THE Land of the Montezumas BY Cora Hayward Crawford WITH ILLUSTRATIONS SECOND EDITION NEW YORK John B. Alden, Publisher 1889 -it^^ 0^ small, the natives doing their work by fording the river at night, and even though under constant surveillance they often succeed in safely landing whole wagon-loads of contraband goods. At less exposed points along the river the business of smuggling is said to be carried on extensively. The excessive rates of duty on the necessities of life, and the high prices of home-produ6ls make it a temptingly profitable, though precarious industry. The wagons in use, if purely Mexican, are curi- osities, for they are all carts. They are constru6led entirely without the use of iron, each of the wheels being sawed, or hewn from a huge log, through the centres of which there passes a wooden apology for an axle-tree. On this rests a square, crib-like bed enclosed with rough rails. This vehicle, a relic of early days, is drawn by oxen yoked together by a crude cross-bar lashed to their horns, and to the tongue of the cart. Paso del Norte is the northern terminus of the Farrocarril Central Mexicano. The constru6lion of this road was an event of vast importance to 23 THE LAND OF THE MONTEZUMAS. \ Mexico, conne6ling, as it does, in one continnons • line the City of Mexico with the northern borders, I giving an impetus long needed to its commerce ' and making an easy, pleasant voyage for the tour- ; ist, who desires to visit that noble city with its i relics of a fallen race. This road was built by American capital and received from the Mexican government some grants of land along the line, and promises of subsidies to be obtained from a certain percentage of the import taxes. This con- tradl, however, has been a source of discussion and trouble ever since the first train started, the government being more generous in promises than prompt in payment. Our arrangements are at last completed, and sufficient funds for the trip exchanged into adode dollars and City of Mexico bills. This exchange is exceedingly pleasing to us, as loyal Americans, in- asmuch as for every good American dollar we re- ceive a dollar and twenty cents in IMexican money. Then with no regrets, save the farewell to a newly made friend, the hedlic flush of whose cheeks we know will fade before our return, we depart from El Paso and slowly steam across the river. Offi- cers enter the car to examine the hand baggage, but they open the satchels of two only of the pas- sengers who bear unmistakable marks of being the "perfec fid" merchants of ready-made clothing, and who really create suspicion by trying to look innocent. At the station our trunks undergo a OVER THE BORDER. 2$ form of examination carried on very courteously, and then as the " Golden sun is slowly, slowly- Sinking in the purple distance," we bid our native land good-night, and are fairly on our way to the Land of the Montezumas. Through the gathering dusk of evening we can see on each side of our track a vast stretch of desert rising into barren sand-hills, and spotted with deposits of alkalies white as snow. A few mesquite bushes and occasional yuccas, or ca6li, are the only signs of vegetation. Before the advent of the railroads an old wagon- trail plowed its weary way across these sandy plains, and the terrors of the trip were subje6ts for serious consideration in former days when to the dreariness of the desert were added the dangers arising from frequent marauding bands of Apaches who infested this district. Turning from the dark and gloomy scene outside, and from the shudder- ing remembrance of tales of the murderous attacks of these savage Indians, to the bright comfort and warmth of our sleeper, we find that an animated discussion is going on between an American capi- talist and a Mexican trader just returning from a visit to the States. The question at issue is that of the continuance of silver currency at the pres- ent ratio of value, the great depreciation of Mexi- can moneys being the raison d'' Hre of the argu- ment. From finance the talk drifted into politics 24 THE LAND OF THE MONTEZUMAS. and the condition of the present government, then to railroads, their interests and growth. For years the only internal communication was by means of the crude, lumbering carts, or on horseback, these being superseded by a system of diligences for passenger travel. In 1837 the first line of railroad to run from the City of Mexico to Vera Cruz was chartered; but the grant was for- feited for failure to commence work within the specified time. Other grants were issued but the country was so torn up by constant revolutions and changes of government that it was many years before any adlive work was begun. The difficul- ties of constru6lion, and the immense projedls of engineering required, also caused much delay ; and it was not until 1869 that the first branch was opened, and with a flourish of trumpets; the whole line was completed and opened to the public in 1873. Other companies soon followed, and within the last ten years several roads have been com- menced and completed, and Mexico is now well supplied with iron roads of travel, intersedling the border at various points and converging to the capital city as a common centre. A long whistle interrupts us here, followed by the jostle of slackening wheels, and then a dead stop. Stepping out on the platform we find the moon has risen and is shedding her glimmering light over the mud shanties of a village where we have halted for water. Groups of loungers and i OVER THE BORDER. 