YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY *943 THE AUTHOR. OUR SISTER REPUBLIC: A GALA TRIP THROUGH TEOPIOAL MEXICO IN 1869-70. ADVENTURE AND SIGHT-SEEING IN THE LAND OF THE AZTECS, WITH PICTURESQUE DESCRIPTIONS OE THE AND REMINISCENCES OF THE EMPIRE AND ITS DOWNFALL. BY COL. ALBEET S. EYANS. WITf! NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS. PUBLISHED BY SUBSOEIPTIOH ONLY, HAETFOED, CONN.: COLUMBIAN BOOK COMPANY. W. E. BLISS, TOLEDO, OHIO. A. L. BANCROFT & COMPANY, San Francisco, Cal. 1873. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by ALBERT S. EVANS, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Entered also at Stationer's Hall, London, England. Mexico Etna 863 Ec INTRODUCTORY LETTER FEOM HONOEABLE WILLIAM H. SEWAED. Auburn, August 6th, 1870. Mr Dear Colonel Evans : — Your book on Mexico contains the observations which you made while a member of the party with which I traveled through that magnificent and interesting Country. Eeceived and entertained there as a guest of the Eepublic, I have prac ticed in regard to Mexico, since my return to the United States, the same delicacy which I expect a friend whom I have been entertaining to practice when he has left my house. For this reason I cannot sanction either your observations or your deductions. I am at liberty, however, to say that your details of our travels are full and accurate ; your account of the resources and capacities of the country is not exaggerated ; your pictures of Mexican society will be thought by the public too highly colored : I think that your error lies on the other side. The Statesmen of the country deserve all the praise you have bestowed upon them. Your style is attractive, the book is spirited, and I think it calculated to be useful. Sincerely, your friend and well-wisher, WILLIAM H. SEWARD. Colonel Albert S. Evans, San Francisco, Cal. PREFATORY. This work embodies the observations of the Author on Mexico and her people, made while traveling as one of the party of the Hon. ¥m. H. Seward, in 1869-70. Through the kind partiality of Mr. Seward and the liber ality of the Government and Citizens of Mexico, the Author undoubtedly enjoyed greater facilities for seeing the country and its inhabitants, than have been accorded to any other traveler for many years. I have endeavored to give an impartial description of what I saw and heard in that land of wonder and romance, avoiding neither the lights nor the shadows of the picture. I had been familiar with the people of Mexico, a portion of their country, and much of their history, for many years ; had sympathized with them in their noble struggle against invasion, and the infamous attempt of European rulers to subvert free government and plant despotic institutions on the soil of America ; against the bigoted, superstitious and intolerant party of conservatism, which steadfastly opposed the education of the masses and all progress ; against slavery, and the remnants of monarchical institutions handed down to them as a part of the curse of Old Spain, and was prepared to make many allow ances for errors and short-comings, in view of the obstacles in the way ol the country's progress, and the trials through which the nation had been called upon to pass. The journey was in many respects the most remarkable one on record. No private citizen — whatever might have been his former station in life — ever received such an ovation as was given to Mr. Seward, by the people and Government of Mex ico. From the Pacific to the Atlantic, — over a journey of some twelve hundred miles, — it was one grand triumphal march, and all classes and parties joined in the demonstration. PREFATORY. Seeing much to praise, something to blame, and much to excuse as the inevitable result of the acts of those who admin- - inistered the Government and shaped the destinies of Mexico before the present generation came upon the field of action, I can safely say that the balance was decidedly on the right side and that I came away with more respect for the people, more sympathy for a nationality struggling— sometimes blindly, but always earnestly and persistently— along the path of progress, and more hope for the future of that much misunderstood and much misrepresented Eepublic, than I had when I entered it. ^ The journey was one of the most pleasing episodes of my life, and the memory of the friendships established, and the unceasing kindness and consideration received at the hands of Mr. Seward and the other members of his party, and the peo ple of the country through which we traveled, will be a source of heartfelt enjoyment through all coming years. I have not aimed at writing a comprehensive, statistical, and historical work on Mexico, but have left that task to other and abler pens, giving only what came under our personal observa tion, and endeavoring to show the reader, the country and the people as we saw them. In a land where nature has lavished all her wealth with tropical prodigality, where the scenery is grand and beautiful beyond description, and every step is over historic ground, and amid scenes around which tlie romance of centuries has accu mulated, I could not fail to see much to interest the reader and make the story of such a journey worthy of perusal, whatever my abilities as a writer might be. The relations between Mexico and the United States must become more intimate as years elapse. The interests of the two Eepublics are growing, every day, more nearly identical. Nature and republican institutions have made us allies and an - injury inflicted upon one must be felt by the other, as well, in the end. If what I have written shall assist my countrymen in forming a more just and favorable idea of Mexico than they have hitherto entertained, I shall have every reason to be more than satisfied with the result of my labors. istIIllustmtionsV FAY& ©©X 10 5 NASSAU ST n.y. —* Portrait of the Author, — Frontispiece, Hon. WIlmam'H. Seward Traveling in Mexico, The Golden Gate, .... Beach and Houses at Manzanillo, Portrait of Senor- Luis Rendon, Senor Huarte's House at Colima, A Tortilla Maker, Portrait of Col. Sabas Lomeli of the Jalisco Guard, , The Barranca De Beltran, Indians from Michoacan going up to Guadalajara, Bride and Groom entering the Church, - Hacienda in the Mountains of Jalisco, Effects of Taking a Drink, .... The Grand Cathedral of Guadalajara, Blind Girl'in the Hospicio, The Great Cemetery of Bethlem, A Mexican Cart, Indian Embroiderers and their Work, Indian Statuary Makers of Tonilla, A Sunday Bull-Fight at Guadalajara, Gutierrez, the Terror of Jalisco, - The Grateful Guava Merchant, Venta de los Pagarros, Church of San Juan de los Lagos, The Reservoirs and Promenade at Guanajuato, Portrait of Florencio Antillon, Governor of Guanajuato, The Ancient Castle of Grenaditas, Page. - 19 20 - 27 35 - 48 79 - 8084 - 87 90 - 97 113 - 118125 - 133134 • 137 139 1451G0161 104 166183 187 100 10 ILLUSTRATIONS. ^ Page. The Tarantula of the Mines, - ... 