HEAD-QUARTERS OF JUAREZ AT SAN LUIS DE POTOSI.
Maximilian met his death with great composure and heroism. He rose early on the fatal morning, and at five o'clock mass was celebrated. With the stroke of six o'clock a liberal officer came to take him. He said "I am ready," and came from his cell, where he was surrounded by his few servants, who wept and kissed his hands. He said to them: "Be calm; you see that I am so. It is the will of God that I should die; against that we cannot strive."
Miramon and Mejia came forward, and he embraced them both. On arriving in the street he looked round him, and drawing a deep breath, said: "What a beautiful day! On such a one I have always wished to die."
The streets were crowded; every one greeted the condemned Archduke with respect; the women wept aloud. He responded to these greetings with his usual gentle smile.
He made a short address to the Mexicans, of which these were the last words:
"Mexicans! May my blood be the last spilt for the welfare of the country, and if more should be shed, may it flow for its good, and not by treason. Viva Independencia! Viva Mexico!"
Maximilian, Miramon, and Mejia were all shot at the same moment.
THE CONVENT OF CAPUCHINAS.(Last prison of Maximilian.)
Thus really closed the episode of the French intervention in Mexico. The foreign intruder, encouraged by the short-lived intention of a European potentate to plant the Latin race upon the soil of the New World, abandoned by his instigator, betrayed by his few remaining troops, was dead. There was no longer question of a foreign prince upon the Aztec throne.
The city of Mexico, after the departure of Maximilian for Querétaro, had remained tranquil awaiting events. The Emperor sent back immediately General Santiago Vidaurri, who had accompanied him out of the capital, with full powers to govern the city.
This man had been one of the chiefs of the liberal party, and had often fought, on the opposite side, both Márquez and Miramon. As governor of the state of Nueva Leon, he had brought its administration into such good order that it was an example to the rest of Mexico. Disgusted with anarchy, and disliking Juarez personally, he espoused the cause of Maximilian as the best chance for his country of regular government; yet he always remained a liberal, not joining the clerical party, and thus was distrusted by Miramon and the rest, who kept him away from the Emperor as much as they could. Nevertheless Maximilian, recognizing his worth and his capacity for organization, entrusted him with the charge of the capital. But Márquez, when he reached Mexico, after successfully evading the enemy around Querétaro, instead of sending backmoney and troops to succor that besieged place, assumed the position of lieutenant of the Empire, and proceeded to govern the capital. Vidaurri withdrew from the scene, and from that time was allowed no part in the affairs of the imperialists; yet he did not escape judgment from the liberals, and was shot, among the first examples of their government restored to power.
Márquez was intended for the same fate, but he kept in hiding, and succeeded later in escaping to the coast, where he embarked for Havana. He then returned to Mexico, after travelling abroad under an assumed name. He is described as a lively little man with black hair and sharp black eyes. He wore a full beard, which concealed a disfiguring scar on his cheek caused by a bullet wound. His cruelty in war won him the name of the "Mexican Alva," but that stern old campaigner better deserves the respect of posterity than such a namesake. Alva would not have left a besieged city to fall a prey to one enemy, while he led his troops to a futile encounter with another one more powerful than his own force.
The brilliant capture of Puebla by General Porfirio Diaz brought into prominence this name, which has since been of the greatest importance in the story of Mexico.
Puebla, after the departure of the French troops from the country, was left in the hands of General Noriega. It had been in the possession of the imperialists scarcely five years, and the courageous repulse of the French troops on the 5th of May,1862, was still fresh in every Mexican mind, as indeed it is to-day, an inspiring example of their capacity for defending their homes. Yet the imperialists held the city for twenty-five days, in spite of the vigorous attack, at five separate points, by the liberals. Diaz himself, with two companions, was buried for a time underneath a falling roof, and thought to be lost, but they were rescued after a few moments without injury. It was General Diaz, with his troops, who took possession of the capital for the liberals on the 21st of June, 1867. Assuming military command, he at once introduced order into the city, providing corn and food for the hungry population, who stood in great need of it. No persecution visited the conquered imperialists, with the exception of the active leaders, who were condemned to be shot or imprisoned.
The vigorous action of the liberal government towards Maximilian and the imperialist generals, however, impressed the country with its inflexible determination, as well as its power to execute its intent. The Republic reinstated upon the ruins of so brief an attempt at monarchy, Mexican rule, after the bold effort to ingraft upon the country a foreign potentate, proved to have a firmer grasp upon the country than in all its previous essays.
On the 15th of July, Juarez made a solemn entry into the capital. Many good citizens of Mexico, who had watched gloomily the whole episode of the French intervention, now emerged to light and rejoiced conspicuously in the return of their legitimate chief. Juarez, all this time, had never relinquished his title of President, but wherever he found himself had kept up the state due to the office, and retained his Cabinet. He was received with genuine acclamations by the populace, while high society remained within doors, curtains close-drawn, except that the women took pride in showing their deep mourning for the death of the Emperor. The reign of French fashions and frivolity was over when the troops of Bazaine marched from the town. There are still lurking in the capital descendants of French pastry-cooks and barbers, who shake their heads mournfully over the good old days, all too brief, of the imperial court. A French flavor still lingers about the capital; it is welcome in the excellent cuisine of the Café Anglais, and is evident in the handiwork of certain Parisianmodistes.
