1215 S65n THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES Notes of Travel IN jHe^ico anti Califontia* BY MRS. J. GREGORY SMITH, AUTHOR OF "iSevla," "Atla," Etc. MusA. "Was there more of pleasure or peril in thy journeyings? Varus. " Listen to my story and thou shalt learn." ^t. SUfaanEi, ?9crniont: ]^rmteb at tfjc JBci^jScnocr anb Stbtoatijjer <©ffice. 1886. ^5" en DC T preface* 'HE following Notes of Travel, made during .'I journey to the Pacific Coast, were designed for private use only, but by request of many friends were subsequently arranged in form of letters to the Si. Albans Messenger. The demand for the series was so much greater than had been anticipated, we were unable to meet the call for entire setts, and have therefore been induced to republish these very interesting letters in book-form. EDITOR ST. ALBA>^S MESSENGER. 28615 J Cable of Contcntiei. CHAPTER. " PAGE. I. On the Way to Mexico, .... 5 II. Ix Ancient Aztlan, 13 III. On the Mexican Central Eailroad, 21 IV. The City of Mexico 30 V. The Halls of Montezuma, .... 42 VI. Vera Cruz, 52 VII. Farewell to Mexico, 60 VIII. Los Angeles, 71 IX. Monterey, 78 X. Monterey, . 87 XI. San Francisco, 96 XII. The Eeturn, 103 XIII. Salt Lake City and the Mormons, 109 XIV. Homeward Bound 120 ON THE WAY TO MEXICO. WE PKOPOSE A JOURNEY — THE DECISION — LA JUN- TA — RATON PASS — WONDERS OF RAILROAD ENGI- NEERING — A CANYON — THE RIO GRANDE — THE OLD SANTA FE TRAIL — A VALLEY OF DEATH — EL PASO — IN MEXICO — MISSION WINE. WHEX shall we take our vacation? And where shall we go? The first query is easily an- swered — February and March are the most ungenial months of the year in this northern climate ; then wind and storm hold revel, our heads are envel- oped in gray mist, our footsteps impeded by drift- ing snow, chill blasts pierce the garments we have stolen from seal and bear, human strength falters in the prolonged struggle with cold and darkness. Compel those dreary days to "straggle from the files of winter," supply their place with balmy breezes and blossoms of south-land. Where shall we go? To the south of Europe, to Bermuda or Florida? Tempt not the rough Atlantic in its season of storms; venture not upon the coral mushroom called Bermuda till the tempest and earthquake cycle is accomplished; seek not thy respite in the crowded hotels and malarious swamps of Florida. 6 Xofes of Travel . I'lit fill- away on the Pacific slope are lands to us unknown and fair. There will our fight with sav- age nature cease, and no longer stumbling on, man- acled by muffs, mittens and arctics, we shall, like the Athenians of old, "delicately march in pelucid air." We must cross deserts and scale mountains till we reach the Eden of tlie West and tread the Halls of Montezuma. Enough, enougli I To the Halls of Montezuma we will go I The decision was final, necessary preparations were made, the car "Bellevue" was put in order, accounts were settled, for who knew if we should ever return, and on February IGth we sailed out of St. Albans har- bor, followed by the kind wishes of numerous friends who had gathered to witness our departure. At Chicago we were delayed two da^'s by business, and on February 20th we left that city and crossed the Mississip])i river at Rock Island in the night, passed througli a corner of Iowa, Missouri and the state of Kansas, emerging into mountainous Colo- rado February 23, reaching La Junta at ten o'clock a. m., a Avild place marked by low wooden and adobe buildings and distant snow-capped mountains. While the other passengers breakfasted we took a brisk walk in the delicious air. Among the motley groui^s upon the platform was one that suggested sad and painful thought : a sheriff and two manacled convicts, one a brutal, dark-faced lialf-breed, the other a white man, with a repulsive but weaker exjiression — a tool rather tliau a master. To a query the sheriff rej)lied: " These 3o^eN of Travel. 7 meu liave just finished a term in an eastern prison and are going to Arizona to be tried for another offense. After leaving La Junta we entered the Raton Moun- tains and made the terrible Eaton Pass, at an altitude of 7,700 feet above the sea and in sight of the majes- tic snow-crowned Spanish Mountains and Pikers Peak. These mountains were in view for hours, and although eighty miles away they appeared no more than fifteen miles distant. The railroad through these heights is a miracle of engineering ; in one place the solid rock is tunnelled for a long distance, and in another there is a horseshoe curve up a grade of eighty-five feet to the mile, so sharp that the laboring, puffing giant in front of the train, and the panting, coughing pusher in the rear can be seen by the amazed occupants of the cars at the same instant. The frowning rocks overhead, the awful chasms beneath, the railroad train tlireading its way along the dizzy steeps, the wild loneliness of earth and the serenity of the cloud- less sky form a picture never to be forgotten. A sense of imminent danger adds to the excitement of the scene. The tremendous pressure against the rails in this sharp curve causes the timbers of the car and wheels to grind and creak — even juni]) under the terrible strain. We passed the deepest canyon in the night; a wan- ing, melancholy moon increased the gloom of the dark shadows, as upward and onward the panting engine toiled, so slowly that it seemed about to give out through exhaustion. The curse of sin still hangs 8 JTofes of Travel. over mankind, toilers of the mountains, toilers of the sea. How insignificant, how helpless were we in this invasion of nature's fastness, where retreat or even faltering would be fatal. One could but exclaim with Dante, in the Inferno: *'A11 ho2)e abandon, ye who enter here." We passed the dangerous point in safety and de- scended to the valley of the Rio Grande, a wide, straggling, irresponsible stream, changing one chan- nel for another upon the slightest provocation ; leav- ing, in its erratic course, dreary mudbanks, great drifts of stone and gravel, dangerous quicksands and shapeleiss pools; a river grand is nothing but treach- ery and irresponsibility. It led us into a broad and desolate plain, without tree or shrub, without rill or spring for seventy-two miles. This gloomy land, flanked on every side by dark, barren mountains, strange in shape and deceptive in distance, is part of the old Santa Fc Trail, and is aptly called The Valley of Death. Huge heaps of sand, driven by the blasts of a thousand years, beds of black lava, belched from the craters of long-forgotten volcanoes, and misshap- ened mounds of clay, mark this plateau as the battle- field of the enraged elements. No doubt it was once the domain of old ocean, but the internal fires of earth, roused by some tremendous cosmic influence, lifted the floor of waters with Titanic strength, heav- ing it upward till the heli)less floods left their ancient basin and rushed aAvay to seek another resting place. The imprisoned fires then burst through the rocky crust of earth and made an outlet for their fury JSfotes of Travel. 9 through raging volcanoes. These poured forth flames, lava, ashes and noxious gases, till the land was made desolate past redemption. Not even a crow flaps its wing or croaks above the arid waste, not even a cricket chirps in the ashen herbage that vainly struggles with the sand. Here many a traveler has met his doom. Entering this Valley of Death he has wandered on without any landmark to guide save the illusive mountains that ever retreat as they are approached, without tree to shelter, food or water to refresh, till exhausted by the interminable distance, bewildered by the monotony, scared by the awful silence and desolation, he has given up the struggle and fallen to rise no more. We were not sorry to leave these mountains of des- pair and emerge into the lower lands that mark the approach to El Paso. February 23d we reached El Paso, the last town in New Mexico, the last under the protection of the United States flag. Here Mr. David McKenzie met us. He was formerly of the Central Vermont rail- road, but is now General Superintendent of the Mex- ican Central. Upon his shoulders rests almost the entire responsibility of that gigantic work, one thou- sand two hundred and twenty-four miles in length. His services are justly prized by the owners of the property, for