwestern Railway; Cordoba & Huatusco, from Cordoba, on the Mexican Railway; Cardenas & Grijalva; Monte Alto Railway, from Tlalnepantla. on the National and Central ; F. C. del Desague del Valle de Mexico, from Grand Canal, on the Mexican Railway; Txtlahuaca, Mani & Nijini Railway, from Ixtlahuaca, on the National ; Torres & Prietas Railway, from Torres, on the Sonora Railway; Potosi & R'o Verde Railway, from San Luis Potosi ; Mexican Mineral Raihvav, from Monterey; El Oro Railway, from Tultenango. on the National; Chihuahua Mineral Railway, from Chihuahua; Oblatos Rail- way, from Guadalajara; Salamanca & Jaral Railway, from Salamanca, on the 21 Central; Toluca & Tenango Railway, from Toluca; Toluica & San Juan, from Toluca ; Cazadero & Solis, from Cazadero, on the Central ; San Gregorio Rail- way, from Marfil, on the Central; Mapimi Railway, from Bermijillo, on the Central; Chalchicomula Railway, from San Andres, on the Mexican Railway; Juanacatlan Railway, from El Castillo, on the Central; Durango Central, from Conejos, on the Central. Vauegas Cedral & Matehuala Railway runs from Vanegas to Cedral, Matehuala and Rio Verde. From Matehuala the Provenir de Matehuala Railroad runs to El Pilar. Rio Grande, Sierra Madre & Pacific Railway runs southwesterly from Ciudad Juarez, opposite El Paso, 155 miles to Terranza, with an ultimate destination on the Pacific Coast or that of the Gulf of California. Teliuaiitepec Railway. The completion of the Tehuantepec Railway makes the shortest possible transcontinental line north of the Isthmus of Panama. The road runs from the fine harbor of Coatzacoalcos, on the Gulf, to that of Salina Cruz, on the Pacific Coast. Both harbors are amply protected and possessed of sufficient water for all practical purposes. The harbor of Coatza- coalcos was discovered by a band of Cortez' explorers. As there was no safe road where his ships could ride off the coast of Vera Cruz, he sent an ex- ploring party down the coast, and Coatzacoalcos was the harbor they looked for, Tehuantepec is a few miles inland from Salina Cruz on the Pacific Coast. The importance of this railroad is realized in the immense sailing distance saved on both sides, which is from 1,500 to 2,000 miles on the Gulf, and about the same on the Pacific. The Pan-Ainericati Ry. is in operation from San Geronimo on the Tehuantepec Ry. to the Guatemala border. Kansas City, Mexico & Oriente Ry. is in operation east from Chihua- hua, where it connects with the Mexican Central, 88 miles ; west from Mihaca 73 miles and east from Topolobampo 75 miles with gaps under construction. Steatner Lines. The principal steamer lines to and from Mexican ports are the Ward Line, New York & Cuba Mail Steamship Company, with weekly steamers between Vera Cruz, Tampico, New York and Havana, touching at Progreso, Campeche, Tuxpan and Frontera. Other American and the European steamers make the same ports. The At- lantic & Mexican Gulf Steamship, Mexican-American; Wolvin Line operates be- tween Tampico, Vera Cruz and the Gulf and Atlantic ports of the United States. The Canadian line to Canada from Mexican ports, is the latest to bid for a growing trade. The Pacific Mail steamers, between San Francisco and Panama, touch at Salina Cruz, Acapulco, Mazatlan, Manzanillo and San Bias. The Pacific Coast S. S. Co. operates a line of steamers between San Francisco, Cal., and the Mexican ports of Guaymas, Santa Rosalia, Pichilingoe, Topolobampo, Altata, Mazatlan, San Jose del Oabo, Magdalena Bay and En- senada. Inland navigation in Mexico is at present very limited ; small stearners are run on Lakes Patzcuaro and Chapala, and on some of the larger rivers of the States of Tabasco, Yucatan and Vera Cruz, and up the coast to the ports of Vera Cruz and Tampico, touching intermediate ports. The Ward Line and the Mexican Navigation Company have coastwise steamers up and down the Coast from Tampico down to Vera Cruz, Coatzacoalcos, Frontera, Campeche and Progreso. The Rio Panuco and Tamesi River are also navigated a short distance inta the interior. But every one of these lines have their attractions that do not obtain on any other waters of the western world. HERNANDO CORTEZ— FROM THE ORIGINAL PAINTING IN THE HOSPITAL DE JESUS —CITY OF MEXICO. Historical. What might have served to enlighten upon the history of the earlier races that inhabited the land, was destroyed by the fanatics, who saw in the temples they found, evidences of a civilization almost superior to their own, and of a religion so nearly identical, that it seemed only a creed of the one they professed; the jealous bigotry that threw down the graven stones, and tore the pictured parchments to fragments, wiped out volumes of history and placed bloody chapters in their stead. The bigots pulled down that which in their day and generation they could not build up, placed a period and a finis to the story of the races that were there for centuries before they brought their bloody banners to these shores, till there is only here and there a sculptured wall, with mosaics more intricate than any builded since, or massive monoliths set up in pillars to grace a corridor of grander pro- portions than their own, and, if they could, they would have destroyed all of these works of a people who had passed away under the assaults of bar- barism, at a period prior to all traditions, leaving no name, and no trace of their existence save these monuments, which, neglected and forgotten by their successors, have become the riddle of later generations. There was a survival of the fittest. The bigot and fanatic passed away in the fire of his own kindling. The good men and true saved, as brands from the burning, some scrolls of picture writings, and from destruction saved the marvelous carvings, that hung up for ornaments, and set as treas- ures within our modern walls, tell us of a departed civilization, but with only a drop of the knowledge of it. It is to be regretted that from the wreck of this primitive civilization some of the arts peculiar to it were not saved. The methods by which its as- tronomers succeeded in determining the apparent motion of the sun and the length of the solar year; of working and polishing crystal and other stones; of manufacturing delicate articles of use and ornament of obsidian; of casting figures of gold and of silver in one piece; of making filigree orna- ments without Soldering; of applying to pottery even and transparent glazes, such as are used by makers of fine ware, with colors that, after remaining 23 24 for centuries under ground, still are fresh and brilliant; of weaving extremely delicate tissues of cotton mixed with silky feathers and rabbit's fur. The earliest data of record is in the coming of the Toltecs to Anahuac A. D. 648, and the movements of the various tribes in the succeeding cen- turies till the foundation of Tenochtitlan in 1325, nearly 200 years before its destroyers came. But these dates are determined by tradition only, on which no two of the ancient chroniclers agree, but their differences are not material. The picture writings, the only and very meager record extant, are for the most part on a cloth made of a fibre of the maguey. Most of these were destroyed by order of the over zealous of the clergy. A few of these pictures remain, some in the National Museums, some in private collections and some in the libraries of Europe. Historians agree as to these dates: The Toltecs appeared in 648 A. D. The Chichimecs in 1170 A. D. The Nahuals in 1178 A. D. The Aztecs or Acolhuans in 1196 A. D. It will thus be seen that the Toltecs and Aztecs that are so often spoken of in the same breath were 600 years apart. This is the record of the nations; the names of the rulers before the 12th century are not known; the first Chichimec king named in that century was Xolotl, then through the 13th and 14th centuries in this order came Nopalt- zin. Quinatzin and Tecotlalla; in 1406 Ixlilochtli commenced his reign; he was followed by Netzahualcoyotl in 1426, and he in turn by Nezahualpilli in 1470. Cacamatzin began his reign in 1516, was succeeded by Cuicuitzcatzin in 1520 and he by Coanacotzin in 1520. Of the Aztecs little is known except that their country was known as Anahuac, and the capital Tenochtitlan, where the valley and City of Mexico is now. The empire of the Montezumas was established about the year 1460 and continued till the arrival of the Spaniards in 1521, when Montezuma II was killed by the arrows of his own warriors when Cortez forced him to go upon the portico of his palace to quell if possible the rioting Aztecs, who under Cuautemoc w^ere attempting his rescue. Cuautemoc, the nephew of Monte- zuma, became his successor and was the last of his line, the last of the Aztec kings. The Conquest — The name of Cortez is synonymous with the conquest, but it was not his privilege to be the first of his race to reach the shores of the land of his brilliant adventures. Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba discovered the coast of Yucatan, March 4, 1517. A year later another expedition was sent out by Velasquez, the governor of Cuba, under command of Don Juan de Grijalva, who came to the shores of Mexico and landed on the island of San Juan de Ulua, oppo- site the present city of Vera Cruz. A good report of the land was sent back to Cuba by one of the captains, Pedro de Alvarado, later a famous officer under Cortez, and still another fleet, larger than the others, was fitted out and placed under the command of Hernando Cortez. Before the fleet was ready to sail the governor determined to remove Cortez from command, which coming to the ears of the Conqueror, he prepared his ships for sea. and sailed before his removal could be accomplished, on the night of No- vember 18, 1518, from Santiago de Cuba, touching at several other ports on the island for supnlies. Cortez finally sailed for Mexico February 18, I5i9- The fleet consisted of eleven ships, carrying no sailors, sixteen cavalry men 26 with their horses, 553 foot soldiers, 200 Cuban Indians, a battery of ten small cannon and four falconets; with this army went two Indians as interpreters, captured by Cordoba in Yucatan tW'O years previous. On his ship Cortez raised the standard of the conquest, a black ensign, emblazoned with the arms of Charles V., bearing the crimson cross borne in clouds, with the motto : Aniici, seqiiani criicem et si nos fideni habemus vere in hoc signo vincemus — "Friends, let us follow the cross, and if we have faith we will conquer." Under this flag and the patronage of St. Peter, Cortez sailed. On the island of Cozumel a shipwrecked Spaniard, Geronimo de Aguilar, was picked up; having been there for nearly nine years he had acquired the language and was a valuable acquisition as an interpreter. The first landing was on March 20, 1519, near the Rio Tabasco, where there was fighting with the natives and a number made captives, among SACRIFICE ON THE TEOCALI. whom was La Marina, a native of Jalisco, sold here as a slave. She under- stood the language of the uplands as well as the coast, and thus, through her and Aguilar, Cortez could communicate with the people. La ]\Iarina soon learned the Spanish language and became the interpreter, ally and wife of the conqueror, and bore him a son, who was called Martin, as was an- other son by his Spanish wife. Leaving the River Grijalva, Cortez sailed up the coast and dropped his anchors ofif Vera Cruz, April 21, 1519. Efforts to secure a peaceful recep- tion on the part of the natives were unavailing. Discontent arose among the Spaniards. Cortez, acting with his customary decision, burned his ships, and on the i6th of August began his march toward the capital of the Aztecs. With little incident or opposition the brave band of adventurers reached the table-lands and after a fight with the Tlaxcalans secured them as their 27 allies. At Cholula, Cortez put down a conspiracy reported to him by La Marina, which was attended by a great massacre of the Cholulans. The na- tives were completely terrorized by the cannon and fire-arms, and the horse and rider of the cavalry were regarded as almost a god, or at least one being, as they had never seen a horse, so the invaders proceeded on their march, unopposed, passed over the causeways of Tenochtitlan, and entered the present City of Mex- ico, Tuesday, November 8, 1 5 19. The Aztec King, Montezuma, came out to meet Cortez, tradition says, on the site of the present Hospital de Jesus, founded by him in com- memoration of this meet- ing. The aggressions of the Spaniards, and their oppression of the Mexicans soon turned their apparent friendship to hatred, and they drove them out of the City over the Tlacopan cause- way, now called Ta- cuba, on the night of July I, 1520, called la noche triste, the Dis- mal Night; retreat- ing, Cortez fought another battle at Otumba on the 8th of July, where the Tlaxacalans came to his rescue and turned the tide of war in his favor, and he halted in the city of these allies. While at Tlax- cala reinforcements J came from Cuba; powder for 'the can- non and small arms was made from the TREE OF LA NOCHE TRISTE. sulphur taken from the crater of Popocatepetl. The bergantines, small flat-bottomed boats, were built, to be put together and launched on Lake Texcoco, when Cortez returned and commenced the siege of Tenochtitlan, December 31, 1520, oper- ating from the town of Texcoco with a force of forty cavalry, eighty arque- busiers and cross-bowmen, 450 infantry, armed with lances and swords, and a battery of nine small cannon. This was the Spanish contingent. The na- tive allies numbered about 125,000. Montezuma died on the 30th of June, the day before the Noche Triste, and his nephew, Guatemotzin, called also Cuautemoc, who, it is said, shot the arrow that caused Montezuma's death, was placed in command. The 28 siege continued till the native garrison was starved into submission, and the Spaniards made their second and triumphal entry into the City of Mexico, August 13. 1521; but they found a different city than when the meek Monte- zuma met them at the city gates. Almost all the treasure had been de- stroyed or concealed, and to extort the secret from Guatemotzin, Cortez cruelly put him to torture, but without avail; the wealth of jewels, gold and precious stones had been thrown into the lake. Cortez was born in the town of Medellin, Province of Estramadura, in 1485, the son of Don Martin Cortez de Monroy. He came to Cuba before he was twenty years of age, and later married Doha Catalina Juarez under compulsion, whom he murdered in the garden at Coyoacan- During the DEATH OF MONTEZUMA. conquest La Marina took the place of Doha Catalina, by whom no children were borne. A son, Don Martin, was born of La Marina, and three daugh- ters by other Indian women of rank. After the conquest Cortez married Dofia Juana de Zuniga. who was called his second wife, and by whom he had three daughters and one son, also named Martin, who was heir to the conqueror's titles and estates. There was a son, Don Luis, by Antonia Hermosillo. The two sons, both named Martin, entered into a conspiracy to secure the rulership of the province to Don Martin, the son of Doiia Juana. For this his estates were confiscated, but finally restored to him. He married and left a son, Hernando, the third Marques of the Valley, whose son, Don Pedro, the fourth Alarques, lived on the estates until 1629. dying in that year without male issue. Through the daughters the property passed to the Neapolitan Dukes of Monteleone, which family still controls the vast estates. 29 Hernando Cortez, the Conqueror, died in the town of Cast^Ueja de la Questa, in Spain, December 2, 1547. The Viceroys — Mexico was under the dominion of Spain for 300 years, during which time there were five Governors, two Audencias and sixty-two Viceroys. Cortez was the first Governor; the others were mihtary command- ers of the time. The Audencias, composed of three to five members each, were torn by envies and jealousies and proved entirely unsatisfactory, so the government by the Viceroys was resorted to. The most prominent, with the important incidents of their administrations, are recorded here. Don An- tonio de Mendoza was the first Viceroy, continuing in ofifice from 1535 to 1550. He brought the first printing press and printed the first book in Mexico. He extended the domain to Morelia and Guadalajara, and opened the mines of Zacatecas and Guanajuato, and during his administration the first money of Mexico was coined. Don Luis de Velasco, the second Viceroy, held the office from 1550 to 1564, and extended the territory of the province northward to Durango. He freed 150,000 Indians held as slaves by the Spaniards, and founded many im- portant institutions, among them Hospital Real and the University. During his time the patio process for the reduction of silver was invented at Pachuca by Bartolome de Medina. He built the dyke of San Lazaro after the first inundation of the city in 1552. Loved and lamented, he died in the City of Mexico, July 31, 1564. Don Martin Enriquez de Almanza was the fourth Viceroy, from 1568 to 1580. The first stone of the Cathedral was laid during his reign and the In- quisition established. The seventh Viceroy was Don Alonzo Manrique de Zufiiga, 1585 to 1590; he was instrumental in extending the commerce of the country. The eighth Viceroy was Don Luis de Velasco, son of the second Viceroy, who established internal manufactures and commenced the extension of ter- ritory into New Mexico in the years 1590 to 1595; after an absence as Viceroy of Peru he was again Viceroy from 1607 to 161 1, during which time the great Tajo de Nochistongo was begun, and the Alameda established. The ninth Viceroy was Don Caspar de Zufiiga y Acevedo, Conde de Mon- terey, who ruled from 1595 to 1603. He extended the domain to California and founded the town of Monterey, California, and the one in Mexico; he removed the city of Vera Cruz to its present site. Don Diego Carrillo Men- doza, Marques de Galves, was the fourteenth Viceroy, 1621 to 1624, doing much to exterminate the bandits that infested the highways of Mexico. For the honor of this Viceroy the town of Galveston, Tex., was named. The twenty- second Viceroy, Don Francisco Fernandez de la Cueva, Duque de Albur- querque, in 1653-60, colonized New Mexico, and founded the town of Albur- querque. The worthy Fray Payo de Rivera Enriquez was the twenty-seventh Viceroy, and also Archbishop of Mexico, from 1673 to 1680. During his reign, the cause- way and aqueduct of Guadalupe was built. Don Melchor Portocarrero Lazo de la Vega, Conde de la Monclova, twenty-ninth Viceroy, 1686 to 1688, built, at his own expense, the aqueduct of Chapultepec, colonized the State of Coa- huila, and founded the town of Monclova. Don Gaspar de la Cerdo Sandoval Silva y Mendoza, Conde de Galve, was the thirtieth Viceroy, from 1688 to 1696, during which the domain was extended to include Texas, and under his direction the town of Pensacola, Fla., was founded, in 1692. The thirty-second Viceroy was Don Jose Sarmiento Valladares, Conde de Moctezuma, which title of Conde came through his wife, a lineal descendant of Moctezuma II. Don Juan de Acufia. Marques de Casafuerte, was the thirty- 30 seventh of the Hue of Viceroys. During his reign, from 1722 to 1734, the first newspaper, Gaceta de Mexico, was published. Don Pedro Cebrian y Agustin, Conde de Fuenclara, was the fortieth Viceroy, from 1742 to 1746, during which years the State of Tamauhpas was colonized. Don Joaquin de jMonserratte, Marques de Cruillas, forty-fourth Viceroy, established the first regular army in Mexico between 1760 and 1766, and caused the houses in the City of Mexico to be numbered. Don Carlos Francisco de Croix, Marques de Croix, was forty-fifth Vicero}^, from 1766 to 1771. He expelled the Jesuits from i**Iexico and extended the Alameda to its present dimensions. The forty-sixth Viceroy was Don Antonio ]\Iaria de Bucareli y Ursua, from. 1771 to 1779. Mining and minting was greatly increased during his reign, and TORTURE OF CUAUTEMOC. nearly $130,000,000 was sent to Spain. He died in Mexico, and is buried in the church at Guadalupe; a bronze tablet in the floor of the great church of Guada- lupe marks his last resting-place. He fostered the military, but encouraged the commerce of the country till it reached an unprecedented activity. Besides other great public works he completed the aqueduct of Chapultepec at his own expense. Don Juan Vicente de Giicmcs Pacheco de Padilla, Conde de Revillagigedo, was the lifty-sccond Viceroy and the great reformer of the period 17S0-94. He paved and sewered the city, executed bandits, and sent out exploring expedi- tions, one of which penetrated Alaska. He attended the erection of public works in person, and was on the alert day and night, so that nothing escaped him. It is said that one night he tripped on an uneven piece of pavement, and had 31 the workmen called from their beds and told them to have it fixed before morning. On another occasion he found a street that was barricaded by some native huts. He sent for an officer and ordered the street opened, so he could pass through on his way to mass next morning. To this day the street is called Calle Revillagigedo. Don Miguel de la Grua Salamanca, Marques de Branciforte, was the fifty- third Viceroy. During his reign, 1794-98, Florida was ceded to France— that portion west of the Perdido Don Jose de Iturrigaray, to the native element dur- an d Jos eph island of San The faft^^'-sev- bay. He exe- the first martyr Garibay was bishop of Mexico, as fif tj'-eighth The Revoltttioti were beset in all di- spirit that was afire first conspiracy was and promptly first decisive taken by the priest, Hi- res, in the Allende, Aldama River. the fifty-sixth Viceroy, 1803-8, for his favors ingtheinterregnumbetweenFerdinandVri. Bonaparte, was arrested, imprisoned on the Juan de Ulua,and sent back to Spain. enth Viceroy was Don Pedro de Gari- cuted the Licenciado Verdad, of Mexicaii independence, succeeded by the then Arch- Francisco Javier de Lizana, Vicero}^ —The Viceroys from 1809 rections by the revolutionary throughout the country. The discovered in Michoacan stamped out. In 1810 the steps of the Revolution were joint action of the patriot dalgo, in the town of Dolo- State of Guanajuato, and U J 1 1 I i 1. 1 1 1 1 4 H U U . ^'■■:m^M-^ STATUE OF CHARLES IV. together with the officers of the Queen's regiment (then garrisoned at San Miguel), and greatly assisted by Doha Josef a Ortiz of Queretaro, who, under pretense of a literary society, was holding patriotic meetings at her house. These plans were discovered and the patriots compelled to act before they were quite ready. During the night of the 16th of September, Sunday, the comrades came to the house of Hidalgo, in Dolores, and told him of the discovery of the plot. The padre said they must act at once ; at early mass he told the people that the yoke was no longer Span- ish but French, and the time for its throwing off had come; his people responded and he set out with Allende and his companions at the head of a band of 800 men armed only with clubs and knives. As they passed the Santuario de Atotonilco, 32 Hidalgo took from the altar the banner oi Guadalupe, and it became the stand- ard of Independence, At San Miguel, the regiment of Allende joined the in- surgents, the march to Guanajuato was commenced, the people of the country flocked to his aid, and he came to the town with a heavy force; the Alhondiga de Granaditas was taken, and the city occupied by the patriots. The march thence w^as toward Alorelia, then called Valladolid, and thence towards the capital, his forces being constantly augmented, and at Las Cruces, almost within sight of the city, October 30, 1810, met the Royal troops and drove them back, but for some reason Hidalgo himself decided to retreat, and retired towards the interior, encountering the Royalists again November 7th, near Aculco, where he was defeated and driven back, but reached Guadalajara in safety, and organized a government there. Hidalgo met the Spaniards again January 16, 181 1, on the bridge of Calderon and had his little army dispersed. The defeated patriots made their way northward with the hope of reaching the United States in safety, but were betrayed into the hands of the Spaniards, and were captured in the little town of Acatita de Bajan, on the 21st of ^lay, 181 1, and conveyed to Chihuahua, where they were executed, Hidalgo on the 31st of July, Allende, Aldama and Jimenez on the 26th of June. The death of these leaders had only a stimulating effect on the cause of Inde- pendence. The entire country w^as aroused and a desultory war carried on in every district for more than four years, until the execution of Morelos at the orders of the Inquisition, December 22, 1815, at Valladolid, now called Morelia, in honor of the patriot. As fast as they were captured the patriots were shot, but others came to take their places, and in some cases came over from the Royalist forces, as in the case of Yturbide, who captured and shot ^latamoras at Valladolid, February 3, 1814, and seven days later himself promulgated the cause of Independence; the famous Plan of Iguala, which was the establish- ment of the Roman Catholic church to the exclusion of all others; the absolute Independence of Mexico as a moderate monarchy, with a Spanish prince on the throne; the union and equality of Alexicans and Spaniards. These three clauses were called "the three guarantees," represented in the national colors: green, union of the Mexicans and Spaniards; white, religious purity; red. inde- pendence. Yturbide's army, known as the "Army of the Three Guarantees," finally accomplished the Independence of Mexico. The cities of Valladolid. Queretaro and Puebla were captured, the latter on August 2, 1821, and at once commenced the siege of the capital. The last Viceroy, Juan O'Donoju, had just arrived at Vera Cruz. He found that he could not reach the City of Mexico and set about arranging a personal inter- view with Yturbide, which occurred at Cordoba, on August 23, 1821, and an agreement, known as the Treaty of Cordoba, was drawn on the lines of the Plan of Iguala, with amendment that O'Donoju should be one of the regents to govern Mexico until a king could be selected. This arrangement practi- cally ended Spanish rule in INIexico. Yturbide returned to his army, and on September 21, 1821, entered the City of Mexico in triumph. The territory within the boundaries of Mexico at that time included Guatemala, all of the present Republic of Mexico, and that part of the United States from the Red and Arkansas Rivers to the Pacific Coast, extending north to the British pos- sessions, — one of the greatest empires of the earth. Agustin de Yturbide was born in Valladolid, now Morelia. September 27, T783, joined the army at the early age of fifteen, and by his merit as a soldier was rapidly advanced. He was never in favor of the Republic, though he desired the Independence of Mexico, and probably hoped for his own enthronement, which was accomplished for a brief season. 33 On the 24th of February, 1822, the first Congress of Mexico assembled in the capital. Their election had been provided for by a committee of regency based on the Plan of Iguala and the Treaty of Cordoba. Almost immediately there were two important factions among the people. They resolved them- , MONUMENT TO HIDALGO, CHIHUAHUA. lu^^i T? ^^° political parties, one composed of the army and the church, tnat had for its object the placing of Yturbide upon the throne. The other party, composed mostly of prominent people, had an idea of an Empire under a prince of Spam. The Spanish Cortez had, in the meantime, February 13, l»22, annulled the Treaty of Cordoba. This gave encouragement to the army 34 and clergy party, and Congress was forced to make selection of an Emperor. On May 19, 1822, Yturbide was elected by a vote of 67 to 15, and on the 21st of July of that year Yturbide and his wife were crowned in the Cathedral as Emperor and Empress of Mexico. The Emperor was titled Agustin I. The Empire was short-lived. Congress, which had been friendly to Yturbide, .was dissolved by him and a sort of parliament organized, called a "Junta." Before the end of the year the Empire came to an end by the proclamation of a Republic on December 6, 1822, at Vera Cruz, b}^ General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana, and early in January the entire country had gathered under the banner of the Republic, leaving only the City of Mexico as the Empire. Ytur- bide called Congress together, tendered his resignation, which was not accepted, as the election had not been regarded as legal, and his actions as Emperor were also illegal. He was banished from the country, but granted a pension of $25,000 for his previous services to the country. He went to England, and from London wrote to the Government warning them of the machinations of the clergy for the restoration of the Spanish rule in Mexico, and offering his services in defense against them. Congress did not accept the information or his services, and at once a decree was issued pronouncing Yturbide a traitor and placing the penalty of death, should he return to Mexico. Yturbide was ignorant of the issuance of this decree and returned to JNIexico, landing at Soto la Marina, a little town on the Gulf coast, in the State of Tamaulipas, north of Tampico. He was arrested at once and taken before the legislature of Tamaulipas, then in session, condemned to death, and shot July 19, 1824. The second Congress, really the first of the Republic, assembled in the capital on the 7th of November, 1823, adopting a Constitution very similar to that of the United States, giving to the several states of ]\Iexico similar rights to those of the United States. It created a National Congress, to be composed of a Senate and Chamber of Deputies, placing the executive power in the hands of a President, and the judicial in the Supreme and Circuit Courts. This Constitution was proclaimed on the 4th of October, 1824, and on the loth of that month the first President of Mexico, General Guadalupe Victoria, took the oath of office. Congress was dissolved on the 24th of December, 1824, and the first Constitutional Congress convened January i, 1825. In that year Fort Juan de Ulua, the only place held by the Spanish, was evacuated and the Republic of j\Iexico was recognized by the United States and England. From 1828 to 1846 there was a series of revolutions, growing out of the disregard of the election between the Centralists and the Federalists. The sec- ond election for President occurred in 1828, when General Gomez Pedraza was elected. General Santa Ana dissenting and starting a revolution, which placed General Vicente Guerrero in office. Congress passed an act on the 20th of March, 1829' banishing all Spaniards from j\lexico. which, of course, brought retaliation from Spain. A force was organized in Cuba, which landed at Tampico in July, 1829. This invasion was met by the opposition of all the people in Mexico. Santa Ana organized a force at Vera Cruz and proceeded to Tampico, which was reenforccd by General Mier y Teran. A battle occurred on the 9th of September, which, on the nth, was followed by the surrender of the Spanish invaders. This was the last act of the Spaniards to regain possession of Alexico, and was followed by the recog- nition of the Republic by Spain, December 28, 1836. The Liberal Congress, in March, 1833, commenced the enaction of laws against the clergy, tending to the abolishment of monasteries and convents, and to forbid the priests teaching in State or National schools. This law was, however, withdrawn by Santa Ana in 1834. 36 While these stormy scenes were being enacted in Mexico, that part of the great Empire known as Texas had been settled, to some degree, by Americans, who, in 1835, under the leadership of Sam Houston, declared their Independ- ence. General Santa Ana was in command of the army sent to quell the revo- lution, and was met by the Texans in several bloody battles, among which was the massacre of the Alamo on the 6th of March, 1836, and at Goliad on the 27th, in which nearly 600 Texans were slain. General Santa Ana was defeated at the battle of San Jacinto, near Galves- ton, and the next morning, April 22nd, was made prisoner. This battle and the capture of the President and Chief General of Mexico practically ended the war and made Texas an independent State. Texas existed as a separate Republic until 1844, being recognized by the United States and the European powers. On the 12th of April, 1844, a treaty was concluded between President Tyler and the Texans, by which Texas was HOUSE OF CORTEZ AT COYOACAN. admitted as one of the United States. This treaty was ratified by Congress in March, 1845, which action, of course, did not meet with the approval of the Mexicans. As Texas was an independent power and had been recognized as such by the Mexican Government, their right to be annexed by the United States was not questioned by any other power. This was the beginning of the Mexican War, and the first battle was fought April 24, 1846, in which sixteen Americans were killed and wounded, and the remaining force captured. In the next battles, which were Palo Alto, on May 8th, and Resaca de la Palma on the next day (both of these places in Texas), the Mexicans were defeated. General Taylor crossed the Rio Grande at its mouth, on May the i8th, and occupied the Mexican town of Matamoros. The Americans had provided for the prosecution of the war by an appropriation of $10,000,000 and 50,000 36 volunteers were called for. Before the war commenced an envoy of the United States, Mr. Slidell, had been refused an audience by General Paredes, who had obtained the place of the Presidential office of Mexico, so that all efforts looking to a peaceful settlement were abandoned. General Taylor advanced from the Rio Grande, captured Monterey September 20, 1846, and on the 23d of February, 1847, fought another battle at Buena Vista, about five miles south of Saltillo. Generals Doniphan and Price marched through New Mexico, where they had engagements with Indians, then proceeded in the direction of Chihuahua, which they occupied on the 28th of February, 1847, after the battle of Sacra- mento. General, then Captain Fremont, acting under orders from the Gov- ernment at Washington, started a revolution against Mexico in California, and on the 7th of July, 1846, Commodore Sloat occupied the town of Monterey, Cal., and the next day Commander Montgomery occupied San Francisco. On the 17th of August, Commodore Stockton issued a proclamation taking possession of California, complete occupation of the State being made by Stockton and Kearney. The expedition against the Mexican capital was under General Winfield Scott, who landed at Vera Cruz March 9, 1847, and captured the city after five days' bombardment, on the 27th of March. On his march toward the capital he met General Santa Ana at Cerro Gordo, and defeated him on the i8th of April. Without further opposition General Scott reached Puebla, and entered the Valley of Mexico on the 9th of August, defeated the Mexicans at Padierna, August 20th, and marched to the field of Churubusco on the same day. On the 8th of September occurred the battles, Molino del Rey and Casa Mata, and, on the 12th and •13th stormed the castle of Chapultepec, so gal- lantly defended by the cadets of the military academy, and took possession of Belem and San Cosme, entering the City of Mexico on the 15th of Septem- ber, 1847. A treaty of peace called the "Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo," was concluded on the 2d of February, 1848, by which Mexico ceded to the United States all the territory north and east of the Rio Grande, for which the United States Government agreed to pay to Mexico the sum of $15,000,000, thus con- cluding a war, whose settlement, on its face, would seem to be the most liberal in the history of wars, but concluding a war that General Grant pronounced the most unholy and unjust ever waged by a stronger nation against a weaker one. In 185 1 Mariano Arista was elected President. In less than two years, in the midst of a revolution, he resigned the place. The following two years, from 1853 to 1855, General Santa Ana was Dictator. On December the 12th. 1855, Comonfort was elected President, commencing his administration with the enforcement of the laws against the Church. In 1856 he ordered the sale of all landed estates owned by the Church, the Church to receive the money, and the ownership of the lands passing to private individuals. In the same year, September i6th, he announced the sup- pression of the Monks, which was instigated by a conspiracy of the San Fran- ciscans. During his administration a new Constitution was framed and adopted, February 5, 1857. Comonfort remaining as President until the elec- tion under the new Constitution, when he was elected to succeed himself. He entered upon his second term, December i, 1857, and one of his first acts was to overthrow the Constitution that he had sworn to support. He dissolved Congress in December and imprisoned Benito Juarez, who had been elected his successor. All of his plans failed, he left the country in 1858, and did nol return until the French Intervention, when he joined the Mexicans against 37 Maximilian. After the departure of Comonfort, Juarez became the Consti- tutional President, but was compelled to abandon the capital, and at once set out for Guadalajara, where his Government was organized. He proceeded to the Pacific Coast, thence to the United States, returning to Vera Cruz, from which point he administered the Government. During this time another Gov- ernment was in existence in the City of Mexico, under Felix Zuloaga, whose administration commenced a vigorous prosecution of the War of the Reform, which extended over the entire country. In this Juarez took prominent part by his proclamation of the Laws of the Reform at a time when there seemed the least possible chance of success. This was the bitterest war in the history of Mexico. Juarez' proclamation was dated July 12, 1859, and had the efifect of MINT AT CHIHUAHUA, HIDALGO'S PRISON. a settlement of the causes of the dissensions of fifty years. Juarez entered the City of Mexico, January 11, 1861, and commenced operation of the Laws of the Reform from the capital. In 1861, July the 17th, the Mexican Congress passed a law suspending pay- ment on the bonds and interest of the Republic held by foreigners. This law gave the European powers an excuse for the intervention. The first inter- vention in Mexican affairs, however, was during the administration of General Bustamente, when a claim of $600,000 was made by France for damages suffered by French subjects during the various wars. One of the items of this claim was made by a French cook for $60,000 worth of pies, alleged to have been stolen from him by the soldiers. This claim of the French was derisively called "La Reclamacion de los Pasteles," the claim of the pies. A French fleet arrived off Vera Cruz October 27, 1839, and cap- tured the city on the 5th of December, on which day the French were attacked 38 and driven back to their ships by General Santa Ana, who in this battle lost his leg. A treaty was concluded in March, 1839, when the full claim of $600,000 was paid. The intervention of 1861 was then the second, and the outcome of an agreement called the Treaty of London, entered into October 31, 1861, between France, England and Spain, binding these nations to occupy the coast of Mexico, with the idea to put the Mexicans in a position to establish a govern- ment of their own. The fleet of the allies arrived at Vera Cruz in December, 1861, and Jan- uary, 1862, bringing commissioners — General Prim, of Spain; M. de Saligny, of France, and Admiral Wyke, of England — who were authorized to treat with the representatives of the Mexican Government. These commissioners issued a proclamation declaring that their presence in Mexico was for the purpose and question of finance only. A conference between the Government and the commissioners, called the Treaty of La Soledad, signed February 19, 1862, allowed the Spanish troops to advance as far as Orizaba, and the French troops to Tehuacan. The English made no advance of troops into the interior; in fact, only 1,000 marines had accompanied the English fleet as a guard of honor. It was stipulated that the troops should be withdrawn as soon as the treaty should be confirmed by the English and French commissioners. The Spanish forces were withdrawn, and the English and Spanish ships left Vera Cruz. The French troops remained, and were reenforced in March to the number of 40,000 men under JMarshal Forey, who arrived in Mexico in January, 1863. Their advance towards the capital was repulsed at Puebla on the 5th of May, 1862, by General Zaragoza's troops. Puebla was captured on the 17th of May of that year. Juarez abandoned the capital and the French soldiers entered the City of Mexico June 9, 1863. On the loth of July, 1863, an "Assembly of Notables" was called together in the City of Mexico, and a declaration made by that body to the effect that Mexico should be governed by a hereditary Alonarch}'-, under a Catholic prince, and that the throne should be offered to Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, also a representative of the ruling house of Spain, and brought Mexico, in 1863, practically to the position she occupied in 1821. Maximilian accepted the throne on two conditions: first, that he should be elected by a popular vote in Mexico; second, that the Emperor Napoleon should give him military aid as long as it should be necessary. Maximilian arrived in the City of ]\Iexico, June 12, 1864, with his wife. Carlotta, daughter of Leopold I., King of the Belgians. They were crowned Emperor and Empress in the Cathedral in the City of Mexico. Maximilian continued to enforce the Laws of the Reform, and thus increased the opposition of the Clerical party. As President Juarez had, or was believed to have, abandoned the country, Maximilian issued a decree declaring the war at an end and all persons in arms against the Government to be bandits, and when captured should be shot. The decree aroused bitterness of opposition throughout the country, following the execution of Generals Arteago, Salazar. Villagomez and Felix Diaz. The opposition to Maximilian was not confined to Mexico. The United States Government was opposed to the reestablishmcnt of a monarchy on the western continent. Secretary Seward informed the French in a diplomatic way that, as soon as he could be relieved of some little difficulties that he had on his hands in his own country at that time, he would look upon the occupation of Mexico by the French army as a grave reflection on the United States, and that the United States could not tolerate the estab- lishment of an Empire in Mexico based on military support of a foreign country. 