X1CO 
 
 WONDER-LAND
 
 I'OKFIKIO DIAZ, 
 President of the Republic of Mexico.
 
 MEXICO 
 
 ID anO IHew 
 
 A WONDER-LAND 
 
 SULLIVAN HOLMAN McCOLLESTER 
 
 AUTHOR OF "AFTER-THOUGHTS OF FOREIGN LANDS AND CAPITAL CITIES, 
 
 " BABYLON AND NINEVEH THROUGH AMERICAN EYES," AND 
 
 "ROUND THE GLOBE IN OLD AND NEW PATHS." 
 
 Second Edition. 
 
 BOSTON : 
 
 UNIVERSALIST PUBLISHING HOUSE. 
 1899.
 
 Copyright, 1897, 
 
 BY S. H. MCCOLLESTER. 
 All rights reserved. 
 
 CONCORD, N. B. 
 THE BUMKORD PKKSS.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 If I am so fortunate as to enable the reader of the suc- 
 ceeding pages through mental vision to see things somewhat 
 as I saw them, and to learn the fact, as I did, contrary to my 
 expectation, that the best blood of Mexico at the present time 
 runs in Indian veins, not Castilian. which has come down from 
 the Aztecs, Toltecs, and, perchance, from Egypt and Chaldaea, 
 I shall be glad and amply remunerated. 
 
 Previous to my recent wanderings and experience in the new 
 Republic, I had been led to think and fully believe from what I 
 had read and heard that the hope and salvation of Mexico was 
 in the hands of those who looked back to Spain as their 
 mother-country ; but I found the actual to be far otherwise. 
 The talent and promise are confined almost exclusively to the 
 so-called Indians. The term Indian has been misleading to 
 our northern people, causing them to judge the natives there to 
 be somewhat similar to the Blackfoot, or Pequoid of Oregon, 
 yet far more degraded. From the advent of Cortez into the 
 country they have been pictured by the Spaniards as a most 
 barbarous and degraded race, pests and burdens to the land. 
 They were made slaves by the Spanish lords, and by their 
 endurance and fortitude they have proved themselves of noble 
 extraction. Their ancestors achieved wondrous works in the 
 way of building pyramids on a grander scale than any on the
 
 IV PREFACE. 
 
 banks of the Nile, and temples as marvelous as those whose 
 ruins are now by the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Their cities 
 were on a magnificent scale. The structures of the Spaniards in 
 the land are not comparable to those which they supplanted. 
 
 Mexico is an ancient land. Its history can be definitely 
 traced to A. D. 640, and traditionally much farther back, 
 perhaps, far beyond the Christian era. My aim has been to see 
 present affairs as they exist, and be led to understand past 
 things as they actually were. The physical, mental, moral, and 
 religious have claimed my attention, and in judging of them, I 
 have endeavored to be fair and just. Mexico, ancient and 
 modern, is a marvelous country. 
 
 The illustrations were taken by an accompanying friend, Benj. 
 F. Freeman of Somerville, Mass., who is a professional artist 
 and photographer. I know the pictures are true to life. 
 
 My object has not been to make this an exhaustive work, but 
 simply sketchy, cheery, instructive, and helpful to mind and 
 heart. As it goes forth on its mission, should it prove to be 
 such, abundant will be the reward of the Author. 
 
 MAPLESIDE, MARLBOROUGH, N. H., 
 1897.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter. Page. 
 
 I. ON THE WING TO MEXICO . . . . i 
 
 II. WHENCE CAME THE MEXICANS . . 14 
 
 III. FROM JARAL TO TORREON . . . .21 
 
 IV. FROM TORREON TO CHIHUAHUA 37 
 V. FROM TORREON TO ZACATECAS . . -51 
 
 VI. P'ROM ZACATECAS TO AGUAS CALIENTES . . 62 
 
 VII. FROM AGUAS CALIENTES TO POTOSI ... 75 
 
 VIII. FROM SAN Luis POTOSI TO GUANAJUATO . . 97 
 
 IX. FROM GUANAJUATO TO GUADALAJARA . . 110 
 
 X. TULA, QUERETARO, AND ClTY OF MEXICO . 124 
 
 XI. THE CITY OF MEXICO 141 
 
 XII. AROUND THE CITY OF MEXICO . . . .166 
 
 XIII. FROM CITY OF MEXICO TO PUEBLA . . .188 
 
 XIV. CHOLULA AND TLAXCALA .... 202 
 XV. FROM ESPERANZA TO THE STATE OF MEXICO . 225 
 
 XVI. OBSTACLES OVERCOME ~~I~. - .... 244 
 XVII. MEXICAN PROGRESS . . -254
 
 MEXICO. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ON THE WING TO MEXICO. 
 
 The very word travel signifies not ease but a deal of 
 travail ; so we found it in reaching Mexico. On leaving 
 the Empire City in February the morning was crisp and 
 sparkling, the mercury was dipping far below zero, the 
 runners and wheels in the streets were creaking, " It is 
 cold." As more than a hundred excursionists rushed 
 into the warm and delightful Pullman cars, how they 
 rejoiced that they were bound for southern lands 
 and warmer suns. As the train reached the City 
 of Brotherly Love, the icy shackles had been loos- 
 ened considerably. Why not? No other element in 
 God's economy works such wonders as love. As the 
 iron steed took us through the Monumental City, we 
 thought of the noble braves who spilt the first blood 
 at the opening of the Rebellion to save the Union. 
 Arriving at the Federal City and contrasting it with the 
 capitals of other countries, we realized that it lost noth- 
 ing by the comparison. Truly it is one of the fairest 
 cities. In no other have so many righteous laws been
 
 2 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 enacted, looking to the good of the whole people and the 
 welfare of all nations. 
 
 Speeding through the Shenandoah valley, the fact was 
 emphasized that here are some of the richest soils and 
 most beautiful landscapes, interspersed with valleys, 
 plains, rivers, forests, hills, and mountains. During the 
 Civil War, in spots it was drenched with blood and so 
 rendered forever memorable, as well as being beautiful. 
 At Chattanooga our party was taken by a powerful locomo- 
 tive to the summit of Lookout Mountain, famous for its 
 marvelous prospects and its "battle above the clouds" ; 
 it is wrapped about at its base with one of the most 
 picturesque, thrilling, and far-reaching valleys, including 
 the battlefield of Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, the 
 fascinating Moccasin Bend, and the National Cemetery 
 wherein repose the ashes of 13,000 Union soldiers. 
 
 Passing on through the Big Bend State, the Cotton 
 State, and the Bayou State, we witnessed many an inviting 
 spot, stirring hamlets and brisk cities, till at length we 
 entered the Crescent City, almost wholly enfolded in the 
 embrace of the father of rivers. It is soon discovered 
 that New Orleans is made up of a motley mingling of 
 different nationalities. As you pass into one quarter, 
 you are made to feel that you are in Paris ; in another, in 
 Rome ; in another, in Berlin ; and in another, in Nubia. 
 No wonder Louisiana should be christened the Creole 
 State, since there is such a mingling of diversified blood 
 in its inhabitants. But New Orleans is a growing city 
 and is bound to be fostered by the Great River.
 
 ON THE WING TO MEXICO. 3 
 
 As our cars were ferried across the on-rushing stream, 
 I found its waters as yellow as the Tiber, grander than 
 the Nile, and more burdened with crafts than the 
 Thames. After being landed on the opposite shore, our 
 course was for some time over extended flats and across 
 swampy land. Entering the Lone Star State, we were 
 soon among oaks, pines, and cedars, tastefully festooned 
 with drooping moss. Now and then ranches would be well 
 stocked with flocks of sheep, bunches of cattle, and herds 
 of horses. Occasionally we passed large sugar planta- 
 tions, furnished with imposing buildings and all the 
 essentials for successful sugar-making. After riding a 
 day and a part of a night reaching only the middle of 
 Texas, we began to have some idea of its vastrtess. 
 Our course bent down to the island city of the Gulf of 
 Mexico. It is not strange that it is becoming one of the 
 most popular watering places, being encompassed by a 
 fine beach and is never excessively hot or cold, but is 
 well supplied with elegant and commodious hotels. The 
 people are proud of their city and extend a cordial 
 welcome to the strong and weak, the sick and well, who 
 come there to settle, or to tarry for a while to secure 
 health, for they are certain they will be captivated with 
 their city. 
 
 Leaving Galveston we were taken from the gulf to 
 Houston, worthy to have been the capital of a state 
 which is thirty times the size of Massachusetts, and by its 
 enterprise and industry does honor to the hero whose 
 name it perpetuates. Moving on westward, rich, produc-
 
 4 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 tive fields were to be seen in all directions. The villages 
 and scattered buildings bore marks of a different civiliza- 
 tion. The flat roofs and adobe walls give assurance that 
 not long since this territory belonged to another govern- 
 ment. Traces are left of haciendas, those large estates 
 owned and controlled by Spanish lords. As rosy-fingered 
 morn turned back the curtains of the East, our train 
 halted at San Antonio, a city of unprecedented historical 
 events. Here the Anglo Saxon met the Spaniard and 
 contested the right to the new continent. Here American 
 liberty and civilization in perilous times planted their 
 standard and held the fort, making it possible for the 
 American flag to float from the Sunrise State to the Rio 
 Grande river, and from the Athens of America to the 
 Golden Gate. 
 
 On the morning of March the 6th, 1837, one hundred 
 and eighty-one Texans found rendezvous in the church 
 and convent of the Alamo and were pitted against five 
 thousand Mexicans. The gallant Travis was at the head 
 of the former, and the cunning Santa Anna led the latter 
 It was like the three hundred at Thermopylae against 
 the thousands of Persians. As the walls of the Alamo 
 gave way, shutting the Mexicans within the fortification, it 
 was at once piercing with the sword, stabbing with the 
 dirk, and pummeling with the feet. There was no quail- 
 ing nor crying for mercy on the part of the Texans as they 
 were overpowered and fell one after another, till the last 
 one died, striking for liberty. After all, it was the few 
 that gained the real victory. The Greeks that fell at
 
 ON THE WING TO MKXICO. 5 
 
 Thermopylae still live, but the Persians were long since 
 dead. Because of the triumph for the right, the battle 
 cry of the Texans has been ever since, " Remember the 
 Alamo." This slaughter was as cruel, if not of such 
 magnitude, as the crucifixion of two thousand and the 
 putting to the sword eight thousand Tyrians, because 
 they would not yield Tyre to Alexander, 331 B. C. 
 
 Less than four decades ago San Antonio was little 
 more than a collection of adobe huts. Here the brassy 
 Mexican and the hilarious cowboy held high carnival. 
 Murder, robbery, rape, and diabolism were of nightly 
 occurrence. The howl of the coyote and the whoop of the 
 Comanche rendered darkness hideous. The river that 
 pushed along through beds of mire with a few straggling 
 bridges thrown across it, now runs on crystaline, being 
 spanned with iron bridges. The narrow, deep-rutted roads 
 have given place to broad and commodious streets, lined 
 with brick and stone buildings, and traversed by con- 
 venient tramways and genteel carriages. Now instead 
 of desperadoes and drunken wenches, gentlemen and 
 ladies parade the public highways. Instead of the 
 wigwam and the mud hovel, inviting residences are to be 
 seen on every hand. What a transformation ! Verily, the 
 wilderness has been made to blossom like the rose ! 
 Leaving the Alamo City, the land is rolling; scarcely 
 any sod shows itself. The mesquite, a species of locust 
 tree, is scattered about profusely. The soil looks arid, 
 being parched and burned by the hot suns. Scarcely 
 any rain has fallen here for six months, and irrigation
 
 O MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 has done but little towards spreading water over the 
 surface. Could the land have forty inches, or more, of 
 rain distributed through the year upon it, surely it would 
 smile with luxuriance. Near sunset our train halts at 
 Eagle Pass on the banks of the Rio Grande. The day 
 is bidding us adieu with splendors. The western sky is 
 burnished with silver and gold. 
 
 We are now prepared to admit that Texas is a state of 
 magnificent possibilities and grandest opportunities. Its 
 climate, varied surface, prolific soil, mineral wealth, tim- 
 bered lands, numerous rivers, rapid increase of population, 
 and growing enterprise of the people, promise marvelous 
 things. It is not a state of the past but of the future. 
 
 The experience hitherward, I trust, will prove a fitting 
 foretaste of what is to come. Ours, we know, is a great 
 republic as to area, mental and moral development. 
 We ought to be so far along in civilization as to be fair 
 and just in judgment of other lands and peoples. We 
 should know the significance of the adage, " The fool 
 wanders, the wise man travels." We ought to be pre- 
 pared to see things as they are in this beautiful world, 
 and so go out of it at length fitted to appreciate beauty 
 in any realm. But it is surprising, how many there are, 
 who have eyes and see not. This was the case with the 
 aged French Abbd who was met some years since by 
 Lyman Lockyer in the Rocky Mountains, not far to the 
 northwest of our present position. The scientist was 
 somewhat surprised to find the Abbd so far away from 
 his church and religious work. But upon inquiry the
 
 ON THE WING TO MEXICO. 7 
 
 good priest informed him that some months previous he 
 was so sick that the doctors despaired of his life ; and as 
 he passed into a swoon, or partially unconscious state, he 
 said, " I fancied an angel came to me, asking, ' Well, 
 Abbd, and did you like the beautiful world which you 
 have just left ?' And then it occurred to me that I, who 
 had been preaching all my life about heaven, had seen 
 almost nothing of the world in which I had been living ; 
 therefore, I determined, Providence sparing my life, to 
 see something of this world ; so here I am." 
 
 Since but few can follow the Abbe* according to the 
 letter, all can imitate him in spirit, and so return to the 
 spirit land, early or late, knowing considerable of this 
 world, for God has placed the rocks, the flowers, the 
 birds and stars all about us as teachers of beauty, that it 
 might be impressed upon the mind and dwell in the 
 depths of the soul. 
 
 Before twilight set in our train was crossing the Rio 
 Grande on an iron bridge. Only a few years ago this 
 uncertain river could be crossed with heavy burdens 
 only on a ferry held in place by a rope. So it is we 
 have ages of stone, and ages of hemp, and ages of iron. 
 The world is always agog, but fortunately it is hurrying 
 on from lower to higher orders ; the lichen first, the lily 
 afterwards. 
 
 This river at midwinter is likely to be sluggish, but in 
 midsummer it is often flooded by rains and the melting 
 of snows on the mountains. Now it is but a few rods 
 across it, still at high tide the gunter's chain needs to be
 
 8 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 applied many times to measure its width. It marks the 
 boundary between Texas and Mexico. It rises in the 
 San Juan mountains near the Rio Grande pyramids, 
 running east and south eighteen hundred miles to the 
 gulf. It is so shallow that small steamboats cannot 
 ascend from its mouth more than five hundred miles. 
 
 AT THE STATION. 
 
 As we land upon its south bank, it does seem as 
 though we had really alighted upon a new world. The 
 people look, appear, and talk so strangely. The land 
 and buildings are unlike anything which we have in the 
 states. As our train halts, how the young and old of all 
 sizes, shapes, and complexions, rush towards the cars, 
 stare, and apparently wonder whence the strangers have 
 come. The incoming of a railroad train, or a steamboat,
 
 ON THE WING TO MEXICO. 
 
 does seem to excite more or less surprise the world over, 
 but here it is rendered especially emphatic. The cus- 
 toms attract our attention at once, being so odd and 
 diversified. The sombrero, or hat, is prominent above 
 all else ; its tall, pointed crown, broad brim, and costly 
 trimmings, render it of greatest importance to the 
 Mexican. The wee urchins long to become old enough 
 to don the sombrero. It costs from one to fifty dollars 
 according to the quality. In cold weather the men must 
 have these hats, if they go barefoot, and otherwise are 
 not half clad. Fashion is a tyrant among the poor as 
 well as the rich. 
 
 It is the cold season now and the folk are clad evi- 
 dently in their warmest attire ; the men, who have any, 
 are wrapped about with zarapes and the women with 
 rebosos ; the feet of many are bare, others have on san- 
 dals and others shoes. Their garments are mostly made 
 of cotton. The majority appear to have good physiques. 
 Their faces are shaded all the way from a light brunette 
 to a dark bronze. Their heads are of good size and their 
 temperaments im- 
 ply that they would 
 make fair scholars 
 should they have 
 a chance to study. 
 
 The houses are 
 usually one story 
 high, being made 
 of brick, brush, and WELL-TO-DO HOME.
 
 IO MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 wr* x 
 
 JBk""^ 
 
 straw ; few have any 
 windows, or chance 
 for fire. The swine 
 and dogs are plenti- 
 ful, enjoying perfect 
 
 liberty to wander 
 GOOD-NATURED CREATURES. whithersoever they 
 
 will, to secure what 
 
 they can eat ; and most of them look as though they 
 lived on dirt, and of poor quality at that. 
 
 This town was formerly known as Peidras Negras, but 
 now bears the name, Ciudad Porferio Diaz. It is re- 
 ported to have a population of four thousand, but its 
 buildings are so scattered that the casual observer would 
 not judge it to have half that number. 
 
 POOR MAN'S HOME. 
 
 Looking around, our first feeling is to pity the inhabi- 
 tants that dwell in so desolate a region ; the soil is bare 
 and parched, and every gust of wind fills the air with
 
 ON THE WING TO MEXICO. 
 
 II 
 
 clouds of dust. For a few weeks only during the year 
 does rain fall ; in May and June the land is refreshed 
 with from ten to fifteen inches, and the rest of the year 
 the hot sun is sending down his burning heat ; so, no 
 wonder that seven months after any rain, the surface 
 should be like that of a desert ; still wherever by irriga- 
 tion the water overflows the land, it smiles with vegeta- 
 tion, showing that the seed is in the earth, and is simply 
 waiting for right conditions in order to grow. The only 
 vegetable productions now to be seen, except in some 
 private yards, are mesquite bushes from eight to twelve 
 feet high, and broad clusters of grotesque cactuses of 
 many different varieties ; some of them are pigmies and 
 others giants; some are sprawling and others straight; 
 
 and some are ugly and others handsome. To the east, not 
 
 many miles off, are 
 
 the Cordilleras 
 
 mountains, and to 
 
 the west the Sierra 
 
 Madres, standing 
 
 as nude and black 
 
 sentinels, pro- 
 nouncing waste 
 
 and desolation on 
 
 all beneath them. 
 
 Before proceeding it may be well for us to consult the 
 
 authorities and ascertain the extent of the land which 
 
 we are to traverse for weeks to come. Mexico is 
 
 said to be one fourth the size of the United States, hav- 
 
 MOUNTAIN-SIDE.
 
 12 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 ing an area of seven hundred and sixty-six thousand 
 square miles. It is somewhat in the shape of an in 
 verted cornucopia, measuring from the northwest limit to 
 the southern boundary nearly two thousand miles; the 
 northern border in length is seven hundred and fifty 
 miles, and the southern, one hundred and forty. It is 
 but half the size it was before the Mexican War of 1847. 
 It has forty-two hundred miles of seacoast on the Pacific 
 Ocean and eighteen hundred on the Gulf of Mexico. 
 Its coast is broken into many lagoons, but affords few 
 good harbors. Its territory is largely table-land averag- 
 ing six thousand feet above sea level, yet it is greatly 
 diversified, varying in altitude from two thousand to 
 eight thousand feet, averaging fifteen hundred miles long 
 and five hundred in width. 
 
 It has twenty mountains more than four thousand feet 
 high, and nine above ten thousand. Ixtaccihuatl is 
 seventeen thousand feet above the sea ; Popocatepetl, 
 seventeen thousand eight hundred and twenty feet; and 
 Orizaba, eighteen thousand three hundred feet. 
 
 Its rivers are short and rapid, being subject to flood 
 and drought. Its lakes are few and small but exceed- 
 ingly beautiful, not being surpassed even by the lakes of 
 Ireland, Scotland, or Italy ; the five about the city of 
 Mexico are the most famous. 
 
 Were the country level its climate would be tropical. 
 As it is, it has the temperature of all the zones. It lies in 
 the latitude of Egypt and reminds me in many respects 
 of that country. Of course the surface is more broken,
 
 ON THE WING TO MEXICO. 13 
 
 but the soil and productions are similar. The style of 
 architecture and works of art point to the Orient. The 
 antiquities resemble those gathered up on the banks of 
 the Nile. Evidences all about us imply that it is an an- 
 cient land.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 WHENCE CAME THE MEXICANS. 
 
 It is a fact that the Caucasian race afford the highest 
 expression and development of man, and it is well settled 
 that this race had its origin in the vicinity of the Tigris 
 and Euphrates rivers ; for going north from that centre 
 the human family degenerates till the Esquimo is reached, 
 and advancing south from the same point, there is a 
 gradual descent till we come to the Terra del Fuegoan. 
 In the same zone round the earth there appears to be a 
 similarity in temperament and development, in color and 
 stature. 
 
 Mr. Bancroft claims that thirteen hundred different 
 languages and dialects have been extant on the western 
 continent, and he classified six hundred of them, and 
 found that thirty-seven belonged to Mexico. This cer- 
 tainly does not imply ethnic unity, or that the different 
 peoples here had their origin in the new world, according 
 to one theory which claims that the earliest inhabitants 
 must have been created on this continent, aiming to show 
 that America is the oldest land of any, and that man ex- 
 isted here when the mastodon and pleiosaurus fed the 
 fields and sported by the waters. It asserts, there are 
 evidences that man has been here more than three thous- 
 and years. But Mr. Darwin objects decidedly in his
 
 WHENCE CAME THE MEXICANS. 15 
 
 " Descent of Man " to the autochthonic pedigree of the 
 ancient American families. 
 
 Baron Humboldt after visiting this land, gave it as his 
 opinion that the Red Indians, Aztecs, and Toltecs were 
 of Asiatic origin. From the most careful examination, 
 it would seem, that the Americans originally must have 
 come from the East. 
 
 The Europeans have argued that their country is the 
 mother of them. The Welsh claim the parentage of the 
 ancient Mexicans, because there are traces of their lan- 
 guage among them ; the Scotch have done likewise from 
 the fact, they have discovered some of their Celtic names 
 applied to the streams, hills, and mountains. 
 
 Some authors assert that they must have sprung from 
 the Grecian islands, because the people have worshipped 
 similar gods, and inscriptions in Greek have been found 
 upon ancient stones ; furthermore, many of their cus- 
 toms at present in war and peace, and in marrying and 
 mourning, resemble the Greeks. 
 
 The Romans have concluded from the vastness of 
 the ruins, the remnants of great roads, old coins dug 
 from debris, and from their gladiatorial combats, that the 
 Mexicans must be their descendants. 
 
 The Norsemen have striven to show that our country 
 was first discovered and settled by emigrants from their 
 country. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean, they explored 
 along the coast of Florida and on to Mexico about A. D. 
 100, establishing colonies at different points which at 
 length resulted in peopling the whole country.
 
 1 6 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 The Africans have found reasons to infer that the Mex- 
 icans must have sprung from their country. The Egyp- 
 tians have felt to prove this from the construction of their 
 pyramids, their calculation of time, their astronomical 
 meridian, from the similarity of their hieroglyphics to their 
 own, and from their manner of dress and methods of 
 warfare. 
 
 The Carthaginians have left a tradition and some his- 
 torical statements to the end, that their navigators made 
 wonderful voyages across the seas and even went so far 
 as to our continent, where they wrought in mines and left 
 parties that became permanent settlers, and so from them 
 sprung the early inhabitants of the western continent. 
 
 The Jews have not been slow in pushing forward their 
 plea to convince the world that the Pacific slope was first 
 peopled by the Lost Tribes of Israel. They have discov- 
 ered likenesses between their own people and the Mex- 
 icans. A few years since an ancient stone was dug from 
 a mound, inscribed with the ten commandments ; and this 
 has been counted as strong evidence in support of the 
 theory that this whole land was first occupied by the wan- 
 dering tribes of Israel. 
 
 The Chinese have also come in for their share of the 
 honor in first peopling this continent ; and they base their 
 claim mainly upon the physical resemblance between the 
 inhabitants of the two countries. They believe that the 
 two branches must have sprung from Mongolian stock ; 
 then in addition to this they find linguistic affinities. 
 
 For about the same reasons some have argued that the
 
 WHENCE CAME THE MEXICANS. 17 
 
 Mexicans are of Japanese extraction. It is said that the 
 Indians of our country use some idioms peculiar to the 
 Japanese and that when the latter come to Mexico, it takes 
 them but a short time to get so as to converse freely with 
 the natives. 
 
 Certain scholars have suggested that this may have been 
 the land of Ophir, whither the Phoenicians came for 
 richest treasures of gold and precious things with which 
 to decorate the splendid temple of Jerusalem, being built 
 by Hiram of Tyre for King Solomon. Inasmuch as the 
 Phoenicians were a seafaring people, it would not be im- 
 possible in their long wanderings that they should have 
 come to America, working the mines here, and so in the 
 course of events, some of them might have remained per- 
 manently, thus settling the country. From the fact that 
 the ancient Phoenicians had much to do with the Egyptians, 
 Hebrews, Assyrians, Greeks, and Persians, it can readily 
 be seen why the architecture, traditions, customs, religious 
 beliefs and forms, should resemble those of these different 
 countries. It is felt that the Phoenicians borrowed from 
 them and transferred the best things received to Mexico 
 about one thousand years before Christ, the period in 
 which Homer was rehearsing his Iliad and Odyssey to 
 the Greeks, and Hiram of Tyre was building the temple 
 of Jerusalem. 
 
 Still others have attempted to account for the peopling 
 of this country on the ground that long, long ago, there 
 was a series of islands, or connected lands, extending 
 from the coast of Africa, commencing near the Pillars of
 
 l8 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 Hercules, across the Atlantic to South America, bearing 
 the name of Atlantida. Plato gives an account of it, rep- 
 resenting an Egyptian priest as describing it to the Law- 
 giver Solon. The narrative pictures Atlantis as an im- 
 mense island lying off the west coast of Africa, larger than 
 Lybia and Asia Minor taken together, involving a fabu- 
 lous history. Plato states that the Athenians, or people 
 of Greece, warred with its people nine thousand years 
 before his time. The inhabitants are pictured as brave 
 and intelligent, far advanced in civilization. 
 
 Some early writers speak of the Canary Islands as 
 remnants of the Atlantida. The advocates of this theory 
 imagine that these islands were sunken out of sight by 
 volcanic action and the inhabitants engulfed in the ocean. 
 However, previous to this catastrophe emigration had 
 taken place to South America, Mexico, and what is now 
 the United States, settling these lands with a race of peo- 
 ple whence sprung the Toltecs, Aztecs, and the Indians. 
 
 Our words, Atlas and Atlantic, cannot be derived from 
 any language known to Europe , yet the Toltecs had in 
 their tongue "a", signifying water, or man, and " atl ", 
 meaning the top of the head, or summit. These roots are 
 still found in many words in Mexico. 
 
 From whatever source the Toltecs came they were 
 an advanced people. The ruins of temples, cities, and 
 pyramids prove this true. Probably the half has not yet 
 been opened up. It would be strange, if a land so sub- 
 ject to earthquakes and volcanoes should not have many 
 buried cities like southern Italy and Japan.
 
 WHENCE CAME THE MEXICANS. 19 
 
 These people worshipped the sun, moon, and stars. 
 Humboldt says that the Toltecs, as early as A. D. 648, 
 had a solar year more perfect than that of the Romans, 
 or the Greeks. They grew maize and cotton, and con- 
 structed irrigating ditches, built great roads, were well 
 housed, dressed elegantly, supported public schools, re- 
 corded and commemorated passing events by hieroglyphics 
 and sculptures. 
 
 It is unfortunate that Cortez, when he conquered the 
 country, should have allowed Zumerrage and other priests 
 to have destroyed maliciously the records and written doc- 
 uments which, if extant, might give the full history of this 
 people. If they did dwell in caverns, when they first 
 came into the country, they came out of them at length, 
 building and living in elegant structures. 
 
 In the course of centuries, it appears, they were driven 
 from this land to South America by the Aztecs who came 
 from the north, and who after wars, restored the land to a 
 high state of civilization. Their Montezumas reigned in 
 barbaric splendor. 
 
 When Cortez came from Spain in 1519, he found this 
 people as far advanced in general intelligence and enter- 
 prise as those whom he had left in Cuba and Spain. Their 
 system of aqueducts was equal to those of old Rome. 
 Their pyramids. were on a larger scale than those on the 
 banks of the Nile. The crown-jewels of Montezuma were 
 more costly and beautiful than those of any imperial ruler 
 in Europe, and, it is said, that after Cortez had unscrupu- 
 lously captured them, expecting to bear them to Spain, he
 
 2O MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 lost them during an emergency in the sea, treasures more 
 valuable than the wealth of Indo-Ormuzd. 
 
 With Cortez came a new race who went to work de- 
 stroying the old and building anew. They opened up the 
 mines afresh, erected splendid temples, constructed mag- 
 nificent buildings, and made national roads. At the same 
 time they transferred the national evils of the East to the 
 West. In the name of Christianity they set up the inqui- 
 sition, to destroy all who would not willingly submit to 
 their authority; priestcraft became at once rampant; the 
 bull-ring and cock-pit were established in every city. At 
 the points of the sword and bayonet the people were forced 
 into the Roman church ; public education was suppressed 
 and the vanquished were made serfs to the victors. 
 
 This was an attempt to build up by first building 
 down, which has always proved a failure. Crush the 
 commonality and the aristocracy is sure to fall to the ground. 
 So from the close of the first hundred years of the Spanish 
 rule, Mexico was either standing still, or retrograding, till 
 the uprising of Hidalgo and Juarez, changing the despotic 
 empire into a republic. The forward steps were not taken 
 by those of Spanish descent but by the natives. By far 
 the best blood running in Mexican veins to-day is of gen- 
 uine Aztec and Toltec quality. Blood does tell, and this 
 is certainly true in Mexico. Therefore, the leading people 
 of this country have not come from Spain, or Cuba, but 
 from a more remote people, remarkable for intellectual and 
 physical strength and endurance.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FROM JARAL TO TORREON. 
 
 We are still in the rolling palace. The wakeful lamps 
 have been turned down, for the dawn has brightened far 
 into day, and now as I look out of the window the white 
 sunshine is just kissing the tops of the mountains which 
 are entreating rather for cloud and rain than brilliancy 
 and fervent heat. Here and there folds of dust and sand- 
 hail are being cast about by some flurry of wind. Away 
 in the distance the mountain sides to the summits are 
 being stained by mineral dyes. Oh, the mountains, the 
 world could not get on without them ! They stop the fly- 
 ing chariots of vapor and bid them bear rain to the thirsty 
 ground. In the distance I discover a long windrow of 
 dust rising thirty and forty feet into the air, and while 
 surmising at the occasion of that, as our train stops at a 
 
 station, out comes 
 from the suffocat- 
 ing mass a great 
 lumbering wagon 
 drawn by eight 
 mules, driver and 
 all looking as 
 though they had 
 THE STAGE. been blown from
 
 22 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 the crater of a volcano, pouring out fire and ashes. It 
 must require a deal of coughing and blowing to remove 
 the thick dust deposit from the lungs. The solid wheels 
 of the vehicle were made by cutting off sections from 
 the trunk of an enormous tree. The bronze-skinned, bare- 
 legged driver looks as though he might be the offspring of 
 some Titan. The mules with their sorry faces and jing- 
 ling bells and slattern harnesses of leather and hemp, wore 
 the aspect of the Dark Ages. 
 
 This is Jaral, a town which has sprung up since the In- 
 ternational railroad was constructed. The people, the 
 world over, have a tendency to public centres. I found 
 this the case along the desolate banks of the Tigris river 
 and in the northern wilds of India. As the trains, steam- 
 boats, or caravans arrived, curiosity was excited and there 
 would be a rushing to see what was going on ; in barbar- 
 ous or half-civilized lands, the old folk, as well as the 
 young, are likely to be on the alert for something new ; all 
 hands are sure to turn out to inspect new arrivals. When 
 the adobe huts stand near the railway, the dusky faces 
 fail not to peer round the corners, spying all possible. 
 
 Some appear seri- 
 ous, others giggle 
 and make all man- 
 ner of fun con- 
 cerning the oddi- 
 ties of strangers. 
 One damsel on the 
 HAVING A LOOK. wall-top with her
 
 FROM JARAL TO TORREON. 
 
 bare arms, bright eyes, pearly teeth, and her head wrap- 
 ped about with a reboso, presents a personage as fair as 
 that of Pocahontas, or Cytheria, who might sing Mexican 
 ditties of love and sorrow, and would be charmed with the 
 smell of frankincense and delighted with the strains 
 from the lyre and the zither. 
 
 A little further on a whole family, grandame, mother, 
 and children, wrapped in their winter attire, have placed 
 themselves just outside of the home, to see all that is going 
 on. Without any 
 cultivated love of 
 natural scenery, or 
 love of poetry, how 
 can they endure 
 their confined and 
 tedious home, un- 
 less they get out 
 of the brush-roofed 
 adobe hut and scan 
 the strangers who 
 
 have alighted from the wondrous palace cars and are run- 
 ning about whithersoever they will, to discover new things ? 
 Do you not imagine, as that mother looks upon her win- 
 some boys and darling girl, she often prays that they may 
 fare better than to spend their days about the monotonous 
 adobe tenement ? If she could love the sun that warms 
 them by day and the moon that scarfs the dooryard by 
 night, and was educated to think of God and man aright, 
 she would have higher conceptions of life, and would real- 
 
 THE WHOLE FAMILY.
 
 24 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 ize that mind can be as truly developed in the hovel as in 
 the palace. Stepping into the house we see no chairs, no 
 table, no bed, no stove, a few earthen dishes and a small 
 clay range that is set out of doors when cooking is done. 
 We can but wonder how they do eke out a living. Out- 
 side leaning against the wall are a broom, a brush made 
 out of mesquite limbs, and an apology for an axe. Maize 
 and wheaten bread are their staple food, having at seasons 
 scarcely water enough to slake their thirst ; yet in spite of 
 all these drawbacks, they are fond of their home and their 
 native land. Probably as these children shall reach their 
 maturity and wander among new scenes, they will revert 
 to the spot of their birth with a thrill of patriotic joy. 
 We should like to scatter flower-seeds along their path- 
 way, which would spring up, spreading beauty before their 
 eyes in all the years to come ; or we would be glad to leave 
 with them sweet singing birds to cheer them with melo- 
 dious strains. 
 
 Now the call strikes the ear, "All aboard," and as we 
 enter the bright and elegant car, we recognize the fact, 
 this is a nineteenth century product, while the house just 
 visited belongs to the dark ages. As we ride on, there is 
 no great change in the physical features of the landscape ; 
 our grade is rising, though the altitude is now more than 
 three and a half thousand feet above the gulf. The 
 mountains, however, are drawing in closer to one another; 
 the lava formations are becoming more conspicuous. 
 
 Geology shows that the original rock of this country 
 consisted of granite ranges with intervening valleys, but
 
 FROM JARAL TO TORREON. 
 
 DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. 
 
 these afterward were 
 filled at different 
 periods with igneous 
 rocks, burying large- 
 ly the granite out of 
 sight and percolating 
 plentifully the volca- 
 nic formations with 
 veins of gold, silver, 
 copper, tin, coal, and 
 iron, rendering Mex- 
 ico immensely rich in 
 valuable deposits. It is known that it has three hundred 
 and twenty-four mineral districts, five hundred towns cel- 
 ebrated for their mines, twelve hundred and forty-seven 
 being worked, and of these eight hundred and seven are 
 silver and gold mines. 
 
 She also abounds in precious stones; her opals, onyxes, 
 rubies, topazes, garnets, alabasters, emeralds, and dia- 
 monds are numerous 
 and excellent in qual- 
 ity. Though Mexico is 
 old, its mineral treas- 
 ures have scarcely be- 
 gun to be revealed ; it 
 is in great want of cap- 
 ital to do this work. 
 
 While stopping to 
 supply the engine MESQUITES.
 
 26 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 with water, we have a fine display of mesquites and cac- 
 tuses on the side-hill. The trees are leafless, evidently 
 resting through the winter 'for renewed growth in the 
 spring. So it is, all nature must rest at times ; some 
 things in one way, and others in another. The sprawling, 
 scraggly vegetation on the hillside does not imply that 
 fairies and nymphs have an abiding place there. No kine 
 or goats are browsing on the tough herbage. No doubt, 
 ground squirrels keep popping out of their holes to sight 
 the strangers. Throw the garb of spring over this deso- 
 late picture, and it would be changed to a woodsy paradise 
 in which birds would sing and breezes play winsome 
 strains ; gazelles and antelopes would sport under the 
 protecting leafage. 
 
 The sun in his descending march drops changing shad- 
 ows down the mountain sides, which are as grateful to the 
 eye as the clear air is to the lungs. As we move on the 
 sun dashes burning heat through the windows, making us 
 feel that summer has come, which must soon scatter ro- 
 mance and beauty over the desert land. Really, the sun 
 is a poet and a painter that makes the day a poem and a 
 picture. 
 
 Before it is high noon having been in sight of rocks 
 and rocks and vexed with dust and dust, our train rolls 
 into the city of Torreon, where the Mexican International 
 connects with the Mexican Central Railroad. The land 
 around is cut into fantastic shapes. The Nazas river 
 runs but a short distance away, which is spread out 
 through ditches far and wide over the surface, making
 
 FROM JARAL TO TORREON. 
 
 the peons rejoice, as they run the plow, or harvest the 
 crops. In surveying some of the ditches, they look as 
 though these Indian engineers had been successful in 
 making wacer run uphill. Two crops a year are grown 
 on the watered fields. The soil requires only the nectar 
 enrichment to cause it to yield luxuriantly. 
 
 SALDDN. 
 
 TORREON. 
 
 Well, sights upon sights keep enlisting the eye. This 
 being a railroad centre all kinds of Mexicans have been 
 brought together. The drinking saloon is prominent. 
 Only see how its patrons pour out of the portal. Some
 
 28 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 of them look as if they had drank all the pulque they 
 wanted and others, all they could pay for, and others, as 
 though they had got all the fuddle they could manage, 
 and so they back up to the wall, or lean against the post. 
 Perchance, the topers reason here, as they do elsewhere, 
 that they drink in the winter to keep warm, and in the 
 summer to keep cool. When the appetite for liquor rules, 
 what excuses the drinkers will make, and to what incon- 
 venience they will subject themselves, in order to get 
 their glasses ! Then after sipping, how they will eat 
 onions and chew tobacco to destroy the scent of alcohol ! 
 
 The sombreros are conspicuous and of diversified quali- 
 ties ; then, there is a display of scrapes, varying much in 
 cost and style. The class idea is rife here, as well as in 
 Spain, or India. No women are seen in the motley 
 group ; they are likely to be at home struggling to earn 
 enough to support husbands and children. What a slave 
 woman has been made by rum ! Why will men and 
 women persist in drinking liquor? Pulque, or alcohol, 
 in any form has never built up a cell of nerve, muscle, or 
 tissue of the human body. Ah ! it is drank for the ex- 
 hilaration, the same as the Chinaman takes his whiffs of 
 opium, and the Indian man chews the betel-nut. When 
 the flesh rules, human beings are bound to wallow in 
 mire and glut the passions. The dumb beast is superior 
 to the drunken man. 
 
 It is plain the swine have perfect liberty here, as we 
 see them strolling about. The mother-hog makes quite 
 a display, as she wanders whithersoever she will, accom-
 
 FROM JARAL, TO TORREON. 29 
 
 panied by her twelve pigs, eking out a living as best 
 she can. The dogs and burros are plentiful. I am 
 aware that the donkeys have been terribly berated 
 and badly treated at times, but truly they are among the 
 most patient and enduring animals that walk the earth. 
 It is beyond my comprehension, how they can live on so 
 little and do so much. 
 
 In Aztec times, there were no stores ; goods were sold 
 in market-places. Fairs were held at short intervals 
 and merchants were itinerant traders. As the Spaniards 
 usurped the control, marked changes at once followed ; 
 shops and stores were introduced, similar to those in 
 Spain ; still the natives clung tenaciously to the market- 
 place, and do yet. The shops have all kinds of curious 
 names on their signs, as " The City of Paris," " The 
 Azure Boot," "The Red Goose," and so on. 
 