2$ beggars, in the pidluresque though ragged cos- tumes of the country, cluster about the train, and the scene is so weird and strange that one feels that it must be some stage effect of the ancient mysteries he is looking upon. In the broad light of day the pitiable poverty is but too apparently real, but in this magical light the harsh points are silvered with a touch of romance. A striking charadleristic of the country lies in the constant reminders of the far East. There is an oriental effe6l in much of the landscape, in the primitive methods of husbandry, in the flowing garb of the people, and in their dashing ease in horsemanship; while the swarthy faces and piercing black eyes vividly recall the descriptions of the Egyptians and Bedouins of the Arabian deserts. 26 the; land of the montezumas. CHAPTER III. FIRST STOP IN MEXICO. TTTITH the early morning Cliihuahua, the first ^ ^ city of importance on the line, is reached. It is situated in a valley enclosed to the south and east by the embracing arms of the Sierra Madre mountains, and seems to us to be a well-built town, with wide, clean streets. Although the larger number of the dwellings are plain and often mis- erably poor, one and two-story adobe cabins, there are also numerous handsome houses of plastered adobe, as well as many noble edifices built of stone. The city is in a rich mining country from which streams of silver have flowed, and at the time of greatest prosperity it had a population much greater than at the present day. The houses are all built in hollow squares about an open court, where we sometimes catch glimpses of dancing fountains and brightly blooming flowers, and, occasionally, of a fair-faced, black-eyed beauty, almost instindl- ively reminding one of the lines of Byron : " O night, And storm, and darkness, ye are wondrous strong, Yet lovely in your strength, as is the light Of a dark eye in woman." FIRST STOP IN MEXICO. 2'J One rarely gets more than a glance at these fair donnas, for they seldom appear on the public streets; but about the station, up the principal thoroughfares, and in the plaza, can always be seen throngs of the common people, and men and \ women of our own race are often met here, for •. there is considerable of an American element in this place. This fadl is readily discernible at the ■ hotels where our customs have been introduced, but after a cheaply civilized fashion that still leaves much to be desired. The grand plaza, always a very notable feature in every Mexican town, is surrounded on three sides by handsome public edifices and stores, and on the fourth side stands the Cathedral. This im- posing stnidlure, famous for its magnificent carv- ings and its architectural beauty, a combination of the Moorish and modern Gothic, was ere6led when our Republic was struggling through the first un- certain years of its infancy. It is of light stone, with an over-arching dome, and two high towers offering magnificent and beautiful views. Our visit was made in the evening when the vesper bell was sounding, and the scene, half-lighted by the flickering candles which grew brighter as the daylight waned, was one never to be forgotten, with its weird contrast between the gorgeous robes of the officiating priest, blending with the gay dec- orations of the altars, and with its pidlure of men and women, barefooted and in rags, sitting and kneeling on the floor below. 28 THE LAND OF THE MONTEZUMAS. The principal buildings of interest, besides the churches, are the prison and the mint, formerly a convent, from whose tower Hidalgo, the Washing- ton of Mexico, was taken and shot by the Span- iards. A simple monument of white stone marks the spot where fell this first martyr to Mexican independence. We are satisfied with an outside view of the prison, whose gloomy walls and grated windows remind us of an ugly custom which the natives of these border states have had of sending off a citizen to the calaboza on the slightest pre- tense, not from any intended injustice, but simply because it was the pradlice of the country. Once there, he was liable to remain until worn and "rusted with a vile repose," for justice, like all things else in this land of ease, moves exceeding slow. An acquaintance once seeking renewed health in this very city came very near suffering from this inconvenient custom, because he had chanced to be the last one seen to leave a shop from which some articles were declared stolen. He was immediately seized by the police, and this surpris- ing dilemma called forth more Spanish from his lips than he had ever imagined himself capable of uttering. This effort, together with the fadl that the missing goods were fortunately soon discovered, effected his release without further trouble; and "he sped on his way rejoicing, and revisited his friends," as did .^ncas, dismissed by the Sibyl through the ivory gate, from the nether regions. FIRST STOP IN MEXICO. 