210 The Execution of Maximilian, . ... 236 What is left of the Empire, - - 238 The Mexican Girl and her Blind Father, - • 243 Maneuvering for a Pig-Skin, 245 Family Resemblance — A Reminiscence of White Pine, - 247 Interior of Mr. Seward's House in Mexico, - 251 Portrait of Senorita Dona Rosa Manclllas, - - - 252 Portrait of Senorita Dolores Mora, - 252 Portrait of Senorita Luz Acosta, - . - - - 252 Portrait of Senorita Soledo Juarez, - - 252 Portrait of Senorita Maclovia Hill, - - - 252 Termination of the San Cosme Aqueduct, - - - 259 The Policemen of Mexico — A Street Scene, - 262 Portrait of Matias Romero, Minister of Hacienda, - 269 Chapultepec, - - - - 271 Portrait of Don Sebastian LebdoDe Tejada, Minister of For eign Relations, 274 Portrait of Ignacio M. Altamerano, the Indian Orator, 287 The Pueblo at Taos, - 305 Portrait of Don Benito Juarez, President of Mexico, - 306 Portrait of Maximilian, - - - 310 Portrait of Carlotta, .... ^ 3H Broken Plate from Chapultepec, - 312 The Great Cathedral of Mexico, - - - 341 Flagellantes entering the Chapel twenty years ago, - 345 A Mexican Beggar — " Tengo Nada Senor," 370 The Earthenware Seller, - - . 371 The Mexican Water Carrier, . 372 The Orange Seller, ... . 373 The Poultry Seller, : . 374 The Vegetable Seller, - - . 375 Cholula, and the Aztec Pyramid, - 438 Our Aztec Musicians at Cholula, . . 434 The Needle Palm or Spanish Bayonet, . . 443 Sunday Amusement at Vera Cruz— Bull and Bear Fight, . 490 The Ranchero and his Pig, 504 The Horse and the Zapilotes, - . 506 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Page. Good-Bye to San Francisco— Chinese Sailors — Voyage down the Coast — Verdureless Mountains — Sunday Service at Sea — Wreck of the Golden City — Signal Rockets — The Montana — Meeting of Steamers at Night — Cape St. Lucas — Within the Tropics — A Desolate Region — Castor-Oil Whales — A Tropical Sunset at Sea — El Mar de Cortez — Arrival at Manzanillo — The Guest of Mexico — Washed up by the Sea — Sights and Scenes on Shore — Battle of Sharks and Alligators — Visitors from Coli ma — Gov. Cueva — Productions of Manzanillo — Tropical Fruits — Em barkation and Passage of the Flotilla up the Laguna de Cayutlan — A Charmed Circle — The Wealth of the Tropics — Wild-Flowers, Parrots and Alligators — Our Indian Rowers— Scene on the Beach — Dejected Mules — Crossing the Rio de Santa Maria — Indian Population — Battle- Ground of San Bartolo — The great Hacienda of La Calera — Life in the Tropics — Senor Huarte — Rural Mass and Sunday Scenes — Pigeon-Eng lish — Departure from La Calera — Our Coach and Six — The Custom- House Guard — Water Bearers of Mexico — Colima the Beautiful, . 49 « CHAPTER II. Colima — Night Entrance to the Ancient City — The Music of Cortez — Is it a Revolution ? — In Grenada or Damascus — View from the Balcony — The Valley of Colima — Picturesque Scenes on the Streets — The Plaza and Markets — The Gardens of the Tropics — Their Flowers and Fruits — The People and Resources of Colima — Productions of the Country; — The Cocoa-nut — Agua de Cocoa— Coffee and Chocolate — Linoloe — Honors to Mr. Seward — Invitation to the Palace — A Brilliant and Beautiful Scene — The Ball and Banquet — Eloquent Address of Gov. Cueva — Mr. Seward's first Speech in Mexico — A Grand Fandango — The Cotton Factories and the Operatives — Ravages of War — Visit to the Public Schools — The State-Prison and Prisoners— Curious Christening Ceremonies — The Guard of Jalisco and their Commander, - - 69 CHAPTER III. Farewell to Colima/ — Painful Scene at the U. S. Consulate — Departure of the Grand Cavalcade — The Country and the People — The Barranca 12 CONTENTS. Country — Mr. Seward's Palanquin — Magnificent Scenery — Dinner with Gov. Vega at Tornila — The great Volcano of Colima — The Foot-Hills of the Sierra Madre — Tortilla Makers — Our Escort — The Guard of Jalisco on the March — Hacienda de San Marcos — Wild Night Scene — The Cav alcade by Torch Light — Great Barranca de Beltran — Fate of Gen. Ar- teaga — Historic Ground — Passage of the last of the Barrancas — Aten- quiqui — An Indian Runner — Commerce of the Road — Crossing the Sier ra Madre — Zapotlan — Soap-Factories — " Going the whole Hog " — A Mexican Wedding Party — Floral Decorations — Anecdote of Rojas — A Monopoly of Crime — How Local Revolutions are Managed — Victims of the Pronunciamentos, . . .94 CHAPTER IV. Under a Cloud — Saints, Festivities and Bull-Fights — Wayside Crosses — A Land of Brigands, Plagiaros and Blood — Wholesale Shooting of Out laws — A Magnificent Valley — Our Welcome at Seyula — Visit to the Pub lic School s — Interesting School Exhibition — Sunday Evening Ball — Mex ican Beauties — The Birds of the Tropics — Indian Villages — Reception at Zacoalco — Battle Field of La Coronea — Defeat of the Imperialists — Gen eral Martinez — A terrible Pun — A Mexican Fonda and Mexican Cook ing — Great Sugar Hacienda del Plan — Strange Sights on the Road — Kneeling Men and Women — The Century Plant — Tequila and its Ef fects — A Swell-Head — First View of Guadalajara — Reception and En trance into the City — Guadalajara by Moonlight — The Old, Old Song, 116 CHAPTER V. Churches of Guadalajara — A Retreat from the World — The Music of Bells — The Great Cathedral — A Magnificent Altar — Paintings and Stat uary — Strange Superstitions — Well-preserved Bishops — Great Hospital of San Miguel de Belan — Sisters of Charity — The Hospicio of Guadala jara and its Sixteen Hundred Inmates — The Chapel of the Hospicio — Public Schools of Jalisco — Girl's and Boy's High School — Library of Thirty Thousand old Books — School of Useful Arts — Musical Talent Primary Schools — Beautiful Embroidery — The great Cemeterio de Bethlem — The Paseo do San Pedro — " A Pleasant Place to Visit " — Inse curity of Life and Property — A strange State of Society — Indian Em broiderers — Indian Statuary Makers of Tonila — Cotton Factories — The Theatre and Opera House — Sunday Bull-Fight — The Programme — The Amphitheatre — A Quiet Bull and his Fate — A Cowardly Bull — Enraged Audience — A Game-fellow — Lively Times — The Bull-Riders — The Bones df the Dead Past — Farewell Banquet to Mr. Seward — Eloquent Ad- dreses — The Belles of Guadalajara, - . . 153 CONTENTS. 