Travels in Mexico and Life among the Mexicans ... With 190 illustrations, etc

Front matter

THE VALLEY OF MEXICO. Travels in Mexico AND LIFE AMONG THE MEXICANS, BY FREDERICK A. OBER, AUTHOR OF "CAMPS IN THE CARIBBEBS," "YOUNG FOLKS' HISTORY OF MEXICO," ETC. I. YUCATAN. II. CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MEXICO. III. THE BORDER STATES. WITH 190 ILLUSTRATIONS, MAINLY FROM THE AUTHOR'S PHOTOGRAPHS AND SKETCHES. Dies y Liberlad. —"God and Liberty." BOSTON: • ESTES AND LAURIAT. 1884. Copyright, 18S3, By Frederick A. Ober. All rights reserved. TO STEPHEN SALISBURY, Jr., ©f Morastcr, jfHassatfjusEtta, WHOSE ACQUAINTANCE, BEGUN THROUGH A COMMON INTEREST IN AMERICAN ARCHÆOLOGY, HAS RIPENED INTO A FRIENDSHIP, TO WHICH THE AUTHOR HEREBY GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES HIS INDEBTEDNESS.

Preface

. " TT is difficult," wrote an English author of celebrity, "for a person, Jwho is desirous to lay before the public an impartial view of the present state of Mexico, to determine exactly at what point to commence his undertaking." This difficulty has stared the author in the face ever since his first trip to Mexico ; but it has seemed to him that there has been an increasing popular demand for a work which, while conducting the reader by pleasant paths through the most interesting portions of the Republic, should convey at the same time information of lasting value. Hence, during the nine months devoted to travel and exploration, and the two years and more given to a study of the history and customs of the Mexican people, he has ever kept in mind the great popular desire, now so decidedly expressed, for a book on Mexico which should relate, in plain and simple language, the fascinating story of its history as it is interwoven with scenes visited, and should describe the wonderful development now taking place through the agency of the millions of American capital invested in railway construction and the exploitation of mines.

At the time of the author's visit to Yucatan and Central and Southern Mexico, he devoted more attention to the natural features and historic surroundings of his journey than to the material wealth of the country ; but the great progressive movement, initiated by the opening of the railroads, could not fail to awaken in him an interest in the present and future of Mexico, as well as in its past. Returning to the United States, his narrative of travel was nearly ready for the press early in 1883, but perceiving, as he thought, a greater need of the public for full and authoritative statements regarding the resources of Mexico, and descrip tions of the Border region, written from the standpoint of personal observation, he laid aside his manuscript for a while and essayed another journey southward.

By this time the great railroads, which were hardly beyond their inception at the period of his first visit, had entered Mexico at several points, and he travelled along the entire Mexican boundary line, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of California, accomplishing a

PREFACE.

. VIII journey by rail of over ten thousand miles, some distance of which was through a region not often traversed and but little known. It would be impossible for the author even to enumerate, in the short space he has assigned himself for this brief prefatory note, the authors and friends, in Mexico as well as at home, to whom he is under obli gation. It must suffice to say that to the liberality of his enterprising publishers, to the skill of artists and engravers, and of the famous house in which the book was printed, to the healthy criticisms of that Nestor of proof-readers, Mr. M. T. Bigelow, and especially to the friendly counsel and fine artistic taste of his friend, Mr. Fred H. Allen, whose patience and encouragement have sustained him through a long and somewhat trying ordeal, the author owes his ability to present the work in a shape which he trusts the public will appreciate.

Except to call attention to the fact that he has examined nearly every prominent work on Mexico, the author feels that any mention of the various books on the subject would be a superfluous labor. It is hoped that the wide scope of the present book, including as it does nearly every topic of interest, — people, customs, historical references, antiquities, and productions, — and its carefully prepared and exhaustive index, will make it valuable to every person interested, even though remotely, in the progress of Mex ico. To this end the numerous engravings and maps have been pre pared ; and by means of the latter one may trace the extension of our vast system of railways towards its ultimate destination, the continent of South America. If, during the many months intervening between the conception and the completion of this volume, the author has wearied of his task, or has doubted the wisdom or expediency of it, he has constantly derived consolation from the reflection that, in helping to make Mexico better known to the world at large, he is but lending his aid to a progressive movement, that is not to end until the American — the hitherto hated "Gringo " — shall have pushed his engines to the extremest portion of that Greater South ; and a trade legitimate and prosperous shall flow in those longitudinal channels which require the traversing of no broad ocean or tempestuous sea.