29 Efforts have lately been made to corredl this evil, however, and minor officials have received orders from headquarters to treat foreigners with especial courtesy, and examine into any charges made against them with particular care. The plaza is grass-grown and richly adorned with beds of flowers, winding w^alks, benches and pillars of white porphyry, the whole being shaded by overhanging trees. One loves to linger here in the freshness of the early morning, listening to the twitterings of birds in the boughs overhead, and watching the dusky faces of the passers-by, wor- shipers hurrying to early mass, beggars entreating alms, fruit-sellers with great baskets of fruit on their heads, bread-dealers, peddlars and dulce-ven- ders carrying their wares after the same fashion, and agiiadorcs filling their stone jars at the central fountain. In the evening the scene is still fuller of life and interest, for a concourse of people of all classes gather here to while away the time and listen to the sweet strains of Mexican music. Eyes grow bright under stolen glances and sly hand- clasps, and in spite of the presence of grim duennas there is animation and love and happiness here. The city is abundantly supplied with water by means of a massive stone aquedudl some three miles long, and more than a hundred years old. Near its termination in the city is the alameda^ or promenade, beyond which a road leads to a suburb of stately houses and fine, w^all-bound gardens. 30 THE LAND OF THE MONTEZUMAS. After a few days of sight-seeing about the town one of our party proposed a trip to the Eulalia sil- ver mines, and after some discussion about ways and means we have finally decided to start as soon as possible after sunrise on the morrow. Santa Eulalia is about fifteen miles from Chihuahua, and the rough but interesting ride out over the country is to be made in a vehicle apparently constructed long before the invention of springs, and behind four shaggy but fiery little animals only too ambi- tious to reach their journey's end. A brown-faced Mexican is engaged for driver, while an acquaint- ance familiar with the trip volunteers to be our guide. It is a December morning, but it suggests to us our northern June. Armed and equipped, as well as may be, for the journey, we are off, feeling very foreign and very Mexican. As we ride out of Chihuahua in the glare of the sun there seems a something almost fierce in the brightness of tlie morning. In the shadows of the white houses of the long, bare street it is chilly, almost cold, and the sunny patches hot by contrast bring one a grateful sensation of warmth. The great pyram- idal shadow of Sierra Colonel lies still along the grass-brown slopes that stretch away in a pleasant plain to the Nombre de Deos mountains, flaming red, as they are glowing already in the morning sun. Sierra Grande, like a mighty sentinel rises in our rear, bare as the plain from base to crown. FIRST STOP IN MEXICO. 31 The dusty roadway is straight and vanishes away beyond the knolls, between which the dust, stirred up by^ earlier travelers, hangs purple in the sun. Afar the glinting walls of some white adobe shine out with a dry, clear light, relieved against the dull brown, grassy, sandy hills. The natives tell us that in August these hills are all emerald- green, but to-day it seems incredible, for the one great, all-pervading thought is that of the sun, almost terrible as it searches out even the shadows in time and lends them a golden color too. On either hand, as we rattle along, huge piles of coal-black slag lie like grim ruins of some active past. Wonder grows upon us as we ride among these vast slag heaps. It seems impossible that they are the works of man. Already one is tempt- ed to conclude that these great heaps that scar the plain and choke the dry stream-beds are but rem- nants of volcanic lavas piled away from the roads by human hands, or slacked and weathered away by time. Where could it ever have come from? Was there ever ore enough in all this region to account for this incalculable quantity of black cinder? " Well, we are to see after awhile," our guide says, and so we ride cheerfully along under the bare, sunny and precipitous crown of Sierra Colonel. How balmy and soft is the wind that comes down from the bare mountains ! Even the sun cannot rob it of its delightful freshness. To the 32 THE LAND OF THE MONTEZUMAS. nortli of us is the hurrying rush of the unrestful world ; there it is the nineteenth century ; here the only thing to suggest the idea of haste is the long line of the Mexican Central Railway stretch- ing like a great sinuous snake along the base of the far-away hills. We mount a low ridge that comes down from our sentinel mountain, and here we stop a moment to rest and listen to the descrip- tions of our guide who, lifting his hand, points away to the south and east where rise the Santa Eulalia mountains. A wide plain lies in between — fif- teen miles of almost unbroken desert, dusty and hazy with unfettered sunlight. There lies the Hacienda IMiiller, a German pal- ace in a Spanish waste. The house, we are told, cost one hundred thousand Mexican dollars. It is adobe for the most part, with incredible mar- ble front and pillars. We ride near and find six men on a wheat-stack flat and round as a pancake. They are tossing the dry chaff" in air to be blown away by the wind. They work like crazy men, and, discovering an American thrashing-machine lying idle under a shed near by, we conclude that these men are maniacs indeed. But the distant range of Santa Eulalia attracts us, and we dash away over the rugged road, having some thirty miles to ride before night-fall. What an endless journey it is, with the goal in sight all the while, and the little black speck on the mount- ain, side, said to be the main opening of the Santa FIRST STOP IN MEXICO. 