39 Napoleon, on reception of this note, abandoned Maximilian, and ordered the evacuation by the French in November, 1866. Maximilian had not secured the support of either of the parties of Mexico. He had burdened the counti'y with an excessive debt, due possibly to evil councilors, one of whom was Mar- shal Bazaine. The collapse of the Empire was immediate. The appeal of Carlotta to the French Emperor and to the Pope was unavailing. The last of the troops left Mexico in February, 1867. Maximilian decided first to leave the country, but reconsidered his decision and concluded to remain. President Juarez had left Paso del Norte and was advancing southward; during all of this time he had maintained his authority as President of the Republic. THE GARDEN-CHAPULTEPEC. General Miramon was sent out to capture Juarez and was defeated at San Jacinto on the ist of February, 1867, and fell back to Queretaro, where he was joined by Maximilian. While these movements were being prosecuted in the North, General Porfirio Diaz captured Puebla on April 2, after a siege of twenty-five days, and defeated Marquez at San Lorenzo on April 11, and at once commenced siege of the City of Mexico. General Escobedo commenced a siege of Queretaro in March and continued it until its capture on the 15th of May. Maximilian was captured on the stony hill called Cerro de Las Cam- panas, and on the spot where he was captured he was executed, together with 40 his Generals, Miramon and Mexia, at seven o'clock on the morning of June 19, 1867. A request from the United States Government that the life of Maxi- milian be spared was not heeded. Nineteen Generals of Maximilian's army were also condemned to be shot, but were pardoned by President Juarez. The City of Mexico surrendered to General Diaz June 21, and President Juarez entered the capital on July 25, 1867. The Constitution of 1857 was placed in effect throughout Mexico, a new Congress was convened, and Juarez reelected President October 12, 1871. During this administration the various railway and telegraph lines were projected. They were only slight disturbances that occurred in Mexico after the fall of the Empire. In a sub- sequent election the opposing candidates were Juarez, Lerdo de Tejada and Porfirio Diaz. Juarez was elected December i, 1871, and took his seat for the third time, the result of which was a slight revolution, occurring in vari- ous parts of the country. These were headed by Porfirio Diaz on his Ha- cienda of La Noria, in Oaxaca. A manifesto was issued proposing a conven- tion and assembly of Nota- bles, to reorganize a gov- ernment with Diaz as com- mander-in-chief of the army, until the establishment of such government. The movement was interrupted by the death of Juarez and the succession of the Presi- dent of the Supreme Court, Lerdo de Tejada. The ad- ministration of Lerdo was peaceful, and he was elected President December i, 1872, continuing in offtce for three years, during which time the railroad between Vera Cruz and the City of Mexico, called the Mexican Railway, was opened on MAXIMILIAN'S COACH OF STATE. January I, 1873. Another Revolution occurred in Oaxaca, January 15. 1876, and once more the country was in the midst of a strife. Lerdo was forced to leave the coun- try, and Genera] Diaz entered the City of Mexico November 24, 1876. and was proclaimed President; on the 6th of May, 1877. he was declared Constitutional President, in which of^ce he remained until November 30, 1880, during which time he put down small revolutions and executed nine Revolutionists on June 24. 1879. On the 25th of September, 1880, Congress elected General Manuel Gon- zales President. During the administration of General Gonzales the celebrated Nickel riots of 1883 occurred, the common people refusing to accept nickel coin in the place of silver and copper, entailing on them considerable loss. The national debt of Mexico was also greatly increased, and his administration was practically a financial failure. General Diaz was again elected President and took the oath of office De- cember I, 1884, and at each recurring election to 1906 succeeded himself. On taking the office in 1884 he found an absolutely empty treasury and a country 41 without credit. It was a condition and not a theory that confronted Diaz — a condition that theories alone could not ameliorate. Urgent and immediate action was the only remedy for the deplorable state of the country. General Diaz was the man of action, man of the hour, and delayed not till the morrow. To perceive a need, with him, was to act at once, and to promote the pros- perity and peace of his country was his only aim. The railroads and the telegraphs had only been proposed; the commerce of the country was in a state of lethargy. Diaz' quick, restless, active disposition called it to life, and his liberal, wise and efficient administration of the Government made it pos- sible to complete the enterprises of communication and commerce, and it so promoted the internal improvements in every direction that his own acts have placed President Diaz among the foremost statesmen of the world. A patriotic Mexican writer says: "With the restless, inconstant character of our race, the long tenure of office by one man is one of the greatest dangers of the peace of the nation. Yet, notwithstanding, General Diaz has succeeded in avoiding shipwreck on this shoal, making himself all but indispensable to the completion of the reconstructive and conciliatory work of which he is the true and only author. The work of pacification accomplished by General Diaz has consisted in the strengthening of the central power, and the discreet use of his personal prestige and influence for the purpose of securing in all the states of the Mexican Union the election of governors attached to him personally, and resolved to second him at any cost in the task of assuring to the country the supreme benefit of peace, as the most imperious necessity of the Mexican people. The patriotic conviction of the urgency, for a nation bleeding and weakened as ours has been, of a convalescent political regime to enable us to recuperate our shattered strength, has facilitated the insensible and voluntary creation of a system of governmental discipline wherein the federated units, like the wheels of an immense machine, receive without shock the impulse of force which is conveyed to them from the great central motor." ENTRANCE OF CORTEZ INTO TENOCHTITLAN, IN THE HALLS OF HFR ANCESTORS. Practical Matters, Travel in Mexico is attended by all the comforts and very many of the luxuries that are found on the railway and steamer lines of the United States, where the science of travel has well nigh been perfected. Passenger trains are composed of coaches of American manufacture and are for passengers of the first, sec- ond and third classes, with all the accommodations found in modern cars. Pullman sleeping cars are attached to the through express trains of the trunk lines between the United States and Mexico, and on side lines and branch roads of im- portance. The dining-car and bufifet service is yet in its infancy, but the wayside restaurant is as a rule good and up to the average. ^ Railway Tickets are regulated by a code of rules, ^ similar to those in effect in the United States. They are first, second and third class, at prices in accordance with accommodations furnished. Through unlimited tickets, good till used and to stop over, on noti- fication to the conductor, anywhere and for any length of time; limited and excursion tickets are good to stop over within their limit; local or continuous passage tickets must be used through to destination. Baggage and Cttstoms Regulations. On arrival at the border cities, travelers should have their baggage ready for examination by the Mexican officials, and on the return by the Americans. The duty is quickly and cour- teously performed, without trouble or annoyance to the well-intending trav- eler. Hand baggage should be taken to the baggage-room of the station, where the trunks are also taken by baggage men to be opened by the owners, or left in the sleeping-cars, according to local regulations. No fees are required or expected, and it is bad taste to ofifer them. Nothing except wearing ap- parel, watches and jewels worn on the person, fire-arms, tools of trade, a camera in use, a broken package of cigars or cigarettes, and such other articles, are on the free list. * On the return the American officers are equally polite and courteous, and their examination a mere form, but under the law nothing is free except wearing apparel, hoop-poles, skeletons, sauer kraut, bologna 13 44 and joss sticks, zerapes, etc. The 99 cigar fallacy is long ago exploded, idols, antiquities, and presents for friends at home, are all dutiable, though they are passed free in small quantities for personal use, to a total value of $100. The baggage regulations on the railways are the same as in the United States to holders of tickets purchased in this country — 150 pounds free on each full ticket and 75 pounds on half tickets. On first class tickets within the Republic 50 kilograms, or no pounds, is the limit of baggage carried free. On those leading to the United States or other foreign countries the full 150 pounds is allowed. Agents of transfer companies board incoming trains as they approach the larger cities and check baggage to hotels or residences, call for baggage to be checked to all points in the Republic and the border cities. Cargadores (public porters, with numbered badges indicating a license) may be trusted with baggage to and from trains. Give the man a written address and take his number. Money — The money of Mexico is the same as that of the United States — i. e., dollars and cents — called in Spanish pesos y centavos; that is the legal way of counting it, as enacted by a law taking effect in 1890, but the people still use the old system to some extent, though they under- stand both. A tlaco is a cent and a half, a cuartilla is three cents; these are of copper and now almost out of circulation. The old silver coins were the medio, 6^ cents; real, i2y2 cents, also called in; the quarter and half dollars are rarely so called, they are dos vm^jm^ f^f^ ^ " ■-^vJHit||yL|'- '" ' '^ ,,,1 -•^" reales (pronounced ^^apBr"'""'' «v^-~*~' . l^^^BS^"'^^''''''''^'^^ ^o re-al-es), and "^^wrpis _ . i!4„„ 1 '^/^.liivi^^BBfe cuatro rcalcs; and seventy-five cents is seis reales. Regard- less of the law to the contrary, prices are quoted in reales, up to one dollar, then in most cases it is pesos y reales ^ thus: a dollar and a half is ttn peso y cuatro reales; one dollar and four reales. The fifty-cent piece is sometimes called a toston, and 25 cents a peseta, though rarely. The IMexicans make change to a nicety and are credited with splitting tlacos, literally, and with a hatchet. Gold is little used — but under the recent laws the $5, $10 and $20 coins are coming into circulation. The legal value of the Mexican peso is 50 cents gold. The paper money in circuation is in notes of the National Bank of Alexico, the Stale banks and the Bank of London, Mexico and South America all 45 passing at par, except in rare cases some of the State banks beyond the limits of the State where issued, then only at a slight discount. Silver is to be depended upon at all times, but it is too bulky and heavy to carry in large amounts. The native possessed of a sufficiency carries it in a hand bag attached to a strap over the shoulder. It is not necessary to buy Mexican money before reaching the border; in fact, it is better not to do so, as better rates of exchange can be obtained there and in Mexico. The ticket agents at Juarez City, opposite El Paso; City of Porfirio Diaz, opposite Eagle Pass, and New Laredo, opposite Laredo, can always furnish sufficient funds to reach the interior, where American paper is par or premium, as also Wells-Fargo or American Express cheques. The gold and silver is not so acceptable; New York exchange commands par or premium. Measures and Distances — A vara is 2>2>y2 inches and corresponds to the yard in the dry goods stores. A metre is a yard and a tenth, and a pie is about ii inches, corresponding to the foot, and is so translated into English; 2^ pidgada is about an inch. The law recently enacted requires the use of the metric system in selling goods, hence the vara is a thing of the past and the metre is the measure of Mexico. A kilometer is about five-eighths of a mile, and a legua, in English a league, is about 2.6 miles, the mile {milla) not being used except on rare occasions; all rneasures and weights must have the govern- mental stamp to show that they are correct. Climate — Because it is in the far south, because it lies almost wholly within the tropics and near the equator, Mexico is supposed to be a warm country; the contrary is the case. The climate is the most equable in the world; the only difference between summer and winter is, that in the summer it rains almost every day, while in winter there is scarcely a shower during the whole season. It is the extremely high altitudes of nearly all the cities and towns of Mexico, except those near the coast, that give them the delightful and health- ful climate they possess. The rays of a tropic sun are tempered by cooling breezes blowing over snow-clad mountains. The time for a tour of Mexico may be at the tourist's convenience. Traveling is pleasant at all seasons. The only places to be avoided in summer are those in the tierra caliente, Vera Cruz, Tampico and other cities very near the sea coast, and except at these places it is healthful at all times. Really, Mexico is seen at its best in the "rainy season" — that is, between May and October — when the fields are green and the whole country is ablossom from the summer rains. There are no long rainy spells lasting two or three days; there is a shower every after- noon or evening; this may be depended upon, and outings arranged for the morning or forenoon. This program should be followed in the winter as well, for if there are any winds to blow the dust and sand of the plains or the waves of the lakes, they will come in the afternoon. Clotliilig — The proper clothing is that used in the United States for spring and autumn wear; light overcoats and wraps are needed only after nightfall or at points of extremely high altitudes. For travel in lower levels of the tierra caliente summer clothing will be needed and ladies will rejoice in the posses- sion of a "shirt-waist." Cabs and Carriages — If we could strike an average between the coach of state of the Emperor Maximilian, as shown in the National Museum, and the "red-flag" cab of the streets, the City of Mexico would have the finest cabs in the world; as it is, she has more different kinds than any other city. They are good, bad and indifferent, carrying little tin flags, about two by four inches, when not engaged. These flags indicate the class and rates of fare. 46 The blue-flag rates are $1 per hour for one or more passengers. The red flag indicates 75 cents per hour and 37 cents per half hour, 25 cents may be added as a fee to the driver. After 10 p. m. the red flag charge is $1.50 per hour, the blue $2, and on Sundays and Feast days, these rates are increased, the red charge is $1, and the blue $1.50 per hour. Double rates, are charged on Carnival Tuesday, Combat of the Flowers, Covadonga Feast and All Souls' Day. At all times half hour is half rate; three quarters are counted as one hour; if for longer than an hour, say por hora and get in. Compare your time with the driver and pay him promptly at the end of the ride. The hackman of Mexico differs not from his brethren in all the other parts of the world. Street Cars — The street car, of Mexico, in the smaller towns, is a mule car, the mule figuring as the almost universal motive power, standing still at times, looking without life, but when the word is given he goes with a rush, galloping to the other end of the line with all his might, as if in a hurry to get where he can stand still again. The driver simply holds the reins and lets the mule go, his, the man's, duty being principally to wind the brake, blow a tin horn at FUNERAL CAR. Street intersections, and to frighten, though he always fails, the droves of don- l^eys— this is not the fault of the horn, which is not unlike the campaign horn, or the Christmas horn of the American small boy, as highly hideous in its hoot- ings — but without effect on the burros, which regard them not, but the street cars have the right of way and hurry on through the droves, often jostling the heavy loads of the passing burro. There are first and second-class cars going in pairs within a block of each other, the best car first. The fares are from 'iw^^ to twenty-five cents, according to the distance traveled. The second-class fares are cheaper. Special cars may be hired, these bear the legend "Especial" over the lamp, and the public do not attempt to use them. There are also freight cars, box cars and fiat cars, and cars for sheep and goats. And there is in Mexico, as nowhere else, a funeral car, with a catafalque, all with funeral drap- eries. These cars, with a number of "Especiales," with closely drawn curtains, make up a funeral train. The name tramway is in use, and is translated to Spanish as tran-via. The system in the City of Mexico is a fine one, nearly all the lines starting from the Plaza Mayor and returning there. Electricity is 47 the motive power in the Capital and the larger cities. The cars are as fine as are to be found anywhere. There are some splendid open cars for suburban excursions. Hotels and Restaurants— More has been said against the hotels and restaurants of Mexico than they ever deserved. The only trouble the American has in the Mexican hotel results from his own misfortune, not to say his fault, in not being able to speak the language to make his wants known, but no man who can say hamone e waivos or hif tek e cafe need go hungry in Mexico. All comers will find clean beds; they may be somewhat hard some- times, and not as wide as the home bed, but scrupulously clean, as the rooms are also. On arrival the guest is shown to a room; if accepted then, he rray register, and his name is written on a blackboard, with his room number. It is need HOTEL ITURBIDE— CITY OF MEXICO. less to use up a hotel register if a room doesn't suit, and what is the use of having a clerk to tell w^hei:e the guests' rooms are, when the caller may look on the blackboard and see for himself? Once assigned to a room, the guest is left severely alone, the manager's sole duty, after the assignment, being to keep books and collect the bills; and yet everything moves smoothly, and all wants are supplied when made known. A Mexican of mature age presides over the key-rack, and when you have called for the key once, you won't have to again; the master of the keys recognizes you as you approach, has your key ready, with any cards or letters left for you, and with a cheery buenas noches, Sefior, bids you good-night. The hall-boy — and there is one on every floor — is a sort of Pooh-bah in his way. He is bootblack and porter, messenger and chambermaid, and agent for remote and unknown laundries; he removes soiled linen, and en manana has them back again, clean and snowy white, with 48 no one on earth except himself knowing where in Mexico he takes them or whence he brings them. More than this, the hall boy runs a sort of free school for the dissemination of the Spanish language to the ignorant guests; this he does con mucho gusto, and is pleased to tel) you the name of any- thing, if he can catch on to your pronunciation of the question, como se llama eso? Almost all hotels are on the European plan. Rooms may be obtained at from one to twenty dollars per day, according to size and loca- tion; if two or more persons occupy the same room, a reduction is made. It is well to know the price of the room before engaging it, then there can be no discussion at departure. Rooms may be engaged by mail or wire (the message may be sent in English), and they will be kept and charged for from the time indicated in the letter or telegram. Lights, candles and lamps are provided for rooms, but guests are expected to furnish their own matches and soap. In nearly all the best hotels there are good baths. The baths of Mexico are to be commended, and are appreciated as a comfort and a luxury not expected. Electric lights and call bells are in the best hotels. In many of the better restaurants there are English-speaking head-waiters, and bills of fare printed in English. There are regular meals at fixed prices, irom 25 cents for bread and coffee. ziV^ cents for eggs and coffee, to 50, 62K, 75 cents and $1.00 for dinner or supper. Where meals are served a la carte the prices are affixed to each article. Arrangements may be made for board by the day or week, at rates for two or three meals per day, as desired. It is best for persons not speaking the language to take regular meals, table d'hote, and the meal can be served without trouble and served well. What- ever may be said of the restaurants in Mexico, it should be added that the good ones are managed by natives, and the bad ones by foreigners, as a general thing, and, with few exceptions, the restaurant advertised as English or Amer- ican is generally to be avoided. The hours for meals are somewhat different in jNIexico from what they are in other countries, but the "meals-at-all-hours" rule applies to all the first- class places. In the early morning the custom of Mexico — and it is a good one — is to take coffee and bread, and, if you please, fruits; the best kind of fruits are to be had everywhere. About noon is the breakfast hour; the meal commences with soup and follows a menu very much like an American noon-day dinner, ending with dessert, and coffee, of course. The other full meal of the day takes place at from five to eight o'clock in the evening, and is called dinner or supper, as the fancy dictates, and resembles the earlier bill of fare of the noon-day in every particular, commencing with soup and ending with coffee. The chili con came, chile with meat, of ]\Iexico, when nicely prepared, is as palatable as it is hot. The meats are fresh, with only the fault of being generally overdone; the poultry is fine; fresh vegetables are to be had every day in the year, as well as the fruits of every clime — apples and peaches from the temperate zone, and pineapples and oranges from the hot country. The bread is always good, the coffee stronger than in other countries; little butter is used, and is made and served fresh without salt. The drinks peculiar to Mexico are many and varied. Pulque is the national beverage, drank in public places by the poorer people, but in almost every family of all the classes. Pulque is the juice of the maguey, taken from the heart of the plant, and after the fermentation of twenty-four hours is ready for use; pulque more than a day old is useless. Tequila and mescal are a distillation from the different varieties of the maguey, the heai-t of the plant being roasted and then put through the process of distillation. A small quan- tity of tequila is a drink, taken with a grain of salt; literally the salt is placed 49 on the tongue before drinking. The wines are for the most part good, the sherry and claret particularly so. The champagnes are all imported, as are also brandies and whiskies, which are used in moderation. Beer and ale are manufactured in Mexico, though large quantities are imported, and the taste for the Teutonic beverage is growing. Stores and Shopping — Every store and shop in Mexico has a name, and that name is painted over the door; sign reading is as interesting to the new- comer in Mexico as to the country cousin on his first visit to city relatives. The name of the store is not always appropriate, but sometimes it is, as in the case of the drug store called in Spanish the "gate of heaven." This can be questioned only in the last word; a drug store may not be the gate to heaven. One saloon is known as the "Port of New York." though there is nothing in it which resembles New York in any way. Another is more appro- priately named; it is called "El triunfo del diablo," the triumph of the devil. The stores are named for cities and countries and have fanciful titles. Other signs, ending in"r/a," indicate the wares for sale: Zapateria, shoes; relojeria, watches; joyeria, jewelry; sastreria, tailor; bonneteria, millinery; panaderia^ bakery, and plataria, silverware. The goods are usually in a line of shelves running parallel with the street and very near the doors, so they can be seen by the passers-by. The clerks stand in a line behind the counter like a hie of soldiers. Smoking is permitted everywhere, and the clerk on duty enjoys his cigarette at pleasure. The prices quoted are nearly always higher than it is expected to obtain, as it is presumed that all customers will want to "jew" the figure down, and the sharp driver at a bargain usually succeeds. The moral of which is, never give the first price quoted. This rule applies to the street vender, in the flower market, the markets, and the shops as well, but the larger and finer stores do not practice this generally. There are many very fine stores in the City of Mexico and the larger cities that will compare favorably with those of the cities in other countries, and there are many novel features to make a visit interesting, whether you buy or not. The shopper will find the round of the shops even more fascinating than among the bargain counters of New York or Chicago. There are novel- ties to look over that are not anywhere else. Of course there are silks and satins and all that, and there are rebosos of cotton, linen and silk, and tapalos and mantillas and zerapes that are not to be found in New York or Chicago, and opals and bargains in antiquities not found anywhere in the world, to make shopping in Mexico interesting. Cigars and Tobacco — He never chews, but the Mexican smokes at all times and under all circumstances. Before breakfast and after breakfast, before and after and during his dinner, and between the courses he rolls and smokes his cigarettes, as he does when he goes to bed and when he gets up. Only when he sleeps he does not smoke. The men do this, but the ladies do not smoke, as they have the credit of doing, though a gentleman always offers ~~^2 ^-^ "Wlta^*. his cigarettes when he takes one himself. Elderly ladies enjoy a cigarette, and occasionally a ranchero (a farmer) and his wife may be seen smoking in the cars, and many women of the middle or lower classes smoke incessantly, but in polite society it is not the custom among the women to smoke. In the restau- rants and hotels smoking is permitted -in the dining- room, and is indulged in. In the churches and 50 in the Pullman cars are the only places where smoking is prohibited. At all other places it is permitted; at the theater, but not during the performance; at the circus and bull fight it is the thing to do. At the bull fight cigars, instead of bouquets, are thrown to the toreadores. The high and middle grades of Mexican cigars are better than the domestic cigars of the United States, and their best cigars are far better. The Mexican cigar is cheap, but the imported article is very high. Many smokers use cigars, but the great majority use cigarettes made of native tobacco, which they roll dexterously. It is advised to buy only the brands of well-known A PATIO. makers, and, above all things, avoid the peddler and street venders; buy from first-(.lass stands always. Matches necessarily go with the smoker's outfit, and Mexican matches are the best in the world; they are double-enders, light at both ends. A stroke of economy goes with every match — the striking of the other end. If you are asked for a light the unused end is always returned. It is good as a picture to see the courtesy and politeness exhibited in giving and taking a light — the wave of the hand in thanks and the return of the match — and another one to see three or four cigarettes held over the blaze of a single match. The community of interest in that little fire, protected from the blowing out by one man's hand, is wonderful, and the sociability of the scene pleasing to a degree. Some other man of some other race might have blessed the man who invented sleep, but I think every Mexican blesses the man who invented smoke. I 51 Police and. Military — The police are not as hard to find in Mexico as in some other countries, and there are soldiers everywhere, not as a menace, but as a protection. Time was when bandit tales had their scenes laid in Mexico, and footpad stories told of her cities, but that is ancient history; the rurales of the country districts, the police and military in the towns and cities, / have been regulators that regulated, till now all is peace and protection. ^ , There has never been but one "hold up" of a passenger train in Mexico, and that by American border thugs. Train robbers are ordered to be shot on the spot of the hold up, and orders are obeyed in Mexico. There are no dime museums, hence the bandits must necessarily be shot. The police of the cities are a well-trained, disciplined body of men, and always within call. il THE RURALES. In the City of Mexico and in the larger cities a policeman stands at street intersections ; his lantern is placed in the middle of the street, and the long row of flickering lights up and down, in either direction, tells of the watch- men of the night, who watch while we sleep. Your Mexican policeman never lets the wrong man go ; he lets no guilty man escape ; in case of altercation, dispute or difficulty he arrests all hands. No matter what occurs, when you are asked to accompany a policeman to the "comiseria" it is the part of dis- cretion to accede to his request — no harm can come to the innocent and the matter is quickly settled by the officer in charge. The policeman is a soldier as well, and almost without exception is courteous and obliging, will go out of his beat to show the way or find a place for you. 52 A national feast day will show what Mexican soldiery is; a fine, well- trained body of men, whose pride and patriotism is to be applauded. Of the infantry, artillery, or cavalry the rurales are the pride and the pink of the ar my. The rurales are the country police, mounted on the finest horses, *and uni- formed in the most picturesque manner, with saddles and trappings richly decorated. The men are fine specimens of humanity, stout and well built, wear- ing the broad sombrero of the country, a short leathern jacket and trousers braided and bedecked, all with silver braid and gold. They are armed to the teeth with latest improved arms, and well they know how to use them, for they were born to their use as their fathers before them. The first corps of the rurales was recruited from the bandits of the countrv in the seventies. THE SOLDIERS. Among other reforms instituted by President Diaz this was one of the most important. He found tribes of bandits scattered all over the country whose fathers before them had been bandits — they were a fine body of men, who knew every hole and corner of the country and could not easily be put down. General Diaz offered amnesty and to organize them into a corps of the army, with a regular pay, higher than any other cavalryman in any of the armies of the world. The bandit accepted the amnesty and became a rural. The mili- tary education and army regulation is very similar to that of the United States; the West Point of Mexico is at Chapultepec; the officers' grades are almost identical with those of the United States. The Jefe Politico is the chief political officer of a district comprising sev- eral towns or villages; under him is the Alcalde, who is the mayor in the he differs not from the dude of other countries, and further space need not be wasted here. For ladies of high degree, the Spanish mantilla of black or white lace still does a fascinating duty in place of the hat or bonnet, and the Spanish costume from shoulder to high-heeled pointed slipper. The middle classes wear a black tapalo, a shawl which is both wrap and head- gear. The lower classes and Indian maidens wear in the vSame way a scarf of cotton, usually blue or brown; this is the reboso. Mexican women are almost without excep- tion of fine form, healthy and robust. There are thousands of pretty faces, of richest color, long lashes, soft and downy ear-locks, black as jet, and with long, inky black hair. Under the tapalo or reboso is many a Venus; the corset is unknown, and nature forms to perfection. Ladies embrace each other at meeting, and kiss on the cheek. Men embrace their friends, and pat each other on the back. In passing on the street, instead of saying "How'dy," they say "Adios — Good-by." Other salutations are: Before noon it is buenos dias; after noon, buenos tardes; after dark, buenas noches. Politeness and courtesy are characteristic of Mexico, and it is seen con- stantly everywhere; a Mexican will not enter a door or pass up a staircase ahead of his companion without an insisting ^''Pase seiior,''^ urgently put, till it is seen that one must go first, and then age or rank, or guest takes precedence. Following the customs of their ancestors, the young people of Mexico have not that freedom of association as in America. A young lady may not indulge in the society of her young man except in the presence of others; in fact, he may not even call upon her, as in this, or other English speaking countries. He must win her by haciendo del oso — playing bear. This does not mean that the young man indulges in any idiosyncrasies of the bear, when he (the bear) catches a victim. At a certain hour in the day the devoted lover comes under the lady's window, and when she comes to the casement he may stand and look at her, exchange glances, smiles and nods, go away and come back again to-morrow and do it all over again. Any- where else this would seem to be flirtation itself, but here in Mexico it is "playing the bear," and is perfectly proper. If he is faithful and keeps this up for two or three years, he may finally be allowed to call and see her in the presence of another member of the family. If all goes 58 smoothly they "marry and live happy to the end of their days," as in the fairy story. They are a music-loving people, whose souls are moved by a concord of sweet sounds, and if love of niusic is the test, few Mexicans are fit for treason, stratagems and spoils. No jacal is too humble but what its adobe walls listen to the tinkle of the guitar, and no village so small but its band of native miusicians will play in the little alameda in the evenings. In the larger towns and great cities there is music in some plaza or park every day by the mili- tary bands — an example set by the Government in giving the people music, that might be emulated by the United States greatly to its credit. There are fiddlers in Mexico and some violinists. The fiddlers sometimes come under the car window of a passing train, and in hopes of a centavo THERE'S MUSIC. thrown, give sampler of native music. There are some who carp at these crude musicians, but they are those who do not appreciate fiddling as a fine art, or the difficulties thereof. Themistocles said he "could not fiddle, but he could make a small town a great city," proving that the attainment of proficiency in fiddling is attended by hard work. When the weird sounds come into your window let the centavitas go, for whatever work the player may not have done, he has learned to fiddle. There is music everywhere, there's music in the air, a music peculiar to the country and the people, a music of song, of stringed and wind instru- ments that plays at morning, noon and night. There are songs of praise and songs of mirth, and love songs. There are songs of home. The people have their "Home, sweet home" in the notes of La Golondrina. Since music, heavenly maid, was young, she hath not ceased to soothe the heart of savage and civilized man, and her songs of home have been sweetest and dearest to his ear. That song