Mexico

**&

'YAfljE-wainfiEiasjnnr- - JLKMR&IFiir •

Purchased from
Henry R. Wagner, Yale '84
1916

riExico

BY

mtc^

t/s>t—

^O^f^

.-if.

y.i .3

feteitijL . i

JM M

WbaM^T W*

«"3

SPfi

PUBLISH KD BY

L'ARTISTE PUBLISHING CO.

NEW YORK

COPYRIGHT BY
MARIE ROBINSON WRIGHT
1892

PRINT OF
L'ARTISTE PUBLISHING CO.
7 WARREN ST., N. Y.

^7 tf^^^- 4L

>-l^(s /7^-^-y^ ^t^f £

^7 J/Z^^^aU^y^ i%r-J£&*+*^ 4/^2^ ,

LSfirrl^ C^^tC /Pfi"**-^ rf- Xyj-J/^C<,i

*** cZ^y^/-

Carmen Romero Rubio Diaz.

A peerless woman in thy gracious youth,
And garnered wisdom's calm maturity,
Cast in a mold of loveliness and truth,
A glowing statue of stainless purity.
Typical empress of a storied land !
A land of temples fair, and radiant skies,
Nature's expression nobly conceived and planned,
Beauty and majesty throned in thy glorious eyes !
To all encroachments of earth's sin and stain,
As far removed, as thy white mountain snows,
But. never call humanity or mortal needs in vain,
For thy deep sympathy — as quick it flows,
As the sweet night-cooled dews on sun-parched rose.
Memory enshrines thee ! daughter of alp snows and tropic sun,
You translate Mexico — grace, romance, music, all in one !

m.

m

m

~* i

MEXICO

IV /l EX ICO! " What a name to conjure with! What a spell in the word! Like the
rosy mist arising from the necromancer's crucible it discloses a succession
of superb, imperishable images, some filmed with the distance of time, mystical,
splendid, all glowing with the glory, the beauty, the grandeur that goes to make the
fame of a romantic, historic and picturesque land. History, tragedy, tradition,
adventure, nature's affluence, bearing true witness in the majesty and loveliness of
scenery unequalled, tropic luxuriance, mineral treasures, storied relics, all went into
the dreams of the great wonder-worker who made this magic and marvelous country.
The very national colors are themselves expressive and illustrative — Green, White
and Red! Green like her vast forests and fruitful valleys, white, like her snow-capped
and serene mountains — red, like the glowing craters of her fiery volcanoes and the
ruddy crimson that proclaims itself in superb tropic flowers and is repeated in its
sunset skies and flashes even from the rubies, garnets, and fire opals wrested from
their hidden fastnesses in the earth. Among the nations of the earth Mexico
occupies a place impressive and distinctive. No country has a grander, more

2. FERNANDEZ LEAL.
6. IGNACIO MARISCAL

1. PRESIDENT PORFIRIO DIAZ.
3. ROMERO RUBIO. 4. GEN. PEDRO HINOJOSA. 5. JOAQUIN BARANDA.
7. MATIAS ROMERO. 8. MANUEL G. COSIO.

MEXICO
tragic, or fame-worthy past, none a more prosperous or stable present, none a more
glorious and splendid future. It tells a story of hardship "battle, murder and
sudden death" for the brave spirits who made this grand republic possible, were
baptized in fire and blood, and gave their lives that Mexico might come into being.
Old traditions, old achievements, past glories, are still cherished there, and when
time-honored usages and customs are displaced or done away with, it is simply in
the spirit that one throws wide the windows to let in the light. Progress is wel
come because it brings illumination and strength, but nothing is done away with
that is worth perpetuating. To-day Mexico basks in the full light of advancement
and progress and in the strong radiance, her glories, charms and resources are
shown in an array that almost dazzles the comprehension of the finite intellect.
Americans need not go across the waters in search of antiquities, relics,
traditions and all that go to make up the charm of strange lands. All are here on
their own continent, and in such prodigal measure that no land beyond the sea can
match its charms. Burton advises the man who would glean the best of life to "go
into far countries ; to lie in divers inns, to be drawn into several companies; to
seek the beatitudes of travel, which doth charm our senses with such sweet and un
speakable variety." Had he lived in this day he would have put his wise and
pleasing counsel into three words — go to Mexico.
In attempting to set forth the delights, the interests, the resources of Mexico,
one is confronted with the embarrassment of riches, and it is no easy task to
condense the vast amount of attractive material that crowds itself upon the attention.
In my brief and inadequate resume I must, perforce, touch lightly upon many sub
jects that are well deserving of careful study and elaboration. All that I can hope
to do is to put the key into the lock of this treasure-house, so that the traveler, the
explorer, the investor, may turn it for himself and reveal to his astonished eyes, the
stores of wealth within. Mexico is no longer a terra incognita and its geographical
position is well known. Its name freely translated, means, the middle-ground or
golden mean, terms strongly expressive of its position and the wide variety of its
products. On the various railway lines leading inward, from its fine sea and gulf
ports, every imaginable variety of climate, scenery and natural products are