they are characterized by integrity, efficiency, firmness and courage. He has also won the respect of the officials under him, and of the government authorities ; not an easy task, but Mr. McKenzie has developed all the requisite qualities. lo J^otes of Travel. He received us with generous cordiality, and as lie was on the monthly tour of inspection put the train at our service, thus giving us unusual facilities for visiting the large cities and other jdaces of interest on our way to the terminus of the road, the City of Mexico. El Paso of Texas, although only five years old, boasts of five or six thousand inhabitants, mule cars on the principal streets, electric lights, gambling and drinking houses, and various other modern ini])rove- ments. The roads, however, are unpaved and sandy, the streets irregular, the whole place having the un- finished look of frontier towns in general. We took a carriage and made a tour of the town, then crossed the sullen Rio Grande, that here cuts its way through the Rockies, giving the place its name — The Pass. We were now in the republic of Mexico, in the old town of El Paso del Xorte. Here, for the first time, we realized our great distance from home and the novelty of our situation. We were in a foreign land, all our surroundings were changed. We saw Aztecs or peons, as the native Mexicans are called. Their dress was white cotton trousers, woolen blankets, called sarapes, wrapped around their shoulders, and broad-brimmed hats with high conical crowns ; the houses and walls were of adobe (sun-dried blocks of mud), one story high, with a single grated window in front, doors in the rear opening into courts or apologies therefor in shape of dirty yards, cactus plants fringing the adobe walls or hedging the gar- dens ; donkeys, called buros, laden with hay, faggots ^'^ofes of Travel. 1 1 and all kinds of freight on their backs or in great panniers. Here Ave saw a peach tree in full bloom (February 23), also imfaniiliar Spanish and Mexican signs over business places. Perhaps the most start- ling one was "Jesus C DoBiE, Liquor Dealer.*' We dragged through the sand about two miles to the vineyard of Dr. Alexander, formerly of Texas, who settled, in this place many years ago with his wife and daughter. The house is of adobe, one story high, with a veranda taken from the middle of the building, supported by white pillars. Mrs. Alexan- der, who was on this interior porch with her daughter, gave us hospitable welcome and offered us seats. She is a large, handsome person, with resolution and cour- age — supposed to be a monopoly of the other sex — stamped on every lineament and patent in every mo- tion. Her character does not. belie her appearance. She sui^erintends the plantation, and if the peon la- borers are insubordinate she draws her revolver and speedily brings them to terms. If the doctor is ab- sent she receives patients and ministers to their ail- ments with the same fearlessness. Nevertheless, in voice, features and manner she is feminine and lady- like, and the anxiety she expressed for the welfare of her husband, who is now in Boston on business, proves her a devoted wife. At a motion from the mother the younger lady went out and presently returned with a tray of glasses well filled with the celebrated Mission wine, entirely free from alcoholic mi.xture, made from a grape introduced into this country by the Spanish monks. 12 JS^ofrs of 'J'ravel. I partook of this beverage to the extent of a few drops, out of compliment to the hostess ; but this being in viohition of botli i)rinciple and taste, I returned the still unemptied glass. After a few minutes of pleasant conversation we perceived that the sun had set, and remembering that the twiliglit is very brief in a semi-troi^ical latitude, we regretfully made our adieus. IN ANCIENT AZTLAN. NOVEL SCEXERY — CHIHUAHUA — A SILVER MILL — EUROS — PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS — THE CATHEDRAL — A DWELLING HOUSE — EARLY VEGETATION — JIMINEZ — A TOBACCO PORT — A SIL- VER CITY. WE remained all niglit in our ear at El Paso, and in the morning, February 24, resumed our journey by Mr. McKeuzie's special train. All day the same barren plains, flanked by distant mountains and nearer sand hills, meet the eye ; the same herds of cattle, rancheros, (farm houses) adobe buildings, and occasionally a hut built into a sand bank. "We passed one pyramidal hill where four of the engineers employed in the construction of this road met their death at the hands of the bloody Apaches, and also a spring where forty Mexicans were decoyed and mercilessly shot by the same tierce sav- ages. These deadly Indians should receive the treat- ment accorded to wolves and tigers, the human ele- ment rendering them more dangerous because more cunning than wild beasts, as the murder of many men and innocent women abuiulantly proves. During this day's ride, among other strange forma- 14 JWe.s of Travel. tions, we passed a famous mountain similar to the Palisades of the Hudson and the Giant's Causeway of Ireland, which bears the name of Organ Mountain, though its bent and twisted pipes of collossal proi)or- tions suggest discord rather than harmony, when the fierce tempest " strikes his thunder harp " of stone. We passed the battlefield of Sacramento, and also the l)lacc where, during the war with Mexico, Gen. Don- ahue and seven hundred and fifty men, who had marched from St. Louis through this wilderness, met and repulsed the Mexican army, leaving double that number of the enemy dead ujion the field, with loss of only one of our men. At 3.30 p. m. we came to the station of Chihuahua, a mile and a half from the city. From this point our car first ran up to the mill of the silver mine St. Eulalia, owned principally by Mr. Cheney, of Boston, and Mr. A. H. Barney, of Xew York. There we wit- nessed the processes of crushing, grinding and sepa- rating the precious ore. The din of twenty crushing stamps, the hiss of the engine, the noisy complaint of the ore torn from its silver soul, the rush of water and the rattle of the shoveled mass, made a pande- monium to uninitiated ears. I left the mill with the conviction that wealth taken gently from mother earth in vegetable products is vastly more desirable than such galore. There, as in so many other places, the superintendent told us of the wonders of wealth the mine would produce at some future day; "but just at present the ore is poor, changes must be made, expenses are heavy, returns are small." The same y^ofes of Travel. 15 igmis fatuus that lures so many men to disappoint- ment and poverty. But the great event of this day was a visit to the ancient city of Chihuahua, once boasting one hun- dred thousand inhabitants, but now reduced to a fifth of that number. Here, as in all Mexican cities, are seen adobe houses with flat mud roofs, grated windows in front, doors in the rear opening into courts that are entered by side alleys. The low stories suggest earthquakes ; the fortified appearance of the houses, treachery and theft. Again we see droves of diminu- tive buros with loaded panniers of fire-wood larger than their bodies. The wood is cut in the mountains seven or eight miles distant, the donkeys are driven the whole day Avithout food or water, and at night are turned out on the plain to satisfy hunger and fatigue as best they can, till the light of another day calls them to labor. Yet, with all this neglect and hardship, they are patient, dutiful and true, far higher in the moral scale than the lazy, treacherous persons who drive them. Here we saw pairs of oxen, not yokes, for in j^lace of yokes the draft was sustained by a strip of wood lashed to the head and horns of tlie useful brutes. Three or four pairs in one team were harnessed to a clumsy wagon with a high rack of poles and enor- mous wooden wheels, innocent of a particle of iron. It is a constant source of wonder to the beholder that these huge, rickety, unsteady wheels do not crush in or spread apart. We drove first to tlie Cathedral, an imposing edi- i6 JTofes of Travel. fice,, bearing date l'I3S, built when Xcw England was for most part a howling wilderness. Like most Mexi- can public buildings, it was of rough stone covered with plaster on the main walls, but finished and decorated with handsome stone carvings. The front is ornamented with