Peace now came back to the country. A generalelection established Juarez as President, and order and progress once more consented to test the good resolutions of the Republic. The first days of the new era were tranquil, and all went well, in spite of the restlessness of generals of the liberals themselves, who could ill bear to forego their inherent tendency to disputing and wrangling. Above all, Santa Anna was still alive, and it was not to be hoped that he would hold himself aloof from a share in the prosperity of the nation.
He had retired to the Island of St. Thomas, and was growing old. Yet he watched from afar every turn of affairs in Mexico. No sooner had Maximilian landed at Vera Cruz, than he received a letter of congratulation from Santa Anna, expressing his entire approval of the French scheme, and his wish to further it. He even came to Vera Cruz to lend his services to the Emperor, but as no notice whatever was taken of these overtures, he became indignant and withdrew his countenance from the new government. He went to New York, and fixed his residence in Elizabethport, New Jersey, where he published manifestoes against the Empire and the French, and sought an alliance with Juarez. The President, like the Emperor, ignored all overtures from the Mexican king-maker, who instantly turned his superabundant energies to conspiring against the Republic, just as it was struggling to take up, once more, the threads of order.
On the 12th of July, 1867, he was seized on board a steamboat he had fitted out, charged with conspiring against government, and narrowly escapedbeing shot on the spot; but more moderate measures prevailed, and he was allowed a legal trial by a council of war. Doubtless influenced by all his real services at the head of the national army, which in time past he had conferred upon his country, and through untiring efforts in his behalf by his friends and family, this council did not condemn him to death, but a sentence was passed upon him of exile for eight years. He returned to St. Thomas, much impoverished by this last attempt against good government, and broken with years and failure.
At the end of his time of exile, or perhaps, indeed, before its expiration, he returned quietly to the city of Mexico, and died there on the 20th of June, 1876, in his house in the Calle de Vergaza. He was over eighty years old, blind, lame, poor. His last days were embittered by his sensitive conviction that his great deeds were not appreciated by his country. He was buried in the city of Guadalupe, without honors or recognition by government, who, naturally, it may be supposed, retained their fear of rousing the populace even by so dead a lion.
A family connection of Santa Anna has written a life of him, in which fulsome justice is done to his good qualities. He says, and perhaps with reason, that had he died immediately after the loss of his leg in driving the French from Vera Cruz "thisbenemerito mutiladohad surely left not one single personal enemy."
With great gifts of bravery and military skill, and with a love of his country it is but fair to allowhim, probably not possessing the black characteristics ascribed to him by his enemies, he was at the best a turbulent, troublesome creature, an exponent in his own person of all the dangerous qualities of the Mexican character, which for so long a time have kept the country far away from the true path to prosperity.
The character of Juarez, on the other hand, represents precisely the opposite qualities of the Mexican race, inherited from his Indian parentage,—endurance, patience, imperturbability. Calm in the midst of exciting elements, he knew how to stand and wait for his turn. These qualities, so useful to him in adversity were supplemented by executive ability, good sense, and prompt action, which, when he returned to power, enabled him to rule wisely without losing his balance on the giddy height of success, like many of his predecessors.
His seat was not secure, and peace was not confirmed in emotional Mexico. The restless population, untrained to any permanent government, wearied of his rule, and early in his administration began to clamor that he had been President long enough. This people, scarcely yet freed from three hundred years of foreign control, found four years of one liberal leader enough to convert him in their eyes into a tyrant. As the period of election approached, in 1871, party lines became sharply divided, and the question of his return to power was warmly contested. A large body still advocated the re-election of Juarez, as of the greatest importance to the consolidation of the Constitution and reform, but theadmirers of military glory claimed the honors of President for General Diaz, who had done so much, at the head of the army, to restore the Republic. A third party represented the interests of Lerdo, minister of Juarez all through the epoch of the intervention, a man of great strength of character and capacity for government. The argument of theLerdistaswas that re-election was contrary to the principles of democratic government; of thePorfiristasthat their idol, Diaz, deserved the reward of the highest gift of his fellow-citizens; of theJuaristas, that things were very well as they were, and had better so remain.
The campaign was vigorous throughout the country. The press, the tribune, personal influence, were all at work in every state for each of the great parties. The election took place; theJuaristaswere triumphant. Their party had a fair majority, and Juarez was re-elected. But the Mexicans not yet had learned to accept the ballot, and a rebellion followed. The two defeated parties combined, and civil war began again.
