"I've news for you, Frank!"
"Well, what is it?"
"We're going to Mexico next week," answered Fred; "at any rate, that is uncle's plan, and he will tell us all about it this evening."
A NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBOR.
"The news is good news," was the reply; "for Mexico is one of the countries that just now I want very much to see. We have heard a great deal about it since the railway was completed to the capital; and then, you know, the Mexicans are our neighbors."
"That is true," said Fred; "here we've been going all over the rest of the world, and haven't yet called on our neighbors, and next-door neighbors too. But we're not alone inthis, as it is probable that for every inhabitant of the Northern States who has visited Mexico, a hundred have been across the Atlantic."
This conversation occurred between Frank Bassett and Fred Bronson shortly after returning from their tour among the islands of the Pacific Ocean and through New Zealand, Tasmania, and Australia. The accounts of their journeys have appeared in several volumes, with which our readers are or should be familiar.[1]
The youths waited with some impatience until evening, when they were to hear from Doctor Bronson the details of the proposed trip. In the mean time they devoted themselves to their Spanish grammars and dictionaries, which they had not seen for months, owing to their occupation with other matters. And we may here add that until their departure and while they were on the road, every moment that could be applied to the study of the language of the country whither they were bound was industriously employed. By the time they crossed the border they were able to speak Spanish very well, and had very little need of interpreters.
"We shall go to Mexico by rail," said the Doctor, "and return by sea; at any rate, that is my plan at present, but circumstances may change it. It is my intention to visit the principal cities and other places of interest, and also to give some attention to the antiquities of the country and of Central America; exactly what places we shall see I cannot say at this moment, nor how long we shall be absent."
"What shall we need in the way of baggage?" one of the youths asked.
"About what you need for a long journey north and south in the United States," was the reply. "You will need clothing for hot weather as well as for cold. We shall find it quite chilly in certain parts of thetierra fria, or highlands, and warm enough in thetierra caliente, or lowlands along the coast. You must have outer and under clothing adapted to warm and cool climates, and your ulsters may be placed for convenience in the same bundle with your linen dusters. Have a good supply of under-clothing, as the facilities for laundry-work are not the best, even in the large cities; but do not load yourselves with anything not absolutely necessary, as the Mexican railways allow only thirty-three pounds of baggage to a local passenger, and the charges for extra weight are high. Passengers with through tickets from the United States are entitled to one hundred and fifty pounds of baggage free.
"Of course," continued the Doctor, "you will want some books on Mexico, partly for historical research and partly for description. There is an excellent guide-book which was written by Mr. Janvier, and there is another by Mr. Conkling; get them both, and also 'Old Mexico and her Lost Provinces,' by Mr. Bishop, 'Mexico of To-day,' by Mr. Griffin, and 'Our Next-door Neighbor,' by Bishop Haven. Don't forget Charnay's 'Ancient Cities of the New World,' and Prescott's 'Conquest of Mexico.' You can read the latter book before we go; it is inconveniently large for travelling purposes, and so we will leave it behind us, as we can easily find it in the City of Mexico, in case we wish to refer to it again. Abbott's 'Life of Hernando Cortez' is a more portable work, and will serve to refresh your memory concerning what you read in Prescott's volumes."
THE MEXICAN FRONTIER.
The conversation lasted an hour or more, and by the time it ended the boys almost felt that they were already in the land of the Aztecs. Their dreams through the night were of ancient temples and modern palaces, Aztec and Spanish warriors, snowy mountains and palm-covered plains, mines of silver and other metals, fortresses, cathedrals, haciendas and hovels, and of many races and tribes of men that dwell in the land they were about to see. Fred declared in the morning that he had dreamed of Montezuma and Maximilian walking arm in arm, and Frank professed to have had a similar vision concerning Cortez and General Scott.
For the next few days the youths had no spare time on their hands, and when the start was made for the proposed journey they were well prepared for it both mentally and materially. They had followed DoctorBronson's directions as to their outfit of clothing and other things, had procured the books which he named, and, as we have already seen, had made a vigorous overhauling of their Spanish grammars and phrase-books.