pillars, niches, statues and scroll work, in imitation of European cathedrals, but like all imitations, it is an exaggeration and failure almost sacrilegious. The statues, ill-proportioned and ca- daverous, have been rendered still more hideous by misapplied paint. The interior, which was intended to be sublime, is still more faulty, with exception of the arches and altar front, which are realh' fine. The images were most disreputable; dropsical and deformed limbs were attached to time-stained, weazen- faced figures, and the Virgin, adorned with a sailor hat and a fashionable blue silk dress, trimmed with coarse cotton lace, was among the noticeable incon- gruities. Yet here on the hard stone knelt solemn worshippers, unburdening their sin-laden, sorrowful hearts, and no doubt receiving the answer of peace. How diverse the form and exhibition of religious sentiment — yet the need of all humanity is one, deliverance from the bondage of flesh, assertion of the ]>ower of spirit. We left the church and visited a banking house, with a dwelling attached, in process of construction by an American contractor. This was the first Mexi- can tenement proper we had visited, and the interior arrangement quite charmed us. A short hall on one side leads into a court beautifully paved, open to the JSfotes of Travel. 17 sky, surmounted by a gallery which is supported on arches and white pillars. A broad marble staircase leads to the second story and a corridor surrounding the court, which opens into the family rooms. The general effect was so enchanting that we began to plan an adaptation of these ideas to our own dwell- ings, but the remembrance of a northern blizzard, a zero cold wave, with a heavy fall of snow rushing into the open court, filling stone corridors and gal- leries, caused a sudden revulsion of feeling, our teeth chattered and our lips were dumb. Moorish architec- ture and Vermont climate, we fear, are irreconcilable. Still, we are all more or less Spanish proprietors, and, Avhile we can dream will never relinquish possession of our castles in Sixain. We drove through the ancient Alameda, laid out on the banks of the river, at this season a mere bed of sand. A double row of dying willows, uninviting stone benches and broken adobe walls mark the spot where, in the palmy days of Chihuahua, horses pranced and carriages rumbled, while stately pedes- trians pursued their way along the shady walks. But the glory has departed ; Ichabod is stamped upon the melancholy scene, impressing the beholder Avith the ever repeated, ever unheeded lesson, "These, too, must pass away ! " As we drove along our guide pointed out the prison where Hidalgo, the liberator priest of Mexico, spent the last night of his life, and also the place of his execution. Now a monument, unavailing, marks the spot. Alas, that so many of earth's noblest and best 1 8 Xotes of Travel. should have worn only the martyr's crown, while some base usurper wields the sceptre that should have been their own. But let us remember that our present state is sim- ply a world of actions leading to a world of conse- <]uonces, and although the bandage upon the eyes of Justice conceals from mortals the direction of her stern, impartial glance, it is only a loosely folded transparent veil, Avhich does not obstruct her vision. She weighs deliberately, adjusts the scales with exact- ness, and Time stands ready to tip the beam as Jus- tice may dictate. " Au hour Cometh that will requite all." We saw a grand old stone aqueduct, built on arches by the Spaniards, and the modern one, better made, that brings water from n mountain seven or eight miles distant. This abundant supply runs in small waterways along the streets, dispensing life and health to man, beast and vegetation. The water supply is the great desideratum in this country, where rain is unknown for half the year, a want which we can hardly realize who live in a land of springs, streams and frequent showers. The early wheat showed green in the broad fields, the trees smiled and sparkled under the caress of spring, the cactus towered upon the wall, the native women peered through the iron lattices at the stran- gers, children played in the courts after the thought- less manner of all young creatures, men wrapped in gay sarapes leaned against the walls, or squatted on J^otefi of Travel. 19 the ground in the sunshine. All was so novel and seductive we fain would linger ; but the sun, which waits not for man's pleasure or hastens for his pain, sank in the west, and remembering the brevity of the twilight, we turned our reluctant footsteps to our home in the Bellevue car. Next day, February 25th, we stopped half an hour at Jiminez, where we saw the great prairie schooners, as freight wagons are called ; groups of natives stand- ing listlessly round the station, the men wearing sarapes and the women robosas, as the universal wraps over the shoulders are called. We visited the rail- road warehouse, where, among other freight, was the monthly receipt of thirty tons of cigars. What a waste of money — no, that is a trifle — what a waste of nerve and vitality is implied by the annual consumj")- tion of three hundred and sixty tons of cigars in one section of the republic of Mexico. On the morning of February 26th Ave reached the highest point of the Zacatecas Mountains, eight thousand and forty-four feet above the sea. The day was fair, the sky cloudless — indeed, we were above ordinary cloud-land ; the mountains justified the adjective, sapphire. After an ascent of eighteen miles up a grade of seventy-eight feet to the mile, with sharp curves on the edge of steep precipices, we came to the wonderful city Zacatecas, seventy-five thousand inhabitants, lying among silver hills seven or eight thousand feet above the sea. Here are the richest silver mines in Mexico; in 1881 a sum exceeding five millions of dollars was taken out. The hills that 20 JTotes of Travel. purround the city are pierced in hundreds of places, and from our railroad eyrie Ave could sec the doomed horses treading the harsh ore charged with deadly chemicals. The flat roofs of the houses were beneath ns, all of adohe mud, with apertures in the rough cornices to drain the infrequent showers. The vegetable growths at this high altitude are wonderful — huge cacti, yuccas and strange evergreens. The curves and grades over these mountains are fearful ; the deep cuts are through volcanic deposits ; everywhere lava is to be seen. All the earth and rock taken out in construction was carried away upon the backs of men. In many places it was impossible to use even the sure-footed buro. Cl^aptcr Cl^rct* ON THE LINE OF THE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILROAD. NATURAL HOT BATHS AND LAUNDRIES — MEXICAN FRUITS — PULQUE — DISHONEST TRAITS — SCENES IN A STRANGE CITY — MANSIONS OF MEXICAN GRAN- DEES — GUANAJUATA MARBLE — A MEXICAN IDEAL HOME — REDUCTION WORKS — A TRAGIC EVENT. WE also stopped this clay at the city of Agua Calientes, which takes its name from a re- markable hot spring. The water is brought a mile in a large open aqueduct, where the i)opulace bathe and do their washing. "We visited the batii buildings, which are spacious and handsome, as usual of stone covered with plaster, durable in this dry climate. A long arched corridor opens into the bath rooms ; floors, ceilings, tubs are of stone. The SAvim- ming baths are large tanks of stone enclosed in high walls, but open to the sky. Here an abundant sup- ply of Avarm water, clear as crystal, rushes in after its journey of a mile under ground. It looked so inviting that we longed for a plunge, but our limited stay forbade such a luxury. A large building, at right angles with the baths, is devoted to laundry purposes. The hot water is 2 2 N^otes of Travel. conducted into a long reservoir, at the base of which, under an arched corridor, stone-wash tubs are placed about two and a half feet above the ground. Before these tubs stood women with soap and soiled linen, which thej beat and rubbed in primitive fashion. I counted twenty-four of these convenient wash-tubs. Xo lifting water in and out, no building of fires, fill- ing of boilers or cleaning of sloppy floors; down in the dark recesses of earth all this labor is performed. No sweltering in summer heat, no shivering in winter cold. I almost envied the natives their beautiful climate and hot spring — but then, there are draw- backs. In the gardens the trees were in full leaf ; poppies, marigolds and other flowers were in blossom (Feb- ruary 26), the sun was warm as in summer ; our par- asols were in requisition. Upon return to the depot we met the usual motley crowd. They offered the fruits of the country for sale, and we purchased for a trifle, cocoanuts, mau- mees, grenidetas, prickly pears, oranges, citrons, etc. Surely we are Approaching the tropics. The grenidetas resemble a small spherical gourd ; the pulp is a soft jelly-like mass, grey, with small black seeds, but juicy and delicious. Another fruit, met with later, is the sapote, like a green tomato filled with blackberry jam without the seeds; still another, the cherimoya (the sijelliug may not be cor- rect), is green and ill-favored, but contains within a rich white substance, very delicious and refreshing. Both these last mentioned fruits are eaten with a spoon. yotes of Travel. 