Government defended itself with vigor and resolution, and in spite of the popularity of General Diaz as a commander, held its own during a campaign of more than a year. Its opponents were still undaunted, and the struggle might have long continued but for the sudden death of Juarez, on the 19th of July, 1872. At dawn of that day, the sound of cannon from the citadel fired at slow intervals awoke the population, who learned on inquiry that their President had died during the night.
Juarez had a singularly robust constitution; he habitually worked eight or ten hours a day without fatigue, but, unconsciously to himself, some organic infirmity was affecting him. He was seized during the night with great pain at the heart, and died very soon in much suffering.
All society was deeply moved by the death of this their faithful servant, who had given his life to their service. Every party joined in the solemn ceremony of his burial, which took place attended by an immense concourse of citizens.
Don Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, then President of the Supreme Court, assumed the government, was elected President, and the late agitation of parties was at an end.
For three years peace reigned in Mexico, and then began another revolution. Towards the end of 1875, rumors of dissatisfaction were afloat; in spite of the present quiet, which seemed solid and durable, distrust reigned, yet no one voice proclaimed the nature of the malady. Early in the next year, a "Plan" was started, one of those fatal propositions for change which have always spread like wildfire through the Mexican community. By midsummer, the Republic was once more plunged in civil war.
Although he had apparently no hand in the "Plan" of Tuxtepec, General Porfirio Diaz appeared at the head of the army of the revolutionists. He had been living quietly in the neighborhood of Vera Cruz, but now he emerged to take an active part in the general disturbance.
Porfirio Diaz was born in Oaxaca, on the 15th of September, 1830. This state, the farthest of all the states to the south, and except Chiapas, the limit of the Mexican Republic, has many claims to distinction. Its northern part formed the Marquezado, or grant, given in 1529 to Cortés, with the title of Márqués del Valle de Oaxaca.
The scenery of Oaxaca is of the wildest and grandestin Mexico. The Pass of Saloméa, leading to the city, recalls those of Switzerland. Wild animals, not only deer, but pumas and even the jaguar, roam over its slopes, covered with fan-palms and other tropical growths, while higher up is a forest of palms and oaks growing together. At the summit is a grand view of the valley of Oaxaca.
ZAPOTEC ORNAMENT.
The city, like Puebla, is of Spanish foundation, but at no very great distance from it are the ancient ruins of Mitla, still a puzzle to archæologists, since nothing certain is known even of the tribes found in that region by the Conquistadores,—the Zapotecas, or the traditions of their origin. Their customs seem to have been like those of the Mexicans, but their language resembled that of the Mayas. They were subject to long struggles with the Aztecs, and at the end of the 15th century their capital city, Mitla, was taken and given over to pillage, and the prisoners taken to Mexico to be offered up on the altars of Huitzilopochtli.
The ruins stand in the midst of a gloomy, cheerless landscape, of stunted vegetation, sandy soil, from which project dull gray rocks. No singing birds or even insects frequent the place; the turkey-buzzard soars over the lonely tract under a gloomy sky, and dismal silence reigns around the abandoned architecture of a forgotten race. Even the carvings of geometric ornaments, without any human or animal forms, add to the gloom of this solitary spot.
IMAGE OF A ZAPOTEC CHIEF.
The present generations of Oaxaca have the reputation of being the steady, independent mountaineers of Mexico; like the Swiss, always ready to defend their rights. Among them, Porfirio Diaz has been involved in every contest for his view of the right, since he was old enough to bear arms. He was, like many other of the Mexican generals, intended for the bar, and studied with that object, concluding the usual course in the seminary at Oaxaca; but in 1854 he served a campaign, returningagain to his studies only for a time. In the so called war of the reform he distinguished himself, and during the intervention was conspicuous as a military leader. In the disaster of Puebla, when, after the brilliant repulse of theCinco de Mayo, the Mexicans had to give up the city to the French, Diaz escaped being taken prisoner, and hastened to Oaxaca, the city of his birth, which, with forces raised by his own efforts, he succeeded in putting in a state of defence. Bazaine himself marched against the resisting city, and it was obliged to capitulate. Porfirio was carried a prisoner to Puebla, and there held; but he managed to escape after some months by letting himself down from his window with a rope in the middle of the night. This was in September. The next month, returning with a new army, Diaz besieged his own town, now in the hands of those who were lately its besiegers. While his brother Felix held the siege, Porfirio routed a column of French coming to the aid of the troops within the city, and after two weeks he compelled a surrender and entered it in triumph. Porfirio, always successful in his contests with the French, continued so after their support was withdrawn from the imperialists. His military fame reached its height after the taking of Puebla, which was the last act in the French intervention, and the peaceful occupation of the city of Mexico.
