Thomas Wallace Knox

“ Men, women, children—white, black, yellow, and all other colors possible to humanity—are there; and so are all the dresses of Yucatan, from the uniform of the high official and the satin or silk of the grand dame of society down to the cotton garb of the Indian, and quite likely his bare shoulders with no garb at all. Three-fourths of those present are smoking, and the atmosphere is like a morning fog, only a great deal worse. ”

“ Downhill is easier than uphill all the world over, and nowhere more so than on a tram-way. We started from Jalapa at seven in the morning, and went flying down the road, turning curves at a gallop, dashing on as though pursued by a Nemesis or a pack of wolves, and raising clouds of dust wherever the roads were dry. Our hair stood on end half the time—figuratively at least; and I wished the mules could have told us what they thought of such recklessness. We breakfasted again at Rinconada, and at a little past four in the afternoon rolled into Vera Cruz. ”

“ When they looked down on the beautiful valley, with its lakes glistening in the sun, the towers of the city rising in the centre of the level expanse, the black fields of lava, the hills rising here and there, the green expanse of cultivated land, and the causeways covered with people, the soldiers gave a loud cheer, and in spite of the fatigue of the ascent were ready to dash forward to battle. ”

“ Many of the women are pretty, and we do not wonder that the Spanish conquerors were loud in their praises of the comeliness of the feminine part of the inhabitants of Yucatan. Their eyes are black as coals, and their sight is as sharp as that of the traditional Indian everywhere; altogether the people have a close resemblance to the Malay race, and we have but to close our eyes a moment to imagine ourselves once more in Batavia or Singapore. ”

“ Frank and Fred paused to look at the Governor's Palace, an imposing edifice of two stories with a high tower at one corner. There are wide balconies on each of the stories, where the occupants can sit in the shade and enjoy the cool breeze whenever it happens to blow. A drawback to sitting there is the presence of the mosquitoes, which fill all the space not taken up by the Governor and his household. Not only do the inhabitants of Vera Cruz maintain a constant warfare with mosquitoes, but they associate intimately with fleas, ticks, and other bodily annoyances. ”

“ Of course you will naturally infer that the Spanish people are insincere in their politeness, and certainly appearances are against them. But they do not mean anything by it any more than the people of the United States do in their polite ways of speaking. There is this difference, that we do not go as far as the Spaniards in saying empty words, and that is about all. Doctor Bronson says there's a good deal of hollowness in society everywhere; that people could not get along at all together, and there would be no society at all if everybody spoke exactly what he thought at all times. ”

“ TAKING THINGS EASY.
Frank and Fred had learned, before being long in Mexico, that there were many things to be avoided in the rarefied air of the valley, or, if not avoided, they should be taken with caution. Ascending stair-ways, or other laborious exercise, at an elevation of 7600 feet had to be done with deliberation, and the least unusual exertion was sure to put them out of breath. They were more sedate in their walking than in New York or other cities on or near the sea-level, and as for running, it was quite out of the question. ”

“ In such a beautiful city we have looked for beautiful inhabitants, but haven't found a great many, though it is proper to say we haven't been able to hold a review of the whole population. While walking in one of the gardens we saw several pretty girls of Spanish blood, accompanied by their duennas; for, according to Spanish custom, no young girl is allowed to walk out alone. They were dressed much after the fashion of Paris or New York, except that they wore the lace veil or mantilla over their heads, instead of the bonnet, which is the fashion with us. ”

“ The ground is level, the road finely macadamized, and the way perfectly straight; the horses and carriages are the best that can be procured; the equestrians are splendidly mounted, and their apparel and equipments are picturesque; the ladies are handsomely attired, and many of them have pretty faces; the panorama of hills and mountains loses none of its grandeur, and altogether we are in love with the Paseo de la Reforma. ”

“ Then the train entered a gorge, which Frank and Fred specially wished to look at. It was the Tajo de Nochistongo, the great Spanish drainage-cut, which was intended to save the city of Mexico from inundation.
From the windows of the car they shuddered as they looked into the cut, and wondered if never an accident had happened from the falling away of the earth. The cut is twelve and a half miles in length, and is the work of human hands, not of nature. The railway enters the valley of Mexico through this cut, and the track is laid on a shelf or bench along its sides and high above the bottom. ”