SCENE ON THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD.
From New York there are several routes westward, as our readers are pretty well aware, and the youths were a little puzzled to know which one would be chosen. The mystery was solved by the Doctor on the day before their departure. He announced that they would go to St. Louis by the Pennsylvania Railroad, and from there to the frontier of Mexico by the Missouri Pacific and Southern Pacific lines. "And now," said he, "Iwill leave you to choose the route to the capital city, and you need not decide until we reach St. Louis."
The Doctor's suggestion compelled a study of the maps and a careful reading of the guide-books and other literature pertaining to the journey. The result of their study may be summed up as follows from an entry which Frank made in his note-book:
STREET IN EL PASO.
"The first railway which was opened from the United States to the City of Mexico was the Mexican Central, which runs from El Paso, Texas, or rather from Paso del Norte, Mexico, which is opposite to El Paso, on the other side of the Rio Grande. Its length is 1224 miles, and it was completed March 8, 1884, at the station of Fresnillo, 750 miles from Pasodel Norte, the line having been built from both ends at the same time. Three years and six months were required for its construction, and the line is said to have cost more than thirty-two millions of dollars; eight miles of track were laid during the last day of the work before the two ends of the line were brought together; and considering all the disadvantages of the enterprise, it reflects great credit upon those who managed it.
"For more than four years the Mexican Central was the only all-rail route for travellers from the United States to the City of Mexico, and it had a practical monopoly of business. In 1888 two other lines were opened; or perhaps we might say, another line and half of a third. These are the Mexican National Railway, from Laredo, Texas, to Mexico City, a distance of 825 miles, and the International Railway, from Piedras Negras, Mexico, opposite Eagle Pass, Texas, to a point on the Mexican Central, about half-way between El Paso and Mexico. The International is the one which we call half a line, as it makes a new route into Mexico, and from all we can learn a very good one too.
"The Central is a standard-gauge road, four feet eight and one-half inches wide, while the National is a narrow-gauge line, three feet between the rails; the advantage of the National line is that it is much shorter than the Central, as I will proceed to show.
"From St. Louis to Mexico City, by way of Laredo, the distance is 1823 miles, while by the Central line it is 2584 miles; there is thus a saving of 761 miles, or about thirty hours in time. But the Central will take us through five or six interesting cities, while the National only goes near Monterey, San Luis Potosi, and Toluca.
"Fred and I have decided to ask uncle to go by neither one route nor the other, but to travel by both of them, and the International line in addition; and this is the way we propose to do it:
"We'll go from St. Louis to Laredo because of the saving of time and distance, and then we'll go to Monterey, which is an interesting city, by the National Railway. After we've done Monterey we'll go farther on, to Saltillo, and there we can cross over to Jaral, about forty miles, and find ourselves on the main line of the International Railway. There the train will pick us up and carry us to Torreon, on the Mexican Central Railway, and from there we can continue to the capital, seeing the best part of the Central line, or rather of the country through which it runs. The northern part of the route of the Central is said to be dreary and uninteresting, and so we shall be able to avoid it by the plan we have made."
The scheme was duly unfolded to the Doctor, who promptly gave his approval and commended the youths for the careful study they had madeof the railway system of northern Mexico. "Later on," said he, "we will consider the subject of railways in other parts of Mexico, and I'm sure you will be able to make some interesting notes about it for your friends at home. Mexico was for a long time very backward in railway enterprises, but in the past few years she has gone ahead very rapidly. Ten years ago there were not five hundred miles of railway in the country; now there are nearly, if not quite, five thousand miles, and in ten years from this time there will be double that number. The Mexico of to-day is very different from the Mexico of a quarter of a century ago."
BRIDGE OVER THE MISSISSIPPI AT ST. LOUIS.