All these feats of arms gave to the general who accomplished them a military prestige of great importance in a country where military prowess means so much as with the Mexicans. The revolution ofthe summer of 1876 gained importance from the arrival of Diaz at Vera Cruz. It is said that, alone and disguised, he was hastening thither from New Orleans in a steamer which, touching at Tampico, took on board a body of government troops destined for the same port. The favorite chief of the liberals, seeing that he was recognized by one of the Federal officers, and convinced he should be arrested by him, jumped overboard and swam away. He was seen and brought back to the steamer by friends, under cover of the dark, and so well concealed that his hiding-place was not discovered, and the impression was encouraged that he had either reached the shore by swimming, or been drowned. Disguised as a workman, he left the steamer among the boxes and bales of its cargo, and landed at Vera Cruz. Speedily furnished with horses and guards he made his way to Oaxaca, where he took command of the forces of the rebellion, hitherto scattered and insufficient for lack of a head.
During the summer there was fighting and much confusion, in the midst of which the election took place for the choice of President for another term of four years. The result was in favor of Lerdo de Tejada, but he was so unpopular that he was obliged soon after to leave the capital, on the 20th of November, accompanied by his ministers and a few other persons. The other Lerdistas hid themselves, Congress dissolved, and the opposition triumphed.
Thus ended the government of the Lerdistas, but a few days before the expiration of its legal term. On the 24th of November, General Porfirio Diaz made his solemn entry into the capital, and was proclaimed Provisional President.
PRESIDENT PORFIRIO DIAZ.
After a good deal of fighting all over the country, Congress declared him, in May 1877, to be Constitutional President for a term to last until November 30, 1880.
It was just after this successful general grasped the prize, that Santa Anna, forgotten, neglected, old, and blind, died close by, in his house in the Calle de Vergaza.
But little more remains to be said of the government of Mexico up to the present time. President Diaz was able to consolidate his power, and to retain his seat without civil war, although this has been imminent at times, especially towards the end of his term. In 1880 General Manuel Gonsalez was elected, and on the 1st of December of that year, for the second time only in the history of the Republic, the retiring President gave over his office to his legally elected successor. That this was possible, is proof of great improvement in stability and the growth of steadiness and good judgment among the Mexicans. The administration of Gonsalez passed through its four years without any important outbreak, in spite of the difficult questions there were to deal with, chief among them the huge debt to England, contracted in the early days of the Republic, and ever increasing by reason of unpaid interest.
At the end of that term, General Diaz was re-elected and became President December 1, 1884. The treasury of the country was empty, the Republicwithout credit, yet he has, by heroic measures, succeeded in placing his government upon a tolerably stable financial basis, and done much to restore the foreign credit of the Republic. President Diaz is disposed and able to serve his country by an advanced and liberal policy. The result of his firmness and judgment is already seen in the returning confidence of nations and foreigners alike in Mexican affairs, and with it the rapid development of the resources of the country.
President Diaz, with his handsome wife, the daughter of his Minister of the Interior, Manuel Romero Rubio, has not been able to resist the charm of Chapultepec, in spite of the melancholy associations hanging about the spot Carlotta loved and Maximilian adorned for her enjoyment. The Pompeiian apartments are restored, and the hanging gardens bloom with roses all the year, while fountains sparkle in the sunlight. From the broad terrace gleam in the distance the cold peaks of the volcanoes, while Mexico spreads wide in the valley its rectangular lines, every year stretching out farther in all directions, a practical proof to the wise chief of the administration, as he looks down upon them from the now peaceful height of his terrace, of the success of his schemes of improvement and progress.
Let us hope that the tranquillity is permanent and that a long season of peace and prosperity has come to settle upon the long tormented, much enduring valley of Mexico, and the broad plateau of Anahuac.
Now, at last, may the Indians, descendants of the Aztec chief, look up and hope for the development of their race. For the first time in history they have a chance to show whether they are capable of taking a leading place among the races of the earth. Poor fugitives, hiding among the rushes of the lake, some centuries ago, their leaders knew how to build up a powerful, warlike nation, but the people were oppressed by the horrors of a bloody religion, degraded and kept down by the practice of human sacrifice. The Spanish conquest brought them other rulers, and priests who gave to them a kindlier faith; but their minds were little cared for, and they were still oppressed, like slaves, by the new race which came to govern them.
Spanish domination civilized the Indians, but scarcely developed the powers which may exist in their natures. That yoke thrown off, they have seen their day of real freedom once and again postponed, through the personal ambition of their own leaders, or the audacious interference of foreign powers, while their own blood has been made to flow freely for causes not really their own. In spite of all this, the native character has asserted itself with vigor wherever it has had a chance. Juarez, the first successful ruler of Mexico of real Mexican blood, by a true Indian trait of tenacity, held the government through the dark period of the intervention. Diaz, also of native descent, has kept the country in a progressive path.
The true native character of Mexico has now a chance to assert itself. The future will look on withinterest to see whether it has the capacity of self-government which its friends fully ascribe to it. If the Mexicans can profit by the sharp lessons taught them by the events of the present century; if they can root out of their nature the savage instincts which have given the national character its reputation for cruelty—instincts, not only inherited from the bloody practices of the Aztec, but fortified by the dark streak of ferocity which belongs to the Spanish race; if they can prove that the development of intellectual powers is possible to the race as well as to those individuals, then their country has before it the prospect of taking an honorable place among the peoples of the western continent.