23 I have tasted the far-famed pulque. This drink, harmless when fresh, disgusting after fermentation has well set in, and intoxicating when old, resembles in taste and color thin yeast, or some say, stale but- termilk. It is made from the maguey or agave, our century jilant. The crown of the plant is cut out at a certain age and the cup thus formed fills with the juice of the plant, which is carefully dijiped out ; some plants produce several pints. Thousands of acres are devoted to the cultivation of the maguey plants, which grow to great size in this country. The Mexicans, who are very fond of the drink, have an adage which runs thus : " Know ye not pulque, That liquor divine! Angels in heaven Prefer it to wine. If this be true, angels must have a very gross taste, and Paradise must ^Droduce graj^es of wretched quality. At our first stopping place, Silao, we saw the mounted guards of Wells, Fargo & Co. AVe were in a Icind where thieves and robbers abomid. Thieving is as common as lying, and that is the rule, not the exception. The very si3ikes are stolen from the rail- road tracks, the links and pins from the couplers; the watchmen are sometimes the culprits. We are warned not to leave the open door of our car un- watched for a moment. At every stopping place a crowd of lazy peons, in slouch hats and gay blankets, throng the platforms of our car and 2)eer through the doors and windows, ready to seize anything they 24 N'otes of Travel. can reach. They come close and inspect our dress and jewelry. I counted nearly twenty last night just before the car door, ready to take advantage of the least relaxation of vigilance. From Silao we ran up to Marfil, thirteen miles, and there took the tramway for Guanajuata, a city which, like Zacatecas, lies high up among silver hills. This proved to be a very interesting visit. The val- ley, or rather ravine, is so deep and narrow that many of the buildings hang upon the hillsides ; some of the streets are hundreds of feet almost directly above others. It is a very busy city, second only to Zacatecas in the production of silver. Large droves of laden buros, sometimes fifty in a drove, crowd the steep, stony streets, conveying merchandise of every description. The patience and fidelity of these diminutive animals are a growing wonder. It cannot be that such virtues are annihilated when breath leaves the worn-out frame. AVe went first to the piazza or park, refreshingly bright with tro])ical trees ; thence to the residence of the president of the Tramway Company. "We were under the escort of one of the officials, and as the family were absent we Avere allowed to climb the stone stairways, through lofty corridors and chambers, till the top of the house was reached, where a bird's-eye view of this strange city was obtained. After descending we walked up the street to the grand piazza, which is fianked on the sides by ter- raced gardens and handsome houses, and on to the residences of ex-President Gonzales and ex-Governor JSfotes of Travel. 25 Chico. Tliese places were a surprise and delight, oases in the dusty, stony city. That of President Gonzales is a long, low white building, with arched windows and broad stone walks, the grounds adorned with shrubs, trees and plants. It is above the street, on a terrace, in front of which is an artificial pond or tank, where just then a fine horse was swimming. Directly behind this mansion is a strangely formed, dark, rocky mountain, and at the moment a great Avhite cloud lay behind it, towering up into the azure sky. As we walked along the street we passed a point where a heavy clump of tall shivering trees parted, disclosing the mansion lying against the dark mountain resting against the cloud — a startling effect, never to be forgotten. The adjoining grounds of ex-Governor Chico are similar to those of Gonzales. Here we were admit- ted. The gardens seemed like enchantment to our northern eyes, so recently resting on a waste of snow. Xovel and familiar plants met the eye. The gardener gathered and presented us violets, cape jessamines, carnations and roses, but pointed out with greatest pride a few fine pansies growing in pots. While standing in this garden a crisp, cool little breeze, such as had before excited our surprise, came dancing down from the hills or clouds, or heaven, whirling and tossing about leaves, flowers and gar- ments, everything in its way, more like an electric current, a spirit, or some celestial messenger which, roaming along the confines of cloud-land, had dropped to earth, and after a moment of confusion discovered 26 JSfotes of Travel. its gross surroundings and bounded away to regain its native element. Even as we drank in the sweet influence it was gone. In the construction of the more elegant buildings of Guanajuata there is a peculiar marble used that impressed us much as did the celestial breezes. It is of a pale atmospheric green, clouded in beautiful shades. It takes a high polish, and when placed does not convey the slightest suggestion of weight. A church of this marble would seem indeed a s})iritual temple, or the jasper walls of St. John's vision. After leaving this part of the city we went, by invi- tation, to the residence of Signor Ybarando, manager of the Branch National Bank. He is a very accom- plished gentleman, who thinks so highly of our insti- tutions that he sent his children to the United States to lay the foundation of their education. He received us with the utmost cordiality, but excused the absence of his wife, who is ill from some affection of the brain. The lady is said to be one of the most beauti- ful and highly cultivated women in Mexico, as well as a person of great courage and strength of charac- ter. Her three children were presented to us, two sons and a daughter. Their manners were as perfect as their faces were beautiful, being quiet, dignified and self-possessed. We saw in possession of these happy young people one of the little black dogs for which the city of Chi- huahua is celebrated, which I forgot to mention in my last letter. The wonderfully diminutive crea- tures are soft, glossy and black. They are greatly ^otes of Travel, 27 prized by natives and foreigners, sometimes bringing as much as two hundred dollars each. It is said they can not be bred anywhere but in Chihuahua. The drawing-rooms of this house were furnished in American styles ; the dining room similar to ours. The table was hospitably spread in our honor with native fruits and sweetmeats. Signor Ybarando asiied me if I would like to see a Mexican kitchen, and guided us to a small room about eight by ten, one entire side of which was occupied by a long range of stone, in which were five or six openings ; beneath each of these was a charcoal burner fed from a small arch in front of the range. There was no chimney — there is not one in Mexico — but a great stone hood surmounted the range, at the highest point of which an opening permitted the egress of the fumes. It was time for us to leave ; we went into the cor- ridor above stairs ; it was open to the blue sky ; grow- ing plants and singing birds adorned it; all was so peaceful and lovely we were loth to depart ; but other scenes awaited us, and returning the usual '' thou- sand thanks," we made our adieus. We next visited the reduction Avorks of a hacienda near by. The polite superintendent made us wel- come, and, gallantly offering me his arm, led the way through numerous mills, where the patient, blindfold mules were grinding silver ore. We then passed to enormous vats, one or two hundred feet long, where the patient brutes were treading out the silver and their wretched lives at the same time. The pulver- ized ore is mixed with vitrol, quicksilver and water. 