 THE MARKET.
 
 3O MEXICO I THK WONDER LAND. 
 
 Hardware, crockery, and maguey works are profusely 
 displayed in their stores and markets. The Mexicans 
 have long been adepts in moulding clay into curious 
 shapes. The wares are of all forms and qualities, rang- 
 ing from tiny bits to mammoth size. 
 
 Often in the sale places the goods are displayed upon 
 the ground, or floor. Generally, there are as many 
 women as men in charge of the merchandise. Oranges, 
 limes, bananas, and pineapples are sure to be spread out in 
 profusion, and grain is in shocks, bags, or heaped in 
 
 MEXICAN STORE. 
 
 immense piles. Parrots and mocking-birds are frequently 
 offered for sale, but it is now too cold for them to talk or 
 sing. The men and women have on their warmest suits. 
 As we hurry round to inspect the sights, we run upon 
 a ball ground where a game is being played. The boys 
 are lookers on, while the men are pitching, batting, and 
 running. There is not a bit of Yankee alertness mani-
 
 FROM JARAL TO TORREON. 3! 
 
 fested in the playing, as you see in the 
 picture some of the players are stand- 
 ing with arms folded, or leaning against 
 the chimney. They sport here just as 
 they work, at a slow pace. It has been 
 
 argued that it would be otherwise were wages higher. 
 Really, there is no great propelling power in fifteen or 
 twenty-five cents for working from sunrise to sunset. 
 
 I am inclined to believe that the amount of work done 
 really fixes the price of labor. One should be paid what 
 he earns, and what he earns is what he produces. It is 
 false and wrong for combinations to try to make out that 
 a man of one talent, though he doubles his gift, is de- 
 serving of the same wages as the one of five talents who 
 works so as to double his powers. 
 
 There is something new all the while to those who have 
 their eyes open to see. Lo ! here we are in an adobe yard, 
 where half a dozen peons are engaged in brick-making. 
 They are grinding the clay, moulding it into shape, -and
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 BRICKYARD. 
 
 laying the products out to dry 
 and harden in the sun. In rare 
 instances do they kiln-burn them, for seldom can they 
 afford to do this because of the scarcity of fuel. 
 
 At almost every turn taken, I am reminded of some 
 town visited in going up the Nile to old Thebes. There 
 is far more of the Orient here than of the Occident. Lit- 
 tle improvement has been made on the old. It seems to 
 be a stereotyped feeling with the people to do just as their 
 ancestors did. The sons are bound to take the medicine 
 their fathers used, though it kills them. We are now 
 nearly four thousand feet above the sea and in the vicin- 
 ity of a good farming district. The land of the country, 
 as a rule, is not owned by those cultivating it. As in 
 England, the few own the territory and this is divided 
 into estates called haciendas, and these are sub-divided 
 into farms and worked by peons. In the whole country 
 there are five thousand seven hundred haciendas, and 
 thirteen thousand eight hundred farms ; each of the for- 
 mer is from ten to fifteen miles square, and valued at 
 forty-five thousand dollars, and each of the latter, but a
 
 FROM JARAL TO TORREON. 33 
 
 fraction as large, is valued at not more than five thous- 
 and dollars. This valuation is the basis of taxation; 
 however, the laborer in the end pays the taxes. 
 
 The Mexican landlords reside in cities, 6r in Spain, 
 England, or other foreign countries, the same as do the 
 landholders of Ireland and Cuba, so the money pro- 
 duced by working the land passes out of the country in 
 exports of gold, silver, copper, coffee, indigo, hides, hemp, 
 mahogany, and other products, to replenish the purses of 
 the owners. Native manufactures have been suppressed 
 by the Spaniards, the same as those in Ireland have been 
 by the English, in order that the Mexicans might be forced 
 to buy their cotton, woolen, and iron goods of Spain at any 
 price, she might fix upon them, and this has been exorbi- 
 tant ; and she has held them under this oppression by 
 high tariffs upon all products which naturally would be 
 furnished Mexico by other countries. 
 
 Religion, as in the case of England and Spain, has 
 been made the tyrant to force submission to this injus- 
 tice. This explains why the country should be so lag- 
 gard and discouraged. 
 
 It is singular, to say the least, that England should 
 have effected the downfall of Ireland by free trade, and 
 Spain that of Mexico by protection. Is not this a knotty 
 problem for political economy to solve ? I know that the 
 adage says, " It is a poor rule which will not work both 
 ways ;" this instance appears to be somewhat like the 
 nine-pin ball which knocks down the pins but cannot set 
 them up. 
 4
 
 34 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 In the centre, or in the most favorable part of a 
 hacienda, a hamlet is established in which there are a 
 store, a church, sometimes a school, and always a foun- 
 tain. This is the trading place for all the peons, work- 
 ing the farms, or managing the ranches. This work is 
 done on shares with the understanding that the laborers 
 must do all their trading at the store, or markets belong- 
 ing to their hacienda. Thither all their products are 
 carried to pay rents and purchase their wearing apparel 
 and tools. So it can be seen that the landlord keeps 
 continuously a firm hold of the long end of the lever. 
 Some of the haciendas are made very inviting, still the 
 majority of them look untidy and neglected. Why should 
 we expect it to be otherwise, since the day laborer com- 
 mands but from fifteen to twenty-five cents a day. 
 
 The section of a hacienda yard in the picture exhibits 
 the hen nature here about the same as elsewhere. The 
 fowls evidently live by scratching and eating. The pool, 
 or fountain, reminds me of the one in old Hebron, hav- 
 ing been built in King Solomon's day, large enough to 
 supply the whole estate with water to drink, and at sea- 
 sons affords much water for irrigation; the supply is 
 brought in aqueducts from springs in the mountains. 
 Passing into the house in sight you discover no windows. 
 The door is for ingress and egress and letting in air and 
 light ; so it is always night in the house, when the door 
 is shut. The long, heavy wall you see is only a portion 
 of the wall surrounding the yard which is more than a 
 yard ; it is a fortification as well, against roughs and
 
 FROM JARAL TO TORREON. 35 
 
 robbers that infest the country. It is sufficiently large to 
 enclose a multitude of folk and cattle in case the banditti 
 were prowling round, and when the gates are closed, all 
 within are safe; and from the top of the wall the defend- 
 ers stand a good chance to ward off, or destroy, intruders. 
 These structures remind me of the sheepfolds of Pales- 
 tine and the khans of Mesopotamia. These enclosures 
 
 HACIENDA YARD. 
 
 were rife in Spain when Cortez came to Mexico ; there- 
 fore, it is plain how and whence they came. Cortez was 
 bent upon making this land a New Spain. Then instead 
 of living in scattered cabins on the haciendas, the houses 
 were concentrated into villages for self-defence, the same 
 as they long had been accustomed to do in eastern 
 countries. This may work well in some regards and 
 evil in others, tending to waste time in coming and going
 
 36 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 afield, and it must nurture idleness in affording fellows 
 well matched and disposed to loiter, to waste time and 
 opportunity for work. You know it has often proved 
 true that it takes two lazy men twice as long to do a piece 
 of work, as it does one. 
 
 Experience proves that these landed estates in the 
 long run waste and destroy a country. The Egyptian 
 empire, the Grecian and Roman republics, the Turkish 
 dominion, are illustrations of this truth. 
 
 The cultivators of the soil, to do their best, must own 
 the land they till ; then they are fitted to improve it, and, 
 if need be, to fight successfully in its defence. Chattels 
 never have proved true and valiant soldiers. Let men 
 own the land on which they dwell and they will be heroic 
 in its defence and improve it for the ages to come But 
 the mansions of lords sustained by slavery will in a short 
 time leave but a few acres for the plow and a small ranch 
 for the herd ; the barren mesquite will supplant the or- 
 ange tree ; clumps of osiers, copses of oleanders, and all 
 the spicy nosegays, will diffuse their fragrance through- 
 out the olive orchards which were prolific in fruit-bearing 
 two generations ago. The institutes of Aristotle and the 
 philosophy of Plato declare it even so. Private men of 
 great fortunes expressed in bank stock, massive libraries> 
 and choice picture galleries, must work and share equally 
 according to their means with day laborers that sleep in 
 shanties, to ornament permanently a land with enduring 
 structures, as temples, meeting the approval of God and 
 resulting in the betterment of man.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FROM TORREON TO CHIHUAHUA. 
 
 Before proceeding southward we will make a detour to 
 the north on the Mexican Central Railroad into the 
 largest state of the whole country. The state of Duran- 
 go, which we are to visit, is about the size of Oregon, 
 being mountainous and barren, with a few rivers, still 
 well suited to grazing and raising stock; however, along 
 the rivers and streams there is a productive soil where 
 the white goats, burros, and dun oxen feed and grow 
 sleek. 
 
 Night drops darkness around of a sudden and our fiery 
 steed, though in the harness, is not to start on our trip 
 till the clock strikes the hour of midnight, that the track 
 of the railway may be clear. 
 
 The evenings here are delightful under the cloudless 
 sky with the fanning of cool breezes descending from the 
 mountain crest. The polar star has dropped several de- 
 grees since we gazed at it under New England skies. 
 Venus, Mars, and Jupiter are flaming, as if really on fire. 
 Pleiades and Orion appear to be at their best. Really, 
 who is able to count the stars, and if inhabited as, no 
 doubt, they are, who can tell the number of human souls 
 in the universe ? Somnus puts the weary travellers at 
 length to sleep so quietly and soundly, yet mysteriously,
 
 38 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 that we ride a hundred and fifty miles, unconscious of 
 surroundings and unaware that the earth is whirling on 
 her axis at the rate of sixteen miles every minute. 
 Were it not for gravitation's chain, the centrifugal force 
 would hurl us as quick as thought far off into limitless 
 space ; but God rules and cares for the little sparrow, 
 and how much more for every child fashioned in His 
 image. 
 
 As Phoebus ushers in the new morning, fresh and beau- 
 tiful, he fails not to call the rested wanderers to refresh- 
 ment and the duties of the new day. We soon learn that 
 we are, indeed, in a very large state, having more area 
 than the states of New York and Pennsylvania put to- 
 gether. Mountains are upon the right and the left ; the 
 general appearance of the surface reminds me of parts of 
 Arabia and Egypt. This is also a grazing state, cut up 
 into ranches, which for the most part are unfenced. 
 Now and then are to be seen herds of horses and 
 cattle, and flocks of sheep and goats under the charge of 
 cowboys, who, like the shepherds of the East, tarry with 
 their animals day and night. They 
 delight in their vocation, for it is 
 varied and full of excitement and 
 freedom. The cowboys and their 
 horses are inseparable ; they are 
 mutually fond of each other. These 
 boys dressed in their buckskin 
 trousers, showy boots, and som- 
 RANCHMAN. breros, mounted on speedy horses,
 
 FROM TORREON TO CHIHUAHUA 39 
 
 are right in their glory ; in fact, they feel that they have 
 got about as high as they care to go. When they have 
 charge of wired ranches, their duty consists in riding along 
 the line of fences daily, to see if all is in order; but if 
 their ranches are open fields, then their task is arduous in 
 keeping their stock from going astray, and every night 
 they must herd all under their charge. After this is done 
 they dismount from their horses, letting them loose to feed, 
 and then stationing their dogs at certain points and draw- 
 ing their zerapes about themselves, lie down to sleep un- 
 der the glistening stars. If they dream, they must have 
 dreams of romance. Each commands in this region from 
 fifty cents to a dollar a day for his services. 
 
 In the fall after the rains are over, which continue in 
 showers from May to October, the fattened heifers, steers, 
 sheep, and horses are driven north over the line into the 
 States and sold for beef. 
 
 The cowboys have a lively and exciting time at the 
 season of branding, when each unbranded creature must be 
 lassooed, led up to the post and made fast, while the red- 
 hot iron is pressed into its hide. It is a cruel practice, 
 but, perhaps, necessary in this wild country in order for 
 an owner to know and keep track of his stock. 
 
 Though there are several rivers flowing through the 
 state, the Florida, the Concho, the Pedro, and Chubirca, 
 it is not well watered, and at times the people are ob- 
 liged to carry water, as freight, to supply families and 
 the engines. The climate is very even the year round 
 and renowned for its healthfulness. Crops cannot be
 
 4 
 
 MKXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 grown without irrigation, and where this is possible, the 
 yield of corn, wheat, grapes and potatoes is abundant. 
 No other division of Mexico can vie with it in the qual- 
 ity of its grape, which is said to surpass the best of 
 France or of Italy. 
 
 Irrigation is carried on by hard work and at great 
 expense. The apparatus for raising and distributing the 
 water is cumbersome and difficult to work, as may be 
 
 seen from the view. 
 The machinery 
 does not exhibit 
 much genius, skill, 
 or common sense ; 
 and when the water 
 is lifted by wind- 
 lass, or the well- 
 sweep, the work is 
 tedious as well as 
 laborious. 
 
 The mass of the trucking is not done by any means on 
 the railroad ; the burros still continue to do their full 
 share ; it is surprising what burdens are put upon the 
 little creatures and how they trudge off under them. 
 Even along the lines of railways, you will frequently see 
 caravans of these burros with straw, grain, and the prod- 
 ucts of the mines, going thirty or forty miles to market ; 
 when it chanced to be asked, why the railroad is not 
 patronized, the answer was given, " Why, it can be done 
 much cheaper by the mules." 
 
 RAISING WATER NEAR CHIHUAHUA.
 
 FROM TORREON TO CHIHUAHUA. 
 
 . 
 
 4 I 
 
 BURROS COMPETING WITH RAILROAD. 
 
 The service of beast and men in charge of the freight 
 costs but a trifle compared to railroad rates ; so they real- 
 ize that it is money in their pockets to make the burros 
 the burden bearers. But this does not tell the whole 
 story by any means of burden bearing. Many an Indian 
 man, or woman, is put to harder service than the little 
 horse. It is not uncommon to see them with fifty to 
 a hundred pounds 
 fastened to their 
 backs, bearing the 
 same ten, twenty, 
 or thirty miles in a 
 day. Much of the 
 trucking in the cit- 
 ies is done on the 
 backs of these poor TRUCKMAN.
 
 4 2 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 mortals. The pitiable fellow on the preceding page is 
 bearing a load of pottery from the city into the country 
 ten miles away ; he will reach his destination in three 
 hours ; he will rest his burden but a few times against a 
 wall or stone, in making the distance, and may get twenty- 
 five cents for the job. If he ever sings, his tune must be, 
 " Jordan is a hard road to travel." 
 
 As our train stopped for a few minutes at Santa Rosa- 
 lia, I wandered a short distance into the village where I 
 saw a Mexican attempting to milk a kicking cow, which 
 was little less than all kick. It was a funny sight. The 
 creature and her milker acted as though they mutually 
 hated each other. My chief regret was that our artist 
 was not present to take a snap shot on them ; it surely 
 would have made a ludicrous picture. On returning to 
 
 the train I fell in with two 
 tramps. Their costume con- 
 sisted of rags of many col- 
 ors ; they appeared jolly, as 
 if they did enjoy aiming at 
 nothing in particular and hit- 
 ting the mark every time. It 
 is difficult to understand what 
 such fellows were made for ; 
 they stand, as you view them, 
 surely having their full share 
 of self-esteem, looking as if 
 they might be related to the 
 MEXICAN TRAMPS. man who was boasting of his
 
 FROM TORREON TO CHIHUAHUA. 
 
 43 
 
 great musical knowledge, saying that " he knew all of 
 two tunes, one was Old Hundred and the other was n't." 
 They acted as though their maxim was, " Every one for 
 himself and Satan catch the hindermost." Well, while I 
 inspected them and learned that they had no money and 
 scarcely knew what it was or what it meant, I was com- 
 forted when they vanished from sight, recalling the say- 
 ing that "Where there is no money, there is no devil, and 
 where there is plenty of money, there are many devils." 
 
 Returning to the train we moved onward and were 
 soon landed at Chihuahua, a city whose name signifies 
 the place where things are made. It is two hundred and 
 twenty-five miles from Texas and nine hundred miles 
 from the city of Mexico. 
 
 As we alighted from the cars the air seemed crisp and 
 the Mexicans about the station hug- 
 ged their zarapes around their shoul- 
 ders as if it were stinging cold. Hacks 
 
 CHIHUAHUA STATION.
 
 44 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 were at the depot in waiting for passengers, and riders 
 on mustangs were there to see what might be going on. 
 A six-horse team was fast approaching from the silver 
 mines, out a few miles from the city, which have been the 
 source of its wealth. 
 
 A glance at the city as we were approaching it, showed 
 that it is spread over a large area, though at present it 
 has a population of only eighteen thousand; but it is an 
 old city, having been founded three hundred years ago, 
 and is said to have had formerly three hundred thousand 
 inhabitants. The houses are adobe and mostly one story 
 high. The Chubisco river runs through the city, which 
 has its ups and downs, its floods and droughts. The 
 products grown depend almost entirely upon irrigation. 
 
 Taking the mule-train and riding a mile, we found our- 
 selves in the centre of the town. The breezes were 
 blowing strong and in spite of clear sunlight the cold had 
 driven nearly everybody indoors and out of sight ; still as 
 it was noised about that strangers were in the city, the 
 doorways became thronged with old and young, whose 
 black eyes glistened with surprise, as they beheld the 
 new-comers. We traversed one long, wide street which 
 is shaded by vast cottonwood trees, some of them being 
 five feet in diameter and more than a hundred years old. 
 In the distance we saw the grey ruins of an aqueduct, 
 built long ago to supply the city with water. It reminded 
 me of the aqueduct stretching across the Campagna near 
 Rome. No town can exist without water, and to what 
 vast expense people have been to secure supplies. The
 
 FROM TORREON TO CHIHUAHUA. 
 
 45 
 
 tanks of Aden, Arabia, cost fabulous sums of money, 
 having capacity sufficient to hold water enough to meet 
 the wants of the city for three years. The old city of 
 Palmyra took its water from the Lebanon mountains, a 
 distance of a hundred miles In places, mountains were 
 tunnelled and arches, a hundred feet high, were built over 
 valleys in order to carry the water the long distance on 
 a gradually inclined plane, costing enormous sums of 
 money. Water, surely, is one of the necessities of human 
 life everywhere. 
 
 At nearly every 
 stop made, I was 
 reminded of some 
 eastern city. Many 
 of the patios of the 
 houses were cov- 
 ered with plants 
 and birds, show- 
 ing that there is a 
 fondness of beauty 
 among the people. 
 If the walls of the 
 buildings fronting 
 the streets remind 
 you of breastworks 
 or barred prisons, 
 as you pass into the courts, you are delighted with all 
 sorts of pleasant things, and feel that it is charming for 
 children and families to have such resorts right at home. 
 
 THE CHURCH OF CHIHUAHUA.
 
 4 6 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 The mint, the state and government buildings, the 
 tower, and a few other establishments are attractive 
 structures. The large church with its lofty towers sup- 
 plied with its many bells, has cost more than a million of 
 dollars. It is of Doric and Gothic styles. Its fa9ade is 
 elaborately decorated, having thirteen statues, one of 
 San Francisco, and the others of the apostles. The 
 church was founded by the Jesuits, and the silver mines in 
 
 the region were heavily 
 for its erection. It faces 
 seen from every part of 
 The state palace is a 
 rear is the plazuela with 
 overtopped with a statue 
 the corners of 
 the statues of 
 patriots, mark- 
 on which they 
 J uly, i 8 i i . 
 this square is 
 which great 
 silver bullion 
 converted into 
 work is still going on. 
 
 *& 
 
 
 taxed to raise the money 
 the plaza and can be 
 the city, 
 
 handsome edifice. In its 
 this elegant monument, 
 of Hidalgo, having upon 
 the pedestal 
 his four com- 
 ing the spot 
 were shot in 
 Not far from 
 the mint in 
 quantities of 
 have been 
 coin. This 
 Silver is the hope of this city, and 
 
 HIDALGO'S MONUMENT. 
 
 I might say of the whole of Mexico, for silver appears 
 to be the backbone of the country, having ribs of gold. 
 The tower in which Hidalgo and his friends were impris- 
 oned is joined to the mint. As I scanned the stones 
 made smooth by the tread of the patriots' feet, I was
 
 FROM TORREON TO CHIHUAHUA. 
 
 47 
 
 reminded of the castle of Chillon in Lake Leman where 
 Bonivard was chained to a stone pillar so long as to wear 
 deep grooves into the granite under his feet. The Swiss 
 patriot endured the inflictions of tyranny for the libera- 
 
 THE MINT AND PRISON OF HIDALGO. 
 
 tion of his countrymen. It was in the second story that 
 Hidalgo was confined ; as I looked about the doleful cell, 
 the very stones seemed to tell wondrous tales of the 
 grand hero, how he struck for righteousness and died for 
 his country.
 
 48 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 It is passing strange that blood has been thus far the 
 price of human liberty. It was so on the plain of Mara- 
 thon, at the Pass of Thermopylae, in the rescue of Rome 
 from the Carthaginians, and in the wars of England 
 against the Picts and Scots. So it was with the estab- 
 lishment of Independence in our own country, and at 
 length in the liberation of four millions of slaves. Great 
 souls have been made ready to give themselves to pur- 
 chase spiritual liberty for the enslaved. 
 
 From 1535 to 1821, when Mexico gained her inde- 
 pendence, the country had been governed by sixty-one 
 viceroys having been appointed by the Spanish crown. 
 The majority of these rulers were despots and tyrants. 
 Of course their subjects could but long for a better order 
 of affairs. In the course of events there sprung up, as 
 by magic, a few valiant souls who felt they could endure 
 the oppression no longer. Among the first of these was 
 Hidalgo, having been born in 1753 and being liberally 
 educated, became a Roman Catholic priest, and was made 
 curate of Dolores. He believed in progress and studied 
 the needs of his people ; he would have them advance 
 in thought and deed. Among other improvements he 
 instructed his followers in the best method of raising 
 grapes, producing silk and porcelain ware. As the vice- 
 roy learned of these improvements, he gave orders to 
 have them cease at once and threatened to pass Hidalgo 
 over to the Inquisition. As Hidalgo saw the good re- 
 sults of his honest Christian labors overthrown and 
 his people debased, he felt that he could not endure
 
 FROM TORREON TO CHIHUAHUA. 49 
 
 such contumely, nor any longer submit to the galling 
 yoke of Spain. Accordingly, he rose like a Moses, bid- 
 ding his followers, " Go forward." He prepared a dec- 
 laration of independence, made a flag, and in September, 
 1810, at the head of a van, he started the cry of freedom. 
 His friends and the people round took up the cry, and it 
 spread far and wide, revealing the fact that the fire of 
 freedom had already been kindled throughout the land, 
 and the people were making ready for a general confla- 
 gration. 
 
 At once the masses took to Hidalgo ; he was a Wash- 
 ington to them. Of course the common people were 
 not prepared for war, being unarmed. The Spanish sol- 
 diers were equipped with the best armaments of the 
 times. To make the cause of freedom a success, Hidalgo 
 knew that his men must be supplied with good munitions 
 of war, so he with a few faithful patriots, as he supposed, 
 left for Texas and other states, to secure martial equip- 
 ments, but it turned out that there was a Judas among 
 their number, who betrayed them before they crossed the 
 state line, and thus Hidalgo and his true allies were taken 
 prisoners and soon after put to death as already related. 
 But this by no means crushed the cause which they had 
 espoused. Their deaths, like those of Savonarola and 
 Huss, only served to stimulate and render daring loyal 
 hearts, to carry forward the cause of freedom. 
 
 The heroic deeds of Hidalgo are coming into the full 
 blaze of day, to shame the littleness and meanness of 
 those who put him to death. While the memories of 
 5
 
 5O MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 the latter have passed into oblivion, his life, it is plain, 
 will span the abyss of ages and throw radiance into all 
 futurity. 
 
 Spirit has always in the end triumphed over the flesh. 
 I know that physical strength is often marvelous ; so 1 
 was made to feel, as I stood in the cell of the tower 
 where Hidalgo was incarcerated, as I saw a spider weav- 
 ing his intricate and beautiful web. How seldom do we 
 think of such a work, really estimating it aright. It has 
 been proved that a rod of steel, one inch in diameter, will 
 sustain a weight of fifty-eight tons, while a cord of spi- 
 ders' silk of the same diameter will support seventy-four 
 tons. Now just pass on from the coarse towards the 
 refined, from the mundane to the ethereal, and strength 
 and endurance increase. This demonstrates why the 
 great hero of Chihuahua is to live and be loved, while his 
 adversaries are lost in forgetfulness.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FROM TORREON TO ZACATECAS. 
 
 In due season at our former post, facing south and 
 moving onward, we find ourselves somewhat locked in by 
 mountains assuming a great variety of shapes and heights ; 
 the cone, the parallelogram, rhombus, trapezoid, and many 
 other figures are represented. The shadows are playing 
 strange freaks and presenting phenomenal exhibitions; 
 and with all the rest at length the mirage puts in its ap- 
 pearance, or perhaps, more properly speaking, it is the 
 curious "fata morgana," a city fashioned in the sky by the 
 sun and atmosphere. Gazing from the car windows into 
 space at just such an angle above the horizon, we see 
 magnificent cathedrals and rows of lofty towers, a wonder- 
 ful spectacle, indeed ! At times the figures take the shape 
 of arcades, vaults, and splendid structures, whose archi- 
 tects are on high. These are but the repetition of the 
 German Brocken, or the famous Ulloa, or the mirage of 
 Sahara. No wonder that before the reign of science, 
 they were regarded the production of fairies, or wondrous 
 castle-builders. 
 
 The rays of the sun fall quite direct at this season 
 under Mexican skies, if it is mid-winter in Chicago and 
 Boston. Therefore, it is summery here, yet the mesquites 
 and napols stand naked as they would in the land of
 
 52 MEXICO: THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 biting frosts ; no doubt, they are taking rest and recuper- 
 ating for vigorous growth, as the rains of May and 
 June shall fall. We are passing through a prairie-like coun- 
 try, though generally destitute of vegetation ; sand, rocks, 
 and mountains abound beyond description. Our engine 
 puffs and wheezes as he climbs the mountain flanks and 
 the train twists like a huge serpent along the hill-sides. 
 
 At length we are eight thousand feet above the sea, 
 seven hundred and eighty-five miles south of El Paso and 
 four hundred and forty miles north of the City of Mexico. 
 The outlook now has scarcely any limit ; the eye scans one 
 vast expanse of lowlands and elevations. The marvel is, 
 how any such variety of surface could ever have been 
 called into existence ! Creation is verily a miracle, regard 
 it as we may. 
 
 All of a sudden tall chimneys were seen in a valley, and 
 soon houses, lining the hill-sides, overtopped here and 
 there with church-spires ; emerging from apparent deso- 
 lation, it was a surprise to be ushered upon such a 
 city, one of the largest and one of the oldest in Mexico, 
 having been founded in 1548, and made a city by the 
 royal order of King Phillip I. of Spain. Its buildings are 
 one, two, and three stories high, and made of adobe brick 
 and reddish brown sandstone. As the train glided partly 
 round the city, we had a distinct view of its exterior 
 and of its suburb, Gaudalupe, six miles down the gulch 
 into the vale. 
 
 Scarcely anything reminded me of home but the rail- 
 way. The surface of the land and the works of man
 
 FROM TORREON TO ZACATECAS. 
 
 53 
 
 wore the aspect of Syria and Mesopotamia. It struck us 
 with amazement to find how the orient had fixed its seal 
 upon this land. Near and directly above the city rises a 
 mountain ridge resembling a buffalo, and hence called 
 Bufa, being crowned with the chapel of Los Remedios, a 
 famous shrine for pilgrims. Countless wayfarers have 
 crawled on their hands and knees from the bottom to the 
 top of the hill to do penance. 
 
 ZACATECAS. 
 
 It was upon this height in 1871 that a most bloody 
 battle was fought between the revolutionary force under 
 General Triverio and Juarez' army, which resulted in 
 a horrible defeat to the former. It is said that streams 
 of blood actually ran down the abrupt declivities, and 
 that dead bodies were constantly tumbling into the depths
 
 54 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 below. How true it is that civil wars seldom leave but 
 tombs behind them. 
 
 The station is above and a mile out from the city. After 
 our train made a stop, we were soon aboard the tramway, 
 ready to be borne into the midst of the sights and activities 
 of the city ; instead of the burros being in front of the cars, 
 
 they were loose be- 
 hind. As the brakes 
 were loosened, grav- 
 itation set the wheels 
 in motion and down 
 we went, the little 
 horses running and 
 kicking up close be- 
 hind as though it 
 were fun to chase 
 the cars. Soon we were in the heart of the city and the 
 first object that caught the attention, was the massive 
 water-tank in the middle of the plaza, where water is be- 
 ing drawn from faucets and distributed by women water- 
 carriers through the city in jars, goat- and pig-skins. The 
 water is brought in an aqueduct a long distance from the 
 mountains and distributed with the greatest caution, be- 
 cause there is often a scarcity, as was the case a few 
 years ago, when two thousand out of a population of sev- 
 enty-five thousand died in a short time with typhus fever. 
 We soon turned our steps to the market-place which is 
 situated in terraces on the hill-side, where we saw the 
 curious things which the surrounding country produces. 
 
 STREET SCENE.
 
 FROM TORREON TO ZACATECAS. 
 
 55 
 
 The city has several public squares and parks in which 
 the peons, as well as the aristocrats, spend much time. 
 The grand cathedral and several other churches, are of 
 magnificent proportions. The interior of the cathedral 
 is finished with white calcimite and gold. In 1857 when 
 so many religious structures and adornments were confis- 
 
 WATER CARRIERS. 
 
 cated by the state, there was a solid silver font in this 
 church which was taken away, valued at ten thousand 
 dollars. 
 
 The agony of Christ is made conspicuous in the 
 churches. Suppliants are constantly approaching and 
 leaving the different altars from sunrise to sunset. The 
 masses here are poverty-stricken, as is usually the case
 
 56 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 where so many churches exist. The people are obliged 
 to give nearly all their earnings to support their religion ; 
 however, the priests look as though they fared well, sacri- 
 ficing no comforts to their profession. 
 
 The mint here is excelled in coining money by no other 
 of the country save the one in the City of Mexico, but busi- 
 ness in it was dull ; the silver men said that the " United 
 States' demonetizing silver had knocked the bottom out 
 of their mines" ; still they were being worked, more or 
 less. 
 
 The hill-sides around the city are dotted thick with 
 shanties and stone buildings marking entrances to mines ; 
 some go in on a level and others down by shafts ; some 
 mines have penetrated a long distance, so that it is a hard 
 task to go in and come out, especially, for the men who 
 bring out the ore. The wages of the miner is from thirty 
 to forty cents a day, working twelve and fifteen hours. 
 
 Hibernians are here, as well as everywhere else in the 
 wide world. It is reported that two were mining here, and 
 as they were one day entering a vertical shaft, the fore- 
 most one made a misstep, and fell crash to the bottom, 
 and the one at the top cried out, "Arrah, Pat, are ye killed 
 entirely? If ye are dead spake." Pat reassured him 
 from the depths by saying, " No, Tim, I 'm not dead, but 
 I 'm spachless." 
 
 Again we repaired to the horse-cars, and were no sooner 
 seated than the brakes were off and gravitation was pull- 
 ing us at rapid speed towards Guadalupe and the donkey 
 mules again were galloping after us, freed from harnesses,
 
 FROM TORREON TO ZACATECAS. 57 
 
 for these had been removed and put upon the cars. Our 
 course was down a stream, then almost dry, whose banks 
 occasionally opened into plazuelas, or beauty spots, set 
 with flowers and hung with ferns. As we came to the 
 little city of six thousand inhabitants, we found the mangy 
 dogs as plentiful as the people ; some of them would yelp 
 out and then slink away, as though they had been kicked ; 
 and cats were not wanting. How singular it is that the 
 poorer a people are, the more pets they are certain to have. 
 The cats purred and the dogs barked in English just as 
 they do at the Five Points of New York, or in the slums of 
 Boston. Beggars put in their appearance at once, as the 
 strangers approached, looking loathsome and degraded. 
 They seemed determined to filch the pockets of the new- 
 comers. It is said that these beggars work under a reg- 
 ular organization, controlled by the priests, to whom they 
 daily report and give up the lion's share of what they have 
 received. 
 
 We visited the place mainly to see the old church of 
 red sandstone, having two graceful towers, elaborately 
 carved into curious shapes; on our way to it we took in 
 the market-place, which reminded me of a country fair* 
 with booths for the sale of flowers, stalls where bright 
 colored zerapes and rebosos were waiting to be bought, 
 and sections marked off on the pavement where fruits, 
 vegetables, and pottery were being sold. Caution was 
 required in our movements in order not to trespass upon 
 the many things scattered about, for they were precious 
 to the owners because many of them had been produced
 
 OLD CHURCH AT GUADALUPE.
 
 FROM TORREON TO ZACATECAS. 59 
 
 with much labor and brought long distances to market. 
 The venders consisted of men and women, old and 
 young. The eyes of the light-hearted senoritas sparkled 
 out fun as we were passing them, and the mature and old 
 presented the marks of care and disappointment. 
 
 Leaving the market, we went through a charming plaza, 
 whose roses were in full bloom, greeting us with the 
 sweetest perfumes as we were approaching the church. 
 As we looked, and looked and meditated, we realized 
 that a cultured mind only could have conceived such a 
 structure, and skilled hands only could have fashioned it. 
 On entering it we found numerous suppliants bowing 
 before altars dedicated to Jehovah, Christ, the Virgin, 
 and throngs of saints. 
 
 A side chapel has recently been added to it, which is 
 the most beautiful of anything of the kind in the whole 
 country. Its altar is fenced in by silver and onyx stones, 
 and its walls are hung with costly pictures. Six hundred 
 thousand dollars have already been put into it, and all 
 the gift of one woman. Its doors are never opened except 
 to the higher classes. It seems intended for those who 
 expect to occupy the highest seats in the celestial king- 
 dom. 
 
 In connection, also, with this church is an orphanage, 
 in which one thousand children are being supported and 
 so educated as to become useful citizens. In one depart- 
 ment are two hundred and seventy boys learning to 
 become masons, boot-makers, tailors, painters, printers, 
 farmers, carpenters, and telegraphers. Another branch
 
 60 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 of it is for the deaf and dumb. Such an institution 
 exhibits applied Christianity ; it is the Gospel saving 
 souls. 
 
 As we looked about the city we decided that health 
 and neatness had not advanced here so far as to get on 
 swaddling-clothes. 
 
 But the day was fast waning, and so we hastened to 
 our horse-cars. At once the drivers began to harness 
 the burros ; diversified kinds of trappings were put upon 
 them, made of iron, leather, and ropes. Usually six ani- 
 mals are attached to a car on returning to Zacatecas and 
 the station, the grade much of the way being very heavy; 
 but now the cars were so many because of the numerous 
 passengers, and as the animals could not be multiplied 
 there were but five to a car. The knowing creatures 
 resented this treatment, giving them less power and more 
 freight. The five animals to one car would not weigh 
 more than two thousand pounds, while their load weighed 
 from five to eight tons. 
 
 As we were to start, the rain began to fall and the 
 drivers began to cluck and say go, and one animal would 
 pull and then another, and it was some time before we 
 were under way. As the grade increased the animals 
 began to balk, crowd, and twitch. As the lash was 
 applied they went up and down so fast as to present a 
 kaleidoscope of heads and heels. We did really pity the 
 spunky creatures, still we endured the siege with a 
 degree of composure, for we knew that our train would 
 not depart till we returned. Had it not been for the
 
 FROM TORREON TO ZACATECAS. 6l 
 
 cold rain many of us would have walked to relieve the 
 animals. As it was, we made haste slowly, and after a 
 deal of drubbing and pulling we were seven miles away 
 from Guadalupe, and domiciled in our comfortable and 
 elegant cars, and I trust somewhat wiser and better for 
 the outing. Our Pullman comforters seemed dearer to 
 us than ever, and as we looked them over afresh, we were 
 ready to declare that more genius and skill were required 
 to construct them than to build the hanging gardens of 
 Babylon, or the pyramids on the banks of the Nile.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FROM ZACATECAS TO AGUAS CALIENTES. 
 
 The sun was fast disappearing behind the mountains 
 as our train moved off. His face grew red as he neared 
 the horizon, and his piercing rays were greatly modified 
 from his noon-day glare. He did not appear to be much 
 larger than the moon, still it is asserted by astronomy 
 that were the sun hollow, a million two hundred thousand 
 planets the size of the earth could be placed within it. 
 After sunset night dropped darkness fast about us, and 
 star after star kept burning out from horizon to zenith 
 till the whole heavens were ablaze. It was a splendid 
 night, and I sought the platform of the rear car that I 
 might pass an hour in surveying and admiring the mar- 
 vellous heavens. The half moon was freely reflecting her 
 borrowed light, offering testimony thereby that every un- 
 luminous planet, or star, has one or more moons revolv- 
 ing about it to make up in part for the absence of the 
 sun. So certain planets relying upon borrowed light, are 
 united into groups and are called planet-systems ; accord- 
 ingly, we have our system which revolves about the sun. 
 There is a countless number of these groups, all serving 
 to make up the universe-system. Venus, Mercury, and 
 Jupiter were visible, and I could scarcely conceive that 
 it takes seven months for the first, three months for the
 
 FROM ZACATECAS TO AGUAS CALIENTES. 63 
 
 second, and twelve years for the third to revolve about 
 the sun. The year of Uranus, the most distant planet of 
 our system, is eighty-four times as long as ours, but this 
 is a trifling period compared to the time required by the 
 comets to make their yearly circuit, taking from four to 
 six thousand years of three hundred and sixty five days. 
 Then as I looked at the planets they appeared to be sta- 
 tionary, yet Mercury was rushing on at the rate of one 
 hundred and nine thousand miles an hour, and Jupiter 
 much faster. It is marvellous how it is possible to keep 
 up such order as exists throughout infinite space amidst 
 such diversity of size, motion, and velocity. If only one 
 of the vast number should break loose from its orbit, 
 what chaos and destruction would at once follow ! 
 
 The beautiful Pleiades was modestly letting fall her 
 light apparently from seven stars, yet it is said that one 
 of them, Alcyone, blazes with twelve hundred times the 
 light of our sun. What a sun ! and yet there are still 
 greater ones. Were Pleiades blotted out at ai,y moment 
 it would not be known upon the earth for seven hundred 
 years, for it takes that time for light to travel from it to 
 the earth. Some even think that Alcyone is the centre of 
 the solar-system, requiring the sun and planets twenty 
 million years to revolve about it. 
 
 The Polar-star had apparently fallen several degrees 
 towards the horizon. Orion was nearly overhead, and 
 new stars kept rising to view from the south. It really 
 seems strange that the heavens are not more observed 
 and studied. It is a question, if as much attention is
 
 64 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 being given to them, as there was anciently on the plains 
 of Shinar and the sands of Egypt. Of course we have 
 more knowledge of the stars, for the old astronomers 
 bequeathed us their astronomical wisdom, ancl much 
 more has been added thereto. We have no evidence, 
 they knew that there are eighteen million of suns belong- 
 ing to our firmament, and that more than four thousand 
 such firmaments are made visible through the telescope, 
 and as its powers have been multiplied, so have new dis- 
 coveries been made. 
 
 As I watched the stars, it seemed that a cultivated 
 mind could not contemplate, having carefully observed 
 the azure canopy, without recognizing Him who is 
 greater than all. Indeed, that old Persian worship of 
 the sun and stars was not a gross idolatry when we con- 
 sider the age in which it took place. It was the earnest 
 solicitation of the soul to discover the Creator through 
 the vista of nature, and so did the next best thing in 
 adoring the heavenly bodies. But since God has been 
 revealed to us by divine announcement, we do not study 
 the heavens to ascertain the reality of His existence, but 
 rather to ascertain the extent of His dominion, the per- 
 fection of His manifestations, and how all things are 
 protected and preserved by his guardianship. 
 
 "The heavens declare the glory of God !" We ought, 
 then, to listen to their proclamation. "The firmament 
 showeth His handiwork!" Therefore, we should admire 
 its perfection and beauty. " Day unto day uttereth 
 speech ! " For this reason we should give audience to
 
 FROM ZACATECAS TO AGUAS CALIENTES. 
 