The physical advantages of Mexico are favorable to its future prosperity. Of its great range of climate, the temperate one of the plateau may be said to be almost perfect. By descending towards the coast all the delights of the tropics may be enjoyed, while its lofty peaks afford adventure for the enterprising climber, ice for lower regions, and all the attractions of mountain scenery. Large lakes enhance the beauty of the landscape; rivers, though not large, answer the purposes of irrigation and boundary lines; an extended coast-line on the Pacific and that of the Gulf of Mexico offer opportunities, not yet much developed, for admirable harbors.
There is every variety of vegetation in this varied climate. Forests of valuable woods, such as mahogany, ebony, and rosewoods, extend over thetierra caliente; higher up, oak and pine in abundance furnish supply for any demand. It is safe to say that any thing may be cultivated somewhere in Mexico. Corn, beans, wheat, rice, sugar-cane, tobacco, cotton, cocoa, indigo, vanilla, are at present raised; above all, coffee, which has a high reputation—that of Cordova and of Uruápam especially. The latter is consideredby experts to be not only equal to the best Mocha, but similar to it in flavor. It is possible that it belongs to the same variety, brought from Arabia by unknown hands. The medicinal plants of Mexico have long been well known. Spanish historians at the time of the conquest all speak of the knowledge of herbs possessed by the native doctors. They believed that all the ills that flesh is heir to, might be cured by proper use of the herbs of the field; and they acquired in the course of generations great skill in adapting the remedy to the disease. Many of the drugs in general use all over the world were made known by Mexican research, such as sarsaparilla, jalap, and rhubarb; the number of emetics, antidotes, infusions, decoctions, ointments, balsams, known to the Aztecs, was enormous. To be sure, they attributed much of the power of these drugs to the prayers and ceremonies they offered up while they were applying them.
The flora of Mexico is equally varied and beautiful. Growing by the roadside as common weeds, are to be recognized blossoms which are the pride of northern green-houses. Many ornamental Mexican plants became first known in the United States, after the war of 1848. Humboldt, half a century before, had described the wealth and profusion of Mexican vegetation. As for fruits, every variety may be cultivated, in the hot lands; many tropical kinds grow wild. Any market in any Mexican town is a delight by reason of the display of various fruits, heaped up, to tempt the customer, in little pyramids, and made bright with flowers.
Not only in the large cities, but even smaller towns, travellers should be sure to visit the market-place. Generally one day in the week is market-day, when all the population swarms to the plaza, either to sell or buy, or both. It is the same in many towns in Europe; but Mexico, at present, surpasses Europe in the picturesque costumes of the common people, the primitive fashion in which they display their simple wares, and the entertaining activity of the busy population.
Each booth is a small enclosure, built of low tables, shaded by a huge rectangular umbrella made of matting with four sticks only. A whole Indian family sits within at the receipt of custom. The old grandmother, her white hair smoothed down over her wrinkled old brown cheeks, with skinny trembling hands, but a glance like a hawk's, is taking pay or making change. Her daughter, the efficient business woman of the establishment, is young and active. Her long black hair is braided down her back, her eyes are bright, her teeth flash white when you make her smile by a joke about her prices. The father of the family lolls against the central post of the booth, tipping up his chair, after a custom not inherited from the Aztecs, but borrowed from a neighboring nation. The tables are heaped with little piles, like cannon-balls, of redciruelas, yellow apricots, or greenabogatos; in their season, deliciousgrenaditas, whose cup-like rind contains a juicy draught of luscious flavor. Oranges and bananas are on the table, under the table, over the table, everywhere. If you are very friendly, the old lady selects you as a giftthe very best of all the bananas. Let not the wanderer from the north be surprised to find it is, according to his estimation, far gone in decay. The natives eat bananas only dead ripe, when they are beginning to grow soft,—not as they are found in the northern market, hard and indigestible after a long voyage without ripening influences. Hens and chickens are straying about, and a tough old rooster, tied by the leg, awaits the pot, after his purchaser shall have been found.
You select such little heaps of fruit as please your inexperienced eye; a smallcargador, all eyes and teeth, springs up from the earth at your feet, with a big loose basket on his back. Every thing you buy is tumbled into it; he follows you from stall to stall, accumulating such treasures as you select. You will not be able to resist several specimens of native pottery. This is generally spread out on the ground, while the vendor sits behind it. Manufacture of coarse pottery is carried on everywhere, and different regions have their distinctive varieties, influenced by different colored clays and methods of treatment. The ware of Guadalajara is perhaps the most esteemed; it is of a soft gray in tint, polished but not glazed, and often delicately decorated with color and gold. But every village has its characteristic pottery, simple in form, pleasing in color, and although the pots and jugs are so fragile that it is hopeless to think of packing them securely, it is impossible to resist their attractions compared with the trifling sum demanded for them.