33 Eulalia mines, growing slowly plainer to view ! At last, after a discouragingly weary ride, we arrive, hot and dusty, and immediately take to the shade to cool off, while the gentlemen of the party drink pulque in evident enjoyment. Now we go under-ground with the mayordomo^ who is very obliging and seems glad to see us. Soon we emerge from the long drift which enters the face of the mountain — emerge after a quarter of an hour's groping in the dark, with the flaring torches ever blowing their foul smoke in our faces — into a huge, high-vaulted chamber which extends on all sides into impenetrable darkness. We understand and believe at a glance, by the impressive vastness of this cavernous hall, that all the slag-piles seen on our journey had their origin here, and that in ver>^ fa6l they are the works of man. It is awful, even depressing at first. So through a dozen such chambers we may go, if you will; but only the same vast excavations, dull walls and fearful silences await us. The very heart and substance of the mountains seem re- moved — so vast are some of these mighty caves. Verily the whole city of Chihuahua was built from these great mines, famous from ancient times, two hundred and more years ago. The vast slag-piles at and about this city are eloquent witnesses of the vast amount of ore smelted from Santa Eulalia, and although many attempts have been made by different companies to recover the silver of these 34 '^HE LAND OF THE MONTEZUMAS. slags they have no vahie above four dollars per ton, and cannot yet be utilized. The Mexican knew how to smelt his ore. One need only to visit Santa Eulalia to see what man will attempt in the shape of a mine. The ores are lead ores, and have been mined in vast chambers large enough to take in the Chihuahua Cathedral, spires off. No one can help being immeasurably impressed with the awful immensity of the place. To-day the mines are little worked, and stand a monument of past greatness. The whole country about the city is a grave-yard, with slag-dumps for monuments. The Real de Santa Eulalia is a rude little vil- lage tucked into a fold between the mountains, and composed of adobe huts and haciendas, all one story, except the ever-present church. The class of peons here is of a lower order than any we had yet seen. They are dirtier and darker and more sav- age in appearance, while the children, running about in a true state of nature, stare at us too wick- edly for pure innocence. The mountains for miles about are seamed with silver, and over two hun- dred mines have been adlively worked here, many of them to great depths. They originally belonged to the Church, and in the early days the yield of the precious metals was so enormous that with the proceeds of a small tax on their produdls the beau- tiful Cathedral we visited yesterday was built, not to mention other vast extravagances. After the expulsion of the Spaniards these mines were aban- FIRST STOP IN MEXICO. 35 doned as exhausted, but it is more than probable that some enterprising company, probably Amer- ican, will open up new veins here, and with the added help of modern machinery will be amply rewarded for their labors. The story of the first discovery of this great wealth of metals is one of romantic interest. Three fugitives, obliged for the good of their precious necks to take refuge in the mountain fastnesses, had finally found safe quarters in a deep ravine of what is now known as the Santa Eulalia mountains. Here they one day built a roaring bonfire, using for supports some of the bowlders lying about. These became intensely heated, and, to the surprise and joy of the fugitives, gave oflf a shining, white metal which they recognized to be silver. Prospecting, they soon discovered evi- dences of large quantities of rich ore, and their fortunes were assured. Pardons and absolutions were now easily obtained; the mines were opened, people flocked to them, and the section soon be- came famous for its wealth of metals. After luncheon, taking horses, we canter up a sinuous path for a favorable view of the surround- ing country. Onward and upward we wind and climb by a narrow trail which suddenly turns off to the left, and we find ourselves on the edge of a wild precipice. An old adobe house stands here clinging to the bleak terrace, and now our guide informs us that this is the entrance to the San 36 THE LAND OF THE MONTEZUMAS. Domingo mine, from which the wealth of a Croesus has rolled forth. We only see a b'ick hole in the solid rock. But turning to the valley we have a view inexpressibly beautiful and grand. There are ranges of mountains, multitudes