 His instructions. " Night unto night showeth knowl. 
 edge ! " Wherefore, we should not fail to peruse His 
 vaulted records above us, and we should learn how the 
 greatest possible diversity is circumscribed by Infinite 
 Unity. Thus wrapped about by His greatness, filled 
 with His goodness, guided by His wisdom, and trans- 
 figured by His beauty, what soul can desist from loving 
 and adoring Him who opens the gates of the morning 
 and drops the curtains of night, and glows the whole uni- 
 verse with the splendors of suns and burning worlds ! 
 
 Oh, how sweet at the close of day to bow and worship, 
 withdrawing from the dust-heaps of worldly care, discon- 
 tent, and lost hopes, gathering up diamond thoughts of 
 the All-wise and All-good, fixing them lastingly in the 
 mind! 
 
 Aguas Calientes was reached as the watch marked 
 the hour of ten, 
 and so under the 
 mellow starlight 
 sweet sleep soon 
 enfolded the weary 
 travellers and all 
 was still, till the 
 glints of the morn- 
 ing rushed over the 
 mountain tops, in- 
 troducing the fair- 
 est day, bidding us go forth to witness the common and 
 peculiar things of the city whose name signifies " hot 
 5 
 
 STATION OF AGUAS CALIENTES.
 
 66 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 water,'' indicating how and why this city should be so 
 famous. 
 
 As we first looked out of the window, flocks of black- 
 birds were feeding on the campus close at hand upon 
 seeds which had blown from the freight cars. They ap- 
 peared to be very tame, and sent out the same notes they 
 are wont to, when they come to New England in the spring. 
 They reminded me of home in the early May days. 
 
 Even before our toilet was done native men and women, 
 boys and girls, were thick upon both sides of our train, 
 holding up doilies, tablespreads, mantillas, and other 
 lace-work ; and by the time we were through breakfast, 
 throngs of natives were pressing around, importuning the 
 new comers to invest generously in their silk and linen 
 fabrics. They struck high rates at first but the competi- 
 tion was so brisk and the venders so anxious, they soon 
 lowered their prices a third and a half as the inspection 
 went on. These articles were exceedingly fascinating and 
 it was not long before large sums of money were invested 
 in them. The mystery is how the Mexicans can make 
 and sell them so cheap. 
 
 In the distance we could see spires and towers, imply- 
 ing that we were in the suburbs of a sizable city. A short 
 distance to the right was a highway being travelled by 
 strings of burros, loaded with grain and green alfalfa; 
 peons were bearing crates on their heads, filled with live 
 fowls, and pigeons ; and there were women with babes 
 tied to their backs, bearing heavy burdens of vegetables 
 and fruit to market. Children were scattered among them,
 
 FROM ZACATECAS TO AGUAS CALIENTES. 
 
 6 7 
 
 looking as though they had just sprung out of bed and 
 started off, forgetting to don any extra clothing; and 
 some of them had not on so much as a fig leaf to hide 
 their nudity. 
 
 This city is particularly noted for its hot springs and its 
 extensive and extra bathing advantages. As I sauntered 
 forth to see the sights, I went first to the canal, not of 
 large dimensions, but carrying quite a stream of water, 
 sufficient in quantity to drive a large overshot wheel. I 
 was at once re- 
 minded of the 
 thermal springs of 
 Bath, England ; of 
 Aix le Chapelle, 
 France ; of sever- 
 al places among 
 the Alps; of dif- 
 ferent parts of 
 Asia Minor ; and 
 especially of the 
 
 shores of the Galilean Sea. Here the temperature of the 
 water was a few degrees above blood heat. As I walked 
 its embankments towards its source, or springs, a mile 
 distant, by ten o'clock there were as many as five hun- 
 dred bathers of both sexes and of all ages washing them- 
 selves under the blazing sun. They did not appear 
 abashed in the least as strangers passed along, whether 
 in the water, or out of it, if they had not a rag of cloth- 
 ing on them. Some of them had just washed their wear- 
 
 VENDER AND CANAL.
 
 68 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 ing apparel and, as they had no change, having spread 
 out their garments on the ground, were waiting for them 
 to dry. 
 
 Bathing here is evidently considered a luxury, being 
 as free to the poor as to the rich. Looking upon these 
 motley groups, I was reminded of the bathing in the 
 Ganges at old Benares, where I saw one morning more 
 than six thousand devoted Brahmins rush down the steep 
 embankment and plunge into the water as the fulfilment 
 of a religious rite. All through the centuries, parts of the 
 world have made great account of bathing. Thus it was 
 with the ancient Romans, Pompeians, and Athenians. The 
 Turks still pay especial deference to the practice. 
 
 At the springs the water boils up at a hundred degrees 
 of heat and runs off in a large and unfailing brook. The 
 Jordan river takes its rise in a similar manner at the site 
 of old Dan and Caesarea Philippi, though its waters are not 
 hot. These thermal springs, as well as the volcanoes, prove 
 that there is the intensest heat within the crust of the earth. 
 
 In close proximity 
 to the city are 
 many stone lodges 
 for bathing and 
 swimming, where 
 for a peseta, or fif- 
 teen cents, one can 
 enjoy himself as 
 long as he pleases. 
 HATHING HOUSE. The people resid- 
 
 v
 
 FROM ZACATKCAS TO AGUAS CALIENTES. 69 
 
 ing here have no excuse for not being clean, for the water 
 is free to all. 
 
 Entering the city we find the streets narrow and irreg- 
 ular ; the houses are made of adobe brick and stone ; it 
 wears the aspect of 
 an oriental city. The 
 people are small in 
 stature, having dark 
 eyes and hair, look- 
 ing as if they might 
 have been born in A RlDE ]NTO THE ClTY 
 
 Spain or on the 
 
 shores of the Persian Gulf. In studying them, I discover 
 that they may be divided into four castes : the whites, that 
 have been born in Spain and other European countries ; 
 Creoles, being of Spanish descent but born in Mexico ; 
 Indians, or natives of the country, descending from the 
 Aztecs and Toltecs ; and mixed races, made up of mes- 
 tizos, mulattoes, and zambos. The Indians by far out- 
 number all the others. The poorer classes wear sad 
 countenances, being the descendants of Montezuma. 
 Really they have been forced to wear galling chains ever 
 since Cortez set up his rule here. Their serfdom has been 
 a thousand fold worse than was that of American slavery. 
 They have been barely able to eke out a miserable living 
 without providing any stores for the future. The angel 
 of hope has scarcely brooded them at all, but the mes- 
 senger of fear has smitten them continually. 
 
 Some of the public buildings are pleasing to the eye ;
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 this is true of the governor's house, the principal hotel, 
 and several of the churches. The buildings are compact ; 
 so the city of forty thousand inhabitants does not cover 
 a large area. 
 
 The windows, particularly on the first floor, are pro- 
 tected by railings of Biscay iron, the same as is the cus- 
 tom in Spain. Balconies are added to the windows above 
 the first story, fronting the streets, which serve as places 
 of lookout and are likely to be occupied most of the time 
 during the day by women and girls. Every house of any 
 pretension is provided with a patio, or courtyard, in which 
 flowers and fruit trees flourish and fountains play. The 
 better class of edifices are constructed of porous amygda- 
 loid, trachyte, or porphyry. The roofing is generally com- 
 posed of red tiling. 
 
 The market places are always worth visiting, being full 
 of sights and curiosities. They offer a fine opportunity 
 to study human nature. The chief one here occupies two 
 
 acres of ground. 
 On entering it, I 
 found the huck- 
 sters sitting in 
 the dirt, encom- 
 passed by their 
 wines, vegetables, 
 nuts, sugar-cane, 
 baskets, hemp and 
 cotton webs, and 
 A I'ARROT FOR SALE. trinkets of every
 
 FROM ZACATECAS TO AGUAS CALIENTES. 71 
 
 description ; some of the venders were sheltered from the 
 fierce sunlight by a canopy of cloth stretched over them 
 and supported by poles. In the evening small bonfires 
 are started in certain quarters to afford them light to 
 carry on their traffic. They appeared to be honest in 
 their deal and one seller is careful not to interfere with 
 the rights of another. As I wandered hither and thither, 
 the natives were very polite and kindly disposed. Of 
 course they were anxious to sell, but I found them fair as 
 I purchased a few curios. 
 
 Advancing to the Plaza des Arms I fell in with military 
 privates and officers, who were Spaniards and of Spanish 
 blood for the most part. It is not long since, that every 
 soldier here must be a Spaniard. Under the new admin- 
 istration public affairs are changing for the better and 
 more deference is being paid to real worth than mere race. 
 If the heart be white in purity, what if the face be black ? 
 By this court stands the old parish church, a grand struc- 
 ture whose design and style must have come from over 
 the sea. I found a few pictures on its walls of real merit, 
 having been painted by the old masters. 
 
 As the sonorous bells sent out their frequent calls for 
 mass, it became evident that this is no other than a city 
 of churches and religious services. A short walk took me 
 to another plaza in which the blue violets were thick and 
 in full bloom. Palms and other tropical trees adorned 
 the grounds. How munificent is Nature in dropping so 
 many charms upon the earth ! Splendid beauties are 
 everywhere. Ah ! why do we not see them and admire
 
 72 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 them ? Upon one side of this square stands San Marcos 
 Church, massive and costly. In one of its side chapels 
 I visited a school of sixty boys from seven to ten years 
 old, who were, as I entered the room, studying aloud with 
 all the force they could muster. Do you ask what the 
 teacher in charge was doing ? Well, he was apparently at 
 his ease, listening attentively to the tremendous uproar. 
 Some of the copper faces looked red from the strenuous 
 effort of producing a big noise. After the tumult sub- 
 sided, perhaps from exhaustion, 1 enjoyed a pleasant 
 interview with the teacher who seemed to be moved by 
 the highest motives and emphasized the fact that he en- 
 joyed exceedingly teaching the bright boys. This school 
 was supported by the government, which is at the present 
 time doing its utmost to have the children throughout the 
 country schooled in the elements of learning. But it is 
 greatly embarrassed for the want of means; still more 
 progress has been made in this direction within the last 
 ten years than in all the three hundred and fifty preceding 
 years. 
 
 From this school I crossed the street and entered the 
 so-called university whose curriculum corresponds to that 
 of our high schools. Here I met sixty young men who 
 had seen less than twenty summers, having pleasant faces, 
 large heads, and good physiques. In their work they did 
 express ability and much promise. The professors were 
 Roman priests who had been educated in our country and 
 wore the appearance of faring sumptuously every day. 
 They were drilling the students in the metric system,
 
 FROM ZACATECAS TO AGUAS CALIENTES. 73 
 
 which is the legal coinage of the country. Instead of 
 giving the price of an article in cents, they give it in 
 reals, or parts of a real which in value is twelve and one 
 half cents ; the smallest copper coin is the tlaco which is 
 equal to one and a half cents of our money. There are 
 silver coins in the country, six and a fourth cents in value, 
 twelve and a half cents, twenty-five cents, fifty, and one 
 hundred cents ; also there are gold coins, equal to one, 
 two, four, eight, and sixteen dollars. 
 
 From the fact that this is a mining land the people feel 
 that their sons must understand coinage. The students in 
 this university appeared very respectful. On opening an 
 English history which is used in this school and scanning 
 the account of the Mexican War, I discovered that Gen- 
 erals Scott and Taylor are not spoken of in commendable 
 terms ; they are represented as inferior and mean men. 
 How war devastates a land as well as minds ! 
 
 The gardens of this city are numerous and most of them 
 are attractive. In wandering about I frequently came 
 upon little stands where pottery was being produced ; 
 most of it was of a coarse variety ; however, the gray 
 stone-ware, covered with stone-glaze and ornamented 
 with red flowers and leaves, seldom fails of being ad- 
 mired. 
 
 As I came upon a pile of wheat in the shape of a pyr- 
 amid, covering over two acres at the base, and containing 
 thousands of bushels, I could but inquire, whence did all 
 this grain come ? I was informed that it was raised in 
 the state of Calientes, whose soil usually is rich and
 
 74 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 A MOUND OF WHEAT. 
 
 productive, and, as elsewhere in the country, is divided 
 into haciendas and so owned by a few lords. From the 
 sowing of one kernel of wheat in this region they gather 
 forty. At this rate the wheat crop of the world would be 
 one billion eight hundred million bushels, and should the 
 
 other cereals pro- 
 duce in the same 
 ratio, the com- 
 bined crop would 
 be nine billion 
 bushels, making a 
 pyramid one mile 
 square at the base 
 and twelve hun- 
 dred feet high, or 
 
 filling a train of cars which would reach from the earth to 
 the moon. The farming here goes on any way, but little of 
 it is first-class ; as you examine the plows, hoes, carts, wag- 
 ons, yokes, and harnesses, you think it strange that it goes 
 any way, for these must be models of implements used 
 before the flood. 
 
 In many of the homes hands are busy in working linen 
 and silk into unique fabrics; much genius is displayed on 
 the part of many a maiden whose fingers bring forth ex- 
 traordinary results. Some of their laces equal those of 
 Malta and Lyons. This calling must bring a large rev- 
 enue to the city. Calientes will long be renowned for its 
 hot springs and beautiful laces.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 FROM AGUAS CALIENTES TO SAN LUIS POTOSI AND DOWN 
 INTO THE TROPICS. 
 
 No philosopher has demonstrated how we go to sleep, 
 or how we are awakened, and still I do know that it is pleas- 
 ant to fall asleep, when wearied, and refreshing to awake 
 when rested. Tired from the much seeing in Aguas Cal- 
 ientes, I was ready to welcome Somnus as night dropped 
 darkness about us and our train started eastward ; and 
 when Aurora early called on the morrow, I was awakened in 
 the city of Potosi, named after Potosi of South America, 
 because of its rich mining treasures. It is not a very old 
 city, yet a settle- 
 ment was made 
 here in the four- 
 teenth century. 
 
 We were now 
 three hundred 
 and sixty -two 
 miles from the 
 City of Mexico 
 and six thousand 
 seven hundred 
 and eighty-six feet above the sea and in a city of eighty- 
 five thousand inhabitants. It was Sabbath morning and 
 
 AT POTOSI STATION.
 
 7 6 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 the bells before sunrise were ringing out calls to mass. As 
 I left the station I soon came to the Alameda, where a 
 fountain was playing and roses were emitting their sweet- 
 est perfumes and tropical trees and plants were waving 
 their branches in the soft breezes. Policemen were leisure- 
 ly walking to and fro. Looking upon the near buildings, 
 it did seem that the new had been built out of the ruins 
 
 THE CATHEDRAL AT SAN Luis POTOSI. 
 
 of the old. The more familiar one becomes with this coun- 
 try, the more he is made to feel it is a land of to-morrow. 
 Verily, it is hoped that a bright future awaits it. 
 
 I was directing my steps to the cathedral, an imposing 
 building, made out of gray stone and tiling from founda- 
 tion to pinnacle. Approaching the vestibule throngs of 
 worshippers were rushing in and out of it. Services were
 
 FROM AGUAS CALIENTES TO POTOSI. 7/ 
 
 going on at different altars. The music was fine and the 
 motley crowds appeared to be sincere and truly devotional. 
 This is generally the case in a Catholic, or Brahmin 
 church ; still, on scanning the audience, I was forced to 
 conclude, it is sentiment not thought which rules these 
 people, and as they go out of the service, they are seldom 
 any wiser, or morally better. 
 
 In the course of an hour, there must have been more 
 than a thousand worshippers joining in the service, and 
 no doubt there were as many accordingly in the twenty 
 other churches, and masses continue on Sunday from early 
 morning till noon and at times all day, so the people are 
 going to church and returning for six continuous hours, 
 or more. 
 
 Many pictures grace the walls of this cathedral which 
 were executed centuries ago in Spain and Italy. It is 
 surprising as to the amount of money that has been put 
 into religious institutions in this country. 
 
 Leaving the meetings and wandering through different 
 streets, I found the shops and stores in full operation, as 
 on any other day ; more people were in the street than 
 common, for they had come from the country, bringing 
 their produce and buying their supplies, and more than 
 this, having a gala time, a kind of Fourth of July. The 
 market was well stocked and crowded with buyers and 
 lookers-on. The masses wore a holiday expression ; the 
 men's white trousers and shirts, and the women's skirts, 
 starched and ironed, and the boys and girls in their best 
 trim, all implied that they were out for a good time. In
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 the afternoon the plazas and plazuelas were overrun with 
 spectators ; it appeared as though the whole city had 
 broken loose from their daily routine, and so were really 
 taking rest. Well-disciplined brass bands were discours- 
 ing stirring music in different parts of the city. The 
 
 musicians were in uniform ; 
 some of them were middle- 
 aged and others young men, 
 all supported by the state. 
 The Mexicans are very fond 
 of martial music. 
 
 Groups of dusky babes 
 would be at almost every 
 door, as I was passing, and 
 overhead, a mocking-bird in 
 a rustic cage. In the balco- 
 nies of the windows were 
 groups of bright-eyed seno- 
 ritas with oval faces, olive 
 cheeks, dark lashes and hair, 
 slender necks, lithe forms 
 and bounding step, adorned 
 with scarfs, laces, and rib- 
 bons. Poets and artists might select from them many a 
 Venus, or Madonna, for an epic, a picture, or a statue. 
 It is sad that such beauty is quite certain to fade into 
 ugliness by the time maturity, or middle age, is reached. 
 Ah ! surface beauty is as summer fruits which are easy to 
 corrupt and cannot last. But moral beauty endures; the 
 
 ^ 
 
 A BAND-STAND.
 
 FROM AGUAS CALIENTES TO POTOSI. 
 
 79 
 
 wrinkled face and gray hair do not tarnish but add lustre 
 to it ; what is so beautiful as a grandsire, or a grand- 
 dame, who has seen four-score years, and yet is pure and 
 sweet at heart ! Soul-beauty is beautiful here, and will 
 continue beautiful in the fadeless light. 
 
 A small Protestant mission has been established in this 
 city which is under the charge of female teachers having 
 classes of boys and girls, and doing their utmost for 
 the spread of true knowledge. Religious service is held 
 on Sunday in their little chapel. 
 
 In the west part of the 
 city is the famous church 
 of Guadalupe overlook- 
 ing the city with its tall 
 towers of red stone. In 
 its facade is a famous 
 clock, presented to the 
 city for the gift of the 
 largest single piece of 
 silver ever taken from a 
 mine. Many quaint things are connected with this old 
 church. 
 
 San Luis Potosi is a railroad centre and a growing city. 
 Mining is its principal business. The merchants and labor- 
 ing men seem bound to strike the nail on the head every 
 time. Gold and silver embroidery is made a specialty by 
 the natives in the way of slippers and ornaments for the 
 head and body ; they are quite apt, too, in making pottery, 
 feather and palm work. 
 
 MINERS.
 
 So 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 If the streets are not so paved as to be smooth, they 
 are swept every morning with whisk-brooms and dustpans. 
 What if Boston and New York were dealt with in like 
 manner ? To say the least, they would have an odd ap- 
 pearance. Still in spite of this peculiar cleanliness, 
 
 AROUND THE WELL. 
 
 common to all the cities of Mexico, the people have not 
 the dimmest idea of any sanitary improvements. No steps 
 have yet been taken towards drainage, or the preserving 
 of health. This will explain why contagious disease and 
 pestilence so often ravage Mexican towns. I have often 
 heard it said that the traveller in this land must be on the
 
 FROM AGUAS CALIENTES TO POTOSI. 
 
 8l 
 
 alert all the while, or he will be stripped of his posses- 
 sions. 
 
 So far, I have had no intimation that such an order of 
 things is true. Once, while in the market in this city, I 
 purchased some curios, and, in making change, I chanced 
 to lay my porte-monnaie on the rude counter and went 
 away, carelessly leaving it ; and an hour elapsed before I 
 discovered my loss, and then as I went back, I found it 
 just where I left it, and as I left it. As I approached, 
 the woman in charge of the stall said, " I thought the 
 owner would come 
 for it." Now, if 
 that had happened 
 in Chicago, or in 
 Washington,where 
 people are com- 
 pelled to chain the 
 door-rugs to the 
 steps and attach 
 burglar alarms to 
 the windows of 
 
 their houses and stables, should I have stood a fair chance 
 of ever getting my wallet again ? It becomes us, who 
 live where clothes-lines must be put upon the house- 
 top to keep their contents from the grab of sneak thieves, 
 to be careful how we slur the Mexicans and point to them 
 as fearfully dishonest. We may well tip the hat to this 
 people and acknowledge that they have been outrageously 
 misrepresented. 
 
 GOING TO MARKET.
 
 82 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 / 
 
 BAKING TORTILLAS. 
 
 I saw several stands in the market-place, where women 
 were engaged in kneading and baking by open fire tor- 
 tillas, or corn-cakes, which constitute the chief living of 
 the country-folk ; and they want them hot, and, as they 
 
 come to the mar- 
 ket, they provide 
 means for these 
 cakes being made. 
 At some of the 
 tables friioles, or 
 
 ym m\ i - *^*$-~^*sgm* i u 
 iK^Pv " ***K. ,y ,-" ^sL brown beans, are 
 *~'**"^ furnished. In cook- 
 
 ing here, a deal of 
 grease is used; 
 even their boiled 
 
 rice is saturated with melted lard. The common people 
 evidently eat to live; their staple food is vegetable; 
 they have more muscle than fat, and so are prepared to 
 endure hardships. 
 
 From this city we were still to proceed eastward and 
 down into the tropical region towards Tampico to the 
 level of the sea ; we should have advanced farther but 
 the cholera along the coast deterred us from looking 
 upon the Gulf. As all things were made ready, we 
 started at early morn. The day was propitious and the 
 hearts of the tourists were full of cheer and anticipation. 
 It is exhilarating to travel eastward in the early morn- 
 ing ; somehow the bewitching sun seems to cry aloud, 
 "Come on," and there is delight in going on, for the
 
 FROM AGUAS CALIENTES TO POTOSI. 83 
 
 glow of the azure, the balminess of the air, make the 
 heart bound with delight. Then there was something 
 thrilling in the thought that we were to be borne onward 
 by a force that never tires nor cannot be overstrained. 
 Then, too, our locomotive was massive, having monstrous 
 lungs of fire, breathing out huge folds of cumulus smoke. 
 As the creature drew long puffs, how he pulled us forward 
 at a dizzy rate while the track continued level, and soon 
 put us into the midst of fertile lands, where Indian 
 peasants were bestirring themselves, as if they had a 
 deal to do in preparing the fields and gardens for the 
 sowing of the seed. We geographically were some dis- 
 
 NEARING THE TROPICS. 
 
 tance below the tropic of Cancer. The palm trees kept 
 putting in their appearance, reminding me of those along 
 the banks of the Nile and the Euphrates. Here and 
 there were hamlets of adobe and palm huts. The skins
 
 84 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 of most of the people along the way were quite dark, 
 evidently showing them to be remote sons of Ham. 
 
 All aboard were eager to see and ready to admire. To 
 the joy of all, the grass on either side of the train was 
 green and completely covered the ground, something 
 which we had not experienced since we entered the land 
 of the Occident. Herds of cattle and flocks of goats and 
 sheep were showing that the feed was delicious. The 
 steers and heifers were red, brown, and mouse-color, 
 large in size, and handsome in every feature. 
 
 At times some of the landlords have herds of ten or 
 twenty thousand feeding these ranches. Occasionally 
 we would see large numbers of horses and mules roaming 
 about. The mule is valued more highly than the horse. 
 The goats and sheep are raised more for their flesh than 
 for their pelts or fleeces. The cowboys, or herdsmen, 
 were mounted on their favorite steeds, or mares, and 
 were on the alert day and night to keep the stock safe 
 that was under their charge. Though they work hard 
 and receive small pay, they delight in their vocation. 
 
 When fifty miles away from Potosi, the mountains were 
 close about us. Oh, how they towered, swaying their 
 sceptres majestically over the whole region ! They rose 
 and they fell ; they interlocked and were altogether sub- 
 lime ! Really, the mountains are the beginning and end 
 of all physical things. They mean action and the valleys 
 signify repose. Were there no mountains, water could 
 not be spread over the earth ; there would be no oceans, 
 no lakes, nor rivers. Without them there would be no
 
 FROM AGUAS CALIENTES TO POTOSI. 85 
 
 change in the currents of the air. Strata would lie above 
 strata, from burning heat to freezing cold. Without them 
 there would be no change of soil, no tearing down of 
 hills and filling up of valleys. Without mountains what 
 a monotony would prevail over the whole earth ! There 
 would be no Alpine roses, no Highland heathers, no 
 narcissus, nor exquisite oxalis. 
 
 MOUNTAINS ON TAMPICO BRANCH. 
 
 If the mountains could speak, what stories they would 
 tell of battles fought against terrific storms and splendid 
 victories gained ; of daring men that had scaled their 
 summits and brave warriors that had crossed their flanks 
 of wild beasts whose lairs had been far up on their sides ; 
 of eagles and hawks whose cries and whistles had echoed 
 above their crests, and whose eyries for ages had been
 
 86 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 built in their loftiest crags ! Who can fail to love the 
 mountains, yea, to glory in them ? 
 
 At the little station of Villar we were four thousand 
 feet above sea level. Here we were preeminently in the 
 land of the nopal and the maguey plant, which afford the 
 people much food and drink. The mountains were now 
 terraced down their sides, showing the results of glacial 
 and aqueous action, and from base to summit the forests 
 were spreading out their umbrage. It did seem as 
 though the Titans were reigning. Some of the trees 
 were immense, and the gorges and canons almost fathom- 
 less. The train was coiling round and under the hugest 
 breastworks. As the eye looked up, with difficulty it 
 could discover the pinnacles, and as it gazed downward 
 on the opposite side, the first sensation would be a 
 shudder, so deep were the chasms, so awful the thought 
 of possibly being plunged into the tremendous depths. 
 Occasionally the mountains would so spread apart as to 
 form delightful valleys, which would be filled with dense 
 forests extending up the sides to the very top of the 
 mountains. Pines prevailed far aloft, and then descend- 
 ing, with the aid of the glass, I could single out chest- 
 nuts, oaks, cypresses, poplars, cedars, mangroves, tama- 
 rinds, walnuts, and elms. Now and then patches would 
 be cleared and planted with sugar-cane. Some of these 
 fields would be upon steep mountain sides ; we could 
 scarcely imagine how the peasants could get footing to 
 break the sod, sow, and cultivate the ground. Fre- 
 quently I would discover little huts, reminding me of
 
 FROM AGUAS CALIENTES TO POTOSI. 87 
 
 the chalets, high up among the Alps, where the moun- 
 taineers glory in their freedom, making the very rocks 
 resound at times with their joys. 
 
 The outcropping stone is largely igneous, still lime 
 rock prevails to a great extent. The summits drop fer- 
 tility down the sides of the mountains, so that vegetation 
 thrives luxuriantly. As we descended, it increased in under- 
 growth and became in places jungles, where wild animals 
 find their hiding places and serpents hiss and strike their 
 fangs. This dense wilderness will be made to blossom 
 like the rose in a few years, now that the railroad runs 
 through its midst ; its trees will be felled and its timber 
 borne to distant lands, and its soil will be cultivated ; for 
 Nature has done her part to render it grand, beauti- 
 ful, and inviting to seekers after a good living. 
 
 We were still downward bound. What engineering 
 must have been required to hang this railway on the 
 steep flanks of the mountains ! Now it was through 
 tunnels, and then far above canons. The heights and 
 depths were sublimely magnificent. Our descent was at 
 the rate of seventy-five and more feet to the mile. The 
 zigzagging was marvelous : the train would swing round a 
 point, giving us a sight of two railroad beds directly and 
 far beneath us, and it would not seem possible that they 
 could be the continuation of our track ; and yet, going 
 into the mountains, round and down, and lo ! we would 
 find ourselves on them ; and then, as we would look up, 
 railroad tracks would be right above us a thousand or two 
 thousand feet. Every turn around the mountains opened
 
 88 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 up to us new and thrilling scenes. The Alps, or the 
 Rockies, never excited greater admiration, or called forth 
 more emphatic exclamations. 
 
 At high noon we descended into the charming valley 
 of Canonas. The balmy breezes of the Gulf had fanned 
 and moistened this vale, making it an Eden, indeed ! To 
 
 A MOUNTAIN STREAM. 
 
 our left and far below us, was the Tamsopa river foam- 
 ing and leaping down its ragged bed. Giant palms, pale 
 blancos, water oaks, and cottonwood trees stood in thick 
 ranks about us ; these were festooned with a great variety 
 of strange vines ; and numerous orchids were growing 
 from nooks that offer them a setting ; ferns carpeted the 
 ground ; under the lofty woods and among the under-
 
 FROM AGUAS CALIENTES TO POTOSI. 89 
 
 growth were coffee trees, which were laden with fruit 
 nearly ready to be gathered. The trees are planted in 
 the forest for protection from the sun. The proprietor is 
 reported to realize annually from this orchard twenty 
 thousand dollars. Here we could look up the canon and 
 count ten falls over which the water in the distance of 
 half a mile fell three hundred feet and finally plunged 
 into a deep pool. Descending to it by a long flight of wind- 
 ing stairs, we were soon by one of the most exquisite bodies 
 
 A COFFEE PLANTATION. 
 
 of water ever scanned by mortals. It reflected the most 
 perfect azure, tinged with an emerald hue. No opal or 
 precious stone ever threw out just such a color. The 
 rocks, woods, heights, water, and sky conspired to render 
 these falls and pool verily enchanting. It is needless to 
 cross the wide seas to behold falls which surpass those of 
 Norway, Finland, or Switzerland. To express our admi- 
 ration for these falls and pool, and do honor to him who 
 has done so much to enable lovers of nature to behold
 
 FROM AGUAS CALIENTES TO POTOSI. 9! 
 
 her wondrous works, our party christened them " Whit- 
 comb Falls." 
 
 At length we were under way again, and hastening 
 towards the last pass which would drop us to the level of 
 the sea. Vegetation kept growing more rank. The houses 
 now were altogether constructed of bamboo and palm 
 material. At the stations the people were out in throngs, 
 being mostly Indians, and oddly attired, but very quiet 
 and civil. The train proceeded but a few miles farther 
 before it stopped and the passengers alighted, climbing 
 up a steep hillside for a third of a mile, entered a portal 
 of Choy cave with a spacious dome having a natural 
 window through which the mellow sunlight fell upon the 
 flooring, calling forth ferns, shrubs, and flowers, and so 
 spreading out an elegant carpet. In places, stalactites 
 hung from the ceiling and stalagmites rose from the pave- 
 ment. Around the rim of the skylight, roots descended 
 a hundred feet, and fastening themselves in the rocks, had 
 grown into rods and columns of beauty from half an inch 
 to a foot in diameter, binding roof and basement firmly 
 together. The sides of the cavern are mottled with gray 
 and brown. It is of volcanic origin and composed mainly 
 of lime rock. It is really a grand cathedral with impos- 
 ing tribunes, whose builder could have been no other 
 than the Most High. 
 
 Returning to our train, we moved on once more and 
 soon passed through a tunnel, and as we came into the 
 light it did seem as though we were surely to look upon 
 the Gulf, but it was still too far oft'; and, after a little?
 
 92 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 the train having stopped, we went out of the cars and 
 down a rocky, precipitous declivity for a' hundred rods, 
 then turning to the right, entered a superb doorway, and 
 lo ! we were in another stupendous cave forming a majes- 
 tic cathedral, grander than Saint Peter's at Rome, or any 
 Egyptian temple. It is composed of two auditoriums of 
 marvelous dimensions. The flooring is stone and water, 
 for on one side a prolific fountain boils up from the rock, 
 as if it had been smote by some gigantic wand ; it pours 
 out of the cavern a river sufficient to drive thousands of 
 spindles. The fairies and nymphs of Greece never had 
 more beautiful waters to guard, or in which to bathe. 
 From the dome comes in the tender light, and countless 
 parasites drop half way down and swing gently as the 
 breezes come and go, as though regulated by some divin- 
 ity. As there was loud speaking, or singing, the rever- 
 berations were wonderful. Bats, parrots, and mocking 
 birds inhabit the dome, and when they chance to join in 
 chorus, they fill the mighty temple with a jargon of dis- 
 cords. This cave, when contrasted with Fingal's, is more 
 spacious; both are of volcanic origin, however; this is 
 composed of lime rock, that of trap ; they are both 
 deserving to rank among the great wonders of the world. 
 After this exciting experience and we were once more 
 on board the train, we proceeded but little farther east- 
 ward, for we did not wish to take risks among contagious 
 diseases and malarial poisons, so our train was reversed at 
 the first turn-table. The country in this region is sparsely 
 settled, compared with the tablelands, because of its
 
 FROM AGUAS CALIENTES TO POTOSI. 93 
 
 unhealthfulness. The natives, who have become fully 
 acclimated, can endure living here. We had no disposi- 
 tion to question the reports of its heat, for the mercury at 
 mid-afternoon was at one hundred degrees in February. 
 Here bananas, cocoanuts, cacao, vanilla, cotton, cloves, 
 
 AN INDIAN HUT. 
 
 nutmegs, and peppers are grown in abundance ; and on 
 ground a few hundred feet higher grow coffee, oranges, 
 olives, poppies, grapes, and sweet potatoes. When Hum- 
 boldt was here, he estimated the immense outcome of 
 silver and gold from the mines one fourth less in value 
 than their vegetable products. It has been calculated
 
 94 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 that forty fruit-bearing banana trees, growing on one 
 thousand square feet of good soil, will annually yield 
 four thousand pounds of fruit; whereas the same space 
 sown to wheat will produce but thirty pounds. On the 
 plateaus, maize and wheat are raised ; on an average is 
 
 harvested of the 
 first, one hundred 
 
 fe. and fifty grains to 
 
 every one sown, 
 and from twenty- 
 five to thirty of the 
 last ; this is done 
 without any enrich- 
 ment being used 
 
 A HOUSE IN THE TROPICS. u P on the ground. 
 
 Most of the vanilla 
 
 consumed in North America and Europe has long been 
 exported from Mexico. Large quantities of mahogany, 
 ebony, and other valuable timbers, are shipped from this 
 country. 
 
 The forests are enlivened with the chattering and pecu- 
 liar noises of many kinds of birds of brilliant plumage; 
 undomesticated ducks and turkeys are common ; the 
 wild animals consist of bears, wolves, jaguars, polecats, 
 cougars, deer, porcupines, weasels, and an occasional 
 monkey. Lizards, snakes, and insects are beyond enu- 
 meration. 
 
 It is plain that these lands, or savannas, were once 
 thickly inhabited, for when they are cleared, or laid bare
 
 FROM AGUAS CALIENTES TO POTOSI. 95 
 
 by fire, it is seen that they were once formed into terraces 
 and guarded by brick walls against the ravages of trop- 
 ical rains and floods. These are now largely concealed 
 by trees and rank grasses. Where, at present, a hut will 
 not be met with for miles, the land formerly, no doubt, 
 was as thickly inhabited as were the ba.nks of the Mean- 
 der, or the plains of Marathon in the time of Pericles 
 and Alexander. Whether they were peopled by the Aztecs 
 or Toltecs, or races before them, none can now say ; never- 
 theless, the works tell of minds that did conceive and 
 hands that wrought. So it is ; men may come and go, but 
 their works are left after them. The cathedral of Co- 
 logne, the Saint Peter's of Gothic architecture, which 
 stands so majestically on the banks of the Rhine, a 
 monument of profoundest conception and the structure 
 of the most skilful hands, a splendid temple from pinna- 
 cle to foundation and the admiration of the world, is 
 involved in mystery, for its designer and builders are 
 unknown. Dr. Schliemann dug down by the Scaean Gate 
 and, lo ! he opened up records of old Troy and he 
 searched the tombs, taking out a golden sceptre of won- 
 derful workmanship and vast proportions, and a crown of 
 gold two and a half feet in diameter, set with costliest 
 gems, but it is a perfect mystery as to whose hand swayed 
 the sceptre, or whose head wore the crown ; we may guess 
 that they were Priam's, or Hector's, or some other 
 renowned Trojan ; this is the best we can do, leaving 
 them involved in mystery and oblivion. Thus it is with 
 these terraced works ; they are results of unknown agents.
 
 96 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 In the morning we were enjoying a temperate climate ; 
 in the afternoon we were sweltering in tropical heat. If 
 the alternative were to freeze or be roasted to death, my 
 choice would speedily be made in favor of the former. 
 The people living within the tropics suffer far more than 
 those dwelling in the frigid zone. Excessive heat ener- 
 vates, while intensest cold may invigorate. 
 
 As night was approaching, our train was moving west- 
 ward and upward. Our double locomotive was forced to 
 struggle as it came to the steep, sharp curves ; had it not 
 been for the sand scattered upon the rails as a dashing 
 shower wet them, we should have been at a standstill, but 
 the genius of man has worked wonders in adjusting and 
 adapting means unto ends, so what was lost in one way, 
 was made up in another, and when the new day came, we 
 were at nine o'clock again in the interesting city of San 
 Luis Potosi, profoundly grateful for the marvelous expe- 
 riences of the previous day.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 FROM SAN LUIS POTOSI TO GUANAJUATO. 
 
 The experiences of yesterday linger in the heart like 
 the recollection of some sweet song, or grand oratorio, or 
 of a visit to a splendid art gallery, or of visions of Yo- 
 semite, as the sun poured upon it the clearest day. We 
 tarried not at Potosi but hurried back to Calientes, where 
 a stop was made long enough for all who wished to in- 
 dulge in another delicious bath ; and all were made sorry 
 who missed of the treat, as they heard the fortunate ones 
 describe their ecstatic joy as they swam and scrubbed in 
 the placid waters, tempered by nature's furnace. 
 
 From this point our course was due south towards the 
 City of Mexico. For a distance the surface was like roll- 
 ing pastures; patches of verdant alfalfa kept putting in 
 their appearance ; as the train halted, now and then, I saw 
 dandelions starring the grass with gold, and other flowers 
 lay wreaths of welcome at our feet. Often were to be seen 
 copses of acacias, rimmed with prickly pears, ugly, yet 
 full of the sun and big with promise. In the distance, 
 mountains towered, which had been thrown into a diversity 
 of battlements, as if they were the haunts of myriads 
 of warriors, ready to do battle with the mightiest foe. 
 
 As we advanced, the soil increased in fertility and was 
 better cultivated ; large fields were thickly set with shocks
 
 9 8 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 of corn, and unthreshed wheat was piled in the tops of 
 mesquite trees ; peasants were going afield with their white 
 and parti-colored oxen, yoked by a slit-work tied to their 
 horns and attached to carts with heavy plank wheels, or 
 
 to wooden plows 
 and other farming 
 implements which 
 looked as if they 
 might have been 
 taken from Noah's 
 ark. In the dis- 
 tance we saw a 
 lake, which was a 
 
 CACTUSES AND PULQUE GATHERING. 
 
 surprise as much 
 so, as coming from 
 
 the Sahara desert unexpectedly upon the Mediterranean, 
 though we knew this body of water could not be Ho- 
 mer's sea, nor the one over which Helen sailed and the 
 brave Greeks floated their galleys. 
 
 Throngs of people were at the stations passed ; it was 
 a conundrum how they should have known that we were 
 coming and why they should have flocked thither in such 
 large numbers ; perchance, it was some siren that her- 
 alded the coming and curiosity that ushered them thith- 
 erward. 
 
 As the sun went down and the crescent moon and dis- 
 tant stars threw their dim light over the face of nature, 
 the physical eye could no longer see the real ; then came 
 dinner, which was relishable and bountiful, served in our
 
 FROM SAN LUIS POTOSI TO GUANAJUATO. 99 
 
 dining-car, in first-class style. After this came a season 
 of sociability ; the company was select from highest officer 
 to boot-black; accordingly, there was no jargon, yet, of 
 course there would be coteries which would be naturally 
 drawn together, for "birds of a feather will flock together." 
 Many quaint things were said and funny stories related ; 
 serious things were not slighted ; science, ethics, and the- 
 ology were discussed ; still, harmony prevailed, for when 
 mutual agreement was impossible, all consented to dis- 
 agree. 
 