Our friends stopped a day in St. Louis, and another at San Antonio, Texas, partly for sight-seeing purposes and partly for rest. At the former city the great bridge over the Mississippi excited the wonder and admiration of the youths, who heard with much interest the story of its construction and the difficulties which the engineers encountered in laying the foundations. At San Antonio they had their first glimpse of Mexican life, as the city is quite Mexican in character, and at one time was almost wholly so. Doctor Bronson told them that about one-third of the inhabitants are of Mexican origin, and they could easily believe it as they saw the Mexican features all about them on the streets, and heard the Spanish language quite as often as any other.
THE ALAMO MISSION, SAN ANTONIO.
The object of greatest interest to them was the Alamo, the old fort which, in 1836, the Texans, who were fighting for independence, so heroically but unsuccessfully defended. They were disappointed to find that there is not much remaining of the fort, which originally consisted of an oblong enclosure, about an acre in extent, with walls three feet thick, and eight or ten feet high. "There were 144 men in the Alamo, and they were besieged by 4000 Mexican troops under General Santa Anna," said a gentleman who accompanied them to the spot. "The Mexicans had artillery, and the Texans had none, and against such odds it was hopeless to resist. Santa Anna sent a summons for them to surrender, and throw themselves upon Mexican mercy, but they refused to do so, and defied him and his army."
As he paused a moment, Fred asked why they refused to surrender when the odds were so much against them.
"They knew what Mexican mercy was," said the gentleman. "It was illustrated not long afterwards at Goliad, where Colonel Fannin surrendered with 412 men as prisoners of war. They were promised to be released under the rules of war, and one Sunday morning, when they were singing 'Home, sweet home,' they were marched out and massacred, every man of them. The slaughter lasted from six till eight, and then the bodies of the slain were burned by orders of the general. It is proper to say that the Mexican officers were generally disgusted with the terrible business, but they were obliged to obey the orders of Santa Anna, or be themselvesshot down. His policy was one of extermination, and he could have said on his death-bed that he left no enemies behind him, as he had killed them all.
"Well," continued their informant, "the siege of the Alamo began on the 23d of February, 1836, and lasted for thirteen days. Over 200 shells were thrown into the fort in the first twenty-four hours, but not a man was injured by them, while the Texan sharp-shooters picked off a great number of the Mexicans. Santa Anna made several assaults, but was driven back each time, and it is believed that he lost fully 1500 men in the siege. On the morning of the 6th of March a final assault was made, and the fort was captured; every man was killed in the fighting exceptingsix who surrendered, and among the six was the famous Col. David Crockett. Santa Anna ordered all of them to be cut to pieces, and Crockett fell with a dozen sword-wounds after his own weapons had been given up. Colonel Travis, who commanded the fort, was also killed, and so was Colonel Bowie, who was ill in bed at the time, and was shot where he lay. He was the inventor of the bowie-knife, which has been famous through the West and South-west for a good many years. Only three persons were spared from death, a woman, a child, and a servant."
"How long was that before the battle of San Jacinto?" one of the youths asked.
GEN. SAM HOUSTON, THE LIBERATOR OF TEXAS.
"Less than seven weeks," was the reply, "and never was there a more complete victory than at that battle. Gen. Sam Houston retreated slowly, and was followed by the Mexican army. He burned a bridge behind his enemies, and suddenly attacking them on the afternoon of April 21st, he killed half their number and captured nearly all the rest. The war-cry of the Texans was 'Remember the Alamo! remember Goliad!' and maddened by the recollection of the cruelties of the Mexicans, they fought like tigers, and carried everything before them. Santa Anna, disguised as a soldier, was captured the next day; Houston had hard work to save him from the fury of the Texans, but he was saved, and lived to fight again ten years later. But the battle of San Jacinto ended the war, and made Texas independent of Mexico."