of peaks, and glimpses of tangled valleys enveloped in an atmos- phere almost opalescent with shining light. Over our path the mountain towers with a darkling frown. It is nature in her wildest mood. Yet such is man, and the heart of man, that from all this grandeur we turn with a longing glance toward this dark hole leading into the inner depths where millions lie hidden. So numerous indeed are the tales of wondrous wealth here that we are getting a touch of the mining fever, though not in a degree likely to prove fatal. And now, late in the afternoon, we ride toward the city of Chihuahua, and see from afar the spires of the Cathedral lifted above the hazy plain, and reddening in the evening sun. This is the Orient now, and the tropical splendor of the south as well. From the Nombre de Deos mountains to the Sierras on the west, every peak and rugged crown aloft seems all aglow with fire, while the nearer heights of Sierra Grande and Sierra Colonel are flushed with light, with both their tops wrapped round with rosy flame. The way is long and rough, and with the gathering darkness we look wary and ill at ease, seeing real or imaginary dan- gers beyond every curve, the more so because of FIRST STOP IN MEXICO. 37 the stories, which one of our company persists in telling for our amusement, of the banditti once in- festing this country and even recently attacking belated travelers. And so, worn and weary to the soul from excitement, anxiety and fatigue, we wel- come the sight of the Cathedral towers with feel- ings akin to those with which a pious Mohamme- dan pilgrim hails those of his sacred Mecca. The city is bathed in the light of the full moon, and all things are silvered and purified in her blue- white rays ; and we gaze long and fondly upon the beautiful scene, knowing this to be our fare- well, as with the morning we are again to travel southward. 1 '1 ^ ^. ^^ ^ 1 ■:2: wish for more than a bare subsistence. Universal suffrage and popular ele(5lions are a /' farce, and as yet altogether impossible, the affairs j of government being determined by the party in( power, and carried on pradlically by military au- | thority, even in these times of peace. The thriv- ing, prosperous middle class, which makes up the larger number of the inhabitants of most coun- tries, and which is the ruling power in the United > States, is here almost a nonentity. This fa6l is due somewhat to the system of taxation in Mexico, which imposes a levy on merchandise, rather than on land and dwellings. Houses not occupied, or lands not under cultivation, are exempt, while merchandise is taxed by every state through which it travels. Then, too, the land granted in large trails by the Crown after the Spanish Conquest, has come down from generation to generation gen- erally undivided and seldom changing hands. The owners of these immense farms rarely live on them, generally having palatial residences in or near a city, and entrusting the management to a superintendent whose house, together with a mis- erable little village of adobe huts for the peons, or laborers, occupies a part of the estate. Sometimes, however, the owner lives in the midst of his miles of land, a supreme ruler of a little world of his 40 THE LAND OF THE MONTEZUMAS. Own. His handsome villa is condu(5led in courtly magnificence. Masses of flowers, the songs of birds and the music of the voice and guitar lend their beauty to the charm of culture and refine- ment, while riding, dancing, and the ever-present cigarette, add gayety and amusement — a life com- plete in itself and entirely isolated from the out- side world. It is a sort of feudal community, little less than serfdom, for the peons are pradlically in a state of bondage for debt, although these poor laborers have the right to sele6l their own masters. In the event of dissatisfadlion they may change their allegiance and sell their service, and that of their families, to any one who will pay the sum they owe to their last employer. Yet their attach- ment to the soil of their native villages, much of which they have with them always, is so great that they seldom change masters. It is with great difficulty that laborers can be found to work for any considerable distance on the railroad beds when in process of construdlion. They can only be persuaded to do so by allowing ! their families to accompany them, a similar priv- ilege to that granted by the government to the sol- diers when on the march. There are other strong attachments among the poor people, causing great annoyance to railroad officials : the lower orders of peons require to be carefully watched in order to keep them from appropriating anything they can 'lay their hands on, even to the iron couplings; ZACATECAS. 