of ''Home, sweet home" is one that touches the American heart, as La Golon- drina melts the Mexican and brings memories of his, whether it be of adobe 69 or of stone. Whether the soft melodies are picked from the strings of a guitar, or sefiorita sweetly sings the touching notes, or organized orchestra fills the ambient air with its tuneful tones, all there is of sentiment even in the stoutest, sternest heart, wells up in tenderness when the home song's music greets the ear, brighter, glistening eyes and quicker heart throbs tell that the melody strikes the soul. Official Pertnits — Permits or passes are required to visit the various pub- lic institutions, such as the Palace of Chapultepec, the National Palace, etc. They are obtained from the Governor of the Palace, who is very courteous and obliging. When visiting an hacienda or for the ascent of Popocatepetl, permits should be obtained from the owners, most of whom reside in the city. Laundries — The laundry as it exists in this country has not been es- tablished in all the cities in Mexico. Where there are no steam laundries the bell boy on your floor of the hotel is agent for numerous and sundry lavanderas, washerwomen of more or less proficiency, but who in the main do very satisfactory work. The bell boy will attend to all details, and the linen delivered to him will be safely returned. Lists should be retained and checked with the returned articles, and any missing pieces will be looked up; rarely is anything lost through these people, and their work is, for the most part, promptly and carefully done. Prices are about the same as in cities of the same size in other countries. Batiks — The system of banking in Mexico is very similar to that of the United States and other countries. There are many reliable institutions under Mexican, American and English management, with correspondents in all parts of the world. Bank drafts, letters of credit, and all classes of foreign exchange received and issued and foreign money bought and sold. PI n\A/cD MADLTCT r^iTv r\is Mcyinn 60 Clubs — Nearly every city and town in Mexico has its clubs, social or polit- ical — the "Casino" nearly always ranking highest in a social way. These clubs are well housed in fine buildings, well decorated and furnished, notably the Casino of Monterey. In many places the foreign element have established well appointed clubs. The City of Mexico has a distinctive club life, at the head of which stands the Jockey club, whose beautiful home, in "The House of Tiles," on San Fran- cisco street is opened to a membership made up of the best in Mexican society, and a small list of foreign members. Few visitors are introduced there. The American club's quarters on Calle Independencia are the chief meeting place of the American residents of the city. There are ample rooms, an excellent restaurant, and a special section for the wives and families of members. Cards for two weeks are given members in favor of their friends on request, the guests thus honored having the privilege of renewing the card on payment of a small due fee. The Country club, near the town of Churubusco, is one of the handsomest of its kind on the continent. Visitors are introduced in person by club members, and cards for two weeks are issued in favor of non-residents of the federal district to club members. The University club has a handsome home on Calle Bucareli, into which members are privileged to introduce their friends, though not oftener than once every two months. Visitors' cards for two weeks are issued to visiting college men on the request of club members. The British club is made up of British subjects and a very few members of other colonies and of Mexicans. Its quarters on San Francisco street, above Gambrinus' restaurant, are handsome, and invitations there on the feast days, when military reviews pass down San Francisco, are much sought after. Visitors' cards are issued at the request of members, for a period of two weeks, subject to renewal. The Casino de Mexico has its club house on the Paseo de la Reforma, No. 26, near the statue of Charles IV. The membership includes prominent people socially and politically. The Spanish club, on Calle Espiritu Santo, has one of the handsomest club buildings in the city. Its membership is made up largely of members of the Spanish colony. The French club has its quarters on Calle de la Palma. There are two German clubs, one with quarters on Calle Zuleta, and the other having its club house on Calle Lopez. Markets — The markets of Mexico are wholly unlike the markets of any other country, picturesque to a degree, and are of the first attraction to the tour- ist. Every village has its market place, and in all the towns and cities the mar- ket buildings are more or less pretentious, some of them are really fine buildings as in Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, Guadalajara, Oaxaca, Orizaba, Jalapa. The market of Oaxaca is particularly attractive. The markets of the City of Mexico are not so pleasing as those of the smaller towns ; the Volador market is in the square immediately south of the National Palace, in the rear of the buildings fronting the street. This market is commonly called "The Thieves." by cour- tesy (?) of the tourist; no native can or will tell you why. The vendors of the Volador formerly exposed their wares on the Plaza Mayor from which they were banished in' 1659. The Merced Market is four or five blocks south of the Palace on the street Porta Coeli — one of the largest in the city. There are others but these will suffice for visiting purposes. Amttsements. Teatro Principal — In the old Aztec days, the days when the gladi- ators fought before Tzins of Tenochtitlan, there had not been any dearth of amusement for the people of the ancient capital, and as the pagan priests of those days incited the warriors to combat with the victim prisoners for the honor of their gods, so the priests of later times were the promoters of more modern, but less bloody amusement, and the church was responsible ..for the building of the first theater in the City of Mexico. The Brothers of the Order of San Hipolito, to raise funds for the benefit of the Hospital Real, erected a small wooden building and employed a company of players who gave the initial performance on the evening of January 19th, 1722. The play on the first program was "The Ruin and Burning of Jerusalem." History gives no details of the success of the performance and we are left in the dark as to the names of "the star" and his support, but we are in- formed that the Burning of Jerusalem resulted in the burning of the theater, a consummation that was looked upon by the natives as a direct visitation of Heaven for the unholy method taken to obtain money for a holy cause. The piece underlined for the second evening was "Here Was Troy," but there was no theater and the performance was indefinitely postponed. Noth- ing daunted, the energetic brethren of Hipolito immediately set about building another theater, and in 1725 erected a third building in the street now known as Colioeo Viejo, and in 1752 the building the Teatro Principal was corn- el 62 menced and was completed in the next year on Christmas Day, and opened with the appropriately named comedy "Better It Is Than It Was." Up to that time the theater was the property of the Hospital Real, and continued in that possession until the institution ceased to exist, when it, was conveyed to the College of San Gregorio by an order dated October nth, 1824, where the title remained till 1846, when it became private prop- erty. For many years the entrance to the old theater could be seen under the portales, but it has disappeared, as has much of the original building, but the old walls remain, except in the facade, which is of recent construction. The interior arrangement, though, shows the massive style of architecture of the olden times, with the thick stone walls around the parquet and between the boxes and stalls, and although you may not understand the language of the players it may be worth your while to visit the ancient play house and oldest theater in Mexico. The National Theater, which was the grand opera house of the Mexican capital, has been torn down to make way for the opening of the Calle de Cinco de Mayo, the street that is to run from the Cathedral to the Alameda. _ The national government is building a magnificent opera house and theater in the block between San Francisco and Mariscala — fronting on the Alameda and San Francisco Street. The Renacimietito Theatre now called the Virginia Fabregas, on the Calle de Puerta Falsa de San Andres is the fashionable theater at this writing, and will be until the National Theater is completed. The Renacimiento has a seating capacity of 1,800 to 2,000 people. Here may be found Italian and French opera, as well as Mexican and Spanish dramatic art. In many Mexican theaters you may pay for and see one act or the whole show at 25 cents per act, or tanda, as it is called. A collector passes through the audience after the first act to collect for the second. Between the acts those of the male persuasion who do not "go out to see a man" put on their hats and stand in their places, surveying the audience. The Teatro Lirico, is on the Calle Aguila, opened in 1906, is one of the best equipped playhouses in Mexico. The Arbeu Theater is in the street of San Felipe; it was opened in 1875. The Hidalgo Theater is in the Calle Corchero. These are the theaters of the middle classes, considered respectable, but the performances are not always of a high order, and they are the places for the carnival balls. Salon De Conciertos is the hall for concerts in the Conservatory of Music, where high-class concerts by students, and social performances are given. It has an auditorium with full theatric and operatic facilities. The Hidalgo Theatre on the Calle de Corchero is for the poorer classes. Circo-Teatro Orrin is a circus theater, as its name indicates. It is the outgrowth of the circus of the Orrin Brothers, formerly housed in a tent on the Plaza de Santo Domingo, and moved to the present handsome iron building that cost $ioo,coo on the Plazuela Villamil. Here is a theater and circus merged in one. The ring is surrounded by a dress circle and tier of private boxes, beyond which is a circle of gallery seats, and when the ring is not in use the s])ace serves as a parquet, in front of \vhich is a very pretty stage, with the circus performers' entrances on each side of the orchestra. The ring ma)^ be transformed into a miniature lake, deep enough to float canoes, small sail and steamboats, or it may be made into a palace 63 while you wait, and from the region beyond the curtain may come in a tiny coach of state the Prince and Cinderella, a pretty transformation, in full view of the audience, one of the novelties for which the management is noted. The winter months are the season for the circus, while light opera holds the boards during the summer, but at all times there are novelties worthy of the metropolitan amusement places of greater cities. The Orrins have long been "known for their liberality and many chari- ties, giving frequent benefits for charitable institutions, hospitals, both native and foreign. Fashionable and gala performances are of frequent occurrence, then there are handsome decorations of bunting and flowers. The boxes are profusely ornamented, corsage bouquets and boutonnierres are presented to CIRCO-TEATRO ORRIN. the occupants, who, in coming to their places, have literally walked on roses, and on state occasions the President attends. His private box is in the center of the box tier, is alwavs reserved for his use, and never occupied by anyone else ; it may be recognized as always adorned with the national colors. The Circo-Teatro Orrin is now under the direction of Don Ricardo Bell. Ball Games are popular in Mexico, and fine buildings called "Frontons" are erected in different parts of the city, in which are played a Spanish variety of handball or basket ball. Performances are given under electric lights in the evening, in addition to the afternoon games. Golf, baseball and cricket have their votaries, but mostly among the American and English colonies. Races at the Indianilla and Peiion tracks are under the direction of the racing association and of the Jockey Club. Bull Fights — The spirit of Tauromachy inherited from old Spain lives in the most popular amusement of Mexico, that is, if it may be called an 64 "amusement" and if we call it "popularity" that enjoys the largest patron- age. An honest effort has been made by the government to stop the cruel sport by the enactment of laws interdicting the functions in the Federal District and other metropolitan localities, but the laws were repealed as often as enacted, so great was the pressure of popular demand from the masses, and notwithstanding the influence and example of non-attendance of the best people, the Plaza de Toros is easily the most popular amusement in Mexico. "The better the day the better the deed" may not be a Mexican maxim, but the better days are given over to the bull fight. Sundays and feast days are chosen, and on no other day are the plazas open. AT THE BULL FIGHT. The Plaza de Toros is the bull ring — a great circular building of stone or wood with an interior that is an immense amphitheater seating thousands of people. The seats are in tiers rising to the top where the private boxes are. and as there is no roof except over the outer circle shading the boxes, there is a shady side called "^ow^^ra" and a sunny side. "J6>/," with prices in accordance with the location, from 25 to 50 cents in the sun and $1 to $3 in the shade, the private boxes with eight to ten chairs cost from $12 to $20 according to the reputation of the company giving the performance, as they vary greatly as the stars and support in a theatrical troup, and what may be the price when only local talent are on the bills will be largely increased when a star matador and his company are underlined. Tickets may be bought at the gates, but it is always best to buy them in advance, usually 65 on sale at some cigar store frequented by the toreadores or at the city offices of the bull ring, the locations of which are announced in the advertisements. The ring itself is an arena about a hundred feet in diameter encircled by a strong board fence about five feet high with a foot rail on the inside two feet from the ground. This is to assist a torero too closely pursued by the bull to escape by a leap over the fence to the passage way that extends around the ring between the fence and the seats. But it is not always an escape, since the bull often leaps the barrier in pursuit of his tormentor or to get away from him, and at intervals in the passage way short barriers are placed just far enough from the wall to admit the body of the man and not wide enough for the bull's horns. There are gates that open into the ring and at the same time close the passage and thus the bull is forced to return to the ring. There is a "president" to preside at each corrida or performance, to direct the details and to decide all -^ differences of opinion be- tween the people and the performers. There are al- ways questions to be de- cided, and the president, usually a state or municipal officer, must be a man of COMING OF THE COMPANY. exccutivc ability and well posted in tauromachy. His seat is in a gorgeously decorated box near the center of the shady side, and when he enters, with a staff of high-up, well- known lovers of the sport, it is the signal for much cheering, especially so if he is a president whose decisions have been favorable to the people. The president has the general direction of the corrida, when he is ready the company must be, and when he has given his permission for the bulls to be killed then the killing commences, A bugler stands at the president's side to call the signals to remove the horses, or a bull that may prove too « tame, to call the banderilleros and announce the killing of the bull. Hence it may be seen how easily a president may be popular or unpopular with the masses, as he may or may not give them quite enough of bloody action on the scene. Any deviation from the program must be with the con- sent and approval of the president, and the per- formance cannot end until he is satisfied that the advertisement has been carried out. There is music by one or more brass bands that may be heard by those sitting very near, but the shouts and cat-calls of the canaille drown all semblance of music for those on the opposite side of the arena, but the musicians are there and you can see when they are playing. A company of soldiers stationed within call of the president with another company deployed about the arena to do police duty, and try to pre- vent the too enthusiastic members of the audience from taking charge of the whole thing, throwing the seats into the ring, or other mild methods the picador. 66 ENTRANCE OF BULL. of evincing their disapproval of an act or presidential decision. The soldiers are rarely called into active service; their presence has a wholesome effect, and while the mad enthusiast who would like to see a horse gored just once more, and gets madder because the president says there has been enough of it, feels like fighting the whole company, he is usually pacified by a gentle touch on his shoulder by the gendarme and growlingly subsides. The scene is a brilliant one and the tension of nerves is great in anticipation of what is to come, the feeling is one of amazement and anxious expectation. The bands are playing, or seem to be, and the thousands of impatient spectators are shouting, whistling and yelling themselves hoarse. There may be five thousand people, but there is noise enough, and seats too, for twenty thousand, and if there is a star matador they will all be occupied. The president and his companions are in their places, and the applause grows greater as the gates on the other side of the arena open to admit a gaily costumed horseman mounted on a splendid horse; he is the alguazil; he rides directly to the front of the president's box and asks permission to kill the bulls. Permission granted, the presi- dent tosses to him the key of the toril, which he catches, and gallops back to receive the company. If he catches the key there is applause; if he misses it, a storm of hisses. The gate opens again and the coming of the gay company is loudly an- nounced with a grand flourish of trumpets. It is a brilliant spectacle, this company of nimble-footed athletes in costumes of silk and satin, gold and velvet, as they march quickly across the arena to make their obeis- ance to the president and then to the audience. First in the gay procession come the niata- dores or espadas, the stars of the company, who handle the swords to the death of tlie bulls; next the banderilleroh^ second only to the matadores in the profession; these gen- tlemen are they who place the bafiderillas in the bull's shoul- ders, and then the capeadores^ third in rank, w'ho hope to be banderilleros and some day PLACING THE BANDERiLLAS. matadores, but now have only ATTACK OF THE PICADOR. 67 to manipulate the capes to distract the bull's attention or place him in proper position for the banderilla or the sword. The picadores follow on horseback, their long lances in hand. Then four mules, gaily caparisoned, harnessed together and driven to an arrangement of traces for dragging out dead bulls and horses. Behind these, two men with wheelbarrows, i shovels, rakes and brooms, for cleaning up ' the ring, and then the attendants, ^'sabios^ monos," the wise monkeys, as they are called from their good suggestion and advice to the performers — diestros, torei^os or toreadoj^es, as the bull-fighters are called. The toreador is recognized on the street by a costume as distinctly his own as the one of silk and satin, bursting the barrier. gold and velvet that he wears in the ring; it is a short "round-about" jacket with very tight trousers; the hat has a straight stiff brim with a low flat top felt crown; under the rim of the hat is a little queue of plaited hair, called a coleta; what this is for does not appear, but if any offense against the ethics of the sport is committed this queue is cut off, so the possession of it may be regarded as a reward of merit, that when a toi'ero is retired is cut off with a scissors of gold. Proceeding to the president's |)ox, and having received his acknowl- edgments, the company parades around the arena to receive the plaudits of the people. Now all is ready, the beautiful capes of satin and velvet are thrown to admirers in the audience, for it is an honor to hold a toreador's cape; as they are not used in the ring, cheaper and stronger capes of bright-colored oil- cloth are taken instead. Every one except the toreros have left the ring and for a brief moment there is complete silence. The bugle sounds. All eyes are turned to a low door on the other side that is suddenly thrown open. From a dark stall beyond the bull is coming. As he passes under the rail a barbed steel point covered with flowing ribbons is placed in his shoulder; the colors of these ribbons indicate the ranche or hacienda from whence he came, as the bulls are bred on cer- tain farms for their fighting quali- ties, and your smallest sport can pick out a good fighter when he sees the ribbons as easily as a 'Kentucky boy does the winner in a horse race by the colors of the jockey's jacket. The bull comes from a dark stall where he has been kept previous to the fight, finding the gates suddenly opened and a possible way of escape, gallops through a scarcely less dark passage that leads him to the open arena and to certain death. Startled by the pricking of the steel dart in his shoulder and maddened by its stinging he bounds forward to the LEAPING THE BARRIER. Center of the ring, where, with head up and tail lashing the air, he stops a second. It is a magnificent sight now before the carnage begins. The splen- did animal stands and bids defiance as he throws the dust over his back,' pawing and shaking his shaggy head with mingled rage, surprise, and fear, perhaps but little of fear, for in a second he has decided upon a plan of attack. The shouting thousands and the blare of trumpets would frighten a more fearless beast, but if it scares the bull there is no hint of it in his action. A look to right or left and the unequal fight is on. The throwing play of the capes. of a cape in front of him and the thrower is chased to the barrier around the ring and the man is over it none too quickly, as he may believe when he hears the boards cracking behind him as a pair of sharp horns are thrust through them as if they were paper. Foiled here, the bull turns about and finds a horse in his way, a poor broken down horse, with eyes blindfolded that he may not see his danger. There is no way of escape for the horse, his rider spurs him on, and while the picador with his lance may for a moment turn the bull and save the horse, it is but deferring the inevitable for the time. Passing by this horse the bull finds another on the other side; this time the horse does not fare so well; the bull rushes upon him with all his might, the sharp horns sink into his flesh as needles into a piece of cloth, the horse is lifted bodily into the air and tossed over on the ground with the rider underneath perhaps. A capeador throws a cape over the bull's face, distracts his attention from the i^\\t.VL picador and wounded, or more probable, dead, horse. The capeador deftly leads him to the other horse that just now escaped, but now his time has come, the bull has learned that the horse is defenseless, the prick- ing of the picador''s lance is nothing. While it is intended that the bull should be held off and the horse saved it is rarely done, and this one is disem- boweled — it may be that if he does not die in his tracks he is ridden on around the ring dragging his intestines under his feet, only to be gored again and again till he is dead, for without the blood of the horses no bull fight is complete. The two horses slain, or so badly disabled that they cannot be ridden, the bugle sounds, and unless the president panders to the clamor of the crowd for more horses the first act with the first bull is over and the banderilleros are ready. Now comes the really artistic and interesting feature of the bull fight, the placing of the banderillas. The banderilla is a dart about two feet long with a sharp barbed point and covered with fancy colored paper or rib- bons. The banderillerOy a man without cape or means of defense, takes two banderillas, one in each hand, walks out in front of the bull, holding them up, shaking the ribbons to call the bull towards him, and as he ap- proaches the darts are placed in his shoulders where the barbs cause thenj to hang as if they were for ornaments instead of goads to further rage and madness. The man is an athlete and a nimble one. It is the rule that the darts must not be thrust except while the bull is in action and on the at- tack, so it must be done quickly. It is said that the bull in the 'moment of attack closes his eyes, so it is but a quick decision of the instant to thrust the darts, step to one side, and the bull passes by, only to find another ban- derillero on the other side with another pair of banderillas for his further decoration. Another rule is that the banderillas must not be placed back of the shoulder. If they are properly placed and so firmly that they are not shaken out, loud and long is the applause, otherwise the hisses are shrill and sharp. The banderillero is a favorite with the lover of tauromachy as well as with the first-timers at the fight. It seems with his lack of defense, and depending entirely on his agility he is the hero in this contest between human skill and brute force, so that it is often the matador comes back from his advanced position as a star, much to the delight of the audience^ to try his hand and thrust an extra pair of banderillas. In all well-regulated companies there are two handerilleros, each with two pairs of banderillas, making eight in all, that, if their work is well done, are hanging from the bull's shoulders, and the presi- dent's bugler announces the end of second act and calls the matador to kill the bull. As the star in some great drama is received with plaudits as he enters upon the stage, so is the matador with shouts and throw- ing of hats, that is, if he is indeed a star fnatador known to kill his bulls with a single stroke of the sword. The m,atador takes his sword and muleta, and while the capeadores are leading the bull to further weari- ness on the other side of the ring, advances to the front of the presi-' dent's box, hat in hand, dedicates the bull to something or somebody, some State or County, some man, or girl, and tells the president that he will kill the bull in the most ap- proved style, then, tossing his cap to an admirer in the shady seats, proceeds to do his part, or after saluting the president, he may cross to the sunny side, as it is some- times well to cater to the rabble, and tell the people there that he will kill the bull in their especial THRUST OF THE SWORD. Style and toss his cap there to be held in great honor while he does it. Then advancing toward the bull, the matador holds in his right hand a long, perfectly straight, sharp-pointed, keen-edged sword; in his left he carries the muleta, the "red rag" of the Spanish bull fight, and used only in the last act, in the killing of the bull. The muleta is a piece of red flannel three or four feet square, held on a stick, near the ground and in front of the bull, kept in a fluttering motion before his eyes, which seems to infuriate further the already enraged animal. He lowers his head and makes a rush for the muleta, which is held, although in the left hand, across to the right of the matador; this gives him a fair play for the stroke of the sword, and as the bull lowers his head to attack the ''red rag" the right hand of the matador drives the sword to the hilt into the bull's shoulders, or between 70 them, cutting the spinal cord or piercing the heart, which if it has been wel) done brings the bull to his knees and he lies down to die, but it may not be , death until the "stroke of mercy" has been ' given by the cachetero, an attendant with a short dagger — who comes from behind . and gives the bull a quick, sure thrust between the horns to instantaneous death. While this is being done the matador is bowing his acknowledgments to an en- thusiastic audience, who have gone wild and thrown their hats, canes, coats, cigars and coin into the ring; the hats, canes and coats are thrown back to their owners, but the cigars and coin are kept for future reference. But — if the killing has been bungled and the espada's work not well done, then instead of canes, hats and cigars the disapproving enthusiast pulls up the boards, and with the chairs and anything that is loose or that he can ii?'*| loosen, throws them into the ring. Four mules gaily harnessed are then driven in, a chain fastened about the heels of the dead bull and he is dragged out. Even before the dead first bull has disappeared and the dead horses dragged out, the two picadores appear on other horses worse than the first, if possible, the bugle sounds again, and another bull bounds into the ring to meet the fate of the first; DEATH OF THE BULL. after the second another and another till five or six' are killed, and if you have been there you are to be the judge whether your Sunday after- noon has been well spent. The upper classes, as a rule, do not frequent the bull-ring. though there are many and brilliant exceptions; you may see on the Paseo almost any day the most elegant equipage on that grand boulevard among whose occupants arc little children dressed in the full ring costume of the torea- dor. The Mexican small boy plays at bull-fighting as the American does at baseball, or as the more sporty one puts on dragging out the dead. the gloves with his fellows — is it then any wonder that the custom prevails since the children are taught to admire it? LIBERTY BELL ABOVE THE PALACE GATE. The City of Mexico. Two hundred years before the Spaniards came to Mexico there was a great city in the midst of the lakes that spread out their bright waters in the Vale of Anahuac, but it was nearly a thousand years before, that the Toltec tribes 71 72 came down into the beautiful valley. Whatever of chronological data there may have been in the picture-writings of the Aztecs was destroyed in the fanatical fires that destroyed the temples of Tenochtitlan. The not altogether reliable data given by Clavigero places the arrival of the Toltecs in Anahuac in the year 648, remaining there till A. D. 1051, when they abandoned the country. The Chicimecs came in 1170, the Acolhuans or Tezucans in 1200 ; the Mexicans or Aztecs came to Tula in 1196, .and in 1325 founded the city of Tenochtitlan, and after Tula was their capital city, near the center of Anahuac, an empire that comprised some sixteen thousand square leagues, though the name Anahuac, which means "near the water" was first applied to the plain and valley of Mexico, of only about seventy leagues in circumference. The Aztecs were a migratory people, not always successful in their wars, and at one time were a nation of slaves, but their ferocity soon brought them freedom and set them upon their wanderings again; it was at this time that they halted on the southern and western shores of Lake Texcoco. Such a body of water seemed a sea to them, and the Casique, with a retinue of chiefs, sought up and down the shores for a camping place till they came to a rocky point jutting out into the lake — here they beheld, perched on a stem of prickly cactus, a golden eagle of great size and beauty, with a serpent in his talons, his outstretched wings were towards the rising sun — this was taken as an auspicious omen indicating a site for their city — the legend is preserved on the banner of Mexico — for here the city was built. From this miraculous incident the city was called Tenochtitlan, from "tunal" a cactus on a stone, but in after years came to be called Mexico, from Mexitli, the great war-god of the Aztecs. The first houses were of reeds and rushes on foundations of piles set in the shallow waters and thus began the building of a Venice of the western world that soon came, with its ambitious walls of stone, palaces and temples to a greater magnificence even than the beautiful Queen of the Adriatic. The primitive houses of reeds and rushes were soon replaced by massive structures, totally unlike any other found on the western continent and resembling more those of Egypt. The great teocali or temple of the Aztec gods was a pyramidal structure over a hundred feet high, requiring a hundred and fourteen steps to reach from the ground to the esplanade that was broad enough and "with ample room for thirty knights to run their courses in a regular tourney." Cortez stood on the top of this temple and looked down upon the city of Tenochtitlan with its streets and canals, that are the same streets to-day, with newer streets where the canals had been — the causeways that led to the main land are the causeways of to-day and are called by the same names — the streets led out in all directions from the great teocali, as to-day they lead out in all directions from the great Cathedral that stands on its site. The Spaniards under Cortez entered the City of Mexico on the 8th of November, 1519, coming from the southeast and passing over the causeway between Lake Texcoco and Lake Chalco. The Spaniards remained in the city until the 1st of July, 1520, when their barbarities caused the people to rise in their might and drive them out. After the defeat of the Dismal Night, "la noche tristc," the Spaniards re- treated over the causeway of Tlacopan or Tacuba, passed around to the north of the city and the lakes, fought a battle at Otumba and marched to Tlaxcala, thence to Texcoco and laid siege to the city December 31, 1520, crossing the lake in bergantines. The defense under Guatemotzin was a gallant one and lasted till the KJth of August, 1521, when Cortez made his second triumphal entry into the Aztec capital. Guatemotzin was put to death and the city destroyed, the great temples razed to the ground and the Christian city founded in the year 1522 by the erection of the Atarazanas, or navy yard, for the bergantines on the site now occupied by the Church of San Lazaro. When the Spaniards had made their occupation of the city perma- nent the pooulation decreased as to the Mexican element and increased in Spanish inhabitants till in 1600 there were only about 10,000 Indians and nearly that many Spaniards, and from that time the increase in num- bers, both of the Spaniard and mixed population, was rapid till the middle of the next century there were nearly a hundred thousand people and at the end of it there were 125,000 peo- ple in the City of Mexico, making it the metropolis of the western world. Which honor, as the largest city on the continent, it retained for more than 250 years. Not until the reign of the fifty-sec- ond viceroy, Juan Vicente de Giiemes Pacheco de Padilla, Conde de Revil- lagigedo, in 1789, did the ancient cap- ital begin to assume the metropolitan proportions of a civilized city. This viceroy paved the streets and lighted them, built sewers, established a po- lice system, rid the city of foot-pads by hanging the captured highway- men, and created very many reforms ; the old Conde was very vigorous and emphatic in his methods and per- mitted no delays in the carrying out of his orders; the work of improve- ment was required to be promptly and effectively done and his orders were not to be disregarded in the slightest particular. It is told of the Conde Revilla- gigedo that he went about the city unattended, day or night, and that when he found anything wrong he required it righted then and there. One night he struck his foot against an uneven place in the pavement — he sent a messenger for the contractor telling that he was wanted, and 74 waited there till he came and told him in language forcible, but of Castilian politeness, that the pavement must be repaired before morning. At another time the Conde was driving through the streets in the early evening and came upon a barricade of huts completely shutting off the passage of a street ; he ordered his coachman to summon the official in charge of the streets, while he waited there ; the officer was ordered to clear the street and have it open so the Conde's carriage could pass through as he drove to mass the following morning. It was done, and till this day the street from the Alameda to the Plazuela de la Candalaria is called Calle de Revillagigedo in honor of the eccentric but practical reformer of the olden times. The rules and regulations of the modern city are scarcely less stringent, and a clean, well-kept city is the result — but a monument to the old Count should have a place at every corner in the city as a reminder. It is probable that the ancient city of Tenochtitlan, covering about a quarter of the territory of the present city, was at the geographical center of the Aztec empire and of the territory within the boundaries of Anahuac, but the City of Mexico is far from the center of the Mexican Republic. It is, by direct air lines, 1,500 miles from the extreme northwest boundary, 200 miles from the Gulf, 400 miles from the Pacific and 600 miles from the boundary of Guatemala on the' south, in latitude 19° 26' 5" north and 99° 6' 45" west from Greenwich. The city is in the midst of a broad plain completely surrounded by high mountains forming the rim of a bowl or basin, from which there is no natural outlet for the streams that rise in the hills, hence the accumulation of waters that may have, at one time, covered the entire face of the plain, and since the establishment of the city great inundations have occurred as in 1552 and again in 1629, flooding the streets and drowning thousands of the inhabitants. To prevent the recurrence of the floods and consequent disaster the dyke of San Lazaro was built in 1552, the great canal, called the Tajo de Nochistongo, was commenced in 1607, but neither served the purpose of the drainage of the valley and the city is subject to the rise of the waters in the very wet seasons, but inundations will be prevented by the great tunnel completed in 1S96, bored through the hills of the eastern rim of the bowl. The tunnel is connected with the lakes by canals which makes a perfect drainage of the city and of the valley. The city is in what is called the Federal District, covering an area of some four hundred and fifty square miles — the government of the district like the District of Columbia is directed, by the national legislature, administered by the Ayuntimiento, or city council, the city and district being presided over by a Governor appointed by the President of the Republic. The population of the district is in round numbers nearly 600,000, and of the city proper about 400.000. The great Lake of Texcoco is eastward of the city, Xochimiico and Chaico to the southeast, Zumpango and San Cristobal to the north. It is probable that before the filling up by the building of causeways, and the made-lands from the grading, both for the old city of Tenochtitlan and the newer Cit}^ of Mexico, that these lakes were all one immense body of water, completely surrounding the ancient cities. The altitude of the City of Mexico, 7,349 