28 JSfotes of Travel. to the consistence of thick mud. Eound and round, in this horrible slush, the poor mules are driven, wliile the chemicals do the work of disintegration up- on the ore and the feet of the animals; and Avhen the silver has settled, by its greater weight, the refuse is Avashed away. The metals then go into retorts ; the quicksilver is sublimated by heat, and the j)recious silver run into ingots. With many thanks to the superintendent for his courtesy we took leave and went through the markets, certainly not characterized by neatness. New pota- toes, pepi)er and beans were the chief commodities on sale at this late hour. Here we saw what before had attracted our atten- tion — a primitive way of obtaining water, the scarcest article, it would seem, in this arid laud from October to June. Water carriers perambulate every street, Avith jars about four feet long and about a foot in diameter, strapped on their backs with leathern thongs. Crowds of women and children stand ready with jars and pitchers to receive the precious fluid, without which the processes of housekeeping as well as of life must cease. Thus year after year and gen- eration after generation, tens of thousands live upon a scanty dole that would in our favored land scarcely serve to flush a single drain. It is a saying among Mexicans that "' they climb for their water and dig for their wood " — the former being generally obtained from springs high up in the mountains, and the wood being mostly the gnarly roots of the musquit, a shrub or tree that flourishes on the arid plains. JVofes of Travel. 29 At three p. m. we were again on onr way to the City of Mexico, fragments of scripture floating through the brain : "Oh, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rocks, that holdest the heights of the hills, though thou shouldst make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord God." Shortly after we were at Guanajuata a strange and dreadful event took place. Upon a high mountain over the city, on a nearly inaccessible height, is to be seen, relieved against the sky, a shrine to the Virgin Mary. To this place penitents creep, sometimes on their knees, in hope of expiating their sins. It was stated in the newspapers that the day subsequent to our visit, a man and a woman, apparently in the higher walks of life, toiled np the rugged mountain, and, after standing motionless a few minutes, hurled them- selves down the awful precipice and were dashed to pieces on the rocks below. Their bodies were mangled past hope of recognition. They were strangers, and there was not the slightest clue to the motive that prompted such an awful suicide. Cljaptcr foujc* THE CITY OF MEXICO. AXCIENT TENOCHTITLAN — SUMMER — FLOWERS — SUN- DAT A GALA DAY — HOTEL ITERBIDE — SIGHT-SEE- ING — THE CATHEDRAL — THE WATER GAUGE — HALL OF ANTIQUITIES — MUSEUM — THE HELODERMA — SERPENTS AND LIZARDS — GAUDELOUPE — AZTEC MONUMENTS. "Thou art beautiful, Queen of the Valley, thou art beautiful ! Thy walls like silver sparkle in the sun, Melodious wave thy groves, thy garden sweets Enrich the pleasant air; upon the lakes Lie the long shadows of thy towers, and high In heaven thy temple pyramids arise Against the clear, blue sky." FEBELTARY 28th, at 8.25 p. m., we reached the City of Mexico, after a terrific ride over the Lena Mountains at the height of eight thousand one hundred and thirty-two feet. We here experi- enced in a greater degree than we had previously, the effects of high altitude : short breath, headache, diz- ziness, buzzing in the ears, nose-bleed and general discomfort; the strongest in our party succumbed. The grated barriers of the railroad station were among the first novelties that attracted our attention ; precaution against lawless violence is everywhere i I^otes of Travel. 31 seen. Nominally a republic, there is really no self- government in Mexico ; the strong arm of force is necessary ; liberty and license are incompatible. The gentlemen of our party went into the city to make arrangements for our reception, while we strolled upon the ample platform. The sun shone warm ; people remarked : " It will be a hot day." The tall, green trees stood motionless against an unclouded sky, the birds sang merrily in the branches — the weather was June at her best. Just then a mes- senger came with a telegram from Vermont : " \yeath- er cold and blustering." It hardly seemed possible ! In a few minutes a mule cart drove up for our bag- gage, and a coach for ourselves. In the latter were flowers sent by kind friends as a welcome. I doubt if a two-bushel basket would have held the enormous bouquets. We entered the carriage loaded with flow- ers, and one of our party remarked that she felt like a prima donna leaving the theatre after an opera triumph. As we tore through the streets (oar coach- man was a Jehu) novel scenes met the eye at every turn. ISTo Sabbath stillness ; the day of sacred rest is here a holiday, a day for license, a day of sport ; then thieves jsly their vocation most successfully, for every- body is out, and the church, with its kneeling wor- shippers, is a most convenient place for their opera- tions. The entire population seemed to be in the streets; Mexicans on horseback, with the typical sombrero (slouched hat) gay jacket and light-colored pantaloons, all profusely trimmed with gold and sil- ver lace ; carriages with handsomely dressed ladies. 32 JSTotes of Travel. wearing black lace mantillas — not bonnets — on their heads ; and pedestrians in gay attire ; public gardens tilled with tropical plants ; houses with grated win- dows, open shops, walled courts, donkeys Avith heavy loads, business wagons creaking with freight, all passed by as in a pageant, under the bluest of skies and brightest of suns. The pavement was rough, and the guardian of the horses delighted in a furious gait and a zigzag course. I verily believe he crossed the tramway twenty-five times before we reached our destination. The Hotel Iterbide, where we stopped, an enor- mous building, like most of those in Mexico, is of stone overlaid with plaster and liighly ornamented with stucco work. The large courts are as usual open to the cloudless sky, the long, intricate passages and stone stairways seem interminable to the newly- arrived and puzzled guest. It was originally built for Gen. Iterbide, once ruler of Mexico, a man with only one hand, but so grasping and dishonest, it is said, if he had possessed the usual complement of fingers nothing would have been left in the republic that did not belong to him. The rooms in this pretentious building are small and ill-furnished ; Avater and candles are the only extras provided — everything else must be separately paid for, yet the average expense is low. The cham- bermaids are men, Mexican peons ; the restaurant is very unsatisfactory. We took baths, which are ad- mirably arranged, and dined at the hotel. Thinking to better our table we Avent next mornino^ to " The yotes of Travel. 35 Concordia/' another hotel. A large roll, so hard that literally I could not break it, a thin, white, oily wafer, called butter, a cup of coffee composed mostly of milk, and a hard-done omelette was the bill of fare. A kind friend called and offered himself as guide and interpreter, and after breakfast we began our exploration of the city. And here, I would say, it must be remembered that in this delightful climate there is no "postponement on account of the weath- er," and little variation in thermometer or barom- eter during the entire year ; the sun is almost always shining, and even in the rainy season there is only a shower every day. The air is delightful, but the altitude is so great that strangers get out of breath with slight exertion ; persons newly arrived sometimes faint ascending stairs. The people thronging the thoroughfares are of three classes : First, the descend- ants of the Spaniards, generally the wealthiest and most highly educated, the grandees of the nation ; second, the peons, or descendants of the native Az- tecs ; and, lastly, Indians, nomads of various tribes, very low in the scale of intelligence, so low that some of them come into the city naked savages. These ar& seized by officials appointed for the purpose and clothed with a blanket at government expense. We first visited the cathedral, a grand, highly ornate edifice, more magnificent and gorgeous within than those in Europe, although the proportions and architecture do not equal the marvels of the East, there is a greater amount of gilded carving, images, banners and frescoes. 