41 and trainmen are said to be held responsible for every link, bolt, or burr on their trains in order to keep them on their guard sufficiently to prevent their trains from becoming totally disconnected. We were, in some instances, an hour in cross- ing one of these estates by rail, where we saw men raising water from wells or reservoirs into irrigat- ing ditches, or at work in the field with a primi- tive wooden plow, just as might have been seen in Egypt a thousand years ago. The crowds of beg- gars that gathered around the train wherever we stopped, some of them horribly deformed or cov- ered with leprous sores, also brought to mind the interesting book-trip up the Nile that Warner has, given us. The pi6luresque is everywhere present, even in | spite of the poverty. The Indian woman wrapped/ to the eyes in her blue rebosa, the fruit-vender with \ his gay serape and wide-brimmed hat surmounted ', by a great basket of richly colored fruits, the pass- 1 ing horseman with his silver-buttoned leggins, and spurs, and short-braided jacket, and his ele- gantly saddled steed, the numberless babies swathed in their mothers' rebosas, these to us are all novel and full of interest. The landscape, however, has ceased to be inviting, for all day long, and still again on the morrow, there is nothing but the same vast expanse of table-land. At length, to our pleas- ure, the road makes a detour and enters the rough country about Zacatecas. 42 THE LAND OF THE MONTEZUMAS. We are now called to a point of observation on the platform and we find that the scene has changed. From the dull monotony of the plains we have en- tered upon a bit of glorious mountain country, recalling our most extravagant memories of the Rockies, only that the cadli, the yucca and the mesquite take the place of the noble cedars and pines of the Colorado mountains. Circling dizzy curves, climbing steep grades, and whirling through water-washed caiions, we come in sight of Zacate- cas, the highest city on the road, having an alti- tude of nearly eight thousand feet, and so closely environed by the mighty mountain cliffs of solid rock that one wonders how its seventy-five thou- sand people can get air and food enough to sustain life. Water is so scarce as to be a luxury, and during the long, dry months of the rainless season it is sold at a stated price per barrel. No system of drainage here is as yet possible. It seemed that every able-bodied man, woman and child of this city, and certainly every infant in arms, was about the station, sitting on the over- looking ledges, huddling together along the narrow defile through which the trains come and go, and standing in motley throngs wherever opportunity favored, not in honor, however, of our arrival, as one of our company suggested, but to see off a train-load of their friends and relatives just start- ing on a pilgrimage to the shrine of some neigh- boring city. To many of them this was their first ZACATECAS. 43 ride on the Farrocarril, and it was a great event for them, as well as for their friends who watched them start — a great, mixed mass of humanity, for the most part wretchedly poor and in rags. They had commenced to disperse as we alighted from our coach, yet it was with the greatest difficulty that we made our way through the throng to the tram- way that was to take us to our stopping-place. Street-cars are a great institution in Mexico.) There are always two grades of cars, a first-class and a second-class, each drawn by mules, the sec- ond-class car painted green and running about half a square in advance of the yellow, or first-class car. The fare on the latter is about double that charged on the former, first-class fare in the city limits be- ing generally a medio^ or six and a quarter cents ; sometimes a ;r«/, the English bit, is charged, and for long distances, two reals. Before learning the rules of tramway-travel we had, on one occasion, a rather laughable experience, for we had entered the green car, this being undoubtedly the better suited to our experience, if not to our tastes. There were men of the roughest class, all smoking their cigarettes, women with their baskets of clothes or of goods for the market, not to mention r their babies in arms, nor their ragged children be- J side them. One of these, a wag of some ten years, ' began to remark about " los americanos^'' in such way as to bring laughter from all of the Mexicans, in the car. This, together with questioning looks 44 THE LAND OF THE MONTEZUMAS. turned upon us, gave us to understand that some- thing was wrong, although it was some time before we could be made to appreciate the situation. Finally the truth dawned upon us, and, to the amusement of the other passengers, we alighted ■ and took our places in the yellow car following, where we found a very different class of people. The Mexican, with his trace of the chivalric blood of Spain, does not lose his politeness, even in a street-car, always rising to give a lady a seat, and frequently stepping from the platform to gracefully help her on or off. There is a somewhat unique line of cars run- ning through a narrow gorge from Zacatecas to the suburban town of Guadalupe, about four miles dis- tant, and so much lower that the cars run there by gravity, mules being used on the ascending trip only. Many of the men doing business in the city have their homes there, because of the purer air and the more healthful surroundings, consequently there is a great deal of travel between the two places, and the line is a well-paying one. ( Zacatecas is a busy, thriving city, and its nar- row, tortuous and irregular streets teem with ani- ; mation. Its principal interests lie in the great j silver mines, some of which are exceedingly rich ; 1 but it has also a commercial importance as a dis- / tributing centre for the whole surrounding country. ■ Of course our first visit was to the Cathedral, for, as in all Catholic countries, the Church in Mexico ZACATECAS. 