The basket of yourcargador, well filled with fruitand figs, and heaped high with sweet peas and poppies, the little fellow runs before you to the hotel where he deposits his burden, and goes away fully content with amedioin his hand—6-1/4 cents.
A Mexican market is interesting, apart from such simple purchases as the traveller may be inclined to make on his own account, because the people are all so absorbed in their own affairs. They scarcely give a thought to the few foreigners with European clothes and staring manners poking about among them. This good Indian mother has come to buy the daily food of her family. Some dreadful viand is dipped for her out of a deep dish, and transferred to her little pottery bowl. A violent discussion ensues about the price to be paid, and neighbors gather round to offer their opinions. Therebozosof the women slip off their heads and show their white shirts—not always white—and their brown well-formed arms. The men look on idly and let their better halves fight it out. A compromise is effected, and the excitement subsides as suddenly as it rose. The contested sum was probably atlaco—small, but much-beloved coin, worth one cent and a half.
Besides the manufacture of pottery, the Indians make themselves all the wearing apparel they use, such as cotton and woollen cloth, includingserapesandrebozos, the two picturesque garments in constant use. Theserapeis a woollen blanket which every man winds about him whenever the air is a little chilly. It serves him many a time for not only blanket, but sheet and bed as well, since his sleeping-place is often a sheltered doorway, and no more.Certain towns are famous for their serapes—those of San Miguel are especially good, and some of them are very pretty. Travellers buy them and carry them off to serve asportièresorafghansat home. The Indian taste for colors, though gaudy, is naturally controlled by a good perception of harmonious effects. Unluckily in late years, the aniline dyes of recent discovery have brought into the country a facility for making intense purples, magentas, and violent blues, which have dazzled their untrained eyes. For this reason, many modern serapes are too violent in coloring; and æsthetic collectors must seek for old fabrics, among which some examples are lovely in tone. The rebozo is a long broad scarf, generally blue, worn by every woman over her head, instead of hat or bonnet. It protects her shoulders also, and conceals whatever deficiency of style or cleanliness may exist underneath. It is made of cotton, but has some warmth in its soft folds. The dexterity is wonderful with which even little girls wind these wraps around their heads, in such a way as to keep firm, while the ends fall in not ungraceful lines over one arm laden with a basket, a bundle, or a baby, while the other arm and hand are free. A large quantity of cotton is grown in Mexico, and upwards of fifty thousand families, Mr. Janvier says, are supported in its manufacture. The cotton mills are provided with English machinery of approved type, and the business is carried on by a few operators upon a large scale. The Indians show ready intelligence in understanding their work in the mills, and remarkable aptitude in acquiring methods of handling whateverimprovements in machinery may be from time to time introduced.
A large establishment for the manufacture of cotton cloth not far from the city of Mexico, which has been in operation for years in the hands of an English house, is like a little city in itself. Its large enclosure is surrounded by strong walls, upon which are still the cannon necessary in the troublous times of the young Republic to protect the place. Paved streets within the great gate of entrance lead to the extensive buildings, the home of the families of the proprietors, hung with vines and possessing a beautiful garden, where superb roses blossom all the year round, while from beneath the shade of ancient trees one may look through a gate-way over fields ofalfalfato the snow-peaks of the two volcanoes. More than two hundred workmen are employed in this establishment. They are all natives of Mexico, and, for the most part, the superintendents as well as the operators are of Indian blood. Every means is taken to educate and improve the condition of these people and their families, who lead happy, intelligent lives, encouraged by the favor of their employers to do their best for the success of the mill and the mutual well-being of all. It is a little community of interests.
Of late, a large unoccupied room, by permission of the owner, has been converted into a theatre; and here, wholly by the exertions of the operatives themselves, a stage has been erected, where plays are acted once a week—the men themselves taking all the parts. Among the audience are the families of the employers, readily giving encouragement to the exhibition,for whom a large box is reserved. The Indians of the neighborhood, on the opening night of the new entertainment, flocked to see what it was like, had free admission, and the house was crowded with an amazed and delighted audience. Enthusiasm was great, especially when the national banner was waved to the stirring strains of the fine national march of Mexico.
It is to such influences as these that Mexico will owe her success. The native race requires good masters, good examples, and the opportunity of good intellectual training, to enable it, in future, to walk alone up the steep path of national progress.
The great source of wealth in Mexico is her mineral productions, which have been renowned from the early period when they allured Cortés and his companions to endure hardship and risk defeat on their difficult passage up to Anahuac. The most sanguine dreams of the Spanish conquerors have yet to be realized in the possible amounts to be yielded from these mines in the future, when stable government shall have increased the population of the widespread mining districts to an extent capable of developing all the riches they contain.
AQUEDUCT IN THE CITY OF MEXICO.