MEXICO

encountered. All these changes can be studied in the course of a few hours trave ,
and the result of widely varying temperature pass into view successively, m t it
most startling and bewildering way. One has only to look out of the car windows
to see the indigo, sugar cane, fruits of tropic lands, within easy distance ol the
pines and firs of the North. Luxuriance is on every side and nature seems in her
most lavish and prodigal mood. One naturally turns to the mining wealth of
Mexico as a subject of all engrossing value and interest. Silver and gold, precious
gems, even some diamonds, are found here. In the range of the Andes silver
abounds and in the mountains of the Southeast, the ridges are veined with silver,
lead and copper. The Cerro-del Mercado in Durango, is said to be one exhaustless
body of iron. As yet the mineral resources of Mexico are but conjectured, and
every investigation points to a development that will out-rival other countries. The
richest districts so far demonstrated, are Guanajuato, Zacatecas, and Catorce. It is
absolutely impossible to arrive at anything like a fair estimate of this subject as the
mines are almost as countless as the leaves of the forest, and may of them being
small and worked as private enterprises, there is no way of getting accurate statistics
as to the output. The first mint ever established in Mexico, was opened in 1538 by
Antonio de Mendoza. These early coins were divided into three styles, the moneda
macuquina, moneda columnaria, and the moneda de busto, varying in size, shape and
value. Tin is found in large quantities in Michoacan and is said to be even more
abundant in Jalisco. Lead follows silver closely and appears in almost all of the
silver mines — showing itself in fine quantity in the mines of Oajaca — in this state
are found also, amethysts, turquoises, vitriol, an endless variety of superb agates,
and exquisite carnelians. The most noteworthy of all of these are found in Mount
Cocola on the borders of Tlaxcala. Marbles are sown broadcast, the most beautiful
being the green and white of Tecali, the galinoza stone, porphyry, alabaster, jasper,
and serpentine are among the handsomest of these varieties. There are also, stones
resembling emeralds and magnificent opals, of several kinds that merit more
extended mention than can be given here. Talcs are abundant as are also load
stones, zinc, antimony, arsenic and mercury. Gypsum and slate are common and
coal is found in several localities. Sulphur appears in quantities in the craters of

MEXICO

volcanoes and elsewhere. Salt is plentiful in many of the states, amber enriches the
coast districts, garnets and splendid pearls are numerous. Mineral springs give
testimony to this vast underground laboratory, in an outpouring of tonic and heal
ing waters. A favorite climate can be had, in Mexico, almost on demand or as may
be said, a la carte as one may select from the hot and moist, the hot and dry, the
cold and dry, the cold and moist. Prevailing and dominating all these differences
there may be said to be two general divisions : the dry from October to Ma)', the
wret, the rest of the year. The heaviest rain comes in August and September.
Timber — the arboreal wealth shows a list of 1 14 building and cabinet woods,
among them the mahogany, rosewood, ebony, and cedar. The gum trees are of
imposing value, and comprise India-rubber, copal, liquid amber, turpentine-pine,
camphor and mezquite, the latter similar to gumarabic, and sandrach. The oil trees
constitute a distinct and important source of wealth. There are between fifteen and
twenty varieties of them, the most important being the cocoa-palm, olive, almond,
sesame, and the tree that yields the balsam of Peru. The maguey or century plant,
furnishes food, drink and clothing, and some one has said of it "that if it would
only breed horses the Mexican's comforts could all be provided for in this one
plant." The fermented juice of this plant, called pulque and the stronger decoction
called mezcal are highly intoxicating and inflammable. In the department of
medicinal plants there are between fifty and sixty varieties, jalap being one of the
most important, it derives it name from Jalapa, a Mexican city in which its valuable

M E X ICO
properties first became known and from whence it was first exported. In fruits and
vegetables the list is almost endless, as everything grows here lavishly that can be
raised in either Europe or America. Grain and all other agricultural products yield
their largess with surprising prodigality, when one takes into, consideration, the still
primitive and laborious modes of culture. Corn, cotton, sugar-cane, coffee, tobacco,
sisal, hemp, wheat, potatoes, cacao and indigo are the more important products.
One who attempts to speak of the flowers of Mexico must needs be both poet and
painter, for the senses are steeped in their limitless variety, their unimagined
profusion, the delicacy and richness of their dyes, and the enchanting intoxication
of their perfumes. On Sundays especially, do they enchain the fancy for the streets of
the cities and towns are massed with them — each avenue and square is enameled,
arabesqued, tapestried in bewildering banks of gorgeous bloom! Domestic hand
craft is exhibited in the manufacture of the rich rebozos (shawls) gold and silver
embossed hat brims, inlaid harness and saddles, embroidered jackets, laces, fairy
like articles in gold and silver filigree, feather work of almost incredible fineness and
delicacy, needle painting of all kinds, drawn linen napery, clay, porcelain and glass.
Special attention must be directed to the clay and rag figures, so distinctive and
charming a product of Mexico. These consist, in the main, of groups or single
figures of soldiers, water-carriers, muleteers, and peasants which are reproduced
with a fidelity that far surpasses the most successful achievements of modern
photography. The dukes or comfits are revelations in the art of bonbon making and
those of Guadalajara are particularly popular.
The horses are small, but spirited and hardy, and the natives ride with
exceeding grace and skill.
Fish of fine and appetizing flavors abound in the rivers and lakes, and some,
peculiar to the gulf coast, have charming names, such as doncella, congrio,
pegeveye, besugo, while the Pacific waters furnish such names as cornudo, silguero,
caballa, vieja, and ojon.
Silk worms are cultivated to some extent with a prospect of an increase in
the near future.