45 has absorbed much of the wealth, and even amidst j the most abject poverty it has found means, not! always as divine as that by which Moses caused water to flow from the dry rock, but means suffi- cient to extradl streams of gold with which to eredl stately edifices of her power. In the name of the Church and of Castile the first great conquest of the country was made, when the Cross, side by side with the proud banner of Spain, was carried through a scene of carnage and murder, until finally planted on the ruins of the empire of the Montezumas. At the point of the sword, and through torture by fire and the rack, the natives were brought into a semblance of Christianity, although at heart they are still as pagan as when they worshiped their idols of stone, and sacrificed human viclims on the altars of their gods. In exchange for their rude images the Church gave them the crucifix and the statue of the Virgin, and for their bloody sacrifices she gave them the Mass, but she left their untutored minds and hearts in ignorance as deep as in the olden days, and to the superstitions of the ancient Aztecs she but added those of modern Rome. In the affairs of government the Church no longer has power, for with the death of Maximil- ian her control over the state ended. Much of her property was confiscated to meet the public demands; the confessionals were thrown open and the priests forbidden to appear on the streets in 46 THE LAND OF THE MONTEZUMAS. the robes of their order, but nevertheless they still hold the gieat mass of the people, as with a rod of ii.011, to the fornis and ceiemonies of their relig- ion. Yet in three hundred years they have failed to eradicate the errors in which they found them; for no one can doubt, after visiting the churches of Mexico, but that heathenism, idolatry and rank superstition remain as before, the forms only being changed. The old love of pomp and display is as strong as in the days when Cholula instead of Rome was the sacred city, and the pagan spirit still taints the festivities of their religion. One ceremony truly unique is thus described by Ober: "I witnessed several festivities while in the countr}^, but none seemed to me more grotesque and curious than that of Good Friday, when a final disposition was made of the arch-traitor Ju- das, against whom the IMexicans seem to have a special spite, and wreak their vengeance upon him in a number of ingenious ways. All day long the men are parading the streets with effigies of the betrayer hanging from poles, and hundreds are sold, especially to the children who blow up these images with a gusto and delight only paralleled by our small boy on the Fourth of July. Each image, made of papier-mache^ is filled with explo- sives, and has a fuse like a firecracker, and is touched off by the juveniles amid great rejoicing. The thing culminates at evening, when great Ju- dases are hung up at prominent places, generally ZACATECAS. 47 at the intersection of the streets, and exploded in the presence of delighted crowds. Then, also, the bells in the towers ring out their chorus of rejoic- ing, and a peculiar apparatus, also in the cathedral tower, makes a loud, crackling noise, which the crowds understand well means the breaking of the bones of the thieves on the cross." The same writer quotes the Spanish proverb: " Tras la cms esta el diablo'''' (the devil lurks behind the cross), and he goes on to say, "nowhere is this more true than in Mexico." Indeed, one is constantly reminded of it when so many crimes are committed under the permission of a power that sells indulgences, and grants immunity from danger to the poor peon who will pay his scanty tlacos for the blessed wafers, which we very fre- quently see them wearing on their pulsing temples. These religious delusions have the appearance of pieces of colored court-plaster, and before learning their significance we supposed it to be a style simi- lar to that which raged in England during Queen Elizabeth's reign, and which even in our own day is sometimes indulged in, on a smaller scale, by the affected. How happy would we be if such additions to the toilette would only ward off all dangers of plague, famine and disease, as the poor, blinded peon is made to believe when he wears his colored wafers blessed by the priest. Talking of these things, fortunately in a lan- guage the natives could not understand, we toiled 48 THE LAND OF THE MONTEZUMAS. Up to the Spot where stands the noble Cathedral of Zacatecas, on a point so high that it is the first and the last thing one sees of the city. It is of a rich, brown stone, and very beautiful with the great masses of magnificent carv-ing on the fagade, which we stood long to admire, together with the grand view of the city and surrounding country gained from the elevated position of its portals. The in- terior is almost startling from the prevalence of white and gold in the decorations, a combination doubtless very beautiful in the eyes of the native worshipers, but unpleasant