The mines of Guanajuato, which have been the most worked, and which have already yielded enormously, as yet give no signs of being exhausted. The soil of the state of Guerrero has been pronounced to be one extensive crust of silver and gold. The northern states of the Republic contain inexhaustible veins of gold and silver in their mountain ranges. Silver and gold are the metals most worked, while other metals and mineral substances are almost neglected, although present in proportion. The volcano Popocatepetl is said to be one vast pile of sulphur. In every state there are quarries of white and colored marbles—those of Puebla especially remarkable for their rich veins of variegated colors, which, properly worked, would make beautiful decorative columns and other architectural ornaments. At present, the specimens of this "Puebla onyx" are limited to paper-weights, pen-handles, and other small articles, which, without any solid value, serve to show the variety and beauty of the material. Precious stones are not unknown in Mexico; opals, with fickle rainbow hues, now brilliant, now vanished, are found in many places, and counterfeited in many others. Turquoise, garnet, topaz, and amethyst are among the native jewels of the Mexican mines.
If it be conceded that the native races of Mexico are capable of development, it is evident that what is needed for their elevation from their present low estate, is good religion, good government, and good education.
The remnant of the Aztecs and other Indian tribes owed every thing to the judicious treatment of the first Roman Catholic priests. The wise teachings of these men, as we have seen, changed, without violence, a barbarous superstition into a gentle belief in the truths, and especially the miracles, of the Catholic religion; which through the epoch of Spanish domination retained its good effect. But as time went on, the Church became so powerful and so rich, that the suppression of the religious orders became a necessity; and finally Juarez, although under much resistance, was able to institute this radical reform. The final extinction of these orders, the suppression of monasteries and nunneries, was not achieved until 1874; since when many of these deserted buildings have been appropriated to other uses. Others remain standing, sad monuments of a picturesque past; but many of them, interesting on account oftheir historic associations, have disappeared, torn to the ground, to make way for modern improvements.
But the suppression of the orders was not accompanied, except in the case of the Jesuits in 1856, by the expulsion of their members from the country. On the other hand, these were still permitted to remain as individuals; and to the present time, the priests ministering to the churches formerly connected with convents, are usually members of those orders by which such churches were founded.
In any one of the smaller cities and towns the parish priest, almost without exception, is a worthy and faithfulcura, of devout and godly reputation, leading among his flock a simple life, wholly occupied in ministering to his charge according to the best of his abilities. Since the enactment of the laws of the reform there is nothing to tempt men to adopt their calling but their love of God and genuine interest in the welfare of their parish, often composed, for the most part, of ignorant Indians. These men are entitled to honor and reverence; their ample reward is the unwavering devotion of their congregations, and the satisfaction they may receive from observing the development of their simple minds.
In the year 1770, the Bishop of Puebla published there his form of the Mozarabic liturgy, the most ancient religious service of the Church of Spain, which flourished there until the eleventh century, when it was supplanted by the Roman liturgy. Even at the present time a chapel exists in the cathedral at Toledo, in Spain, where this service ishabitually used, although in presence of but few if any worshippers.
The revival of Mozarabic rites in Mexico met with little attention; but its introduction alone shows a tendency towards independence of thought, very manifest later in the action of Juarez in the sequestration of Church property. Since 1868 a movement in favor of the Protestant Episcopal Church has increased to one of importance. Other Protestant denominations maintain missions in various parts of the country,—the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist missions.
There is still a wide field open in Mexico for teaching the impressionable native of Anahuac the simple tenets of the religion of Christ. Purity, honesty, charity, the love of his neighbor, duty to himself, the knowledge of God,—these sure foundations of life are only needed by him as his first foothold in upward progress. As for the government, its present action, its promises for the future, are for the good of the native races. All persons born in the Republic are free; and freedom of education, freedom to exercise the liberal professions, freedom of thought, and the freedom of the press are guaranteed. That this government should prove itself able to carry out its intentions, and thus encourage in the vast area under its control the presence of order-loving immigrants from other countries, who, instead of creating and promoting disorder, as is often the case, shall set the example of industry and domestic living, is the result desired by all true friends of Mexico. Although among the many Germans, English, and Americans who have settledin the different cities and states of Mexico, there are many who have done so in the intention of earning honest livelihoods, without interfering with their neighbors, and even with the higher motive of improving the condition of those around them, it is not yet possible to say that the example of the foreigners settling in Mexico has been an advantage to its natives. Many of the acts of violence ascribed to Mexicans might be traced to men of other blood, who have sought that territory because they were not tolerated elsewhere. The general testimony of such observers as civil engineers, telegraph men, and others who in the development of the resources of the country have penetrated remote parts of it, is that the native Mexican is peaceful and quiet in disposition, leading a domestic life with his faithful wife, fond of his children, and diligently toiling to support his family. Of course there are exceptions to this, especially when the pulque habit has brutalized its victims; but it is asserted that the drunken quarrels in obscure places, often reported in newspapers, resulting in pistol-shot or dagger stroke, frequently arise less through the fault of the native than of the adventurers from other lands.