 At a seasonable hour we retired, save those in charge 
 of the train, and when morning came, we awoke in the old 
 city of Silao. After the early, pleasant call went through 
 the Pullmans, " breakfast," the passengers were, soon at 
 the tables, and, I judged, all had had pleasant dreams and 
 sweet sleep, for smiles were the greeting of the morning. 
 Oh, the bright mornings of Mexico ! Shall I ever forget 
 them ? Diamonds sparkled on grass and shrub ; numerous 
 flowers were being awakened by the caressing of the sun ; 
 the flora seemed to be enlarging its domain ; the whole 
 heavens were scintillant with sparkling beauty. It is well 
 for us to try to conceive of the Author of these countless 
 tones of day and night, seed-time and harvest, the whis- 
 pering of the gentle breezes, the shimmering of the per- 
 fumed air, the glow of the sun, the twinkling of the stars ; 
 these strivings do grow ideas of the Infinite. Do you tell 
 me that this daring and searching do not so much as touch 
 the garment of the Eternal One ? If so, I do not believe 
 you ! Is it nothing, or mere chance, when the heart aches,
 
 TOO MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 which gives sweet acquiescence and repose ? Is it noth- 
 ing to have the mind filled with admiration and rever- 
 ence, as it gazes into the burning dome of day and the 
 starry azure of night ? Ah ! these inly movings of the 
 heart help one to .understand the creed of God better than 
 the mere man-made tomes of theology. 
 
 As we went forth to explore, we found the natives out 
 in crowds ; none of the males had forgotten the sombrero, 
 for the man here is estimated by the hat he wears ; if he 
 has on a twenty-five cent one, he is counted a cheap fel- 
 low, but if he is donned with a fifty-dollar hat, he is like- 
 ly to be adored, if he be a noted scamp. I imagined 
 from appearance that few of the women stopped long in 
 the toilet-room before they alighted ; it was fortunate if 
 they tarried long enough to put on skirts and rebosos. 
 
 The swine, too, were out and running whithersoever they 
 would ; perhaps the reason why the Mexicans are so fond 
 of hogs is due to the tradition that where they abound 
 snakes and scorpions cannot exist. The Jew might say, 
 it is because they are most despicable ; even Satan him- 
 self could not endure their company. 
 
 At eight o'clock the whistle blew, and our train started 
 on a branch road eastward for Mafil, which we found 
 locked between lofty hills ; and here we changed to a mule- 
 tramway ; six little, long-eared animals were attached to 
 each car ; six miles we were to ride by this conveyance 
 to reach our destiny. The road was tortuous, following 
 a baby brook at this season, but at flood-time it is a giant 
 river. The hills kept jutting in towards each other, ren-
 
 FROM SAN LUIS POTOSI TO GUANAJUATO. IOI 
 
 dering the valley narrower and narrower as we went on. 
 Adobe huts were scattered along the margin of the high- 
 way ; by and by they multiplied and began to be built into 
 the steep hillside, tier above tier. 
 
 This is one of the oldest and richest mining districts in 
 the land. The bed of the brook every now and then was 
 occupied by Indians, who were shoveling and washing 
 sand for the leavings of silver, as they came from the 
 
 smelting mill, or else 
 they were moulding 
 adobe brick and lay- 
 ing them aside to dry 
 in the burning sun. 
 Hogs also were wal- 
 lowing or lying in the 
 mud, or being scrap- 
 ed and washed for 
 WASHING OUT SILVER. 
 
 the silver cemented 
 to their sides ; so hogs serve a new purpose here. 
 
 Soon we began to come within the limits of Guanajuato. 
 The houses now extended away up the hillsides, look- 
 ing as though they hung from the cliffs and would at the 
 least jar tumble into the depths below ; the larger part are 
 made of adobe brick and the rest of variegated limestone 
 quarried in the mountain near at hand; these are very 
 beautiful and show off to the best advantage, sprinkled 
 in, as they are, among the dull-clay buildings. As I 
 brought the glass to bear upon their balconies, they were 
 seen to be adorned with the brightest flowers and gilded
 
 IO2 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 HILLSIDE VILLAS. 
 
 awnings. Oh ! what straining and climbing are required 
 to reach those homes ! They reminded me of the build- 
 ings on the almost perpendicular sides of St. Elmo, Na- 
 ples, and of the 
 homes fixed to the 
 mountain rocks at 
 Muscat, Arabia; 
 still the Occident in 
 many regards out- 
 strips the orient. 
 
 As we rode on, 
 the valley was full 
 of the works of 
 man. The brook was alive with toilers in the mud and 
 thirsty mortals after water to drink, though saturated 
 with filth. It is 
 strange what cus- 
 tom and necessity 
 will force human 
 beings to do. In 
 the heart of the 
 city the streets 
 were crowded with 
 men, women, and 
 children, either 
 strolling about, or 
 sitting on little mats with goods spread out for sale, for 
 these thoroughfares constitute their market-place ; really 
 there is no other spot in the city for people to assemble. 
 
 THE MARKET.
 
 FROM SAN LUIS POTOSI TO GUANAJUATO. IO3 
 
 Now some of the buildings rose up three or four stories, 
 which were unlike anything we had thus far seen in the 
 country. The new theatre and several of the churches 
 are splendid structures. It is singular how costly churches 
 and places of amusement mingle together, and oftener 
 
 THE THEATRE. 
 
 than otherwise, are set right in the midst of extremest 
 poverty. The priest and governor are arrayed in purple 
 and broadcloth, while their supporters are clad in plainest 
 apparel, if not in rags. A few here are very rich but the 
 many are very poor. The masses are wont to attend church 
 Sunday morning, and the theatre, or bull-fight, in the after-
 
 104 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 noon. Apparently the people make little distinction be- 
 tween worship and play; to them the terms in signifi- 
 cance seem to be synonymous ; they thoroughly believe in 
 sport and fun. 
 
 The city has ninety thousand inhabitants, and ranks 
 high because of its oddity and wealth, which are due to 
 the silver mines in the vicinity. Its hills and mountains 
 are full of valuable ores which have been worked for 
 centuries. Nearly all the people are connected in some 
 way with the mines ; those working in them go in at six 
 o'clock in the morning and come out at six in the even- 
 ing, taking them in some instances three hours to enter 
 and as long to come out. The ore is brought out on the 
 backs of men, and the stone containing it is first broken 
 up with hammers and afterward crushed under heavy 
 
 stone rollers, driv- 
 en by mule power ; 
 being ground to 
 fine powder, it is 
 then shoveled in- 
 to a vat fifty feet 
 square and filled 
 to the depth of two 
 feet ; after this, 
 water is let in till 
 the mass becomes 
 a paste ; the next process is to saturate the whole with 
 quicksilver ; and then a dozen men. and as many mules, 
 are forced to wallow in it for days, poaching and beat- 
 
 * 
 
 WHERE SILVER is CRUSHED.
 
 FROM SAN LUIS POTOSI TO GUANAJUATO. 105 
 
 ing the mercury, which takes the silver with it to the bot- 
 tom ; upon this the sand is removed and the mercury 
 washed out with the silver ; and then by heat, or by chem- 
 ical action, the silver is extracted from the mercury. The 
 process is tedious and destructive to life, but labor is so 
 cheap and human 
 life of so slight 
 value, that the 
 miners are not dis- 
 posed to introduce 
 any modern im- 
 provements. The 
 world is at a 
 stands till with 
 them, so far as in- 
 vention and im- 
 provements are concerned. One need not wonder, after 
 seeing the place and the people, that the death rate here 
 should be higher than in any other part of the world. 
 
 There is an extensive mint here which is coining annu- 
 ally millions of dollars. On still higher ground above 
 the mint is an immense structure known as the Alhon- 
 diga de Granaditas, which dominates the whole city. It 
 was erected long ago and designed for a commercial 
 exchange, but since then it was used during the Civil war 
 as a fortification, and now the basement is occupied for a 
 schoolhouse and the upper stories for a prison, in which 
 are four hundred inmates. In the time of the Civil war 
 Hidalgo captured it by stratagem, and after his death, 
 
 A STREET SCENE.
 
 io6 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 through revenge, his head was spiked to a corner, where 
 it remained till it decayed and dropped to the ground. 
 From its tower we enjoyed a fine view of the city. 
 
 Not far to the west from the castle, but on still higher 
 ground, is the Panteon, which is the Valhalla of the city, 
 or in some respects it is similar to the catacombs of 
 Naples, Italy. The tombs consist of vaults above ground, 
 which are owned by the city and rented for the term of 
 five years, and when this time has expired what remains 
 of the dead body is taken out of the vault and placed in 
 a common tomb in the basement ; if 
 the skeleton is in a good 
 
 THE PANTEON. 
 
 state of preservation, it is put in an erect posture with 
 throngs of others, but if it is much broken or decayed 
 the bones are packed away with myriads of others so 
 that their ends will be exposed and can be viewed by 
 friends and all who may visit the ghastly abode. There 
 is not much choice between this way of disposing of the 
 dead and the method of cremating, which is practised by 
 the Brahmins on the banks of the Ganges.
 
 FROM SAN LUIS POTOSI TO GUANAJUATO. IO7 
 
 We found a wealth of paintings in the churches, and it 
 was delightful to listen to the sweet-toned bells. The 
 
 O 
 
 Campania, the leading church, must have cost half a 
 million of dollars. 
 
 In the upper part of the town, or at the head of the 
 main street, are 
 ponds, handsome- 
 ly dammed back 
 to supply the city 
 with water. Close 
 by these are some 
 elegant homes, 
 judging from the 
 external appear- 
 ance ; the patios 
 and fronts are 
 
 thickly set with honeysuckles, azalias, and hanging flow- 
 ers. How refreshing to pass from the wretched works of 
 man to the perfect and beautiful works of God ! 
 
 The somewhat singular name of the city signifies "hill 
 of the frogs," a name given to the place by the aborigi- 
 nes because of a vast rocky ledge on the hill above the 
 city which resembles a monstrous frog, and was wor- 
 shipped by the Indians, and it is said that human sacri- 
 fices were offered to it. Of course these ignorant people 
 were sincere and did what they felt to be their duty, the 
 same as the Chinese in the temple of Hanan at Canton 
 do in adoring " sacred hogs " wallowing in the mire, or as 
 the Ainos of Japan in deifying snakes and foxes, or Hin- 
 
 TRAMWAY AND RESIDENCE.
 
 IO8 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 doos in worshiping cows and monkeys. Why, then, 
 should we be surprised that the Aztecs, five hundred 
 years ago, or the Toltecs, ten centuries since, bowed 
 before idols ? 
 
 As already stated, this city is indebted to its mining 
 interests for its rise and growth. Its origin occurred 
 after this manner : some prisoners broke out of an old 
 castle which stood here long before there was any city. 
 They secreted themselves in the mountains of this region 
 and built fires with which to cook, and they chanced to 
 discover, after the fire had cooled down, white metal, 
 which they recognized as silver. At length they revealed 
 the fact to state authorities, on condition that they should 
 be set free and allowed to work a part of the mines them- 
 selves, which was granted, and by so doing they became 
 very rich, and were the means of a city's being founded 
 on this romantic site. 
 
 It is said that more than two billions, five hundred 
 thousand dollars' worth of silver has been taken from 
 the mines in the immediate vicinity. What a vast 
 amount of silver! If it had all been minted into dollars 
 and they had been placed in a single row, touching one 
 another, they would have reached round our globe three 
 times; or if one should have attempted to count them at 
 the rate of three dollars a second, and averaged eight 
 hours a day and three hundred and sixty-five days in a 
 year, it would have taken him a hundred years to count 
 them. 
 
 Now, after all this mining, it is believed that there
 
 FROM SAN LUIS POTOSI TO GUANAJUATO. 
 
 109 
 
 remains far more silver to be taken out of the mountains 
 than has yet been secured. Thus it is, the treasures of 
 the earth are inexhaustible. Let them be skilfully worked 
 with all the modern improvements and far more riches 
 will be opened up, human life will become more precious, 
 and knowledge and Christian growth will be greatly ad- 
 vanced. 
 
 THE ALHONDIGA DE GRANADITAS.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FROM GUANAJUATO TO GUADALAJARA. 
 
 How fortunate it is, when weary by seeing, thinking, 
 walking, and riding, to find yourself, as the night comes, 
 in your own quarters, which have been transformed 
 into a home through the experience of weeks ! What a 
 sterling work Mr. Pullman has achieved in making his 
 cars so convenient, commodious, and comfortable, and 
 putting them into the hands of wise and trusty men, to be 
 run wherever railroads have been built ! So after an 
 outing of extreme interest, we were glad to get back to 
 our easy sittings, roomy beds, and our books and writ- 
 ing materials. In due time we were ready to be rolled 
 to sleep, or lulled to rest in the arms of quietness. The 
 mind is prepared for most anything when crowded with 
 thrilling memories. 
 
 After our return to the main Mexican Central road, we 
 did not .continue southward bound long before we were 
 switched from that track at Irrapuato, so world-wide 
 renowned for its delicious strawberries, for a detour of a 
 hundred miles to the west among the Sierra Madre moun- 
 tains, which are burdened with picturesqueness and sub- 
 limity. This state is thickly settled ; it is said that nine 
 tenths of the Mexicans live on the highlands. Some- 
 where in this locality, they seem to think, is the centre of
 
 FROM GUANAJUATO TO GUADALAJARA. Ill 
 
 the earth. They are wont to declare, as did John Her- 
 schell of London, that " It is the centre of the terrene 
 globe." The old Venitians doted upon the idea that 
 they were just half way between the poles. The ancient 
 Greeks fancied the earth to be a huge animal, whose 
 navel was Delphi, so thither they went to consult the 
 oracles. Thus the people here boast of their favorable 
 location, half implying that this is sufficient to make 
 themselves great and powerful, unmindful of the fact 
 that it is the people, not the place, that creates the town, 
 or the state. Had any other race than the Anglo-Saxons 
 settled England, would that little island, no larger than 
 the state of Georgia, have become such a power upon the 
 land and sea? Though so insignificant as to surface, it 
 leads the world in commerce, manufactures, law, medi- 
 cine, philosophy, and theology ; in short, there is no spot 
 of the civilized world that does not feel her help, influ- 
 ence, and stimulus. She has produced a longer list of 
 distinguished characters than all other lands combined. 
 Her science and literature have a potency throughout 
 the world. Her Newton, Shakespeare, Milton, Bacon, 
 Carlyle, Martineau, Tennyson, and throngs of other 
 elect, are in the van of civilization's great onward march. 
 Men made Greece famous, Palestine sacred, and Egypt 
 illustrious. 
 
 Now our tendency was towards the Pacific slope. The 
 region is fertile and well cultivated. The buildings of 
 some of the haciendas resemble fortresses quite as much 
 as dwellings. Two crops of grain are grown annually on
 
 112 MEXICO: THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 many of the fields which are sufficiently irrigated, for 
 water is the only fertilizer the soil requires in order to 
 have it produce a hundred, or two hundred -fold. As we 
 advanced, it was looking out, down, and up, the surface 
 is so broken in places. A few hours' ride brought us to 
 the cleanest, brightest, and most delightful city thus far 
 seen in the country. It reminded me at once of Madrid, 
 Spain, and Milan, Italy. On approaching it, the train 
 did not stop in the outskirts of the city, but advanced to 
 a station in the centre of the population. The streets and 
 plazas presented novelties and attractions, and were as 
 clean as a well-kept house-floor. Though it was mid- 
 winter, the climate was springtime, and thus it is likely 
 to be the 'year round. The surface on three sides in the 
 distance rises into mountains, but opens toward the 
 sunset and descends to the Pacific. On the tramway we 
 took excursions through all the principal parts of the 
 city, passing the cathedral, the governor's palace, the 
 mint, the Digollado theatre, and the state capitol. These 
 are magnificent specimens of Mexican architecture, whose 
 models have all been borrowed from the East. The ride 
 along the banks of the Rio San Juan de Dios is full of 
 fascination. At the Jardin Botanico, we found flowers 
 in February in full bloom, as we find them with us in 
 June. 
 
 In this city of one hundred thousand inhabitants, there 
 are twenty-five churches, twenty-five hotels, twenty-six 
 baths, twenty parks and plazas, fourteen bridges, and five 
 theatres. It had no railroad till 1888. It is some
 
 FROM GUANAJUATO TO GUADALAJARA. 113 
 
 what surprising that a city, shut in and so far separated 
 from the outside world, should have developed so much 
 thrift and permanent growth. This shows the animus of 
 the people. They have less of the Spanish than of the 
 Mexican blood coursing their veins ; their step and facial 
 expression manifest activity and determination. Enter 
 their stores and it seems as though you were in mercan- 
 tile establishments of Detroit, or Worcester. All the 
 modern farming implements, hardware, dry goods, and 
 
 MAIN STREET. 
 
 stationery, are similar to those handled by our northern 
 merchants. 
 
 The law school here ranks high. As I passed within 
 its portals, I found a hundred students with good heads 
 and physiques, devoted to the study of jurisprudence. 
 9
 
 THE CATHEDRAL.
 
 FROM GUANAJUATO TO GUADALAJARA. 115 
 
 The professors were marked men as to personal appear- 
 ance and culture. 
 
 The cathedral externally is more like a church in 
 Brooklyn or Philadelphia than in Rome or Valladolid. 
 Its towers were thrown down in 1818, by an earthquake, 
 but these have been restored and are filled with fine-toned 
 bells. The interior is elegantly decorated, having many 
 old paintings on the walls ; one is the "Assumption," by 
 Murillo, which pays for going a long distance to see it ; 
 he so puts colors upon the canvas as to portray in the 
 highest degree the spiritual. 
 
 It was sadly unfortunate that the Reformers of the 
 north of Europe made such havoc among the pictures and 
 statues in the churches of their day. They used unspar- 
 ingly the torch, but had no brush or chisel to reproduce. 
 Protestantism, as yet, has brought forth no artist like 
 Raphael or Rubens. It has scorned the images of 
 prophets and apostles, and derided the bronze statue of 
 St. Peter at Rome, whose great toe has been kissed away 
 by its devotees. 
 
 It was an unfortunate epoch when Christianity became 
 incorporated with the state ; and after this, Mosheim says, 
 " It is difficult to determine whether heathenism was 
 more Christianized than Christianity heathenized." Con- 
 stantine legalized Christianity, and at once the politicians 
 seized upon it, to make it their tool, and have not let go 
 of it yet ; so two thirds of Christendom to-day ask if an 
 act is a law, and if so, be it selling liquor or licensing 
 prostitution, they assent to it without stopping to con-
 
 n6 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 sider whether it is morally right or not. Accordingly, 
 the Catholic church allows of no liberty, civil or religious. 
 The word of Pope or priest is law ; accept this or do that, 
 or else you will be damned ; and it has filled its church so 
 full of poetry, music, and dazzling art and sentiment that 
 it allures and captivates throngs of the unthinking and 
 those that desire to gain Elysium without any effort. 
 
 Then, too, the world has been so stunned by the loud 
 and many-tongued jargon of sects, it is not strange that 
 multitudes have come to bow thoughtlessly before the 
 Virgin, or Mahomet, Buddha, or Brahm. Considerate 
 
 consistency is a 
 precious boon. It 
 will be the millen- 
 nium when Chris- 
 tianity shall have 
 free course, and 
 so enlighten, disci- 
 pline, and perfect 
 every soul within 
 its pale. 
 
 From the church 
 I went to the pris- 
 on, which is an 
 elaborate estab- 
 lishment. The pen- 
 CHURCH SAN SAN SOE. itentiary is the in- 
 
 stitution where society puts its criminals which it manu- 
 factures. If the people at large were right in mind and
 
 FROM GUANAJUATO TO GUADALAJARA. 
 
 heart, they would not allow one to fall, or, certainly, to 
 wallow in the mire of iniquity. Wherever the home is 
 right, its children are right ; wherever the church is 
 right, the members are right ; and wherever the state is 
 right, its citizens are right, having no demand for jails. 
 But society, by far, has not gained such vantage ground ; 
 too few, as yet, have become sufficiently strong to return 
 good for evil; their bosoms are too crowded with passion, 
 selfishness, and hatred. It is true that the world is better 
 than it was. It is not so much given to thumbscrews, 
 stocks, torturing by piecemeal and burning at the stake. 
 On our approach, the iron-rodded door was readily 
 opened and officers within received us cordially. Passing 
 through another grated door, we were in a court of flow- 
 ers, hieroglyphics of angels dropped at the feet of mortals 
 that they may look up and adore the Giver of such 
 beauties. What, said I, a flower garden within prison 
 walls ! I never had seen the like before, and it recalled 
 the story of the Italian child, laid on the bed of death 
 with flowers tucked into the flaxen ringlets, and blooming 
 immortelles placed in his cold hands ; he was thus decked 
 for the angels; but when they went to place him in his 
 casket, lo ! the sweet child was playing with the charming 
 flowers. So it seemed that the inmates here had awak- 
 ened to their pristine nature and could not help loving 
 the flowers. The Persian maiden in the distant East 
 manifests her love for her suitor by casting nosegays from 
 the housetop in his way ; while the Indian of the Rockies 
 gathers abundant flowers and casts them with gladness
 
 n8 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 in the path of his beloved. The cupid of classic lands 
 was wont to tip his arrows with flowers and thereby 
 captured his fairies every time. 
 
 It was soon made evident that large numbers of all 
 ages and conditions were incarcerated here; yes, fourteen 
 
 hundred, in all ; as we moved 
 
 MBB^ 
 among them, 
 
 THE PRISON YARD. 
 
 we saw them engaged in various occupations, mingling 
 and conversing quite freely together. This was unlike 
 anything I had seen in Concord or Richmond prisons. 
 Most of the inmates had their allotted work for each day, 
 and when this was done they were permitted to labor for
 
 FROM GUANAJUATO TO GUADALAJARA. 119 
 
 themselves and have pay for what they did, which was 
 kept for them or given to their friends, as they might 
 desire. I was told that some of the prisoners had laid 
 up in this way considerable sums of money ; not a few of 
 them devoted their leisure time to working laces and 
 needle fabrics and making curios out of ivory, bone, and 
 stone which were offered for sale at low rates. 
 
 In the large hall thirty-seven prisoners with their brass 
 instruments and drums assembled and delighted us with 
 several martial and sentimental pieces of music. The leader 
 was a murderer, but a pleasant appearing man. Officers 
 and inmates manifested much interest in the band. The 
 cells, culinary, and laundry departments were in good 
 order. Two and more prisoners occupy a cell together. 
 I was never in an institution of the kind where a better 
 spirit prevailed ; there were some three hundred of them 
 sentenced for life. The discipline was good but tempered 
 with brotherly kindness. I could but feel, if some of our 
 northern institutions should pattern after this one, they 
 would be improved. The great panacea for all the ills of 
 life is love. Too long the world has been trying to over- 
 come evil with evil, giving a blow for a blow, terminating 
 in the worst results. Already we have intimations of a 
 better time coming ; the dawning of a new day is discov- 
 erable ; the gleaming of its sunrise is glorious ; and the 
 call of the Most High is, " Go bring my people out of 
 Egypt into the promised Land." The myriad workers 
 who are ushering in the good time, are coming in the 
 form of little children and the mature distributing flowers
 
 I2O MEXICO: THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 in the summer, and ferns and fruitage in the autumn 
 among the sick and poor : or as sweet Mary Howitt, who 
 turned the sunny side of life to mortal gaze ; or as Dickens, 
 who opened the human heart in trouble and poverty and 
 poured in the balm of comfort and healing; or as Fenelon 
 
 ENTRANCE TO THE HOSPICIO. 
 
 and Chapin, who spent themselves to redeem the lost; 
 or as Titian, who painted the faces of saints and held 
 them before human eyes ; or as Handel, composing 
 melodies of mercy to be sung through the ages. Help- 
 ers are everywhere in God's great field, preparing for the
 
 FROM GUANAJUATO TO GUADALAJARA. 121 
 
 lion to lie down with the lamb. Divine prophecy will 
 be fulfilled. 
 
 Another institution that gladdened the heart on seeing 
 it, was the Hospicio, which is a home for the poor of all 
 ages. Its frontage of white stone is spacious and attract- 
 ive, and as you pass through its twenty-three courts, each 
 supplied with a fountain and parterres of flowers, you 
 
 THE HOSPICIO. 
 
 feel the sainted might be entertained here with thanks- 
 giving. You are gladly welcomed to the different apart- 
 ments ; all looks neat and in order. Those in charge 
 and their assistants are kindly in their demeanor, and 
 the old folk, the youths, and children show by their actions 
 that they are enjoying a good home. The children are 
 schooled the same as they would be in villages and cities,
 
 122 MEXICO: THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 and as they grow older they learn some useful trade, and 
 in the meantime are trained in carving, drawing, embroid- 
 ery, and art-works. 
 
 Who can estimate the service done by the almoners 
 who support such an institution ? Will they not be 
 greeted as they "cross the river" with "well done?" 
 What a pity it is that so many hearts are sordid and so 
 selfish as to delight in living in palaces which overshadow 
 huts, who care not to give the crumbs falling from their 
 tables to appease the cravings of poverty. Could wealth 
 be justly distributed, the poor would no longer cry for 
 bread. Let Peabodys be greatly multiplied, and hospi- 
 cios will be scattered far and wide over the earth. This 
 institution has eight hundred inmates; the thousands 
 that have been, are being, and shall be blest by it, will 
 bear glad tidings of the faithful who have lifted them out 
 of wretchedness, as they go up higher. Great is the 
 reward of the righteous. 
 
 As I went into the leading grammar school, I found 
 the teacher and students wide awake. The master was 
 of Aztec blood, forty-five years of age, and had wrought 
 in the schoolroom more than a quarter of a century ; he 
 was brainy and so were most of his boys. He asked 
 what I would like to hear recited. I answered, reading, 
 and so his fifty pupils read around in Spanish ; the accent 
 and expression were excellent ; this exercise was followed 
 by several declamations which rang with patriotism and 
 rhetorical fire. The professor's son, a youth of fifteen 
 summers, bore off the palm from the stage. There were
 
 FROM GUANAJUATO TO GUADALAJARA. 123 
 
 classes in algebra, geometry, astronomy, ancient history, 
 rhetoric, logic, and Latin aside from the common branches 
 of learning. The school is supported by the government 
 and private tuitions. The professor remarked, " Oh, would 
 that the schools here could have such support as they do 
 in your Republic ! " " But," I said, " are you not making 
 great advancement in education ? " "Oh, yes," he replied, 
 "but we are poor and have to struggle very hard for 
 what we get." Several of the citizens came into the 
 school while I was there, showing by their example that 
 they had decided interest in the cause of education. 
 
 The Congregational Mission here is a great success. 
 I was told that its church membership is nearly two 
 hundred. It supports schools, and is prospering in its 
 different lines of work. There is a live minister at the 
 head of this enterprise. 
 
 This city is noted for its manufactures, and especially 
 for its pottery works, which are on a large scale. Of 
 course, like other cities in Mexico, its chiefest interest is 
 in mining. 
 
 It is particularly famous for its falls and natural scen- 
 ery a few miles out of town. The cascade of Juanacatlan 
 has a clear leap of seventy-one feet. Its power has been 
 turned to driving the wheels of a large mill and the 
 dynamos for lighting the city. 
 
 Guadalajara, the capital of the state of Jalisco, is 
 three hundred and eighty-one miles from the City of 
 Mexico, and has an altitude of five thousand, eight 
 hundred, and seventy-two feet above the sea.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 FROM GUADALAJARA TO TULA, QUERETARO, AND THE CITY 
 OF MEXICO. 
 
 Our return to Irapuato was propitious, for the natives 
 were there in a mass with their little baskets of fresh and 
 delicious strawberries, being twenty-five cents a basket, 
 all rounded up with big fat ones on top. The strangers 
 were fast at mid-winter to have a strawberry picnic. 
 Well, as we began to eat, each berry at first, because so 
 delicious, made rapid way for another. Oh, how sweet 
 and tasteful they were ! But when the top layers were 
 gone, the forthcoming were not scarlet, but of white and 
 green shades, and acid to the taste ; as the middle of the 
 baskets was reached, fern and cabbage leaves occupied 
 the rest of the space ; so the inexpressible joy to start 
 with was changed to sharp vituperations. This only 
 shows that people, the world over, are somewhat alike- 
 Everywhere, to say the least, there are not a few who 
 are bound to get something for nothing ; accordingly, the 
 dry goods merchant will sell a pattern, as ample and all 
 silk, when he knows it is scant and the woof is cotton ; 
 the dealer in coal will give you a short ton for a long 
 one ; the miller will take out two quarts of toll, when he 
 has no right to but one. 
 
 Ah ! " the love of money is the root of all evil." Use
 
 TULA, QUERETARO, AND CITY OF MEXICO. 125 
 
 money, but banish the love of it, and then it will no longer 
 cripple, defile, and abrade the noblest powers of man. 
 Millionaires nowadays are in high repute, and control 
 the offices of state. They are honored, not for their 
 manhood, but for their money. O money! money! how 
 blindly thou hast been worshiped and how stupidly 
 abused ! I ween, that when one comes to the gate ajar, 
 he will not be asked, How much wealth have you brought ? 
 but rather, How much character? How much virtue, 
 knowledge, love of God and man do you possess ? If 
 men could only see this subject in the right light, they 
 would not barter their souls for trash and render them- 
 selves skeletons of moral worth. 
 
 A night's ride landed us in the morning at Quere'taro, 
 a quaint old town ; its history reaches back to the Tol- 
 tecs, Aztecs, the invasion of the Spaniards, and none can 
 tell how much farther. 
 
 Mr. Ruskin said that he did not care to travel in 
 America, for it had no history, but should he come here, 
 he would find antiquities more ancient than any in Great 
 Britain. Here it is said that an Otimite chief four cen- 
 turies ago challenged the people to a " fair fist and skull 
 fight," to decide whether they should become Christians, 
 or remain pagans ; if conquered, they were to be bap- 
 tized into the new faith, otherwise they were to remain 
 as they were. Here a truce was struck in 1848 between 
 the United States and Mexico. Here Maximilian made 
 his last stand and surrendered in 1867. 
 
 We were scarcely out of the cars before we were beset
 
 126 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 OPAL VENDERS. 
 
 with crowds of men and women, boys and girls, who 
 were taking hurriedly from their pockets, or some private 
 place, little black wads containing opals, and as quick as 
 thought, these would be opened into their palms, spark- 
 ling red,yellow,blue, and white ; holding them out to us, they 
 would ask, " How much will you give ?" It was necessary 
 to be cautious, for these gems are exceedingly captiva- 
 ting, and the inexperienced are prone to bid too high at 
 first sight, not realizing that nine tenths of those thus 
 offered for sale are defective ; those having the genuine 
 opals do not approach strangers in any such way ; they 
 gain access to them through some official, or authorita- 
 tive individual. From the wonderful display of these
 
 TULA. QUERETARO, AND CITY OF MEXICO. 127 
 
 precious stones, it would seem as though there must be 
 quarries near-by in which they might be picked up by 
 the handfuls. But you inquire whence they come 
 and they will answer, " From the mines," but ask where 
 the mines are and they will be so indefinite in their 
 reply that you cannot tell whether they are in the Pacific 
 ocean or on the summit of Orizaba. 
 
 As this rage subsided, the next exciting topic was 
 about a visit to Cerro de las Campanas, two miles out of 
 the city to the spot marking the place where Maximilian, 
 Mirimon, and Mejia were shot the nineteenth of June, 
 1867. 
 
 The railroad station is just outside of the city, and the 
 cabmen were here in scores, and soon we were crowded 
 into their vehicles and were on our way to the historic 
 place. In sections the road was sand, then cobble- 
 stones, and then grass. As we were making haste slowly, 
 I was surprised to discover in the distance an immense 
 
 ENTERING QUERETERG.
 
 128 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 stone aqueduct stretching across the Campanas, remind- 
 ing me at once of the one extending across the Campagna 
 from the Alban mountains to Rome. If this one is not 
 as long, it is as grand. It was the gift of one man to the 
 city; and what a bestowment ! No other blessing can 
 equal water to the thirsty. The canal, that conveys the 
 
 A MODERN CART. 
 
 water, rests upon a large number of arches, from a few 
 feet to ninety feet high ; it was twenty years in building 
 and cost a great sum of money. As we were passing, 
 the city looked somewhat dilapidated, as if the people 
 had gone to sleep in Rip Van Winkle fashion. 
 
 From their speed I judged that the horses, or mules, 
 were not familiar with oats or corn ; but after a long and
 
 TULA, QUERETARO, AND CITY OF MEXICO. 
 
 rough ride, we alighted and were in front of three red 
 sandstone blocks rising some five feet above the ground, 
 marking the spots where the three prisoners stood as 
 they were shot. The railing about the memorials has 
 been broken down and vandal hands have chipped 
 pieces from the monuments. Here Maximilian had his 
 last fortification and withstood the opposing force as 
 long as possible, and finally gave himself up ; therefore, 
 the republicans felt that this was a fit spot for his exe- 
 cution. 
 
 How true it is that like begets like ! Maximilian had 
 issued a decree that every officer taken in arms against 
 his self-assumed authority, should be shot. Some of 
 the best souls of the country, being honestly arrayed 
 against him, were captured and put to death without any 
 clemency being shown ; thus it was with the generals 
 Arteaga, Salaya, Willagomez, and Felix Diaz. So when 
 Maximilian was overcome, how could he expect to escape 
 the punishment of the rebellious which he himself had 
 instituted? How did Maximilian come to be here, for 
 he was an Austrian by birth and education ? Well, after 
 the independence of Mexico was gained by Juarez and 
 much of the property of the Roman church had been 
 confiscated, the priests throughout the country were 
 greatly enraged. 
 
 They realized that they had lost their temporal power 
 to a large extent, and were exceedingly desirous to regain 
 it. This transaction took place about the beginning of 
 our Civil War, and the priests made a strenuous appeal
 
 I3O MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 to Pius IX to change this order of things ; he referred 
 the matter immediately to Napoleon III.; and. he soon 
 gave it as his best judgment that the only way to settle 
 the matter satisfactorily and restore Catholic power in 
 that country, was to establish a Catholic empire there, 
 and he gave assurance that he was ready to lend his aid 
 to such an end. He evidently would not have attempted 
 to do any such thing, had our country not been engaged 
 in a trying Civil War. The Pope gladly fell in with this 
 project and pronounced his heartiest benediction upon it. 
 The next question was, Who is the man to go to Mexico 
 and usurp the authority over the people and establish 
 there an empire ? After looking round and searching for 
 the right man, Napoleon and the Pope settled upon 
 Maximilian, then in the prime of life, of fine personal 
 appearance and a devoted Catholic. As the subject 
 was presented to him, he was inclined to consider it 
 favorably, being ambitious, somewhat weak mentally, and 
 withal, vain. Soon he decided to accept the venture, after 
 receiving the most solemn promise from the French Em- 
 peror and the Roman Pontiff that they would guarantee 
 him all the military and financial aid which he should 
 need. Maximilian had but a small property of his own, 
 and so large sums of money were raised for him in 
 France, Italy, and Austria, to fit out in a royal manner 
 the would-be emperor and his beautiful and accom- 
 plished Carlotta for their new and surprising mission ; 
 for surprising it would be to the whole world to have an 
 empire established on the Western continent.
 
 TULA, QUERETARO, AND CITY OF MEXICO. 131 
 
 As soon as they were equipped, they started, accom- 
 panied by a strong French military force. In due time 
 they landed in the forlorn country and proceeded im- 
 mediately to the City of Mexico, where they raised their 
 standard and Maximilian declared himself emperor of 
 the country, thus supplanting President Juarez. Of 
 course the people were dazed by such a procedure, and 
 did at first seem to submit to the apparently inevitable. 
 But it was not long before the intelligent and patriotic 
 citizens began to apprehend what the result would be ; 
 they could see that it meant severe taxation and really 
 serfdom. Upon this the republicans rallied and felt to 
 resent the usurpation ; soon strifes and war began. For 
 a while it did appear as though an empire would be 
 established. The Pope and Napoleon were keeping their 
 pledges. New recruits were coming from France as 
 circumstances required ; the self-declared emperor felt 
 secure with his military backing. 
 
 All this while, our Civil War was in progress ; Napoleon 
 was taking advantage of this fact, but as soon as Lee 
 gave up his sword to Grant, Secretary Seward wrote Na- 
 poleon that the French army must immediately be with- 
 drawn from Mexico, or the United States would send an 
 army down there to drive them out ; and the French 
 forces were without delay withdrawn and recalled to 
 France, leaving Maximilian in a deplorable condition. 
 He packed up at once, withdrawing from the capital for 
 Vera Cruz with the intention of abandoning the country ; 
 but while on his way, Carlotta prevailed on him to return
 
 132 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 to the City of Mexico, and she would proceed in haste 
 to beseech personally Napoleon and the Pope to be true 
 to their promises. She believed her intercessions would 
 stimulate them to renewed duty and assistance, which 
 would enable her dear husband to succeed in his under- 
 taking. Upon this Maximilian went back to the City of 
 Mexico to await the result of his wife's meeting with the 
 distinguished dignitaries. But on her arrival at Paris 
 and Rome she found Emperor and Pope deaf to her 
 prayers and intercessions, and was really expelled from 
 the Palace and the Vatican. By such treatment she was 
 driven to distraction and soon lost her reason. As she 
 did not return or communicate with Maximilian, he in- 
 ferred that she must be dead and labored under this 
 mistake to the last, and she never has known the fate of 
 her husband. 
 
 After Maximilian was shot, his body was taken to the 
 convent of the Capuchins, and subsequently to Austria 
 and buried at Miramar; and dejected Carlotta is passing 
 the remnant of her days in an insane asylum ; both verily 
 martyrs, cruelly forsaken by those who should have been 
 to the last steadfast friends. 
 
 Our noble Lincoln did his best to save the life of 
 Maximilian, and Princess Salm Salm, known in our Re- 
 bellion, rode one hundred and sixty miles to San Luis 
 Potosi to implore President Juarez to spare his life, but 
 all was of no avail. The president felt that the safety of 
 his Republic was at stake. Death-blows had been struck 
 at it. He sincerely believed that if the life of the usurper
 
 TULA, QUERETARO, AND CITY OF MEXICO. 133 
 
 of his country should be spared, its peace and pros- 
 perity would be incessantly harassed and, perchance, 
 eventually destroyed. So from sense of duty and love 
 for his native land, he could not commute the sentence 
 of death, considerately pronounced by judge, and ap- 
 proved by the distinguished General Escobedo. After 
 the lapse of twenty-nine years, public opinion generally 
 justifies the course pursued by President Juarez. 
 
 From " Bell Hill," a short distance above the place of 
 execution, I enjoyed a fine prospect over the diversified 
 country. Here Maximilian had his last fortification, and 
 bravely held out till he was betrayed into the hands of his 
 enemies, and then he graciously submitted to his fate. 
 
 From this hill we return to the city and visit the Ytur- 
 bide theatre, where the court martial was held and then 
 to the state capitol, where I saw the table on which the 
 death-warrant was signed, the wooden stools on which 
 the prisoners sat during the trial, which opened at ten 
 o'clock in the forenoon and ended at ten in the evening, 
 and the coffin in which the body of Maximilian was 
 placed until it was shipped to Europe. In the convent 
 of the Capuchins I saw the room in which the prisoners 
 were confined while waiting for their trial, and went into 
 the plaza close by where Maximilian was wont to exer- 
 cise. As the besiegers learned this fact and that he was 
 accustomed to sit by a musical fountain, they adjusted 
 their cannon so as to drop balls upon the spot, hoping 
 to destroy the prisoner but failed of that, yet did break 
 in pieces the beautiful statue above the fountain.
 
 134 MEXICO: THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 How true it is that war neither knows any pity nor 
 shows any mercy. After the sentence was pronounced 
 Maximilian pleaded from the depths of his soul that the 
 sentence of his generals might be commuted, but accepted 
 willingly his own sentence. His three years in Mexico 
 had been full of trouble and disappointment, and no 
 doubt, was so jejune and jaded that he was willing to 
 depart. By his own accord at the time of his execution, 
 he laid his hand upon his heart, signifying to his slay- 
 ers where to aim; and as the order was given "fire," 
 Maximilian fell, and thus ended his turmoils upon the 
 earth. 
 