With this hopeful suggestion, that the reader view the " Mexican Move ment " in the same catholic light, the author ventures to add another volume to the already large list of works on Mexico. Beverly, Massachusetts, January, 1884. -5 39 CONTENTS.

Book I. Yucatan

I. A GLIMPSE OF YUCATAN From Cuba to Yucatan. — Progreso. — Its one hotel. — Sisal the desolate. — An antiprogressive railroad. — The Lagoon. — Henequen. — Indians. — Garbs of centuries agone. — The Uipil. — Advent of the steam monster. — Sleepy Cabmen. — Moresque architecture. — Caged beauties. — The Plaza. — An ancient dwelling. — T'ho, or Merida. — Street of the Elephcnt. — El Museo Yucateco. — American gold at premium. — The " Sabios " of Yucatan. — A hot climate. — Houses that are heat and vermin proof. — Catherwood and Stephens. — Summary of settlements II. YUCATECOS. A dip into history. — The first Indians of New Spain. — The captured canoe. — Cacao as currency. — The error of Columbus. — First view of Yucatan. — Hernandez de Cordova. — Juan de Grijalva. — An intrepid soldier and faithful chronicler. — Montejo, conqueror of Yucatan. — The conquest. — The indigenous race. — The Sublevados. — Indians in arms. — The hidden city. — Mestizos. — Servants. — Wages. — A primitive mill. — The Metate. — Tortillas and Frijoles. — A rare Consul. — The market. — The monastery. — Ancient religion. — The Carnival. — Estudiantes. — Caleza and Volante. — The Nunnery. — The Grand Paseo. — A Yucatan salute. — Sun worshippers. — Waltzing in higher circles. — Sweet daughters of the South. — Polite and polished people. — Lovers' intrigues III.

UXMAL, THE RUINED CITY. Ruins of Yucatan. — A Volan. — Mules with ears. — Yucatecan hospitality. — The Cenote. — An oasis. — " Buenos dias, senores ! " — Subterranean rivers. — Swallows and hornets. — The cattle-yard. — Garrapatas. — Honey and turtle steak. — Sylvan CONTENTS. X bee-hives. — Stingless bees. — Oracion. — The Sierra. — The double-headed tiger. — The pyramid. — The various Casas, del Gobernador, de las Monjas, de las Tortugas, de las Palomas, de la Vieja. — The Royal Palace. — A maze of sculpture. — A hanging garden. — Description baffled. — The House of the Turtles. — The Temple of the Vestals. — The Serpent's Court. — Puzzling wealth of hieroglyphics. — The feathered serpent. — A reminder of Aztec mythology. — Other ruins : Kabah and Labn£. — Comparison of the Central American ruins. — A recently discovered statue. — Theories regarding the people who built these cities. — Prejudiced historians. — A wesk in the ruins. — Our Maya guide. — An Aguada. — The king vulture. — The "Maya Arch " and " Elephant's Trunk." — Misled antiquarians. — Gnomes and goblins. — The Nameless Mound. — The House of Birds.— Night in the Palace. — The Bloody Hand 58 IV.

A NEW INDUSTRY AND AN OLD MONUMENT. Hemp, or Henequen. — The native wealth of Yucatan. — Cultivation and preparation of henequen. — Cordage and hammocks. — The cotton and its worm. — On the road. — Processions of Indians. — Where hammocks are made. — The coach Carlotta rode in. — Ak6. — More ruins. — Cyclopean columns. — Katunes, or epochs, of aboriginal history. — Records of a vanquished people. — Who raised them? — House of the Priest. — Akabna^ or dark house. — The Cenote and its inhabitants. — Lizards and iguanas. — The lizard that tortures you by biting your shadow. — The oldest monuments in America. — Our host, the Conde Peon 82 V. MAYAPAN, THE ANCIENT EMPIRE. Mayapan, and Chichen-Itza. — Aboriginal history. — The Maya Genesis. — Xibalba. — The Itzaes. — The three invasions of Yucatan. — Mayas, Tutul Xius, Caribs. — King Cocom. — The mound at Mayapan. — Dr. Le Plongeon's statue. — Maya astronomy. — Chaldean and Egyptian resemblances. — Antiquity and civilization of the Mayas. — Itzamal, the holy city. —The Yucatecan rebellion. — A ravaged country. — Mural paintings and sculptures. — The great ruined city. — Chaacmol, the Tiger King. — A disappointed discoverer. — A glance at Kabah. — Consul A3'm6's horse. — The man on horseback. — M. Charnay and his theories. — How archæologists are working. — How they should work 94 VI.