to the more refined tastes that prefer the simplicity of quiet elegance to the gaudy effects of strong contrasts in colors. From the small chapel on the summit of the Biifa a still more extended view is obtained of the entire valley enclosed by rolling hills which rise, bleak and barren, into a spur of the Sierra Madre mountains. "This hill is curiously composed of a variety of igneous rocks lying in close contiguity, and the geological formation of this secflion," says Humboldt, "somewhat resembles that of Switzer- land." We visited also the State House, the market, and the mint which is second only to that of the City of Mexico in its coinage, leaving the mines and various other places of resort for another day's ramble. With renewed energies on the morrow we sought the mines, of which there are many in and ZACATECAS. 49 about the city, although they are not as extensive as others in the state of Zacatecas, which is one of the oldest mining distridls in the country and very rich. The largest mine in the city is the San Ra- fael; and the oldest is the Cortes, about two miles away, and was discovered not many years after the great general, whose name it bears, had burned his ships behind him, and with his little army of in- trepid adventurers had conquered an empire. The descent into most of the mines here is made by means of a series of ladders, and it is with considerable hesitation that one trusts himself to go down into the mysterious depths of the yawn- ing pit, with the crowds of brigandish-looking workmen moving about here and there in a little circle of dim, wavering light beyond which reigns the blackness of darkness. A trusty escort, how- ever, and the polite and apparently sincere reassur- ances of the guide, revived the waning courage of one of the gentlemen of our party, and down, down he clambered into the bowels of the earth. The labyrinth of galleries and tunnels extends for miles, sometimes so narrow that men scarcely have room to pass with their loads of ore, and often so shallow that they are compelled to crawl upon their hands and knees as they work into their leads, breaking the rock and carrying it either on their backs or by burros to the main shaft, whence it is hauled out and taken to the redu6lion works. There was opportunity only for a cursory glance, 50 THE LAND OF THE MONTEZUMAS. for both time and desire combined to press our companion to tlie surface, after a brief experience in this dungeon of discomfort and danger. Verily life must be a burden to these poor peon miners, who spend twelve hours a day in these dismal caves where nature has hidden her treasures, delv- ing with pick and spade, and scarcely ever seeing the golden sunlight, which seemed to us never to shine with such glorious radiance as when at last we were safe returned from this mouth of darkness to the bosom of a brighter scene. \ A MEXICAN RESORT. 5 1 CHAPTER V. A MEXICAN RESORT. /^NWARD we sweep through the ragged hills ^-^ to the widening valleys, broad meadows and cultivated fields of the state of Aguas Calientes, onward to its capital, whose bubbling springs of hot water from nature's fountains give the name to both the state and the city. The reputation of this place as a delightful resort, pleasantly situated and famed for its salubrious climate, had induced us to arrange for a considerable stay here. And,>i although the narrow, unattra(5live streets througn which we passed for a considerable distance, od the way from the station to the hotel, promised poorly, we at length reached the better portion of the city, opening out into the beautiful plaza. Overlooking this is our posada^ a quiet Tiotel, in which we are well satisfied to settle down for a rest, and for an opportunity to study to advantage both the people and their language. The Plaza House _is a large, one-story adobe building, entered through an imposing-looking gate and archway into an open court decorated with shrubbery and flowers, and surrounded by a 53 THE I.AND OF THE MONTEZUMAS. broad gallery. On tliis each suite of rooms opens, ours consisting of one large chamber on the court and two inner rooms with small, heavily grated and shuttered windows looking out on the street. They were pleasantly furnished with antique dress- ers and brass bedsteads. Because of the danger of vermin in this semi-tropical climate and sandy soil, iron or brass bedsteads are universally used by the better classes, while the very poor are glad enough to get a bed of matting to sleep upon. The service of the hotel is good, but the method of calling for attendance by the clapping of hands, instead of ringing a bell, seems oriental in the extreme. r Although the nights are cold in this high alti- tude, especially in these thick-walled, high-ceil- 1 inged adobe houses, there is no place whatever for I fire in the rooms, except in the great brick range of the culinary department. Mexicans have a ■ prejudice against the use of artificial heat in this ! climate, and not a fire-place, other than for cooking purposes, did we see in the Republic, unless in the far northern states, or in the homes of foreigners. Xhe pr^Dprietor of the Plaza is an American, but /the mozos^ or servants, are all Mexican, and the /restaurant stri