 The alameda, on one side of the city, is a charming 
 resort, shaded with palms, banana, and scarlet hibiscus 
 trees ; rose bushes and shrubbery are plentiful. The 
 buildings of the city are worn and patched ; however, 
 some of them have been recently stained or painted, but 
 the old shows through the new, presenting a worse as- 
 pect than those that have not been touched. Who ever 
 saw an old fence whitewashed, which was improved by 
 the process ? For years nature had been bleaching it 
 with sunshine, the winds had been polishing it, the 
 lichens had been putting beauty spots upon it, wild Mow- 
 ers had been growing up and kissing it, and vines had 
 been hiding its deformity. What rustic beauty it would 
 throw up to every passer-by ! But daub it over with 
 liquid and lime and what a botch and offence it becomes 
 to refined taste ! 
 
 In this city of fifty thousand inhabitants, there are forty-
 
 TULA, QUERETARO, AND CITY OF MEXICO. 135 
 
 six places of worship. From this fact Artemas Ward 
 would infer that the people go to meeting some. As I 
 saw the priests in the cathedral and the Santa Clara 
 church, at the altars, in the confessional boxes, dodging 
 in and out of the tribunes, I concluded that the city 
 must be well stocked with ministers ; yet I could but re- 
 call the statement saying that where priests abound, beg- 
 gars also abound. 
 
 I went into a school, in which I found female as well 
 as male teachers. I was glad to be apprised of the fact 
 that the people are learning that women can teach suc- 
 cessfully. The method of instruction was similar to that 
 in other schools to which I have referred. 
 
 It would appear that the chief business of the young 
 and old is selling opals ; the rich and poor are engaged 
 in it ; beautiful senoritas and wrinkled dames indulge in 
 the luxury. 
 
 Considerable attention is given to manufacturing cot- 
 ton goods, leather wares, pottery, and sugar. Out two 
 miles from the city is the Hercules Cotton factory, which 
 requires a two-hundred horse-power engine and an over- 
 shot wheel fifty feet in diameter to drive the machinery. 
 In its different departments fourteen hundred hands are 
 employed, a large majority being women, receiving from 
 twenty to forty cents a day. The establishment has long 
 been under the charge of the Rubio family. It is won- 
 derfully well managed ; the buildings and machinery are 
 modern and of the most improved styles. The yards and 
 surroundings are delightful. Nature has bestowed her
 
 136 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 beauties without stint, and human art has done its best 
 in ornamenting the hills and vales with flowers, shrub- 
 bery, and trees. 
 
 These are the most famous mills in the whole country. 
 The cotton used is partly grown in Mexico and partly in 
 the Southern states. The fibre of the home cotton is 
 longer but not so fine and soft as that produced in Louisi- 
 ana and Georgia. In the yard fronting the mills is a 
 colossal statue of Hercules which cost fourteen thou- 
 sand dollars in Italy. The art-works connected with this 
 mill must impart a decidedly healthful and aesthetic influ- 
 ence and culture to the operatives, as they of necessity 
 come in contact with them. The mills of Lowell and 
 Lawrence present no such attractions as are enjoyed 
 here. Are not our people too remiss in giving attention 
 to aesthetic training and adorning house lawns, mill 
 yards, school grounds, and public parks ? 
 
 As we came out of the mills, we were met by throngs of 
 opal venders who had footed it from the city for their 
 last chance to sell this party of Americans their precious 
 treasures, which are more valuable to them than diamonds 
 would be from Golconda, or rubies from Giamschid, or 
 sapphires from Ormuzd, or pearls from Ophir. It struck 
 me as odd that not one of these traders should have an 
 opal in finger-ring, breastpin, or bracelet on his own per- 
 son ; but on inquiry I learned that though the ancients 
 looked upon opals as harbingers of good fortune, yet by 
 some device the modern Mexicans have come to regard 
 them as presaging evil ; therefore, they will not wear
 
 TULA, QUERETARO, AND CITY OF MEXICO. 137 
 
 them, but delight in selling them to foreigners, regardless 
 of consequences. It makes a deal of difference whose 
 ox is goaded. 
 
 Good opals bring from ten to ten hundred dollars each, 
 according to size and quality. Before bidding adieu to 
 Queretaro most of our party invested more or less in the 
 fiery stones. 
 
 The Mexicans like the Yankees, though they did whip 
 them badly in 1848, for they are always ready to invest 
 some capital in their products, yet they declare them to 
 be sharpers and able to see through a grindstone without 
 a hole in it. 
 
 Well, we have got within a hundred and fifty miles of 
 the City of Mexico, and have not been half eaten up, as 
 we expected, by fleas, mosquitos, spiders, and all sorts of 
 vermin, before we had proceeded far within the tropics ; 
 but, as yet, we have not been tortured by any four-legged 
 or many-legged creatures. Our chiefest trials have been 
 with bipeds. Even flies have been scarce, so our insect 
 powder, tar preparation, pennyroyal, and salve for bites, 
 put up with extreme care, have not been uncorked. Dis- 
 tance does sometimes lend charms, and then again it 
 breeds scares. It is true that we have experienced the 
 greatest variety of odors, running all the way from the 
 most offensive to the sweetest perfumes; however, when 
 disturbed with stenches, we have this to console us, that 
 nature makes use of the offensive odors, and so converts 
 them at length into growing the rose and lily. Were we 
 sufficiently wise we could solve the most difficult prob-
 
 138 MEXICO ! THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 lems and come to understand clearly how good is 
 brought out of apparent evil. 
 
 A ride of one hundred miles, partly by day and partly 
 by night, lands us at Tula, one of the oldest towns in the 
 whole country. The Toltecs rendered it noted, and the 
 Aztecs made it a capital city. Ruins of grand old tem- 
 ples are here. The ancient city was a mile across a 
 
 VIEW AT TULA. 
 
 stone bridge, which was built long before a quarry in 
 New England rung with drills and hammers. The ruins 
 are more striking than those of Tyre, or Capernaum ; 
 among them are a large stone baptismal fountain, and a 
 sacrificial stone on which priests were wont to lay victims, 
 cutting out their hearts and holding them up to the gaze 
 of imagined divinities.
 
 TULA, QUERETARO, AND CITY OF MEXICO. 139 
 
 The modern village of some three thousand people 
 has its attractions, but the place is sought by tourists for 
 the old, not the new. Ancient ruins are full of transport ; 
 yea, there is something bewitching about them. Peculiar 
 enchantment broods over the prison in which Socrates 
 drank the fatal cup, over the pyramid of Cheops in which 
 the bones and flesh of the mighty Pharaoh were securely 
 treasured, over the tomb of Cyrus the Great, at Persepo- 
 lis, and the mosque at Hebron, under which the remains 
 of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, were in- 
 terred. 
 
 Tula is fifty miles from the present capital city. The 
 towns now along the railroad are more frequent than for- 
 merly, the highways are broader and kept in better repair, 
 and the land is more generally cultivated. Though the 
 present altitude is above seven thousand feet, it is gradu- 
 ally rising ; the mountains are multiplying in number 
 and in grandeur ; these are the winnowers of the purest 
 air ; and of all sweet things, the sweetest is pure mountain 
 air ; it encloses us below, around, and above, as no Aph- 
 rodite could do ; the dome of the sky here is, as it were, 
 a great bell-flower drooping all about us, filling the whole 
 space with the purest fragrance and vitalization. The 
 sights of the morning below, beyond, and above, are so 
 strangely beautiful that they seem to be bathed in the 
 glimmers and glories of the Apotheosis. 
 
 The influence of a great city is likely to extend far out 
 into the country, often rendering the suburbs far more 
 attractive than its centres. Men hived in cities, burdened
 
 140 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 with business, long for the rest and quiet of the country, 
 and so they erect the villa, the mansion, the beautiful 
 residence, and the rustic cottage, out twenty, thirty, and 
 fifty miles, whither they go for sleep and recuperation. 
 Thus it is along this road, thereby scattering the taste, 
 refinement, and influence of the city over the country. 
 
 AROUND THE WELL (SAN Luis POTOSI).
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE CITY OF MEXICO. 
 
 Oh, the bright mornings in Mexico, how they kept mul- 
 tiplying ! The feeling during the night that we should be 
 in the metropolis of the land between seven and eight 
 o'clock the next morning, somehow seemed to dispel 
 sleep at the day-dawn earlier than usual, and so we were 
 on the lookout before the sun shot his effulgence over the 
 mountains. The peons were bestirring themselves, and 
 many were tramping, or riding burros, all facing the 
 south, which was a guaranty that we were fast approach- 
 ing the anticipated city. Some of the dusky-skinned 
 people were white robed and laden with flowers, as if 
 bound for a feast or a gala time. Soon across the wide 
 vista, towards the snow-crowned Ixtaccihuatl and Popo- 
 catepetl an exquisite circular valley was before us, per- 
 haps forty miles in diameter, rimmed with mountains and 
 dotted with lakes, clumps of tropical woods, barren 
 ridges, maguey fields, and alfalfa meadows. 
 
 As the sun peered over the wondrous heights, he lit up 
 spires, domes, and the buff walls of a great city ; never- 
 theless, it is small when compared with New York or 
 London, having only four hundred thousand inhabitants. 
 As we rolled gradually into the city, it became apparent 
 that it was in the basin of the valley and naturally enough
 
 142 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 might be the bed of a lake. Who knows but pelefits, or 
 lake-dwellers, builded here first a lustrine city above the 
 water and at length were expelled by the Toltecs who 
 drove down spiling and built close to the water, whose 
 streets were canals similar to those in Venice, and that 
 the Toltecs were eventually succeeded by the Aztecs, who 
 still made use of spilings for a foundation, and yet in 
 places filled the lake with earth and put bridges across 
 the canals, and as Cortez conquered the Aztecs and the 
 Spaniards took possession of the city, they continued to 
 fill up the lake, that the site of their city might be dry 
 land ? However, the filling up never had been a perfect 
 success, because in flood time the city would be drenched, 
 making many of the dwellings mere sinks to hold water 
 and mud. Up to within a year the city had no drainage, 
 but a canal has been completed at an enormous expense, 
 which will drain the lakes and so relieve the city from 
 being overflowed, and from extreme unhealthiness, which 
 has doubled the death-rate to what it is in Boston. 
 
 The whistle blows, the bell rings, the brakes are tight- 
 ened, and lo, we are in the City of Mexico ! As we were 
 about to leave the cars, a messenger entering advised us 
 to tarry where we were for an hour, to witness a display, 
 unexpected and sorrowful, for the death of our United 
 States minister, plenipotentiary, had been announced, 
 and that his remains were to be escorted by the Mexican 
 officials and soldiery to this depot, arriving here at nine 
 o'clock; he furthermore said, if we should continue where 
 we were, we would have the opportunity of seeing a rare
 
 144 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 manifestation of sorrow. Accordingly, we tarried, and 
 just before the specified hour arrived, muffled drums 
 were beating and a funeral dirge was being played 
 in subdued tones. The bands were being followed by 
 five thousand cavalry, infantry, and artillery elegantly 
 equipped ; then came the hearse and a profusion of 
 flowers, the near relatives, the president, his cabinet, 
 foreign state officials, and thousands of Mexicans, to pay 
 respect to a noble man who had suddenly fallen by death. 
 The body was tenderly borne to a state car by foreign 
 ministers under the direction of President Diaz ; cannons 
 were fired ; all the high officials bade the bereaved family, 
 as they were seated in the cars, a sympathizing good-by 
 and the immense cortege slowly and orderly returned to 
 the Alameda and the palace. 
 
 Never did I witness before, where there were so great a 
 martial display and promiscuous crowds, such stillness and 
 unmistakable solemnity, showing that the nations are be- 
 coming more allied and desirous to help bear one 
 another's sorrows and burdens. Certainly, it would seem 
 that the good time is hastening, when the nations will 
 beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into 
 pruning hooks. 
 
 When the solemnities were concluded, we took the 
 tramway for the Alameda, Mayor Plaza, and then for the 
 Iturbide hotel, where we were to eat and sleep while in 
 the city. The Alameda is an oblong square having an 
 area of forty acres, and was so named from alamos sig- 
 nifying poplar. In Spain the alamedas are ornamented
 
 THE CITY OF MEXICO. 145 
 
 with poplar trees ; this one is planted out with a variety 
 of trees, cut up by walks bordered with shrubbery and 
 flowers, and is supplied with fountains, an elegant band- 
 stand, and many seats. In places, interesting relics of the 
 Toltecs and Aztecs may be discovered by moving aside 
 the drooping branches of trees. This square is to 
 Mexico what Hyde Park is to London, or Boston Com- 
 mon is to Boston, being really the lungs to the metropolis 
 and the pride of the citizens ; it is a special resort for 
 priests, students, and in short for all kinds of people. 
 
 The city was laid out to be three miles square, the sides 
 running parallel with the cardinal points. The main 
 streets centre at the Mayor Plaza, and these are crossed 
 by avenues at right angles. The commercial buildings 
 and dwellings on the principal streets are from two to 
 three stories high, nearly all the houses enclosing a court- 
 yard, adorned with fountains and blooming plants, where 
 the children can sport in safety. Large windows open 
 from the rooms upon these yards, and others in the 
 second and third stories look out upon the streets, fur- 
 nished with balustrades of iron, often gilded and finished 
 with beautiful trappings. Here the women of the house 
 are wont to sit and watch what is going on in the streets. 
 The homes of the rich are on a magnificent scale of 
 luxury ; arched driveways lead into the courts, whose 
 flooring is usually marble; the carpets, tables, chairs, and 
 candelabra are superb. The matrons have any number 
 of servants to respond at the clap of the hand. The 
 basements are used for storing carriages, stabling domestic
 
 BOYS IN THE Al.MEDA.
 
 THE CITY OF MEXICO. 147 
 
 animals, and for servants' quarters. When the brazen 
 gates opening into the streets are closed, the family are 
 about as much secluded as they would be in the country. 
 
 Often the palatial residence overtops a miserable hut 
 consisting of four walls of dried mud, with a floor of the 
 same material, in which the furniture consists of a few 
 pieces of crockery for cooking and eating, a brush for 
 sweeping, water jars, baskets, some maguey matting for 
 beds; there is no fireplace or chimney; when they cook 
 they lay a bundle of mesquite fagots on the floor, firing 
 it they bake their tortillas or flat cakes ; the smoke, of 
 course, pervades the whole house. Their zarapes and 
 rebosas are shawls by day and their only coverlets by 
 night. 
 
 The merchants represent many different nationalities, 
 the Germans and French being conspicuous. Some of 
 the stores are on a large scale. Under the arcades the 
 natives have their piles of goods, and are always on the 
 alert for trade. 
 
 Pulque saloons occupy prominent corners of the streets, 
 numbering two thousand in the city, selling a million 
 gallons of pulque daily; though so much of this stimulant 
 is drank, it is seldom that a drunken person is seen in 
 public. 
 
 The streets bear the names of gods and men, and are 
 confusing in their nomenclature to strangers. Had the 
 Mexicans tried their best to render them difficult to 
 understand, they could not have been more successful. 
 Then a deal of fancy must have been exercised in apply-
 
 148 
 
 MEXICO I THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 ing names to their shops and stores. Some of their signs 
 are ridiculous enough to make a dying man laugh, should 
 he chance to read them, being such as, " The Fountain of 
 Love," over a fancy goods store ; " The American Con- 
 gress," the sign to a bar-room; "The Triumph of Dyna- 
 mite," indicating a 
 pulque shop ; " The 
 Pearl," marking a 
 store where silks are 
 sold ; "The Opal," 
 designating a candy 
 shop ; " Take and 
 Give," signifying a 
 fish-market ; " The 
 Coquette," pointing 
 out the place where 
 cigars are sold. The 
 names of a firm are 
 seldom given on the 
 sign ; however, upon 
 PULQUE SALOON. entering a store, the 
 
 proprietors and the 
 
 clerks usually are very polite and willing to show you 
 goods, if you do not buy them. 
 
 The streets are the most lively on Sundays and feast- 
 days. Then the balconies are sure to be occupied by 
 women and girls, donned in their silks, laces, and man- 
 tillas. Sunday morning, most of the women and many of 
 the men go to mass, and after this they are prepared for
 
 THE CITY OF MEXICO. 149 
 
 a gala time the remainder of the day ; this is a special time 
 for shopping on the part of the Indians in the city and 
 those who have come from the country ; perchance, the 
 men buy new sandals and the women new veils ; all 
 appear to delight in reconnoitering and inspecting the sale- 
 stands and show-windows. 
 
 Tramways run on the principal streets, drawn by mules ; 
 cars run double, one being for the elite and the other for 
 the populace. Much of the trucking of the city is done 
 by the horse-cars ; they are used on funeral occasions in 
 going to the cemeteries ; one car bears the corpse and 
 another carries the mourners. This arrangement is a great 
 convenience, as well as money-saving, especially to the 
 common and poor people. Fashion in some countries 
 renders it difficult for the lower classes to bury their dead 
 decently on account of the great expense. 
 
 Novel and mortifying sights are frequent on the streets. 
 It is not uncommon at early morning around the plazas 
 to see a father and a mother with several children, crawl- 
 ing from the spot where they had passed the night, and 
 thus they spend every night somewhere out of doors ; 
 then, too, in front of churches, at the corners of the 
 streets, and at the entrance of certain stores, will be arm- 
 less, or legless, or terribly deformed mortals begging for 
 tlacos. Poor creatures, they deserve pity, and to the 
 extent that the city might be induced to give them a 
 comfortable living, so that they would not be forced to eke 
 out life by begging. There is a painful mingling here of 
 the nineteenth century methods with those of the ninth,
 
 I5O MEXICO: THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 producing singular contradictions. Here are men back- 
 ing stone for miles from the quarry, to be crushed by the 
 modern stone-roller; here are electric lights flaring upon 
 olive faces which would look more becoming in the dusky 
 blaze of the candle or the pine knot ; here are natives 
 dressed in the ugly costumes of aristocracy who would 
 look far more becoming in tattooed skins and maguey 
 moccasins than in the French cut and the English beaver. 
 
 Yes, surely the German dog-cart and the Parisian 
 styles have found footing in this city, which in most 
 regards is a thousand years behind the times. In the 
 days of Cortez it was patterned after Spain, Italy, and 
 Greece. Since that period it has stood still for the most 
 part, while its patres-familias have been going on ; how- 
 ever, in the nooks and out-of-the-way places maybe found 
 to-day Mexicans very much as they were in the palmy 
 days of the Montezumas. The habits of the fathers 
 descend to the third, and perhaps to the thirtieth, gen- 
 eration. What is the use of trying to change a people 
 outwardly before they are born anew, or are changed 
 inwardly ? Do not infer that all the streets in the night 
 are lighted by electricity, for oil lamps and lanterns are 
 common in certain parts of the city. Every policeman on 
 his beat in the night must have his lighted lantern set in 
 the middle of the highway near where he may be at any 
 time, that it may be known where he can be found. 
 
 The city is well governed, and seldom does any dis- 
 turbance prevail on the street, and it is thought now to be 
 freer from riots than ever before. I judge that it is safe
 
 THE CITY OF MEXICO. 
 
 in darkness to go into any part of the town. It is not 
 uncommon to see respectable women at late hours walk- 
 ing alone on the streets. Suspicious characters seldom 
 run risks out of doors, for the police are quite certain to 
 discover them and shut them in close quarters. 
 
 In the morning, numerous women and girls are walking 
 the streets or are stationed at particular points, laden with 
 flowers to sell. Roses, pansies, tulips, pinks, mignonettes, 
 sweetpeas, dahlias, heliotropes, magnolias, hyacinths, 
 and honeysuckles abound. The flower markets are not 
 extensive, but, when in order, they present in the early 
 part of the day a kind of paradise. How could it well be 
 otherwise, since God plants the flower seeds and sends 
 his sunshine ninety-three millions of miles to germinate 
 and bloom them ? For twenty-five cents one can buy 
 as many flowers as he will be able to bear away. 
 
 During the middle part of the day, the plazas are fre- 
 quented by priests and all classes, for the purpose of rest; 
 usually it is then too hot to work, think, or pray. 
 
 The street affords a good opportunity to study human 
 nature in its different phases ; it is cheering that more 
 good than bad is discoverable here. One on a public 
 thoroughfare is securer than on Broadway, New York city, 
 or on Cheapside, London. 
 
 The sixty churches in the city are conspicuous, but the 
 one that outvies all the others is the cathedral ; the struc- 
 ture itself is famous, but its site is still more noted, for on 
 it once stood the Aztec temple, dedicated to the war-god, 
 Mexitl, after whom the country was named. The gates of
 
 152 MEXICO .' THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 the four wails fronted the four cardinal points, and within 
 its inclosure were five hundred dwellings for priests, 
 priestesses and other religious officials, serving at the 
 altars, in the choir, and at the dance. The shape of the 
 temple was pyramidal, rising a hundred and fifty feet above 
 the ground with broad steps on the outside, leading to its 
 truncated top on which daily and often hourly human 
 beings were sacrificed. Wars were often carried on for 
 the purpose of securing victims for this altar. It is said 
 that the number of human lives offered to Mexitl must 
 have reached millions. 
 
 The cathedral was nearly a hundred years in construc- 
 tion, built out of unhewn limestone, fronting the Mayor 
 Plaza, and costing many millions of dollars. It was built 
 in that age when there was in certain countries decided 
 enthusiasm in giving expression to religious devotion. 
 Thus Gothic architecture was the outcome of the Cru- 
 sades. It was not the simple development of art-execution, 
 the trained eye and the skilled hand, but of religious fervor 
 and exalted spirituality. The people of England, Spain, 
 France, and Germany, from the tenth to the thirteenth 
 centuries, were often deeply stirred religiously, and longed 
 for the most exalted expression of the divinity they 
 adored; so they built the cathedral with lofty spires reach- 
 ing high towards heaven, resting on surest foundations and 
 vast columns, having an immense auditorium in which the 
 masses could assemble and together worship their God. 
 
 At one period the Greeks were so excited religiously in 
 adoring men, as gods, that their artists conceived them to
 
 < &
 
 THE CITY OF MEXICO. 153 
 
 be of perfect human shape, and so they could not refrain 
 from carving complete statues of Jupiter, Venus, and 
 Apollo, and built temples in which to exhibit their deities ; 
 their temples were not imposing, they were beautiful, fit 
 receptacles for their gods. The Greeks never would have 
 cut out such perfected statuary, had it not been for their 
 religious conception. 
 
 The Italians in due time followed with new ideal ex- 
 pression of their pious concepts. The Virgin, the Saviour, 
 and saints, had become their inspiration ; so their artists 
 put upon the canvas perfect pictures of the Madonna, the 
 Saviour, and saints. Divine light seemed to shine out of 
 their faces, because spiritual insight of the artists moved 
 the mind, quickened the eye, and directed the hand ; ac- 
 cordingly, they erected temples for exhibiting and preserving 
 their ideal portraits. The artists were stimulated first 
 religiously, and were not only interested in perfecting their 
 pictures, but also in building temples to display them 
 before the people. These were made symbolical of the 
 divinities they worshipped. These symbols in the course 
 of decades were scattered over Europe, and by and by 
 the different orders of architecture were, more or less, 
 combined, but at the same time tending to give expression 
 of devout feeling and aspiration. 
 
 This cathedral was designed some four centuries ago, 
 and so savors of the spirit and expression of the aforesaid 
 religious epochs. Externally it is a medley of the Gothic, 
 Italian, Doric, and Moorish styles. It is massive, being 
 four hundred feet in length and two hundred feet in width,
 
 154 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 overtopped with a dome two hundred feet above the founda- 
 tion, and twin towers two hundred and fifty feet high. The 
 front facing the Mayor Plaza is superb and imposing ; the 
 facade is exquisitely carved, and set with statues. There 
 is no estimating the loving labor that has been given to 
 perfecting and finishing the wondrous structure. It must 
 be studied, to be appreciated. It is not a great bauble, as 
 some out of ignorance and bigotry are disposed to regard 
 it, but a marvelous development of religious thought and 
 soul-culture. 
 
 In the western tower is tire Santa Maria de Guadalupe 
 bell, nineteen feet high, not exceeded in size by any other 
 bell, save the one at Moscow. This is the largest and 
 most costly church edifice in America. 
 
 Entering within, like the cathedrals of Milan, Burgos, 
 and Cologne, we find the interior falls far short of the 
 exterior ; the paraphernalia is largely modern, and thought- 
 lessly sentimental. Like many of the churches in Spain, 
 the choir is placed in the middle of the nave, apparently 
 reducing its massiveness. The high altar beyond the choir 
 was once the richest in the world, but it has been plun- 
 dered of its gold, of its solid golden candlesticks, of the 
 statue of Assumption, made of gold and set with dia- 
 monds, rubies, and pearls ; however, in spite of the losses, 
 no doubt, it is at present the most richly-adorned church 
 on the western continent. The railing about the choir, 
 extending to the great altar, is composed of gold, silver, 
 and copper, containing so much gold that responsible par- 
 ties have offered to exchange a solid silver one for it ; the
 
 THE CITY OF MEXICO. 155 
 
 original cost of it being one million, five hundred thousand 
 dollars, having been purchased in China. 
 
 In the auditorium there are six altars, which are dedi- 
 cated to Christ, the Virgin, and saints. Many pictures hang 
 upon the walls, and a few of them are by the Old Masters. 
 There are a dozen side-chapels, which can be shut off 
 by bronze doors, from the audience room ; in one of these 
 is buried the Emperor Iturbide. Under the Altar of Los 
 Reyes, the finest in the cathedral, are entombed the heads 
 of Hidalgo, Allende, Aldama, and Jimenez, interred here 
 after the independence of Mexico was established, show- 
 ing that the true and worthy cannot be forgotten or dis- 
 honored. 
 
 A dim light pervades the whole interior ; but an attempt 
 is made to expel the darkness by the flames of tallow 
 candles. This church lacks the glow and richness of 
 stained and illustrated windows. Mass continues here 
 from sunrise to sunset ; about midday it is usually thronged 
 with suppliants before the different altars. 
 
 It was in this cathedral that Maximilian and Carlotta 
 were consecrated and crowned in 1864 amid great pomp, 
 emperor and empress of Mexico. 
 
 From the cathedral towers of fifty bells, splendid views 
 of the city and the surrounding country may be enjoyed. 
 Humboldt said that these prospects were some of the 
 finest he had ever experienced. 
 
 In building this grand structure, what self-denial was 
 practised ! What self-sacrifices were made ! What taxa- 
 tion was endured ! Then the power of the clergy was
 
 THE CITY OF MEXICO. 157 
 
 supreme ; therefore, all, from the poorest unto the richest, 
 from the least unto the greatest, were forced to do first 
 and most for the church. Accordingly, marvelous things 
 were accomplished in the way of building the sixty 
 churches in this city and the thousands throughout the 
 country. 
 
 At the time the empire was supplanted by the republic, 
 nearly three fourths of the property of Mexico was in the 
 possession of the priests. The clergy had become so 
 numerous, and their living was so expensive, and the cost 
 of supporting their institutions was so great, that the 
 country was fast on the way to financial ruin. Like 
 Spain, it had been reduced from a first-class empire to 
 one impoverished and degraded. It was being crushed 
 under the weight of priestcraft. 
 
 Most of the churches in this city are substantial and 
 costly. They are open all the day, and in many of them 
 mass takes place every hour. If the worship were only 
 instructive and inspiring, what progress would be made 
 and what a Christian people the Mexicans would soon 
 become ! But this pinning the soul's salvation to sacer- 
 dotal garments, not permitting it to think and do for 
 itself, drops it into the lower depths, instead of lifting it 
 into the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 The National Palace is situated on the eastern side of 
 the Mayor Plaza, being seven hundred feet long and two 
 stories high, made out of stone, and occupying the site of 
 the palace of the Montezumas. Were it not for the 
 tower over the central entrance, the building would have
 
 158 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 little prominence. The president has a suite of elegant 
 rooms in it, where he resides during the winter. The 
 offices of state officials are in it and the Ambassadors' 
 Hall, whose walls are hung with large portraits of the 
 rulers of Mexico ; and at one end is a full-sized likeness 
 of Washington. Here, too, is an apartment known as 
 Maximilian's, which contains many relics of him ; 
 another room is known as that of Iturbide, exhibiting 
 the eagle and serpent, forming the coat of arms of 
 Mexico. In the armory are the rifles with which Maxi- 
 milian and his generals were shot. 
 
 The general post-office of the city is under the roof of 
 the same building, and also the National Museum, which 
 was improved and so arranged by Maximilian as to be 
 very attractive, and made one of the most interesting 
 exhibits of a mystic people of whom historians only here 
 and there have been able to catch glimpses. Perhaps, 
 when the tremendous pyramids and mounds of the land 
 shall be fully explored, writings and testimonials will be 
 discovered, as in Thebes, Babylon, and Persepolis, which 
 will open up the full arcana of the Toltecs, Aztecs, and 
 ClirT-Dwellers. We are living in an age of exhuming and 
 turning darkness into light. 
 
 Entering upon the ground floor of the museum, we are 
 at once confronted with the Aztec Calendar, which was 
 in use before a white man trod American soil. The face 
 of the stone is covered with curious hieroglyphics. On 
 examination, it becomes evident that it was designed by 
 a genius and cut by skilled hands. It is a hard, trachyte
 
 THE CITY OF MEXICO. 159 
 
 stone, circular, and eleven feet and eight inches in diame- 
 ter, and three feet in thickness. It shows that the Mexi- 
 can civil year was divided into eighteen months of twenty 
 days each, and these months into four weeks of five days 
 each. The Aztecs made use of this calendar long before 
 the Romans adopted the Julian calendar. The entire 
 face of the stone was painted red with such durable color 
 that in places it remains quite bright. This calendar has 
 striking resemblance to the calendars of the Chinese, the 
 Hindoos, Java Islanders, and the Persians, implying that 
 these far-separated people may have originally sprung 
 from the same stock and land. This stone was quarried 
 in the distant mountains and brought by some unknown 
 power and fixed in the side of the Aztec temple, and 
 afterwards was placed in the side of the present cathedral. 
 The next monolith of special interest is the Sacrificial 
 Stone, being eight feet in diameter and three feet thick, 
 having been devoted to sacrificing human beings to their 
 god Mexitl. On one occasion, priests offered up seven 
 hundred and twenty-eight victims by cutting out their 
 hearts, and, holding them up to the sun, would say, 
 " Convey this message to the high god." The Fainting 
 Stone, the Goddess of Water, the Coatlical, the Atlandes, 
 the Toltec Vase and Column, all constructed out of 
 trap-rock, combine beauty and ugliness. The ninety and 
 nine skulls strung on rods of iron imply that the gods 
 required frequent offerings to appease their wrath. The 
 huge Chac-Mol represents a deity taking a bath, and 
 Mixcoatl exhibits a god asleep. The Colossal Head is
 
 THE CITY OF MEXICO. 
 
 161 
 
 THE GOD MEXITL. 
 
 one of the finest pieces of sculpture 
 in the museum, and looks as though 
 it might be a twin to some Egyptian 
 head. The representations of the 
 goddess of Death, the Woman Ser- 
 pent, the Faces of Priestesses, and 
 the Waxing and Waning Moons, are 
 significant sculptures. 
 
 The Astronomical Stone plainly 
 shows that the Aztec priests were 
 wont to watch the stars as did the 
 old Sabaans from the top of their 
 temples. They studied the stars to 
 signal the time of their feasts and 
 for omens of future happenings. 
 
 Here are specimens of ancient pottery of wondrously 
 handsome shape ; also stone tools, which take us back to 
 the period when the earth was young. These have been 
 found with the bones of mastodons and other monstrous 
 animals which ran their race long since. Inspecting these 
 antiquities leads one to feel 
 that Mexico is a very old 
 country, although in exam- 
 ining its relics, we receive 
 no intimation that it ever 
 had scholars that were 
 saints, or saints that were 
 scholars. Still it did pro- 
 duce works worthy to live ;
 
 l62 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 and we can but lament that Cortez, when he subdued the 
 land, should have made such destruction among the 
 temples and art works. The tendency of war has always 
 been to oblivion and obliteration. 
 
 The museum contains many modern curiosities. The 
 coat of mail which Cortez wore on his way from Vera 
 Cruz to the capital, and his Red Standard with the face 
 of the Virgin, are preserved here, and also the solid sil- 
 ver table service, which was imported for the personal 
 use of Maximilian and Carlotta, and their state carriage 
 of English make, after the style at the time of Henry 
 VIII. As we inspect these relics, we can but realize that 
 " Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit 
 before a fall ;" and that vanity joined with many virtues, 
 shades them all. 
 
 The ancient portion of this museum resembles in no 
 slight degree the Boulak museum of Egypt ; these are 
 the two uniquest museums of the world, containing many 
 of the oldest relics. 
 
 From the museum, let us pass to the National art gal- 
 lery, which is in the rear of the palace. It contains hun- 
 dreds of pictures and is equal, if not ahead, of any other 
 gallery in America, but when contrasted with the National 
 gallery of London, or that of the Louvre in Paris, or Ufiz- 
 zi of Florence, or the gallery of Dresden, it falls a long 
 way behind. In some of the rooms are to be seen many 
 students from fifteen to twenty years of age, earnestly at 
 work with the pencil and brush. The government aids 
 and encourages them in this calling, hoping that in the
 
 THE CITY OF MEXICO. 
 
 i6 3 
 
 future, Mexico will be able to present better art results 
 than it has in the past. It would seem that there must 
 be much latent genius in the direction of art, for the Tol- 
 tecs and Aztecs were curious and skilled workers in sil- 
 ver and gold ; even they have left a few pictures of a 
 high order for their times ; art has never been entirely 
 ignored in this land. When the Spaniards came, they 
 could but have lent a favorable influence to the advance- 
 ment of art works, for they had been in contact with 
 them all their life. 
 
 A PROTESTANT SCHOOL. 
 
 The public schools here are receiving considerable 
 attention ; they number three hundred, and are attended 
 by twenty thousand pupils. The city appropriates an- 
 nually for their support a hundred and fifty thousand 
 dollars. The school buildings were formerly convents or
 
 164 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 churches. Private and parochial schools are common. 
 The priests are still diligent in trying to control educa- 
 tional matters. 
 
 The Protestant missionaries have secured sure footing 
 in this city ; especially is this true of the Methodists, the 
 Presbyterians, and Episcopalians. On Sunday these 
 churches have good attendance of natives at their meet- 
 ings and are constantly gaining new additions, more par- 
 ticularly from the young, who are being educated in their 
 private schools. Their pupils must number from six to 
 eight hundred. The teachers, whom I saw in these 
 schools, were well qualified for fulfilling their onerous 
 duties and are truly consecrated to their work. 
 
 President Diaz protects the Protestant missions ; 
 though he is a Catholic by birth and education, yet he is 
 friendly to all Christian churches. Because of his liber- 
 ality, the Catholic priests have anathematized him, but 
 this makes no difference with his course of conduct ; he 
 seems determined to do his whole duty as a Christian man. 
 
 The colleges of medicine and mining and the conser- 
 vatory of music are popular institutions. The hospitals 
 and homes of charity are numerous and generally under 
 the charge of the church; but, in spite of the means 
 provided to meet the wants of the indigent, beggars 
 are beyond counting ; some of the most deformed and 
 wretched are reported to be employed by priests, who 
 receive the lion's share of what they get from visitors and 
 foreigners. Strangest things nowadays are being done in 
 the name of Christianity.
 
 THE CITY OF MEXICO. 165 
 
 The markets of Mexican cities afford an excellent 
 opportunity for learning the products of the country and 
 for the study of human nature ; the Valador, south of the 
 palace, is the principal one of this city ; for many years, it 
 was rented from the heirs of Cortez. The other markets 
 are the Merced, Jesus, and Santa Catarina. Enter these 
 early in the morning, and it is surprising to see the variety 
 and quantity of articles for sale. It seems hardly possi- 
 ble that such a number of eatables in the course of 
 twenty-four hours could be converted into human mus- 
 cles, fat and nerves, so as to be walking the streets, laugh- 
 ing in the social circle, weeping in the sickroom, and 
 praying at the altar. It is a miracle how the vegetable 
 eats the mineral ; the animal, the vegetable ; and the 
 human, the animal. The big fish devour the little ones. 
 The temporal law appears to assert the " survival of the 
 fittest." Sunday is the emphatic market day. 
 
 Humboldt so left his mark here that the house which 
 he occupied is held in great reverence and is now owned 
 by one of the oldest and wealthiest families. The foot- 
 prints of a truly great man are stamped into granite, not 
 sand. 
 
 Now that the sewerage of the city has been completed 
 by President Diaz, it will be more frequented by foreign- 
 ers and sought for a home than it ever has been. A 
 supply of gcod water, proper drainage, a fine climate, 
 pure mountain air, and splendid scenery, cannot fail of 
 causing the city to grow. If it is a marvel now, it will be 
 a greater one in the future.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 AROUND THE CUV OK MEXICO. 
 
 The tramway took us southward from the Mayor Plaza 
 through an extremely novel part of the city, where we saw 
 amusing and saddening sights, such as matrons sitting in 
 the balconies smoking cigarettes, as if it were smart, but 
 the senoritas apparently were more modest, putting the 
 tobacco to their lips on the sly ; then there were any 
 number of peon women tramping along the streets with 
 one or two babies strapped to their backs, having in their 
 hands bags, or baskets of produce, going to market. It 
 was remarkable to see so many children along the streets; 
 large families are the fashion here. Girls are allowed to 
 marry at twelve years of age, and few of the lower classes 
 go beyond fourteen years old without having children. 
 Marriage here consists of a civil act which may be kept 
 private for a long while, but it makes children born to 
 such parties legitimate, yet they live separately before the 
 world ; however, sooner or later after the civil rite, the 
 lovers go through a religious ceremony and then they 
 enjoy the honeymoon. 
 
 At length our way was along the Vega Canal, close by 
 a paseo which used to be the boulevard of the city before 
 Maximilian's time, whose sides are lined with willows and 
 poplars to a considerable extent. After riding two miles,
 
 AROUND THE CITY OF MEXICO. 
 
 167 
 
 THE VEGA BOULEVARD. 
 
 we stepped from the 
 cars upon a boat with 
 a sufficient capacity 
 to carry twenty per- 
 sons ; pretty soon an 
 awning was drawn 
 over us, which made 
 sad havoc with the 
 hats and bonnets. 
 The propelling pow- 
 er was two dusky skinned men pushing the boat with 
 long poles. We fell in with many canal-boats loaded 
 with produce from the country, bound for the market ; 
 we saw some squashes, beets, and turnips, which were 
 monsters. At a certain wharf these boats are stopped 
 for the collection of toll before they can unload their 
 goods. The water of the canal was black with filth, and 
 its stench at times was scarcely bearable. None can 
 tell how old the canal is ; it was here when Cortez came 
 to the country. 
 
 At length, we were 
 riding past the quaint 
 old town of Santa 
 Anita, which looks as 
 if a whirlwind had 
 brought it here from 
 some southern sec- 
 tion and let it fall 
 from aloft ; the houses THE VEGA CANAL.
 
 i68 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 To THE FLOATING GARDENS. 
 
 are made of straw, 
 mud, and palms. 
 