Testimony to the good intentions of the government of Mexico is in the improved condition of education there. The system of public instruction is by no means perfect, but it is certainly growing better and better. Free schools, sustained by city or state, are found in most towns and villages, even the smallest. Moreover, private schools are numerous in all the large towns and cities, and colleges andprofessional schools are found. All of the Mexican states (for such matters are left to the jurisdiction of each separately) compel free primary instruction, and appropriate annual sums to support it.
While these institutions promise much for the future, Mexico is not without her living writers who, in spite of the unfavorable atmosphere of disturbed politics, have found time to devote themselves to literature. Guillermo Prieto has a well deserved fame in his own country, and outside of it wherever he is known. He was born in 1810, and has passed his life in devotion to the liberal cause, which owes much of its success, to his personal bravery, the boldness of his writings, and his sagacious management of affairs. He has served in the higher offices of government, and written upon political economy and finance, but it is as a poet that he is honored and beloved. Prieto is not alone as a writer of prominence, but of others there is not room to speak. It would be a mistake to suppose that Mexico was lacking in the possession of fine minds, cultivated intellects, and eloquent pens.
It will, of course, have been perceived by this time that the Mexicans from whom so much is expected in the future are the descendants of the Aztec and other native tribes. These form a large part of the population of the country,—the portion which their remote origin, and the vicissitudes of their stay upon Anahuac, make the most interesting to the romantic lover of picturesque history.
The country is occupied also by those descendants of Spanish families who avoided the decree of exile issued in the early days of independence. Inter-marriageswith Indian blood have crossed this stock, so that many good families in Mexico have Indian ancestors among their Spanish ones, and it would probably be rare to find a family wholly unmixed with this strain. What effect this grafting of Castilian character has had upon the native stock, is a subject interesting to students of national characteristics. Cruelty upon cruelty, superstition upon bigotry, might be pronounced a dangerous repetition likely to result from the mixture of the two races which established the Inquisition and revelled in the custom of human sacrifice. On the other hand, the lofty pride of the traditional Spaniard might find its match in the inherited love of splendor of the descendant of the Aztecs. However these things might be, the Mexican-Spaniard has not attained a high reputation among other nations for honesty, generosity, or elevation of character. Whatever may be the fairness of the prejudices against him, partly due to the disadvantages he has been under by being judged always by enemies who have invaded his country for his destruction and their own profit, it is less to this race than to that of the pure Indian blood of the country, that Mexico looks for the regeneration of her future history.
Vast tracts of profitable land in Mexico are still unsettled. As the government becomes more and more stable, it is probable that these will be occupied with emigrants from all other nations, eager to develop the great natural resources. There are at present many Germans engaged in all the branches of industry; and Englishmen, attracted by the great mining and other capabilities of the country, areyearly investing more and more capital in these enterprises. To the skill of English engineers is due the successful achievement of the Mexican railway, the first built of the great lines that now mark up the map in all directions. Many a Mexican company had faced the chasm between the capital and the gulf, but baulked before the leap. No government lasted long enough to ensure the success of the enterprise, until, in 1868 republican stability and English capital combined to push it forward, and in 1873 the road was opened to the public.
Two great lines connecting Mexico with the United States—the Mexican Central and the National Railway—are essentially American enterprises. The Yankee pervades Mexico—not, as many of its inhabitants fear, with the deep design of absorbing all its territory into the already large domain of the United States, but with his characteristic instinct for doing a good thing for himself. He finds a perfect climate, a productive soil, a land rich in metals and minerals, unlimited space for future railroads, telegraphs, towns, shops, business. There are instances, no doubt, where he thinks he has found a simple native population, easily imposed upon, whose ignorance he may work to his own advantage. But there is no doubt that Yankee liberality, intelligence, conscience, and capital have already done much, and will do far more, to advance the civilization of the country, and lift the spirit of the Aztec, kept low down by centuries of life at the very base of the social pyramid, so that it may ascend higher and higher towards its apex.
The darkest days of the Mexican Republic are over. Its members have learned sharp lessons from adversity; they have suffered every thing that their own headstrong conduct, their vain-glorious ambition could bring upon them—civil war, anarchy, invasion by the army of a neighboring government—their natural friend perverted to an enemy partly by their own folly,—the unwarranted intervention of a foreign potentate, the difficulties of debt, want of public faith, a low state of public honesty.
Out of all these troubles they have bravely emerged, and now take their stand, heavily weighted still, indeed, with the burdens of past mistakes, among them the lingering distrust of other nations, but young, full of promise, with all the elements surrounding them of a possible great future. This future must depend for the most part on their own exertions. The children of to-day must be reared in such enlightened fashion that they may avoid the mistakes and crimes of the generation before them; they must learn to long for honorable peace, and must resist the pull there is to their blood for change and military renown. They must seek glory in the permanence of their institutions and the development of their great resources, thus slowly winning the confidence of other nations.
Then they will find these other nations, and especially the powerful one next them on their own continent, ready to perform the neighborly part of protecting their interests, sympathizing in their prosperity, generously willing to share with them the growing fame of the civilization of America.