Tequila

“ Because of the bleak and rough nature of the country it has retained its early characteristics. The little store is a revelation of the simple and primitive life of these people. Evening is sure to find Don Felix, or his black-eyed son, behind the counter waiting on the groups of Indians who are constantly coming in to buy a couple of cents worth of mescal, or tequila, or cigarettes. ”

“ I spent nearly a week at Texcoco assimilating the quiet interior life of the country. I dined at the Restaurante
CREW OF "LA NINFA ENCANTADORA."
Universe, both cheaply and better as a rule than at Mexico, and found a chamber with the keeper of the principal tienda, there being no inn. I even became something of an expert in pulque. The true connoisseur takes it mitad y mitad: half of agua miel newly from the maguey field, and half the stronger beverage of longer standing. I made the acquaintance of the Jefe Politico, a polite, youngish man, said to be a terror to evil-doers. ”

“ In Mexico especially, but on the borders of the tropical forest and in the drier interior, grows the agave, from which the national beverage, pulque, is obtained, and another species of the same peculiarly American family of plants supplies great quantities of the tough fibre known as sisal or henequen hemp, particularly on the stony, arid portions of the peninsula of Yucatan. Of interest to children especially is the fact that Mexico exports some 3,000,000 pounds of chewing-gum each year, which is obtained from a plant there growing wild. ”

“ The country round Mexico, if not always beautiful, has the merit of being original, and on the road to Tacubaya, which goes by Chapultepec, you pass large tracts of country, almost entirely uncultivated, though so near the city, or covered by the mighty maguey plant, the American agave, which will flourish on the most arid soil, and, like a fountain in a desert place, furnishes the poorest Indian with the beverage most grateful to his palate. ”

“ Evil days were coming to the Toltecs.
The traveller in Mexico to-day sees growing all along the sides of the railway huge stiff bunches of the Agave Americana. The leaves are long and pointed with prickles along the edge, growing in a tuft like huge artichokes. Their blue, rather than green, surface has a whitish bloom over it, which makes the plants look as if they had been made of tin and painted some time ago. Sometimes the leaves are very large, and the bunches enormous. ”

“ Production and Industry.—The vegetation of Mexico has the same wide range as the climate. In the lowlands dye woods and valuable timbers abound in the virgin forests, as well as medicinal plants, india rubber, palms, etc.; and oranges and bananas, many varieties of cactus, agave, sisal, olives, sugar, coffee, cocoa, rice, indigo, cotton and tobacco, besides the omnipresent maize, all thrive. The vine flourishes in some districts, especially near El Paso, Durango, and Parras, in Coahuila, where a good wine is made; and mulberry plants have been imported from Europe to develop the silk industry. ”

“ Passing by all their varieties of superbly gorgeous flowers, of luxuriously growing plants, many of them of medicinal value, and since introduced from Mexico to Europe, we come to that 'miracle of nature,' the great Mexican aloe, or maguey, which was, in short, meat, drink, clothing, and writing material for the Aztec, as from its leaves was made their paper, somewhat resembling Egyptian papyrus, but more soft and beautiful. ”

“ At about twenty miles from the city of Mexico, it is found that we have risen to an elevation of eleven hundred feet above it, from which point delightful views present themselves, embracing the entire valley, its various thrifty crops distinguishable by their many hues; here, yellow, ripening grain; there, the blue-green maguey plant; and yonder, wide patches of dark, nutritious alfalfa; together with irrigating streams sparkling in the sunshine, enlivened here and there by groups of grazing cattle. ”

“ We met by the fountain at the hour appointed, some in carriages, and some on horseback. Of the latter I formed part. The road leads along the aqueduct by Chapultepec, and through Tacubaya, and is the high-road that goes to Toluca. The first part, after passing Tacubaya, is steep, bleak, and uninteresting. Plantations of maguey and occasional clumps of Peruvian trees are the only vegetation, and Indian huts the only traces of human life. But after a tedious ascent, the view looking back upon Mexico, with all her churches, lakes, and mountains is truly magnificent. ”