A ride of a hundred and fifty miles to the south-west from San Antonio brought our friends to Laredo, on the banks of the Rio Grande, the dividing line between the United States and Mexico. The ride was through a thinly settled country, devoted principally to grazing, and there were few objects of interest along the route. The time was varied with looking from the windows of the car, with the perusal of books, and by conversation concerning the Texan war for independence, to which the thoughts of the party had naturally turned through their visit to the Alamo at San Antonio.
"Texas was a province of Mexico," said the Doctor, "in the early part of the present century, the Spaniards having established missions and stations there at the same time that the French established missions and military posts in Louisiana. The territorial boundaries between France and Spain were never very clearly defined; the two countries were in a constant quarrel about their rights, and when we purchased the Louisiana territory from France we inherited the dispute about the boundaries. Adventurers from various parts of the United States poured into the country, and the population was more American than Mexican; there were manyrespectable men among the American settlers, but there was also a considerable proportion of what might be called 'a bad lot.'"
"I have read somewhere," said Frank, "a couplet which is said to have been composed by a resident of the country fifty years ago, and to have given the State its name.
"'When every other land rejects us,This is the land that freely takes us.'"
"G. T. T."
"And I," said Fred, "have read somewhere that when a man ran away to cheat his creditors, or for any more serious reason, it was commonly said that he had 'gone to Texas.' When the sheriffs looked for somebody whom they wished to arrest and were unable to find him, they indorsed the warrant with the initial letters 'G. T. T.' before returning it to the authorities who issued it. Sometimes an absconding debtor saved his friends the trouble of looking for him by leaving on his door a card bearing these interesting letters."
"Undoubtedly," continued the Doctor, "there was a rough population in Texas in those days, but the men composing it were not deficient in bravery, and they had the spirit of independence in the fullest degree. While the United States and Mexico were disputing about the boundaries, the Texans set up a claim for independence, and the war which was ended by the battle of San Jacinto was like our Revolutionary War a hundred and more years ago. After Texas had secured her independence, she set up a government of her own; she had a president and all the other officials pertaining to a republic, and was recognized by England, France, and other European countries. This did not last long, as her finances fell into a deplorable condition, and the preponderance of Americans among the population naturally led to a movement for annexation to the United States. Annexation was followed by war with Mexico, and it grew out of the old dispute about the boundaries. Mexico claimed all land west of the Nueces River, while Texas claimed to own as far west as the Rio Grande. Eachcountry believed it was right, and our war with Mexico resulted in the defeat of the Mexican armies, the occupation of their capital, and the establishment of the right of the United States to all territory east of the Rio Grande."
"Texas is therefore one of the lost provinces of Mexico," said Frank.
"Yes," was the reply; "it is one of them, and a very large one, as it has an area of nearly three hundred thousand square miles, and is a country of great future possibilities. But Texas was by no means the greatest of the losses of Mexico by the war, as California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico were taken by us as compensation for our trouble, and you know what they are to-day. About the time that the treaty of peace was signed and the cession of territory made, gold was discovered in California, and the wonderful wealth of the Pacific coast and the Rocky Mountain region was rapidly developed. Look on the map in Mr. Bishop's book and see what Mexico was before and after the war."
The boys made a careful inspection of the map, and as it will be interesting to their friends at home, we here reproduce it.
"The Mexicans were severely punished for their cruelty to the Texans,"said Fred, "and were probably sorry for their butcheries at Goliad and the Alamo when they sat down to think of the war and how it turned out.
A GROUP OF TEXAN HUNTERS.
"The responsibility for those butcheries rests rather upon General Santa Anna than on the officers and soldiers who executed his orders. He started out in a war of extermination, and there is abundant evidence that his officers loathed the work they had to perform. One of them, writing from Goliad at the time of the massacre of Colonel Fannin and his men, said, 'This day, Palm Sunday, has been to me a day of heart-felt sorrow. What an awful scene did the field present when the prisoners were executed and fell in heaps, and what spectator could view it without horror!' It has been said that the feeble resistance that Santa Anna's men made at the battle of San Jacinto was in consequence of the willingness of officersand soldiers to be captured so that the terrible war could come to an end."