34 N^otes of Travel. Morning service was in progress, conducted by dif- ferent priests in various parts of the building at the same time. Some of the congregations were very large, all kneeling or standing, no seats being nsed. A magnificent organ sounded at intervals, answered by choirs not so fine. The church is surrounded by a flower garden, and on one side is a large flower market, where at least on Sunday mornings lovers and fond husbands go to select beautiful flowers. Across the street is a piazza, or park, always thronged by a motley crowd, as here is a drinking fountain, and it is in the busiest part of the city. Near the catliedral is a curious and ingenious water gauge, which marks the rise and fall of Lake Texcoco, which nearly surrounds the city at a distance of nine miles. Its level is but slightly below the streets, and some- times it has overflowed and caused terrible floods in the city. To warn the people in season to prepare for such a cataclysm this register has been invented. It is connected with the lake, and shows the actual height of the water at any given moment. On the corner opposite the cathedral is the National Museum. We first visited the Hall of Antiquities, where are gathered the few relics of a tremendous prehistoric civilization that Spanish superstition and fanaticism have left for a wondering world. The Toltec calendar, or astronomical stone, is a huge disc eight or ten feet in diameter, carved with unknown cliaracters, including two serpents. There are also colossal human figures in a recumbent pos- ture, recently discovered iu the wilds of Yucatan ; JVofes of Travel. 35 various huge idols in sculptured stone, not vmlike the Buddhas of the Orient in posture ; the Aztec war god, a horrible monster with skirt of woven rattlesnakes, the heads forming the fringe ; three or four colossal figures of the feathered sun serpent ; last and most horrible, the great sacrificial stone, eight or nine feet in diameter and five or six feet in thickness from the ground. The whole top and sides are covered with peculiar designs, and in the center of the flat surface is a place hollowed out to receive the shoulders of the victim, from which a channel or gutter leads to the outer edge to permit the flow of blood. Here, it is said, sixty thousand human beings have been immo- lated, a mournful relic of peoples and nations who believed that ''without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin," but who understood not the hidden, spiritual meaning of that tremendous truth. Other halls of the museum are filled with jjroducts of different Mexican jDrovinccs; minerals, marbles, fossils, wares, preserved beasts, monstrosities, insects and reptiles. Among these last was a horrible lizard, peculiar to the Ilealey River, called the Gela Mon- ster. The specimen was the color of gray stone, two feet in length, though sometimes it is yellow with black spots, and five feet long. Sharp, irregular spines run along the back, and under its vicious jaws is a large bag or pouch, from which, it is said, this horror of nature can expel a gas so deadly that any living creature will swoon upon inhaling it. In an El Paso journal of March 25th I found the follow- ing account of the Heloderma or Gela Monster : "It ^6 JSfotes of Travel. is the only venomous lizard in the world, so far as is known, and is confined to Mexico, Lower California and Arizona. The poison comes from glands in the mouth, and the teeth are channeled to accelerate its passage into the wound. Brandy and whiskey, often efficacious in rattlesnake poison, have no effect on the virus of this lizard, perhaps because the physio- logical action is so different. The snake bite para- lyzes the respiratory centre, the poison of the Gela Monster paralyzes the heart. I saw a man killed by a heloderma under most distressing circumstances. A large one, four or five feet long, had been captured and tied to a ])ost. A drunken man began to torment it, saying he did not believe it to be venomous. Those standing around Avarned him and forcibly took him away several times, but he returned and thrust his hand into the reptile's mouth. He was sober in a moment ; sharp pains and swelling of the arm ensued immediately ; he went into the most terrible convul- sions, and died on the spot where he fell, in less thau an hour, among a group of pale men who were utterly powerless to give him relief." As this description of the Heloderma elicited con- siderable attention and inquiry at the time it first appeared in print, our readers may be interested in the following account which is taken from the New York Tribune just as this chapter goes to press: FUKIOUS BATTLE BETWEEN TWO REPTILES BELONGING TO THE FISH COMMISSION. Washington, Oct. 29. — A rare combat took place this after- noon in a building occupied by the Fish Commission, between JVofes of Travel. 37 the newly-arrived "monster" from the Gila River in Arizona and a two-year-old alligator from Florida. The lizard is four- teen inches long and about twice the weight of his antagonist. Both reptiles were in a semi-torpid condition, having ceased to take food a week or two ago, and for some purpose they had been removed from their glass cases and placed beside each other upon the stone floor. An attendant inadvertently touched the alligator's tail, and caused him to move sluggishly onward a few inches, when he came in contact with the blunt nose of the lizard. The snaky eyes of the lizard lighted up ; his black lips opened wide, and his jaws clo.sed with a snap upon the fore paw of the alligator. The prisoner made for a time a gallant light for liberty and life. His movements were marvelously quick, and his jaws closed a dozen times in quick succession upon the mailed head of his assailant. He soon, however, became exhausted, and moaning like a suffering child, lapsed into quietude. The attendants sought by a variety of means to release the wretched alligator, but were compelled to be extremely careful in handling the venomous "mon,ster." He was seized by the tail and held up in the air ; taken by his bloated neck and choked severely ; plunged under water, and maltreated in other ways, but to no purpo.se. Then sharp wires were thrust into his nose, and finally a large trowel was thrust into his mouth ; but such was the force of his grasp that the steel blade, though considerably bent in the effort, failed to release the imprisoned paw. Then the pair were replaced in the glass case which had been occupied by the lizard, and again the alligator renewed his struggles, thrashing his enemy with his tail and snapping at him with his jaws. In his struggles he had dislocated his shoulder, and the imprisoned limb became limp and powerless. At last the trowel was again introduced into the lizard's mouth, and probably niade a severe wound in some tender part. Bubbles of grayish slime were e.xuded from the mouth and nostrils, and finally the jaws .slowly opened. Even then it was a work of several minutes to disengage the hooked fangs from the wounded paw. The combatants were placed :^(315J 38 2^otes of Travel . in their separate cages, the lizard hipping his thicli black lips with his greenish forked tongue, while the alligator closed his eyes, probably to die of the venom. That mere natural influence, even in the desert wastes of Mexico and Arizona, should produce such an appalling creature is almost incomprehensible. It certainly seems as if the "1" in its name should Ije a double letter. The rattlesnake and heloderma are mortal foes, and their battles, sometimes witnessed by hunters, are among the most terrible sights in nature. Other ser- pents, also scorpions abound in Mexico. At Durango the latter are a frightful jiest. Their sting is invaria- bly fatal to children — sometimes proving so in a few minutes. Though the government has placed a bounty on tlieir heads and as many as one liundred thousand are killed in a year, they cannot be exter- minated. It is said the birds of Mexico never sing, but I think that true only of those in captivity. After leaving the museum, we took the tramway to the church of Gaudeloupe, three miles distant. Just as the train started, the cathedral bell tolled the mid- day hour. A more solemn, musical, deep-toned bell I have never heard. At the sound of the bell all the natives uncover 'their heads till the reverberation passes away. The Church of the Virgin of Gaudeloupe is a mag- nificent structure, founded upon the spot indicated by an apparition of the Virgin Mary. The command to build the church in this place Avas given to a peasant boy, and in token of authenticity, it is said, she im- JSfotes of Travel. 