feet above the level of the sea at Vera Cruz, only 200 miles away, gives it a most delightful climate and a most even temperature. The average mean range of thermometer from October to April is 56 degrees and from Alay to September 63 degrees; practically the only difference between summer and winter is that it never rains in the winter and it does almost every day in the summer — but only in showers, and never with long periods of rainy weatlicr — and the only cold weather results from a norther that blows up from the Gulf and lasts not more than a few hours or a day. 75 With the clean, well-kept streets and delightful climate, the Mexican capital is a most delightful city whether the sojourn may be in the winter or summer months. National Library— Biblioteca Nacional, is located in the old Church of San Agustin on the street of San Agustin, three squares south of San Francisco, The building is one of the finest in the city and has on two sides a pretty little garden surrounded by a high iron railing, the posts of which are surmounted by busts of Mexicans of prominence in literature, beginning with Netzahualcoyotl, Ixtlilxochitli Tezozomoc, the ancient writers of the country, then Carpio, Tagle, Pesado, Navarrete, Gorostiza, Clavijero, Veytia, Alaman, Ramirez, Pena y Peiia, Najera, Sigiienza y Gongora, Alzate, Loza, Cardoso and Lafragua. Over the main door is a fine image of San Agustin, a remaining decoration of the ancient church. The interior is superb in its architecture. Ionic columns support the arches of what was the choir and now the vestibule. The nave is now the stately library hall, and where the chapels were are now the alcoves of bookshelves. Around the walls are statues of Isaiah, Confucius, Valmiki, Homer, Plato, Cicero, Virgil, Aristophanes, St. Paul, Origen, Alarcon, Dante, Copernicus, Descartes, Humboldt and Cuvier ; above these is a statue of Time and the Arms of the Republic. On either side of the entrance are medalion portraits, one of President Juarez, who decreed the establishment of the library, the other of Don Antonio Martinez de Castro, Minister of Justice, who signed the decree. The old chapel of Tercer Orden opening into the main building is a storeroom for unclassified books. The collection of books made from suppressed monasteries and convents comprises nearly 200,000 volumes which, considering the source from which they came, are mostly religious works, but a most valuable library is being collected that comprises the choice books of the world. There are old books and new; books on vellum and parchment; books that the British Museum have not, but would like to have. There is an atlas of England printed in Amsterdam in 1659, with steel plates and in colors that are as bright and fresh as if just off the press. Another volume bears date of 1472, and another is still older, printed in two colors with a most perfect register. There is a Spanish and Mexican dictionary, printed in Mexico in 1571. There is a book of autographs of notables and soldiers of Cortez. A roll of deerskin shows some original dispatches (painted pictures), sent by Monte- zuma to his allies, but intercepted by Cortez. There are original manuscripts and immense volumes with every old English letter done with a pen. There are rare books of all ages and nations, from a Chinese dictionary down to the latest works of the day. The Library is open daily, feast days excepted, from 10 a. m. to 5 p. m., and is free to all. Other Libraries— Each department of the government has a library of appropriate books, as also the National Museum and the Academy of Fine Arts ; the School of Engineering has 8,000 volumes ; the Law School, 16,000 ; the Preparatory School, 10,000; and in the old Church of Betlemitas, on Cinco de Mayo street, is a free library of 10,000, open daily, except feast days, 9 a. m. to 1 p. m., and 3 p. m. to 7 p. m. The National Palace has an extensive library composed of the archives of the nation. National School of Fine Arts is called also the Academy of San Carlos. Drawing and painting was first taught in Mexico in the College of San Juan de Letran, founded by Pedro de Gante, although Rodrigo de Cifuentes, a painter of some renown, made portraits of Cortez at the time of the Conquest. About the year 3 600 came the great Sebastian Arteaga, who has been called the founder of art in Mexico. At about this time came Alonzo 77 Vasquez, Baltazar Echave and his wife, who was called La Sumaya. Among the artists of the next century were Andreas Lopez, Herrera, Aguilera, Juan Correa, Cabrera, a native Indian of Oaxaca, and his pupil, Vallejo; Ibarra, Jose and Luis Rod- riguez, Lopez, Saenz, Esquirel, Nicholas Juarez, Zendejas and Alcibar, these were the painters ; the sculptors were Cora and Patino Instolinque, but perhaps the greatest of all these was Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras, painter, sculptor and architect, who flourished in the latter part of the eighteenth and first part of the nineteenth centuries. The work of these men are in the churches of the land throughout its length and breadth and in the Academy of the City of Mexico. The school of Fine Arts originated in the school of engraving connected with the mint, established under a royal order of Charles III, dated March 15, 1778, under the direction of Don Geronimo Gil, the cheif engraver, who opened the school in May following. The director of the Mint, Don Fernando de Mangino, obtained the consent of the Viceroy Mayorga to the establishment of an academy of painting, sculpture and architecture. Classes were organized November 4, 1781 ; the King being in- formed, issued a royal order December 25, 1783, licensing the institution under the name of La Academia de las Nobles Artes de San Carlos de la Nueva Espaha. The Academy was opened with im- posing ceremonies on the 4th of April, 1785. The first teachers came from Spam, the painter Aguirre and Velasquez, painter and architect. In September, 1791, the Academy was removed to its present quarters in the building formerly occupied by the Hospital de Amor de Dios, then came the architect Manuel Tolsa and the painter, Rafael Jimeno. Tolsa brought with him, as a present from Charles III, a fine collection of casts valued at nearly $50,000, and under those auspicious circum- stances the Academy prospered, interrupted though by the wars and revolutions of the times, and was closed from 1810 to 1821. In 1824 the city council voted a small annuity for the support of the Academy, which continued till 1843, when the proceeds of a lottery rendered a more ade- quate support and the Academy was formally reopened January 6, 1847. Under the Juarez government an annual allowance of $35,000 was made -and in 1868 the name was changed to the National School of Fine Arts, when prizes were offered, among them one of a pension of $600 per annum for six years. Tuition is free. Notable pictures are the "Martyrdom of San Apronianio," "The Holy Family" and "The Adoration of Magi," by Echave. "Christ in the Garden," by Luis Juarez; "San Agustin," by Antonio Rodriguez; "Justo and the Pastor" and "Ivifeof St. Alexis," by Jose Juarez; "Mary and Elizabeth" and "Christ and St. Thomas," by Arteaga; "Santa Ana and the Virgin," "The Holy Sepulchre" and "The Meeting of Mary and Elizabeth," by Echave. "Virgin of the 11:20 p. M SEPTEMBER 16. 78 Apocalypse" is by Cabrera, and there is also a portrait of that artist painted by himself. In "The Adoration of the Magi," by Nicolas Juarez, the artist has introduced his own portrait, the figure on the left in blue. Among Ibarras pictures are "Woman of Samaria" and "Woman Taken in Adultery;" and those of Cabrera are his "Virgin of the Apocalypse," "Bernard" and "An- selm." There is also a "Crucifixion" by Arteaga; a "Martyrdom of St, Law- rence," by Luis Juarez, and a fine "Virgin de la Purisuna," by Aguilera. There is a "San Juan de Dios," a "San Rafael," a "San Juan en el De- sierto" all by Murillo, also a "San Francisco" and a "San Antonio de Padua' that are also attributed to that great artist. There is a portrait of 'Rubens" and a "Christ Torment- ed," both by Rubens. There is a "Seven Virtues" on wood by Leonardo and a "San Sebastian" by Van Dyke; a portrait of "Murillo" by Velasquez. Among others are a "Saint Gregory;" "Santa Cata- lina de Sena," "Santa Teresa," and a portrait of "Maria Ana of Austria, Wife of Philip IV," a "Las Casas" and numerous others more or less interesting and by various artists. The Academy of Fine Arts is on the Calle del Amor de Dios, two squares east of the Cathedral and one square from the National Mu- seum. The hours are from 12 noon to 2 p. m., daily, and from 9 a. m. to 12 m. Sundays and feast days. National Mtiseum, or Museo Nacional, half a square east of the Cathedral and just in rear of the National Palace, contains a fine collection of antiquities and objects of natural history, excellently ar- ranged and altogether the most interesting place in the capital, The collection was formerly a depart- ment of the National University COLOSSAL HEAD. ^ud whcu that institution was closed in 1865 the relics were removed to the present building, which until that time was occupied by the Mint. The collection is constantly being added to by the reception of relics from all parts of the country — the government ver> wisely having decreed an ownership on all antiquities wherever found wuthin the boundaries of the Republic, and has caused them to be brought to the National Museum until it contains one of the finest and most interesting collections in the world. There are many examples of the jprehistoric races of the country, idols from their temples and ornaments from the palaces; jewels, arms, shields and utensils of the Toltecs and Aztecs, with some of their picture writings; there are portraits, parchments and paintings through all the years of the country's history from the days of the Conquest. The Sacrificial Stone is in shape similar to the calendar stone. The carvings indicate very clearly its uses; the basin hollowed in the top 79 with the canal leading to a niche on the edge seems to have had the purpose of catching the blood of the victim and carrying it away. ^ The figures on the rim show the victorious chiefs under Tizoc dragging their victims by the INTERIOR MUSEUM, CITY OF MEXICO. hair to the place of sacrifice to be offered to the sun. This, stone was found near the Cathedral in 1791, and as it was too heavy to handle conveniently, was about to be broken up and used for paving stones, but the destroyers' work was arrested and a most interesting relic was preserved. The Calendar Stone, sometimes called the Stone of the Sun, was originally set in the walls of the great temple of Tenochtit- lan, and after the destruction of the temple was buried in the earth for many years on the spot where the temple stood, on the Plaza Mayor; it was resur- rected and placed in the west tower of the Cathedral, where it remained till 1886, when it was removed to the Museum, where it is preserved. An effort by some writ- ers, who have spent sacrificial stone. little time in research, to discredit the interestmg theory of its use ai a calendar, meets with but very little favor, as its drawmgs and divisions clearl}^ indicate the calendar idea, which has been carefully and clearly worked out till it is apparent to the most casual observer. The critics of the calendar have only succeeded in a small way in appearing wise, and to know some- thing which for some reason they do not divulge, and prefer to say it was not a calendar stone just because somebody else said it was, and yet fail to say what its uses were, beyond a hint at sacrificial purposes, although an- other stone with more appropriate carvings stands beside it. The tradition goes that both the Sacrificial and the Calendar stones were taken from the ancient quarries near Coyoacan and dragged over the cause- ways on wooden rollers to the walls of the teocali, and that they each broke down the bridge of Xoloc, were lost in the lake and a second pair of mono- liths were quarried and through the efforts of 5,000 men were safely moved over the causeway and the renewed and strengthened bridge in 1478. By order of the king Axayacatl, the engravings were made and by the priests they were ded- icated through the sacrifice of 728 hu- man beings. The Goddess of Water, is a huge monolith nearly 11 feet high, over 5 feet across. It weighs nearly 40,000 pounds. Very much disfigured in its carvings, it is still nearly perfect in form. It came from Teotihuacan near the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, and is an idol of prehistoric origin. Huitzilopochtli was the war god of the ancient Mexicans. CALENDAR STONE. The very elaborately carved idol has two faces dissimilar in feature, and is perhaps two figures, one of which has been called Teoyaomiqui, though this latter name does not appear in Mexican mythology, and the theory that one part is a god and the other a goddess is hardly tenable, though there is repulsiveness and ugliness for more than two figures. The idol is nearly ten feet high by about three in diameter. El Iiidio Triste, the Sad Indian, was found in 1828, in the street now called by that name. Why the image was called the Sad Indian does not appear, for while the countenance may not be called pretty, it is by no means sad. Writers agree that the statue was set upon a wall with a torch or standard in each hand, and was more for the purpose of ornamentation thar: an object of worship, and was not an idol. On the walls of the Temple of :^iii .vT-i >-3;r "."ssev 81 Huitzilopochtli were Indians of stone with candlesticks in their hands, and this may have been one of them, aUhotigh it was dug up (1828) in the street that now bears its name, the Calle del Indio Triste. How this piece of sculp- ture came by its name tradition does not narrate. Two Serpents* Heads of gigantic size were originally in the walls of the Temple of Tenochtitlan and were a part of the cohuatepantli or wall of serpents. They were discovered by Sefior Garcias Cubas where they had been buried beneath the original Cathedral. The Feathered Serpent is one of the most curious sculptures of the museum; it is coiled and has an unmistakable snake's head; this form of serpent is found in smaller examples in the museum. They came from all parts of Mexico, in fact have been found in various parts of the continent. It is called Quetzal-coatl and represents an ancient myth of Mexico of a \' ' \ 2*"**''^ CARVED VASE, NATIONAL MUSEUM. white man with a long flowing beard who taught the people religion and civili- zation; a religion that the earliest comers to Mexico found very similar to Christianity. The legend goes that this mysterious teacher was one of the Apostles, St. Thomas, but why he should be represented by a feathered ser- pent is not apparent. Chac-Mol, the God of Fire, is a recumbent figure in stone, lying upon its back, with both hands holding upon the stomach a round disk as an emblem of the sun. This particular Chac-Mol was found in Yucatan, other and similar figures from other parts of the Republic are in the Museum. There are scores of other sculptures brought from all parts of the country about which little is known as to their origin and of which history and tradition are silent, and which the catalogues can only enumerate. 82 A Colossal Head of a human is one of the finest pieces in the Mu- seum. It is exquisitel}' carved in diorite; it is three feet high by two feet through the neck and about seven feet in circumference. It was found in 1830 in the street of Santa Teresa in the City of Mexico, in excavating for the foun- dation of a building and was presented to the Museum by the Abbess of the Concep- tion. Authorities disagree as to its origin or use, though its carvings relate in some way to the Aztec calendar. In the front of the cap are thirteen shells, that may mean the thirteen religious da3"s of the man. In the back of the head dress are twenty shells and there were twenty days in the civil month; these and other carvings [correspond in numbers to those on the Calendar stone. In the other halls of the ■Aluseum are many interesting relics pre- !historic, and of the age of the Toltecs and of the Aztecs, arms and munitions of war, darts, javelins, clubs and shields. Among the shields is one of Montezuma's. There are also implements and objects of home life, jewels, dresses and costumes of the earlier races of the country, and some of the famous picture writ- ings showing the wanderings of the people. Of the later centuries there is the Banner of the Conquest, a portrait of the Conqueror Cortez. and some of his armor, and the arms carried by the soldiers under him, among which is a helmet and cuirass worn by the gallant Captain Pedro de Alva- rado, and of the post-conquest days there are some portraits of the Spanish viceroys. The standard of the war for independence, the banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe taken by Hidalgo from the little Church of Atotonilco, near San Aliguel, in the State of Guanajuato, his musket, cane, chair and handker- chief are to be seen also — and of the later days the coach, chariot of state and silver dinner service of the Emperor IMaximilian and the carriage of Presi- dent Juarez. These and many other objects of interest representing all ages of the country make this ]\Iuseum one of the most notable in the world, containing as it does so much that is to be found in no other, called from times and tribes of a people wholly different and distinct and with no link to connect them with any other on the face of the earth. The Motite de Piedad is trie National pawn- shop, founded by tiic Conde de Rcgla Don Pedro Romero de Terreros, the then owner of the great Real del Monte mines, near Pachaca, with an huitzilopochtli. endowment of over $300,000; approved by the Crown, June 2, 1774. and on the 25th of February, 1776, the doors were opened for business. At first no interest was charged on the loans. This was with the 83 idea to protect the people from the usurious charges of pawnbrokers that have been the same sharks in all ages and countries. It was ex- pected that on the redemption of the pledge that the borrower would make some gift for charitable purposes, but as his gratitude did not always material- ize it was found necessary to charge a nominal rate of interest. So low are the charges that it is in reality a boon to the people, and the liberal rules of redemption make the business one fair transaction. When the interest on an article fails to be paid, it is exposed for sale with a fixed price. At the end of a month the price is reduced, and again at the end of the second or third month, when it reaches the amount of the original loan and interest, which usually effects the sale, but if the article is sold during the first or second month the excess over the loan and interest is paid to the borrower — an un- heard-of and unprecedented proceeding. The idea of paying a borrower any- thing on an unredeemed pledge simply because it sold for more than the loan is absurd, and such a ridiculous plan does not exist except in the Monte de Piedad of Mexico. The institution was established first in old college San Pedro y Pablo, after- wards removed to the street of San Juan de Letran and later to the building erected especially for it on the street of the Empediadillo, opposite and just west of the Cathedral, on the spot where once was one of the palaces of Cortez. The original capital became very much reduced in 1814 by bad manage- ment, but changes in the administration and reforms restored the deficit; again in 1884, during the administration of President Gonzalez, the capital was again impaired and has never fully recovered, but there is still sufficient to do a very large business and the institution remains a practical benevolence. Not so much as in the earlier days of its existence,' but there are still to be found among the pledges some very good bargains in articles of vertu and interesting relics of persons who have seen better days. Schools and Colteges— The school system of the City of Mexico is fully abreast of the times. So much progress has been, and is being made that it is impossible in a work of this kind to give data or statistics. What might be written this year would be all wrong next, hence no figures are given here. Suffice it to say that information in detail is easily obtained from the Department of Justice and Public Instruction. There are many private schools and institutions of learning and public schools supported by the National, State and Municipal governments, some of the most important of which are noted here. The Conservatory of Mttsic was established in 1877 .in a building erected in 1787 on the site of the first building of the University of Mexico, on lands that belonged to the estate of Cortez. There is a fine patio with flowers, and surrounded by old cloisters; a splendid concert hall and a fine painting by Vallejo. The library and collection of music is very complete. The School of Mines, La Mineria, on the Calle de San Andres, was founded in 1777 by Don Velazquez dfe Leon and Don Lucas de Lasaga. The building is a magnificent one, erected in 1813 at a cost of nearly $200,000. There are fine patios, stairways and columned galleries, and is considered one of the finest edifices in all Mexico. The decorations are superb, especially in the chapel where there is a fine bronze altar, and frescoes by Jimeno. There is a fine observatory, library and extensive cabinets of specimens. Under the front portal are some immense meteoric stones weighing tons, that have fallen at different points in Mexico. ' During his visit to the capital, in 1880, General Grant was c^uartered in this magnificent building. 84 The School of Medicin© was authorized by a royal decree dated March i6, 1768, followed by numerous other decrees down to the final one of 1833, and after being located at different points in the city was finally estab- lished in 1854 in the builamg formerly occupied by the Inquisition in the Plaza of Santo Domingo. The college has a fine theater, lecture-rooms, library and apparatus. The Preparatory School for advanced students to prepare for the colleges was originally an institution of the Jesuits and is still called by the old name of the School of Ydelfonso. The present building was completed in 1749 at a cost of nearly half a million dollars. The patios are surrounded by galleries handsomely decorated. The various halls contain some handsome paintings by Vallejo and other noted artists, among which is "The Holy Family" and the "Feast of Pentecost." The library, museum and apparatus are in keeping with the importance of the institution. The School of Agriculture is located just outside the city on the Tacuba road, on the hacienda de San Jacinto, and is an important institu- tion, with all modern appliances for agricultural education. The Colegio de la Paz, called also the College of San Ygnacio Loyola, had its corner stone laid in 1734, but was not completed till 1767, when the cost w^as estimated to be $2,000,000. The school was originally directed by the Biscayan Brotherhood, but upon the banishment of the order was taken charge of by the government. It is supported by its endowment and an appropriation. There are primary and secondary departments where, in addition to the regular branches of education, sewing, embroidery, etc., are taught. The original school was founded by three philanthropists through pity of the numerous poor children of that part of the city who were without schools, and with their own money bought the original site and commenced the first building. Their names should be perpetuated. They are Don Jose Aldaco, Don Ambrosio Meave and Don Francisco Echeveste. The building is one of the most extensive and finest in the city. Other Schools — Among tne other schools are the Industrial School for Women, Industrial School for Men, School for Deaf Mutes, Industrial School for Orphans, School of Correction, School for the Blind, Commer- cial College Law School, a Theological Seminary, Schools of the Lancasterian Society, Benevolent Society and of the Catholic Society, in which there are changes constantly being made, so that detailed information here would in a short while be unreliable. HOSPITALS. Coucepcioti Beistigui is one of the newest hospitals of the city, having been founded by Sehorita Concepcion Beistigui and opened j\Iarch 21, 1886. It was remodeled from the old convent of Regina Coeli, and is one of the finest in the city. It is located near the Plaza de Regina, six squares south of 2d San Francisco street. Hospital del Divitio Salvador is for the care of insane women. It had its foundation in the charity of a pious carpenter, Jose Sayago, who took the unfortunate creatures he found on the streets and cared for them in his own house, till the Archbishop Aguiar y Seijas gave him a larger house and suppHed him with money for expenses. After the death of Sayago and the archbishop in 1698 the hospital passed to the care of the Jesuits, and after the suppression of the order it came under the control of the govern- ment, when a liberal appropriation was made and an improved mode of treat- ment put in effect. It is located in the Calle de Cahoa, three squares north of 1st San Francisco. 85 Hospital de Jesus Nazareno was founded by Cortez about the year 1590, and was amply provided for in his will, but the administrators mis- applied the funds, until the management was undertaken by Don Bernardo Alvarez and matters put in proper shape and the provisions of the will firmly established, so that all attempts to break it have failed, and it is still supported by the endowment made by the conqueror. The hospital is on the Calle de Jesus, three squares south of the Plaza Mayor. Hospital Municipal Juarez was once a church, a college and a barracks. The college of San Pablo was built on the site in 1575, and a church in 1581, and remained as important institutions for some two hundred years, when they fell into decay and were leased by the government for use as a barracks. The first uses as a hospital were in 1847, after the battle of Padierna with the Americans near San Angel, on the 19th of August of that year, when the wounded soldiers were brought in to this place. Afterward, through the good offices of Dr. Jose Urbano Fonseca, it became a municipal hospital, and later, with the merging of hospitals of San Hipolito and San Lazaro, became, since 1862, the Hospital Municipal Juarez, though sometimes called by the old name of San Pablo. It is located on the Plaza de San Pablo, one square east and six squares south of the Plaza Mayor. Casa de Matemidad was founded by an imperial decree of the Emperor Maximilian, dated June 7, 1865, and opened on the anniversary a year later under the direction of the Council of Public Charities, of which the Empress Carlotta was the president, and who became so thoroughly inter- ested that she sent from Europe a complete set of surgical instru- ments and a large sum of money for the support of the hospital, which is located on the Calle Revillagigedo, half a square south of the Alameda. La Cuua, the cradle, is a foundling asylum, known also as UNSUPPORTED ARCHES. La Casa de Sefior San Jose de Nifios Expositos, and was founded by the Arch- bishop Lorenzana January 11, 1766, and supported by his private purse and alms through his hands even after his return to Spain. The succeeding archbishop, Don Nufiez Haro y Peralto, continued the work by organizing a Congregation of Charity for the custody and management of the asylum, which received a royal approval, and by a decree of the king of Spain dated July 30, 1794, the foundlings were declared legitimate and endowed with the rights of citizen- ship, and it was further provided that the children should receive the name of Lorenzana in honor of the founder of the asylum. The children receive a practical education, the boys a manual training and the girls are taught sewing, embroidery and music. The asylum is three squares east from the south side of the Plaza Mayor. Hospital Morelos was originally a foundling asylum, known^ as Hospital de la Epifania, to which was attached the Hospicio de Nuestra Sefiora 86 de los Desamparados, Our Lady of the Forsaken, and was founded by the good Doctor Pedro Lopez in 1582. In 1604 it came under the control of the brothers of San Juan de Dios, who built the present fine church and hospital, and who administered the charity for more than two hundred years, till the order was suppressed in 1820 and the hospital closed, but through the good offices of Don Caspar Ceballos it was reopened March 8, 1845, under the name of the Hospital Morelos, in honor of the patriot soldier of the war of independence, but it is still called also by its old names. It is near the Plaza de Morelos, immediately north of the Alameda. Hospital de San Andres was originallv a pest-house in use during the plague of 1779, though it was a Jesuit foundation of a century earlier. After the termination of the plague it was made a general hospital, and under the Laws of the Reform became the property of the Ayuntamiento, or city government, and so remains to the present time. A department for the free treatment of the diseases of the eye is maintained. The hospital is on the Calle San Andres, a square and a half east of the Alameda. Hospital de San Hipdlito was founded by a retired merchant of Peru, a native of Andalusia, Bernardino Alvarez, who took upon himself the care of the sick and became a hospital nurse, but, not being satisfied with the treatment of the sick, resolved to establish a hospital of his own. A lot near the church of San Hipolito was given him, with permission to build his hospital, which he did with his own property and contributions made to him, and set out to gather patients, not only in the cit3^ but from as far away as Vera Cruz he gathered the lame, the halt and the crazed. A brotherhood was formed for the carrying on of the good work, which received the sanction of the Pope, Cregory XIII; approved, in 1585, May i, by Sixtus V. Under a bull of Clement VIII, October 8, 1604, the brothers were ordered to take the vows of hospitality and obedience, and in 1700, under a bull of Innocent XII, they became a monastic order under the rules of the Agustinians. and all the privileges pertaining to that order, and were known as the Hipolitos, the Brothers of Charity, which was purely a Mexican order. Under this admin- istration the hospital became an insane asylum for males. The present build- ing was erected in 1773. The order of Hipolitos was suppressed by the Span- ish Cortez in 1820, October i, and the property, amounting to nearly $200,000, confiscated, but the brothers, as individuals, remained in charge. The mu- nicipality has since had charge. The hospital is on the Calle de San Hipolito, one square west of the northwest corner of the Alameda. Hospicio de Pobres was founded by Dr. Fernando Ortiz Cortez. under a royal order dated July 9, 1765. The asylum for the poor was opened March 19, 1774, and so great was the demands of the charity that a few years later it was greatly enlarged by Don Francisco Zufiiga. The support was derived from an allowance of $i,coo per /'month from the government lottery, a most appropriate appropriation, since the lottery is your greatest factor in creating paupers. There are different departments for the old and young, male and female, with accommodations for a thousand or more. The hospicio was on the Avenida Juarez, but has been removed to the Calzada de Tlalplam, on the Tlalpam electric line. Other Hospitals — The American Hospital was founded in 1886 through the good work of the American colony and visiting Americans, and has its sole maintenance trcm their charity and contributions from the i)hilanthro- pists of our country. The English, French. German and Spanish Benevolent Societies look after their sick in a charitable manner. 87 PUBLIC AND NOTABLE BUILDINGS. The National Palace, Palacio Nacional, on the east side of the Plaza Mayor, is the Capitol of the RepubHc of Mexico, as it was the Vice-regal palace when the country was a province of Spain, and before that period was the site of a palace of Cortez, and was the property of the Conqueror; the land fell to his share when the city lots of Tenochtitlan were divided among the Spaniards. At that time the site was occupied by what was known as "the new palace" of Montezuma, which, being destroyed, Cortez built in its place, a house flanked with towers. The estate was confirmed by the king to Cortez in 1529 and remained in the possession of his heirs till 1562, when it was bought by the crown for the residence of the Viceroy, and remained as the vice-regal residence until 1692, when the house was destroyed in the riots of that year. The present building was begun in 1692, and from time to time has been added to until it extends over the entire east side of the Plaza Mayor, having a frontage of 675 feet, extending down the side streets proportionately, the whole surround- ing an immense patio or court, with accommoda- tions for the various departments of the Federal Government, the Executive offices. Senate Chamber, Treasury, and barrack room for sev- eral regiments. The Presidential apartments are in accord with the high office and the dignity of ihe government, magnificently appointed and splendidly decorated — it is not the Presidential residence, only the offices of the President and of the Government. The most noted room is the Hall of the Ambassadors, an apartment of regal dimensions and adornment. It extends its elegant, proportions along the palace front, the immense windows looking out upon the Plaza. The walls are hung with portraits of the illustrious men of the country's history, including the martyrs of the War of Independence, Hidalgo, Allende, Morelos, Matamoros and others; Yturbide, and Presidents Arista, Juarez and Porfirio Diaz; there is also a fine portrait of George Washington. Other paintings are an allegorical representation of the Constitution and the battle of the 5th of May, respectively by Monroy and Miranda, Mexican MEXICO'S liberty bell. artists of high repute. On the i6th of September, 1896, there was placed over the main gateway of the palace the bell from the tower of the church of Dolores, in the State of Guanajuato, near San Miguel de Allende, rung by Hidalgo incidentally to call the people to mass, but in reality to call them to arms for the cause of Independence; hence became the Liberty Bell of Mexico. In the old tower of the little church at Dolores, nearly a hundred years ago on that September night when the stars shone bright, rang out the clear tones of a bell. The people listened and wondered at its ringing at such an hour, but well knew that it rang not except upon the order of the faithful padre, the good Father Hidalgo, and came from their homes quickly to answer the summons and hear what he might say. Assembled there under the dim light of the flickering candles of the altar, the patriot priest 88 told his people that the hour of independence was at hand and that they should follow him and march then to do battle for their country and against the Spanish king. The march was announced at the hour, with the banner of Guadalupe taken from the little church of Atotonilco as their standard the people followed Hidalgo, they knew not where, they only followed Hidalgo, and thus was born the bell of liberty in Mexico. Long ago the banner of Guadalupe of Atotonilco was placed in the Na- tional Museum of the capital of the Republic, but the Liberty Bell of Mexico was but yesterday placed above the gates of the National Palace, and on the night of the i6th of September of 1896 rang out again as it did in that night of 1810 for liberty and independence. It is in history that the hour when this bell first rang, except for mass or matin, was at eleven o'clock, and forty minutes of the night between the 15th and i6th September, 1810, then Hidalgo rang it in the call to arms and liberty, and when the people answering, assembled under the darkening shad- ows of its tower he pronounced the Grito of Mexican independence. It has long been the custom of the President of Mexico to go upon the balcony over the main gateway of the National Palace at the hour and there pronounce again the Grito as Hidalgo said, and now he may ring the bell that Hidalgo rang and all the people shout their vivas now, as did the little band of patriots in 1810. The bell had remained in the towers of the church at Dolores since Hidalgo rang it on that eventful night, but on Independence Day of 1896 it was brought to the capital, and on the i6th of September, with all the pomp and circum- stance of state, was carried in grand procession and placed over the palace gate. The triumphal car bearing the bell, the central figure of a glittering pageant, rolled on golden wheels, whose spokes were trimmed with flowers. An eagle with outspread wings on the front of the car seemed to fly before the precious relic as if to lead the way. In the shadow of the eagle's wings rested an old brass cannon, cast by Hidalgo, on which is inscribed, "Para defender la Fe y la Pureza de Maria Santisima" — For the defense of the Faith and the Purity of Holy Mary. The bell and the cannon were surrounded by trophies of the war of independence, muskets, swords, cannon, sponges, picks and pikes; the entire group surmounted with a wreath of laurel and oak, ending in a background of tropic trees, entwined with the colors of Mexico. The car was drawn by six magnificent horses, mounted by postilions and guarded by an escort of rurales; the grand procession following was com- posed of the dignitaries of state, civic and military, the army and the people. The lookers-on in Mexico were massed to the walls on the sidewalks, every window and balcony was filled and so were the housetops, from whence came showers of flowers and serpentines in green, white and red, and the vivas drowned the music of the band, as the people cheered the grand old bell on its progress to the home of the nation. When the car arrived on the Plaza in front of the Palace, the bell was removed and hoisted over the central gate, in the faqade of the Palace, and as it reached its final resting-place a thousand doves with tricolor bands about their necks rose up from the archway, circled around and flew away to the four quarters, carrying the glad news. The President and his Cabinet watched the hoisting of the bell from a pavilion, and when the work was completed it was formally received from the commission that had brought it from Dolores Hidalgo. The patriotic speeches of presentation and reception were received with wild applause and the cere- mony continued till the evening. All day long the crowds had not left the Plaza, only thinned out a Httk 89 now and then, and when night came it was packed again until the hour of eleven drew on and there was a solid mass of humanity within the walls of the great square. At 11:35 President Diaz came from the Hall of the Ambassadors to the balcony where, till now, he had only pronoimced the Grito, took the rope in his hand, a silence fell on the multitude till the hands of the clock crawled to forty minutes past, and he gave the bell four lusty strokes, and a mighty shout went up and re-echoed to the surrounding hills; then rang all the bells in every tower, A star of electric fire surrounded the bell and cascades of colored fires poured down from the Cathedral towers and the Palace walls, bands played and people shouted, and almost wept from patriotic joy — the inde- scribable scene may not be written in the words of any language, great was the boon of him who saw the dedication of Mexico's Liberty Bell. The Casa de Moneda, the Mint, on the Calle Apartado, six squares north of the cathedral, was one of three established by the Spanish Government in 1535, the other two at Potosi, in Bolivia, and at Santa Fe, New Mexico. At first there was only an assay office from which ingots and bars bearing the official stamp were issued and were current as money. The present building was completed in 1734 at a cost of something over half a million dollars. The increasing output of gold and silver of Mexico caused the establishment of mints in other cities, notably at Zacatecas, Guana- juato, Guadalajara, but the mint of Mexico is the principal one, the coinage having reached the enormous sums of over $100,000,000 gold and nearly $3,000,- 000,000 in silver. Coins of the Spanish king, of the Republic and of the Empire under Maximilian have been issued from this mint. The Post Office is on the corner of Calles San Andres and San Juan de Letran, one block north of San Francisco street at the Plazuela Guuardiola. Aduatia) the Custom House, occupies the Plaza and ancient church of Santiago Tlaltelolco, in the northwest quarter of the city. Camara de Diputados, the Chamber of Deputies, or House of Rep- resentatives, is in the Yturbide Theater, four squares north of San Francisco street from the corner of Vergara, the original hall in the National Palace having been destroyed by fire in 1872. The theater has been remodeled and adapted to legislative uses. Arzobispado, or the Palace of the Archbishop, on the corner of Calle Arzobispado and Seminario, was established in 1530 by the first Archbishop of Mexico, Juan Zumarraga, and decreed by Charles V. in 1533 to be the home of the Archbishops forever, but the Republic of Mexico decreed otherwise and in 1861 declared it to be the property of the State, and is now occupied by various governmental offices. The Palace of Yturbide, so called from its occupancy by the Emperor Yturbide I. during his brief reign, now occupied (since 1855) as a hotel, on ist San Francisco street, was built by the Marquesa de San Mateo Valparaiso during the eighteenth century on lands that formerly belonged to the Convent of Santa Brigida. The House of Tiles, on ist San Francisco street, is one of the curiosities of the city. It was built by the Conde del Valle de Orizaba early in the eighteenth century, now occupied by the Jockey Club. It is a mag- nificent house, with its walls completely covered with tiles. There is a Spanish proverb applied to a spendthrift, "He will never build a house of tiles," that the building of this beautiful house would seem to completely controvert. Near by, fronting on the Plazuela de Guardiola, is the splendid residence af the family Escandon. The house of Bazaine, on the Puente de Alvarado, 90 noticeable from its recessed front, was occupied during the reign of Maximilian by his perfidious minister, the Marshal Bazaine. On the Tacuba road, near the Garita de San Cosme, is the house of the Masks, la casa de los niascarones, so called because of the stone masks which adorn its walls. This curious house was designed and partly built by the Conde del Valle de Orizaba, in the year 1771, who died after having spent $100,000 on it, and left behind him this most unique architectural monument. The City Hall, Palacio del Ayuiitittiietito, is on the southeastern side of the Plaza ]\Iayor, on a site set apart by Cortez for the municipal palace, and has been since so occupied. The present house was finished in 1722. The lower floor is occupied by the fine dry goods stores of the city, in front of which are the finest portales in the city. THE HOUSE OF TILES, SAN FRANCISCO STREET. There are many notable houses in various parts of the city, whose walls could tell tales of history and romance if they had ears to hear them in the centuries gone by. Among them the house of the Condes de Santiago, just beyond the Calle de Parque del Conde, so-called from the park that origi- nally surrounded the magnificent house with its carved doors and miniature cannon used as water-spouts. The patio is large and of exquisite propor- tions. The lower part of the house is occupied by stores and shops. On 3rd Calle de San Augustin is the house occupied by Humboldt, the great German traveler, in 1803. A tablet recording this fact was set in the walls on the looth anniversary of his birth, September 14th, 1869. 