"Texas is now a very prosperous State," continued the Doctor; "the value of its taxable property is nearly seven hundred millions of dollars, and some authorities say it is more, and it has seven millions of cattle, ten millions of sheep, and horses and mules in proportion. By the census of 1880 it had a population of more than one and a half millions, and it is probable that 1890 will give it more than two millions. Its area would make five States as large as New York, thirty-three as large as Massachusetts, and two hundred and twelve of the size of Rhode Island. That it has changed greatly from the days before the annexation, and is favorable to peace and good order, is shown by its liberal appropriation for schools, its laws relative to the sale of intoxicating drinks, the fines it imposes for carrying pistols and bowie-knives, and its penalties for using them."
There was further conversation about the south-west and its peculiarities, when the train reached the frontier and attention was turned to Mexico and the new land that they were about to visit.
VIEW IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.
It was nine o'clock in the evening when the train reached Laredo from San Antonio, and our friends found that they would have to pass the night in the town. They had been recommended to patronize the Commercial Hotel; their informant said he could not speak loudly in its praise. "It is the least bad of the hotels in the place," said he, "and a great deal better than sleeping on the ground in the open air, as you would have been obliged to do here only a few years ago. In the language of the far West, it beats nothing all out of sight."
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. 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 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.
Supper at the hotel was endurable by hungry travellers, but would have failed to meet the desires of the epicure; and the same may be said of breakfast on the following morning. As the train for Mexico started at eight o'clock,[2]there was not much time for sight-seeing after breakfast, though sufficient to discover that Laredo was a comparatively new town, whose existence was mainly due to the railways that lead to it. There was a town there in the early days of the Spanish colonization, but it was completely destroyed in the frontier troubles, and the site was deserted until Texas became one of the United States. The International and Great Northern Railway runs to San Antonio and beyond: one division of the Mexican National Railway, known as the Texas-Mexican, connects Laredo with Corpus Christi, on the Gulf of Mexico, 160 miles away; and the next, called the Northern Division, unites it with the City of Mexico. Other railways are projected, and those who have corner or other lots in Laredo predict a great future for the city.
ON THE BANKS OF THE RIO GRANDE.
The Rio Grande is not an imposing river at Laredo, and our youngfriends were disappointed when they saw it. They had looked for a stream of magnitude, as implied by the name, and were not prepared for one that could be forded without much danger, and was so diminutive as to remind them of those rivers of the Western States where it is necessary to use a sprinkling-pot at certain seasons of the year to let strangers know wherethe stream is. The Doctor told them that the Rio Grande was known as the Rio Bravo in the lower part of its course, and Frank suggested that it was because the river was very brave to come so far with such poor encouragement.
INDIAN WATER-CARRIERS.
"But the stream which now looks so insignificant," Doctor Bronson explained, "is subject to periodical floods, owing to the melting of the snows in the mountains where it takes its rise. They begin in April, reach their greatest height in May, and subside in June, and while they last they fill the whole bed of the stream, and overflow the banks wherever they are low. Some of its tributaries at such times are roaring floods, while ordinarily they are only dry beds, where not a drop of water can be seen for many miles. But if you dig a few feet into the sandy bed of these streams you will find water; emigrants travelling through this country carry an empty barrel from which both heads are removed, and by sinking this barrel into the sand they obtain a plentiful supply of water. A knowledge of this fact has saved many lives, and ignorance of it has caused deaths by thirst when suffering might easily have been avoided."
The first bridge erected by the railway company at Laredo was of wood; it served its purpose until the first flood, when it was torn from its foundations and carried away. The present bridge is a substantial one of iron, and promises to last a long time.