M E X ICO
RACES-There are thirty-five tribes of Indians here and some mixed races,
besides pure Spanish, French, English, American, and all other natlona ^J
Among the Indians one hundred and fifty dialects are spoken. The na iora
costume of the ranchero or planter is a short jacket gorgeously embroidered s as e
trousers, massed with gold and silver lace and buttons, spurs and the wide, flapping
and costly hats, so distinctive of the country. French fashions have, in a grea
measure, superseded the more graceful Spanish styles, but now and then one has a
glimpse of the picturesque old Castilian dress and mantilla. The social life of the
republic is surpassingly charming. It is free, happy, careless, yet protected by all
the necessary safeguards. Society, in its higher aspects, is marked by exceeding
refinement, broad culture, unfailing courtesy, and delicate gallantry. The hospi
tality is generous and proverbial. One has only to be properly introduced to be
the recipient of the most unceasing, elaborate and lavish hospitalities. Fetes,
breakfasts, dinings, receptions, drives, promenades are tendered while gifts of
flowers, birds, curiosities and valuable relics are offered in princely generosity. The
women, both native and adopted, who adorn the upper circles of society are justly
noted for their personal beauty, their virtues, their accomplishments and a charm
of manner that they seem to breathe in from the golden atmosphere that surrounds
them* There is no interesting portion of Mexico that is now inaccessible to the
tourist. Steamship, railway and diligence lines have eliminated distance and
dominated the barriers of nature.
The government is conducted very much upon the plan of that of the
United States of America. There is a president, elected for a term of four years,
and a cabinet. Public schools and institutions of higher learning, as well as
benevolent enterprises, receive the earnest and substantial support of the
government.
*Americans are proud of the exalted position held in Mexico by their accomplished country-women, Mrs. Mariscal and Mrs. Romero,
both beautiful, rarely intellectual and fascinating. They adorn society. Romero is well known in Washington and throughout the
United States as a. gentleman of unusual gifts and powers and most charming social qualities; and Ignacio Mariscal, Mexico's Secretary
of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs is a wise statesman who commands the homage of his people and the confidence of foreign
powers. In social life he is most delightful, polished and entertaining. Benito Juarez, son of the noted president, is a gentleman of wide
information and culture, and adds much to the pleasure of life at the capital, being particularly hospitable and charming to strangers
within its gates. The American Minister, Hon. Thomas Ryan, has won golden opinions in Mexico, and his brilliant and engaging -wife
conquers all hearts by her cordial manner and cultured mind.

t^^i^*^^

TAIN ANP ^puEpUCf

I)
CUAQTEM qtzin _ ,^£Sy^^'lpf''

MORE ULOS ,

MEXICO

As to the history of Mexico but the briefest outline can be included here.
Ancient records go back to the Toltecs, who came here from Guatamala as early as
the seventh centurv They were followed later by the Astecs, said to come from
the northward, but whose origin and former abiding place is veiled in a historic
mist that no one has penetrated. The first European to visit this country was
Francisco Fernandez de Cordova, in 15 17, and following him came the adventurers,
explorers, conquerors who founded the Mexico of to-day. All remember the tragic
episode of the brief connection of Maximilian of Austria, with the affairs of Mexico,
and while we cannot fail to deplore the sadness which surrounds the story all must
feel that this unwise and daring man tempted his own fate, and brought about
the catastrophe which cost him and his generals their lives and Carlotta her
reason. Then followed uphevals, changes of rulers, and " wars and rumors of
wars," to be ended by the administration of President Juarez, one of the few
presidents of Mexico who filled their entire term of office. This terminated in
1872, since which there have been two presidents in the Republic before the
present ruler, Diaz, one of them being General Gonzales, a gentleman of splendid
gifts, vast wealth and most charming and engaging personality. Of the present
ruler Porfirio Diaz, it may be truthfully said that he presides over his beautiful
country with purity, wisdom and consecrated sense of responsibility, having
conquered the love of his people, assisted by his charming wife, Carmen R. R. de
Diaz. There is no woman more popularh' respected and cherished for her virtues
and attractions. I feel that I shall be defrauding my readers of a mental treat if I
fail to make some extracts from the delightful papers on Mexico, contributed
to Harpers Magazine (New York), in the vear 1887, by that gifted man of letters,