13 CHAPTER VI. Departure from Guadalajara — Killing Bandits — Ancient Bridge — Falls of the Rio Grande — Zapotlanejo — Results of Revolutions and Invasions — The Bridge of Calderon, where Hidalgo was Defeated — How the Indian Patriots Fought — Scene of one of Rojas' Butcheries — The Terror of Ja lisco — Buying out an Establishment — -The Grateful Merchant — Tepotit- lan — Jalos — Great Disproportion of the Sexes — Venta de Los Pagarros and how they Kill Robbers There — Great Central Plateau of Mexico — St. John of the Lakes — Its great Church, and What I Saw in It — A Scene of Bewildering Beauty — Lagos and Its Churches — A Well-pre served Roman, and My Conclusions — Scenes in the Market Place — Pig headed Mules — Arrival at Leon — The City and the People — Discounting a Miracle — The Feast of All-Saints — Pockets Picked and Charity Mis construed — Narrow Escape from Bandits — " 'Tis Distance Lends En chantment " — The Mines of La Luz — A Touching and Characteristic Scene — The Foot-Hills of Guanajuato, - - - 180 CHAPTER VII. Guanajuato — First View of the Triple City — Marfil — The Reservoirs — Se nor Rocha and His Works — La Presa— El Buffa — The Silver District of Guanajuato — Statistics of the State — Improvements — Schools and Col leges — Gov. Antillon — The Mint and What is Done There — Castle of Grenaditas and its History — The Fate of Hidalgo — Street Peddlers and Their Wares — How the Poor People Live — Curious Scenes at the Mark ets — Heavy Stealings — Severe on the Clergy — College Examination — Beneficiating Silver Ores — The Great Mine of San Jose de Valenciano which has Produced Eight Hundred Million Dollars — Ruin and Desola tion — A Deserted Minina; Town — Immense Subterranean Works — The Great Shaft — A Game Padre — Fearful Murder — The Gentlemen of the Road — Generous Brigands — A Foreign Innovation — Mine of the Ser-' rano — In the Tunnel — Pyrotechnical Display of Indescribable Grand eur — The Lower Depths — Sights Under Ground — How People Live and Die There — A Speechless Auctioneer, ... - - 211 CHAPTER VIII. Departure from Guanajuato — A Sand-River — A Beautiful and Fertile Coun try — Feudal Castles in the Nineteenth Century — Salamanca — The Late General Doblado — The Game of the Country — Celaya — Interesting Rel ics — A Mexican Woolen Factory — Artesian Well — Fountains — Salva- tierra — A Chance for Railway Builders — Hacienda of Fifty Thousand Acres — A Poverty Stricken Population in the Richest Land on Earth — Abundance of Old Churches — Great Need of a Continental Railway — A Better Time Coming — Approach to the Historic City of Queretaro., - 220 14 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. Arrival at Queretaro — All Quiet — How the Aqueduct was Built — The " Hercules " Cotton Factory and its Surroundings — First Class Opera tives — The Procession of the Host — The Englishman's Mistake — That same old Mule Story — Welcome to Mr. Seward — Scene of the Downfall of the Empire of Mexico — Popular Opinion of Maximilian and Car- lotta — The Siege of Queretaro — Position of the Contending Armies — Desperation of Maximilian's Situation — His Offer to Abandon His Army to Secure His Own Personal Safety — An Immediate Assault at all Points ordered by Escobedo — Was Lopez a Traitor ? — Last Scene in the Con flict — How Maximilian Was Taken — His Hopes for Pardon — Conversa tion between Maximilian and Miramon — The Scene at the Cerro De Las Campanas — Execution of Maximilian, Miramon and Mejia — Was It Right, or Was It Not ? — Visit to the last Scene in the Tragedy of the Empire of Mexico — All that Is Left of the Empire, - - - 238 CHAPTER X. From Queretaro to Mexico — A Magnificent Agricultural Country San Juan del Rio — Old Lava Fields — The Land of the Maguey — The Century Plant and what it Produces — Arroyo Zarco — The Rural Guard — Tepeii Del Rio — First View of the Valley of Mexico — The Blind Man and His Daughter — Lake Zupango — Pulque and the Pulqueries — Pig-Skins and How Procured — A Startling Resemblance— Reminiscence of White Pine — The Story of Downton and Gerry — A Family Resemblanee — Sad Results of Business Reverses — The Valley of Mexico — Reception of Mr. Seward by the Cabinet of the President — Welcome to the Capital as the Nation's Guest by the Citizen President, Benito Juarez — In the City of Montezuma, 251 CHAT TER XI. Mexico and Its Surrounaings — Insecurity of the Roads — Excursion to La Canada — Visit to Tacubaya — The House of Gen. Urega, and Who I Found There — The American Cemetery — A Startling Inscription The Gate of the Beam — The Grand Canal and Floating Gardens of Mexico Scene of Guatamozin's Defeat — Church and Tree of the Noche Triste The San Cosme Aqueduct — An Aztec Idol — How Police Matters are Managed — A Polite Thief— Popocatapetl and the Woman in White The Survey by General Ochoa — Interior of the Crater How Cortez Pro cured Powder — Dinner with Matias Romero — Dinner with the Family of President Juarez at Chapultepec— The Palace and Its Surroundings Souvenirs of Maximilian — Poor Carlotta — The Feast of Belfihazzar— CONTENTS. 15 View from the Verandah of Chapultepec — Molina del Rey, Contreras and Churubusco — The Alameda of Mexico, - - - 274 CHAPTER XII. Revelings in the Halls of the Montezumas— Dinner at the House of Senor Lerdo — Toasts in Honor of President Grant — Address by Mr. Seward — Grand Banquet at the Palacio Nacional — What Was Said and Done There — An Era of Good Feeling — Speech by President Juarez — Speech by U. S. Minister Nelson — Mr. Lerdo's Response — Mr. Seward's Ad dress — Altamerano tlie Indian Orator and His Eloquence — The Great Speech of the Occasion — Other Speeches and Toasts — Improvisional Poetry, .... 294 CHAPTER XIII. Excursion up the Grand Canal — A Small Water Party — A Jolly Time All Around — Picnic at an Indian Village — An Exciting Scene on the Re turn Trip— Free Baths and no End of Fun — Circus in an Old Convent — Opera and Theatre — Grand Closing Ball and Banquet — The Most Bril liant Scene Witnessed in America — Toasts and Speeches — The Darien Ship-Canal — Don Benito Juarez — His Personal Appearance and Charac teristics — Curious Tradition and Coincidences — View of the Valley from Tacubaya, • .... . . . 