From Laredo the train moved slowly across the river, along a bridge whose height was intended to make it secure against the severest floods, until it reached the station of Nuevo Laredo, on the Mexican side, two or three miles from Texan Laredo. Here there was an examination of baggage by the Mexican customs officials; they were polite, and our friends had learned from long experience in custom-houses to be polite in return. The result was that the examination of their belongings was very slight, while that of some of the passengers who displayed ill manners was much more severe. The Doctor and the youths produced the keys of their trunks and opened them before being asked to do so, and promptly announced the contents of the receptacles. They had nothing dutiable, and in a very few minutes the ordeal was ended.
Frank made the following note about the Mexican custom-house:
"Mexico is a land of high tariffs, and pretty nearly everything that can be imported is taxed. Machinery was formerly imported free, but it is now subject to duty, and so is almost everything except agricultural and scientific instruments and books. There is also a duty on packages apart from their contents, and there is a heavy duty on all kinds of carriages. Baggage for personal use is admitted free of duty, unless there is reasonto suspect that the owner has an intention to sell; two or three suits of clothing will pass without question, but ten or twelve would be liable to detention and duty. The laws require that the examination of baggage shall be conducted 'liberally, and with prudence and moderation,' and certainly we have no occasion to complain of discourtesy. In addition to clothing 'not excessive in quantity,' a traveller may have two watches with their chains, a cane, an umbrella, one or two pistols with equipments and cartridges, one hundred cigars, forty small packages of cigarettes, a rifle or fowling-piece, one pound of smoking tobacco or snuff, and any musical instruments in actual use except pianos and organs. When a resident of the United States crosses the Rio Grande into Mexican territory with his own carriage he must pay the duties on the vehicle, or give a bond for their payment in case he does not return to the United States.
AN OLD MEXICAN CHAPEL BY MOONLIGHT.
"As the relations of the United States and Mexico increase in intimacy, it is probable that there will be a reciprocity treaty; negotiations to that end have been going on for some time, but are delayed by the usual 'hitches' that arise in such matters. At the entrance of Mexican cities there is an examination something like theoctroiof European cities, but so far as tourists are concerned it is very slight. They merely declarethat they have nothing dutiable, and are allowed to pass on. There is an examination on leaving Mexico, as there is an export duty of five per cent. on bullion, and a prohibition against taking antiquities from the country. As a matter of fact, a good many antiquities are carried away, but as the greater part of them are fictitious the restriction is not rigidly enforced.
VIEW IN NUEVO LAREDO.
"We have heard several stories about how the Mexican custom-house is defrauded by the bribery of officials, but have no means of knowing if they are true or false. Certainly we did not offer any money to the men at the custom-house, and none of them intimated that he desired to be bribed. If a quarter of the stories have any truth at all, there must be a great deal of dishonesty along the frontier, but it is not confined to the Mexicans.
"Pack-trains loaded with dutiable goods start openly from the frontier towns of Texas, ford the river, and make their way into the interior of Mexico. The trade is so large that it could hardly be carried on without official connivance. The author of 'Mexico of To-day' says in regard to this subject: 'Those well informed with regard to trade interests agree that a great deal of smuggling exists, owing to the high tariff and the great frontier stretch that invites law-breakers. It is said thatmillions more of American goods find their way into Mexico than show in the statistics prepared by either Government.'
"Another writer says: 'The traveller is permitted to enter all his personal apparel free of duty; in fact everything that he really needs. A great many things he does not need may be taken in also, for the official's pay is meagre and he loves to gaze on the portraits of American worthies as depicted on our national currency. It is well to caution the traveller that he must, if requested, state to the proper authorities his name and profession.'"
In due time the train rolled out of Nuevo Laredo, and our friends were contemplating the scenery of northern Mexico. For the first fifty or sixty miles there was not much to contemplate, as the country consists of a plain covered with chaparral, and one mile of it is very much like any other. "A little of it goes a great ways," said Frank to Fred; and after a brief study of the cactus and mesquite landscape, the youths turned to their books or to observations upon the train and the passengers accompanying them.