owa.wHJ
D<X
ofc,
owJHx<
O

MEXICO
Mr. Charles Dudley Warner. He has visited all lands and says: "To me
Mexico is one of the most interesting countries I have seen, and so novel
on every hand, that I enjoyed in a way that which is disagreeable almost
as much as that which is pleasing." * * * * "Everything is
on a vast scale. High ranges of bare mountains running parallel for hun
dreds of miles, with plains between them often stony and inhospitable, often
good grazing land, verdure-clad under the summer rains." * * * *
"The hats made the most distinct impression. Everybody seems to invest
his fortune in his hat. They are in great variety, but are all high-crowned,
of felt or straw, with a brim six inches broad, sometimes the crown black
and the brim white, always ornamented with silver or white braid, or a broad
strap and buckle." * * * * "There is a good deal of color
in the soil and some lovely effects in the plains and mountains. We were
beginning to get one of the charms of Mexico, namely atmospheric color,
which makes a garment for the fairest landscape — a drapery which the artists
say is usually wanting in our northern regions." * * * "At a
little station very early in the morning, before we reached Calera, was a sort
of gypsy Oriental encampment — -tents, wagons, donkeys, vagabond men, women,
and a band composed of harp, fiddle and a base-viol, which hailed the rising
sun with festive music. These hospitable and hilarious people offered refreshment^
coffee, and something stronger to the train passengers, and the women
solicited them to go to a house nearby and extemporize a dance. I sup
posed at first that this was a communal emigration from one part of the
country to another. But no. These people lived along the base of the
mountains, and had come together for a frolic of a few days, with cock-
fighting and plenty of whiskey, or its equivalent, aguardiente." * * *
"Zacatecas is an imposing city as seen from the rail which skirts it, and
indeed looks down on it. The elevation is over 8,000 feet, and the town
lies in a sort of cup in the mountains, a compact lot of small houses, yellow,
red, blue, green, and a great cathedral in the midst. On the hill-sides all
about and in the valley below it are the silver mines and works. The whole

MEXICO
effect of color in the thin air is silver-gray. The wind is keen and sweeps
clouds of dust around the station, where there is a lively crowd of fruit
hucksters, and spectators in great variety of color and costume. At a station
beyond, a Mexican lady of quality comes on board. She is of the Spanish
type, overdressed in a flowered silk and black mantilla, rich dark complexion,
through which the red blood shows, large black eyes, heavy cheeks, and coarse
mouth. With her are an elderly woman in black, and several young men,
gentlemen, in big hats, fantastically braided trousers and semi-brigandish air."
* * * * "Aguas Calientes, where we have at the station, a
civilized dinner, is in the distance a well-shaded, pretty city. It is the
fashionable Mexican hot springs resort, and the stream from the springs, in
which there is promiscuous bathing for a mile, is said to give one a fair
idea of the Mexican disregard for conventionalities. At the table d'hote are
several typical people; a light-haired Mexican, with high narrow, empty fore
head, very grave; the loud, swash-buckler major domo of a neighboring
hacienda, in an enormous white hat, fancy coat, and braided trousers, and a
long pistol conspicuous in his belt; a big fat young gentleman with intensely
black, small eyes, broad, heavy face, thin mustache, like a youth over-ripe,
small forehead, and a big hat, talking to a little withered, parchment-faced
man, attentive and obsequious. * * * * " Novel pictures con
stantly present themselves. The lady of quality descends at a way-station,
where she is met by a handsome open carriage, with servants in livery, and
a modern Spanish-looking gentleman, handsome, and not too extravagantly
dressed in the Spanish mode. Her hacienda is not far off, at the foot of
the hills. The lady is well known in the city, and has a history."
"Mexico abounds in histories. At all the stations are crowds of boys,
men and women, who offer for sale oranges, sweets, Mexican messes, and
queer looking fruits, which are out of season, and do not taste good."
"This long route, through vallevs and over mountains,
somewhat dusty, always in the sunshine, with a temperate heat, and good
air, is monotonous in all its variety, but exceedingly interesting in the