308 CHAPTER XIV. Amid the Ruins of Empires — Behind the Scenes after the Play — Plunder . from the Palace of Chapultepec — The " Theatrical Effects " Imported by Maximilian — His Carriages, Pictures, Plate, and Household Wardrobe — The Farce He Played in — Court Costumes and Imperial Decorations — His Gold and Silver Plate — His State Carriage and Billiard Tables — Maximilian's Court and Empire — His Fatal Mistake — The Archives^f Mexico — Maximilian's Arrival in Mexico — The Mask Removed — The Black Flag Decree — The Apologists of Maximilian — The Records of the Empire and What They Prove — The Victims of the Black Flag Decree — Letters written by Generals Arteaga and Salazar just before Their Exe cution — Remonstrance of the Belgians — Aztec Relics — The Great Sacri- fical Stone, etc. — A City Under a City — American Origin of the Aztecs — The House of Hernando Cortez — National Monte de Piedad of Mexico — The Model Pawnbroker's Shop of the World — Five Millions Dollars Worth of Jewels and Plate in one Room — The Sword of General Valen cia and Jewels of Isabella the Catholic, on Pawn — A Commentary on Human Pride and Ambition, 341 16 CONTENTS CHAPTER XV. Religion and the Arts — Our Lady of Guadaloupe— How the Virgin Ap peared as an Indian Woman to Juan Diego — Story of the Apparition and the Erection of the Church and Chapel — Our Lady of the Reme- dios — The Shrine of Guadaloupe, and the great Annual Pilgrimage to it — A Visit to the Church — Scenes Outside and Inside — Sale of Books and Charms — The old Bell-Makers — The Offering of a Spanish Rover — The Miraculous Fountain — Boring for Oil — A Religious Picnic — Home of the Inquisition and Plaza c"e San Domingo — The Protestant Missions in Mexico — Protestantism — Statement of Rev. H. Chauncey Riley and His Appeal for Funds in Aid of the Work — The National School of Art and Design — Pictures Old and New — The Art Galleries — Department of Coins and Medals — The College of Mines — Rare Collection of Minerals, 364 CHAPTER XVI. Social Condition and Customs — The Women of Mexico — Their Character and Social Condition — Curious Phases of Social Life — The Children of Mexico— Trade of the City — The Beggars — The Ancient Customs and i Superstitions of Southern Europe — The Evil Eye — Hospitable Treat ment of Guests — Courtesy Misconstrued — The Story of Uncle Freddy, alias Washington the Second — Norton the First — The Chinese Prin cess — How Uncle Freddy Became the Guest of Mexico — Foreigners in Mexico — Sharp Business Transactions — Devotion of the Women and Their Sympathy for the Unfortunate— How Mr. Fitch was Swindled — Honoring the Uniform— Mr. Seward's Fossil Elephant and what became of it — Politeness of the Servants — Census Taking in Mexico, - - 391 CHAPTER XVII. The Soldiers of Mexico — The Invalid Corps — The Press — Literary and Musical Attainments — A Persevering Printer — Immigration — Public Improvements — The Great Need of Mexico — The Political Situation — Its Hopeful and its Discouraging Aspects— Moral Responsibility of the United States — Advocates of Annexation — A Plea for Mexico, . - 405 CHAPTER XVIII. Departure from the Capital — By Rail to Puebla — The Pulque Country — The Pyramids of Tehuacan — Battle Field of Otumba — The Grandest Mountains of the Continent — Orizaba, Popocatapetl, La Muger En Blanco and the Malinchi — The City of Puebla by Daylight and Moon light — War's Desolation — Siege and Capture of Puebla — Cinco De CONTENTS. 17 Mayo — The Pronunciamei-to of the Sierra — Excursion to the Ancient City of Tlaxcala— The Castles of the Four great Chiefs of the Tlaxcalan Republic— The Banner of Cortez and Ancient Archives— The Secret of the Gold Placers— The Virgin of Tlaxcala— The Oldest Church on the Continent — The Miracle of Tlaxcala — Carrying Dead-Heads — An Excursion to Cholula — Novel and Enthusiastic Reception— The Music of Other Days — Mr. Seward's Address to the Cholulans — Time's Reveng es — Strange Commingling of the Past and Present — The Great Pyra mid—A New Theory Concerning It — The Cathedral of Puebla— Its Wonderful Wealth and Beauty — Other Objects of Interest — Buried Treasure — An Imposition — Guatamozin's Last Will — Protestantism in Puebla, - - . . .440 CHAPTER XIX. From Puebla to Orizaba — Last Diligence Ride in Mexico — Amazoc and Its Iron- Workers — Eccentricities of the People — Bargaining for Spurs — A Mexican Bridge-Builder — An Aztec Tower and Sun-Dial — Daring Feat of a Guerrilla — The Home of the Palm and the Maguey — A Colored Gentleman in Mexico — Buying Cigars — The Rural Guard — A Change of Scene — Las Cumbres — Wonderful Scenery — Descent into the Tierra Ca- liente — Orizaba, - - 452 CHAPTER XX. A City with a Past and Future but No Present — Grass-Grown Streets — The Indian Packers and How They Take in Ballast — Battle-Scarred Churches — Outrages Committed by Maximilian's Troops — The French Colonel — A Woman's Revenge — Curious Christmas Festivities — Playing the Devil — A Whole Community Gambling — Stoicism of the Losers — The Falls of the Rincon Grande — A Tropical Paradise — Hacienda de San Antonio and How They Make Sugar — Coffee Plantations- — Resources of Mexico — The Great Conducta — Its Encampment at Orizaba and March to Vera Cruz — How Silver is Carried and Handled in Mexico — The Indian Specie-Counters at Vera Cruz — Reminiscence of the Mexican War, - 473 CHAPTER XXI. Resting at Orizaba — Ascent of the Sierra Borregas — Visit to an Indian Vil. lage — Departure for Vera Cruz — Magnificent Scenery of the Chiquihuite pass — The Great Railway Bridge — Reception at Vera Cruz — The Spe cialities of the City — Souvenirs of Past Conflicts — The Zapilotes — A Lively Hotel — Lotteries — The Chain-Gang — A Private Quarrel — Curious 2 18 CONTENTS. Statistics — An Unpopular Institution — Steamer Arrival — A Mixed Cargo — Sunday Amusements in Vera Cruz — Bear and For Bear — How the California Bear Sampson Entertained the Mexican Bull — Amateur Bull- Fighting— The Amateur's Story of His Experiences— The Castle of San Juan de Ulloa— What it was and What it is— A Great Work in Ruins — The Dungeons and Political Prisoners — The Fate of General Castillo — " Who Enters Here Leaves Hope Behind — Mementoes of the Last French Invasion — The Perplexities of the Author — The Ranchero and His Pig —The Horse and the Zapilotes— Which Whipped ? - 508 CHAPTER XXII. Mr. Seward's Farewell Letters to the Members of the Juarez Government and Others — Voyage from Vera Cruz to Yucatan — Sisal — Its People, Trade and Specialities — The Highest-Roofed Theatre on Earth — Visitors from Merida — Letter from the Governor of Yucatan — Our Last View of Mexico — Actios ! - - - - 520 A GALA TRIP THROUGH MEXICO. CHAPTER I. FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO COLIMA. ("^ LORIOUSLY beautiful was that bright morning of the 30th day of September, 1869, when I reluc tantly left the darkened chamber in which lay the mor tal remains of a brave man, and true champion of free dom, my friend of many years, Seiior Don Jose A. Godoy. the Consul of Mexico, who had fallen dead while attending the last reception of Mr. Seward on the even ing previous, and bidding farewell to his stricken family, hurried on board the Pacific Mail Steamship Co's magnificent steamer Golden City, which