39 pressed her picture upon liis apron. We saw tlie veritable apron in a glass case at the museum. If it is a true portrait the Virgin does not come np to our ideal in beauty or spirituality. The great effigy over the altar of this church is, according to our ideas, a blasphemy. Upon an im- mense guilt triangle are the sitting images of an old man and a young one ; oyer the group hovers a dove ; these are intended to represent the Trinity. The careless and irreverent use of things considered by us too sacred to be mentioned without the utmost sol- emnity, is frequent and shocking. One of our friends heard a man say to his servant, "Jesus, come here and Tjlack my boots I " The choir of Gaudeloupe is superb, above any- thing we have previously seen. Not even the carv- ing of the temptation scene in Antwerp equals that in the choir of Graudeloupe. We counted thirty- seven panels in the half-circle, and under them a double row of seats, admirably carved in rosewood, each relief representing a different sacred scene. These marvels of art are highly polished, and are almost black with age. The numerous and extended railings in the main body of the church are of solid silver, placed there at a cost of seven millions of dollars. Upon leaving the church we saw a large ])ile of crutches, which we were told had been left by invalids after miraculous cures ; these were from sizes that would fit a giant to one about a foot long — the last left there no doubt by a decrepit doll. 40 JTofes of Travel. We entered the small but beautiful chapel, built over the muddy spring which is supposed to effect these sudden and miraculoiTS cures. At this time, and I suppose it is thus always, a throng of ragged, wretched peasants lingered in the area, bearing jjitch- ers and jars ifilled with the muddy water of the well. Going and coming from Gaudeloupe, a fine view of the extinct volcano Popacatapelt is often obtained, but owing to a hazy condition of the atmosphere we had only the imperfect outline. In this ride, how- ever, we passed between some curious Aztec monu- ments, fifteen or twenty feet high, uniform in size and shape, placed at equal distances along the sides of the highway ; we also left and entered the city through a gateway of the wall that encloses it. We dined this day, and every other of our stay in Mexico, at the Cafe Anglais, the least exceptionable restaurant in the city. Many of the dishes were familiar, but those which required boiling were con- spicuous by their absence, as evaporation in that rari- fied atmosphere takes place before the requisite heat can be obtained. Frying is substituted, but fried string beans and cauliflower were not to our taste. The place is untidy and noisy, thronged with guests of every nationality. The waiters understand only Spanish, for conquerors always force their language ujion the conquered. As an indication of the ethical condition of this city, it may be mentioned that the growing plants in the entry of the Cafe are wired down to prevent their loss. After dinner we went out to look for Mexican JVotes of Travel. 41 curios ; opals, strange painted bowls and plaques, feather pictures, wax images covered with a fine web of clotli which preserves but does not disfigure them, shell work, silver and gold Jewelry, Aztec relics and pottery, peculiar to different sections of the republic. We slept at the Iterbide ; that is, some of our party slept, but others abandoned their couches to the small aboriginal inhabitants who valiantly and suc- cessfully disputed possession with them. THE HALLS OF MONTEZUMA. A PRIVATE CIRCUS — CHAPULTEPEC — MONUMENTS IN THE ALAMEDA — THE HEIGHTS — HISTORIC PLACES — THE PALACE AT CHAPULTEPEC — RESIDENCE OF THE YSCANDONS — SUPERB FURNITURE — MEXICAN RAIL- ROAD—MOUNTAIN GRANDEUR — ABYSSES — GORGES — THE HOT LANDS. TUESDAY, March 2(1, we had arranged to go early to Chapultcpec, the Hill of Grasshoppers. Why SO named I have never learned. Tliere certainly is not grass enough on the heights to tempt these insects. Probably it was the totem, or sacred symbol of the Aztecs or Zoltecs, adopted according to custom among the aborigines of America. "Thej' ))aintele, iis if we were buuiul for tlie lower regions, a feeling not letisened by the fact that an accident, the caving in of the tunnel, had occurred oidy two days before. The heavy rain of the last week had washed the road, and the J^os Angeles River had Ihtoded the valley. It is a very disagreeable i)eculiarity of these rivers, that when water is greatly needed their broad beds are dry sand and stone : and in the rainy season, when they would be l)etter dry, they rise to mad, destructive torrents. Tpon this occasion, as u|)on many ])revious. the Avorks of l>uiiy man were swejjt away. Hastily constructed tracks and eml)ankmcnts were thrown up as soon as the flood subsided, and over these rickety, unsubstantial works our tottering train, "" like a wounded serpent dragged its huge lentrth alon^.*' Our eni^ine, a monster of one hnn- dred and five tons, gave token by its laborious breath- ing of another mountain ascent, this time over the Tehatehpi range. A fearful expedient was adopted to oljtaiii tlic indispensable grade. The track makes what is cidlcd a loi»]i. It })asses over a tunnel, down a steep in a helicoid, or screw spiral, which runs rouml and returns to the same ])oint low enough to pass through the tunnel it just before surmounted. I hope I may never take another such ride j we seemed to hang upon the ragged edge of nothingness. There are many stretches of endjankment now aban- doned, where attempts have been made to meet the caprice of the sti'cam in vain. All honor to the men who struggle thus piiticnil\ with the blind forces of nature. ^^otes of Travel. jj Night overtakes us on this dangerous journey ; we retire to rest, but slee]) is broken. We miss the smooth rumble tliat acts as a hilhiby ; the car rocks like a storm-vexed ship ; a sense of danger mingles with the momentary dreams, in which tired nature tries to assert her rights. Morning dawns; we rise unrefj'eshed, but thankful that we live to rise at all. At the town of Modesta we are still one hundred and twenty-seven miles from San Francisco, three liours late. Cl)aptcv jSinc. MONTEREY. OAKLAND — >TriM:X])()L'S ADVERTISEMENTS — HOTEL DEL MOXTE — CASTLES IX STAIX — KATIIS — THE SEVEXTEKN' MILE DRIVE. " Aiiffcls fold tlieir wings ami rest 111 this Kiloii of tlie West." WE rcaclie'd (>akl;iii(l, the railroad terminus, al twelve m., and went into the reeei)tion room of the depot to await the ferry-boat that conveys passengers across an arm of the liay into the city of San Francisco.. The room is arranged like a chapel, with a platform at one end and numer- ous seats fronting it ; but the enormous, gaudy adver- tisements that adorn the walls disi)el any possible illusion that this is a sacred editice. On one side the goddess of love and a family of cnpids, life-size and highly colored, are seated on the banks of a lily-pond, and are su})posed to be calling i)nblic attention to a ])omestic sewing machine. Beside this practical hint to famih' affection and duty, is the picture of a num on horseback, large as life, fierce as a Mexican freebooter, tearing through a vast desert, waving aloft, not a revolver, but a bottle marked Mineral Water. J^^ofes of Travel . yg Xoar by this startling design, Columbia, Goddess of Liberty, with several questionable looking associ- ates, one a female Mercury (at least she had wings on her head), is