MEXICO
retrospect, considering that it is a railway journey, for we have seen many
sorts of people and many strange costumes." " The
City of Mexico, with some 300,000 inhabitants (this was in 1887) spreads
over a large area with more houses of two than of three stories. The streets
are of good width, laid at right angles, and often there is the agreeable
perspective of a mountain at the end; the house architecture is generally
simple, square, with square windows, balconies, awnings, and with considerable
color in the houses, reddish, pink, cream, colors usually toned down, but
which give life and even refinement to the streets. For variety there are
some solid, stately, half-Spanish buildings, now and then one very handsome
with tiles, some fantastically painted, and the picture-decorated pulque shops.
In churches and public buildings the city does not lack imposing architecture,
yet the general effect is that of sameness. There are many fine shops and
pleasent arcades, especially in San Francisco Street, and about the Plaza;
and of course, there is more or less concentration of such in the center of
the city; but, as a rule, the city differs from our cities in not having a
business and a residence quarter; like Paris, shops are scattered all over
the city, and the people live over them. The monotony of the right-angled
streets is broken by some picturesque market squares, by the large Cathedral
Plaza, by the Alameda, a long, narrow plot of ground with trees and semi-
tropical vegetation, and the very broad and well-planted Paseo. This is lined
with gardens and a few country houses has some statues, and running out
three miles to Chapultepec, is the favorite driving and riding and display
ground of all the world in the late afternoon. Of course it is understood
that many of the edifices, hotels, public buildings and private, are built
about courts, and that there are many pretty patios and gardens."
* ; " Chapultepec is a mass of rock perhaps two hundred
feet high, springing abruptly from the plain, but behind it are low elevations
gradually rising to the foot hills. About the foot of this hill are semi-tropical
gardens, and the famous Cypress Grove. The roads winding through the
noble avenues are the favorite resort for driving and riding. These trees,

MEXICO
towering to a great height, magnificent in the stately upspringing of their
trunks, and lovely in the deep cinnamon-color of the bark, are not to be
compared to anything I have seen elsewhere. They are very old; one of
them is called the Tree of Montezuma, and the grove was no doubt old
when he reigned. I put the tape to one of them five feet above the ground,
and got a girth of thirty-nine feet. I believe the Montezuma tree is larger."
"Gaudalupe, famous for the shrine of Our Lady of that name, is
a rocky hill, very like Chapultepec, and about as far north of the city as
Chapultepec, is to the south. They are two corresponding sentinels of the
plain. At the foot of the hill is the Cathedral, very large, but remarkable
for nothing except a superb altar-railing of silver. Near it is a pretty public
garden, with a fountain and sweet smelling shrubs, the ground carpeted with
violets. It speaks much for the gentle and refined character of the Mexicans
that such cool little nooks of beauty and repose are common." *
"Santa Anita is an Indian village, a collection of low thatched houses,
African in appearance, set in plantations of bananas and cacti, with narrow,
clean-swept streets, pulque shops, and houses of entertainment for the lower
orders. It is a shabby sort of paradise, the city rough is here, the dissolute
players on mandolins, the bedizened young Mexican, the shapely bronze-
limbed Indian who works in the fields or poles the boats through the net-work
of canals, the painted city yellow girl, the broad-faced Indian girl who sells
flowers cut out of beets and carrots, and the hot little messes the Mexicans
love, and here the municipal police are more numerous than elsewhere, for
here is always a more or less suspicious lot of idlers and pleasure-seekers,
come to eat stewed duck, tamales, and the piquant compounds of chile
and chopped meat, and above all, to drink pulque." * * * "As
good a specimen of the semi-tropical garden as one will see anywhere is
that of Cortina Mendoza. It is an extensive fruit plantation, and is rather
an orchard than a garden, though it resembles neither in our experience.
It is a thicket of luxuriant and sweet-smelling and spicy vegetation, and one
strays in its dark and damp allees in a tropical gloom, into which the sun

J*ttS»afifli#«&fca&w.

JUANACATLAN, NEAR GUADALAJARA.

MEXICO
only penetrates in rifts and gleams. Water diverted from the river rushes
through it in swift streams — pure water, the ever-pleasant moisture of which
fills all the garden — and small conduits from the canals keep the whole
surface water-soaked, except the elevated paths. Here grow in a wild
tangle, bananas and plantains, thickly set along the streams as rushes by a
meadow brook; the mango, the mamey and papaya, all large trees; the
orange, lemon, and the lime and the coffee plant. It is a wilderness of strange
foliage, swinging vines, penetrating odors and brilliant colors. Amid the
dark leaves gleam the white blossoms of orange and lemons and their golden
globes of fruit, the yellowing mangoes and the red coffee berries. Coming
into this place of deep shade, dampness and coolness, out of the hot and
dusty street, this fenced section of green foliage and bright fruit, one appreciates
the passion the Orientals have for running water and shade."
To match such poetic prose as Warner's description of the city, what
will serve so well as a few lines of verse from Joaquin Miller ?
" Some fragrant trees,
By flower-sown-seas,
Where boats go up and down,
And a sense of rest,
To the tired breast,
In this beauteous Aztec town.
Great walls about,
Gate posts without,
That prop the sapphire skies,
Two huge gate posts
Snow-white like ghosts
Gate-posts to paradise !
There is so much to see in Mexico that it puzzles the one who would
point the way, to indicate what is most worthy of attention. The Cathedral, in
the capital city is the finest church structure in the republic, and is noted
for its superb dimensions, the value of its historic associations and its costliness.
It is built upon the ground where a terrible battle was fought between the
Aztecs and the forces of Cortez. It is enriched with magnificent furnishings,