was lying at her berth in San Francisco, with steam up, ready to bear us away to the tropics. Blue and clear was the sky above us, calm and mir ror like the surface of the broad Bay of San Francisco, soft as velvet in all their outlines, the brown, grey, and mauve-tinted mountains which surround it, when seen through the purple haze of Autumn which enveloped city and village, hill, mountain, island, fortress, and inland sea, alike in its tender and loving embrace. When I come again from beyond the snowy mountains, and the shores of another ocean, a change will have come over all the fair scene, and hill and valley, moun- 20 GOOD-BYE TO SAN FRANCISCO. tain and plain, will rejoice in the verdure and flowers of the spring-time. " Good-Bye !" " Good-Bye !" " Good- Bye ! " The last friendly hand is shaken, the last affectionate embrace is given, and the plank hauled in, the crash of the great gun on the forward deck star tles the echoes of all the hills around the bay, the great steamer moves slowly away from the wharf, swings around with the tide in the harbor, and gliding swiftly past the city front, the shipping from many THE GOLDEN GATE. ports, Alcatraz, Point San Jose, Fort Point, and the Presidio de San Francisco, passes through the Golden Gate, and heads out into the blue, illimitable Pacific. The sea is calm, and the sky is clear, and everything promises a quiet, pleasant voyage. Capt. Lapidge, is an old and thorough seaman, Purser Mattoon under stands making everybody comfortable, and is disposed to do it in an off-hand, unobtrusive way, and Dr. Mil ler, U. S. A. is on hand to attend to all who need his professional services; so that all our wants, and all contingencies are provided for. From one end of the steamer to the other, everything goes on like clock- VOYAGE DOWN THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA. 21 work, — no noise, no loud talking, no confusion ; Chinese sailors spread the awnings which are to shelter the passengers from the sun of the tropics, and Chinese waiters, clean, quiet, and orderly, with their list-soled slippers, move quietly about the cabin and state-rooms, keeping everything in order, and seeing that no wants of the passengers are left unattended to. On the whole, I think it must be conceded that John is the " coming man," and take him all in all, he is a pretty good fellow ; it is well for us that no worse mac is to come in his place. On the afternoon of the second day — Friday — we were passing the islands off the Santa Barbara Coast, having made two hundred and thirty-five miles during the first twenty-four hours. On Saturday we were out of sight of land all day, and the register showed h ]:>rogress of two hundred and twenty-two miles for the last twenty-four hours. On Sunday afternoon we came in sight of the large barren island of Cerros, and its outlying rocks and lesser islands, and the whole of the afternoon and evening skirted along the treeless, red mountain shores of Mexican Lower California. No living thing was to be seen on these verdureless moun tains. Sitting back far enough from the rail to hide the blue stretch of water, you might fancy yourself upon the Colorado or Mojave Desert, without any serious stretch of the imagination ; the same saffron-hued horizon, pale blue sky, red, brown, and yellow, jagged, naked mountains ; the same eternal silence of utter desolation. " Mother," said a little prattling child upon the steam er, " mother, do anybody live in that land ? " " No my darling, I hope not," was the earnest reply. God is merciful, and I trust she was right. 22 MEETING OF STEAMERS AT NIGHT. Sunday service at sea, of the Episcopal Church, was read by Capt. Lapidge, the few cabin passengers all joining in the responses, and then we went out on deck to watch the changes in the dreary, barren shore. A single little sail came in sight, and passed near enough for us to see that the craft was a sloop, of per haps, twenty tons burthen, flying no flag, and carrying some half dozen dark-hued men — Italians, or other southern Europeans — who made no signals, and evi dently did not care to court attention to the business in which they were engaged, whatever that might be ; there is a little smuggling carried on, even upon this barren coast. Monday morning found us plowing through a glassy sea, with no land, no sail, no bird in sight ; only the great, glaring sun in the unclouded sky, and the deep, blue, glittering sea below. At 2 p. m. we were in sight of land once more — as desolate and uninhabited as the last. Had any one told us that day, that the noble steamer which was bearing us so safely and swiftly over the sea, would in less than six months more be ly ing an utter wreck on that terrible shore, with what increased interest would we have gazed on both ! Passing Santa Margarita Island and Magdalena Bay, at sunset we were well toward Cape St. Lucas, or within one hundred miles thereof. At 5 p. m. we were a thousand miles from home. At 8 p. m. a light was seen before us ; then blue and red signal lights were sent up, and answered, and soon, out of the darkness emerged the great hull of the steamship Montana. Both steamers stopped, boats were sent off to exchange the latest papers from either side of the continent and carry letters and messages A DESOLATE REGION. 23 for the dear ones far away. Then a stream of flame shot far out across the waters from either steamer's deck, the loiid roar of the signal guns filled the star tled air, and the two great black masses moved away swiftly into the darkness again, and each was lost to the sight of those on board the other. I know of no scene which one may witness in all one's life, more full of unwritten poetry, unenacted romance, more dreamily suggestive of " what might have been," than this meeting and parting of two great steamers on the pathless sea. Who were they who crowded the decks and wonderingly watched us as we watched them ? In what mysterious way were their lives linked with ours? Were there any there who might have loved us, any we might have loved ? What stories of love and hatred, and all the thousand emotions which distract the human mind, and affect for good or ill a human life, were spoiled, when the thousand souls which those two steamers bore, came thus near together, almost within touching distance, as it were, and then parted again, and for the most pait forever? Had we met and mingled, how the whole story of this life, or that, might have been affected, and changed it may be for all time. There is food for con jecture and speculation without .end in all this, but it is only vague unsatisfying speculation after all, and the questions suggested to each