A GRAND TURKEY HUNT. The ocellated turkey. — John. — Our dreadful driver, and how we managed him. — Motul. — Its Cenote. — " Toh," the bird that baffled Noah and survived the flood. — A Revolutionary General. — An impromptu ball. — An array of beauty. — A reasonable request. — A town where English had never been spoken. — The young ladies wish to hear it. — They are gratified. — English speech-making to a Spanish audience. — An " original " poem. — Timax, an isolated town. — A home-made physician. — Another dance. — A dignity ball. — The Musicos. — The Mestiza ball. — Dancing against one's will. — " Vaminos." — The turkey-buzzard dance. — The Toro. — A change of scene. — The dying Indian woman. — A welcome for death CONTENTS. XI VII. IN THE LOGWOOD FORESTS. Sleeping spoon-fashion. — A bolt for the coast. — The great mound of Dilam. — Izamal. — The start for the rancho. — " Muy temprano." — A Yucateco Refresco. — The lovely Aguada. — Rare birds. — The camp. — Logwood cutters. — Dinner-table etiquette. — "At your disposal, sir." — A quarrel. — Familiar Maya words. — Weighing the logwood, — Palo de Campeche. — Quail, deer, and turkeys. — The Indian with evil eyes. — The haunts of adders. — A walk at sunset. — Industrious women. — Toiling at the mills 126 VIII.

NORTH COAST OF YUCATAN. Trogons and parrots. — Wild hemp. — Puntas Arenas. — Sea birds by the thousand. — The Lagoon. — Spoonbills and flamingoes. — Ibis and heron. — Fish and coco-nuts. — Failure. — Cozumel and Isla Mujeres. — First landing of the Spaniards. — Important discovery. — The Brasero, or incense burner. — A wilderness of ruins. — Tulum. — Rio Lagartos. — A sal). — Puerto de 3ilam. — Mangrove forests. — Excessive politeness. — El Viejo. — Timax again — The Medico and his patients. — The Correo. — Motul. — Generous Companeros. — Merida 136

Book II. Central And Southern Mexico

IX. PALENQUE AND THE PHANTOM CITY Farewell to Yucatan. — Why one should love the Yucatecos. — An honest people. — The Alexandre steamers — Delightful voyaging. — Campeche. — Aboriginal catacombs. — Champoton, or "Mala pelea. " — Laguna de Terminos. — Unexplored territory. — Frontera. — The River Tabasco, or Grijalva. — San Juan Bautista. — Marina, the Tabascan Princess. — Palenque, the vast group of ruins. — The " Palenque Cross." — The ancient Xibalba. — Peten and Flores, land of the Itzaes. — The deified horse. — Tizimin, the white tapir. — The mysterious city. — An aboriginal centre of civilization 155 X. VERA CRUZ AND JALAPA. River Coatzcoalcos. — Tehuantepec. — The Inter-oceanic Railroad. — Vera Cruz, a lovely city from the sea. — Isla de los Sacrificios. — Castle of San Juan de Ulua. — Peak of Orizaba. — Mountain of the Star. — The Mole. — Zopilotes, or vultures. — Board CONTENTS.

XII 221 of health. — The Plaza. — Tramways. — Sights often described. — Vomito, or yel low fever. — The customs officials. — Dutiable articles. — Vera Cruz, the great Gulf State. — Where Cortes landed. — Jalapa, a refuge from heat and fever. — The mule-car. — The great Spanish highway. — Puente Nacional. — Santa Anna's hacienda. — Rinconada. — The ubiquitous engineer. — Cerro Gordo, a reminiscence of the American army. — The hamlet. — Gardens of Jalapa. — The mountain views. — Corn and coffee. — The bewitching Jalapenas. — Jalap. — Vanilla. — Down the hills to the hot country 173 XI. FROM COAST TO CAPITAL. The great Mexican Railway. — The Llanos. — Fire-flies. — Soledad. — Paso del Macho. — Chiquihuite. — Bridge of Atoyac. — Barrancas and ravines. — Cordova and the coffee district. — A diversion from the track of travel. — Details of coffee culture. — Introduction of the cinchona. — The coffee of Liberia, the West Indies, and Mexico. — Barranca of Metlac. — The tunnels. — The Valley of Orizaba. — Products of two zones. — Coffee and cane, grapes and mangos. — Orizaba, the " Joy of the Water." — Encinal. — The gorge of Infernillo. — The cross on the precipice. — La Joya, the Jewel. — Maltrata. — The region of pines. — The mountain's mouth. — Eight thousand feet above the coast. — Esperanza, the Mexican Hope. — The Great Plateau. — San Marcos. — Tlascala. — Huamantla. — Apizaco. — Soltepec, the highest point on the line. — Apam, the Pulque District. — The American Maguey. — Haciendas. — Otumba. — Valley of Mexico. — At the gates of the capital 194 XII.