91 PLAZAS, PARKS, PASEOS AND PANTEONS. Plaza Mayor, the main plaza, or to be explicit, the Plaza Mayor de la Coiistitucion, is in the city's center, where stood the great teocali, the temple of the Atzecs, and where stands the Cathedral, and facing it the National Palace. When the Aztec temples were destroyed and the city being built, an open space was left here that soon became a market place and filled with shops and booths. These were destroyed by lire, after the royal order of January i8, 1611, creating the space a public plaza, only to be rebuilt and subsequently destroyed in a riot in 1692, the fire destroying the building of the Ayuntamiento, City Council, and injuring the palace, with a loss of valu- able records, a portion only being saved through the efiforts of Don Carlos de Siguenza y Gongora, the custodian.^ Afterward an elegant stone building, called the Parian, was erected by the municipality, and was rented to merchants of a high class, who brought here their wares, and it became the bazaar of fine trade, but the fruit sellers and vegetable venders surrounded it with their huts again and remained for many years. The coming of the Conde de Revillagigedo, the viceroy, in 1789, marked the beginning of the present plaza. The hucksters and peddlers were driven off to the Volador market, the open ditches were covered into sewers, the panteons removed or obliterated, and in 1830 the foundation was laid in the plaza for the equestrian statue of Charles IV, that was afterward removed and which now stands at the entrance of the Paseo de la Reforma. The Parian was looted during the revolution of 1828, and later, in 1843, the build- ing torn down and the site included in the plaza. In the center of, the plaza is the Garden of the Zocalo. which derives its name from the zocalo, or foundation, for a monument that was never built, a monu- ment to Mexican independence. From this the plaza is often called the Zo- calo. A music stand is built on the foundation, and a military band plays here evenings and Sundays for the middle and poorer classes. On two sides of the Plaza Mayor are the portales, an extension of the buildings over the sidewalks that are supported by columns with arches be- tween, under which are some of the finest stores in the city. On the east side the National Palace extends almost its entire length; on the north the great Cathedral, with its towers, flanked on one side by the flower market and on the other by the Plaza del Seminario, which is only a part of the main plaza. Here is a monument to Enrico Martinez, the noted engineer of his day, who was responsible for the Nochistongo canal, for the drainage of the city. Bronze figures, inlaid in a marble shaft, show standards of measure- ment and the level of the lakes at different times. From the Plaza Mayor street cars for all parts of the city and the sub- urbs start, and the passenger remaining in the car will be brought here again on the return trip; and here are fired the salutes, and the troops reviewed on national days, the i6th of September, 5th of May, 2d of April and other days of national celebration. La Alameda is the park of the better classes, and is so called from the fact that it was first planted with alamos, or poplars. Every city, town and village has an alameda, but this is the alameda of Mexico. In 1592 a petition was made to the city council to set apart certain ground for a park of recreation, and the old Indian market, the Tianquis del San Hipolito, located on a part of the present Alameda, was selected, and a little later the Plaza del Quemadero, the place of the stone altar on which the 92 The Paseo commencing at victims of the Inquisition were burned, was added. The Quemadero was removed by order of the Viceroy Marquis de Croix, and the Alameda at- tained its present size and shape. By his order to remove the Quemadero the Viceroy incurred the displeasure of the bigots of the church, and this same Quemadero came near being his own funeral pyre. The Viceroy Revillagigedo, famous for his energetic reforms and muni- cipal improvements, inclosed the Alameda with a high board fence in 1791, which was replaced in 1822 by the stone wall that had done duty on the Plaza Mayor in inclosing the unfortunate statue of Charles IV. A trench was outside the wall of the Alameda, but these were all obliterated in 1885. The Alameda is the resort of the fashionables, and here they most do congre- gate Sundays and feast days to enjoy the music of the military bands. The beautiful trees, the flowers and the fountains make the Alameda a most beautiful park. de la Refortna extends from the city to Chapultepec, the glorieta of the statue of Charles IV, running in a direct line to the gates of the park at the foot of the Hill of the Grasshopper. It is a broad, smooth, and very beautiful boule- vard, shaded by splendid trees, as are the wide walk-ways on each side; along the curb and between the promenades, at cer- tain intervals, are erected statues to the illustrious men of Mexico, presented by the various States of the Republic; mas- sive stone seats are along the promenade under the trees. The Paseo widens into circles, here and there, called glorietas^ in the center of which are splendid statues, one of Columbus and one of Cuautemoc, the Aztec warrior, nephew and successor of Monte- zuma. Other statues are to be erected in all the six glorietas. In the glorieta at the entrance of the Paseo is the statue of Charles IV of Spain. The Aztec stat- ues shown here have been removed to the Paseo de La Viga. The Paseo ^' was established during . . the empire of Maximilian, and became at once the fashionable drive of the Mexican capital, and a more beautiful one does not exist in Europe or Amer- ica. Here in the late afternoon of every day, greatly increased in brilliancy on Sundays and feast days, is a magnificent display of carriages and equipages of every style, and a more splendid review does not exist anywhere. The fine array passes up one side and down the other, a cordon of cavalrymen in the center keeping the procession in line, and adding to the brilliancy of the scene. There are other paseos in the city, but the Paseo de la Reforma is the paseo. Paseo de Bucareli is sometimes called Paseo Nuevo, the new paseo, although it was opened in 1778, and is now little used as a paseo. This paseo was named for the Viceroy Bucareli, during whose reign it was established, and starts from the statue of Charles IV. In one of the glorietas is 93 a fountain and a statue of Victory, erected in 1829 in honor of President Guerrero. Paseo de la Viga runs along the bank of the famous canal of that name, and is a very attractive drive, especially during the fiestas of the In- dians, and still more especially on Holy Thursday and on the day of the Feast of the Flowers, 'ihe drive is to be taken for the novelty rather than the good road. About midway of the paseo is a bust of Cuautimotzin, the last of his line, and the last of the Aztec kings. Calzadas, or causeways, connected the city of Tenochtitlan with the mainland. They were narrow roadways built by the Aztecs and improved by the Spaniards, and in later days became streets, as the waters were filled and houses built on the made land. The causeway of Tlacopan is now the Tacuba road. It was the shortest to the mainland, and was improved from a narrow foot-path to a wide road- way as a means of retreat, as they found necessary, on the night of the ist of July, 1521, the Noche Triste, and the tree under which Cortez sat down and wept over his defeat on that dismal night is preserved to a healthy old age. Part of this causeway is called the Puente de Alvarado, from the leap of the Spanish captain over one of the cuts made by the Aztecs on that fate- ful night. The spot is behind a low wall surmounted by an iron railing, west of San Hipolito. The second of the three causeways from the city to the mainland leads southward toward San Antonio Abad, with branches to Coyoacan and Ixta- palapan. Over the latter came Cortez on his first entry into the city of Tenochtitlan, and met Montezuma in the suburb of Huitzillan, near the cor- ner of the Calle del Paja and Jesus and the Hospital de Jesus. This causeway was an important thoroughfare in the Aztec times, and was widened by the Spaniards in 1605. There were two causeways leading northward to the mainland between the city and the hill of Guadalupe, called in the old days Tepeyac, and later Tepeyacac, commencing in the city near Santiago Tlaltelolco. The eastern of the two causeways was almost destroyed by the inundation of 1604, but afterward repaired by Fray Juan de Torquemada. The other causeway is of more recent date, having been built in 1675-76. Formerly it was ornamented with glorietas like those on the Paseo, and had fifteen beautifully sculptured shrines erected at regular intervals, where pilgrims to Guadalupe stopped to pray. Some of the shrines are still standing, but alas, to what base uses have we come — this causeway is used for the roadway of the Vera Cruz Railway, and the other is the route of street cars to Guadalupe. Aqueducts for the city's water supply were commenced to be built more than two centuries ago, but their usefulness has passed and they have given way to the more prosaic iron pipes, and the ancient waterways have been torn down and the material used for street repairs. There were two aqueducts bringing water to the southern part of the city, one from a spring near the Desierto, about twenty miles distant. This aqueduct formerly came to the center of the city, passing by the west side of the Alameda, where it served as a position of advantage for those wishing to see the burning of the victims of the Inquisition. It now ends in San Cosme. Formerly there were nearly a thousand arches of stone and brick, but the whole work cost less than $200,000. The building covered a period from 1603 to 1620. The other aqueduct brought the water from the spring in the park af Chapultepec, ending in the beautiful fountain called El Salto del Agua, which is still preserved, and the remaining arches may be seen from the street cars of the Tacubaya line. At certain intervals are some beautiful shrines 94 artistically sculptured. An inscription on the fountain of El Salto del Agua says that this aqueduct was completed March 20, 1779, during tne viceroyalty of Bucareli, and that it was built on the line of an ancient aqueduct of the Aztecs, built in the time of the Emperor (Jhmialpopoca, who obtained the right to take the water of Chapultepec from the king of Atzcapatzalco. to whom the Aztecs owed allegiance until their independence, in the time of Itzcohuatl, in 1422 to 1433. The more modern iron pipe brings water from the springs near Guadalupe to the northern portion of the city. The aguador still does business, carrying water from the fountains to residences. The water coming from the springs is exceptionally pure, as it comes from the hills, and there is no contamina- tion by contact with sewerage. SHRINE IN THE OLD AQUEDUCT. Motiumetits and Statues — 1 he statue of Charles IV of Spain is the most notable of the many in the city, is of heroic dimensions, being the largest single piece of bronze in the world. It is located at the entrance of the Paseo de la Reforma. but was originally in the PMaza Mayor, opposite the National Palace, where before the casting, a wooden model of the statue, gilded, was placed on the pedestal pending the molding of the bronze work. A royal order by the king of Spain was made November 30, 1795, permit- ting the building of the statue. The ca.'^t was made August 4. 1802. at six o'clock in the morning, after two days had been spent in melting the bronze, under the direction of Don Salvador dc la Vega, from the model of Don Manuel Tolsa, the work being done under the administration of the Viceroy Branciforte. paid for by the city and private contributions. The statue was not completed until 1803, when it was unveiled with great ceremony on the 9th of December of that year. 95 The statue remained in the Plaza Mayor until 1822, when the feeling against the Spaniards became so biiter that its destruction was threatened, and a great wooden globe was constructed about it and painted blue to protect it from patriotic missiles thrown by the now independent Mexicans. But the blue globe was not thought to be a complete safeguard, and the statue was removed to the patio of the uni- versity, where it remained until 1852, when the animosity against Spain had in a measure subsided, and the great bronze horse and his royal rider was placed in its present position. The height of horse and rider is fifteen feet nine inches, and weighs 60,000 pounds. The Statue of Columbus, in a glo- rieta of the Paseo de la Reforma, was the first to be erected to his memory on the continent he discovered, a beautiful work of Cordier's, placed here through the generosity of Don Antonio Escandon. The base is of basaltic stone, supporting an iron balustrade, with lamps at each cor- ner ; resting on this is a massive block of red marble ; is ornamented on its four sides in exquisite sculpture ; the arms of Columbus in garlands of lau- rel ; the rebuilding of the monastery of La Rabida ; the discovery of the island of San Salvador; a fragment of a letter of Columbus to Sauris, and the dedication by Senor Escandon. Above this are life-sized figures in bronze of Pedro de Gante, Diego De- hesa, confessor to Ferdinand of Spain, Las Casas and Marchena of Santa Maria de la Rabida. Sur- mounting the whole is the statue of Columbus drawing the veil that hides the new world. Guatimotzin, or Cuauhtemoc, the .nephew of Montezuma, and last of his line, the last Aztec king, has a monument in the next glorieta be- "^^^Myond that of Columbus, greatly ven- 'erated by the Indians, who hold fes- r 1 • i-r T-1 . tivals in his honor on the great dates of his life. _ The monument is a very beautiful one of bronze, the work of Don Francisco Jimenez. On the four sides of tne base are wrought in bronze scenes from the life of the great warrior and his torture by Cortez in placing his feet m fire to compel the divulgence of the hiding place of the Aztec treasure. A bust of Cuauhtemoc is in the Paseo de la Viga erected STATUE OF CUAUKTEMOC. 96 August 13, 1869, the anniversary of his capture by Cortez and final conquest of the empire. Near the entrance of Paseo de la Reforma is the statue in heroic size of Charles IV. of Spain, and at regular intervals on each side of the grand boulevard are statues of the men illustrious in Mexican history. The Juarez monument, in the Panteon de San Fernando, the work of the Islas brothers, is one of the most beautiful pieces of sculpture in the world. Within a Grecian temple lies the dead president, his head supported by figurative Mexico in white marble. Morelos, the soldier priest, has a monument that was unveiled by Maximilian on September 30, 1865, the hundredth anniversary of the hero's birth. It is in the Plazuela de Morelos, between the churches of San Juan de Dios and Santa Vera Cruz, and in the Plaza of San Fernando is a bronze statue of Guerrero, by Norefia. In the Plaza de Santo Domingo is a monument to Seiiora Dona Josefa Dominguez, the heroine of Mexican Independence. Under the portales are the "evangelistas," who write letters for those unable to do so ; the little desks have been there a century or more. CATHEDR4L AND CHURCHES, "It was a marvelous time of original and beautiful work that covered Mexico with churches, and set up in all the remote and almost inaccessible villages towers and domes that match the best work in Italy, and recall the triumphs of Moorish art," writes that ardent student of Mexico, Mr. Charles Dudley Warner. "The beauty and originality is wholly in the exterior. While nearly all the towers, domes, facades, and outside walls are original in form and color and decorations and have a special charm, the interiors are strik- ingly alike and generally commonplace. This uniformity is the more remarka- ble in a people that build their interior domestic courts and decorate them with so much variety. It should be said, however, that some of the interiors of the churches were very rich in silver and gold decorations prior to the sequestration of church property." "Except in the general form of these churches, there is nowhere any repe- tition of design. The artists seemed to have had free play to express their love of beauty in towers, domes and fagades. Nothing is commonplace ; noth- ing is vulgar. Towers and domes, anyone of which I should like to see in the United States, are common in the republic ; but it seemed to me that in this part of ■Mexico they expressed a feeling not common elsewhere — not Italian (which one encounters in so many lovely cloisters and towers), nor yet exactly Spanish, but rather, I should say, Saracenic. At least this was the impression strongly made upon me. The domes always reminded me of the tombs of sheiks, of the califs, and so on, as one sees them in all Moslem lands, and the slender towers recaHed the graceful minarets. These two forms in combination, so constant and so varied, suggested always the Saracenic spirit in the artist. It may be only a fancy, but it is not unrea- sonable to believe that the Spanish architect who designed them was strongly influenced in his work by the Saracenic forms with which he was so familiar three centuries ago. There is another fancy about the fagades of many of the best old Mexican churches which I may have mentioned before. It is a peculiarity which one sees in many village churches, and even in the City of Mexico, and in such suburban towns as Coyoacan and Tacubaya. While the churches were evidently designed by Spanish architects, the workers who executed the fagades were evidently Indians :- and in the strange stone-work CATHEDRAL— CITY OF MFXICO 98 designs, unlike any otlier architectural decoration that I know, and very diffi- cult for us to interpret or enter into the spirit of — we have the Indian tradi- tions of a prehistoric art and ornamentation. Much of this work, untrans- latable into our terms, has more in common with the carving on the pre- historic temples than with that on any Christian edifices. The subject is one, however, that a layman is incompetent to deal with. It is much to be de- sired that trained artists should study and describe the old churches of Mex- ico. Many of them, like the noble edifice of Churubusco, with its interior wealth of old Spanish tiles, are already going to ruin. "The fascination in pursuing the study of the towers and domes is that there are no two alike. There was no slavish copying from book designs. The style is the same, but each architect followed his own genius in con- structing an object of beauty. The edifices are not always simple; the roof masses are bold and grand, often ; and there is an effect of solidity, of gran- deur, with all the airy grace of form, and the satisfaction of the eye with color. There is a touch of decay nearly everywhere, a crumbling and a de- facement of colors, which add somewhat of pathos to the old structures ; but in nearly ev^ry one there is some unexpected fancy — a belfry oddly placed, a figure that surprises with its quaintness or its position, or a rich bit of deep stone carving, and in the humblest and plainest fagade there is a note of individual yielding to a whim of expression that is very fascinating. The architects escaped from the commonplace and the conventional ; they under- stood proportion without regularity, and the result is not, perhaps, explain- able to those who are only accustomed to our church architecture. But most of ours, good as it occasionally may be, is uninteresting ; whereas you love this, in all its shabbiness of age, and do not care to give a reason why." The Cathedral — On the very foundations of the greatest pagan temple of the continent is erected the most ambitious house of the Christian Church in the western world — the Cathedral The Holy Metropolitan Church of Mexico is built on the site of the great teocall of the Aztecs. The bishopric of Mexico was established in 1527 by Pope Clement VII, and on the 12th of December of that year Fray Juan de Zumarraga, at the instance of Charles V of Spain, was made Bishop, but it was not imtil a year later that he arrived in the City cf Mexico, and on the 2d of September, 1530, was confirmed as bishop-elect and protector of the Indians. The archbishopric of Mexico was created by Pope Paul II on the olst of January, 1545, with Bishop Zumarraga as archbishop. When the Aztec temples that were in the center of the City of Tenoch- titlan were destroyed by the Spaniards in 1521, the space was set apart for the building of a Christian church, as before the walls of the teocali were razed to the ground the sign of the cross and the image of the Virgin was shown above the pagan altars, and at the throwing down of the heathen gods and idols, as a consecration of the. ground, and when the ruins had been cleared away, the first church in the City of Mexico, the little church of the Asuncion de Maria Santisima, was built where the temple stood. This church, finished about three years after the conquest, was replaced soon after by the first cathedral, and was preserved until the larger one could be built. It stood in the open court in front of the present cathedral, the first stone of which was laid just beyond the north wall in 1573. The corner-stone of the present cathedral was laid in 1573; the founda- tions were completed in K>15, and the walls were well under way; the roof over the sacristy was finished in 1623, the first service held in 1626. The great inundation of 1629-35 greatly hindered the work, so that the dedica- tion did not take place till 1656, February 2, and even then the building was 99 still incomplete, and it was not until eleven years later, on the 2d of Feb- ruary, 1667, that the final dedication occurred. Ihe towers were completed in 1791, and the bells placed in position in 1792. The cost of the towers was nearly $200,000, and the great bell called Santa Maria de Guadalupe, twenty feet from the top fastenings to the tongue, cost $10,000. The larger bell, in the other tower, called Doiia Maria, cost nearly as much. The estimated cost of the Cathedral, from the laying of the corner-stone to the hanging of the bells, is put at $2,000,000 — but that does not represent a tithe of the actual cost if the labor had a fair value put upon it, and the material had been bought at market prices. From north to south the building is over 400 feet in length, the interior measuring 387 feet. From west to east the interior width is 177 feet, the height from roof to the tiles of the floor is 179 feet. The towers are 203 feet 6 inches high. The material of the walls and towers is stone, the roof is in arches of brick and cement. The front is to the south, the facade richly carved and with rr-jT^-^^j friezes, statues, etc., in white marble between the two great y* ^^ "' ^ ^* towers, with their bell-shaped caps and crosses in stone, make /' \ \ it one of the handsomest in the world. On the cornices are statues of saints and great men of the church and religious orders. In the center of the fagade is the clock, and below it the arms of the republic. Surmounting the whole is the mag- nificent dome and lantern of graceful proportions, by the architect Tolsa. The entire cathedral was from the architec- tural plans of Alonzo Perez Castafieda. The immensity of the great church is apparent immediately upon the entrance. It is Gothic and Doric, with a cold simplicity. Twenty mas- sive fluted columns of stone separate the nave from the aisles and support the vaulted roof, that under the lofty dome is shaped in the form of a Latin cross. The dome is handsomely painted in pictures of sacred history, among which is the Assumption of the Virgin. There are fourteen chapels in the cathedral, seven in each aisle, dedicated to the various saints, each decorated in its own particular style with pictures of scenes from the lives of the respective saints. These chapels were formerly inclosed with handsomely carved wood railings. Now they are behind iron gratings, where there are constantly burning candles and tapers in front of the images of the saints. The most noted of the chapels is that of San Felipe de Jesus, where are preserved some relics of this saint, and in front of which is the font in which he was baptized. In this chapel rest the remains of the first emperor of Mexico, Agustin Yturbide, beneath a monument erected to the honored memory of "The Liberator." Another chapel is that of Las Rellquias, containing pictures by Herrera of the holy martyrs. In another, that of San Pedro, lies buried the first bishop and archbishop of Mexico, Juan de Zumarraga, and also the remains of Gregorio Lopez, the Mexican Man with an Iron Mask, supposed to have been a son of Philip the Second of Spain. The choir is enclosed within a high railing of richly carved woods, and in the center of this enclosed space is a large octagonal stand of highly polished dark wood for the music 100 books, that have their notes so large that they can be read from the seats around the raihng. Two immense organs, also in carved wood, rise almost to the arches of the roof. From the choir, leading up the nave, is a passage- way to an altar, inclosed between railings of tumbago, a metal composed of gold, silver and copper. In the rear of the choir is the Altar of Pardon (del Perdon), where at any time may be seen the devotees kneeling in crow^ds about the base of the altar. Here are two fine paintings, one by the great woman artist, La Sumaya, a San Sabastian, and a Candalaria, by Echave. The main altar, erected in 1850, was designed by Lorenzo Hidalgo, and cost a fortune in its ornamentations, gilding and carving. The fine altar of the Kings (de los Reyes) is the most imposing in the building, of magnificent proportions. Its top reaches to the arches of the roof. The altar was by the artist who made the Altar de Los Reyes in the Cathedral of Seville in Spain. The rich carvings and gildings are the especial admiration of the Indians. A noted Mexican artist, Don Juan Rodriguez Juarez, greatly added to the beauty of the altar by his images and pictures, among which are the Assumption and the Epiphany. Beneath the altar of the Kings are buried the heads of the patriots Hidalgo, Allende, Aldama and Jimenez, brought from Guanajuato in great state and pomp after independence was secured. In the sacristy are some magnificent pictures that completely cover its walls: The Entry into Jerusalem, the Catholic Church and the Assumption, by Juan Correa; the Triumph of the Sacrament, Immaculate Conception, and the Glory of St. Michael, by Villalpando. In the Meeting Room is a Last Supper and Triumph of Faith by Alcibar, and a collection of portraits of all the Archbishops of Mexico by various artists. In the Chapter Room is a fine Murillo, the Virgin of Bethlehem, a Virgin by Cortona, and another by an unknown artist representing John of Austria imploring the Virgin at the battle of Lepanto. The Sagrario Metropolitatio adjoins the cathedral on the east side, and is really a part of the main structure and opens into it. It is built on the site of the first parish church of Mexico, the church of San Jose de los Na- turales, mentioned elsewhere, being the first parish church of the Indians. The Sagrario was founded in 1521 and dedicated to Santiago, the patron saint of Spain. The first chapel w^as built by Juan Rodriguez de Villafuerte for an asylum for Nuestra Sefiora de los Remedios. The present church was built about the middle of the eighteenth century from plans by the architect Lorenzo Rodriguez. The foundation was laid January 7, I749; dedication, January 9, 1768. The very intricate carvings of the facade are in striking contrast with the great front of the cathedral adjoining it. The interior is shaped as a Greek cross; richly carved columns support the high vaulted roof. There is a fine main altar and twelve minor ones. The church has not escaped the repairer's work, but there is much of the antique elegance that renders it intensely interesting. There are some fine pictures; in the baptistry is a fine fresco by Jose Gines de Aguirre, the first professor of fine arts sent from Spain and placed in charge of the Academy of Fine Arts. The fresco represents the baptism of Jesus. Constantin, San Agustin and San Felipe de Jesus. There is also a fine St. John in the Desert after Murillo. The little chapel between the cathedral and the Sagrario was built in 1750 and called San Antonio, from an image placed there. Afterward a pious woman placed there an image of Nuestra Scnora de la Soledad, since when it has been known as La Capilla de la Soledad. Completing the group of churches and chapels about the cathedral is the Capilla de las Animas, adjoining the cathedral in the rear, and really a part 101 of it, facing on the street de las Escalerillas. This chapel was originally tenanted by a brotherhood whose duties required them to pray for the re- lease of souls from purgatory. The good padre Don Cayetano Gil de la Concha died October 7, at the age of eighty-seven, with an unbroken recoi^d of having said mass 45,324 times. The chapel was destroyed by fire March 3, 1748, but rebuilt soon after. One of the altars supports an image of Santa Rita de Casia that is greatly venerated by the Indians. In all this great cathedral and its adjunct churches and chapels are con- centrated the pomp and circumstance of the church of Rome, that for cen- turies was the power of the land, and within the walls was made much of the country's history. - ji ^^ ^£tei i^Uf ■H |tt^ fa^,.,^ « il mt ^M ■ ■ A'*?. --^^ "''^TwUHl gPjgU Bl QH H ^^H ^^^M ^^1 ^H E Im^^ 1 ■ 1 I 1 1 M wM w tn 'i| ■n ■ rt^ •! /■ ^' 1 !^H H 1 1 1 H Wm 9 ^^^ 1 ^%± •'>'•> ■■ ^'' ^^B 1 .^^^B H 1 1 P pq Vfl 2 ! 1 k. >^^^^EI Hd A ^H ' E M ^m ^^ ^ ■ k ^^Kfl 1 B' ^ tmrn 1 1 P I H 1 1 m "M t m ' tm. h| B i hHH m M mm 1 1 1 ^Eiv ^3vi 1 ^^^ ^ wm ^ » m ^^M J 1 1 1 ^1 DOMES OF THE ROYAL CHAPEL, CHOLULA. Santa Ana, on the street of the same name a dozen squares directly north of the Cathedral, was founded by the Franciscans. The church was dedicated March i6th, 1754, and became an independent parish in 1770. The font in which was baptized the Indian Juan Diego, to whom the vision of the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared, was preserved for many years in this church. San Antonio Abad, established in 1628, is on the street of that name in southern part of the city; only a chapel of the original church, convent and hospital now remains. La Balvanera, originally a convent and church, was founded in 1573. The corner-stone of the present church was laid May 3d, 1667, and dedicated December 6th, 1671, is located at the corner of the streets of Balvanera and Olmedo, about three squares from the Plaza Mayor, south two and east one. The church was built by a wealthy lady, Dofia Beatriz de Miranda, but the name of the donor was not known until after her death and that of her at- torney, Don Jose de Lombieda, who superintended the building. 