of us, must remain unan swered to all, forever. Daybreak on Tuesday, October 5th, found us passing Cape St. Lucas, and within the tropics. Still the same dreary, barren, mountain shore ; not a sign of human life have we seen while skirting along the Lower Cali fornia coast for nearly a thousand miles ; not a tree, not 24 CASTOR- OIL WHALES. a flower, not a blade of grass, no living thing of any kind— only rocks and sand and loneliness, eternal silence and utter desolation. All the settlements — and they are few at best — are on the inner or Gulf side of the peninsula, and completely hidden from the passing vessel. The sun poured down all day from an un clouded sky, and no breeze ruffled the face of the ocean, which was smooth as a mirror, save where, at regular intervals, the long, heavy ground swells came rolling in from the south-westward, and pitched and tossed about the great steamer like an egg-shell. The poet says : " There is no crowd however slight But one cockney is there.'' We had ours. He stood looking over the rail, eye-glass in place, watching the tumbling of two great monster blackfish, which rose and disappeared like porpoises. " Aw ! what kind of a whale might that be ? " he demanded. The venerable looking McElroy, who repre sents the U. S. Custom-House Department on board, promptly replied, " That, my dear friend, is the Castor oil whale, " a broad, genial smile of true benevolence spreading far and wide over his fine open countenance. "Haw, yes; that's what I thought. We 'ave hoceans on 'em in the Hinglish Channel ! " was the prompt return of the true son of old Albion. As the day died out and the sun went down in a blaze of glory, all hands assembled on deck to witness a sunset in the tropics. We often hear the remark, " That sky is unnatural ; it is far too gaudy !" as we stand in some art gallery in the cold North before a picture in which the artist has faithfully labored to A TROPICAL SUNSET AT SEA. 25 depict the glories of a tropical sunset. The paint suffi ciently brilliant to do justice to the scene before us that evening has yet to be made. A smooth blue sea for a base, a soft blue sky above ; along the western horizon a row of solid purple clouds standing up like jagged volcanic rocks from the bosom of the ocean, for which, indeed, they would have been unhesitatingly taken but for the constant alteration in their outlines. Every moment they "Suffered a sea change Into something new and strange." A sea-lion, a land-lion, a sphynx, a castle, a walled city, a mighty volcano, an Orizaba or a Shasta, grew each in turn, before our wondering eyes. Soon the whole long line was cut off from its base, as if by a knife, and lifted high into air, and from the bosom of the sea rose up another, almost a duplicate of the first. Then the intervening sky, from brilliant orange, took on the hue of the inner surface of the sea-shell, deepened into the brightest vermilion, which glowed like a flame, and seemed to give off light and heat of its own, filling all the air. As the shadow of evening fell, the horizon grew by contrast brighter and brighter, the clouds became inky black, while the vermilion sky spread out like a valley between the two great Sierras — mountains of iron in a land of fire. We stood like the wondering denizens of another planet in the hour of this earth's last agony, and saw " the elements dissolve with fervent heat," and mountains undermined go crashing down into the hungry sea of flame. Then the black curtain of night fell over all, and, almost in the twinkling of an eye, that strange, wild, weird, enchanting scene, passed like a dream away. 26 MANZANILLO. — THE GUEST OF MEXICO. Wednesday morning found us crossing the mouth of the Gulf of California, or the Mar de Cortez, as the Spaniards termed it, rain pouring down, the sea rough, and many on board sick, the writer among the number. Accursed be the memory of the man who found the ocean first! At 2 p. m., we passed Cape Corrientes. and when night came down with an almost impenetra ble pall of darkness on the heaving waste of waters, we were within seventy-five miles of the entrance of the Bay of Manzanillo. Slowly the great steamer crept along the rock-bound, dangerous coast, feeling her way cautiously as she went, and at 2 o'clock on Thursday morning, almost a week from our leaving San Francisco, we felt that we were once more in smooth water, and the loud report of the steamer's gun conveyed to us the glad tidings that we had entered the harbor of Manzanillo, and finished that portion of our journey comprised in the voyage down the Pacific. The Custom-House officials, Governor Cu- erva and staff, and other officers and citizens, came on board at once to receive Mr. Seward, congratulated him on his arrival, and tendered him in behalf of the Re public and its citizens, the hospitalities of the country. At day-break our baggage was sent ashore and passed at once, unopened, through the Custom House, and the party were then conveyed to the beach in boats carried through the surf to the shore on men's backs to the solid land. We stood at last on the soil of Mexico, saw the steamer sail away through the storm and disap pear in the distance, then turned our faces eastward and looked about upon the strange land to which we had come, and the strange scenes and strange faces which surrounded us. VIEW FROM THE HARBOR. 27 Nothing can be more thoroughly tropical and attract ive in its appearance than Manzanillo as seen from the harbor at this season of the year. A bay, five miles across and nearly round with an entrance half as wide §i§^1 Despite the many delays all the party was safely on board the boats just after sunrise. The air was still and the sky clear, and in a short time the heat became almost insupportable. Then, little black-eyed Mexican boys, spry and agile as cats, crept around each boat hanging out gaily striped awnings, and rich colored blan kets, to shield us from the blazing rays of the tropic sun, and we lay down in the boats, at full length, and watch ed with a wondering interest, the shifting of the glori ous panorama before us. The great mountain chain, which forms a semi-circle around the inland side of the Laguna de Cayutlan, is clothed in magnificent vegeta tion, from the waters edge to its summit ; all the wealth of the tropics is lavished on the picture. The long lines of palm trees on the heights, cutting sharply against the blue sky, seem to have been set there by some cunning hand, to make it perfect in all its artistic details. The Laguna de Cayutlan runs nearly east and west for thirty miles, parallel with and but a short distance from the sea, and at this season is from four to