 As we came to a 
 bridge across the ca- 
 nal, we were all oblig- 
 ed to drop into the 
 bottom of the boat, 
 and the awning fell, 
 and there we were, 
 a funny mess on an 
 excursion in the City of Mexico. Of course we were not 
 prostrate a long time, but had three just such experiences 
 on the way to the Floating Islands. At the expiration of 
 half an hour, we parted from the canal without shedding 
 any tears ; crossing a neck of land, we came to the waters 
 leading directly to the anticipated curiosities. Here we 
 got into so-called gondolas, which have no more resem- 
 blance to the Venetian gondolas than dolts have to 
 savans. Soon we were quickly aboard these flat con- 
 cerns, being pushed by natives, one to each boat, among 
 
 the flowery and gar- 
 den islands, which 
 are raised mounds of 
 blackest and richest 
 soil. The beds are 
 in the shape of par- 
 allelograms, elevated 
 two feet above the 
 THE FLOATING GARDENS. water. Sections are
 
 AROUND THE CITY OF MEXICO. 169 
 
 allotted to different gardeners, who work them on shares. 
 These men and women have become experts in growing 
 flowers and vegetables. The climate is summer the year 
 round. These so-called Floating Gardens are now as 
 fixed as the everlasting hills, and I am inclined to be- 
 lieve that they have always been stationary. It was sim- 
 ply poetical to call them floating, the same as it was to 
 call the gardens of Babylon, connected with the palace 
 of Nebuchadnezzar, Hanging Gardens, when they were 
 built three hundred feet high upon arches of brick. 
 Spaces are left between the beds, so that boats can pass 
 readily. Much of the weeding and work is done by the 
 cultivators standing in boats. These gardens are scat- 
 tered through hundreds of acres of water, and thousands 
 of natives make their 
 living working them. 
 When the winds rage 
 strongly, lifting heavy 
 waves, great damage 
 is done to the sides 
 of the beds, forcing 
 the gardeners to spend 
 much time in dredg- 
 ing and bringing up 
 
 , , . MEXICAN GONDOLAS. 
 
 mud for repairs. 
 
 While passing among them, it did seem as though the 
 men and women in charge must be the happiest of mor- 
 tals, being apparently delighted with their occupation ; 
 we could scarcely imagine how it could be otherwise,
 
 I/O 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 THE VEGA MUSEUM. 
 
 : amid such fragrance, 
 charming colors, and 
 often sweet songs 
 : from those riding at 
 their leisure among 
 the wondrous beau- 
 ties. These gardens 
 are a great resort on 
 Sundays and feast- 
 days. 
 
 On our return we 
 
 visited at the Vega village a motley museum of quaintest 
 and strangest curiosities ever brought together, the work 
 of one man, Don Juan Corona. It is in the hacienda, 
 where he dwelt, shaded by trees and enveloped with vines 
 and flowers. Nearly every room of the establishment is 
 a museum crowded with relics of the different ages of 
 Mexican history ; the specimens are not large but unique, 
 representing peace and war, barbarism and civilization. 
 The founder's profession was that of a bull-fighter, still 
 his hobby was in collecting bric-a-brac, yet he did devote 
 special attention to the poor children of his village and 
 from his savings he founded a school for them in one of 
 the buildings of his hacienda, which is still in opera- 
 tion, though Don Juan Corona has been dead for years. 
 The children speak of him as a good father. 
 
 The cemeteries of a city are the true indices of the 
 real character of its citizens ; at least, these are sym- 
 bols of their serious thoughts and best moods. Scarcely
 
 AROUND THE CITY OF MEXICO. 
 
 171 
 
 out of the limits of the city is the cemetery of San Fer- 
 nando and a church of the same name, constituting the 
 Westminster Abbey and Greenwood of Mexico. Here 
 are the ashes of the most illustrious characters that the 
 country has produced. Near its entrance is the elabo- 
 rate tomb of Benito Juarez, the most distinguished states- 
 man and honored president of the republic, the Lincoln 
 of their land, who departed this life in 1872. He was a 
 full-blooded Indian, born back on the hills, and by his 
 own efforts he secured a good education, became an emi- 
 nent lawyer, and, in due time, the savior of his country. 
 The monument consists of a full-sized figure repre- 
 senting the president shrouded in a prostrate position, 
 having his head sustained by a beautiful female figure 
 personating Mexico, made out of the clearest white 
 marble ; these are enclosed by a Grecian marble temple 
 supported by Ionic pillars, making a harmonious com- 
 bination which will bear the closest inspection. The 
 temple and tomb are kept literally wreathed in flowers, 
 which are supplied 
 by the rich and the 
 poor, thereby show- 
 ing how the great 
 man is cherished 
 and lives in the 
 hearts of his coun- 
 trymen. Not far 
 from this memorial 
 are the tombs of TOMB OF JUAREZ.
 
 172 MEXICO: THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 Mejia and Miraman, the generals who were shot with 
 Maximilian. In this yard are many tombs of famous 
 Mexicans. Though the tombs are scattered throughout 
 the grounds, the remains of the dead are deposited in 
 the heavy walls enclosing the cemetery, for the corpses 
 could not be buried in graves without being sunk in 
 water that permeates the ground on which the city 
 stands. This yard is crowded, lacking order and sym- 
 metry. 
 
 There is another cemetery out three miles to the west 
 by the name of Dolores, which is a Mount Auburn on a 
 humble scale, located among hills and vales. The Eng- 
 glish and American burying-grounds are near it ; in the 
 American, rest the remains of four hundred soldiers who 
 fell by shot and disease at the time General Scott cap- 
 tured the city. 
 
 When a death occurs here in a poor family, they hire a 
 coffin in which to bear the remains to the cemetery, and 
 there the body is taken out and interred in a trench and 
 the coffin is returned to the undertaker. Lumber is so 
 scarce that caskets and coffins are too expensive for the 
 poor people to buy; and often they cannot afford to hire 
 them. 
 
 When a funeral procession is passing, whether in the 
 city or outside of it, the people on the street are very 
 respectful, always facing it as it comes opposite to them, 
 the men taking off their hats, and many of them bowing, 
 whether the dead had been a public or private indi- 
 vidual.
 
 AROUND THE CITY OF MEXICO. 173 
 
 The burial here is not hurried as in some countries. 
 The friends are careful to wait till they are certain the 
 flesh of the dead is cold, and then the obsequies are not 
 performed in hot haste, as is sometimes the case in the 
 city and in the country, implying that the quicker the 
 departed are under the sod, the sooner relatives will 
 inherit their property. 
 
 Tacubaya is a beautiful village out five miles from the 
 city, reached by horse-cars. It is on high ground and 
 formerly after a flooding experience, an effort was made 
 to remove the. city to this place, because of its favorable 
 situation, but the influence of education and association 
 were too strong for such a radical change. The people 
 chose to suffer severe inconveniences rather than desert 
 the homes of their fathers ; so they resolved to live where 
 their ancestors did, and die where they died. Yet Tacu- 
 baya at length became the dwelling-place of many business 
 men of the city. It was properly laid out and planted 
 with ornamental trees and is outwardly an inviting town. 
 It has many superb residences, surrounded with delight- 
 ful grounds. But the people have allowed it to become 
 converted into a gambling resort, worse than ever was 
 Baden Baden, or Monte Carlo. The wheel of fortune 
 and misfortune is whirling all hours of the day and far 
 into the night in the gilded hall and on the street. Men 
 and women, boys and girls, are enraptured with the 
 chance-excitement. They have become so addicted to it 
 as to render it fashionable in the town to be a gambler ; 
 they are pleased to have strangers look upon their per
 
 174 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 formances, hoping that they may be induced to try their 
 hand at the game, feeling that they surely will lose what- 
 ever they shall put down. Peons and even beggars are 
 putting down their tlacos and trying their shakes, praying 
 that the Virgin will give them good luck ; if they are suc- 
 cessful, they praise her, and if losers, then how they blas- 
 pheme her ! In the western part of the town is a 
 "blessed tree," which, the legend says, was blessed by a 
 priest who once rested in its shade and being made 
 happy, he bade it ever be green, whereupon a spring 
 gushed from its roots which has continued to flow and 
 the tree has continued green. 
 
 In going to this place and returning, we had a good 
 view of the bull-ring belonging to the city, which is in 
 operation every Sunday afternoon. In style and finish, it 
 
 does not equal by far 
 the one at Madrid, or 
 that of Grenada. It 
 has a large arena, sur- 
 rounded by a prosce- 
 nium capable of seat- 
 ing several thousand ; 
 it is roofless, yet men 
 and women who, if they 
 ever go to church, com- 
 plain if the prayer is 
 more than three minutes long, or the sermon more than 
 fifteen minutes in length, and to suit them the whole ser- 
 vice must not exceed half an hour, will sit from choice in 
 
 THE HULL-RING.
 
 AROUND THE CITY OF MEXICO. 175 
 
 the burning sun from three to four hours to see matadores 
 and picadores in the most brutal manner fight and slay 
 maddened bulls, and witness raging bulls pitch blind- 
 folded horses into the air with their horns and cruelly 
 mangle them to death ; and, whenever a matadore makes 
 a successful thrust, dropping dead a bull, then what cheers 
 upon cheers ! How the ladies throw wreaths and bou- 
 quets of flowers upon the so-judged hero ! Oh, how long 
 are such barbarities to be continued ? President Diaz 
 does not approve of them, and has issued an order that 
 after 1896 they must cease throughout the country, yet the 
 priests and the masses are in favor of them. 
 
 Three and a half miles northerly from the city is Guad- 
 alupe, which is the Mecca for religious pilgrimages in 
 this country; of course it savors more of myth than fact. 
 It would seem that the majority of the people at large are 
 particularly fond of being deluded ; for this reason, they 
 hanker more for fiction and legend than for the truth and 
 reliable history. This helps us account for the deference 
 paid the Bambino doll that is kept so choicely in the Ara 
 Coeli church in Rome, and can be exposed only by the 
 priest who has been ordained to that mission ; he bears it 
 round the city, making calls upon the sick, saying "This is 
 the image of the Infant Saviour, that can heal you of your 
 ills, if you only believe in it without doubting": and as 
 they believe, astonishing miracles are wrought and 
 throngs of the sick are made whole. Without a doubt, 
 they feel the Bambino has effected the cure. 
 
 When Cortez came to Mexico, he brought a wooden
 
 176 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 image of the Virgin, rudely whittled out, and dressed in 
 silk and satin and ornamented with many precious jewels, 
 as his guide and helper, but on the night of the Noche 
 Triste the image disappeared, causing consternation, and 
 nothing was heard of it until it was accidentally found in 
 the heart of a maguey cactus. Its restoration was hailed 
 with indescribable thanksgiving by Cortez and his fol- 
 lowers. A church was built on the spot where it was 
 found, and it was not long before the aristocratic Span- 
 iards came to adore it as the very Mother of God. No 
 wealthy dowager in the city or country could die in peace 
 before she had given to the Virgin her richest diamonds 
 and pearls : accordingly, it was a necessity for a treasurer 
 to be appointed, who would keep and guard the riches 
 bestowed upon the wondrous personage. Her riches are 
 valued at millions of dollars. When there is a severe 
 drought, the image is taken from its sacred cloister in the 
 church on the hill, and, under guard, it is borne into the 
 city, and through the streets and into many churches, 
 the people believing it to have the power of opening 
 the heavens and letting the rain fall. 
 
 Ten years after Cortez came into the country, a legend 
 says, the Virgin made her appearance in another form at 
 Guadalupe. A pious Indian living back on the moun- 
 tain was one morning on his way to mass, and at the foot 
 of Tepeyacac mountain he was suddenly stopped by the 
 appearance of the Virgin Mary who requested him to 
 proceed at once to his bishop, Juan Zumarraga, making 
 known that it was her wish that he should erect very
 
 AROUND THE CITY OF MEXICO. 177 
 
 soon a church on the spot where they were standing in 
 honor of herself. Diego was faithful to his charge but it 
 availed nothing. The next day he was passing by the 
 same place and the Virgin hailed him and inquired as to 
 his interview with the bishop, and he informed her that it 
 amounted to nothing. " Go again," said the Virgin 
 Mary, "to the bishop and declare to him that I, the Vir- 
 gin Mary, send you, demanding that a church forthwith 
 be erected right here where we are." The Indian was 
 faithful to his charge, but Zumarraga gave little heed to 
 the report. However, he did condescend to say, "bring 
 me some sign or token of the Virgin's will." In a few 
 days he was passing along the same way again to mass 
 and was hailed by the Virgin, and she was informed that 
 the bishop demanded a sign before he could take any 
 steps towards building a church. Upon this she com- 
 manded Diego to climb at once to the barren top of Te- 
 peyacac and gather a large quantity of roses and return 
 to her with them. He was obedient, and to his surprise 
 he did find roses where there had been bald rock before ; 
 having gathered the flowers, he went back immediately to 
 the Virgin who had continued in waiting. As she 
 received the flowers, she threw them into Diego's tilma, 
 or blanket, saying, " Take these as credentials of my mis- 
 sion." As he came into the presence of the bishop, he 
 opened his tilma to exhibit the roses, and lo, there was 
 imprinted on the tilma the miraculous image of the Virgin 
 Mary ! 
 
 Astounded at this revelation the bishop took the tilma, 
 13
 
 178 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 bearing it to his oratory, placed it in the greatest security 
 and without delay began to plan for the building of a 
 church in honor of the Mother of God. As the revela- 
 tion was made known, multitudes flocked to see the Lady 
 of Guadalupe, and Juan Zumarraga was filled with ecstacy, 
 because he could see the Divine Lady every day of his 
 life. Nothing could induce him to leave Guadalupe for 
 any time. The tihna is still preserved, being more than 
 three hundred years old ; its colors are said still to be 
 fresh and bright. The image of the Virgin differs from 
 others, inasmuch as a halo encircles the whole figure 
 instead of simply the head. 
 
 An extravagant church was built on the spot where the 
 first vision of Juan Diego took place ; in due time where 
 the second vision happened, a spring of water burst forth, 
 so the legend reads, and over it another church was built ; 
 this church is visited by thousands, to drink of its holy 
 and medicinal waters ; also another church has been 
 erected on the summit of Tepeyacac, where the roses were 
 found, and which is reached by a long flight of stone 
 steps. Half-way to the top of the mountain is a large 
 breastwork of stone, which the myth informs us was placed 
 there after this manner: A ship's crew was in great dis- 
 tress ; being likely to perish at sea they vowed to the 
 Virgin that, if she would bring them safe to harbor, they 
 would bear their ship's foremost mast with its sails and 
 set them on the hill of Guadalupe. The story reads, 
 as this was done, that the mast and sails were changed 
 to stone, as they are seen to-day.
 
 MAST CHANGED TO STQNE.
 
 180 MEXICO: THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 These stories are not fancies, but realities to the Span- 
 ish descendants and unnumbered Indians. Around the 
 hill has sprung up a village of three thousand inhabitants. 
 The Church of the Virgin Mary is the building of the 
 town, costing several millions of dollars. 
 
 It was here that a treaty was signed in 1848, between 
 the United States and Mexico. There was, however, 
 nothing miraculous about that. 
 
 THE REFORMA. 
 
 The Reforma, or Paseo, is a wide street extending wes- 
 terly from the city, being two and a half miles long and 
 lined with grand shade trees. At seven points, it widens 
 into seven glorietas, which are four hundred feet in diam- 
 eter. Three of these are already adorned with statues, 
 walks, and seats. In the centre of the first, stands the 
 statue of Charles IV, one of the largest castings consist- 
 ing of a single piece in the world. The second glorieta
 
 AROUND THE CITY OF MEXICO. l8l 
 
 is occupied by a superb statue of Columbus, and the third 
 with a statue of Guatemotzin, the last great Indian chief 
 of the Aztecs ; it is grand in design and execution. The 
 statues of Juarez, Hidalgo, and other illustrious char- 
 acters in the future will be placed in the other circles. 
 
 The Reforma is bound to be a splendid thoroughfare. 
 If it were not commenced by Maximilian, it was re- 
 adjusted and greatly improved by him. He seemed 
 desirous to make it the Rotten Row ami the Champs 
 Elysees of Mexico, and it is fast becoming such a drive 
 and promenade. In the afterpart of the day, countless 
 carriages 'and foot-people are briskly moving to and fro 
 upon it. Swells and dudes are there in large numbers. 
 Just look at the fine carriages passing; see the bounding 
 horses, the shining trappings, the fair damsels with man- 
 tillas waving about their olive faces and dark, sparkling 
 eyes. How the ladies greet the.Castilian gentlemen by the 
 waving of their handkerchiefs, as their horses go pranc- 
 ing by ! Yes, there is a deal of bowing and smiling as 
 riders rush swiftly past one another. It would appear 
 that to them the river of life is without a ripple, and is 
 sure to run smoothly through their mortal pilgrimage. 
 
 Move on to the Indian statue and the scene changes; 
 the most pitiable objects hustle about you ; perchance, a 
 poor wretch comes running on all fours, beseeching you 
 for medeos and reales ; another presents himself, as de- 
 serving, because his eye and nose are gone ; a woman 
 with dwarfed feet throws herself along by her hands, 
 having a baby strapped to her back, importuning you for
 
 182 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 THE TREE OK MONTEZUMA. 
 
 charitable gifts ; while here the beggars are sure to encom- 
 pass you thick and fast. In almost any other country 
 such miserables would be in poorhouses, or asylums. 
 Here, indeed, life has two striking sides to its picture : if 
 one is bright, the other is certainly dark. 
 
 Passing on, horses rush by you at the rate of a mile in 
 two minutes and ten seconds, riders and animals being 
 full of excitement. Bridles and saddles glisten as though 
 silver and gold. Now inspect sharply some of the Mexi- 
 can beauties. Be they of Spanish descent, the eye may 
 be light, hair flaxen, and complexion lily white : or, if 
 they be of Indian blood, their faces will be dark brunette,
 
 AROUND THE CITY OF MEXICO. 
 
 their eyes glassy black, and their hair the color of ebony ; 
 in gesture and movement they will be like a Dido, or 
 Raphael's fairest Madonna. 
 
 In the course of an hour, one can witness sights such 
 as are to be seen nowhere else. Rich and poor, ugly 
 and beautiful, saints and sinners, do strangely commingle, 
 starting the question, How can people be extravagant 
 and at their ease, when there is so much suffering about 
 them ? 
 
 This promenade terminates at the foot of Chapultepec, 
 the favorite hill of Montezuma and the chosen seat of 
 Maximilian. A short distance before leaving the Paseo, 
 upon the right, are large cypress trees ; here may be seen 
 the tree of Monte- 
 zuma, under which 
 the unhappy Cor- 
 tez wept on the noche 
 fn'sfe, overcome by 
 an unexpected de- 
 feat. Advancing 
 westward, the cy- 
 presses increase in 
 size, yea, become 
 stupendous, being 
 from eight to twelve 
 feet in diameter, and 
 no doubt some of 
 them are three thou- 
 sand years old. As A BIG CYPRESS.
 
 184 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 I looked at them and wondered, I could but imagine how 
 brave kings of old were wont to visit and admire these 
 monsters of nature's own production. It is said that the 
 like are not to be seen elsewhere in the wide world. 
 
 CASTLE AND MILITARY ACADEMY OF CHAPULTEPEC. 
 
 Chapultepec is some three hundred feet above the City 
 of Mexico, whose surface must measure a hundred acres; 
 whose flanks and base are covered with a dense forest of 
 cypress, oak, and elm trees. The face of the elevation 
 towards the city is abrupt and rugged. The birds are 
 plentiful, and appear delighted with this grand old for- 
 est. They fail not to make the welkin ring with orisons 
 and vespers. 
 
 Taking the road to the right, we soon discovered the 
 opening through the hill which led upwards into the resi- 
 dence of Montezuma, where he used to reign monarch of 
 all he surveyed. In his day this under-ground passage
 
 AROUND THE CITY OF MEXICO. I5 
 
 was known only to himself and constructed for his escape 
 from surprising danger. Following the road round and 
 up to the summit, we come to the Military school, the 
 West Point of Mexico, in which there are two hundred 
 and fifty young men being educated and trained for 
 soldiers and engineers. I found them pleasant fellows as 
 I talked with them about their studies, their life work, 
 and saw them in their quarters, which are commodious 
 and kept in the best order. 
 
 THE CADET MONUMENT. 
 
 Joining the grounds of the academy is the palace which 
 Maximilian caused to be built on the site of Montezuma's, 
 and occupied it so long as he was emperor, which is 
 now the summer residence of President Diaz. Going
 
 1 86 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 through the many gorgeously finished and furnished 
 apartments, I could but feel, if it were possible for tem- 
 poral equipments to render one happy, President Diaz 
 must be in the midst of such surroundings. 
 
 A few miles to the northwest of this height is Molino, 
 where a modest shaft has been erected to mark the place 
 of a battle, September the eighth, 1848, between the 
 
 CYPRESS GROVE. 
 
 soldiers of the United States and those of Mexico ; and 
 on the thirteenth of the same month, General Scott led 
 his forces round to the south of Chapultepec and up its 
 steep sides, storming and capturing its summit. The 
 cadets valiantly defended their stronghold, proving them- 
 selves braves indeed. In this battle General Ransom, the 
 president of Norwich University and the bravest of the
 
 AROUND THE CITY OF MEXICO. 187 
 
 brave, lost his life, bringing greatest sorrow to loving 
 friends and throngs of students. 
 
 The panorama to be enjoyed from this place of lookout 
 cannot be surpassed; really there is no other like it. 
 Contrast it with the Yosemite Valley, or the views from 
 Mount Washington, or the Alps, and it loses nothing. 
 It is one grand and sublime picture, forty miles in diame- 
 ter. Away in the distance are Ixtaccihuatl and Popo- 
 cateptl lifting their snowy crowns to the very gates of 
 heaven. At the foothills are the glistening waters of 
 Chalco, Zampango, Xaltocan, Cristobal, and Texcoco. 
 Around the shores of these lakes, and amidst shady groves, 
 by the aid of the glass many hamlets are to be seen ; still 
 close at hand is the marvelous City of Mexico, overtopped 
 with its numerous domes, towers, and cupolas, while 
 directly beneath are the Paseo with its umbrageous trees 
 and the cypress forest encompassing Chapultepec. 
 
 None can picture this entrancing landscape. All lovers 
 of nature looking upon it will admit without hesitancy 
 that it is worth rounding the globe to enjoy an hour's 
 survey of its captivating objects and marvelous combina- 
 tion from the old home of Montezuma, and at present, 
 the summer home of President Diaz.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 FROM THE CITY OF MEXICO TO PUEBLA. 
 
 It is true that one tires sooner of the city than of the 
 country. The former is largely the production of man, 
 the latter the production of God ; this accounts for the 
 fact without any philosophizing. 
 
 On leaving the city in the early morning, the thermome- 
 ter stood at thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit ; the Mexicans 
 were all declaring this to be uncommonly cold weather, 
 even for midwinter ; but before noon, as we were being 
 whirled on towards the south, the mercury marked eighty- 
 five degrees, and by two o'clock it ran up to ninety-five, 
 proving that this sunny land, as to temperature, is fickle 
 and subject to extreme changes. 
 
 We were eastward and southern bound. A few fleecy 
 clouds were floating overhead ; southwesterly the fiery 
 Ixtaccihuatl and Popocatepetl were bathing their snowy 
 crowns in the blue ether two miles above us. To the 
 south was Malinche, Cortez' favorite mountain, and soon 
 came to view Orizaba, being declared from a recent test 
 the highest mountain on the western continent; its sum- 
 mit, though burdened with snow, is often enveloped with 
 smoke, showing it to be the highest volcano in the world. 
 For a considerable distance, we were crossing bottom 
 lands which but recently were under water, teaching how
 
 FROM THE CITY OF MEXICO TO PUEBLA. 189 
 
 incessantly revolutions are going on among physical 
 objects. Herds of cattle and horses and flocks of goats 
 were feeding these lowlands. Not far off to the west were 
 the glassy waters of Lake Texcoco, whose shores are 
 whitened with a sodium deposit which is common in 
 moist ground affected by volcanic action. 
 
 Twenty miles from the city, the mesquits had assumed 
 the size of common apple trees. The surface was now 
 rolling, and then broken, and strangely diversified ; we 
 could occasionally look down deep canons and up steep 
 mountain sides ; burros were seen climbing a lofty hill 
 towards an adobe village, where apparently dwelt a few 
 hundred people nine thousand feet above the sea ; a river 
 ran under the track and seemed to be naturally dammed 
 by precipices, whose power is driving the spindles and 
 saws of several mills and shops. Occasionally the wind 
 stirred up a sand storm, whirling it through the air like 
 sleet and rain. The scarlet flowers of long rows of pepper 
 trees threw out and up their beauty, and emerald shade ; 
 the numerous stocks of corn and stacks of wheat straw 
 testified as to the richness of the soil. At length the 
 plains and moderately elevated hills were covered with 
 rows of agave, or maguey plants in different stages of 
 development ; these fields extend miles upon miles in dif- 
 ferent directions. The agave is to the natives what the 
 cocoa palm is to the peasants of Ceylon and Sangapore. 
 it furnishes them food, bedding, drink, fire, and money. 
 It supplies the common beverage of the country under the 
 hard name pulque. Have you ever thought that the names
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 of intoxicants have no euphony in them ? How could you 
 get any poetry out of ale, rum, beer, brandy, or whiskey, 
 since they are nearly always given to misuse and abuse ? 
 This plant is the same in kind as the century plant 
 raised in hothouses. The seeds are planted in pots or 
 boxes, and when they become a few inches high, they are 
 
 THE MAGUEY FIELDS. 
 
 set out in lines some six feet apart, and then they are let 
 quite alone for four or five years ; after this, they are care- 
 fully inspected and pruned. They require a dry soil, and 
 when they have been growing seven or eight years, they 
 send up central stalks, which, if let alone, would blossom 
 on the top by the time these were twenty feet high. 
 But as soon as they have grown as tall as the other parts
 
 FROM THE CITY OF MEXICO TO PUEBLA. 1 9! 
 
 of the plant, five or six feet, they are cut out at the base, 
 forming bowls which will hold from two to three quarts. 
 Now, these bowls will be rilled several times each day, 
 yielding for successive months for ten or twelve years, 
 from four to six quarts of sap, or honey water, as the 
 natives call it ; this gives the value of fifty dollars to each 
 thrifty, producing plant. The sap is extracted by means 
 of gourds with long necks, which are placed in the honey 
 water, and those in charge of the work suck at apertures 
 in the large end of the gourds ; the air removed, the sap 
 by atmospheric pressure is driven into the gourds ; upon 
 this the contents are empted into pig-skin bags, and borne 
 to large vats lined with ox hides having the hair inward, 
 where it remains from twelve to fourteen days till it fer- 
 ments ; as soon as this chemical change takes place, the 
 liquid is drawn off and drank, or sold as pulque. From 
 this region, it is stated that eighty thousand gallons 
 are daily shipped into the City of Mexico, and within a 
 radius of a hundred miles of that city, a million gallons 
 are daily carried into it, and drank within the next 
 twenty-four hours, for it will not keep longer than that 
 time. Pulque resembles in appearance milk, is acid to 
 the taste like yeast, and sticky to the touch. At first 
 thought, it is a wonder that anybody should ever drink 
 the stuff, and yet upon second thought, it is not remarka- 
 ble, as we recall the fact that a liking for luxuries is an 
 acquired taste ; thus it is with alcohol, opium, and tobacco ; 
 these drugs would not be used were it not for the excite- 
 ment, or exhilaration, which they afford.
 
 192 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 All here who can get pulque, drink it and some to drunk- 
 enness ; whiskey and brandy are distilled from it ; the Tol- 
 tecs and Aztecs made use of it. Every nation, whether civil- 
 ized or savage, seems to have some drug in common use, 
 which unduly stimulates the human system. TheChinese get 
 their spirituous drink from rice ; the Americans, by brew- 
 ing corn and rye with hops ; the Islams from coffee ; the 
 Japanese from tea ; the coolies of India from chetnng the 
 betel-nut; the English from rum; and the Scotch from 
 whiskey. Some human beings do enjoy being fuddled ; 
 it is not so with any of the lower orders of animal life. 
 How long will it be before men will cease to use know- 
 ingly any poison, relying upon water and the natural prod- 
 ucts to satisfy the wants of the body ? 
 
 By and by upon our left we came in sight of two im- 
 mense pyramids, in shape similar to those on the banks of 
 the Nile ; each of these covers over more space than does 
 Cheops, but they are not so high; the larger was dedi- 
 cated to the sun, and the smaller to the moon ; they were 
 constructed out of brick, and were the work of the Tol- 
 tecs, but when they were built, no man knows, no records 
 show ; they may be two thousand years old and even 
 more ; when they shall come to be explored, their history 
 may be revealed. 
 
 At Abiaco Station there were any number of Indians 
 present with numerous bundles of canes for sale ; some 
 were plain and others fanciful ; some were slender and 
 others massive ; some were light and others heavy ; some 
 were cheap and others dear ; however, a deal of trading
 
 FROM THE CITY OF MEXICO TO PUEBLA. 193 
 
 was done in the course of fifteen minutes, and our party 
 went on, well caned. As the sun was casting his last rays 
 from the loftiest mountains, bidding us "good day," our 
 train entered the city of Puebla, often called the City of 
 Angels ; but the human beings that flocked about us, 
 as we stepped from the cars, did not savor very much of 
 the angelic. 
 
 This city is one hundred miles from the City of Mexico 
 and twice that distance from the sea and Vera Cruz, and 
 is seven thousand feet in altitude. The legend of its 
 being founded is quaint and peculiar. The first Roman 
 Bishop of Mexico, the good Fray Julian Garces, was plan- 
 ning to found a town somewhere between the Gulf and the 
 City of Mexico. Having this in mind one eventful day, 
 he fell into a reverie, or half asleep, and was made to feel 
 that he saw a lovely plain watered by two rivers, dotted 
 with gushing springs, and overtopped by lofty mountains. 
 As he gazed, he saw two angels surveying the grounds and 
 setting stakes to mark the site of a superb city. The 
 vividness of the vision awoke him, and it was all so real, 
 that he set about searching for the site the angels had 
 selected, and, lo, he was so fortunate as quickly to come 
 upon it, and at once he declared that here shall the future 
 city be built, and be a rendezvous for pilgrims journeying 
 from the sea to the great city. 
 
 Accordingly, a town soon sprung up, three hundred and 
 fifty years ago, which has proved a great honor to the 
 whole country, although it has been subject to precarious 
 fortune, particularly within the last century ; for in 1821
 
 194 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 it was captured by Iturbide; in 1847, by General Scott; 
 in 1863, by the French; and in 1867, by General Diaz, 
 now the president of the republic. 
 
 Going into the city to investigate, I found it was built 
 of granite, when it might have been constructed of mar- 
 ble, for this stone, as well as granite, is quarried near by 
 in large quantities. It is reported to be the most choice 
 city in the land; its streets are swept and washed daily; 
 its drainage, like that in many oriental cities, runs down 
 the centre of the paved streets. Its plazas are extra large 
 and beautiful for a city of less than a hundred thousand 
 inhabitants ; great pains have been taken in arranging paths 
 and ornamenting them with flowers, shrubs, trees, seats, 
 and band stands ; in the principal plazas, martial music is 
 dispensed daily, at the expense of the government. Horse- 
 cars thread the main streets ; the pleasure vehicles are 
 more comely than any before seen in the country. In 
 spite of the good things, there is drudgery here as well as 
 throughout the land. It is painful to see what burdens 
 the peons bear through the streets ; men and women come 
 in from the country five, ten, and often more miles, bear- 
 ing on their backs vast loads of produce. I saw in one 
 instance four men with a heavy piano on their shoulders, 
 struggling along the streets. At the hotels, the mezos 
 will take monstrous Saratoga trunks on their backs, bear- 
 ing them up long flights of stairs and through extended 
 corridors and place them with care in their proper rooms, 
 feeling that such straining is all right. Some humane 
 society ought to take their part, and see that such an
 
 FROM THE CITY OF MEXICO TO PUEBLA. 195 
 
 abuse to human flesh is stopped. The servants, or those 
 in charge of the rooms in public houses, are young men, 
 who, as a rule, are extremely trusty and faithful. I have 
 scarcely ever found waiters so reliable in any other coun- 
 try. I have never 
 known of their 
 thieving, or pur- 
 loining .he least 
 thing from the 
 guests. 
 
 Cripples and 
 beggars are not 
 on the street here 
 as in most other 
 places visited. 1 
 should judge that 
 they do not exist, 
 or, if they do, the 
 municipal au- 
 thorit i e s keep 
 them out of sight. 
 The thorough- PUKBLA AQUADORES. 
 
 fares teem with a hopeful and well-to-do people; even the 
 barefooted peons seem to be of good cheer, and appar- 
 ently have about all they desire. 
 
 The Plaza Mayor is a spacious and delightful square, 
 furnished with all essentials to render it attractive ; you can 
 sit or walk in it at your pleasure, and enjoy the sweetest 
 fragrance of charming roses, pinks, and pansies. Mer-
 
 196 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 cantile establishments and Moorish portales nearly encom- 
 pass this plaza, where the principal trading of the city is 
 done. Here almost anything that is made, can be found ; 
 however, the special display is that of onyx curiosities ; 
 after examining these, it is no longer a wonder that the 
 city should often be called the Onyx City. The quarry 
 which supplies the stone is said to be inexhaustible ; it is 
 the finest alabaster in the world ; and some of the useful 
 works produced from it, express cultured taste and genius. 
 
 In the market, a 
 great display is 
 made of the wheat 
 grown in the vicin- 
 ity; the soil is such 
 as to afford a large 
 yield of cereals. 
 Apples, peaches, 
 pears, plums, and 
 grapes, all of excel- 
 lent quality and in 
 large quantities, are 
 grown. 
 
 The town is so 
 much given to man- 
 ufactures, that it is 
 often called the Lowell of Mexico ; its resources are 
 abundant and lasting. It has an extensive coal mine 
 near by, an immense bed of kaolin for producing porce- 
 lain ware, large quantities of limestone for making lime 
 
 PLAZA PROMENADE.
 
 FROM THE CITY OF MEXICO TO PUEBLA. 197 
 
 plaster, and an iron mine where foundries are kept run- 
 ning day and night. 
 
 The state of Puebla is so situated as to have a great 
 variety of climate. About ten o'clock at night, I saw 
 here for the first time the Southern Cross and the Polar 
 Star at the same hour. I could not discover the whole 
 of the Great Dipper; the North Star was close to the 
 horizon. 
 
 In going round the world, there were some three weeks 
 in clear weather that I did not see the Polar Star, be- 
 cause it was below the horizon, nor did I get sight of the 
 Southern Cross, because the atmosphere to the south was 
 all the while hazy during the night ; so I regarded it for- 
 tunate, indeed, to be able to see so near the south pole, 
 and, at the same time, able to observe the star that fixes 
 sure the due north course to those on land and on the 
 sea. 
 
 I was glad to be in Puebla on Sunday; the day is 
 passed much as it is in Spain, France, Germany, and 
 Italy ; the fore part of the day is devoted largely to wor- 
 ship, and the afterpart to pleasure. At sunrise, the bells 
 were sending out their calls for mass throughout the city. 
 At nine o'clock, I found myself in front of the cathedral ; 
 approaching it, I was reminded of St. Paul's, London, 
 and the Notre Dame of Paris, not that this one has strik- 
 ing resemblance to either, but, like them, it is grand and 
 imposing. Many visitors have come to regard it superior 
 to the cathedral of the City of Mexico, though not so 
 large. Its walls are granite, and its side extends the
 
 198 MEXICO: THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 whole width of the Mayor Plaza. Its superb front em- 
 bodies the Doric and Gothic styles, but the two magnifi- 
 cent towers, the Ionic. High up pver the central door, 
 is cut in bold relief the Golden Fleece. Eighteen bells 
 hang in the towers, each weighing from five to ten tons ; 
 it is a mystery, why they should have so many bells on 
 their churches, which are never used for chimes, but 
 there they hang, one being rung on a certain day, and 
 another on the next. Verily, the harmony and propor- 
 tion of this cathedral are not surpassed by any other 
 church, visited in the land. It is related by the Pueblans 
 that, when in process of construction, men worked on it 
 during the day and angels during the night, the latter 
 doing as much as the former. Let this be as it may, it is 
 a splendid blossoming out of the great mind that con- 
 ceived it. 
 
 In a worshipful mood, I approached the huge swinging 
 doors, heavily and strongly ironed ; stepping over the 
 threshold, I found myself in the midst of mass and a 
 responsive service, and every now and then floods of 
 sounds would fall upon the ear from the distant organ. 
 Taking a general survey, I soon discovered that the 
 interior of this edifice, in most respects does not detract 
 from the exterior. Its lofty nave, broad aisles, the mas- 
 sive stone columns, the inlaid floor of colored marble, its 
 altars, choirs, and chapels, all combine to render this the 
 most elegant church in Mexico. Numerous suppliants 
 were kneeling at the different altars, and before the High 
 Altar a multitude were worshipping; the rich and poor
 
 FROM THE CITY OF MEXICO TO PUEBLA. 199 
 
 were mingling together in the service ; any one observing 
 them could not question their sincerity; no other reli- 
 gious people are more punctilious in fulfilling their spirit- 
 ual duties ; they are not surpassed in this regard by the 
 ardent Mohammedans, the earnest Brahmins, or the 
 devoted Hindoos. Of course, the thoughtful, looking 
 without prejudice upon such a crowd, can but regret that 
 they in their worship are not so quickened in thought 
 and enlarged in knowledge as not to be carried away 
 with mere sentiment, conveying the idea they are doing 
 all this not so much from an intrinsic realization of duty, 
 or that they love to do it for its own sake, as for the sake 
 of reward, thereby gaining a passport to heaven. If they 
 could only be made to feel that the real significance of 
 life is character building, and that each one is reponsible 
 for the best possible use of time and opportunity allotted 
 him, what a blessing this would be to such suppliants, 
 and how it would tend to restrain them from pinning 
 their salvation to the robe of any priest or saint. 
 
 In scanning some of the altars, the crucifixes above 
 them, and certain pictures upon the walls, one could not 
 easily refrain the criticism, too tawdry. Then observing 
 the swinging of the censer, the so much bowing and kneel- 
 ing of priests, and the intoning of the liturgical lesson, it 
 is difficult to keep from thinking, all this is too formal ; 
 it is verily paying more deference to the letter than to 
 the spirit. But in spite of this criticism of faults, there 
 comes to mind the fact that, as yet, Catholicism and 
 Polytheism have produced the great artists of the civi-
 
 2OO MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 lized world. Protestantism, up to this date, has not 
 brought forth a Raphael, or a Phidias. 
 
 From the sacristy let us pass to the chapter-room. 
 The first glance into it shows that the traveler need not 
 go to Italy to find an exquisite church interior, for look at 
 the dome, the harmonious proportions, the Flemish tap- 
 estry, the pictures on the walls, the onyx table, around 
 which a score of bishops might sit with ease, and the 
 unique Spanish chairs, presented by Charles V. At times, 
 I was reminded of being in the Duomo at Milan, or San 
 Marco in Venice; perhaps, this church and chapel would 
 not have been, had it not been for the grand church edi- 
 fices across the sea. 
 
 The Mexican ladies in this vast assembly certainly 
 wore the badge of health and vivacity, and the bright- 
 eyed senoritas were full of life, and evidently rich in 
 anticipation. 
 
 This certainly is a religious city, for it has as many 
 churches as the City of Mexico, and from appearances, I 
 should say, they give them good support. 
 
 The cause of education in Puebla is receiving more 
 attention than in most other places. Many of the better 
 class of men have come to see that true education is the 
 only sure bulwark to a nation; that the speller and 
 reader, not the sword and bayonet, are the essentials to 
 uphold liberty. Not in the very long ago, illiteracy was 
 popular here, and looked upon as something to boast of, 
 but it is beginning to be far otherwise. The larger part 
 of the better classes can read and write ; but the peons
 
 FROM THE CITY OF MEXICO TO PUEBLA. 2OI 
 
 are largely in mental darkness ; they have really been 
 debarred from getting any education ; they have been 
 regarded by the Spanish as the coolies of Ceylon are by 
 the English. The wealthy have felt that, if they should 
 be educated, they could not be kept in subjection, and 
 would cease to be faithful laborers. It will prove with 
 them as with the negro of the South, the more he knows, 
 or the better his education, the better citizen he makes. 
 As the peons become educated, for they can be, having 
 good natural ability, they will become elevated in thought, 
 in purpose, in religion and worship, in character and 
 fitness for a higher life. If the Pueblans support at the 
 present time more schools, according to their population, 
 than any other town of Mexico, they will do still better, 
 outgrowing their present fondness for the bull-ring and 
 cock-pit. Christian education is the sure panacea for the 
 ills and drawbacks of mortal life.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 CHOLULA AND TLAXCALA. 
 