M E X I C O
ornaments, shrines and pictures, among the latter, the chief object of interest
is the famous picture by the immortal Murillo. From the tower of the
Cathedral one has a view of matchless extent, replete with charm and
loveliness. The National Museum is a place of absorbing and unending
interest, its greatest treasure being the great sacrificial stone, about which
there has been so much scientific discussion. If it is the sacrificial stone of
the Aztecs — as many hold— it links itself with a tragic and blood-chilling rite.
It was the custom among that strange people to offer human sacrifice to

ALONG THE LINE OF THE INTEROCEANIC R. R.

placate the gods. When they decided to send a message to the God of
the Sun, a youth, the very flower of splendid manhood was selected for the
high office. He was wreathed in flowers, adorned with costly jewels — with
great pomp and ceremony he was conducted up the steps that led to the
fatal stone. Here the priest met him and ordered him to go to the Sun
God with their gifts and message. He turned his face sunward, chanting in
a loud voice the message delivered to him. The"n his throat was cut, the
blood flowing down and drenching the stone. His heart was then cut out

MEXICO
and held up to the sun until it was cold— then it was decided that he had
fulfilled his mission and that the message had reached the august presence.
The Calendar Stone is another relic of wonder and delight. This was carved
in 1479, it is said of it — "a civilization that offered human sacrifice to a
stone idol, and at the same time was sufficiently acquainted with the
geography of the heavens to conceive and create this wonderful Calendar-
stone is almost a paradox in the history of this people. No one will be
willing to forego the strange sensations of a trip to Popocatepetl ("the
smoking mountain") that rears its majestic head 17,720 feet above the sea,
with the snows of heaven on its crest and the fires of the lower regions
in its heart. A descent into the crater of this monster gives a thrill of awe
and a shiver of fear, not to be excited by any other experience.
The Church of the Holy Well at Guadalupe is one of the most romantically
interesting churches in Mexico. It is a stone structure, gorgeously ornamented,
the dome being covered with dazzling glazed tiles, give it a splendid effect.
The well is at the entrance. To these sacred waters the Indians from all
parts of the country make pilgrimages, believing, in their simple way, that to
bathe in, and drink of this magic fountain secures healing for all fleshly ills.
Surrounding the well, may be seen at all times, the halt, the lame, the blind
the emaciated, and even the sorrow-worn seeking relief. Some of these poor
sufferers wend their weary way here over hundreds of miles of hard and
difficult roads. The church is beautified by many large and handsome pictures.
The Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe is the most sacred and precious in
all the republic. Pilgrims flow to it in a never-ceasing stream and the legend
connected with it is one of tender beauty and significance. Back in the dim
days of 1531 there appeared to a peon the enrapturing vision of a lovely virgin
who ordered him to go to a certain wealthy man and say to him that she
commanded him to build a church upon this place. The poor man, overcome
by his august mission, hurriedly gave the message, but the rich man turned
a deaf ear to his words. Poor Juan Diego, the peon, returned to the virgin
and reported his ill success. She told him to return and show the man of

M £ X ICO
wealth his tilma (apron) which had in a miraculous way been stamped with a
picture of herself. This amazed both peon and the rich man, but still the latter
hesitated and doubted. The third command was accompanied by a bunch of
flowers, which falling apart, disclosed in a heart of a rose, a perfect likeness
of the radiant virgin. Doubt was no longer possible and so this magnificent
church marks the place of the miracle. The picture on the tilma is still
preserved here, as well as the bunch of flowers.

THE CANAL.

The Zocalo is a lively and busy plaza, both by day and by night, and
whether seen in the sun's blaze or in the mellow rays of the moon is a
scene of varied and engrossing enchantment. This is the junction of all car
lines. The walks are as smooth as marble, the flowers are grouped in
exquisite designs, snowy statuarv gleams through the veiling foliage, and in

MEXICO
the centre of this grand park a band, that discourses delicious strains, plays
three times a week. There is no place on earth that compares with this
in the gaiety and variety of the types it presents. It is a living, moving,
breathing kaleidoscope of all nations, colors, types, costumes, from ladies and
gentlemen of the most exalted rank to groups of bull-fighters, poor peons,
and ragged Indians. So fairy-like and bewildering is the scene that one can
scarcely realize that it is a 19th Century reality and not a dream in the
time of the Arabian Nights. La Viga, the floating gardens or markets are
another diverting and intensely interesting phase of life in this unique and poetic
land. The)' are easily reached by car from the Plaza. The canal makes a
circle of over eight miles and presents a scene of unequalled activity and
unusual features. One need not look for gardens as the name suggests, but
rather for an aquatic market-place. The gardens are made up of countless
boats, in motion, filled with every imaginary growth of farm, orchard, vineyard
and garden flowers, fruits, chickens, birds and all living and growing things
that command money. As soon as you leave the car the crowd surges
around you, imploring you to hire their boats. At first they are high-toned
in their ideas of the return desired for their services, but are apt to
reduce their prices to less than one-third if the new comer exhibits the proper
show of patience and reserve. These boats are low, long and flat on the
bottom with an awning overhead and gayly decked with flags and streamers.
The boatmen use only one long oar with which they pole or scull the craft
along. In no other way can one gain so accurate an idea of the varied
population of Mexico, in no other way can so many charming effects in
costume and personal ornamentation be studied and certainly nowhere else
can such a marvelous array of the products of this most marvelous of all
countries be seen. One might almost go blind-fold through Mexico, uncovering
his eyes for two or three hours only at La Viga, and be able to give a
fair account of the almost incredible resources that are the heritage of this
nation.