ten feet in depth, and one to six miles wide. It would float a steamer the year round. Within the charmed circle in which we floated, all was peaceful and still ; there was hardly breeze enough to puff out the sails which our boatmen spread to light en their labors, and the surface of the Laguna was like glass, while at the same time we could hear the hollow booming of the ocean waves, and the dull incessant roar of the surf, breaking on the beach just beyond the line of palm- trees, which bounded the view upon the south. Our rowers, five in each boat, nearly naked, or en tirely so, worked well. I never saw better rowers. They appeared to be all of pure Indian blood — the 38 WILD FLOWERS, PARROTS AND ALLIGATORS. working element of the country. Their oars all struck the water at once, and they sent the boats through the water at a high speed. Had they been selected instead of the Harvard crew, to row against the Oxfords, I would have staked my money on the American side, if I chanced to have any to risk. On our arrival at Manzanillo from the steamer, at the house of Mr. Bartling, who most hospitably entertained our party during our stay, we were provided with six excellent camp bedsteads, with beautiful gilded frames and canopies, lace mosquito bars, and lace-covered pil lows, rich crimson counterpanes, and fine soft matresses complete in every detail. While going up the lake we noticed, among the baggage, six neatly wrapped pack ages covered with matting and securely corded, and learned with surprise that each contained one of these beds packed for transportation, and that they had been purchased expressly for us at Colima, and were to be transported for our especial use from one side of Mexico to the other. At one point we landed on the rocky shore of the Laguna, and gathered beautiful wild flowers, but the chaparral was so matted together with tangled vines and parasitic and climbing plants, that we could not travel ten rods in any direction, and after vainly en deavoring to get a shot at the flocks of gaudy parrots which filled the larger trees, we returned to the Laguna and were carried pick-a-back, to the boats again. The alligators, who fill the Laguna, are very cautious and shy, and it was only now and then that one would show the point of his dark snout above the surface. A vol ley of ill-directed pistol balls would send him down in an instant every time. On the whole I don't think the SCENE ON THE BEACH — DEJECTED MULES. 39 alligator crop of Cayutlan, will be to any serious extent the smaller next season, on account of our visit. When we had gone about twelve miles up the lake, the flotilla came to a halt opposite a beautiful rocky island covered with giant cacti. All the boats came together, and in a few minutes the entire party was en gaged in discussing, with keen relish, a bountiful lunch. When the repast was finished, Gov. Cueva proposed, as a sentiment, "Welcome to our distinguished guest; peace, and a better understanding, and more perfect friendly relation between the people and Government of the great Republic of the United States, and the people and Government of the Republic of Mexico." The toast was drank with the honors, and duly re sponded to, and the flotilla again moved up the Laguna. At 2 p. m., we reached the landing at the eastern end of the lake, and found two light, Concord spring coaches, sent down from the interior for our use, and a multi tude of attendants waiting to receive us. They had a full pack-train of mules ready to carry the baggage up to Colima, but the piles on piles of plunder which came on shore from our boats until the whole beach was strewn with it, startled them not a little, and made some of the mules drop their ears in utter dejection. The mules in common use all over the country are the small est I have ever seen. Some of them do not weigh more than two. hundred pounds, and it is a large sized one which will weigh three hundred and fifty or four hundred pounds : but like the little horses of the coun try, they are " lightning " when it comes to traveling or pulling. Three leagues — about seven and a half or at most eight English miles — across a flat sandy country, entirely cov- 40 CROSSING THE RIO DE SANTA MARIA. ered with impenetrable thickets of small thorny shrubs, trees of the acacia species, cacti, creeping plants, and climbing vines, over a road heavy with the rains, and poor at best, brought us to the Rio de Santa Maria, a small stream in ordinary times, but now a tremendous torrent, thick with mud. It looked wholly impassable. On the opposite shore there is a village of palm-thatched bamboo huts, inhabited, with one exception, by families of the civilized and Christian Indians of the country — once peons, but now all enfranchised. The rocky banks were lined with dark-skinned men in loose, white cotton drawers and shirts, immense broad-brimmed hats, and with rawhide sandals on their feet. We signaled the boats on the opposite shore, and a party of the natives immediately put off into the raging torrent, some wading as far as possible and pulling the boat by main strength, others handling the paddles. It looked like certain death, to attempt the passage of the torrent in those little boats, but we could not stay there for it to fall, and cross we must, or drown in the attempt. I essayed the passage first, and though we went bounding up and down like an india rubber ball, and took water several times, we made the riffle in safety, and soon after, Mr. Seward and the entire party were across, and proceeded to the house of the great landholder of the vicinity, Don Ignacio Largos. His house is of bamboo or cane, like the others, and has a mud floor, but everything is as clean and neat as the parlor of the most thrifty NeAV England housewife, and his young wife — a comely woman of the Spanish blood and type — made us at home at once. Don Ignacio, a man of about seventy years, but stout, and well preserved, with hardly a gray hair in his head, A CHANCE FOR SPECULATION. 