CITY OF MEXICO. Adrift. — Hooper. — A country to suit all complexions. — A friend to the rescue The room on the roof-top. — Robbers. — The Mexican dwelling. — The Patio. — The Azotea. — Cortes again. — First entry into Mexico. — Expulsion. — Investment. — Capture. — The new city built on the old. — Plaza Mayor. — Aztec Teocalli. — The first Cathedral. — The Sagrario. — Recent exhumations. — A magnificent temple and its golden treasures. — A relic of Spanish dominion. — Golden lamps and statues. — Those days of old. — Descriptions by other writers. — City and suburban tramways. — In the Cathedral towers. — The Zocalo. — The Flower Market. — The National Palace. — Meteorological Observatory — The astronomer's Elysium. — A relic of royalty. — The Municipal Palace. — Sombreros and Sarapes. — The Alameda. — A view too vast for description. — The wall of mountains. — Lake Tezcoco. — Historic hills. — Physical facts confirm old chronicles. — The ''enchanted city." — The causeways. — Floods. — The birds of the lakes. — The city in danger. — The Great Tajo of Nochistongo. — Imperfect drainage. — Filth and malaria . .

XIII. A RAMBLE AROUND THE CITY. Population of the City of Mexico. — Latitude and elevation. — Climate. — Seasons. — Divisions of time. — The siesta. — A noble charity, Monte Piedad. — Pawn-shops. — Mexican fop and his resources. — The Mineria, or School of Mines. — Mexican CONTENTS. XIII 244 courtesy. — Calle San Francisco. — Hotel Iturbide. — The Escandon and porcelain house. — Convent of San Francisco. — Methodist mission work. — The great library. — Book-stalls. — Rare and ancient volumes. — Old houses. — Humboldt's house. — The great scientist's work in Mexico. — The Mint, Casa de Moneda. — A coinage reckoned by billions. — Amount coined up to 1S83. — An honest dollar. — The Palace of the Inquisition. — A savor of heretics. — The hospitals. — Panteon (cemetery) of San Fernando. — An abode of illustrious men. — The irrepressible conflict. — Church of San Hypolito. — Leap of Alvarado. — Aqueduct of San Cosme. — American cemetery. — Tacuba and the tree of Noche Triste. — Virgin of Remedios .

XIV. THE MEXICANS AT HOME. The author's position in regard to the Mexican. — How the 10,000,000 population is divided. — Views of Sefior Cubas. — The Aborigines, Creoles, Mestizos. — The Indian, his peculiarities and costume. — The great number of tribes and languages. — Who are the Creoles ? — Family life. — Morals. — The Mestizcs. — Their origin. — Representative Mexicans. — Their dress and characteristics. — The Lepero, a true proletarian. — The offspring of misery. — On feast-days. — A born thief. — The Empeno. — Pawning American garments. — Nothing safe out of doors that one man can lift. — How a Lepero pawned a cloak, — and another a church organ. — Their sanguinary disposition. — The Mexican race described by various authors. — Their utter turpitude. — Their many virtues. — Why they love the French. — Because the Frenchman is gushing. — Why they should be shy of foreigners. — Because the foreigner is mercenary. — Summary by a distinguished writer : gentle, hospitable, benevolent, brave. — To which the author subscribes 271 XV.

FEASTS AND FESTIVALS.— MEXICAN MISSIONS. The Devil in Mexico, and his methods. — Ancient Gods of the Mexicans. — Religious rites. — How the Aztecs were converted. — The sway of the Church. — Its rise and fall. — Its lost opportunity. — Beginning of Protestantism. — The Bible in Mexico. — First missions. — The first martyr. — Growth of the mission movement. — A mission map. — Statistics. — Politics and politicians. — Society. — Customs and courtships. — Policemen. — Serenos, or watchmen. — The gentle Mexicans. — The Aguador, or water-carrier. — A picturesque person. — Clandestine meetings. — Playing the bear 291 XVI. A DAY IN THE MUSEUMS. The Mexican Museum. — Museo Nacional. — Sacrificial Stone. — Chaacmol. — Huitzilopochtli. — Temple of the War-god. — The Gods of Aztlan. — Pictures of Viceroys. — Picture-writing. — A benevolent government. — The foreign archæologist. — Mariana. — Founding of the Museum. — Early history. — Its officers and their labors. — Annals of the Museum. — Montezuma's Shield. — The Sacrificial Stone CONTENTS.