103 Beleu d© los Padres ■ — Seven squares south from the Alameda on the Calle de los Arcos de Belen. . In the early history of the city an In- dian woman named Clara Maria owned some real estate near what is now known as the street of El Salto de Aguas, and being piously inclined, gave some land and built a monastery for the Brothers of Mercy, which she main- tained until she married and allowed a bad husband to squander her for- tune in riotous living, and was herself left in poverty, to be taken care of by the Brothers. Another Indian, Marcos, gave some lands and his service for life; then another woman, Dofia Ysabel de Picazo, gave of her money suffi- cient to build a church, which was dedicated in 1678, but the present church was not completed till 1735, through the beneficence of Don Domingo del Campo y Murga. The church has some fine paintings, and connected with it is the Colegio de San Pedro Pascual. San Bernardo, one square south of the Plaza Mayor, through the little street of Callejuela, was intended for a convent and was built from money bequeathed by Don Juan Marquez de Orozco, whose desire was for it to be occupied by the Cistercian Sisters, but none of that order being in the country three sisters of the donor opened the nunnery and lived there, and their successors until the suppression of convents. The first church was built by Don Jose Retes Largache, 1685-90. Santa Brigida, on the corner of 2d Independencia and San Juan de Letran, one square south of San Francisco street, near the Alameda, is the fashionable church of the city. The order of St. Bridget was introduced into Mexico through the gifts of Don Jose Francisco de Aguirre and his wife, Dona Gertrudis Roldan, in 1743, and by these pious persons the church was built in 1744 and dedicated on the 21st of December of that year. When the nuns were banished from the country and their property confiscated this church was bought in by a wealthy family, who gave it for church uses. There is nothing of the antique about Santa Brigida; it is the fashionable church of the capital and is kept in repair and up-to-date in its appointments. San Caitiilo, five squares south and one east of the Plaza Mayor, on the Calle de la Encarnacion, is now occupied by the Catholic Theological Semi- nary and the name changed to Seminario Conciliar. The church is a very pretty one indeed, with its tasteful decorations in white and gold. The Or- der of Carmilists, whose was the care of the sick and consolation of the dying, was established in Mexico in 1755 through Father Diego Martin de Moya. La Caridad — This church, on the Calzada de Santa M.aria, near the Plazuela de Villamil, three squares north of the Alameda, is all that remains of the Convent and College of the Sisters of Charity, established at a cost of nearly $200,000 by Padre Bolea Sanchez de Tagle, who wished to found an institution for the protection of Indian girls whose beauty might ex- pose them to the temptations and snares of the world, but the hopes of the good Padre were never realized, as the building was not completed before his death. The convent has always been called the Colegio de las Bonitas. College of the Pretty Girls, and was used by the Sisters of Charity, whose order was founded in Alexico by Dona Maria Ana Gomez de la Cortina, who paid the passage of twelve of the Sisters from Spain, who arrived in Mexico November 15th. 1844. when the good woman herself donned the habit and joined the order. She died and was buried in 18^16 in the patio of the con- vent, where her tomb now is. and by her will the church of La Caridad was built, at a cost of nearly $150,000. dedicated May 8th. 1854, General Santa Ana acting as sponsor, or padrino. For their good works the Sisters of Charity were for a time exempted from expulsion by the Laws of the Re- 103 form, but when the Laws became a part of Constitution in 1874 the order was suppressed, and the Sisters left Mexico in February, 1875, being the last of the religious orders to leave the country. El Carmen — The Carmelites arrived in Mexico in October, 1585, and after many trials and tribulations established a monastery and church of their own, in 1605 — which was pulled down and the foundations laid lor a magnifi- cent church that was never completed. The chapel was finished, however, and is still in use on the Plaza de la Concordia, seven squares north and one east of the Cathedral. Santa Cataliua d© Sena was built by two pious ladies named Felipas and placed in possession of two nuns of the Dominican order, who came from a convent in Oaxaca. The corner-stone was laid in 161 5, and the church dedicated March 7th, 1623. The convent was closed by the Laws of the CHURCH STATUARY— SANTA ROSA. Reform, but the church, on Calle Cerbatana, four squares north of the Cathedral, remains. Santa Catarina Martir is a very old church. The present church, on the corner of the street of that name and Calle del Cuadrante, seven squares north of the Cathedral, was built on the site of the first building and dedi- cated in 1662; the decorations are quaintly done and has some altars totally unlike any others. The good Dona Ysabel de la Barrera, wife of Don Simon de Haro, was the benefactress who gave the money to build the church. Santa Clara, on the corner of Vergara and Santa Clara, two squares north from San Francisco street, stands in evidence of the base uses to which some of the churches of Mexico have come under the Laws of the Reform. The convent is now a livery stable and one of the chapels is a shop. His- tory says that Francisca de San Agustin and her five daughters took the vows of the order of Santa Clara and that Don Alonzo Sanchez and his 104 wife gave then a house on the site of the present church, and they estab- iished a convent here in December, 1579 — and a church was founded that was dedicated October 226., 1661. Burned in 1755, the church was restored at once and remains to this day, though denuded of its fine altar and other decorations that w^ere the work of Pedro Ramirez. The convent was closed February 13th, 1861. ^ Colegio de las NiSas was founded by the famous Fray Pedro de Gante in 1548 as free schools for girls, and from the benevolence of its in- stitutions soon acquired great wealth, which was confiscated under the Re- form Laws, but the church on the street of same name, one square south of San Francisco street, still remains. Nuestra Sefiora de la Concepcioii was the first convent of Mexico, and was established by Fray Antonio de la Cruz, a monk of the order of San Francisco, who brought here three nuns from the convent of Santa Ysabel de Salamanca, in Spain. The first building was demolished in 1644 and the present church and convent built at a cost of nearly $300,000 through the generosity of Don To mas Suaznaba and the donors of the church of Santa Catarina Martir, and at one time was one of the wealthiest in Mex- ico, owning nearly $2,000,000 worth of property, and the convent a most fashionable one, if we may say a convent is fashionable. The first families were represented in the nuns of the Convent of Our Lady of the Conception. Originally the church was magnificently decorated, and some of the former splendor has survived the modern repairer; over the main altar is an image of La Purisima Concepcion, the origin of which is unknown. A legend says that at one time there w^as back of the organ a dropping of water from the roof, the source of which was never discovered, but one of the nuns read the interpretation in a vision that appeared to her, viz., that the drops of water marked of¥ the years of the convent's existence, and that w'hen the water ceased to drop it would come to an end — but the story does not add that the falling water ceased when the Laws of the Reform w^ere put in force, but there was the end of the convent. Since then the streets of Pro- greso and Cincuenta-siete have been opened through the grounds, and the buildings used for schools and dwellings. The very high tow^er is on thf Plaza de la Concepcion, at the corner of the Callejon de Dolores, four squares north of San Francisco street. Corpus Cristi was established as a convent for the reception of In- dian girls only, and they to be of noble families, which was the decree of Pope Benedict XIII, dated June 26th. 1727, at the solicitation of Don Bal- tazar de Zuiiiga, Marques de Valera, Viceroy at that time, and at whose ex- pense of $50,000 the first convent and church was built. The corner stone was laid September 12th, 1720, and the church dedicated July loth, 1724. Some nuns from the other convents of the city took possession and prepared to receive the Indian novices, establishing the custom that w'hen they took the veil they should always be dressed in the most elaborate costumes of the Indians, but this ]:)assed away at the closing of the convent. The church near the Calle de la Concei)cion. opposite the Alameda on the south side, remains open. San Cosme is one of the oldest churches in the city, established by Fray Juan de Zumarraga, first Archbishop of Mexico, about the year 1538, as a hospital for Indians, and dedicated the chapel to Cosmo and Damian, the holy Arabian doctors. The enterprise not succeeding, the establishment fell into the hands of the Franciscans, who built a monastery and church in t6oo. The present church was built soon after. Don Agustin Guerrero be- ing the donor of the ground and paying for the foundations, but for many years remained incomplete, till one day "Captain Don Domingo de Canta- 105 brana was overtaken on the Tacuba road by a violent thunder storm and sought shelter in the monastery. He was so kindly treated by the monks that he gave them $75,000 with which to complete the monastery and church. The corner-stone was laid in 1672, August 29th, and the church dedi- cated three years later, January 13th, to Nuestra Sehora de la Consolacion, but the old name of San Cosme remains. The mod- est Captain Don Domingo declined the honor of being the patron, asking them to accept San Jose in his stead — in memory of which a painting was placed in the church representing the transfer of the title of patron from the good Cap- tain to San Jose. The picv ture is a curious one, show- ing San Pedro among the angels hovering over a co- terie of monks, with Don Domingo .- and a notary in the act of attesting the papers. An inscription tells the story. The painting is by Don Jose de Alcibar. There is an image of San Antonio that the legend says restored a little child to life, and an image of Our Lady of Consolacion which rescued a little girl from drowning in a well. Near the picture is the tomb of Viceroy Don J u an d e Acuha, Marques de Casa- fuerte, who died March 17, 1734. The monastery be- came a military hospital in 1855, with Seiiora Doha Do- lores Tosta de Santa Ana, wife of General and Presi- dent Santa Ana, as god- mother, but was finally STATUE OF DONA SENORA JOSEFA DOMINGUEZ— PLAZA OF SANTO DOMINGO. 106 abandoned in 1862. It was in the tower of this church that Lieutenant U. S. Grant placed a howitzer and used it with such advantage in the battle of the 13th of September, 1847; the church is on the street of San Cosme, about a mile west of the Alameda. Santa Cruz Acatlan, on the Plazuela de Santiago, is one of the oldest of the Indian churches, with the usual convent attachment. The convent was closed when the nuns were expelled, but the church, with its historic pictures, remains open. Santa Cruz y Soledad was founded as an Indian mission in 1534. The present church was finished and dedicated October 21st, 1731. The al- tars and chapel decorations are by celebrated Mexican artists. There is an image of Nuestra Sehora del Refugio in the church that was formerly fastened to a wall in the Calle del Refugio, which street took its name from the image whose fiesta is annually celebrated here on the 4th of June. The church is in the eastern part of the city, near the Garita de San Lazaro. San Diego is on the street of the same name, just west of the Alameda. The original foundation was by the Franciscans, who commenced to build in 1591, but the church was not completed till 1621. The present church com- prises the walls of the old one. The church is handsomely decorated and has some fine pictures by the noted artist Vallejo, among which are the "Prayer in the Garden," "The Last Supper" and other subjects in the life of the Savior, and on each side of the altar allegorical pictures of the Virgin of Guadalupe and San Jose. The expenses of building the first church were paid by Don Mateo Mauleon and his wife, and the tabernacle in the present church was built through the efforts of Fray Carnago. Santo Domingo, originally a monastery and church, now a church only, the monastery having been demolished, as was also a part of the church, in opening streets under the Laws of the Reform. The first church was dedicated in 1575 and destroyed by the inundation of 1716. The present build- ing was completed in 1736. and remained intact till the opening of the streets by the Government in 1861. The church is one of the largest and handsom- est in the city and has some fine pictures, among which are the Crucifixion and San Yldefonso. The church fronts on the Plaza de Santo Domingo, in the center of which is a statue of Sehora Doha Josefa Dominguez, the heroine of Alexican Independence, whose remains rest in the panteon of Queretaro. Here, the traveler is told, is the spot where the Aztecs saw the eagle with the serpent and held it as an omen for the site of the city, four squares north of the Cathedral^ Nuestra Senora de la Encarnacion was in its day of splendor the most magnificent convent in Mexico. The original church cost Don Alvaro de Lorenzana over $100,000 to build. The corner stone was laid De- cember i8th, 1639, and the church dedicated March 7th. 1648. when the deco- rations alone cost nearly $40,000. Later a magnificent cloister was built and still remains intact. The property owned by the institution amounted to over $1,000,000, and when all the convents were closed the pictures were brought and stored here. In 1886 the building was utilized as a Law School and a seminary for young ladies. Many of the old decorations remain, and the modern use of gold leaf has added to their lavishness. Three squares north of the Cathedral on the street of the same name. Ensenanza Antigua was established in 1754. The convent was in later years occupied by the Palacio de Justicia and a school for the blind. The church is still open and has some good pictures by native artists. It is on the Calle de Cordobanes, two squares north of the Cathedral. 107 San Femaiido — The corner-stone was laid October lit A, 1735, and the church dedicated April 20th, 1755. It was much injured by the earth- quake of 1858, since which repairs have done much to obliterate its former magnificence, but many fine pictures remain. San Francisco — The original church and monastery was the great- est in all Mexico, and its name is closely identified with the great events of the country's history, from Cortez to Comonfort and Juarez. Established by the Twelve Apostles of Mexico and Fray Pedro de Gante, who came to Mexico City three years after its occupation by Cortez. the first church v/as built in the grounds that had been the wild beast garden of Montezuma. The building material was taken from the great teocali of Aztecs, in what is now the Plaza Mayor, Cortez contributing the building fund. The grounds DOMES OF SAN FRANCISCO. covered three great squares in the very center of the city, bounded on the north by First San Francisco Street, on the south by the Calle de Zuleta, on the east by Calles Coliseo, and Colegio de las Niiias, and on the west by San Juan de Letran, an estate that would now be worth more than ten millions of dollars for the ground alone, which are now occupied by Hotels Iturbide, San Carlos and Jardin, and the adjoining stores and residences, an estate worth some more millions. The history of this great house of Franciscans from the zenith of its power to its downfall would fill volumes with its incidents. Cortez heard masses from its altars, and within its walls his bones were en- tombed. In this church the Viceroys attended mass and lent their presence at the great' festivals. Here was sung the first Te Deum of Mexican Inde- 108 pendence, General Agustin Yturbide being in the assemblage, and here he, too, was buried. The church flourished and the Brothers went about doing good, and they prospered until the evil day came when they thought to put the State under the rule of the Church, and a conspiracy tending to the overthrow of Government was discovered and it was reported to President Comonfort the 14th of September, 1856, that the Franciscans were at the head of a revolt and that the blow was to be struck on the 15th, Independence day. The President, acting with his accustomed, promptness, sent his troops to the monastery early on the morning of the 15th and arrested the entire com- munity of monks, took possession of church, monastery and grounds; on the i6th a decree w^as announced opening a new street called Independencia that cut the grounds from east to west. Two days later another decree cited the treason of the Franciscans and suppressed the monastery. The decree of suppression was rescinded in the following February, and, although shorn of its greatness and some of its real estate, the monastery was restored and continued in a feeble way till the entry of the army of Juarez, on the 27th of December, i860, when the great monastery was closed forever. The ornaments, jewels and paintings were taken to the Academy of Fine Arts, the interior decorations were defaced and the altars removed. In April another street was opened through the property, with the scant satisfaction to the Franciscans that the street was called Gante, in honor of the greatest of their order. Soon the construction of dwelling houses began, and stores were built, the monastery became a hotel, and the refectory, where there w-as room for five hundred brothers to sit together at the table, became a stable — and the church, after an almost royal existence of three hundred and thirty years, be- came a Protestant Cathedral with scarcely a memory of its Catholic glory. The main church of San Francisco, as it existed up to i860, was dedicated December 8th, 1716. It was a magnificent structure, 60 feet wide by 230 feet long, with a dome and lantern over a hundred feet high; the great walls were covered with pictures, and thousands and thousands of dollars were ex- pended in decorations, the silver tabernacle over the altar costing $25,000. Rather than a church there was a group of seven churches, called by dif- ferent names, but all were San Franciscan. The only remaining one of the group is that of Nuestra Sefiora de Aranzazu, and that is now known as San Felipe de Jesus. The entrance is on First San Francisco Street, where a new facade has been built that is joined to the old walls whose corner- stone was laid in 1683, on the 2Sth of March. ]\Iany of the elegant interior decorations remain. In walking around the block bounded by the streets of San Francisco, San Juan de Letran, Independencia and Gante remains of the faqades of the old churches may be seen. The Hotel Jardin was the infirmary and lodging house of the monastery. Across the garden is the old refectory, now a livery stable. The Yturbide Hotel is on grounds intended for a convent, and the San Carlos is within the line of the walls of old San Francisco. In 1869 the great church was sold to the Protestant Church of Jesus in Mexico. Trinity (Methodist Episcopal) Church was constructed from a por- tion of the old walls, and Christ Church, Church of England, occupies an- other part. Dwellings, stores, shops, hotels, restaurants, are built on the grounds of the ancient church and monastery. San Geroiiittio was founded as a convent in 1586, noted particularly as the convent where the great poetess of Mexico. Juana Inez de la Cruz, took the veil, and where, after a long and useful life, she died April 17th, 109 TABLET OF SAN HIPo'lITO. 1695. The convent was, of course, suppressed with all the others. The cJiurch is on the street of the same name. San Hipolito marks the spot of the terrible de- feat of the Spaniards by the Aztecs on that fearful, dis- mal night, la Noche Triste ; the re-entry of the Span- iards to the city was made on the day of San Hipolito, August 13th, 1521, and one of the soldiers, Juan Gar- ndo, built a little chapel of adobe in memory of his comrades who fell that night. The chapel was called for its founder, then called the "Chapel of the Mar- tyrs," and finally it was named San Hipolito of the Martyrs, and by that name the church is still known. The church was com- menced in 1599, but was not completed till 1739. For many years the 13th of Au- gust was celebrated by the Brothers marching in the Procession of the Banner, in_ which was carried the ■crmison standard of the Conquest. On a corner of the wall surrounding the front of the church is a tablet com- memorating the defeat of the Dismal Night. Cut in the solid stone is the figure of an eagle bearing an In- dian in his talons, sur- ounded by musical instru- ments, arrows, spears, and trophies of the Aztecs. A 'arge medallion bears this nscription in Spanish: "So great was the slaughter of the Spaniards by the Az- tecs at this place on the night of July ist, 1520— so called for that 110 reason the Dismal Night — that after having in the following year re-entered the city in triumph, the conquerors resolved to build here a chapel, to be called the Chapel of the Martyrs; and which should be dedicated to San Hip- olito because the capture of the city occurred on that Saint's day." The church in the broad street, the continuation of La Avenida de los Hombres Ilustres, that runs along the north side of the Alameda, is on the north side of the street, one square west of the Alameda. Hospital Real and church was originally established under a royal order in 1553 as a hospital for the Indians and placed under the management of the Brothers of San Hipolito, who built the Theatre Principal for the pur- pose of raising money from the performances for the support of the hospital; these methods, and the taxes on the Indians of a measure of corn or a medio, 6^ cents, per annum, failed to maintain it, and the hospital became a Medical College, the second in America. The University of Pennsylvania (1764) was the first. Finally, from lack of support, it was closed and the church became a Presbyterian mission, located just south of the Hotel Jardin, one square. Santa Inez was founded in 1600 by the Marqueses de la Cadena. The church was dedicated January 20th, 1770. The facade is richly decorated in the Ionic order, and the doors handsomely carved. The church was closed for many years, but re-opened under the name of the Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, but the old name is mostly in use. It is in the street of the same name, three squares east of the Cathedral. Jesus Maria — Founded in 1577 by two pious men, Don Pecho Tomas Denia and Don Gregorio de Pasquera, with the idea that the descendants of the Conquerors should be the nuns. The convent was occupied in 1580, removed to its present site in 1582, at which time there came a nun to this convent who was said to be a daughter of Phillip the Second of Spain and a niece of the then Archbishop and later Viceroy of Mexico and first In- quisitor General, Don Pedro Moya de Contreras. This story is substan- tiated by the contributions to the convent of large sums of money from the Royal Treasury of Spain and the Viceroyal exchequer of IMexico. The corner-stone of the church was laid March 9th, 1597, and dedication took place February 7th, 1621. The church contams some handsome pictures, notably a St. Thomas and a Virgin and Infant Christ by Jimeno, and a Christ in the Temple by Cordero. Location, two squares north of the National Palace. Jesus Nazareno was founded by Cortez immediately after the perma- nent occupation of the city, and by his wull left ample endowment for its building and support, but it was nearly a hundred years before it reached an era of prosperity, and the church whose building commenced in 1575 was not dedicated till ninety years after, when the name was changed from the original one of Nuestra Sefiora de la Purisima Concepcion to Jesus Nazareno. from the miraculous image of Jesus of Nazareth that came into its posses- sion through the death of a pious Indian woman to whom it had belonged. The church has suffered little from modern repairs and renovations. The handsomely carved wooden roof remains, but the doors and other wood- work were renewed in 1835. The old altars and the large tabernacle are still in place. Another notable image is that of Nuestra Sefiora de la Bala, that was once the property of a poor Indian of Ixtapalapan, who. the legend says, took his gun with the intent of shooting his wife. The terrified woman fell down be- fore the image and implored the protection of the Virgin — and when the shot was fired it was found that the old man was not a particularly good marks- man, and that the ball had lodged in the image, after which husband and Ill wife became reconciled as they perceived that a miracle had been performed. T he image was kept in the church of San Lazaro for two hundred years and brought to Jesus Nazareno in 1884. The bones of Cortez rested in this church for awhile. The Conqueror directed that should he die in Spain his bones should, after ten years, be taken to Mexico and placed in the Convent of La Concepcion, that it was his intention to build, but which never was built. Cortez died in Castilleja de la Questa, in Spain, December 2d, 1547. The body was deposited in the tomb of the Dukes of Medina Sidonia, and ten years later was taken to Mexico and placed in the Church of San Francisco, in Texcoco, where it remained till 1629. On the 30th of January of that year his grand- son, Don Pedro Cortez, died, the last of the male line. It was concluded to remove the remains of the Conqueror and bury them with the grandson in the Church of San Francisco, in the City of Mexico, which was done with great pomp and ceremony, and here his bones reposed for one hundred and sixty-five years. DWELLING IN A RUINED CHURCH. On the 2d of July, 1734, the bones were removed again and placed in a magnificent marble mausoleum in the Church of Jesus Nazareno, remaining there for nearly thirty years. During the revolutionary times of the war for Independence the hatred of the people for the Spaniards threatened even the bones of the great soldiers of the Conquest, and on the night of the 15th of September, 1823, they were removed and secreted in another part of the church, and later taken out secretly and sent to Spain, and were finally laid to rest in the tombs of the Dukes of Monteleone in Italy. His bones having crossed the Atlantic twice, were interred six times in as manj different places, and finally have rested neither in the land of his birth, or in the country he conquered. In the Church of Jesus Nazareno are buried some men of note: Don Man- uel Vilar, the sculptor; Don Lucas Alaman, the historian; Col. Manuel Cal- deron, and Fray Juan Crisortomo Najera. lis The church is on the street of the same name, three squares south of the Plaza Mayor^ San Jose on the street of the same name, four squares south of the Alameda, was founded b}^ Fray Pedro de Gante in 1524. The present church was built by Don Diego Alvarez, who was at once a lawyer, parish priest and decorative artist, and who, with his own hands, made the frescoes. The walls were cracked by the earthquake of July 19th, 1858, and the church was practically rebuilt, at which time it fell heir to some of the altars, bells, etc., that were being taken from the dismantled church of San Francisco, receiving its final dedication June 20th, 1861, more than three hundred years after its foundations were laid. San Jose de Gracia was founded as a convent and church in 1610, and fifty 3'ears later the present church was built. The convent suppressed, the church became the property of the State, and in 1870 was sold to the Pro- testants. On the street of the same name, four squares south and one east of the National Palace. San Juan de Dios, opposite the Alameda, on the north side, was founded in 1582, dedicated 1629, destroyed by fire and commenced rebuilding 1766. The recessed fagade and portal are very handsome, and is in strange contrast with the low surrounding houses, among which was a cheap variety theater. San Jviaii de la Peneteticia was founded as a chapel of San Juan Bautista in 1524 by Fray Pedro de Gante. A convent was added in 1593, and both church and convent were supported by alms given by the Indians, at whose instance and by whose efforts the convent was established. After a while there came a great earthquake, and the church would have been de- stroyed but for the uplifted arm of an image of the Child Jesus, that pre- vented the great arch of the church from falling, and the church stood till it was pulled down and rebuilt in 1695, at the expense of Dona Juana Villasenor Lomelin. Location, four squares south of the Alameda, near the Calle de las Artes San Lazaro. was originally a hospital for lepers, founded by Dr. Pedro Lopez in 1572, and for nearly a hundred and fifty years was supported by him and his estate, and by the Brothers of St. John till the order was suppressed, in 1821. The present church was built in 1721 at a cost of nearly $100,000, and was one of the finest in ]\Iexico. The location is about twelve sciuares east of the Cathedral, at the end of the street passing from the southeast corner. San Lorenzo, on the street of the same name, four squares north of San Francisco street, was originally an Agustinian convent. The church was built by Don Juan Fernandez Riofrio and dedicated July i6th, 1650. The convent has since been occupied by the School of Arts. Nuestra Sefiora de Loreto, the church of the leaning tower, is two squares north and two squares east of the Cathedral. It is a Jesuit founda- tion of 1573. the original church being made of canes and reeds, dedicated to San Gregorio. In 1675 Father Juan Zappa brought the image of Our Lady of Loreto and the plans for her house to Alexico. Chapels were built in 1686 and 1738, but not until 1809 was the present church commenced, and in 1816, August 29, it was dedicated. The work was paid for by Sefior Don Antonio de Bassoco and his wife. La Marquesa de Castaniza, the total cost being nearly $600. coo. The architecture is somewhat different from the prevailing style. There are four rotundas rising to a superb dome above the arches. The in- terior decorations are very beautiful, and there are some fine paintings by Joaquin Fsquivcl from the life of Loyola of San Gregorio and a portrait of Father Zappa. Owing to some defects in the foundation or building material 113 one side of the church commenced to sink, which was aggravated by the inun- dation, and the church was closed in 1832; eighteen years later it was found that there was no danger of the leaning towers toppling over, and the church was reopened in 1850. Nuestra SeSora de los Angeles, fronting the Plaza de Zaragosa, about a mile north of the Alameda, is a church with many vicissitudes in its history that commenced in 1580, when an Indian chief called Isayoque found floating on the waters of the great inundation of that year a very beautiful picture of the Virgin, and when the waters had subsided he built a chapel of adcbe in which to keep the canvas he had found, but for some reason con- cluded not to keep it there at all, and had a replica of the picture painted by an eminent artist in a very beautiful manner on the adobe walls of the chapel. Fifteen years later a larger chapel was built over the adobe one, preserv- ing the wall on which the picture was painted, which had so many angels about the picture of the Virgin that the new chapel came to be called Our Lady of the Angels. Having its origin in the floods of the valley, misfortune came to the church again through the inundation of 1607, stone stairs of guadalupe. and great damage was done to the picture, but the face and hands remained uninjured, which was regarded as a miracle. The church was repaired, but not until two hundred years later, when the present church was built, through the good offices of Sefior Larragoitis, and completed in the year 1808. The miraculous painting, so much of it as was not lost in the melting away 114 of the adobe in the water, remains, the missing portions being covered by a dress made in the shop of a good tailor named Jose de Haro in 1776. It is now covered by a glass casing to prevent further injury. Among the other pictures is an equestrian painting of Santiago that came from the church of Santiago Tlaltelolco when it was closed by the government. Here, also, is preserved a stone bearing date of 1595 that came from the walls of the second chapel. Santa Maria La Redoiida, on the Plaza de Santa Maria, four squares north of the Alameda, was founded in 1524, and came to have many Indian Avorshipers, one of whom started to make an image for his church; one day he was called from his w^ork, and when he returned found the image mirac- ulously completed. Many miracles were performed by the image, and it is greatly venerated since the quenching of a fire in church on the nth of De- cember. In this church was preserved for many years the coiled feathered serpent emblem of the god Quetzalcoatl. The stone, inverted, its hollow base was used as a font for holy water. Tht Feast of the Assumption was celebrat- ed in great style by the In- dians every year, attract- ing great crowds; some students at one time made light of the processions and the Indians resenting, a riot ensued, after w-hich the Archbishop forbade the people going there any more on that feast day. San Miguel, eight , , , , SAN cosME. squares south of the Ca- thedral, is the church of the butchers, who celebrate their saint's day October i8th of each year. The church was founded in 1690. the present church being opened in 1692, and in 1714 was greatly enlarged and received the dedication to San Aliguel. The church was repaired in 1850, but the quaintly carved old doors remain. Nuestra Sefiora de Monseratte, built in 1590, has an image of the Virgin of Monseratte brought from Monseratte. in Spain, a replica of the famous image that is there. The brotherhood of Monseratte did many good works by their teachings in Mexico, and introduced fruits and vegetables from the old country. When the order was suppressed the pictures, among wdiich w'as St. John in the Desert, were placed in the Academy of Fine Arts. The church is on Calles Verde and Monseratte, seven squares south and one west of the Plaza Mayor. San Pablo, six squares south and three east from the Plaza Mayor, near the Plaza de San Pablo, was founded in 1^69, the present church in 1580, but was not completed till about the vear 1800. Safito Towas La Palma, on the Plazuela de la Palma, in the south- 115 east part of the city, about a mile from the Cathedral, was founded in 1550, The carvings of the altars, roof and doors are interesting. Porta Coeli was founded by the Dominicans August i8th, 1603, origi- nally a college that was suppressed in i860, but the very interesting church remains. On the fajade is inscribed from the Bible in Latin: Terribles est locus iste Domiis Dei et Porta Coeli, On the street of the same name, one square south of the Plaza Mayor. La Profesa was founded by the Jesuits in 1595. The existing church was dedicated as La Casa Profesa de la Compahia de Jesus. Up to the time of the expulsion of the Jesuits from Mexico in 1767 the church had accumulated much property, which reverted to the Government, and part of it bought in by the order San Felipe Neri, and the church was then called San Jose el Real, Oratorio de San Felipe Neri, al- though the old name of La Profesa is most in use. The church is one of the finest in Mexico, designed by Pelegrin Clave and his pupils, Petronilo Monroy, Felipe Castro and Jose Ramirez, who painted its pictures and made the mag- nificent white and gold decorations, al- though the altar is the work of Tolsa. The most prominent pictures are the Adoration of the Cross and the Seven Sacraments. The drapings of velvet in crimson, with gold embroideries, that are used in the great fiestas were pre- sented by Father Manuel Sanchez de Tagle y Bolea. The pretty little gar- den on San Francisco Street was planted by order of the City Council; on the other side of the church property some of its buildings were demolished for the opening of the Calle de Cinco de Mayo. The church is on Profesa or Third San Francisco, at the corner of Calle San Jose Real, two squares west of the Plaza \ Mayor. Regiiia Coeli, in the southern part of the city, on the plaza and street of the same name, six squares from San Francisco Street, was built in 1553 originally, the present church, in 1731, being dedicated September 13th of that year. The interior decorations are marvelously beautiful, in carvings of wood, in colors and in gold, presented by the good Fray Jose Lanciego y Eguiluz. Salto del Agua was so called from the fountain near the church — the curiously carved fountain at the end of the aqueduct from Chapultepec. The corner stone was laid March 19th, 1750. The church is at the corner of the Plaza de la Tecpan de San Juan, seven squares south of First San Francisco Street. Santiago Tlaltelolco was the church attended by the good Indian Juan Diego, in which he was baptized and to where he was going to hear mass when the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to him. In 1524 the Francis- cans established a chapel on this site; in 1537 a college was established for the education of the Indians, and from which many eminent Mexicans proceeded. The college was closed in 1578, reopened in 1667, closed again, and reopened in 1728, and finally closed in 1811, and the great domed church used as a custom THE FIRST SHRINE IN MEXICO. 116 house, while the convent has been made a prison. The font in which Juan Diego was baptized was taken to the church of Santa Ana, images and paintings to JSluestra Sefiora de los Angeles. The church is about two. miles north of the Cathedral, now used as a Custom House. La Satitisiitia has a most beautiful facade, richly and most elaborately carved, and has an interior decoration that is interesting, though hardly in keeping with the outer walls. The original foundation was in 1658. Its pur- pose was a convent, and later a hospital for the poor. The second church was dedicated in 1677, and the present one January 17th, 1783. The church is five squares directly east of the Cathedral. Sail Sebastian was founded by Fray Pedro De Gante in 1524, with a hospital attachment. Two squares east and three north of the Cathedral. Santa Teresa La Antigua, originally a convent of the Sisters of Santa Teresa, began its history in a lawsuit. Don Juan Luis de Rivera pro- vided by his will to build the convent. His heirs not carrying out the pro- visions of the will, the Archbishop Don Juan Perez de la Serna brought suit and caused the money to be paid and the deeds of land and houses turned over to him. A new trouble then came up — the people refused to vacate the houses. The energetic Archbishop gained an entrance by night, July 4th, 1615, into the patio and erected an altar, and hung the bells which he rang at day- light summoning the people to mass, after which the astonished people were notified that he, the Archbishop, had taken possession in the name of the Church; that they must go at once, and they stood not upon the order of their going. The work of tearing down the houses commenced that day, and in less than a year the nuns were admitted to their convent. The installation was attended by the wife of the Viceroy and the noble ladies of the land, one of the ladies in waiting of the Vice-Queen being so impressed that she became the first novice. The corner stone of the present church was laid October 8th, 1678, and the church was dedicated to Nuestra Sefiora la Antigua, September loth, 1684. A miraculous crucifix, brought from Spain in 1545, originally in a church of Cardonal, in the State of Hidalgo, is in this church. The legend says thai at one time an accident befell the crucifix and so disfigured it that it was thrown into the fire, but the flames did not affect it; then it was buried, and after awhile it was resurrected and finally grew to its original freshness and beauty. The Archbishop Serna had it brought and placed in an oratory, and later his successor, Don Francisco Manzo de Zimiga, built a chapel for it, but intending to bring it to the city, and finally when he sent for it the people of Cardonal refused to let it go, and a pitched battle ensued between them and the Archbishop's men, but they triumphed, and it was brought to the church of Santa Teresa la Antigua and a chapel built for it. After a while, as the fame of the miracles of this crucifix were noised abroad, the old chapel was abandoned and a new one built that became one of the most beautiful in the city. The corner stone of the new chapel was laid in 1798, December 17th, and the chapel dedicated May 17th, 1813. It was a gift from Don Manuel Flores and was the work of the architect Don Antonio Valasquez. The magnificent church was almost totally destroyed by the earth- quake of April 7th, 1845. The crucifix, although it had gone through fire, been buried and resurrected, was but slightly damaged. Pending the repairing of the chapel the crucifix was taken to the Cathedral, remaining there till 1858. when, on the 9th of May, it was taken back to its place with great pomp and ceremony. The new chapel retains much of the beauty of the old one, and has some very fine pictures, among which is a Coronation of the Virgin. 117 The church is one square east of the Cathedral, on a short street called Santa Teresa, running north from opposite the rear of the Palace. Santa Teresa La ISueva is one square north from the rear of the Cathedral and two squares east, opposite the Plaza of Loreto. The corner stone was laid September 2ist, 1701, and dedicated January 25th, 1715. Santa Vera Cruz was founded by Hernando Cortez, the Conqueror, and instituted a Brotherhood of the True Cross, whose duties were to comfort condemned criminals prior to their execution and afterward to bury them. The church contains a crucifix in a shrine behind seven veils — and at the time of its establishment, about the year 1574, one hundred days of indulgence were granted to all who visited the holy image at the unveiling. And even now it is customary to grant indulgencies on certain days, usually on each Friday of the year, to all who will visit the image. The crucifix is called El Senor de los Siete Velos, the Lord of the Seven Veils. The present church was dedi- cated in 1730, Oc- tober 14th. The church is on the Plaza de Morelos, opposite the Ala- meda, on the north side, on the Av- enida de los Hom- bres Ilustres. Tlie Inquisi- tion. — In 1527, by a royal order, all Jews and Moors were banished from Mexico — this was the beginning of the Inquisition, Two years later a council, consisting of Bishop Fuenleal, President, and the other members of the Audencia, Bishop Zumar- raga, the chiefs of the Franciscan and Dominican orders, the munici- pal authorities and two prominent citizens, met in the City of Mexico and made public this declaration: "It is most necessary that the Holy Office of the Inquisition shall be extended to this land, because of the commerce with strangers here carried on, and because of the many corsairs abounding upon our coasts, which strangers may bring their evil customs among both natives and Castilians, who, by the grace of God, should be kept free from heresy." Whereupon the Inquisition was duly organized and commenced its work immediately. In 1570, under a royal order dated August i6th, Don Pedro Moya de Con- treras— afterward Archbishop and Viceroy — was appointed Inquisitor Gen- eral for Mexico, Guatemala and the Philippine Islands, with official quarters FREIGHT DEPOT IN A CHURCH AT CUAUTLA. 