As stated elsewhere, the National Railway is of three feet gauge, and therefore it was to be expected that the cars would be narrow and possibly inconvenient. But our friends found them roomy and comfortable; there was a parlor-car with reclining-chairs, for which an extra price was charged, and sleeping-cars all the way from Laredo to the City of Mexico, just as sleeping-cars are run on other lines.
WATCHING THE FRONTIER.
The passengers included several tourists like themselves, a few railway agents, some mysterious characters who could not be "placed," and six or eight men of business who cared nothing for scenery, politics, or anything else pertaining to Mexico, except the facilities for commerce and the duties upon imported goods. One of these individuals loudly denounced the protective duties in the Mexican tariff system, and declared that the country would never amount to anything until it abolished its restrictionsupon importations and opened its markets to the world. In the discussion that followed, the fact was revealed that he was a citizen of the United States, and interested in manufactures; concerning the tariff system of his own country, he favored protection, as it encouraged American industries and was the only system under which the people who worked with their hands could make a living. Frank wanted to ask him why he favored one system for Mexico and another for the United States, but he modestly refrained from so doing; another passenger asked the question, but it remained unanswered; and to this day the youth has not been enlightened on the subject.
LANDSCAPE NEAR THE BORDER.
Among the passengers were several Mexicans, whose nationality was readily shown by their swarthy complexions and the peculiarities of their dress. They wore the sombrero, or wide-brimmed hat of the country, but it may here be remarked that of late years the American hat has come somewhat into fashion and is less unpopular than of yore. Some of them proved to be naturalized Mexicans rather than native born; one in particular was a jolly Irishman who had been thirty years in Mexico, spoke its language fluently, and had been so browned by the sun that his complexion was fully up to the national standard. He joined Doctor Bronson and the youths in conversation, and cordially invited them to make a break in their journey and visit his hacienda.
A MEXICAN MULETEER.
He had a Mexican wife, and was the owner of a large area of land, on which he had so many cattle that he was unable to give their number within two or three hundred. He said he came from Ireland tothe United States, drifted down to the frontier of Mexico just before the American Civil War, and in order to avoid being mixed up in the troubles, he crossed the boundary and sought shelter under a neutral flag. There he had remained and prospered to such an extent that he had no wish to return either to the United States or his native land.
A SOLID SILVER SPUR.
Fred made note of the dress of ahaciendado, or ranch-owner, who was seated near him and might fairly be taken as the type of the dandy horseman of Mexico. The man wore a suit of dark blue or blue-black cloth, the suit consisting of two garments, a jacket and trousers. The jacket was short and well fitted, and it was ornamented with large buttons of silver; the trousers were close-fitting, and on the outer seams were rows of silver buttons smaller than those that decorated the jacket. The feet were incased in top-boots with high heels, and each boot carried a large spur of solid silver; the spur is a cruel weapon, with long rowels upon wheels as large as a half-dollar. The man's jacket was open in front, displaying a frilled or ruffled shirt, white as snow, and connected to the trousers at the waist by afaja, or sash, whose predominating color was red. The Mexicans are fond of gaudy colors, and the taste for them runs through all classes of the population. Though it was not worn in the railway-train, we must not forget theserape, or Mexican blanket, which is carried over the shoulders or on the arm, or in the case of a mounted horseman, is thrown across the front of the saddle.
The sombrero of this haciendado was of a light gray color; the head-covering may be of almost any color under the sun, but the preference isnearly always for something bright. The crown may be rounded off like the large end of an egg, or form a truncated cone, like the crown of the hat worn by the Puritans, and it is encircled by three or four turns of silver or gold cord. Gold or silver trimming around the brim completes the ornamentation; altogether there is considerable weight to the Mexican sombrero, but nobody seems to mind it.