 On leaving Puebla, I had a feeling such as I had not 
 experienced before since entering the land of silver, 
 onyx, and opals ; while this city has not the sparkle and 
 gaiety of the City of Mexico, it has a kind of repose like 
 the beauty of twilight, which time and experience only 
 serve to deepen. So on the morning of leaving, I strolled 
 from the train, as the marvelous wave of gold was climb- 
 ing the gray beach of the eastern sky, and soon dashed 
 splendor over the city and the wide-spreading landscape. 
 At a swift pace walking here and there with no other 
 object in view besides that of fastening memory-pictures 
 more firmly in the mind, I took a farewell look at some 
 of the plazas, the cathedral, the governor's palace, and 
 the show windows around the Mayor Plaza. Every one 
 met on the street was civil and polite ; however, some of 
 them loitered, as if they had a longer lease of life than 
 they knew what to do with. It was not long before I was 
 back to the train, making an experiment, as often does 
 the school boy after having learned his geography lesson ; 
 shutting his eyes, he scans what he has been over with 
 the mental sight, to decide how much of his lesson he has 
 actually got. This I do know, that I left Puebla with 
 many pleasant impressions.
 
 CHOLULA AND TLAXCALA. 2O3 
 
 Arrangements had been made to convey us to Cholula 
 by tramway. 1 anticipated this digression with pleasure, 
 for we were to visit the oldest town and sights, probably, 
 of the country, and the very old is prone to be bewitching ; 
 so the world of scholars cross oceans, deserts, climb 
 mountains, descend into caverns, and endure trying hard- 
 ships for the sole purpose of seeing the ancient. 
 
 As we started out, our course being westward, the two 
 snow-capped volcanoes, Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl, 
 were directly and close before us. It is not singular that 
 the latter should often be called "The White Woman," 
 for upon the summit was the prostrate form of a female 
 figure, enwrapped in a snowy robe, whiter than linen. 
 These are among the grandest mountains, and we were 
 enjoying the best views we had had of them. Ruskin 
 was right when he said that " mountains are the begin- 
 ning and end of all natural scenery." Nothing would 
 induce me to part with the recollection that I have of the 
 Monadnock mountain, from the old home in which I was 
 born. 
 
 Oaks, ashes, firs, and pines belt the sides of these 
 mountains far towards their summits ; flowers from the 
 tropics to the frigid zone can be gathered in the course of 
 two hours' climbing. The birds delight in their loftiness ; 
 the eagle and hawk scream and whistle around their sum- 
 mits; and song birds of all latitudes find their coveted 
 climate somewhere from base to crown. These eleva- 
 tions being volcarios, reveal at once how they were 
 formed, by upheavals and outpouring of lava ; their pina-
 
 CHOLULA AND TLAXCALA. 205 
 
 cles are some two miles above us ; they are unfailing sen- 
 tinels to all the region around. 
 
 The rolling prairie over which we were passing, was 
 largely covered with maguey plants, alfalfa, and wheat, 
 out of the ground barely enough to render the surface 
 green. The tramway ran along the highway, which has 
 no rounded road-bed, nor is it paved. 
 
 Throngs of peons, men and women, were trudging 
 towards Puebla, with heavy burdens upon their backs. 
 We crossed a river which evidently at flood-time is a 
 flood, but now it was running little water ; clumps of cot- 
 tonwood and willow trees were scattered alongthe banks. 
 Haciendas were passed, in whose fields large numbers of 
 swine and cattle were feeding. 
 
 In less than forty minutes we were landed in a woe- 
 begone village of three thousand inhabitants, whose 
 adobe buildings are scattered over a deal of space that 
 was once occupied by five hundred thousand stirring 
 people. 
 
 I was after ruins, and from experience in the East, I 
 expected to find a dilapidated people here, for only such 
 seem to linger and dwell among old wastes. There can be 
 no question but here are some of the oldest ruins in Mex- 
 ico ; the object of special attraction is the pyramid which 
 rises above the surrounding country two hundred feet, 
 and covers an area of twenty-three acres, twice as much 
 ground as does the pyramid of Cheops ; it was a hundred 
 and sixty feet square on the top, having been constructed 
 out of adobe brick from twelve to fourteen inches square
 
 CHOLULA AND TLAXCALA. 2O7 
 
 and four inches thick ; a portion of them were sunburnt, 
 and others kilnburnt. 
 
 It is a tremendous mound, for such it seems to-day, as 
 you survey the grass, shrubbery, and trees upon the sides 
 and on a part of the top. The mound which the English 
 erected on the field of Waterloo to commemorate their 
 victory over the French, is but a pigmy compared to this, 
 yet the English speak of that as a wondrous work. 
 
 It is known that it was here when the Aztecs took the 
 land from the Toltecs, and there are legends to the effect 
 that it was here when the latter came in possession of the 
 land. One myth says it was built by a race of giants, 
 descendants from two who survived a deluge that over- 
 spread the land ; their intention to start with, was to raise 
 it to heaven, but they incurred the displeasure of their 
 gods, who sent forth fire and destroyed them. This story 
 is similar to the legend of Babylon and the history of the 
 Noachian flood. On the summit of this pyramid was 
 built a massive temple in honor of Quetzalcoatl, the 
 god of the air, whose huge image was crowned with 
 flames of fire, holding in one hand a jeweled sceptre and 
 in the other an emblem of his reign over the winds. As 
 we climbed the stone steps up a winding path to the top, 
 we found no remnant of the old temple which was here 
 when Cortez first came to the magnificent city. It was 
 speedily demolished and a Roman church built in its 
 place. 
 
 The pyramid has never been explored to any extent ; 
 in building a railroad a few years since, one corner was
 
 2O8 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 cut through, so as to expose the layers of brick and the 
 skeletons of two human beings. The more I examined 
 it, the more I was reminded of the ruins of old Babylon ; 
 the pile resembles that of Birs Nimrod ; both are pyram- 
 idal in shape and placed so as to correspond precisely 
 with the cardinal points, being made out of brick of about 
 the same kind and size ; and each story was drawn in, to 
 leave terraces round the whole work. In the room of the 
 upper story of Birs Nimrod was a solid golden statue of 
 Merodach, the god of the sun, being forty feet high in a 
 sitting posture. This tower was built and dedicated to 
 seven different planets, and the top was devoted nights 
 to star-gazing. Babylon was built entirely out of brick ; 
 the people could not do otherwise, for there was no stone, 
 or timber, within a long distance : accordingly, the city 
 of Babylon, with its walls sixty-seven miles in extent, three 
 hundred feet high, and one hundred feet thick at the 
 base, and so wide on top as to allow of three horse 
 chariots racing abreast, the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, 
 the hanging gardens, the wharves along the Euphrates, 
 were all made out of brick from twelve to fourteen inches 
 square and four inches thick. 
 
 Now, the adobe brick here are about the same size and 
 thickness. I could not refrain from asking, How can we 
 account for such likeness only on the ground that the 
 builders of this and other ancient pyramids of Mexico 
 sprung directly, or indirectly, from the Chaldeans? The 
 pyramids and the old temples here might have been built 
 out of porphyritic stone, trap-rock, or marble, for they
 
 CHOLULA AND TLAXCALA. 209 
 
 were in abundance and near by; and it seems that, if 
 they had been constructed by men raised up in the coun- 
 try, they would have made use of one, or all, of these 
 materials. This would have been more natural and 
 cheaper for them. But I can readily understand, if these 
 builders had emigrated from a country where they had 
 been accustomed to make brick, or see them made, the 
 art being inbred in their natures, how they should natu- 
 rally take to it here on a larger scale. 
 
 The Babylonians were familiar with the heavenly bodies ; 
 they invented a zodiac, from which it would seem that 
 ours must have been copied ; they divided the year into 
 twelve months, and the week into seven days ; they used 
 the sun-dial and the water-clock. We do not know but 
 the Toltecs were here six hundred years before Christ ; 
 history asserts that they were here six hundred years 
 after ; and at that time there were astronomers among 
 them who were able to calculate the motion of the sun 
 and the length of the solar year ; some of them were 
 curious workers in gold, silver, and precious stones, the 
 same as there had been among the dwellers by the Eu- 
 phrates river. 
 
 Can it be possible that the peons, who were about us 
 while at Cholula, were descendants from a people once 
 highly civilized ? I think so, because, though they are 
 unable to read and write, they are superior to the present 
 issue of the old Chaldeans, as they are seen in the city of 
 Hillah on the site of ancient Babylon, or in other ruined 
 cities on the banks of the Tigris. Ancient Chaldea, no 
 '5
 
 2io MEXICO: THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 doubt, sent characters into Egypt who developed into the 
 builders of the pyramids, temples, and tombs, and twenty 
 thousand cities along the Nile, when Memphis was the 
 brilliant capital of that country. Who knows but some 
 of their race got across the Atlantic ocean about the 
 same time and settled in Mexico and at Cholula ? It is 
 lamentable that Cortez should have been such an icono- 
 clast, as he entered this land, destroying recklessly, so far 
 as he could, the works of the Aztecs and of all who had 
 dwelt here before them. Had he spared these, perhaps 
 writings might have been discovered which would throw 
 light upon the origin of these pyramids, and the pedigree 
 of the people. He not only forced the Aztecs to demol- 
 ish their own temples, but to erect Roman churches in 
 their place. In writing back to Spain from this city, he 
 says that he counted in it four hundred and fifty towers, 
 and that there were not more than two to any one tem- 
 ple. If this be true, what a downfall of temples there 
 must have been, and what an uprising of Roman churches ! 
 Some forty of these are still scattered about the pyramid, 
 in a state of decay, and perhaps the larger half are not 
 opened at all. After Cortez established the inquisition, 
 it did bloody work, and was little improvement upon the 
 frightful barbarity of the Aztecs in making human sacri- 
 fices to their gods upon the summits of their temples and 
 pyramids, though we are informed that twelve hundred 
 were laid at the feet of Quetzalcoatl in one day. 
 
 Two other pyramids, very much smaller in size, stand 
 not far from this monster, whose history is lost in oblivion.
 
 CHOLULA AND TLAXCALA. 211 
 
 Cortez evidently endeavored to magnify the faults of the 
 forlorn and conquered Mexicans, and enlarge upon his 
 own virtues and religious deeds ; he feigned to have all 
 his acts smiled upon by the Virgin, and published them 
 with the view of self-emolument. 
 
 The inquisition did not allow anything to be published 
 until it had run the gauntlet of its censorship. From this 
 fact, the Indians stood no chance of fair representation 
 of their doings being justly recorded upon the pages of 
 history; but, on the other hand, the Spaniards could be 
 pictured as saints and unsurpassed workers for the cause 
 of humanity, when really their deeds were demoniacal in 
 the highest degree. In spite of Cortez's concealment 
 and extreme religious conviction, the most reliable tra- 
 dition has handed down the report that on one occasion 
 he slaughtered three thousand Cholulans without the 
 least provocation. He did it simply to show his authority, 
 to intimidate and bring the living into fullest submission. 
 
 It is not strange that Cortez's religion failed to give 
 success to this city, or prosperity to the country. It 
 was not vital with him ; he used it as a means to promote 
 his own self-aggrandizement. 
 
 From the above, it is plain why Mr. Prescott should 
 present such an entrancing history of Mexico, and paint 
 in high colors the characteristics of the Spaniards, and, 
 for the most part, represent the Aztecs and their descend- 
 ants as ignoble barbarians. He was obliged to rely 
 largely upon Spanish records for his information, and 
 therefore, while Mr. Prescott desired to give us authentic
 
 212 MEXICO: THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 history, we can see how, from necessity, it would be par- 
 tial and favor too much Cortez and his followers. 
 
 As I walked across the plaza, once so beautiful, now 
 so still, yet growing a few wasting trees, and passed on 
 by some huts and heard and saw the hand looms, kept 
 in motion by natives, weaving cotton goods, I could 
 scarcely imagine that Cholula once rivaled the court of 
 Montezuma. From the actions of the present genera- 
 tion and their common appearance, I would not infer 
 that their ancestors were ever curious moulders of clay, 
 yet some of the specimens dug from the ruins are of the 
 most delicate kind of pottery, surpassing in beauty and 
 elegance anything of the sort found elsewhere in this 
 country, or in Greece, or Egypt. 
 
 When among the wastes of Babylon, Nineveh, Mem- 
 phis, and Thebes, I expected to find much of striking 
 interest and was not disappointed, but, as I entered this 
 land, I did not anticipate great things ; but I have found 
 infinitely more than I had imagined could exist. I would 
 like to see this magnificent pile so penetrated and opened 
 up as to expose all the things which it now holds in 
 secret. I am confident this will be done. If the old 
 city were a Mecca for countless pilgrims from home and 
 abroad, its ruins would allure archaeologists and seekers 
 to know the past and the truth pertaining to the new and 
 old, to that extent, at least, which would exhume the 
 arcana of these wondrous pyramids, bringing the dis- 
 covered knowledge of the past to bear Upon the present, 
 so as to enlighten the future.
 
 . CHOLULA AND TLAXCALA. 213 
 
 We returned from Cholula to Puebla and then by 
 steam to Santa Ana, where again we took the tramway 
 for another outing of six miles in a northerly, and then 
 westerly, direction, bringing us once more close under 
 the shadows of the two snowy and fiery volcanos. Our 
 course was through the country village of San Publo 
 Apetitlan, consisting of small, adobe cabins. A stop of a 
 few minutes enabled us to inspect several of the homes, 
 each consisting of a single room, where the whole family 
 live, eat, and sleep, without any light or ventilation, except 
 what comes in through the open door. There were no 
 chairs, tables, benches, beds, fireplaces, or chimneys to 
 be seen. The people here, as elsewhere in the country, 
 are Indians; more than two thirds of the Mexicans are 
 of Aztec extraction. 
 
 The general aspect of the land in this region is some- 
 what picturesque, being broken into hills and valleys, yet 
 the soil is deep and productive. The peons were busy 
 carting and plowing with burros, making ready to plant 
 and sow their corn and wheat. A part of the way our 
 road was lined with robust willows and cottonwood trees. 
 We crossed quite a river whose intervals looked refresh- 
 ingly green. In some forty minutes from the time of 
 leaving the steam cars, we halted in a vale where, at 
 first, there was not a house to be seen, but, as we crossed 
 the plaza, we could count a few dilapidated structures 
 and a small number of inferior folk were occupying moss- 
 covered seats with apparently nothing to do, who really 
 were dying of "antiquity"; for here we were in the
 
 2I 4 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 place of the oldest Spanish settlement in North America. 
 To the south and west the surface rose somewhat abruptly 
 into lofty hills, which were once covered with stately and 
 attractive buildings, when Tlaxcala was swarming with 
 
 APPROACHING TLAXCALA. 
 
 three hundred thousand inhabitants in place of three 
 thousand, as at present. A woe-begone stillness seemed 
 to be filling the air. The poor mortals looked and acted 
 as though they were verily " growing small." Patches 
 of rank maguey plants were scattered about the village, 
 and, from appearance of affairs, I judged that the people 
 were dependent on these for their living. I know this 
 plant has been said to give health, wealth, and hap- 
 piness to the Mexicans, but it certainly does not afford 
 much outward wealth here. It is true, they may get their
 
 CHOLULA AND TLAXCALA. 
 
 215 
 
 fuel from the old plant; they may use its leaves for 
 shingles ; work the coarse fibre into mats and ropes ; the 
 thorns of the leaves can proffer them nails and pins ; the 
 sap may yield them drink; and the caterpillars, which 
 are common to the plant, they may devour with as much 
 gusto as the Chinese consume rats, cats, and slunken 
 pigs ; or the Japanese, monkeys ; or the Parisians, frogs ; 
 or the cannibals of Sumatra, human flesh. 
 
 STREET AND PLAZA, TLAXCALA. 
 
 The school that I visited presented pupils in rags and 
 nudeness ; still, most of their faces were sunny, and they 
 studied so loud as to prove that they were endowed with 
 good lungs. 
 
 We desired to visit, above all else, the museum here, 
 which is never open to the public for the reason it does
 
 2l6 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 not mean anything to the people generally ; still, it is free 
 to visitors, when the key can be found. In our case, it 
 was the longest while before the custodian could be 
 secured to unlock the door. As he came, he was full of 
 good nature, and, before taking us into the museum, he 
 invited us into the council room, where we saw upon the 
 walls the portraits of the famous Indian chiefs who first 
 allied themselves to Cortez and his cause. Their faces 
 indicate that they were men of brains. Other portraits 
 of Spanish characters hung upon the wall, but the Indian 
 faces bear off the palm. 
 
 Going to the museum, we were first introduced to the 
 images, or idols, of pagan gods which the natives were 
 accustomed to worship ; here was made prominent the 
 banner of Cortez which he presented to the Tlaxcalans 
 in 1520; it is nine by six feet in dimensions,, cut with a 
 swallow tail ; its colors are bright, giving no signs of age; 
 it is protected by a glass case ; its iron spear-head bears 
 the monogram of the sovereigns of Spain. Here are the 
 arms of Tlaxcala, illuminated on parchment and signed 
 by Charles V ; the robes are shown which the chieftains 
 wore at their baptism, equal in workmanship to anything 
 of the kind that is produced at the present day. In the 
 corridor stands the chest in which Cortez kept his silver 
 and gold, having been furnished with four different locks; 
 he appointed four custodians to have charge of it, each 
 having a key and staking his life for the safety of the 
 chest ; and whenever it was opened all four of the keep- 
 ers must be present. There are many other personal
 
 CHOLULA AND TLAXCALA. 
 
 217 
 
 relics of Cortez in the exhibit. I saw a few specimens 
 of fine petrifactions found in the vicinity. 
 
 Were this museum in some of our northern institutions, 
 or cities, it would be so arranged and improved as to be 
 of great value and interest to the people at large. What 
 a pity it is to have valuable treasures in the midst of a 
 community that has no appreciation of their worth ! 
 
 Leaving this building we proceeded through the mar- 
 ket, which did not have in it more than a dozen men and 
 women, who apparently had nothing to do, but were jab- 
 bering away in the Aztec tongue, probably about the new 
 comers who looked, no doubt, as strange to them as 
 they did to us ; as- 
 cending quite an in- 
 cline, we came to 
 the barrack, in which 
 were forty soldiers, 
 needing some ex- 
 citement to wake 
 them up. The bar- 
 rack building was 
 formerly a convent, 
 which was confiscated about the time Maximilian came 
 to the country. 
 
 A short way on, we came to the church of San Fran- 
 cisco overlooking the village, which is the oldest Roman 
 church in America, having been built in 1521, the same 
 year the conquest was completed. It is Spanish in style, 
 and that means it is Italian, Grecian, and Gothic in 
 
 OLD CONVENT.
 
 2l8 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 elaboration. It is in a fair state of preservation, yet 
 bearing the marks of age ; its altar is highly decorated. 
 To the right of the nave and the altar is the chapel of 
 Tecero-Oden ; at its entrance is the large stone font, 
 weighing tons, which held the water at the time of the 
 baptism of the Indian chiefs, and afterwards for the bap- 
 tism of myriads more. Further on is the stone pulpit, 
 whose worn steps evidence that they have been trodden 
 by priestly feet for centuries. 
 
 CHURCH OF SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 A short distance in front of this church is the bull-ring, 
 another Spanish institution. 
 
 One cannot enjoy inspecting the relics of Cortez as he 
 would, could he feel that the invader had been a good 
 man, prompted by lofty motives in his marvelous career. 
 Tlaxcala was his first resting place after he reached the
 
 CHOLULA AND TLAXCALA. 2Ip 
 
 table-lands, and it is natural for us, after having seen so 
 many relics connected with his sojourn here and else- 
 where, to learn something more of his personal history. 
 Accordingly, a slight digression may be permissible. 
 
 It is stated, on the best authority, that he had a fine 
 physique, a commanding presence, an expressive face, 
 and an eloquent tongue; he was born in 1483, the same 
 year of Martin Luther. In his early life he was frequently 
 given to deception and hypocrisy, yet paid unflinching 
 loyalty to kings and nobles whom he felt would promote 
 his self-aggrandizement. This explains why he was so 
 attentive to the sovereigns of Spain. He was ambitious 
 to become immensely rich, believing that wealth would 
 give him prestige, and, therefore, he was sordidly avari- 
 cious, ready to sacrifice everything to the gratification of 
 gain. He deserted his faithful wife in Spain, probably 
 murdered his second one in Cuba, and shamefully treated 
 Marina, his devoted interpreter and the mother of his 
 acknowledged son. Marina saved his life more than 
 once at the risk of her own, and yet after all, Cortez ill- 
 treated and forsook her. 
 
 He was aided by the king and queen of Spain, leaving 
 that country with fifteen vessels, one hundred and ten 
 mariners, five hundred and thirty-three soldiers, several 
 women servants, sixteen horses, and increased this force 
 with cannon and two hundred Indians as he touched at 
 Cuba. His watchword to his subordinates was, " Let us 
 follow the Roman cross and under this sign, if we have 
 faith, we shall conquer."
 
 22O MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 He landed in Mexico, March, 1519. He was bitterly 
 opposed by the Mexicans, but he adroitly subdued them 
 along the coast, compelling them to give up their gods 
 and accept instead the Virgin and the pope. 
 
 Among his early captives was la Marina, who was 
 mentally and morally gifted, and soon mastered the 
 Spanish language so as to be an efficient interpreter. 
 
 Discontent soon arose among his own men, and they 
 desired to return to beloved Spain. Upon this, Cortez 
 secretly caused all his vessels to be destroyed but one, 
 and then he said to his men that those who felt that they 
 must return to their native land at once, deserting the 
 noble cause that had brought them to this land of prom- 
 ise, let them come forward. Of course they could see 
 that only a few could return at most, and the few were 
 not ready to desert the rest ; so Cortez gained his point, 
 and forced them all to remain. 
 
 It was not long before forty-five hundred Mexicans 
 were overcome by the comparatively few Spaniards. It 
 was brains against brawn, as it was on the plains of 
 Marathon, the few conquering the many. But Cortez 
 declared that it was St. Peter who had given them the 
 victory, and so required all to join in mass to the victor. 
 
 Montezuma, learning of the Spanish ingress to his 
 country, sent greetings and presents to Cortez valued at 
 one hundred thousand dollars, which were accepted and 
 at once sent to Spain. It was not long before other 
 presents came from Montezuma, which were worth mil- 
 lions of dollars, and these were forwarded to Charles V,
 
 CHOLULA AND TLAXCALA. 221 
 
 king of Spain. Cortez sent greetings and thanks to 
 Montezuma, dissembling as to the real object he had in 
 view in entering his country ; he feigned friendship and 
 good-will towards him. 
 
 Cortez was adroit and prepared to do anything that 
 would enrich himself and advance his religion. Moham- 
 med spread his religion by the Koran and the sword ; 
 Cortez his, by the sword and the Roman cross. 
 
 August, 1521, Cortez started, with four hundred and 
 fifty Spanish soldiers, fifteen horses, six cannon, and fif- 
 teen hundred Totonac Indians, to cross the plains and 
 climb to the table-lands towards the City of Mexico. It was 
 to be a difficult march and a tremendous climb up the Cor- 
 dilleras mountains. They pushed on, making no lengthy 
 stop till they reached Tlaxcala, whose people were friendly 
 to the Totonac Indians, and these were sent first into 
 the city, expecting and hoping that they would induce 
 the Tlaxcalans to let Cortez and all his force into their 
 midst at once ; but this project failed. At this time, the 
 city and its district contained five hundred thousand in- 
 habitants, one tenth of whom were soldiers. At this 
 pitch, they made ready for defense ; so war at once be- 
 gan. Again, it was the few against the many. The 
 Tlaxcalans were speedily overcome, and thousands of 
 them were ruthlessly slaughtered and so completely over- 
 powered as to renounce their own religion and accept 
 Romanism. 
 
 Cortez was unmercifully cruel in his operations, as a 
 single illustration, out of many, will show : He took fifty
 
 222 MEXICO: THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 Tlaxcalan soldiers, cut oft' their hands, and then sent 
 them back into their own ranks, to let their friends see 
 what their fate would be should they persist in warring 
 against him and his army. After such unheard-of cruelty 
 and the loss of thousands, the Tlaxcalans gave up, re- 
 nounced their gods, and accepted the religion of Cortez, 
 being baptized in haste, one priest administering the rite 
 to five thousand in one day. 
 
 It is plain to see that they were converted only in form : 
 they were polytheists from the force of education, and 
 many of their descendants remain so even to this day. 
 After Montezuma knew of Cortez' proceedings here, he 
 kept sending presents to him, and Cortez accepted them 
 as from one whom he wished well, till he felt prepared to 
 make an onslaught upon the city and, if it were possible, 
 usurp power over it. 
 
 Being reenforced by more Spanish soldiers, cannon, 
 and powder from Cuba, he felt in readiness, his army 
 being composed of Spaniards, Totonacs, Tlaxcalans, 
 Cholulans, and others, to the number of six thousand. 
 As they marched forth, the Castilians composed the 
 van. 
 
 The Mexicans could but see now what Cortez was 
 after, .having allied himself to those Indians who were 
 enemies to Montezuma and his followers. It is no won- 
 der, as they saw Cortez advancing to enter their city, 
 that they should rise and shut their gates against him. 
 Thereupon, hostilities were furiously commenced. A 
 gigantic enemy was partly within their walls. At this,
 
 CHOIAJLA AND TLAXCALA. 223 
 
 Montezuma was terribly oppressed in mind, and died 
 with a broken heart the day before the " sorrowful night," 
 and his nephew, Guatemotzin, was made his successor. 
 
 At first, Cortez tried, in a friendly way, to bring the 
 king to his terms, but he failed in this, and forthwith 
 he laid his plans to conquer the city. In the course of 
 six months he was successful, venting his wrath and spite 
 in a most malignant spirit upon the conquered. It makes 
 your blood run cold to read of the tortures inflicted upon 
 Guatemotzin, more cruel than those used by the Doges 
 at Venice to induce him to make known where the 
 treasures of the city were concealed ; but as he did not 
 succeed in this, and afterwards learned that they had 
 been cast into the lake, Cortez caused the king and his 
 beautiful queen to be hung upon a tree, in the most pub- 
 lic and spiteful manner, to intimidate and bring into 
 speedy subjection the Mexicans. All this was done in 
 the name of his religion. How a bad man may dishonor 
 the highest statements of theology and disgrace the best 
 principles of Christianity ! 
 
 Cortez' life proves that he was an unmitigated fraud. 
 He struggled to build himself up on the downfall of 
 others. He was ready to thrust the dagger into the 
 bosom of his best friend, if he could gain riches or fame 
 thereby. He published inexcusable lies about the Mexi- 
 cans, making them to be the worst of barbarians, and 
 pictured in glowing rhetoric his own achievements, mak- 
 ing himself out the greatest of heroes, and his enemies, 
 satanic fiends. His real ilife reads more like a romance,
 
 224 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 with but a few shadows of the truth. He deserves to be 
 classed with Nero, Tiberius, and Caligula. Blight and 
 mildew followed in his track, and when Maximilian 
 undertook to advance in his footsteps, in the name of 
 Romanism, he was defeated and lost his head, and fair 
 Carlotta became insane. Right only, in the end can 
 prevail.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 FROM ESPERANZA TO THE STATE OF VERA CRUZ. 
 
 One could have little desire to tarry long in Tlaxcala, 
 specially after having seen the museum, and the church 
 of San Francisco. Our course was reversed as soon as 
 convenient, returning to our palace cars, and then speed- 
 ing eastward to Esperanza, situated on the flank of 
 Orizaba eight thousand feet above the sea and nearly 
 eleven thousand feet beneath his summit. As we were 
 approaching the grand old mountain, he cast down upon 
 us a setting sun-glow, equal to the finest ever enjoyed in 
 the valley of Chamouny, or Martigny among the Alps. 
 It takes lofty snow, a peculiar atmosphere, and the depart- 
 ing sunlight, to produce such a coloring as Titian or 
 Leonardo was unable to put upon the canvas. 
 
 A clearer sky never hung over a picturesque country 
 than that which brooded over Esperanza through the 
 night. While the stars were shining, the Southern Cross 
 gave warm welcome to northern eyes which were open to 
 see. As the sun flecked the morning sky, and shot down 
 gold and silver from the crown of Orizaba, the ground 
 around sparkled with frost crystals. As we went out, the 
 air was crisp, and there was creaking under the shoes as 
 we walked the platform and the frozen ground. The four 
 famous mountains that have been looking down upon us 
 16
 
 226 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 for days past, were still giving us their greeting with 
 many others of less altitude. Oh, the mountains are the 
 striking delight of the earth ! How they temper the 
 climate, and coax the clouds from an invisible realm, 
 inducing them to drop refreshment upon the parched and 
 thirsty earth. Then their sides represent the different 
 zones, producing the vegetation of all climates. They are 
 the loftiest expression of the sublime. How they came 
 to be, we cannot say ; God spake, and they were ! Feb- 
 ruary twenty-sixth, we were to descend from the table- 
 lands to the hot regions. It had been said that the trip 
 would surpass anything thus far experienced in Mexico. 
 I felt that if it were to outvie the descent from San Luis 
 Potosi to Tampico, it would be marvellously thrilling. I 
 had often read strange things of the route, how travellers 
 had come from the Alps, the Highlands of Scotland, and 
 even from the Himalayas, to ride over this road of daring 
 engineering and wondrous scenery, and having done so, 
 they had quite exhausted their vocabulary of adjectives in 
 expressing their surprise and feelings, beholding the work 
 and the scenery. I had learned how the construction 
 of the road from Vera Cruz to the capital city had taken 
 thirty-five years. It was far more difficult to build than 
 Napoleon's road over the Simplon Pass, or the railroad 
 over the Saint Gothard route. 
 
 An engine of twice the capacity of an ordinary one is 
 to draw and hold our train. In due time, the call goes 
 round, "All is in readiness," and for a few minutes there 
 is bustling and hastening in leaving the Pullman cars, and
 
 ESPERANZA TO STATE OF VERA CRUZ. 227 
 
 going to the train bound for Vera Cruz. Soon all are 
 comfortably seated, the whistle blows, the bell strikes, the 
 ponderous engine puffs, and we move onward. Soon the 
 mountains come closer together, the valleys and grooves 
 down their sides exhibit the effects of glacial action. The 
 dip of the ledges is mostly perpendicular, being composed 
 of limestone, trap-rock, granite, and lava. Pine, cotton- 
 wood, spice, oak, and other species of trees clothe the 
 mountain sides. The railroad track zigzags down the 
 declivities, passing every now and then through tunnels, 
 and along the brinks of terrific chasms. It is dashing out 
 of sight and into the fullest view of Orizaba. He seems to 
 be swaying his sceptre like a heroic knight, bidding our 
 train go here and there, that we might catch the fairest 
 views, and be surprised at the most exciting prospects. 
 
 The drop to the mile is said to be on an average one 
 hundred and thirty-five feet ; we can feel perceptibly the 
 descent as we move along ; in many places the track is cut 
 shelf-like into the mountain sides. What a piece of 
 engineering it was to hang this road along jagged rocks 
 and over yawning precipices ! It often renders us giddy 
 to gaze into the fearful depths. Should the train leap the 
 track, what an inevitable fall there would be, down, down 
 thousands of feet ! It is soothing to recall, when thus 
 oppressed, the current report that no accident has oc- 
 curred on this road since the cars began to run. The rag- 
 ged walls to which the track is often wired spider-web 
 fashion, are hung with abundant growth of flowers, iungles 
 of ferns, tangles of morning-glories, webs of ivy, and
 
 228 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 patches of rhododendrons, bending so close to the car 
 windows as almost to touch them. As we whirl on criss- 
 cross, there appears to be no end to the abundance and 
 variety of plants which come to view ; here is a whole 
 cluster of white panicles like our lilacs, and there are 
 umbels, racemes, spikes, and capitula, of the greatest 
 diversity of colors; and then as we look into the top of 
 trees, what delicate and charming orchids shake their 
 scarlet and golden blossoms so invitingly as we pass them ! 
 If our train would stop but for a minute, how we could 
 and would pluck them ! 
 
 The bees and butterflies are thick among the blossoms. 
 I do not see them in swarms as I did the bees among the 
 heather bloom on the side of the Lebanon mountains, or 
 the butterflies, as in Ceylon when they were making their 
 annual flight from the land to the sea; they were so 
 numerous as to becloud the sun from us for some little 
 time. We do rejoice when the train halts at La Bota to 
 supply the engine with water, giving the passengers the 
 opportunity to step out of the cars, looking up to the 
 towering heights encircling them, and down into the val- 
 leys which are cleared and cut up into fields and dotted 
 with cabins. It is a question, whether the train stopped 
 so much for water, as it did to give us a chance for an 
 uplook, an outlook, and a downlook. To say the least, 
 the afforded enjoyment beggars all description. To 
 have the views and feel them, vouchsafes a lasting joy. 
 
 Indian men and women, boys and girls, were here the 
 instant we stepped from the cars, yet there is no village
 
 MOUNT ORIZABA, FROM "THE DEVIL'S BALCONY."
 
 230 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 within miles; whence they came is a mystery, nevertheless 
 they are here with any quantity of orchids for sale. They 
 climbed and plucked from the nooks and crotches of the 
 trees t'hese air plants ; many of their blossoms are exquis- 
 itely beautiful ; we can buy for a few cents what would 
 cost as many dollars in New York city. After being 
 resplendently regaled and surfeited with bouquets, we 
 step aboard and are again on the move, and soon pass 
 through a long tunnel, coming out upon an extended 
 bridge spanning a broad, deep chasm, and when upon its 
 centre the train stops to grant the passengers the privi- 
 lege to scan the up-reaching, yawning gorge, receiving at 
 the same time beautiful and awful pictures, and then to 
 gaze down the terrific abyss, to be overwhelmed with the 
 tremulously sublime, and overwhelmingly appalling. Less 
 than two miles in a straight line far below us is the vil- 
 lage of Maltrata, but our train must make twelve miles to 
 reach it. As we come to the station, the barometer gives 
 information that we have dropped two thousand, four 
 hundred and forty-three feet since leaving Esperanza, a 
 distance of sixteen miles. Ah! the Indians that we left 
 at La Bota, and many others, are here with orchids to 
 sell. They are so cheap and attractive that the tourists 
 pucrhase more than they really want. 
 
 The natives are not large in size, but straight as an 
 arrow, and seem to be very kindly disposed. Most of them 
 make a living by cultivating the soil. The improved fields 
 would imply that they are industrious ; their farming 
 implements are a hundred years behind the times ; their
 
 ESPERANZA TO STATE OF VERA CRUZ. 231 
 
 small houses are made out of wood and stone, and roofed 
 with red tiling. We are now in a deep valley from one to 
 three miles wide, whose soil is deep and rich for growing 
 corn, wheat, and cotton. A river from the mountains runs 
 
 ATOYAC FALLS. 
 
 through it, which must overflow the intervals in flood-time. 
 As we go on, the descent is still rapid, and we soon enter 
 the canon and pass just above the " Infernillo," meaning 
 the little hell ; in this instance it is burning hot out of the
 
 2 3 2 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 fearful place, and away down in the depths 
 is foaming water, instead of seething flames. 
 If one could only be let 
 __. down gently into its wa- 
 3 ters, it would be a pleas- 
 ant experience to tarry 
 there at least for an 
 hour. Crossing a bridge 
 that is one hundred and 
 forty feet above the bot- 
 tom of the precipice, we 
 go through another long 
 tunnel and come out into 
 the fairest valley of cas- 
 cades ; the views are now 
 captivating, and while 
 being satiated with land- 
 scape pictures, we enter the city of Orizaba, which is on 
 the rim of tropic lands. The barometer shows that since 
 leaving Esperanza we have descended forty-one hundred 
 feet. 
 
 A glance at this old city of sixteen thousand inhab- 
 itants, reminds me in a striking manner of Domo D' Ossola, 
 which is among the foothills of the Alps. It is beautiful 
 for situation, and like the old Italian town, has long been 
 a resort for summer visitors. Its tile roofs, church 
 towers and steeples resemble Italy more than any town on 
 the Thames or the Rhine. The old mountains, after which 
 the city was named, whose nomenclature signifies moun- 
 
 ENTERING ORIZABA.
 
 ESPERANZA TO STATE OF VERA CRUZ. 233 
 
 tain of the star, looms aloft in cloudless outline. The 
 valley widens here, and has a fine climate the year round, 
 averaging in the summer seventy-four degrees Fahrenheit 
 and in the winter sixty degrees. The scenery is that of 
 Alpine Italy. Oranges, lemons, bananas, flourish here, 
 while sugar-cane, cotton, and tobacco are produced, and 
 rival those of any other part of the world. In this state, 
 cotton is more prolific than in any other division of Mexico, 
 yielding about two thousand pounds to the acre, while the 
 yield in South Carolina is not half as much. Sugar can 
 be produced much cheaper than in Texas or Louisiana. 
 Water seems to be the only enrichment the soil demands. 
 In perambulating the town there is noth- 
 ing strange, or surprisingly novel 
 to be seen. The parish 
 church, San Miguel, and 
 the city hall are hand- 
 some buildings of stone. 
 It is evident that earth- 
 quakes have occasionally 
 shaken the city, judging 
 from the spires and tow- 
 ers that are out of plumb. 
 The Indians far outnum- 
 ber the Creoles and the 
 Spaniards. The people 
 look healthy, and do not 
 become gray till they are 
 far the other side of fifty RIO BLANCO RIVER.
 
 234 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 years old. Their eyes are spark- 
 ling black, and their teeth pearly 
 white. The better class are usually 
 interested in the cause of educa- 
 tion ; they give their children 
 more schooling than do other cit- 
 ies. The citizens are characterized 
 by their suavity and politeness ; 
 no doubt, this is due, in a meas- 
 ure, to the many visitors to the 
 city from abroad. 
 
 Some of the front yards exhibit 
 a fine display of roses and lilies, 
 and the campus by the depot is 
 really a small paradise of beau- 
 ties. In the enclosure of one of 
 the churches, I saw a tulipan tree 
 wholly ablaze with scarlet blos- 
 soms. Most of the trucking is 
 done, as in Turkish towns, on the backs of burros, and 
 men ; their ancestors were accustomed to do thus, and 
 they seem bound to do as their fathers did. 
 
 Orizaba has been a strategic point between the Gulf 
 and the City of Mexico. General Bazaine held his army 
 here for some time, and the French army stopped here 
 waiting for Maximilian much longer than the people were 
 pleased to have it. It was expected that the emperor 
 would abdicate his assumed throne and return to Austria; 
 but on his arrival and consultation with the French gen- 
 
 - 
 CITIZEN OK ORIZABA.
 
 ESPERANZA TO STATE OF VERA CRUZ. 235 
 
 eral, he was led to believe that on the return of the French 
 army to Paris, Napoleon III would be induced to send 
 in some way relief to the would-be emperor. So Max- 
 imilian repaired to an inviting village two miles south of 
 Orizaba where he tarried till discouraged in waiting for 
 assistance from Napoleon and Pius the Ninth. It must 
 now have been a sore regret that he did not embark 
 on the vessel which was in readiness to bear him away in 
 safety. He was inclined to do so, but his aristocratic 
 feelings and education forbade it ; then the priests and 
 church party entreated him to remain ; and, most of all, 
 his beloved Carlotta besought him to hold to the throne, 
 assuring him that in the end he would be triumphant. 
 Away she went across the sea, daring greatest dangers, 
 and even prepared to die 
 for the sake of her hus- 
 band, if that would insure 
 his success. Back to the 
 City of Mexico he went, 
 then to Queretaro, where 
 he fell a deluded martyr 
 to his unjust cause, and 
 Carlotta became so heart- 
 broken because of her 
 failures before the French 
 emperor and the pope, 
 that she lost her mind 
 and was forced into an 
 asylum. OUR PARTY BUYING FRUIT.
 
 236 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 AT THE STATION. 
 