“ Mexico also produces many other precious stones, among which are the ruby, amethyst, topaz, garnet, pearl, agate, turquoise, and chalcedony, besides onyx and many sorts of choice marbles.
[Pg 123] On our route to the national capital we pass through a number of small cities and towns, while we ascend and descend many varying grades. Native women, here and there, bring agua miel, or fresh pulque, to us, of which the passengers partake freely. It is a pleasant beverage when first drawn from the plant, very much like new cider, and has no intoxicating effect until fermentation takes place. ”

“ You see it first in abundance when about one hundred miles from the valley of Mexico, on the plains of Apam. When the Spaniards first came here, in 1519, the native Mexicans had the maguey, of which they made almost as many uses as the South-Sea Islander does of the coco-palm, namely, a hundred. It is said that there are thirty-three species of this plant growing on these broad plains. [3] The best plants yield liquor for six months after being tapped. From the leaves, root, and juice are obtained a greater variety of products than one would think it possible for one plant to yield. ”

“ There were a couple of young women going to pasear—take a little vacation-at Texcoco. "It will be triste, of course," they said, "like everything out of Mexico; still, we are going to try it for a while." They offered a part of their lunch, as travelling companions were continually doing wherever I went, and the skipper offered pulque. Two older women, in blue rebosas, sat like statues, hold-
ing their parcels and an Indian baby in their laps, from end of the long journey to the other.
The canal of San Lazaro on this side extends about a league to the lake. ”

“ Our road lies through a forest of pines and oaks, which reaches to the summit of the pass, where stands a wretched little village, La Guarda. There we had a thoroughly Mexican breakfast, with pulque in tall tumblers, and endless successions of tortillas, coming in hot and hot from the kitchen, where we could see brown women with bare arms, and black hair plaited in long tails, kneeling by the charcoal fire, and industriously patting out fresh supplies, and baking them rapidly on a hot plate. ”

“ In spite of the splendid climate, a great portion of the Valley of Mexico is anything but fertile; for the soil is impregnated with salt and soda, which in many places are so abundant as to form, when the water evaporates, a white efflorescence on the ground, which is called tequesquite, and regularly collected by the Indians. Some of it is stopped on its way down from the higher ground, by the evaporation of the water that was carrying it; and some is left by the lake itself, in its frequent floodings of the ground in its neighbourhood. ”

“ A considerable part of the cargoes was the fine large red earthen jars and dishes we saw at Mexico, which are made at Texcoco. The piled-up bales and pottery, the strange figures, and the flashing poles of one of these craft, coming on, make it a highly original and spirited subject.
Then we fell in with one of the curiosities of the lake—disbelieved in by some—swarms of the mosca, a little water-fly, so thickly settled on the water that we took them for flats and reefs. They resemble mosquitoes, but neither sting nor even alight on the boat. ”

“ From the earliest times, the inhabitants of earth have prepared stimulating and refreshing drinks from various plants, seeds, and fruits. This beverage, pulque, has been so long in use on the Mexican table-land that its origin is involved in the obscurity of fable. It cannot be told when it was first drank, nor whence it derived its present appellation. The Aztecs gave it the name of neutli and octli, while the plant itself, the maguey, was called metl. ”

“ In the hot region, cotton, vanilla, indigo, dye-woods, cacao, maize, rice, hemp, caoutchouc, sarsaparilla, chile peppers, anise-seed, cassia, oranges, plantains, bananas, and other tropical fruits. In the temperate region, coffee, sugar, tobacco, maize, cotton, frijoles, pease, cereals, vegetables, and fruits of northern latitudes thrive, the forests abounding in camphor-trees, oaks, and cypresses. The cereals, the maguey, and the hardier vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, beans, and turnips, are cultivated in the cold region. ”

“ At full gallop we rode into the town of Tequilla: considerably fatigued, for I had not slept in forty hours, excepting perhaps now and then a brief cat-nap in the saddle—of a second or two duration—wherein one may dream of years of adventure. However, I determined to hold on twelve leagues beyond, to Guadalajara. It was daylight, and I found Tequilla quite a large place: with picturesque church, clusters of fine trees, all snugly posed in a bowl-like valley—fertile and well watered, with extensive plantations of the argave extending far as the eye could compass, over the neighboring country. ”