majestically pointing to a shoe store. In another jilace, a man and woman in gay attire, attitudinizing as if for photographs, sit at a table loaded with eatables, to i)refigure the delights of a restaurant. This colossal group, in drawing and ex- pression, caps the climax of fine art. On the opposite side of the room is a bottle of champagne at least six feet tall ; .the cork is blown out of sight and a column of froth goes up from the neck like the smoke of a volcano, true indication, no doubt, of the elevating effects of the wine proclaimed beneath in enormous red letters. Near this bold defiance of the temperance cause is a com})anion piece. Madame Adelina Patti, gigantic in size, stands with a sheet of music in hand, chanting in doggerel rhyme the praises of a cigarette. Tiiis pic- ture was, I think, six feet square. The song ran as follows : "What a pleasure of an evening, When your day's work is done, To take your I'atti Cigarettes And smoke tlieni one l>y one; And as you watcli the clouds arise, And gaily puH' away, You light another cheerfully, And then you're hound to say : 'Patti, PaUi, that's the name!' And like that great artiste, Well known to fame, As soon as you've smokeil one You'll like them, you bet, You're bound to enjoy The Patti Cigarette! 8o Xit/f'S of 'I'rt/nJ. The port for^rot to mention the oi»inm, arsenic and other deadly iiareoties that compose this enehaiitinth we open our eyes on the t'ull-lletlged day. Are we still dreaming':' ^:'y, this is startling, 82 JVfifes of Travel. amazing reality — we have fouiul our Castles in 8})ain ! From the long, low windows of our parlor, through the vine-clad arches of a broad veranda, are seen green lawns slojjing away to a lake, from tlie middle of which rises a cloud-like fountain climbing to the skies : in the mist rainbows play, and on the shore Swiss cottages nestle. Shadows of ancient oaks and giant evergreens lie u])on the grass where innumera- ble flowers disdain not to bloom. Birds sing in the branches, dark men in foreign attire dress the lawn and sprinkle the plants. Our surprise and delight is greater tlian that of the Grand Monarch of France when he awoke in his palace at Versailles and caught the gleam of the Swiss lake, the magic result of one night's toil. Yes, we have found our Castles in S])ain, the Span- ish name, Del Monte, assures us ; and more than this, we havf taken jtosscssion. We perform a cari^ful toilet as becomes Spanish l)n»i>ri('tors. We go out into the ancestral halls ; the floors are covered witli cari)ets ; fires are burning on the hearths, for mornings in tliis lordly mansion are cool. The broad halls, the tall columns and vaulted domes overpower us, but it is witli delight, and when the demand of grosser nature calls to the banquet room, the golden apples of tlie Hesperides crown the board, but no Discordia placed them there. Our re]»ast is over, and we go forth among tlie guests. Tiiey take sligiit notice of our coming; in- deed, there is a look in some of their faces as if they, too. are Spanish proprietors. This gives us a strange } Xotes of Trarel. 83 feeling. Is it possible that our claim ''is only such stuff as dreams are made of ?'" We walk through the extensive grounds, observe the growth of tree and vine, admire the tall heliotrope hedges and the white roses that climb to the eaves of the lofty i)ortico ; we wonder at the curious forms the live oaks have attained, we commend the taste our servants have displayed in the arrangement of flower beds, walks and drives. We wander to the shore and listen with rapture to the slow, infrequent pulsations of the sea — the water is calm, nor wind nor tide vex its surface, but an occasional long-drawn sigh heaves its mighty breast. "There's a sound in the deep Like the munmiring lireath ot a lion aslee)>." Our joy is full. What though the '' children of Alice call Bertram father?" Do not our own walk beside us, enjoying as we do, our Castles in Spain ? Here we spend the last days of March, the stormy month. The sky is bright, the birds carol in the tall trees, the guests stroll through the groves, bask in the sunshine or drive in carriages. The grounds of this magnificent hotel are seven thousand acres in extent, and boast twenty-seven miles of driveway — fifty men are emi)l()yed in their care ; the head gar- dener is (leruuin, the assistants are Chinese. Here reigns perpetual spring — May in January, June in Marcii. Plants of tn)})ic deltas grow near the gray, uncouth forms of ;i northern desert. The Arizona garden "shows every variety of outline seen in the 84 Xofrs tif Trdri']. diabolical cactus, fascinating hy its repulsivcncss," and astonishing by gorgeous blossoms that seem to alight upon the prickly s])incs. like birds or butterflies. We exi)lore the Labyrinth. This })roduction of man's ingenuity is formed of cyjiress hedges so skil- fully arranged that one may walk for miles without finding the centre, and once inside miles may inter- vene between it and the place of egress. It is a source of great amusement, for, after energetically pursuing a long course, one is stopped by a blank wall, and patiently retracing his steps finds himself }terhaj)s in the same cul-de-sac. The hedge is higher than the tallest man, and it gave a strange sensa- tion to catch glimpses of other bewildered travelers running back and forth, laughing and shouting to each other and to us, so near that our hands could have clas])ed through the hedge wliilo we were per- haps a mile distant by the jiath. After numy ludi- crous mistakes we penetrated the innermost fold of this leafy labyrinth, and almost expected to find within it a devouring dragon and an enchanted l)rincess ; but the illusion was dispelled by the sight of some very common benches placed there to await the tired pedestrian. One poor lady got lost in the nuize and became panic-stricken, but her cries and screams brought hcl]! from the laborers in that ])art of the ground. A Herdic runs once an hour to and from the baths and the town of Monterey. It is a strange vehicle, painted red, half omnibus and half wagonette. The coachman is a little old hunchback, with jiuffy cheeks N^otes of Travel. 85 and head sunken between his shoulders. He never speaks, and I never saw him off the seat of the Her- dic. I do not know if he can speak or walk ; he rings a bell as the carriage starts. As this uncanny equipage stands waiting at or drives from the door, one rubs his eyes and opens them wide to test the accuracy of his vision ; he feels as if he had been set back to the medieval times when dwarfs and mutes played an important part in the household of their lords. However, it took us safely through the shady road, and, without a word from the dwarf, drew up in front of the bath house. We alighted, and after passing along the platform and through an entry, were ushered into a spacious hall lighted by a glass roof. Here were four large tanks of sea-water, separated by decks and supplied with stairways that lead into the tanks; also slides about fifteen feet high, from which swimmers can plunge into the water. Around the hall tro})ical plants were growing, which, with the great swimming tanks, gave an effect of oriental luxury. Tlie water is heated by steam, and at this hour was full of bathers in cos- tume, diving, plunging, swimming and floating. A beautiful child about five years old, a daughter of Mr. Seward, of New York, stood on the deck waiting for her father. Presently he took her in his arms and Avent into the Avater ; sometimes carrying her on his shoulder or swimming with her on his back ; some- times he i)laced his hands under her chest to steady her, and the little creature paddled with hands and feet like a water sprite. It was a very pretty and 86 Nolc!^ of TvavcL iiniisuiil si<:;lil, i-ciiiiii(liii;i; one of tlu! hi^ciid of Saiiil. ( !lirisl,()|)linr mikI llic inrniil. .Icsus. A crowd of s|i(H'- tiiioi's wit-i lessen I Uii; sciauf jirul an iiriisl, })hoto^M"ii|)luMl it. Siil)sc(|ii('ntly our own party patroiii/t'd llio butlis and fdiiiid the |-('crcat ion dclif^dit fill. 'I'lu'st' bat-lis arc jironounced tlic finest in America, and jicrliaps in the world ; they arc sitiiat-cd on a siiioDlh lieiicli, which we visitiid after h'avin;;" the l)uildiii^'8. Tlic water of tlie I'ac^itic; is not j^ray like that of our ocean, it is of a hcaiitiful ii