 Proceeding from 
 Orizaba, we surely 
 find ourselves in 
 tropical heat. Fields 
 of sugar-cane, pine- 
 apples, mangoes , 
 and pomegranates 
 abound ; now and 
 then, thick jungles 
 put in their appear- 
 ance, where pose wild game, and venomous reptiles. Our 
 descent is still rapid ; at length we are running along the 
 brink of the Rio Metlac river, which is far below us, and 
 in one instance a thousand feet. In old Roman times of 
 great road-building, they would not have dreamed of any 
 such engineering as was required to stretch this road 
 across such a threatening gorge. It was refreshing in 
 this hot climate to see dashing water, though hundreds of 
 feet below us. The so-called Iron Gates along the Dan- 
 ube river look like boys' play, contrasted with the match- 
 less undertaking of bridging this almost fathomless gulf. 
 Fairly across the river, a stop is made, to let all who 
 may wish go out a short distance, through an ambrosial, 
 but artificial avenue, to witness a water-fall of remarkable 
 beauty. It was a decided comfort to be in the deep 
 shade and see and hear the roar of the tumbling tide. 
 The ferns drooping from the rocks, and the orchids wav- 
 ing their plumes at every gust of wind, did impart a cool- 
 ing influence. Were I to live in this climate, I would
 
 ESPERANZA TO STATE OF VERA CRUZ. 237 
 
 wish to dwell in some dell, where I could hear the rushing 
 water beat against huge stones. 
 
 When back at the train, advancing we soon discover 
 the domes and towers of Cordova, rising among tall, 
 umbrageous trees, and in a few moments more the brakes 
 hold us fast at the station. As we go out, it seems 
 scarcely possible that so great a change as we experience 
 could take place in the course of a few hours. There is 
 no likeness between Esperanza and Cordova. It appears 
 almost as though we had got into a new world. We are 
 now two hundred miles from the City of Mexico, and less 
 than sixty miles from the Gulf, being in the central part of 
 the state of Vera Cruz. 
 
 Palm trees are spreading their fronded tops over us to 
 shield us from the piercing sunlight, as we go towards the 
 city of seven thousand inhabitants. How nature adapts 
 man to different conditions, making him a cosmopolite, 
 so that it is possible for him to dwell on arctic snow, or 
 on torrid sand. The houses of the peons are frail affairs, 
 made out of bamboo standards, covered with cornstalks 
 and thatched with palm leaves, having conical-shaped 
 roofs to shed the rain. The dooryards are shared in com- 
 mon by pigs, chickens, turkeys, and children. The folk 
 are dressed in white cotton, and wear broad-brimmed 
 straw hats. They move about as if they had little con- 
 cern about yesterday, to-day, or to-morrow. The town 
 looks as if it had been recently shipped from the oldest 
 quarter of the world. Fruit-venders flock about us with 
 oranges, pine-apples, bananas, and mangoes to sell. The
 
 238 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 supply must be greater than the demand, and so two 
 oranges are sold for a cent, and other fruit equally cheap. 
 It cannot cost the natives much to live, for everything 
 here needful to support life comes so easy; they ought to 
 make money and rejoice in work, because of the sure 
 compensation ; still they act as though time dragged 
 slowly, and that they would be glad to have somebody 
 breathe for them. 
 
 Coffee, sugar, and cotton are the staple products. We 
 visit a mill where the natives are crushing out the sweet 
 
 A SUGAR MILL. 
 
 nectar from sugar-cane by the means of heavy iron rollers, 
 and then boiling it down to thick syrup, run it into pound 
 cups, and when cool, sell it for three cents a pound. 
 
 Coffee grows from the coast far up towards the table- 
 lands ; it requires plenty of shade, heat, and moisture, so 
 the plants are set among palms and other trees, beginning
 
 ESPERANZA TO STATE OF VERA CRUZ. 239 
 
 to bear the third or fourth year. The pioductive tree 
 blooms annually three times, but the first and second 
 blossoms are picked off, allowing the third only to yield 
 fruit. The plant often grows to be from fifteen to twenty 
 feet high, but for the 
 most part they are cut 
 back and not allowed 
 to exceed eight feet 
 in height. The leaves 
 are oblong, hardy, and 
 contain the poison 
 known as caffeine. 
 
 The flowers are white, 
 
 COFFEE PLANTATION. 
 fragrant, and grow in 
 
 clusters. A coffee tree in bloom is exceedingly beautiful. 
 The fruit is red, or has a cherry-purple surface, enclos- 
 ing a yellowish pulp, in which are usually two seeds. 
 When the outside assumes a darkish red color, and the 
 skin shrivels somewhat, the coffee is ready for picking. 
 
 The coffee is now being gathered and laid in the sun 
 to dry, and after a few days it will be pressed under 
 rollers to free it from husks, and then the real seeds will 
 be further dried in the shade, so as not to lose the aroma. 
 If the coffee fields were as well cared for as they are in 
 Ceylon and Mocha, and the seed as well cured, the peo- 
 ple would excel the rest of the world in raising coffee. 
 
 The bananas are of excellent quality, and furnish most 
 of the food for the lower classes. They grow upon 
 annual plants, from six to ten feet tall, with broad leaves
 
 240 
 
 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 at the top of the plants, and out of this cluster of leafage 
 an acorn-shaped bud is developed, which hangs suspended 
 by a strong stem ; at length, the bud-leaves unfold and 
 drop off, leaving a cluster of young fruit, which gradually 
 enlarges, till at harvest there are from seventy-five to one 
 hundred bananas. After this, the stalk droops and dies to 
 
 the ground, and sprouts 
 come forth to produce a 
 new crop. The peon here 
 may gather a harvest four 
 times each year in a sum- 
 mer atmosphere. 
 
 We find little of special 
 interest in the sweltering 
 city, till we come to a 
 magnificent garden, but 
 a short distance from 
 the market. It is crowded 
 with a luxuriant growth 
 of flowers, fruits, and fol- 
 iage, being so thick as 
 to darken the many ave- 
 
 THE TROPICS. nues leading in different 
 
 directions to seats, foun- 
 tains, and band-stands. It is a much-frequented place, 
 and has come to be regarded as a veritable elysium. In 
 this garden, birds of all sizes and of beautiful plumage 
 are plentiful. Humming-birds, butterflies of all sizes and 
 colors, as well as countless insects, thrive here.
 
 ESPERANZA TO STATE OF VERA CRUZ. 24! 
 
 The rancheros of the hot region usually work from five 
 o'clock in the morning to eleven, and from three o'clock 
 in the afternoon to seven. Somehow the climate appears 
 to take the vim out of them, making them willing to lie 
 still, unless there is a good chance for hunting, for which 
 they have a decided liking; they know just the lair in 
 which to search for the wild boar, or to start up the deer, 
 or to track the untamed turkey. The rivers and indenta- 
 tions along the coast are well supplied with fish and tur- 
 tles. Scarcely any of the common people can read or 
 write, and when they think of marrying, they are obliged 
 to bestir themselves in memorizing a portion of the cate- 
 chism. 
 
 But few foreigners can long endure this climate ; the 
 malaria, the poisonous insects and reptiles, are certain to 
 prove more than a match for them. Distance may lend 
 charms to this surfeiting of flowers and luxuriant vegeta- 
 tion, but when one comes to dwell in their midst, and 
 experience the excessive heat and the extra collaterals, he 
 soon wearies of them, and deserts them, if it is possible 
 to do so. Often have I heard Englishmen and Scotch- 
 men, dwelling in India or Egypt, bitterly complain of the 
 incessant hot weather, and wish themselves back in their 
 native land. They would often say, "Give us any other 
 land for a home rather than one of constant summer." 
 
 Take a typical New England family, in which the father 
 has been accustomed to rise at four o'clock in the morn- 
 ing the year round. The wife and mother has been sure 
 to have breakfast ready at six o'clock. The boys have
 
 242 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 been equal to a long string of chores night and morning, 
 and hard work, or attending school, during the day. The 
 girls have been up and dressed by candle-light, or before 
 sunrise in the longest days. As father comes in at the 
 precise hour, all sit down to breakfast by candle-light in 
 the winter and at early sunrise in the summer, happy on 
 leaving the table, and full of expectancy for the day ; the 
 parents hastening to their work, and the children to theirs, 
 with no abatement save a short nooning. Then, as night 
 is approaching, it is tying up the cattle and bringing in 
 the wood, feeding the hens and the swine, and making 
 ready for the night. At six o'clock in the evening, the 
 family is wont to sit down to supper, conscious of active, 
 onerous duties done. When this meal is over, dishes are 
 to be washed, apples to be pared, clothes to be mended, 
 accounts to be recorded, at seasons lessons to be learned, 
 and at half-past nine, wearied and worn, they retire, yet 
 thoughtful and hopeful as to the morrow. Sleep is sweet, 
 and too sound for dreams, still at the first cock-crowing 
 they are out of bed, and are soon hard at work again ; and 
 thus it goes on, day after day, and year after year. The 
 good air, the sunshine, pure water, and busy work are 
 developing the children into noble, active men and 
 women. They promise to make their parents' places 
 more than good. They are not living for ease, but for 
 growing character. The neighbors and friends recognize 
 it as a sterling family. Yet, I venture to say, transplant 
 this family to the tropical climate and luxuriant soil of 
 Mexico, that in less than three decades, should the mem-
 
 ESPERANZA TO STATE OF VERA CRUZ. 243 
 
 bers survive pestilence and contagious disease, they would 
 lose their elastic step, the nimble movement of the hand, 
 the sharp glance of the eye, and the pleasant, expressive 
 tone of voice. 
 
 Perchance, the father and mother would not have lost 
 all their force of early habits, but their children would ; 
 they might not smoke, but their children would ; they 
 might not lounge and lie about, at least half of the time, 
 but their children would. 
 
 Really, what a retrogression ! What a loss in capacity 
 of mind and soul ! With them, in such a condition, it 
 would not be living, but simply staying. All their natu- 
 ral and cultured graces would not be sufficient to with- 
 stand the power of excessive heat and luxury. 
 
 Now this waking, morning after morning, to bright 
 skies, may for a time seem deliciously sweet, but let it 
 continue without any break for months, and its monotony 
 must become disintegrating to the character of man. He 
 covets change and diversity ; he must experience heat and 
 cold, joy and sorrow, to become rounded out into a full 
 man. Therefore, I feel to affirm that our New England 
 climate, compounded with its heat of summer and cold of 
 winter; with its winds from the mountains and the storms 
 from the sea ; with its long days and short nights, its long 
 nights and short days, has decided superiority over that 
 of Mexico, Cuba, or India. The hot caresses of a tropi- 
 cal atmosphere will in the course of time waste the vital 
 energy and consume the nobility of true manhood and 
 womanhood.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 OBSTACLES OVERCOME. 
 
 A legend tells of a pilgrim once wandering through 
 this land, who, as he was passing a prison-castle over- 
 looking a charming landscape, heard a voice coming from 
 a barred window, saying emphatically, " How beautiful ! 
 How beautiful ! " Thus with dwellers, or tourists in this 
 land, they have been wont to revel in its delights, and 
 often been forced to exclaim, beautiful, beautiful ! This 
 has been the proem and peroration of all declaimers, his- 
 torians, and essayists concerning it. The muse of her 
 poets has not failed to sing of her cerulean skies, majes- 
 tic mountains, deep dells, glassy lakes, extensive forests, 
 grand waterfalls, and inexhaustible treasures of gold, sil- 
 ver, and precious stones. Her novelists have woven into 
 their imaginative warp and woof much of the physical con- 
 ditions of their country, making it to surpass all others in 
 beauty and sublimity. Priest and layman extol it as a fairy 
 land. In spite of persecutions and appalling revolutions the 
 natives have clung to it with a tenacious fondness. Even 
 foreign missionaries, after a few years' experience in it 
 amidst sorest trials, are prone to become so wedded to it, 
 as to long to work and die within its limits. Mexicans 
 seldom emigrate to other lands. I know this is somewhat 
 true of the natives among the Alps, the dwellers on the
 
 OBSTACLES OVERCOME. 245 
 
 Lebanon mountains, and the Nepaulese living under the 
 shadows of Everest. Grandest elevations and deepest 
 depressions are profound enchanters ! 
 
 Because of material allurements, we often fail to exam- 
 ine, and therefore to appreciate, mental and moral condi- 
 tions. Outward poetry and sentiment often blind eyes 
 against discovering the innerly and the intrinsic. Thus 
 it has been with Mexico, particularly since the Spanish 
 invasion. Its purpose was, first, to gain immense treas- 
 ures of gold and silver ; second, to achieve this end by 
 the spread of Romanism ; third, to secure a large stipend 
 to Spain. Cortez and his allies evidently felt that such 
 an end was to be attained by reducing the natives to 
 slavery, and demolishing their civilization and religion. 
 As the Mexicans were overcome, they were divested of 
 their lands and property, and these, as spoils, were 
 divided, and put into the possession of a few lords and 
 soldiers. As Spanish rule and religion were at once 
 instituted, the Castilian was made the legal language of 
 court and church ; for twenty years no printing was 
 allowed to be done in the country ; all printed documents 
 during that time came from Spain. Cortez and his 
 friends aimed, it would seem, to make out the Aztecs to 
 be as bad as possible, thinking this would be a sufficient 
 excuse in the judgment of the world for treating them 
 with harshest severity. The Spaniards affirmed that the 
 natives were cruelly superstitious, yet they themselves 
 were more so ; they described the natives as licentious 
 and morally vicious, in this respect they surpassed them ;
 
 246 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 they asserted that the natives were full of treachery, yet 
 they were mere novices in this vice, compared to them- 
 selves ; they said the natives sacrificed human beings, 
 and ate their flesh, but this practice wasted little human 
 blood, compared with the inquisition, which slaughtered 
 the Mexicans by the thousands. They represented Mon- 
 tezuma to be an infuriated demon, while the truth is, he 
 was a saint contrasted with Cortez. 
 
 After Cortez, whoever was chief in authority here, it 
 was clutching for gold in the name of the Virgin. The 
 natives were forced to toil from early morning till late at 
 night for a poor subsistence. The children received no 
 schooling, further than to learn a few passages from the 
 catechism. All manufactories were suppressed ; the com- 
 mon people must grind their corn for bread by hand ; the 
 tools for cultivating the land must be of the rudest make. 
 All manufactured goods must be purchased of Spain, and 
 paid for with gold, silver, wheat, and cotton ; the land 
 was being drained to enrich Spain. Churches were be- 
 ing built with money filched out of the pockets of the 
 very poor. Priests did not attempt to alleviate the wants 
 of the enslaved, but for the most part increased their 
 burdens. The bishops and dignitaries were created in 
 Spain. Enormous salaries were paid those in high sta- 
 tions in state and church ; these ranged from twenty-five 
 thousand dollars to one hundred and thirty thousand a 
 year. All the easy and lucrative benefices came into the 
 hands of Spaniards ; only their sons, or descendants, 
 stood the least chance of being promoted to honorable
 
 OBSTACLES OVERCOME. 247 
 
 stations. The curates that ministered to the needs of 
 the commonality were poorly paid, and, if of Indian ex- 
 traction, they stood no chance of being promoted. The 
 Latin race alone was to be advanced and perpetuated in 
 Mexico, and the Spaniards claimed to have come from 
 that source. 
 
 As the years rolled round, the Aztecs could see that 
 their race was losing ground, and that their country was 
 being shorn of its wealth and beauty ; the future, indeed, 
 did look ominous to them. No improvement was being 
 made in mining, cultivating the soil, or in household 
 affairs ; the adobe cabin was good enough for the peons. 
 The land owners lived abroad, or in the large cities. 
 Their chief study was to get the largest returns possible 
 from their haciendas. The peons could not even own 
 the land on which they built their huts ; the best they 
 could do was to lease it for a few years at a time ; they 
 could not help understanding that they were naught but 
 tools in the grasp of merciless lords. 
 
 During this state of things, the Spaniards were pictur- 
 ing New Spain as in a flourishing condition. They rep- 
 resented that their main drawback was the stupidity and 
 obstinacy of the Aztecs. They made startling preten- 
 sions in various directions, and among others was that 
 they had founded a university in the City of Mexico 
 which was working wonders for the country ; but it was 
 an institution more in name than in fact. At its best, it 
 was not anything more than a second-rate academy, and 
 never had at any one time two hundred students.
 
 248 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 When the country was being pictured in flying colors 
 as most prosperous, an humble prelate in Dolores was 
 faithfully serving his nation and his parishioners; he 
 comprehended the deficiencies, and realized the demands, 
 and so was teaching his disciples not only spiritual things, 
 but how to grow the grape and raise the mulberry. His 
 people were really advancing in thought and physical cul- 
 ture ; pastor and people were happy and hopeful ; he had 
 spent more than two score years in the Master's service, 
 and had reached the age of sixty. 
 
 As his bishop and the Spanish authorities ascertained 
 what had been done through his purpose and assistance, 
 they were enraged, and ordered the vines to be pulled up, 
 and the trees to be forthwith cut down ; they had for- 
 bidden anything to be grown here that was being pro- 
 duced in Spain, fearing lest this would work against the 
 welfare of the mother country, for she was bound to be 
 served at the expense of other lands. 
 
 Now this was more than the good priest Hidalgo could 
 endure, therefore, he rose in rebellion, followed by his 
 people and throngs of others from different states, feel- 
 ing that such soul- and flesh-crushing reign must at least 
 be stayed. He realized that for centuries his race had 
 been under the Spanish harrow, and had been terribly 
 mangled. He believed in his innermost heart that God's 
 time had come for an uprising of the people, and a 
 breaking of tyrannical bonds. He was fully prepared to 
 die for the freedom of his race, and, in the course of a 
 few months, he did seal his cause with his blood, which
 
 OBSTACLES OVERCOME. 249 
 
 did graciously serve to nourish its roots and branches, 
 and in 1821, just three hundred years after Cortez set up 
 his standard, and so established the dominion of Spain 
 in Mexico in 1521, was reared the escutcheon of Hidalgo, 
 inscribed with the eagle and cactus, divine emblems of 
 the Aztecs. 
 
 Why, only see that people, degraded by the rasping 
 influences of a powerful nation during three centuries ! 
 They have no knowledge of grammar, yet speaking as 
 many as five different languages ; they have no facilities 
 for inter-communication ; they have no railroads, no tele- 
 graphs, not so much as established lines of postmen, yet 
 they have asserted by divine right their independence of 
 Spain, and declared their land a republic. 
 
 How often it is that men, when pushed to the wall, do 
 far better than they purposed. For years after Mexico 
 had severed herself from Spain, her course was a check- 
 ered one. Political aspirants blocked the wheels of 
 progress. The royalist Iturbide pushed himself to the 
 front of the government, who wrought first and last for 
 himself; he, at length, was removed by Santa Anna, who 
 was crafty, subtle, and wore as surely two faces as did 
 the god, Janus. He was loved and hated ; he was elected 
 to office at one time, and impeached at another. He 
 struck hands with our government, and the result was 
 the Mexican war ; however, this was not sufficient cause 
 or grievance for that war, which would not have taken 
 place had it not been for the lurking desire on the part 
 of many American citizens to have more slave territory-
 
 250 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 This was the secret, and so from a slight pretext war was 
 declared, and our army marched openly into the Aztec 
 land, battling against the enemy without treachery, gain- 
 ing victory after victory, and came out of the country 
 triumphant, fixing the boundary in the treaty between 
 Mexico and the States along the Rio Grande river and 
 over the Rockies to the Pacific ocean, securing the gold 
 state to the United States. History never will crown 
 our nation with a mead of honor for going into that war ; 
 still, I doubt not it was overruled for good by a power 
 higher than man. It was instrumental in dethroning 
 Santa Anna, and paved the way for the missionary to 
 enter the benighted and ill-treated country. 
 
 Strange to record, five years after this, Santa Anna 
 was recalled, but was kept in power only one year, for 
 during that time he announced himself Permanent Dic- 
 tator with the modest title, "His Serene Highness." 
 He was speedily thrust from his highness, and the true 
 patriot Alvarez was made president, and he fortunately 
 selected for his secretary of judicial, religious, and edu- 
 cational affairs the Indian, Benito Juarez, a Christian 
 statesman and scholar. 
 
 The first work they attempted to do was to draft a 
 constitution for the organization and government of their 
 beloved land ; and in the winter of 1857, they published 
 an instrument in the name of God and by the authority of 
 the Mexican people, which Mr. Seward pronounced " to 
 be the best instrument of its kind in the world." 
 
 This constitution gave them a president, vice-presi-
 
 OBSTACLES OVERCOME. 251 
 
 dent, a congress of two branches, and a judiciary court. 
 At length, Secretary Juarez was elected president by the 
 people. He realized that the church, as it was being 
 managed, was a fearful drain upon the country. It was 
 filching from the people, most of whom were very poor, 
 for its support some two million, five hundred thousand 
 dollars annually. Nearly one third of the real estate and 
 one half of the fixed property connected with the munici- 
 palities were in the possession of the church, amounting 
 to more than two hundred million dollars. He caused 
 all this to be nationalized, setting apart churches amply 
 sufficient to meet the needs of the people, leasing the 
 same, free of expense, to church authorities for the term 
 of ninety-nine years. Many convents, monasteries, build- 
 ings of different religious orders, and the Inquisition were 
 sold to replenish the state treasury. This was a bold but 
 just movement, giving all the right to think and do as an 
 enlightened conscience might dictate. This immediately 
 changed the order of things and breathed new life into 
 the nation. The masses of the people gave Juarez hearty 
 support. They felt that they had been priest-ridden, and 
 longed to be set free from any such unrighteousness. 
 
 About this period, our nation was being involved in a 
 terrific civil war. Some of the great powers across the 
 Atlantic felt, now is the time to demolish the republic 
 of Mexico and establish an empire in its stead. England, 
 France, and Spain combined to accomplish such a result. 
 These nations had financial investments or loans in the 
 country : England had nearly seventy million dollars ;
 
 252 MEXICO: THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 Spain, ten million ; and France, three million. At first 
 agents were sent from these countries to examine into 
 the financial status of Mexico and get fullest security ; 
 but France at the same time shipped seven thousand sol- 
 diers. This signified war and opened the eyes of England 
 and Spain, and, as they recalled the Monroe treaty, they 
 felt it was best for them to withdraw from the field ; for 
 they could read between the lines that Napoleon III. was 
 planning to get New Spain under his control. Upon this> 
 Napoleon and Pio Nono induced Maximilian to become 
 their tool, and they commissioned him and his consort, 
 Carlotta, henceforth, to be the Emperor and Empress of 
 Mexico. They were vain and weak enough to accept 
 the ruse. As we have already seen, they came to the 
 country with the royal trappings of a kingly court and 
 usurped the reins of government from the hands of the 
 noble Juarez by martial prowess, without any leave or 
 let, so far as the people were concerned. He assumed 
 at once that the Mexican people were to allow him for 
 his services an annual salary of one million, five hundred 
 thousand dollars ; five million for the clergy, and thirty 
 million for military and civil services. 
 
 After this manner was Maximilian to establish a Neo- 
 politic and Romanish empire, which they anticipated would 
 be but the beginning of empires in the New World. The 
 Emperor did become so far established in his new realm 
 as to be recognized by Jefferson Davis, who was at the 
 head of the Confederacy, and was congratulated by the 
 latter on his eminent and successful attainment.
 
 MEXICAN PROGRESS. 253 
 
 But Maximilian's career as emperor was run in three 
 troublous years. How could it have been otherwise, for 
 he had been sowing to the wind with the certainty of 
 reaping the whirlwind ! In his extremity, he was deserted 
 by his sworn friends, Napoleon and Pius Ninus. Poor, 
 deluded Maximilian and Carlotta ! His end was lament- 
 able, and her lot at the castle of Miramar is heart-rending. 
 
 At the close of the French intervention, President Juarez 
 was recalled from his exile to preside over the Mexican 
 people. Upon his return and assuming authority, he 
 issued the succeeding proclamation : 
 
 " Let the Mexican people fall on their knees before 
 God, who has deigned to crown our arms with victory. 
 He has afflicted the foreigner who has oppressed us 
 sorely. He has established these, his people, in their 
 rightful place. For He, who has his habitation in the 
 heavens, is the visitor and protector of our country 
 against him who came to do us ill. The excellent, the 
 only just, almighty, and Eternal One is He who hath dis- 
 persed the nations which, like vultures, had fallen on 
 Mexico." 
 
 This shows the man, grand and exalted. By his loy- 
 alty and self-sacrifice, he endeared himself in the hearts 
 of the people, as did our beloved Lincoln, and living and 
 dying, he gave new life to his country.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 MEXICAN PROGRESS. 
 
 Porferio Diaz was the successor to the lamented Juarez, 
 a gifted, high-minded, and cultured man of entire Aztec 
 descent. He came into the chair of state because the 
 people called him in 1876, and for most of the time since, 
 he has continued as president to the gratification of the 
 Liberals and the best people. Since the fall of Maximil- 
 ian great strides have been made. At that time, there 
 were less than a hundred miles of railroad in the country, 
 while now there are more than seven thousand and many 
 more in prospect. Then only the chief towns were wired 
 with telegraphs, while now a web of wires extend from 
 all over the land to the capital. Then but one bank was 
 in the country, now a score exist doing good business. 
 Then the national debt of one hundred and fifty millions 
 of dollars was increasing yearly, now it is not permitted 
 to increase, and the interest is promptly paid. The sil- 
 ver mines are yielding double what they did ten years 
 ago. At the present time, much foreign capital is being in- 
 vested in lands, mines, and factories. The drainage of 
 the City of Mexico has been effected at an expense of 
 fifteen millions of dollars, and now it will become one of 
 the healthiest cities on the globe. 
 
 President Diaz does not approve of the bull-fight or
 
 MEXICAN PROGRESS. 255 
 
 the cockpit, but he does believe in the public school. 
 The illiteracy of half a century ago is disappearing. 
 Four decades since the total sum yearly expended by the 
 government for schools would not have equalled ten 
 thousand dollars, now it exceeds five millions. Formerly, 
 the Catholics took little interest in general education, 
 further than to have the children memorize the catechism, 
 but now wherever the government, or a Protestant sect, 
 establishes a school, they aim to plant two. The presi- 
 dent has been instrumental in having five good normal 
 schools founded in different cities, which are being well 
 patronized, and are sending out thoroughly-qualified 
 teachers. 
 
 The separation of church and state has worked marvels 
 for the public school, and the diffusion of general knowl- 
 edge. The children are being taught to think, and so 
 enabled to choose between right and wrong. 
 
 In the larger towns and important cities, colleges and 
 professional schools are established, which are doing the 
 people good service. The government is also supporting 
 schools of law, medicine, agriculture, the fine arts, music, 
 and military science. Its asylums for the blind, the deaf 
 and dumb, and charitable institutions for the poor, are 
 numerous and commendable. 
 
 The chief magistrate is a broad man, mentally, morally, 
 and religiously. Though a Catholic, he is very friendly 
 to Protestants, giving them cordial welcome to any part of 
 his dominion ; he appreciates the good which they have 
 already achieved. He can plainly see that the sixty con-
 
 256 MEXICO : THE WONDER LAND. 
 
 gregations, the sixteen thousand communicants with seven 
 thousand children in day schools, and ten thousand in 
 Sunday-schools, are stimulating the people in the right 
 direction. Their books and papers, published in the 
 native languages and freely circulated, are spreading in- 
 telligence and enterprise among the common people ; 
 these are changing the tone and character of the news- 
 papers of the land ; although the latter have not been 
 numerous, nevertheless, they have been narrow, failing to 
 bring the most important facts to the minds of their read- 
 ers. Of the fifteen papers published in the metropolis, 
 only two of them have aimed to give the people the news 
 of the day, and these have had but a small circulation ; 
 still the daily journal, entitled the Two Republics, printed 
 in English, together with the mission papers, have effected 
 a radical change as to what a paper should be, and have 
 opened the way for the Associated Press to be published 
 in the City of Mexico, which meets the heartiest approval 
 of the President. 
 
 Another decided improvement, introduced by the mis- 
 sions, is that of text-books, which are the best published, 
 being beautifully illustrated, and finely printed upon good 
 paper, which have proved most helpful to children and 
 parents. The Catholics, wherever they have had perfect 
 control of schools, have paid little attention to text-books. 
 Thus it was in Italy and France, previous to the separa- 
 tion of state and church. The fact is, the Catholics have 
 provided comparatively speaking few text-books, either 
 of a primary or higher grade : their thought and interest
 
 MEXICAN PROGRESS. 257 
 
 have run in an entirely different channel. It was for- 
 merly thus as to school houses and school rooms. Why 
 should not religious competition, as well as social and 
 civil, work good results ? 
 
 President Diaz loves his race and all the subjects of 
 his republic, and seems bound, so far as it lies in his 
 power, to have justice done every one, whether high or 
 low, black or white, pedant or savant. He is an econo- 
 mist in the highest sense, looking out not to have his 
 subjects overtaxed, nor to have the expenditures exceed 
 the revenues. His own salary is less than that of the 
 president of the United States, showing that he is not 
 after the spoils of office, but is concerned for the welfare 
 of his country. 
 
 He expresses himself as very friendly to our republic. 
 The fact that he is so kindly disposed to the mission- 
 aries, who without a single exception are from the 
 States, is indubitable proof of his good-will towards our 
 nation ; and ought it not to induce us in every practi- 
 cable way to reciprocate all favors, and even go so far as 
 to return the cannon, the standards, in short all the 
 plunder captured by our army in the Mexican War? This 
 would be courteous, giving cheer to a struggling republic 
 which is deserving to live, and promises at no distant 
 day to become one of the bright stars in the galaxy of 
 freedom. 
 
 18
 
 INDEX 
 
 PAGE. 
 Alamo .......... 4 
 
 Atlantida . . 18 
 
 Aztec Market-places ....... 29 
 
 A Ball Game 31 
 
 Aguas Calientes ........ 65 
 
 Around the Well 80 
 
 At Station of Villar 86 
 
 An Indian Hut ........ 93 
 
 Arrival at Queretero . . . . . . .126 
 
 Around City of Mexico . . . . . . .166 
 
 Approaching TIaxcala . . . . . . .214 
 
 Atoyac Falls . . . . . . . -231 
 
 At the Station ........ 236 
 
 Brick-yard ......... 32 
 
 Burros vying with Railroad . . . . . -41 
 
 Bathing at Hot Springs ....... 68 
 
 Bands of Music . . --.- - . . 78 
 
 Baking Tortillas . . . . . . . .82 
 
 Bright Mornings . . . . . . . .99 
 
 Boys in Alameda . . . . . . . .146 
 
 Bull Ring . . . . . . . -174 
 
 Big Cypresses . . . . . . . .183 
 
 Bees, Butterflies, and Blossoms ..... 228
 
 260 INDEX. 
 
 Chattanooga . . . . . . . . 2 
 
 Chickamauga . . . . . . . . 2 
 
 Crescent ......... 2 
 
 Cordilleras Mountains . . . . . . .n 
 
 Cortez, supplanted the Old by the New .... 20 
 
 Cultivation of Soil ....... 36 
 
 Cowboys ......... 39 
 
 Chihuahua ......... 43 
 
 Church of Chihuahua .... . . 45 
 
 Coffee Plantation 89 
 
 Cathedral of San Luis Potosi ..... 76 
 
 Choy Cave . . . . . . . . .91 
 
 Congregational Mission . . . . . .123 
 
 City of Mexico . . . . . . 141, 145 
 
 City of Mexico Churches . . . . . .151 
 
 Cathedral of Mexico . . . . . 152 
 
 Calendar Stone . . . . . . . 1 59 
 
 Chac-Mol . . . . . . . . .161 
 
 Colleges of Medicine and Mining . . . . .164 
 
 Cemeteries . . . . . . . . .170 
 
 Cadet Monument . . . . . . . .185 
 
 Cypress Grove . . . . . . . .186 
 
 Canes of Abiaco . . . . . . . .192 
 
 Cholula Ruins and Pyramid ...... 205 
 
 Cortez at Cholula . . . . . . . .210 
 
 Church of San Francisco . . . . . .218 
 
 Citizen of Orizaba ....... 234 
 
 City of Orizaba ....'. . 233 
 
 Cordova ......... 237 
 
 Coffee Plantation .... . . 239 
 
 Constitution of Juarez ....... 250 
 
 Career of Maximilian . .... 253
 
 INDEX. 26l 
 
 Down the Mountain . . . - . . -25 
 
 Drinking Saloon . . . . . . . . 27 
 
 Donkey Experience ....... 60 
 
 Down the Mountains . ..... 87 
 
 Decree of Maximilian . . . . . . .129 
 
 Dolores Cemetery . . . . . . .172 
 
 Descent to Vera Cruz ....... 225 
 
 Empire City ... . . . . i 
 
 Experience in Chihuahua ...... 44 
 
 Escort in City of Mexico . . . . . 144 
 
 Experience at Tlaxcala . . . . . . .223 
 
 Esperanza ......... 225 
 
 Entering Orizaba ........ 232 
 
 Effects of Spanish Rule ....... 245 
 
 Federal City ........ i 
 
 French Abh>6 6 
 
 From Jaral to Torreon . . . . . . .21 
 
 From 1535 to 1821 ....... 48 
 
 Funeral Train . . . . . . . .143 
 
 Fashions in City of Mexico . . . . . .150 
 
 Flower Girls . . . . . . . .151 
 
 Floating Gardens . . . . . . .168 
 
 From City of Mexico to Puebla . . . . .188 
 
 Furnished House . . . . . . . .18 
 
 Galveston . . . . . . . . 3 
 
 Good-natured Creatures . . . . . .10 
 
 Geology of Mexico . . *V . . . . 24 
 
 Going to Market . . . . . . . -.-- 81 
 
 Gathering Pulque ........ 98 
 
 Guadalajara . . . . . . . . .in 
 
 Grammar School . . . . .122
 
 262 INDEX. 
 
 General Post-office, City of Mexico . . . .158 
 
 Guadalupe, the Mexican Mecca . . . . 175 
 
 Houston ......... 3 
 
 Having a Look ........ 22 
 
 Hacienda ......... 34 
 
 Hacienda Yard ........ 35 
 
 Hidalgo and Monument . . . . . .46 
 
 Horse-car Ride . . . . . . . -57 
 
 Hot Springs of Calientes ...... 67 
 
 How Silver Rock is Crushed . . . . . .104 
 
 Hospicio, Guadalajara . . . . . . .120 
 
 How Maximilian came to be here . . . . .129 
 
 Humboldt Honored . . . . . . .165 
 
 History of Cortez . . . . . . . .219 
 
 Hidalgo's Struggles ....... 248 
 
 Irrigation . . . < . . . . .40 
 
 In the Valley of Canona .... .88 
 
 Image of the Virgin, dear to Cortez . . . .176 
 
 Jaral .22 
 
 Journalism in Mexico ....... 256 
 
 Kicking Cow . . . . . . . .42 
 
 Lookout Mountain ....... 2 
 
 Liberty of the Swine ....... 28 
 
 Landlords reside in Cities ...... 33 
 
 Lakes about City of Mexico . . . . . .187 
 
 Museum of Antiquities ....... 161 
 
 Markets in City of Mexico ... .165 
 
 Mast Changed to Stone . ... 179 
 
 Montezuma's Tree 181
 
 INDEX. 263 
 
 Maguey Fields . . . . . . . .190 
 
 Mount Orizaba from "Devil's Balcony" . . . 229 
 
 Maltrata ......... 230 
 
 Mexican Progress . . . . . . .254 
 
 Monumental City ........ i 
 
 Mission Bridge ........ 2 
 
 Mountain Side . . . . . . . .11 
 
 Mexico . . . . . . . . .11 
 
 Mesquites . . . . . . . . .25 
 
 Mexican Wares . . . . . . . -3 
 
 Mexican Stone ........ 30 
 
 Manufactures of Quertaro . . . . . -35 
 
 Masses followed Hidalgo . .... 49 
 
 Mexican Skies . . . . . . . 5 1 
 
 Mint of Zacatecas ........ 56 
 
 Market at Calientes . . . . . . -7 
 
 Mound of Wheat ........ 74 
 
 Mountain Scenery . . . . . . .85 
 
 Mint of Guanajuato ....... 105 
 
 Modern Cart . . . . . . . .128 
 
 Maximilian's last Stand . . . . . .129 
 
 Manchester City of Mexico . . . . . .147 
 
 Museum City of Mexico . . . . . .158 
 
 National Cemetery ....... 2 
 
 Night Experience . . __. _ ... 62 
 
 Nearing the Tropics ....... 83 
 
 National Palace . . . . . . . 157 
 
 National Museum . . . . . . . .158 
 
 National Art Gallery . . . . . . .162 
 
 New England Family in Mexico . . . . .241 
 
 Origin of the Mexicans . ..... 15-16 
 
 t
 
 264 INDEX. 
 
 Our Words. Atlas and Atlantic 18 
 
 On to Chihuahua ........ 37 
 
 Old Streets and New Chapel . . . . . -58 
 
 Orphanage, Guadalupe ....... 59 
 
 Opal Venders . . . . . . . .126 
 
 Onyx City . . . . . . . . .196 
 
 Old Convent . . . . . . . .217 
 
 Our Party buying Fruit . . . . . 235 
 
 Obstacles Overcome ....... 244 
 
 Peidras Negras . . . . . . . .10 
 
 Poor Man's Home . . . . . . .10 
 
 Pyramids of Mexico . . . . . . .19 
 
 Potosi Station . . . . . . . -75 
 
 Pulque Saloon ..... . . 148 
 
 Public School . . . . . . . .163 
 
 Protestant Missionaries . . ... 164 
 
 Palace, and Military Academy . . . . .184 
 
 Pulque, how made . . . . . . .191 
 
 Pyramids . . . . . . . . .192 
 
 Puebla . . . . . . . . 193 
 
 Plaza Promenade . . . . . . . .196 
 
 President Diaz forbids Bull-fighting .... 254 
 
 124 
 
 Rio Grande River ........ 4 
 
 Ranchmen ......... 34 
 
 Ride into the City ....... 69 
 
 Ride from Mafil to Guanajuato . . . . . 101 
 
 Rubio Mills 135 
 
 Keforma, principal Street . . . . . .180 
 
 Ride to Cholula ........ 203 
 
 Rio Blanco River . . . . . . . 233
 
 INDEX. 265 
 
 Shenandoah Valley . . . . . . 2 
 
 San Antonio ........ 45 
 
 San Juan Mountain ....... 8 
 
 Sombrero ......... 9 
 
 Street Scene ........ 54 
 
 School and College. Calientes ..... 72 
 
 Stylish House in Tropics ...... 94 
 
 Scenes in Guanajuato . . . . . . . 101 
 
 Strawberry Eating . . . . . . .124 
 
 Secretary Seward and Napoleon III . . . 131 
 
 Statue of Hercules . . . . . . -136 
 
 Sewerage, City of Mexico . . . . . !6s 
 
 Sunday in Puebla . . . . . . . .197 
 
 San Pueblo Apetitlan . . . . . . -213 
 
 Sugar Mill 238 
 
 Santa Anna ......... 249 
 
 Separation of Church and State . . . . . 255 
 
 Schools Generally . . . . . . .256 
 
 The Stage . . . . . . . . .21 
 
 Torreon . . . . . .. . -257 
 
 Tramps . . . . '. . . . .42 
 
 The Mint, and Hidalgo Prison ..... 47 
 
 Tamsopa River ........ 88 
 
 Taninul Cave ........ 62 
 
 The Panteon . . . . . . . .106 
 
 The Pope, and Napoleon III . ^= . . . -130 
 The City of Mexico . . . . . . .145 
 
 Tramway in Mexico . . . . . . -149 
 
 TheGodMexitl 161 
 
 Tomb of Juarez . . . . . . . -171 
 
 Tacubaya . . . . . . . . 173 
 
 Tropical Life ........ 240
 
 266 INDEX. 
 
 Text-books 256 
 
 Visit to a Prison . . . . . . . 117 
 
 View at Tula 138 
 
 Vega Canal . . . . . . . . .167 
 
 Vega Museum . . . . . . . .170 
 
 Vision of Guadalupe . . . . . . .176 
 
 Well-to-do Home ....... 9 
 
 Whence came the Mexicans . . . . . .14 
 
 What Scholars say of its Origin . . . . .18 
 
 When did Cortez come to Mexico . . . . 19 
 
 Whole Family ........ 23 
 
 Water Carriers . . . . . . . -55 
 
 Wandering about Potosi ...... 78 
 
 " Whitcomb Falls" ....... 90 
 
 Washing out Silver . . . . . . . 101 
 
 Where was Maximilian Shot . . . . . 133 
 
 Why did Napoleon withdraw his Soldiers . . .252 
 
 Zacatecas ......... 53
 
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