“ Map of Lake Tezcoco. they marched forward with a buoyant step, as they felt they were treading the soil of Montezuma. They had not advanced far, when, turning an angle of the sierra, they suddenly came on a view which more than compensated the toils of the preceding day. It was that of the Valley of Mexico, or Tenochtitlan, as more commonly called by the natives; which, with its picturesque assemblage of water, woodland, and cultivated plains, its shining cities and shadowy hills, was spread out like some gay and gorgeous panorama before them. ”

“ Indians and Mestizoes were the most frequent visitors. The former would, perhaps, bring in a hot tortilla cake and a plate of frijoles from the fonda, and call for a cup of pulque,—the fermented juice of the maguey plant, almost universally drunk in Mexico; sometimes a Mestizo, or half-caste, would drink with him, and they would play at dice or cards together, very sociably, for a quarter of an hour or so ”

“ When fermented, a single stalk will furnish for months a gallon a day of pulque.
Its broad leaves, which are eight feet long, furnish a thatch for the house, and when dried, an excellent fuel. It is here the natives laze their time away from sheer ennui. It is in this valley the railroad contractors never go to hunt laborers. A Mexican works when he is hungry, and why should he be hungry in this valley where his rations may be had for the picking? ”

“ Mixed with the stimulating gravy formed of chile, and eaten with a tortilla or corn cake, it soon becomes a necessary of life to a stranger who resides for any length of time in Mexico. Some of our country{58} men have become so fond of the food, that they have brought the bean with them upon their return to the United States, and now supply their table with it instead of hominy. From the frijol, the tortilla, and the Chile pepper we pass to the great national liquor, which requires generally longer time to win the favor of foreigners. ”

“ The State of Mexico comprises a rich and interesting region. It is the seat of the capital, the famous City of Mexico. With the little adjoining State of Tlaxcala it was the home of the Aztec and other republics or oligarchies of prehispanic days. Here is the classic lake of Texcoco, and on the south of the valley the famous peaks which rise beyond the perpetual snow-line—Popocatepetl, Ixtaccihuatl, and the Nevado of Toluca—rear their gleaming crests. In this region Nature has been profuse with her resources—a rich and varied flora and astonishing wealth of gold and silver. ”

“ The maguey plant is put to as many uses by the Mexicans as the cocoa palm is by the South Sea Islanders. All around Mexico, even on the barren plains where nothing else can exist, it grows in abundance. ”

“ Mexico is cultivated with the lemon, orange, citron, cocoa, and plantain trees, vanilla, chili, or long-pepper, achiote, cotton, indigo, pimento, wheat, maize, barley, rice, pease, beans, and all sorts of European vegetables and fruits; also the plants useful in forming drugs, resins, gums, oils, as well as for their fruit, flowers, and roots, which are indigenous, have been enumerated as exceeding one thousand.
The trees which afford timber in this province, are of every variety. ”

“ The products of the country are sugar, coffee, cocoa, and cotton, while those of the town are “Panama” hats and fleas. In each one of the ports the natives are busy braiding hats from vegetable fibres, and the results of their labor find a market at Panama and in the cities of the coast, where, as in Mexico, a man’s character is judged by what he wears on his head. The hats are usually made of toquilla, or pita, an arborescent plant of the cactus family, the leaves of which are often several yards long. When cut, the leaf is dried, and then whipped into shreds almost as fine and tough as silk. ”

“ Tall fields of wheat and maize. Taller, more brilliant fields of bright-green sugar-cane. And threading in white [Pg 81] cotton clothes, with dark, half-visible face, the eternal peon of Mexico, his great white calico drawers flopping round his ankles as he walks, or rolled up over his dark, handsome legs.
The wild, sombre, erect men of the north! The too-often degenerate men of Mexico Valley, their heads through the middle of their ponchos! The big men in Tascala, selling ice-cream or huge half-sweetened buns and fancy bread! The quick little Indians, quick as spiders, down in Oaxaca! ”