118 in the City of Mexico — only the Indians being exempted from trial and con- sequent and inevitable conviction and execution by this tribunal. Although the Inquisition was practically organized in 1529, as Vetancourt, a contemporary writer, says with rather an energetic zeal: "The tribunal of the Inquisition, the strong fort and mount of Zion, was founded in ]\Iexico in the year 1571. They have celebrated general and particular autos de fe with great concourse of dig:nitaries, and in all cases the Catholic faith and its truth have remained victorious." The popular meaning of ''''auto de fe'''' has always been taken to be the burning of a victim of the Inquisition, and this is what it always did mean, although these words were applied to the public ceremony after the secret trial, which ceremony commenced with a profession of faith by the members of the tribunal, and those assembled, of their belief in Christianity and the Church. Then the tribunal announced the charge against the victims, and the verdict, following with a recommendation to mercy, the poor victims were turned over to the authorities for punishment, which meant death in the fire, for the Inquisition had but one charge, heresy, and one verdict, death in the flames. St. Dominick was the originator of the Inquisition, and the Dominicans gave a monastery in Mexico for the chamber of the tribunal, which was rebuilt and enlarged, but no record of it remains. But the building on the Plaza de Santo Domingo, now occupied as a Medical College, commenced in 1732 and completed in 1736, was occupied by the tribunal for many years. It was a foregone conclusion that a person summoned before the Inquisition was already condemned, and that when he went forth again from the court it was to the fiery stake. It is said of a Colonel of Mexican cavalry who was commanded to appear before the tribunal that he marched his regiment there and drew his soldiers up in line in front of the building where the Inquisition was sitting, telling his soldiers of the summons, and that if he did not return in twenty minutes they should enter and find him. What transpired within will never be known, but the Colonel was back again at the head of his regiment before the twenty minutes expired. It is probable, though, that the inquisitorial court was prepared to execute one man only, and not a regiment. The first auto de fe in Mexico was in the year 1574, when "twenty-one pestilent Lutherans" were burned to death, after which there was almost an annual feast of fire for these teachers of Christianity (?) and brotherly love — though it is said that in many cases the victims were mercifully strangled be- fore they were burned— as in the autodefe of April nth, 1649, fifteen persons were burned, but only one burned alive, Tomas Trevifio. a Spaniard of Sobre- monte. in Castile. It was alleged that he had "cursed the Holy Ofiice and the Pope," and he was tied to the stake and burned alive. The place of execution by fire was called the brazero^ or as it was a plat- form of stones, it was called quemedaro. One was located on an open space now occupied by the Alameda where the Fray Vetancourt says exultingly that there was a good view from the doors of the church of San Diego, where the ashes of the victims were thrown in the marsh at the rear of the church. Great crowds assembled around the stake, extending to the Plaza of San Hipolito, or sat upon the arches of the aque.duct as a better point of view. Another burning place for minor crimes, like murder and highway robbery, was in the Plaza de San Lazaro, but the principal brazero was at the south end of the Alameda. The reign of terror of the Inquisition continued till 1812. the year of the adoption of the Liberal constitution in Spain, and on the 22d of Feb- ruary, 1813, the Inquisition was suppressed by the Spanish Corte? in Spain, 119 Mexico and the Spanish colonies, promulgated in Mexico on the 8th of June following, by the Viceroy's proclamation, declaring the property of the tri- bunal confiscated and ordering the removal from the Cathedral of the tablets on which were inscribed the names of the victims. When Ferdinand VII. regained the throne of Spain the Inquisition re- turned to power and took possession of its property — which in Mexico was on the 2ist of January, 1814 — but it was short lived. The last atito de fe was the execution of the patriot Morelos on the 26th of November, 1815 — the charge was that "the Presbitero Jose Maria Morelos is an unconfessed heretic, an abettor of heretics, and a disturber of the ecclesiastical hierarchy; a pro- faner of the holy sacraments ; a traitor to God, the King and the Pope" — and this great soldier, patriot and Christian was condemned, beforehand, to "do penance in a penant's dress — and was delivered to his executioners. He CHURCH AND PLAZA DE SANTO DOMINGO. was shot December 22d, 181 5. The Liberal constitution of Spain was revived in March, 1820, and in May of that year the Inquisition was suppressed in Mexico as the last place of its existence, but its judges escaped justice, the fanatics that had thrown down the Aztec altars of human sacrifice, and visited a vengeance upon the barbarian judges, lived through their generations to commit deeds more cruel, for it was in His name they judged. 120 Protestatitistii is not modern in Mexico and strange to say it came there first from Spain. In 1770 the liturgy of the Gothic Christians of Spain was published. It was the Mazarabic Liturgy that was in use before the liturgy of the Roman Church was introduced into Spain, introduced into New Spain under the auspices of the then Archbishop of Mexico, Francisco Antonio Lorenzana, and the then Bishop of Puebla, Francisco Fabian y Fuero. This was the first step toward the introduction of Protestantism. In 1868 a decisive move was made by the Protestants of the United States and in 1869 the Church of Jesus in Mexico was organized and prospered under its first Bishop, Henry C. Riley, ordained by the Protestant Episcopal Church, of the United States. Aid was extended by the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States and by the Church of England, and some of the finest church buildings of Mexico were obtained for the use of the Protestants, notably those of San A LONE WORSHIPER. Francisco and San Jose de Garcia, but recently resold to the Catholics. The Presbyterians and Congregationalists commenced their work in 1872 with stations in most of the large cities, securing also some interesting old churches. The Methodists began in 1873 and have prospered till there are circuits in the various states of the Republic. The Baptists came later, establishing churches and schools throughout the country. 1 he \. M. C. A. in Mexico is flourishing; a new building is under way. The Society of Friends have also made some progress in Mexico Protestant Churches— Trinity Methodist Episcooal Church, situated at No. 5 Gante Street and opposite the west entrance to the Hotel Iturbide, was built upon the site and remodeled out of a portion of the historic convent of San Francisco, wherein for a time lay the remains of Cortes. Services are held in the English language by the pastor and in Spanish by the pastor of the ^Mexican congregation. Each have separate and com- 121 tnodious auditoriums. The pastors' residences are also in the building, as is also that of the presiding elder of the district, who is the official representa- tive of the M. E. Missions in the Republic of Mexico. The M. E. Mission press rooms are also under the same roo"f and doing excellent work for the cause, printing and distributing annually over four million pages pertainmg to mission work. Their weekly family paper, the ''Abogado Cristiano," is a credit to the society and in "make up" not excelled by many elsewhere. The adherents of the Baptist denomination hold services in Spanish in a very neat and commodious modern-style building on the corner of Mina and Humboldt Streets. The parsonage adjoins the same. The pastor, with an assistant, conducts the services. The Baptist Society have also their own press rooms, issuing a family paper printed in Spanish and other literature devoted to the interests of their society. The Union Evangelical Society (undenominational) hold services in a very comfortably appointed church of their own at No. 50 Humboldt Street. Pres- byterian Church on Sixth Nuevo Mexico Street, No. 116. This society has also a well-equipped printing establishment and are doing a vast amount of good in reaching the people through their publications, among which is an excellent family paper, the ''El Faro" (the beacon or light-house). English services are held in Christ Church (Episcopal), half block south of the corner of Bucareli and Nuevo Mexico streets. The Methodist Episcopal Church South hold services in the church in Avenida Balderas, No. 3. As is the case with the Methodist and Presbyterian Societies, this society disseminates a vast amount of printed matter from its society press rooms. St. Bridget's Church, for English Catholics, is on the first street of San Juan de Letran, and at San Lorenzo 1st Calle de San Lorenzo. First Church of Christ, Scientist, Cinco de Mayo 6. Services in German are held weekly under the auspices of the Lutherans. An idea of the inroads Protestantism is making in this country may be derived from the fact that the first evangelical work attempted in this country vras only about thirty years ago. the pioneer missionary being Miss Matilda Rankin, of Illinois, but not until eighteen seventy-two was missionary work organized, so that it may be said that there has been but thirty years of evan- gelistic work to produce the following : Centers of operation, 95 ; congregations, over 700; ordained missionaries, 80; assistant foreign missionaries, 70; foreign ladies in mission schools, 75. Total number of foreign workers, 215. Native ordained men, 125; native unordained men, 175; native teachers, 180; other help- ers, 100. Total native workers, 580; total number of foreign and native workers, 795. Number of communicants, 22,000. Epworth Leagues and Christian En- deavor Societies, 216; members of the same, 6,943. Number of Sabbath Schools, 379; Sabbath School scholars, 13,562. Children in schools, 12,000. Total Protestant community, about 80,000. English services are held periodically in the following places : Chihuahua. Aguascalientes, Silao, Guadalajara, Puebla, Pachuca, El Oro, San Luis Potosi, Monterey and other cities. AROUND THE VALLEY OF MEXICO. Chapul tepee —In all the lovely Valley of Anahuac, none of the hills cluster so many beauties as cling to Chapultepec, the beautiful Hill of the Grasshopper, where, the legends say, under the grateful shades of the giant ahuehuetls, was the home of Montezuma and the Aztec tsms. When the summer days were long they came from old Tenochtitlan, over the long cause- 122 way, the Emperor, in palan- quin borne, the first in the royal pageant, with the princess attended by plumed and feathered warriors, and sat them down to rest ere they commenced the climb of rugged rocks. Attend- ing slaves rested too their waving fans, when the cool- ing zephyrs from the trees fell more softly on the mon- arch's brow, till, less lan- guid now, before the ascent began to be half-way done, the Aztec lord one day left his palanquin, when he had bade its carriers put it down, and entered a cavern that is there ; and while the tsins waited his return they c5 heard his voice from the a rocks high above them, and H it seemed their king was a 3 very god, since none knew < but Montezuma how to pass o thus, through the earth from u. the valley to the hill-top, and ° all the people shouted in ad- J oration of their "fair god." w It is in the legends that o the palace of the Montezu- mas was on the Hill of the Grasshopper, called Chapul- tepec, and here the Spanish Viceroy, Don Matias de Galvaez, commenced in 1783, and his son Don Bernardo completed in 1785, the pal- ace that stands there to-day, but since each recurring vic- eroy, emperor and president has proceeded further with its completion, adding, each one, to its size and cost, until it is now a palace in- deed, the home of the Pres- ident of Mexico and the seat of the National Mili- tary Academy. The site is a superb one, reached by a winding carriage road on one side 123 ,^»*%, and a steep foot-path on another, while the other sides are precipitous, with almost perpendicular cliffs. The carriage road and foot-path from the gates end at the broad esplanade at the top, where the sentinels of the cadet corps are always on guard, and beyond which guard there is no passing, except by permit from the Governor of the National Palace. The card of the Governor is not taken up by the guard, as it is necessary to present it to the attendant in charge to gain admittance to the palace. The view from the esplanade is beautiful indeed. Tacubaya, almost hidden by trees, is in the middle dis- tance, and beyond, on the rising hills, other towns and villages; and still be- yond the mountains are the great snow-capped peaks of Popocateptl and Ixtaccihuatl. If you agree that the vista from the esplanade is very beauti- ful, pass through the garden to the overhanging gallery on the other side, and look out over the broad spreading plain of the valley. To the right is the field of Churubusco, and far- ther on to the east sheltering moun- tains. In front, the magnificent city, with its hundreds of towers, the tallest overshadowing all the others, are the Cathedral's. Beyond the city's spreading squares you can see the hill and church of Guadalupe. Following the range of vision round to the left there is the suburb of Tacuba, the hill of Los Remedios; and nearer to where you stand is the battleground of Molino del Rey. The magnificence of the picture baffles all description; it is wondrous to behold, and the memory of it lives with you always. Far below your feet the tall cypress- like trees shade the modest monu- ment erected to the memory of the cadets who fell in the defense of the castle from the assaulting Americans in '47. The names on the shaft tell of those whose lives went out in the merciless fire of a superior army. A monument was not needed except in their honor, for the memory of these brave boys lives in the hearts of their countrymen. There are fresh beau- ties in this hanging garden filled with pretty flowers, in the galleries, cadets- monument-chapultepec. adorned in Pompeiian color, but these do not detain, — there is too much grandeur in the view, — and you wander again to the terrace and gaze over the valley to the blue rim of the mountains melting into the lighter blue of the sky, and are loth to leave even for the magnificence of the in- terior of this splendid palace. The salons and apartments of the Castle of Chapultepec have the appoint- ments of regal magnificence, since they are in heritage from the Viceroys of olden times and a latter-day Emperor; and the luxurious beauty of the decorations is due to none more than "poor Carlotta," though all that was indicative of the empire has disappeared, and the monogramed "R. M." ap- pears everywhere to remind you that it is the palace of the Republic of Mexico. 124 In an ante-room at the corner of the esplanade are two chairs that be- longed to Cortez, but there is little else of more ancient date than Maxi- milian. The family rooms of the President consist of a magnificent suite, reception room, boudoir, bed chambers, dining hall, smoking and card rooms, all sumptuously furnished and elegantly decorated, each in appropriateness and good taste. A stairway leading to the upper floors has on the surround- ing walls the coats of arms of ail the rulers of Mexico from the Toltec tsins of 1474 to the republic of to-day. If you have passed up this stairway and out to the terrace and garden above, you may reach the esplanade again by a grand stairway of marble. It is not easy to advise how to go or which way to turn, since there is something to interest at every step, and when you have passed through the salons, galleries, gardens, along the terrace, ex- amined the National Observatory, looked into the well that drops down to the cave, you will still not be ready to go, for there has been so much in the view that it is hard to grasp it all, even for memory's sake. In the bosque below is a magnificent park shaded by trees that were giants even in Monte- zuma's time. Here are walks and drives in miles of shady way, where, in passing, you may see Montezuma's tree, where he, too, like Cortez, sat down and wept over defeat; see the hieroglyphics on the rocks of the cliffs under the castle, near the Cadets' monu- ment, and the cave that opens on the driveway up the hill. There is little left of the old aqueducts built by the Spanish viceroys, save a few- arches, and the old aqueduct built by the Aztecs has long since THE LETTER WRITERS ,N THE PORTALES. disappeared. It is bcSt ; to go to Chapultepec by carriage, as the walk up the hill is a tiresome one, and the walk is neces- sary if the trip is made in the Tacubaya cars, although they pass the gate of the park and very near the castle. Entrance to the palace is impossible with- out a permit. About half way up the hill on the left of the carriage road is the cave that connects with the shaft whose top is in the garden of the palace— the pretty story of Montezuma's disappearance into this cave and re-appearance on the rocks above is prosaically modernized by a paved way through the cave and an elevator in the shaft. Moliiio del Rey, the field of the battle of September 28th. 1847, is near Chapultepec, and may be seen from the palace terrace. The field may be reached by horse-cars connecting with the Tacubaya line, or by train over the Mexican Central Ry., Cuernavaca division, from Buena Vista in the City The battle of Molino del Rey has been declared by General Gra^iit to have been one of the unnecessary battles of an unholy and unjust war. Churubttsco, another of the engagements during the siege of the Mexi- 125 can capital by the Americans, was fought August 20th, 1847, under the Amer- ican Generals Smith, Worth and Twiggs. A gallant defense was made by the commander of the Mexican forces. General Don Pedro Maria Anaya, who in answer to an inquiry by General Twiggs after the battle as to the where- abouts of the ammunition, gallantly replied: "Had I any ammunition, you would not be here." A monument commemorative of the battle is in the village plaza. In Aztec times the city of Huitzilopocho, with its temple to the god Huitzilopochtli, stood on the site of the now straggling village of Churubusco. The old city had a bad name as the abode of evil spirits and demons that made night hideous with their bowlings, but when the monks built a temple to the true gods the demons of Huitzilopochtli vanished. The Church of Santa Maria de los Angeles, the name also of the primitive church, was completed in 1678, May 2d, under the patronage of Don Diego del Castillo, a silver merchant, and his wife Dona Helena de la Cruz, whose images carved in wood are still preserved in the church. Although almost a ruin, the church is one of the most interesting in Mexico, and there are still re- mains of its former great beauty. The pretty decorations of tiles are rap- idly disappearing, and the richly carved organ is falling into decay. There are several curious pictures, among which is a fine Assumption of the Vir- gin. Take Tlalpam cars, and change at San Mateo or the cars for San Angel to reach Churubusco. Mixcoac — • is a village of flowers and — bricks. The beautiful flowers of the market in the city nearly all come from the gardens of Mixcoac, as do the best brick used in the city houses. La Castaiieda is a place of picnics and fiestas in Mixcoac, and is much frequented by pleasure parties from the city. Take San Angel cars from Tacubaya and ride south about a mile. San Angel— is a place of summer resorts of many wealthy citizens of the capital, who have their casas de recreo here among the gardens and orchards, now very much neglected. The old church and monastery of Our Lady of Carmen is very interesting, the site for which was given in 1613 by Don Felipe de Guzman to the Carmelite Brothers. The architect was Fray Andres de San Miguel, one of the first artists of his day. The building was commenced in 1615 and completed two years later. The beautiful tiled domes and the towers are well preserved, although some of the interior beauties are spoiled by renovation. The church was dedicated to San Angelo Martir, from which the town received its name. In 1633 the dedication was changed to Santa Ana, in honor of a wealthy and very charitable lady, Dofia Ana Aguilar y Nino. The gardens and orchards were once very extensive, now only a tan- gled forest of brush and decaying trees. The view from the towers is very fine, overlooking the surrounding gardens and the valley. Take cars for Tacubaya, and thence to San Angel or take Tlalpam cars, and change to the cross-country line at San Mateo. Coyoacan — was once the capital of Mexico and is older than the City of Mexico, since Cortez established the seat of government here August 17th, 1521, and from Coyoacan laid out the plans and directed the founding of the city, and here were the feasts celebrating the victories of the Conquest. On the north side of the plaza stands the house in which the Conqueror lived for many days with La Marina, his faithful guide and interpreter. The coat of arms of Cortez is over the doorway. Near this house is another with a garden, where Cortez also dwelt, and in the garden a well in which he drowned his wife, who lies beneath the cross on the mound in a near-by church-yard. The Church of San Juan Bautista was built in 1583, founded at the same time with the Dominican monastery in 1530 by Fray Domingo 126 de Vetanzos. The stone cross on the mound in the church-yard was placed there by Cortez. The Pedregal, or "stony place," is within a short walk of Coyoacan, south- ward on the road that runs in front of the Church of San Juan Bautista. A picturesque place with stone houses, cactus-hedged paths and clear running streams. Coyoacan is reached by street-cars from Tacubaya, or from San Mateo, on the Tlalpam line. Tacubaya is the prettiest place in the Valley of Mexico, with its beauti- ful gardens, parks and shaded streets, lovely flowers and luxuriant trees everywhere, so that it is no wonder that here is the place of the summer homes of the wealthiest people in the Mexican capital. The location of the EL SALTO DE AGUA, CITY OF MEXICO. iittle city, on the slope of the hills back of Chapultepec, is 59 advantageous that it was contemplated at one time, after the great inundation of the City of Mexico in 1629 and '34, to make this the site of the national capital. At that time Tacubaya was called Atlacoloayan, the "place in the bend of the stream;" but after its settlement by the Spaniards it became known as Tacu- baya de los Martires. The principal church is that of San Diego, but the parish church and the old monastery of the Dominicans are worthy of a visit. The one-time palace of the Archbishop of Mexico was afterwards used as the National Astronomical Observatory. The palace was built in 1737 by the Archbishop and Viceroy Vizarron. Before its removal to Chapultepec the National Military Academy occupied this palace. 127 The Alameda and the Plaza de Cartagena are pretty places, with trees, flowers and fountains. In the west part of the city are the quaint old mills of Santo Domingo, and near them the Arbol Benito, "the blessed tree." The story goes that a monk passing that way was wearied and so rested was he under the grateful shade that he blest the tree and bade it be always green. Im- mediately there came from its roots a spring of cold clear water. That this is true, you may see that the tree is ever green, and the brook goes on forever. Tacubaya has been called the Monte Carlo of Mexico, and not in- aptly so. There was gambling there by gamblers of all sorts, sizes, ages and condi- tions, on the streets, under the white um- brellas, in booths under the trees, where you may wager a penny or a peso. In the gardens were games that savor of Monte Carlo indeed. There were tables for Monte, Rouge et Noir, or any other you please. The tables were crowded all the time, particularly in the evening, when the stakes were high, as much as Ji^jsnt^jsii^ii^. THE ALAMEDA, X^M B Kx j^ ^ KS"\ ^v^v^'^ twenty and thirty thousand silver dollars were on the tables at one time. There are dozens of rooms in one garden, for games, refreshment, music and dancing, while the gardens are lighted with many colored lights that make the scene one of enchantment. Bull fights and cock fig-hts are the other at- 128 tractions that go to entertain in this intensely interesting town. Two or three lines of cars start from the Plaza Mayor in the city for Tacubaya. Tialpatn — is an attractive little city of the valley toward the southeast at the end of the pleas- ant ride on board electric cars of the Valley road, the cars start- ing from the Plaza Mayor passing to the outskirts of the city, thence over the plain to Tlalpam. In the old days when Tlalpam rejoiced in the name of San Agustin de las Cuevas, it was the place of a great gambling fiesta, where every year fashionable folks came to try their luck around the wheels of fortune and become the prey of the less aristocratic gambler; the fiestas became so disreputable that they were for a time suppressed, but finally re- vived, and the old-time gaiety prevailed. Tlalpam was once the capital of the State of Mexico be- fore the seat of government was removed to Toluca and this city included in the Federal District. The streets are straight ?md run at right angles, thanks to the erratic but ener- getic Viceroy Revillagigedo, who, in 1794, instituted many improvements, including a water supply. The streets are shaded by great trees and over the walls come the creeping vines to tell of the pretty gardens beyond them. It is a quaint old town where some hours may be spent in seeking out its beauties, and you may find some ruined places like that of the Oratorio, up the street from the station two or three squares, where a peon's hut is built in the walls of a one-time temple; the thatched adobe is in strange contrast with the graven walls and graceful arches of this relic of de- parted grandeur. A delightful day's outing may be made to the HP»^4A towns^in the south of the valley l^^flB — take the cars for Tacubaya, "^^B^ where the first stop may be made. ^^ then take the cross country line, one car at Mixcoac to visit the Tivoli de ; the next stop should be at San hour; two hours may be spent at at Churubusco, and two at Tlalpam, the Valley railroad in the afternoon, direct to the Plaza Mayor. - is a pretty suburb that was a city in itself in the old Aztec days when Totoquiyauhtzin I, Chimalpopoca, Toto- quinyautzin II and Tetlepanquetzahzin were kings and held their capitals at Tlaco- pan, as the ancient city was called. These run Tacttba- 129 kings reigned in succession from 1430 to 1525; the latter named tsin was exe- cuted with Cuautimotzin by Cortez in 1525 for an alleged conspiracy against the Spaniards. Tacuba has many gardens and pleasant places; it has a fine old church and is the place of the residence of the Archbishop of Mexico. Street cars marked Tacuba (not Tacubaya) leave the Plaza Mayor every fifteen or twenty min- utes, passing by the Tree of JiQ£jie.JIxiste^ making a very pleasant street-car ride to consume not iiTdre than two or three hours. Popotla, also on this line, is the intervening suburb between the city and Tacuba where flourishes that tree of the dismal night, under whose shadow Cortez sat down and wept over his misfortunes and defeat. The tree is an ahuehuetl, of that kind found in the park of Chapultepec. a cypress-like tree found in many parts of Mexico. The famous tree is still in vigorous life, notwithstanding the onslaughts of relic-hunters, from which it is protected now by a high iron railing, that is also a defense against the fury of the fanatic who some years ago set fire to the trunk. Popotla in the native tongue means "the place of the brooms." Atzcapotzalco had such a multitude of in- habitants that it re- ceived this unpro- n o u n c e a b 1 e name, which means the * 'ant- hill." The kingdom of Atzcapotzalco antedates the Conquest by many years: in fact it ceased to be an independent kingdom nearly a hun- dred years before the Spaniards came; when, in 1428, the kings of Tenochtitlan and Tex- coco made war on Maxtla. the tsin of Atz- capotzalco, slew him and divided the kingdom, placing Netzahualcoyotl, the rightful heir, on the throne in the realm of Texcoco and giving Atzcapotzalco to Tenochtitlan, a part of which went to the tsin of Tlacopan. The ancient capital has dwindled to a village whose inhabitants are pot- ters and vendors of vessels, and on the site of the old temple are the towers and domes of a Christian church; one of the towers has the graven image of an immense ant in memory of the great population of the bygone city. The church was erected by the Dominicans in 1702. There are many legends that hang about the name of this old town, so that a book might be written to tell them all. Nearby is the village of Zan- copinca, and near that a ruined aqueduct and little lake of pure water, where, m a crystal palace under the waters, dwells Malintzi half of each day, the other half being spent in the spring of Chapultepec, where she is a good fairy, but here a very siren that lures men to the depths of the lake, where they disap- pear forever. The songs of this siren are passing sweet as they are heard in AN AHUEHUETL. 130 the early morning or in the evening, when it is dangerous to come near to the water, as he who stops to listen is lured to a permanent disappearance by the music and the spirit's entrancing beauty; he who lingers is lost, a feeling of exquisite languor dulls his delighted senses, he is irresistibly drawn into the depths by the beckoning hand of beauty and is lost to the world forever. It may be that this fate deters the seekers for the treas- ures of Cuautemoctzin that the Indians aver were thrown into this lake. Another legend has its place in the open plain west of the monastery under the shade of the five great ahuehuetls, where in olden times was a spring that constantly welled up, but never overflowed — to drink these waters meant disappearance forever. The holy fathers came with the image of the Virgin, in procession, and preached against the spring, and the people cast stones into it, until it was covered up and hidden from the sight of men, so that no one could drink of its waters, and a chapel with a shrine to the Virgin was built over it, that has long since fallen down and crumbled away; but he who will come to the ahuehuetls, and will hold his ear close to the ground, may hear the murmuring ..-. waters underneath the ground. The legend lives in the proverb: ''Bebi&del agua de los ahuehuetls^''' as applied to a sudden or mysterious disappearance: "He drank of the water of the ahuehuetls." f;-^^ El Desierto is not, or wa§;-not when it was so named, a desert; on the contrary, a group of gardens of-, fruits and flowers in and about an ancient' monastery where lived a company of Carmelite Brothers, of which Thomas Gage, a Dominican monk, says: "It is the pleasantest place of all about Mexico, called 'La Soledad,' and by others El Desierto, the solitary or desert place and wilderness. Were all wildernesses like it, to live in a wilderness would be better than to live in a city. This hath been a device of poor Fry- ers, named discalced or barefooted Carmelites, who, to make show of their hypocriticall and apparent godlinesse, and that whilest they would be thought to live like Eremites, retired from the world, they may draw the world" to them; they have built there a stately cloister, which being upon a hill and among rocks, makes it to be more admired. About the cloister they have fashioned out many holes and caves in, under and among the rocks, like Ere- mites lodgings, with a room to lie in, and an oratory to pray in, with pictures and images, and rare devices for mortification as disciplines of wyar, rods of iron, hair-cloths girdles with sharp wyar points to girdle about their bare flesh, and many such like toyes, which hang about their oratories, to make people admire their mortified and holy lives. All these Eremeticall holes and caves (which are ten in number) are within the bounds and compasse of the cloister and among orchards and gardens of fruits and flowers, which may take up two miles in compasse; and here among the rocks are many springs oi water, which with the shade of the plantins and other trees are most cool 131 and pleasant to the Eremites; they have also the sweet smell of the roze and jazmin, which is a little flower, but the sweetest of all others; there is not any other flower to be found that is rare and exquisite in that country which is not in that wildernesse to delight the senses of these mortified Eremites." But — Mr. Gage's description applies to other days; it is indeed a solitary place and a wilderness now, with its ruins and caves, but withal interesting, and well worthy of a visit notwithstanding the hard journey which must be made on horseback from the city or by cars to Santa Fe and thence by burros or horses. EL DESIERTO. La -Piedad, beyond the Garita de Belen, is the place of the church and monastery of Nuestra Seiiora de la Piedad, founded by the Dominicans in 1562, and the church was built in the fulfillment of a vow to the Virgin by a monk and his companions on board a well-nigh shipwrecked vessel that if she would bring them safely to land they would build a temple in her honor. A monk of the brotherhood of Santo Domingo in Rome had received an order for a picture of the Virgin and the dead Christ to be painted by the best Roman artist, and when he came to depart for Mexico the artist had only made a drawing of the subject, but it was taken on board in its unfinished state and the voyage entered upon. A great storm came up and they prayed to the Virgin to save them, and their prayers were answered — the greater miracle was in the picture — when it was opened in Mexico, behold, it was finished in all its beautiful colorings. The wonderful picture hangs to-day where it did on the day of the dedication, February 2, 1652, over the main 138 altar of the church of La Piedad. Among the other pictures is a very curious one representing the storm-tossed sea that was stilled by the Virgin. There are some paintings by Cabrera and Velasquez and other native artists. Take cars on the Plaza Mayor marked La Piedad. Tlaluepatitla is a primitive town near to a modern city, a town noted more for its bull-fights than its other attractions, but the trip thither is one of interest since the route of the street car lines that start from the Plaza JMayor in the city pass through the outlying villages that are all in- teresting. The old church of Tlalnepantla bears date of 1583 and 1587 over the side doors, probably the dates of the foundation and dedication — the other dates, 1609 and 1704, in the walls, do not give further information; the church remains in its primitive state, not having been tarnished by the reno- vating hand of modern restorer. Tajo de Nocliistotigo, the great drainage canal, the mosi ambitious engineering feat of its time, was planned by Senor Don Enrico Martinez to drain the waters of Zumpango, the highest of the lakes of the Valley, and prevent their overflow into Texcoco, Chalco and Xochimilco and the conse- quent inundation of the City of Mexico; the original idea was to sink the drain sufficiently to carry off the overflow of all the lakes, but this was abandoned on account of its great expense. Operations commenced November 28th, 1607, with fifteen thousand Indians engaged in sinking shafts at intervals and working tunnels in both directions, so that when the conduit was finished it was one long tunnel instead, of a canal, as it now is, and before a year had passed this tunnel was more than four miles long, with a width of eleven feet by thirteen feet in height. The walls of the tunnel were of adobe, faced with stone, and all on insecure foun- dations; it caved in in several places, and in order to repair the work Mar- tinez ordered the mouth of the tunnel closed, or, as has been stated, the engineer took this method of proving to his enemies the value of his work, as the success of it had been questioned by many. The test came in June, 1629. The rainy season had set in with great vio- lence and the waters from the lakes overflowed till the entire city except the Plaza Alayor was three feet under water. The flood came in a night, but did not subside until five years later, in 1634. The streets became canals and traffic was carried on in boats. Many lives were lost, foundations were destroyed and buildings toppled, until finally a royal order was issued by Spain to remove the city to the slopes between Tacuba and Tacubaya. but unfor- tunately the order was not carried out. An exceptionally dry season followed the flood, earthquakes cracked the earth and let the water into the depths, and the city was permitted to remain on its original site. JMartinez had been imprisoned as the cause of the great inundation, but was released with orders to make the city secure against a recurrence of the disaster. He opened the tunnel and repaired the dyke of Lake San Cristo- bal — there were two dykes protecting against these waters, one nearly three miles long and the other about two, about ten feet high and thirty feet thick. The walls of the tunnel continued to fall in and the city was threatened with another deluge at the return of the rainy season. It was finally decided to open the conduit and make a canal of it; the work progressed slowly and it was more than a hundred years before it was completed by a syndicate of merchants termed a Consulada, in 1767 to 1789. The canal is from three to seven hundred feet wide at the top, sloping to a few feet at the bottom to prevent caving in. The perpendicular depth is from 150 to 200 feet; the length from the sluice from the lake to the fall, El Salto del Rio Tula, is 67,S37 feet. 133 The Tajo commences near the village of Huehuetoca, twenty-nine miles north of the city on the Mexican Central, and the tracks of that railway run along the eastern slope enjoying the distinction of the greatest "cut" of the world, certainly the oldest one, as this great work commenced as a waterwa}^ in 1607, used nearly three hundred years later as a railway entrance to the Valley of Mexico, and its former uses abandoned since the national government built the tunnel through the eastern mountains and drained the overflow in that