“ Ask a Mexican when he will do anything—pay a bill, return the horse he borrowed, build a sheep-pen or a corral for his cattle, get married, buy a new saddle, in fact do anything that can be done—his answer is, 'Mañana.' Mexico is the land of mañana, and the habit of procrastination is exasperating to a man of any other nationality. ”

“ The first opportunity to see a Mexican city was afforded to our friends at Monterey, and they fully enjoyed it. Every walk along the streets and every drive in the city and its vicinity was full of interest, and there was little that escaped their observation. Being the most northern city of Mexico, Monterey has been much invaded by Americans during the last decade, and many citizens of the United States are established there in various lines of business. ”

“ The result is that every enterprise is liable to be "taxed to death," and many a man who has carried money to Mexico to engage in what promised to be a profitable business has left it behind him in the hands of the various authorities. Taxes, forced loans, and various expenses that can never be foreseen swallow up all the profits and altogether too often the original investment. Very few silver-mines in Mexico pay dividends to their stockholders, and the few that are worth owning have no stock for sale. ”

“ The idea of Captain Eads was that wherever a canal can be built [Pg 427] to float a ship a railway may be built to carry one. His theory was laughed at by a great many people, but has been accepted by eminent engineers all over the world who have carefully studied his plans. Like every novel scheme, it has met with much opposition, and many objections have been made to it; but they are chiefly by men whose minds are not scientific. ”

“ But just at present the best patrons of art are the pulque shops, and as their patrons are not very critical, it does not require a high talent to meet their wants. In private houses there is a greater demand for huge mirrors than for fine paintings, and the value of the plate-glass mirrors in the city of Mexico is far beyond that of the modern works of art to be found here. Many an artist of fair promise has been obliged to abandon the dream of his life, and obtain a living by painting for the pulquerias, or selling silk and woollens behind the counter of a shop. ”

“ Secrets are preserved generation after generation by these people; there may or may not be any treasures of Montezuma in the caves around Mexico, but if the Indians know of their existence and the place of their concealment, and believe it their duty not to reveal the hiding-place, nothing can ever wring the secret from them. ”

“ DIFFICULTIES OF TRAVEL IN CAMPEACHY.
"The quezal is still regarded with much respect by the Indians of this part of the country and of Central America, but less so than in the days of the Montezumas. As it darts through the forest its feathers flash like a moving rainbow, and remind us of the accounts that Eastern travellers have given of the bird-of-paradise. It is rarely taken alive, and is so shy that the hunter can only approach it with difficulty.
"This region abounds in birds," continued his informant, "and also with less pleasing things to meet—snakes. ”

“ There was a sign of civilization in the shape of an omnibus, rather a rickety and weak-springed affair, it is true, but still an omnibus, and it carried them safely to the hotel, whither their baggage followed in a wagon. ”

“ In the sugar-making industry the machinery is primitive, the cane being crushed in a mill propelled by oxen in the old-fashioned way, and the sugar obtained from the juice by the processes of half a century ago. The real profit of the hacienda is in the production of fibre, and in this the latest machinery is in use. The old process of making fibre by hand is altogether discarded as unprofitable, and the stripping of the leaves of the henequin is performed by great machines built in the United States or England, and driven by a powerful steam-engine of American make. ”

“ There were scores and scores of patient mules standing with drooping ears and waiting for their burdens to be removed. They were laden with everything that an inhabitant of Monterey could want to buy—milk, vegetables, fruits, fuel, hides, sugar, beans, wheat, iron-work, in fact anything and everything that has a place in a market. Donkeys are the beasts of burden at Monterey, and almost in the same category belong the cargadores, or porters, who are licensed and numbered exactly like cabs or drays in an American city. ”

“ The Texas towns along the border contain a goodly number of residents who are engaged in defrauding the revenue of Mexico by engaging in the business of smuggling goods into that country; there is also a fair amount of smuggling from Mexico into the United States, and the customs officials on both sides are kept reasonably busy in seeing that the rights of their respective nations are defended. The peculiarity of revenue laws all the world over is that every country considers it quite proper to violate those of any other, but is very indignant if its own regulations are not respected. ”