m

ALONG THE LINE OF THE SOUTHERN RAILROAD.

MEXICO
Everyone who goes to Mexico has in his note book something like
this — "Don't forget to see a bull-fight." Under the humane rule of President
Diaz, this brutal and revolting amusement is passing into disrepute, but still
it exists there to a certain extent, and an account of Mexico is scarcely
complete without a reference to it. Pedro Romero is the name of the man
who by his rules and regulations, in the Eighteenth Century, somewhat
elevated these pastimes. Among his followers the most famous names are
El Chiclano, Sanches, Lagartijo, Diaz Labi, Ponciano Diaz, and Guerrita. The
usual bull fight is about as follows: The company is made up of the
principal Espada, or swordsman, four mounted Picadors, four Banderilleros,
who manipulate the sharp, barbed goads, and two Capeadoros, who distract
the poor beasts by waving and fluttering their cloaks. A bugle sounded
from the judges stand, signifies when the bull is to enter, and at every stage
gives the signal for the proceedings until the sport is ended.
Thomas A. Janvier, an American artist an author of wide reputation
gives, in his admirable " Mexican Guide," descriptions of two or three widely
differing points of interest that cannot fail to gain the attention of my readers
and add to the value of my chronicle. I quote them here : " The Desierto,
about fifteen miles southwest of the city, reached on horseback. That very
crabbed chronicler, Thomas Gage, an English Monk of the Dominican order
who was smuggled into Mexico about the middle of the seventeenth century,
thus describes, in his new survey of the West Indies Desierto in its palmy
days: Northwestward three leagues from Mexico is the pleasantest place of
all that are about Mexico, called La Soledad or by others el desierto, the
solitary or desert place and wildernesse were all wildernesses like it, to live
in a wildernesse would be better than to live in a city. This has been a device
of poor Fryers named discalced or barefooted Carmelites, who to make show
of their hypocritical 1 and apparent godliness, and that whilst they would be
thought to live like Eremites, retired from the world, they may draw the
world unto them, they have built there a stately cloister, which being upon
a hill and among rocks, makes it the more admired. About the cloister

SAN JOSE, GUADALAJARA.

MEXICO
they have fashioned out many holes and caves in under and among the rocks
like Eremite 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-cloth girdles with sharp wyar points to girdle
about their bare flesh and many such like toys, which hang about their
oratories, to make the people admire their mortification and holy lives. All
these Eremetical holes and caves, (which are some ten in all) are within
the bounds and compass of the cloister and among orchards and gardens
full of fruits and flowers, which may take up two miles of compasse and here
among the rocks are springs of water, which the shade of the plantains and
other trees, are most cool 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. All this lovely place is really a solitary
place, a wildernesse now, but even in its ruin it is one of the most beautiful
spots to be found near the city, while the remains of the cloister and the
'Eremetical holes and caves' make it one of the most curious and interesting."
* * * "Tetzcotzinco, about three miles east of Texcoco is the
laughing hill {risuena colina) of Tetzcotzinco. Here is an enduring monument
to the engineering skill and good taste of Netzahualcoytl, in the shape of the
wonderful pleasuance that he caused to be built for his amusement and
recreation. The remains of terraced walks and stairways wind around the hill
from the base to the summit; seats are hollowed in shady nooks, among the
rocks, and everywhere traces are found of ingenious contrivances by which
the natural beauty and cool comfort of the situation is enhanced. The most
important and most curious of these remains, at an elevation of eighty or
one hundred feet, is that to which has been given the purely fanciful title
of 'Montezuma's bath' — a circular reservoir about five feet in diameter and
three feet deep whence water was distributed through many channels to the
hanging gardens below. In order to supply the little reservoir, stupendous

WmL..

¦¦¦¦yi^r.,.