direction. In the corner of the garden in front of the Cathedral in the Plaza Mayor a monument is erected to the memory of the great engineer of the Tajo, Don Enrico Martinez. The shaft shows the level of the lakes and statistics of the inundation. Unless a closer inspection of the Tajo is desired a fine view may be had from the west windows of passing trains, the right- hand side going to the city or the left going north. A day excursion to Tula or Pachuca via the Central, leaving the city in the morning and returning in the evening, will afiford ample opportunity to see the great Tajo de Nochistongo. The Drainage Canal, a stupendous work of modern engineering, drains the lakes of the plain and valley of Mexico and provides a sanitary TAJO DE NOCHISTONGO. sewerage for the city, completed at a cost of more than $12,000,000. It is an open canal to the rim of mountains, then a tunnel to the lower plain. Reached in an hour by trains of the Mexican or the Hidalgo Rys. As has been said the Tajo de Nochistengo was not intended to drain the Valley and City of Mexico but to prevent overflow from the higher level lakes — this new one is a drainage canal that drains. Pyramids of fhe Sun and Moon of the prehistoric times are near the village of San Juan Teotihuacan, about twenty-seven miles east of the city on 134 Mexican (Vera Cruz) Railway. Nothing is known of the origin of these pyra- mids, thanks perhaps to the destruction by the Spaniards of the picture records of the Aztecs and Toltecs, and as these people knew nothing, or would tell nothing, their history must forever go unwritten; besides, nothing in the excavations or relics found lends any light on the subject. From the trains the pyramids seem insignificant enough, and only by near approach are the ambitious heights to be appreciated. The Pyramid of the Sun is 216 feet 8 inches high, having a base of 761 by 721 feet 7 inches, while the top is 59 by 105 feet. The Mocn is 150 feet it inches high, base 511 by 426 feet 5 inches and 19 feet 8 inches square. All along the little Rio de Teotihuacan and over the plain are traces of a city, and remains of walls and fortifications, one of which is known as the Ciudadela, the citadel, an area inclosed by a wall over two hundred feet thick and thirty-two feet high. In the center of the square is a small pyramid, and on the wall of earth fourteen smaller pyramids. About over the plain are numerous pyramids, or mounds, as they seem to be now. Some openings have been made revealing in one case two large halls and several smaller rooms, in another some frescoed walls. These mounds may have been dwellings or shrines attached to the greater temples of the pyramids. The cornices and walls were beautifully ornamented in colors, ranging from ten to twenty shades or tints. The only entrance discovered in the greater pyramids is in that of the Moon, found some years ago, leading into a chamber whose walls are of cut stone and laid directly on the lines of the compass. A curious causeway, called "Calle de los Muertos" (Street of the Dead) begins near the Citadel, passes the Pyramid of the Sun and ends near the Pyramid of the Aloon. On either side is a terrace of cement and lava faced with a mortar of high polish and brightly colored. Along this Street of the Dead are many of the shrines or dwellings, some of which have been opened, revealing chests of cut stone con- taining skulls, bones and ornaments of obsidian, earthen vases and masks. Many of these ornaments of obsidian and miniature masks are found in the fields round about, giving rise to many theories as to their origin and uses, on which no two writers agree except that they prove the builders of the pyramids to be a race antedating the Toltecs or Aztecs. As to their uses, one theory is that these masks were portraits of the dead attached to bodies of perishable ma- terial, and, of course, long since disappeared, leaving only the earthen faces covered with the dust of centuries and now turned to light by the plowshare. Second only to the Ruins of Mitla, these pyramids are the most interesting remains in this part of Mexico. By taking the morning train of the Mexican (Vera Cruz) Railway for Teotihuacan a day may be spent at the pyramids, returning in the evening. Los Arcos de Zettipoala are on the Irolo and Pachuca branch of the Hidalgo road near the station of San Agustin, and may be seen also from the trains of the Mexican Ry's branch from Ometusco to Pachuca. The Arches of Zempoala support an aqueduct nearly forty miles long, crossing three valleys ; in the first there are 46 arches, the second 13 and in the third, which is most notable, there are yy covering over 3,000 feet, the highest arch is about 130 feet from the ground to the apex, with a width of 65 feet at the base. Built over 300 years ago, and long since abandoned, they are still in good condition in spite of earthquakes and the ravages of time and weather. Tt was the work of Fray Francisco Tembleque, a Franciscan of Otumba, to bring water to his town, and with the money of his neighbors and the help of the Indians he 135 completed the work in 17 years. Father Tembleqtie was designer, architect, contractor, overseer and boss workman — hence they stand as his monument, when perhaps his grave is forgotten, the wonder and admiration of later gener- ations. Texcoco, before and at the time of the Conquest, was the capital of the kingdom of Tezciicans, a race probably more advanced in civilization than the Aztecs, ruled at one time by the great Netzahualcoyotl, who may be called the King Solomon or the David of his race, or both, since he was a wise man and just, and wrote many psalms and songs the translations of which greatly resemble the psalms and songs of the Biblical kings. And the palace of Netza- hualcoyotl was of ancient magnificence ; in the courtyard, at opposite ends, were two halls of justice, one, called the "Tribunal of God," had a throne of pure gold inlaid with turquoise and other precious stones. Before the throne, on a heap of trophies, weapons, shields, bows, arrows and quivers, was a human skull crowned with an immense emerald in pyramidal form, surmounted by an aigrette of brilliant plumes and precious stones. The walls v/ere hung with a tapestry of the hair of wild animals of varied color and rich design, embroidered in birds and flowers, the hangings caught up in rings of gold. Above the throne was a canopy of variegated plumage from the center of which shot forth resplendent rays of gold and jewels The other tribunal, called "the Kings," also had a gorgeous canopy of feathers em- blazoned with the royal arms. The superior intelligence of these people and their education gave ancient Texcoco the title of the Athens of America, as Tenochtitlan was called its Rome. This was ancient Texcoco. Her glory has passed away and only ruined walls are left to tell of it, some pyramids to the north and one on the southern border of the town, and three miles west, near the village of Huixotla, an im- mense wall. When the Spaniards came the Tezcucans were in the throes of civil war among the descendants of Netzahualcotl, and, one faction becoming friends of Cortez, it was easy to make them allies as he had the Tlaxcalans, and as the Cholulans had been destroyed by massacre and there could be no attack in his rear, the Conqueror made Texcoco the base of operations against the Aztecs and their city of Tenochtitlan, and after he was driven out of that city by Guatimoctzin he returned to Texcoco to launch his bergantines that had been built at Tlaxcala, and from the canal over which may still be seen the Bridge of the Bergantines sailed away to lay siege to Tenochtitlan and effect his second entry to the Aztec capital. At Texcoco Cortez lived, at one of the times when he was in disfavor with the Spanish King, and here in one of the churches his bones were entombed and remained some years. The first Fran- ciscan Mission in Mexico was established in Texcoco by Fray Pedro de Gante ; the fine old church remains to-day. The present town is a pretty one, with its streets shaded by orange trees and is full of attractions for a day's outing, among which are excursions to the Molino de Flores, Tetzcotzinco, Cuautlenchan, the Hacienda of Chapingo, the estate of the late ex-president General Gonzales, and the Ruins of Huixotla. In the Plaza is a monument with a bust of Netzahualcoyotl, and on the corner of two of the main streets a fine fountain, surmounted by a statue of Hercules, the gift of Sefior Don Ruperto Jaspeado, an antiquarian of local renown. Molitio de Flores, the mill of the flowers, is a flour mill as well, but not the commonplace, barn-like structure we may have in our mind's eye from the country mills at home. Massive gates swing heavily on thick stone walls 136 and admit to what seems the court and gardens of a mediaeval castle; tortuous stairways of stone lead to the castle that is the summer home of the very ancient family of Cervantes, who have owned this bit of another world for some centuries. The garden might have been a part of Eden from its leafy trees, beautiful flowers and winding walks among foaming cascades and splashing iountains, caves and grottoes hollowed by Nature's hand, shad- owed by overhanging boughs where flowering vines fiave climbed, and around one grotto, in which there is a pool of clear water, among the flowers are some prickly cactus that guard all approaches, for this is the Cervantes' bath — here in the garden under the trees, shut in by flowery screens and waving ferns. Winding pathways paved with pebbles in variegated colors lead up and down the hillside and across the ravine where the cascades are, then over a rustic bridge to the family chapel. Some Moorish work around a cavern makes the shrine, three sides are Nature's own handiwork, human hands have only added a little belfry and the bells. In the chapel lie the departed Cervan- tes, in tombs of solid stone^ and in the unhewn walls are tablets in memoriam. Before the quaint little altar dimly burns a lamp that is never extinguished, throv/ing an uncertain light on the faded painting of the Crucifixion on the rock behind it. In an adjoining cavern dwells the hermit padre — this solemn little shrine is in strange contrast with the bit of fairyland in the gardens beyond. Molino de Flores is three miles from Texcoco. Admission to the gardens is by permit only, obtained from the "administrador" in the City. Tetzcotziiico, the "laughing hill," is three miles east of Texcoco and a mile south of the Molino de Flores. Here was a summer palace of Netza- hualcoyotl, the King of the Tezcucans. In the solid stone of the hili are terraced walks and stairways reaching in a winding way from the plane to the summit, nearly a hundred feet above it. Along the way, in places shaded by the clifTs, are seats cut in the rock. Near the top is the King's bath, also hewn in the stone of the hill; it is about five feet by three or it may have been a distributing reservoir, since the water came to it from the aqueduct above and passed on to the hanging gardens. Here is evidence of the engi- neering skill of the ancient races of Mexico; the water supply was brought to the Laughing Hill from the mountains nearly fifteen miles away, an aqueduct was on a graded side of the hill for nearly a mile, coming from another hill on an embankment seventy feet high and again from another hill nearly two miles distant, and thence the embankment continues twelve miles to the mountains. On the top of the grading was an aqueduct of cement and stone in the form of a tube about two feet in diameter, though the conduit is only ten inches. Remains of this wonderful work are still to be found. The Bosque of Contador, near Tetzcotzinco, is a fine grove of ahuehuetls and was a part of the summer capital. Cuautletichati, near the Molino de Flores, was probably the place of residence of a people older than the Texcucans, if we may judge from the relics found round about. This interesting section may be done in a day. but two would make the trip easier. Take the morning train of the Interoceanic Railway, starting from San Lazaro Station in the city. Stop at Texcoco. Thence the visits to Molino de Flores, Tetzcotzinco. Cuautlenchan and Huixotla must be made on horseback or in carriages, which may be obtained in Texcoco. La Viga Canal is a navigable water-way for traffic between the city and the outlying towns and villages on the shores of Lakes Chalco and Xochi- milco, flowing from those lakes to Lake Texcoco. and does not. as is popularly supposed, take in any drainage or sewerage from the city, the water coming from the south to the" eastern district of the city passes northeasterly to Lake 137 Texoco; it is a murky-looking water, but is not nearly so murky as it looks; taken up in the hand or vessel, it is as clear as it comes from the lake. The boats of La Viga are different from the boats of any other canal, and there are different styles of boats on La Viga, ranging from the dug-out canoe of the Chinampas to the flat-bottom freight boat propelled by poles in the hands of strong arms, a sort of armstrong motor, and side-wheel steamers of antiquated design. All classes carry passengers, with their donkeys and dogs, these latter being indispensable accompanists to the passenger, since each is an owner of LA VIGA. part of the cargo of wood, charcoal or garden truck, and must have the burro to make a delivery at the port of destination, and the dog— well, the dog just goes along from force of habit, or an innate aversion to being left behind, and alone, because the family comes to town with its head and the house is closed till they return. One of these long, low, rakish craft from the other shores of Chalco and Xochimilco is a sight to see, at once a freighter and a floating menagerie, as there are other live stock besides the dogs and donkeys, in the shape of goats, sheep, ducks, and chickens. The boats bring the provender for man and beast in a city of nearly half a million of people, and largely supply the city with fuel, the boats bringing it to the landing places and the burros making the delivery throughout the city. ^ _ But there are boats for passengers, and for tourists to Santa Anita, Mexi- 138 calcingo, San Juanico, Ixtacalco, and las chinampas, the floating gardens. These boats are a Mexican edition of the gondola, and with a Mexican gondo- lier in the bow, using a pole instead of a paddle. These gondolas are as picturesque in a way as the Venetian sort, not as graceful, perhaps, but sui generis, in a class of their own, a wide, flat bottom batteau, like an old-fash- ioned country ferryboat; there are low seats on each side running lengthwise, from end to end, under a canopy with gaudy-colored curtains. The usual La Viga voyage is to Santa Anita; the trip may be on the street cars that run along the banks of the canal ; this is the most expeditious way, but there is none of the novelty of the boat ride, and one must not be in a hurry in Mexico. It is best to take the cars on the Plaza Mayor marked La Viga, leaving them when they reach the canal at Embarcadero and go thence by boat ; the tariff of the boatmen varies, according to the number of boats in port, the demand therefor, and whether it is a week-day, Sunday or a feast "'' i r|-J5^c:^: '* ': -5-'-'-^ „g},|^i %M^^t^:^%h-: ■ ^ fe/:. ^- W _ % ENTRANCE TO THE FLOATING GARDENS. day, from fifty cents to a dollar, for a boat carrying ten or a dozen people, to Santa Anita and return, including the- stop there for a ride through the chinampas, or floating gardens, for which another and smaller boat must be taken and another fare of fifty to seventy-five cents be paid for each canoe carrying six or eight people. The start on the voyage does not impress favorably, but as it proceeds it grows interesting, especially after passing the Garita, where the municipal duties were collected from incoming freighters ; thence the wide, open canal is alive with queer little craft, the long, narrow canoes darting here and there among the larger ones, the little pleasure boats with their passengers squatted under the grass-woven canopies, and the larger boats coming from or going to Xochimilco and Chalco with their cargoes of men, women, children, burros, dogs, wood, charcoal and garden truck; then there are little bumboat canoes with dusky '"Little Buttercups" to come alongside your boat, with the cleanest-looking baskets covered with the whitest of drawn-work cloths, under which are the native sandwiches, tortillas, tamales, con came or con diilce, that, no matter how they may have seemed elsewhere, here look temptingl}' toothsome. Any day will do for the voyage to Santa Anita and much will be seen that you never saw before, but on a Sunday or a feast day there will be more life on the canal and in the villages. Santa Anita is a straggling village of thatched houses, a relic of primitive times almost under the shadow of the towers of the metropolitan city, a pleasure resort of the middle and lower classes, where every house is an open one, fonda, restaurant or pulque shop, with thatched bowers over the seats and 139 tables of the revellers. When your boat is anchored under a great tree at Santa Anita, go ashore and pass up the street from the canal to the little old church and beyond to a forlorn little plaza, where there are some swings and some more fondas and pulque shops, and you will find the canoes to take you through the sluices of the floating gardens. These gardens have no walks and must be floated through, which would entitle them to their name, even if they were not really floating gardens, as they were in the olden times when the chinampas grew the fruits and flowers for Montezuma and the Aztec tzins; now they are flower and vegetable beds to supply the city markets. It is worth the while of the trip if it were only to see the acres and acres of poppies, whence the natives garland themselves and their houses on feast days, and of which you may bring away a boat load for a real. On the ••iMiiitf^^fafiff ZEMPOALA ARCHES. going or the return trip a stop should be made at the hacienda of Juan Corona. While he lived, Don Juan's house was yours; his was a hos- pitable roof, and it remains to-day in happy memory with open doors. Don Juan was a great man in his day, as valiant as he was good and charitable, not a soldier, nor yet padre or a missionary, his life was full of brave deeds and good works. Don Juan was a bull-fighter on Sundays and feast days, and a philanthropist all the week, as if he would make six days of charity balance his account of questionable sport on Sunday. His pleasure was the care of the children of the poor, till he was called the father of the destitute, when he established a school for his wards that is still maintained in one of the rooms of his house. The old Don's hobby was less of tauromachy than the collection of curios, and his house is a monument to the memory of that hobby, every room is a museum in itself. Pass through the open door; no invitation is needed, and there is none to stop your way. Within the patio of trees, flowers and climbing vines is a stone stairway leading to an upper gallery; the curios 140 commence on the stairway and continue through all the house. Pass around the gallery to the farther side of patio and enter through the kitchen, the quaintest, cleanest kitchen in the world; then through the dining-room, bed chamber and parlor, coming out again onto the gallery at the stairs, where you. may enter the school-room and see a school wholly unlike any other. As a visitor enters, the bright little beneficiaries of Corona's bounty rise in respect- ful salutation and welcome. The school has not the ample means it had in the life of good old Don Juan, and any offering is not only to a worth}'^ charity, but a tribute to the memory of a good man. It will take longer to see all in the quaint old house than to write it down, since it is impossible to do it completely. In the kitchen is the old-fashioned cooking-place built of brick, around it and on all the walls are the utensils of earthenware, as in the dining-room the table and its appurtenances are as quaintly curious. But it is in the other rooms where are the curios and relics, of every age and era of jMexico's history back to prehistoric times; idols from the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon at San Juan Teotihuacan; weapons, plumes, shields and war dresses of the Aztecs, a cigar case, pistol and sword of the patriot-priest Hidalgo; the bed in which General Santa Ana died; some pieces from the table service of the iimperor Maximilian and one of the muskets with which he was shot; the rifle of General Miramon used at Queretaro; a fine collection oi c/iicaras, chocolate cups painted by the Indians of Michoacan; very curious and ancient costumes of the bull-ring, among which is one used by the Spanish matador, Bernardo Gaviho, when he was killed in the ring at Texcoco; ancient Chinese and Japanese armor; paintings of religious subjects and scenes from the bull ring; portraits of Don Juan and his wife and of Mexican celebrities; a collection of bird eggs, stuffed animals, two immense bowls or platters with the portraits of jMaximilian and Carlotta; old tapestries and silken shawls; rugs of the skins of wild beasts, and a thousand and one other curious things collected in a long lifetime, of which no complete list or description may be made, but each article is in its place just as Don Juan left them when he died. No fees are charged nor any gratuities asked or suggested, but there is a contribution box, and there are none more worthy, since all the oft'erings are applied to the support of the school, and what you have seen in this old house is worth a generous gift. The journey on the canal may be continued to Ixtacalco and make a day of it; here are other floating gardens and a fine old church, San Matias, founded by the Franciscans more than three hundred years ago, in front of which is a pretty little plaza with a fountain of clear, cool watery near by is a shrine of Santiago, long since neglected as to religious uses, and now used as a dwelling. Mexicalcingo, a little further on, was an important town before the Con- quest, now only an Indian village with an ancient and ruined monastery and church dedicated to San Marco, also founded by the Franciscans. To make the journey thus far it will take a day, and a luncheon should be brought alcng. Only the more venturesome explorer will undertake the entire voyage to Xochimilco, two days, but it is intensely interesting and without actual hardship, though with some discomfort. The excursion to Ixtapalapa and the intermediate villages on La Viga may be made by horse cars, or we may go by boat and return by cars, but the round trip by boat is to be preferred. Cars start from the Plaza Mayor; look for those showing the names of the places you desire to visit; they will take you there and back again to the Plaza. Los Remedios. — About three miles west of the city's boundary is the Hill Totoltepec, on the top of which is the Santuary of Our Lady of Succor, called 141 the church of Nuestra Sefiora de los Remedies; its history and legend make an interesting story. On that dismal night of the ist of July, 1520, when the Spaniards were driven from Tenochtitlan by Cuautemoc and his infuriated warriors, the Spanish soldiers fled in all directions, but were gathered together in the Temple of Otoncapulco that was on the hill of Totoltepec. Among them was Juan Rodriguez de Villafuerte, who had in his keeping an image of the Virgin that he had brought from Spain, and which had been placed in a shrine on the great temple of the Aztecs among their gods. The checkered career of this image in Spain was not less adventurous after its arrival in Mexico; on the night of the terrible defeat it was carried by Villafuerte in his flight from the CHURCH OF GUADALUPE, NEAR CSTY OP MEXFCO. city, but himself being severely wounded, could carry it no farther; he hid the image under the broad spreading maguey, and went on his way. Nearly twenty years after, an Indian chief, Cequauhtzin, called also Juan de Aguila Tobar, was hunting on the hill of Totoltepec, when the Holy Virgin appeared to him in a vision and bade him seek for her image that was hidden beneath a maguey; the tzin made diligent search without success, and the Virgin again appeared with the same command; still it was not found, and she appeared yet the third time. After awhile the image was found and taken by Cequauhtzin to his house. In the morning it had disappeared, and was found again under the maguey where it had been. It was taken the second time to the Indian's home, and he placed before it a little gourd filled with dainty things to eat, but the image disappeared to the maguey. Again was it brought to the house and placed in a strong box, locked and bolted, and, to make matters doubly sure, the t:sin slept that night on the lid of the box, but 142 in the morning the box was empty and the image fled once more to the maguey/ on Totoltepec hill. Then came Cequauhtzin to the good padres of San Gabriel in Tacuba and told them of the apparitions, of the finding of the image and its subsequent disappearances, which to the holy fathers seemed at once that a miracle had been performed, and in the persistency of the image in returning to the hil) they discerned a command of the Virgin to build a temple in her honor on this Hill of Totoltepec where her image might rest in peace after all the stormy years of its existence. The shrine w^as commenced at once, and, shortly com- pleted, was dedicated to Our Lady of Succor, since the Spanish soldiers were saved through the saving of her image. Over the walls of the original chapel was built the existing church through the efforts of Don Garcia Albornos, a great church worker of Mexico, begun in May, 1574, and completed in August of the following year, though the dome and arched roof we-e not completed until over a hundred years had passed, when the church was finally dedicated on the 25th of May, 1629, and seventy years after that Dr. Francisco Fernandez Marmolejo and his wife, Dofia Francisca de Sosa, brought an artist from Puebla to finish the caynarin they had caused to be built for the home of the image. The image is of wood, carved, , but now at its great age browned and disfigured; it \ is about eight inches long. Held in the arms of the Mmage is a figure of the Child Jesus, The ornaments I except some pearls, and all her rich vestments, have Hong since disappeared. The gourd in which Ce- i quauhtzin placed the delicacies before the image when f it was in his house is preserved in the shrine in a silken case; the gourd has been broken and is mended with clasps of iron and brass. The altar is not what it was once, with its ornaments of silver and gold, tinsel and baser metals have taken their place. The silver railings and the silver maguey with all the rich decorations disappeared under a rigid enforcement of the Laws of the Reform, and all the pictures of the life of the Virgin have been taken away. In front of the altar is an onyx slab with the inscription in Span- ish: "This is the true spot where was found the most holy Virgin, beneath a maguey, by the Chief, Don Juan Aguila, in the year 1540; (being the spot) where she said to him, in the time of her appearance to him, for her." Prior to 1796, when this tablet was placed in the floor, the spot was marked by a pillar supporting a maguey, with a carving of the image; the pillar is now in the cloister. Under the main altar rest the bones of the tzin, Don Juan Aguila Tobar, and near by is the chest in which he confined the image to prevent its escape to the maguey. Among the pictures in the church are some illustrating the life of the Virgin, and two, painted in 1699 by Francisco de los Angeles, of the Twelve Apostles. Guadalupe. — The holiest shrine of all Mexico and its legend the pret- tiest of all legends. As we read the little of Aztec history that the Spanish fanatic left unburned we may well wonder at the similarity of their religion to that of the Chris- tians, and we are apt to conclude that the ancient Mexicans were not the pagans they have been painted; true, they practiced human sacrifice, but was it less VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE. that he should search 143 in cruelty than in the sacrifice of human life by the Inquisition? The Aztecs waited for the coming of a Christ to save them; Malintzi, the Savior of the Aztecs, was a man of fair countenance, long flowing hair and beard, was of gentle mien and character, was and is to come to save the Mexican; Tonantzin was the Mother of Gods in their religion, and the people worshiped her on the Hill of Tepeyacac, now called Guadalupe, where the Holy Virgin appeared to Juan Diego and where her holiest temple stands. This is the legend: A pious Indian, Juan Diego, lived in the village of Tolpetlac, and as he went to mass in the church of Santiago Tlaltelolco, passed around the hillside of Tepeyacac, on Saturday morning, December 9th, 1531, he heard the sweet music of singing voices; he was afraid, and, looking up, behold! a lady ap- peared to him and bade him hear what she might say; he should go to the Bishop and tell him that it was her will that a temple in her honor should be built on that hill; he listened tremblingly, on his knees, and when the lady had vanished, went his way and told the Bishop what he had seen and heard. The Bishop was Don Juan Zumarraga; he listened incredulously to the Indian's story and sent him away. Sorrowfully he re- turned to where the lady appeared to him, found her waiting and told the Bishop's answer; she bade him come to her again. On the following day. Sunday, Juan Diego came again to the hillside; the lady ap- peared for the third time and sent him to the Bishop again with her message that a temple should be built for her. The Bish- op, still unbelieving and distrusting the improbable means of conveying such a command through this poor Indian, told him he must bring some unmistakable token that what he said was true, sent him away again, and, unknown to him, sent two servants to watch him; but as he approached the hill he became invisible in some mysterious way, passed around the hill, and alone saw the lady and told her the Bishop required a token of the truth of her commands; she told him to come to her again the next day. Then returned Juan Diego to his house, and found that his uncle, Juan Bernardino, was ill with the fever, cocolixtli, so that he must wait at home and attend him. Early on the morning of December 12th, the sick man being at the point of death, Juan Diego started to Tlaltelolco to call a confessor; fear- ing that he might be delayed if he met the lady, and that his uncle might die unconfessed, he went another way, around the other side of the hill. But behold! she was there, coming down the hill and calling to him; he told her of his uncle's illness and of his need for a confessor, but she assured him that his uncle was already well. Then the lady told him to gather flowers from the barren rocks on top of the hill, and immediately the flowers grew where none had ever been before; she commanded him to take these flowers to the Bishop as the token he had desired, and to show them to no other until the Bishop had looked upon them. Joyfully he folded the flowers in his tilma, a sort of cloak made oiixtli, a fiber of the maguey, and departed again for the Bishop's house. From the place where the Virgin §tOOd a spring of clear, cold water gushed forth; that CHAPEL OF THE WELL, GUADALUPE. 144 is there to this day, a panacea for the ills that flesh is heir to. When he came to the Bishop's house, the Indian dropped the flowers at the holy father's feet and upon the tilma appeared the image of the Virgin, Holy Mary, in the most beautiful colors. The Bishop placed the wonderful tilma with its miraculous picture in the oratory of his house, holding it as a priceless treasure. Juan Diego, escorted by the Bishop's servants, returned to his own home and found that his uncle was well, cured in the hour when the Virgin spake and told him no confessor was needed; a chapel was built where the roses had so miraculously grown from the rocks, and on the 7th of February, vision of juan diego. 1532, the tilma of the holy image placed over its altar within the shrine. Juan Diego and his uncle, Juan Bernardino, became the attendants, and under the teachings of Fray Toribio Motolinia, Juan Diego and his wife took vows of chastity and remained in the house of the Virgin as her servants till Juan Diego died, in 1548. The legend has the sanction of Rome, first, under Pope Alexander VII, who ordered an investigation by the Congregation of Rites with a view to the granting of authority for the perpetuation of the feast of the 12th of Decem- ber, the day of the last appearance of the Virgin to Juan Diego, the day of his gathering the roses in his tilma, and the appearance of the image when the flowers fell at the Bishop's feet. In 1666 Senor Don Francisco Siles, Dean of the Cathedral, or- ganized a tribunal of investigation consisting of Juan de Poblete, Juan de la Camara, Juan Diez de la Barrera and Nicolas del Puerto, Canons Siles and Antonio de Gama; they went to the village of Cuautitlan, the birthplace of Juan Diego, and had confirmed by the natives, ' some of whom were over a hundred years old, the truth of the story as they had ^; .^i^^^^^^^^^^^n^^^^^^ft been taught it by their fathers be- fore them. This and other evi- dence was sent to Rome, but it availed nothing. Cardinal Julio Rospillozzi. who in 1667 was elect- ed Pope, under the title of Clem- ent IX. wrote to the Dean of the Cathedral of Puebla that recogni- tion was impossible because of second appearance of the virgin. the similarity of the legend to that 145 of the Immaculate Conception; that it seemed superfluous to grant a special office for the fes- tival of Guadalupe. But when he became Pope he was more liberal to the petitioners, and, in the ab- sence of further information, con- tinued the authority for the festi- val. The succeeding pontiffs dur- ing the following century inter- posed no objections to the recog- nition of the Virgin of Guadalupe, but there was no official indorse- ment. Toward the middle of the eighteenth century the Virgin of Guadalupe was made the Patron Saint of Mexico for her protec- tion during the plague of the fnatlanzahuatl in 1736. In 1754, Juan Francisco Lopez, a Jesuit priest, having been sent to Rome third appearance of the virgin. for that purpose, secured favorable action by the Congregation of Rites, and the feast of the 12th of December was established by the Papal bull of Benedict XIV, dated 25th of May of that year, and the Virgin of Guadalupe was officially proclaimed the Protectress and Patroness of Mexico, or New Spain. On the 15th of September, 1810, when Hidalgo took the banner of this Vir- gin from the little church of Atotonilco and proclaimed the independence of Mexico, "Guadalupe" became the battle-cry of his followers. The first Congress of the Republic of Mexico gave the festival further recognition by making the I2th of December a national holiday through the decree of November 27th, 1824, and the day is religiously observed throughout the country, particularly by the Indians, who in former years walked hundreds of miles to present themselves before the holy shrine, and since the building of the railroads, come from the utter- , most parts by train loads. There are other festivals of the Virgin of Guadalupe, notably that of Jan- uary i2th, when the Archbishop and the clerical dignitaries are present, and the feast is one of splendid magnificence, another on the 22d of November, one on the 3d of December, and on the 12th of each month. At the foot of the '■^, Hill of Guadalupe is a group of churches, that have grown about the original church of Nuestra Sefiora de Guadalupe, built by Bishop Zumarraga, afterwards Archbishop of Mexico, who re- ceived the sacred tilma from Juan Diego. The first temple of the tilma was built and the image appearance of the image on the tilma 146 placed in it within fourteen days after the apparition. A hundred years after, a new and larger church was added and the tilma with its miraculous image placed in it, in November of 1622. Here the tilma remained for three hun- dred years, with the exception of four years, when it was housed in the Cathe- dral in the City of Mexico. During the great inundation of 1629, when the City was endangered, the Archbishop Francisco Manso y Zimiga and the viceroy, Marques of Cerralvo, sought the aid of the Virgin for the subsidence of the waters, and to that end brought the holy image of the tilma to the Cathedral. The waters covered the face of the earth in all the valley, and the bringing of the image was in a barge, in which rode the Archbishop, the Viceroy followed in another barge carrying a brilliant company of the dignitaries of church and state. This weird and unique procession passed over the waters in the night, the barges and gondolas were lighted with torches and paper lanterns, while the musicians played sacred music and the people sang their hymns to the Virgin. When the flotilla came to streets of the city the image was tak'cn to the Archbishop's residence for the night, whence it was taken the next day to the Cathedral, where it remained four years, till the subsidence of the waters, then taken back to the shrine at the Hill of Guadalupe. In 1695 the existing parish church was built and used as a temporary shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, while the work on a larger and greater temple progressed, which was dedicated in May, 1709. The arched roof is surmounted By a dome and lantern that is 125 feet from the floor, the supports are massive Corinthian columns. The nave is nearly 200 feet long by 122 feet wide. The original altar was from designs by the great Tolsa. drawn in 1802, but the work was so hindered by the wars from 1810 to 1821 that little or no progress was made, and it was not completed till 1836; the cost to this time was nearly half a million dollars, which, added to the million or more that the churches had cost, made the expenditures nearly two million dollars up to that year. Around the chancel was placed a massive silver railing on a base of white marble, the gift of the Viceroy Bucareli, who lies under the pavement of the west aisle. The choir was of carved mahogany and ebony; there are other carvings in the sacristy, where there are also some paintings and two very curious tables of onyx. This church is what is termed "collegiate," that is, although not the seat of an archbishop or bishop, has the organization of a cathedral. In the year 1887 Father Antonio Plancarte y Labastida prepared to carry out a long cherished design for renovation and embellishment of the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and he lived long enough to see the crowning glory in the completion of his work before he put down his burden. Father Plan- carte died in 1898. When the work was commenced the tilma was moved to the adjoining church, one time the convent of the Capuchinas, but not with- out some opposition on the part of the Indians, who ever watch the image with a jealous eye; they are suspicious of every move; and when the work was completed it was replaced in the renewed basilica on the 30th of September, 1895, at a very early hour before the break of day, thus avoiding further protests from the Indians. The architects f(