“ The palms of Vera Cruz are finely developed, but they do not attain the size of those at Medellin, twelve miles down the coast. Medellin is a summer resort of the Veracruzanos; they go there for recreation during the hot season, or at least such of them as cannot afford the longer journey to Orizaba and the mountain regions.
Many of the trees and bushes in the Alameda were bright with flowers. As if there were not enough floral products growing in sight, several flower-sellers came around with their wares, which they persistently offered to the visitors. ”

“ Bright and early on the morning following their arrival the youths were out to see the sights of the Mexican capital. They did not wait for the early breakfast, but on hearing the bell from a neighboring church tower they sallied forth in time to see the streets filled with people on their way to morning mass. Fred made note of the fact that women seemed to be very much in the majority, and he was not surprised to learn afterwards, in conversation with a [Pg 144] gentleman who resided in the city, that religion in Mexico has its greatest hold upon the women. ”

“ When we first arrived in the city we were somewhat surprised at the large number of people in mourning, until we learned that mourning is worn not only for relatives but for friends, and there is a prescribed time for which it must be worn in each case. Suppose a school-girl's father or mother dies, her companions put on mourning for fifteen days; if the girl herself dies they go into mourning for a month. ”

“ When the ceremonial procession is over the party goes to the patio, or to a large room of the house, and there the fun begins. A pinate is suspended from the ceiling, or from a cord stretched across the patio, and then one of the party, blindfolded and armed with a stick, sets about breaking the pinate; sometimes half a dozen are blindfolded at once, and then the fun is lively. ”

“ Peppers enter into nearly all the Mexican cookery; an American who does not like them told us that the proportions for a Mexican stew were one pound of meat, one quart of water, and one pound of hashed peppers. It is a common remark in Texas and Colorado that a wolf will not eat a dead Mexican because he is so impregnated with pepper that even the stomach of that voracious animal can't stand it."
The Mexican dinner proved a digestible one; at all events Frank and Fred slept soundly and were fully refreshed for the visit to the battle-field on the following day. ”

“ General Scott marched by that road, and the youths were on the watch for El Puente Nacional, or the National Bridge, where he was sharply resisted by the Mexican army. It is thirty-five miles from Vera Cruz, and is an immense viaduct, built in the early part of the present century, when the road to the capital was begun. In the happy days of brigandage it was the favorite spot for stopping coaches and plundering passengers; many a traveller has given up his valuables at this spot, under the potent influence of a pistol in the hands of a Mexican "road-agent." ”

“ The crowd around the station when the train arrived was a mixture of American and Mexican, with a few Indians by way of variety. The population of the frontier is quite a puzzle to the ethnologist at times, and the work of classification is by no means easy. Some of the patrons of the hotel were Mexicans of the better sort, and they mingled freely with the Americans who had lived long enough in Texas to feel at home. ”

“ The hand of man is ably aided in the work of destruction by the tropical vegetation; around the building it is so thick that all access would soon be cut off if the rapidly growing mass were not occasionally cut away in places where paths are desired. The roof is overgrown with yuccas and other plants, that convert it into a sort of hanging garden; their roots, swelling in the crevices between the stones, are rapidly breaking down the walls and converting the whole into a shapeless mass of ruins. ”

“ The agricultural laborers of Mexico are not an enterprising race, and care nothing beyond supplying their daily wants. They were formerly held in a condition of slavery, both before and after the Spanish Conquest; but slavery was abolished soon after the war of independence, and therefore the agricultural laborers, miners, and all other classes of working-people, for the last fifty years and more, have been free. ”

“ Every town and village, according to the old Spanish law and custom, has the right to levy tolls or taxes on everything that passes through it, and on all business conducted within its limits. Then the State or district can levy a tax, and the national government comes in for a levy of its own in addition. ”

“ If all stories, or even a quarter of those that are told, are true, the Mexican monks had an easy life of it whenever so inclined. No one doubts that there were many honest and conscientious men among them, but there is also little, if any, room for doubt that a great many men entered the monasteries with hardly a spark of religious feeling about them, solely for the purpose of getting a living without working for it. ”