41 came in to inform Mr. Seward, that the stream was too bigh to allow of the passage of the stages, but that during the night it would subside. They would then put the wheels of one side of the stage in one boat, and those of the other side in a second, and so row the cumbersome vehicles across. Meantime, he and all he bad was " at His Excellency's service." He had two coaches in tolerable repair, which he was ready to hitch up to convey us on three leagues more to the " Hacienda Calera," the residence of Don Juan Firmin Huarte, where we were to pass the night. The old gentleman told us that he had about four thousand five hundred acres of the best sugar, cotton, and Indian corn land in America, and, he did not know exactly how many, though quite a number of square miles of good pasture lands in this rancho, which he would sell me [some one bad wickedly represented me as the rich man of the party] for $8,000 in gold. He had a few thousand cat tle, all good stock, though diminutive, which he would also dispose of cheap. There might be 2,000 or 10,000, but he would not be particular about a few hundred head any way. He wanted to move upon a larger rancho somewhere up in the interior. I agreed to think it over until I came back, and give him my answer then. I trust that he will not get tired out, and die waiting to hear from me. Dinner, consisting of a variety of meats, vegetables, fruits, sweetmeats, and wines, was placed on the table, and I take occasion to say that a cleaner, better cooked, and better served dinner could not be obtained at any hotel in the United States, though there was not a sign of a stove, carpet, or even floor about the premises. At sunset, we saw our baggage train of pack mules 42 OLD BATTLE GROUND OF SAN BARTOLO. arrive on the other shore, and the boats commence to take it over. We started at night-fall for La Calera, three leagues further on, and were whirled along over the heavy road at good speed, by the smart little mules furnished us by Don Ignacio. Up to this point the country, except for the densely wooded mountains in the background, might have been mistaken for the Bayou Teche country in Louisiana, though the vegeta tion was more abundant, and the soil richer and softer — a fine country for cultivation. Now, we crossed the Llano de San Bartolo, a more open country, with occa sional Indian villages. On this plain, the Spaniards were defeated with great loss, and driven back to their ships, in the time of the conquest by Cortez; but a sec ond battle resulted in their favor, and the Indian power in Colima was forever broken. Passing in the moon light an immense hacienda, with solid stone walls on all sides, now partially deserted, we arrived at La Ca lera at 10 o'clock, and were warmly welcomed. When we arose at day-break on Sunday and walked out upon the broad verandah, which surrounds the great house at the hacienda of Don Juan Firmin Huarte, the scene before us was entrancingly beautiful. The estate occupies a broad valley, through which runs a small river, and is surrounded on all sides by moun tains as high as the highest peaks of the Coast Range of California These mountains are covered from base to summit with low timber, as thick as it can stand on the ground, and all covered with a brilliant green foliage, save where the beautiful primavera, which bears great loads of white, red, pink, and blue blossoms, gives variety to the scene. This wood is all crooked, and mainly worthless for building purposes, though the THE GREAT HACIENDA DE LA CALERA. 43 amount of fuel on an acre is enormous The valley itself is one grand garden, run to wild. In one place, rows of tall graceful cocoa palm-trees, loaded with fruit in all stages of growth, lift their feathery heads in air, and call up visions of the gardens of Damascus. Then wide fields of sugar-cane, ripe, and ready for cutting, then corn-fields, where the corn is equal in size to that of Lllinois, rice-fields, and great patches of banana plants, fifteen or twenty feet in height, each leaf being of the size of a counterpane on a double bed at home. Turning our eyes from this scene to that more imme diately at hand, we saw life in the tropics in all its lazy luxuriousness. Upon this grand hacienda, which is exactly as large as the District of Columbia, reside three hundred to four hundred natives of pure, or nearly pure, Indian blood, who are employed as labor ers in the fields and around the mills. The men receive thirty-seven and-a-half cents per day, and board them selves. They are not very cheap laborers even at that price. For their accommodation, a meat-market is kept under a large open shed in front of the " casa grander This market is supplied with beef from cattle killed during the night — we had been disturbed in our sleep by the bellowing of the poor beasts — and the market was in full operation when we saw it at day-break. The women by dozens, tall, slender, and dark, dressed in light-colored cotton gowns, without hoops, and bare footed, with black rebosas wrapped around their shoul ders and heads, half hiding their faces, were buying the day's supply of meat for the family, while the men lounged about in every variety of dilapidated garments, smoking cigarritos. A few wore brilliant-hued serapes closely wrapped around them, or thrown with negligent 44 AN IMMENSE SUGAR-HOUSE. grace over one shoulder. This hacienda has the name of being very unhealthy, and many of the men appeared ill from malarious diseases. The meat was cut in irreg ular pieces with rude knives and axes, and sold at from six and a half, to ten cents per pound. Each purchaser took but a small piece, about enough for a " square meal " for three persons in a cold climate. The fat was being tried out for candles in a large kettle in front of the market, and the offal was lying in a corner. Swarms of long-nosed wolfish-looking dogs hung around, snap ping up every scrap of meat left within reach, or thrown to them. Beyond the market stands an immense half-finished sugar-house, and all around the place was scattered ma chinery therefor, hardly two pieces, belonging together, being within hearing distance of each other. The walls were of brick made on the place and poorly laid in cement. The roof is to be of tiles, but it is not yet finished. A vat for water, intended to hold at least two million gallons, built of brick and cemented, is built along-side. The three great boilers for this mill were being towed through the Laguna of Cayutlan — having been closed and cemented water-tight to insure their floating — as we came up on the previous day. The mill cannot be finished in less than six months, and meantime a superb crop of cane goes to waste. Oppo site the sugar-mill is a huge building containing a rice mill, saw-mill, &c. The sugar machinery and distilling apparatus are from Hamburg, the steam-engines and boilers from England, and the rice and saw-mills from Boston and San Francisco. Everything consumed on the place is raised on it. Between the two mills is an enormous ditch or race for carrying the water to a great DON JUAN FIRMIN HUARTE. 45 turbine wheel which is to run some of the machinery and assist in irrigation. The grounds all around are filled with carts and other agricultural implements, ex posed to sun and rain, and a great part of the work done on the buildings and. ditch,