At the stations where the train halted from time to time, the travellers obtained glimpses of men and things peculiar to the country. Horsemen were in goodly proportion, as no Mexican who can afford a horse will be without one; and sometimes when he cannot afford it, he manages to possess the steed of his desires by the simple process of stealing it. Wagons and pack-trains were not infrequent; and one of the picturesque spectacles in connection with them was the muleteers, or mule-drivers, who were almost invariably barefooted, wore but little clothing, and carried the ropes and other apparatus needed for their professions in bags slung over their shoulders or hung at their sides. Some of the stations were frail buildings of wood, while others were of the adobe, or sun-dried brick, the favorite construction material of Mexico and the countries that once belonged to her.
Fred was interested in the adobe, and learned on inquiry that its use is a matter of great antiquity. The Mexican Indians made sun-dried bricks long before Columbus discovered America, and it should be borne in mind that some of the pyramids of Egypt, which have stood for thousands of years, were of the same material. The bricks that the Egyptians compelled the Israelites to make without straw were dried in the sun, and therefore identical with the Mexican adobe.
Fred asked his Irish-Mexican acquaintance how an adobe house was made, and the gentleman kindly explained.
A GROUP OF ADOBE HOUSES.
"An adobe house," said he, "costs very little, and it is warmer in winter and cooler in summer than either wood or brick. It will last as long as anybody can want it to. I know some adobe houses that are said to be a hundred years old, and many that have stood twenty or thirty years without any sign of decaying.
"Adobe bricks are made of one-third clay-dust and two-thirds fine sand, and it takes four men to form a brick-making team. One mixes the mass with a little water so as to form it into a heavy mortar, two men carry it in a hand-barrow to the place where the bricks are to be spread out and dried, and the fourth man shapes the bricks in the mould. After drying somewhat while flat on the ground, which has been previously levelled and made smooth as a floor, the adobes are set up edgewise,and stay so until the sun finishes them completely. They are laid in mortar made from mud; and when a wall is two feet high, the work stops for a week, to allow the mortar to be firmly set before putting more pressure on it. When a week has passed, another height of two feet may be laid, and so the work goes on until the building is finished. Then it must wait a week before the roof is put on. You see, it takes time for building an adobe house; but time is of no consequence in the land ofmañana."
THE LAND OF MAÑANA.
"What is the meaning of mañana?" one of the youths asked.
"It means 'to-morrow,'" was the reply; "and as you go through Mexico you will hear the word in constant use. 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. You'll get used to it in time, but it takes a long while to do so. It wouldn't be so bad if the man literally meant what he said, and when to-morrow comes would do as he promised. The word is used like the 'coming, sir' of the English waiter, or the 'tout de suite' of the French one, and means 'next week,' or 'next year,' or more properly an indefinite time in the future."
"There's another word, or rather two words, where the meaning is identical with mañana, and the use the same. You'll hear them often in Mexico, but more frequently in Central America and farther south."
"What are they?"
"Poco tiempo," was the reply; "the literal meaning is 'in a little while,' but the practical usage is the same as that of mañana. Then there's another lesson in language you may have gratis; ask a man any question for which he does not know the answer, and his response will be, 'Quien sabe?' (who knows?). It is less exasperating than the other words I've told you of, as it is simply a form of saying 'I don't know.'"
The youths made proper acknowledgment for the instruction they had received, and took good care to remember it.
The dreary plain ceased at length, and the mountains began to be visible. About seventy-five miles from Laredo Frank's attention was called to amesa, or high table-land, a little beyond the station of Lampasas. It is a mountain which spreads out flat like a table, and the area on the top is said to be not far from 80,000 acres; its sides are 1400 feet high, and so nearly perpendicular that it is impossible to ascend them, except in a few places. There is a path three miles long leading to the summit; it is impassable for wheeled vehicles, and can only be traversed by sure-footedquadrupeds or men. It is called theMeza de los Cartujanos(Carthusians), a tribe of Indians who probably derived their name from a Benedictine monastery which was once established there. The mesa is well watered, and its surface is divided between forest and grass-land in such proportion as to make it an excellent pasture. No fences are needed beyond a single gate at the top of the path to keep the cattle from straying into the country below, unless we include the division fences for the separation of herds.