KIH

^77

/

'4

MEXICO
works were executed. Near the laughing hill, distant half or three quarters
of a mile, is another small hill, and beyond this, twelve or fifteen miles, is
the mountain chain that encircles the valley. From the reservoir the side of
the hill in which it is hollowed is cut down and leveled as though graded
for a railroad, for about half a mile; thence the grade is carried across a
ravine to the adjacent hill on an embarkment fully sixty feet high; thence
the side of the second hill is graded for a distance of a mile and a half;
and thence the grade is carried on an embarkment across the plain to the
distant mountains. Along the top of the level thus formed was built an
aqueduct, much of which still remains in excellent preservation and testifies
to the skill of its builders. It is formed of very hard plaster, made of lime
and small portions of soft red stone; is about two feet wide and has a
conduit about ten inches in diameter — a concave trough covered by convex
sections of plaster forming a tube. A part of this pleasuring place, though
some distance from it, is the Bosque del Contador, a magnificent grove of
ahuekucetes, in closing a great quadrangle that probably in ancient times was
a lake." * * * * "At Ixtacalco, the next town on the line of
the canal, are more chinampas, less gayety, a small market and a very
presentable old church, dedicated to San Matias — a Franciscan foundation of
more than three hundred years ago. In front of the church is a little plaza
with a fountain of sweet water in its midst; and away from the plaza,
along the lane that is marked by a palm tree at its beginning, is a small,
curious building that once was the chapel of Santiago. It is used as a
dwelling now, and right in among its numerous inhabitants is the remnant
of what seems to have been a most gallant image of Santiago now galloping
to defend the faith on a headless horse! Mexicalcingo, about seven miles
south of the city, was a place of some importance before the conquest, but
now is an insignificant little town of less than three hundred inhabitants.
A small monastery, and the church of San Marco, were founded here by the
Franciscans at a very early period, and in Vetancurt's time, two centuries ago,
the parish numbered upwards of 1,500 souls. The monastery still exists, but

MEXICO
in a ruinous condition, while the comparatively large church built on the site
of the primitive structure is in tolerably good repair. It is a rather bleak
looking edifice. The road from Mexico to Ixtapalpan crosses the canal at
this point and a very picturesque bit is had in the juxta-position of this bridge
and a rambling old adobe house shaded by a row of great old trees growing
to the water's edge. This is a good place to tie up and have a breakfast
(provision for which must be carried along) in a leisurely fashion, preparatory
to starting on the return trip; and benevolent people will give a loaf of
white bread to a nice old woman who lives in the northern end of the
rambling house for the use and benefit of her cat; for the cat has an
inordinate craving for white bread that rarely is satisfied."
"Molino de Flores — this charming country place belonging to the family
Cervantez lies off the line of the railway, about three miles west of Texcoco.
Its chief beauty is a rocky ravine, plentifully shaded, in which, beside a
rustic chapel is a waterfall. The gardens watered by the stream are laid
out with much taste and filled with flowers. In their midst stands the large
and handsome residence; and a short distance below the waterfall is the mill.
At times when the residence is not occupied strangers are admitted to the
grounds by the steward."
Within the past few years Mexico has attracted crowds of travelers,
many well known writers from the States, and other lands have found inspiration
for their pens. Many artists have perpetuated the beauty of the country with
their pencils and brushes. Among the Americans who have written of and
sketched Mexico most faithfully and charmingly are Mr. Charles Dudley
Warner, Mr. F Hopkinson Smith, Mr. Thomas A. Janvier, and the gifted
Mrs. Mary Ashley Townsend, of New Orleans. Many who visit Mexico see
the shadows as well as the sunlight and have found blemishes where I saw
only perfection. The silver side of the shield was surely turned perpetually to
my delighted sight and, in my memories of Mexico, I count like the sundial,
only the shining hours. In closing this record of my visit there I cannot
express my feelings more earnestly than to borrow from my poet friend, Mrs.
Townsend, her beautiful words of farewell to this enchanting Country. Adios !

Farewell to Mexico.

True, hearts, stanch friends, dear Mexico farewell,
Would I could pluck from my o'er flowing heart,
Some rare bouquet of words whose depths might tell
What lips can speak not, nor these tears impart.
Between me and the shore the widening blue
Tells of the deepening seas to which I go ;
From lessening barks floats back a faint " adieu/'
My soul replies — Farewell to Mexico !
I came a pilgrim to thy storied strand,
I go like one who into exile goes ;
Surely, I've found in this enchanted land,
Some region where the fabled lotus grows.
I sigh not that so far across the deep
Fair Louisiana's orange-blossom blow ;
I only watch thy fading shores and weep,
Because I bid farewell to Mexico !
Bright picture-land, my thoughts like trailing vines,
Wind back thy hills, thy vales, thy lakes along ;
Cling round thine altars and thy ruined shrines,
And twine where mysteries and memories strong.
Ye skies, in which resplendent sunsets burn,
Ye plains, ye palms, ye peerless peaks of snow !
From what rare realms of loveliness I turn
To sigh, and say — Farewell to Mexico !
Now faint and fainter grows the line of shore,
Upon our path springs the pursuing wind ;
Our plunging prow tastes the blue brine once more,
While like a plume our white wake streams behind.
Like one last friend, proud Orizaba stands,
Against the sunset, 'neath his crown of snow ;
We call aloud, we wave to him our hands ;
He fails, he fades, — Farewell to Mexico !

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

9