XIV — The Calendar Stone, its history and its meaning. — Portrait of Corse's. — Armor of Alvarado. — Feather pictures. — Aztec art. — Mexican " rag figures." — Types of people. — The Aguador, Cargador, and Carbonero. — Institute of San Carlos. — A look through the Academy. — Paintings by old masters. — Velasco's " Valley of Mexico." — Parra's " Las Casas." — The " Massacre in the Temple " 305 XVII. THE MARKETS AND FLOATING GARDENS. A stride through the markets. — Products of every zone. — The omnipresent baby. — Where the flowers are sold, — and where they come from. — A redeeming trait of the Aztec character. — Inbom taste for flowers. — Beauty a begging. — Bridge of La Viga. — The American Venice and its gondoliers. — To the Floating Gardens. — Guatemotzin. — Among the Chinampas. — How Floating Gardens are formed. — What are grown on them. — A wonderful lake. — A sunken city. — Chalco. — An ancient town. — Food-supplying insects. — " Cakes like unto brick-bats." — The Axayacatl. — The lizard-frog. — The American Aloe, or Maguey. — Pulque, and how it is made. — Aguamiel, or honey-water. — Analysis of pulque. — The princess who invented a drink. — The Mexican tipple. — A precursor of cocktails. — Meat markets. — Perambulating butcher-shops. — A clamorous crowd. — Universal depravity of the milkman. — Don Felipe and his cow 327 XVIII.

THE GRAND PASEO, CHAPULTEPEC, EL DESIERTO, AND GUADALUPE. The Alameda. — Statue of Carlos IV. — The Grand Paseo. — A magnificent avenue. — Glorietas. — Statues to Columbus, Cortes, Guatemotzin. — A resort of wealth and fashion. — The need of Mexico. — No American hotel. — The future American quarter. — The new City of Mexico. — The ancient quarries. — Marble baths. — Maximilian's scheme. — Chapultepec. — The Castle. — Molino del Rey. — Montezuma, his cypress, his harem, and his bath. — The Aqueducts. — Ancient rock carvings. — The battles of '47. — Dolores. — Tacubaya. — San Angel. — The gambling centre. — Shepherds and cut-throats. —The Carmelite Convent. — Chartering a diligence. — The Meson. — The man with No hay. — " Trot out your donkeys." — A sad procession. — The Monks' Paradise. — Pearls, crowns, and golden chains. — Balaam and his Burro. — The donkey brigade. — The Shrine and Virgin of Guadalupe. — The stone ship 349 XIX.

POPOCATAPETL. The two huge peaks. — An active volcano. — The Smoking Mountain. — A comparison. — Volcano of Jorullo. — The Morelos Railroad. — San Lazaro. — Amecameca. — Iztaccihuatl. — The dead giantess. — A holy hill. — Sacro Monte. — An ascent of Popocatapetl. — Warnings. — In disguise. — A Volcanero. — A practised phlebotomist. — Ten thousand feet up. — " Are you armed ? " — The black crosses. — Pious murderers. — The dark forest. — Lost. — Cuidado ! — Coyotes and Pumas. — At last! — Don Domingo. — Rancho of Tlamacas. — Sulphur and ice. — Pico del Fraile. — Disheartening stories. — Baffled tourists. — A deep Barranca. — Shifting CONTENTS. XV sands. — La Cruz. — Limit of vegetation. — A sublime spectacle. — The White Woman. — Description by Corse's. — Valley of Mexico. — Orizaba. — At the snow line. — Enveloped in fog. — Climbing the cone. — Above the clouds. — Advice. — My " guides." — Value of coca. — The Crater. — The God of Storms.— Eighteen thousand feet above the sea. — The finding of sulphur. — Scientific investigation. — Minute description of the crater. — Sulfataras. — Sulphur vents. — A storm in the upper regions. — Photographing against odds. — Battle-field of the elements. — A test of endurance. — The slide down the cone. — A misstep. — The field of ashes. — Sunset. — Popocatapetl compared with other high mountains . . .371 XX.

A JOURNEY IN A DILIGENCE. The Mexican Diligence. — American battle-fields. — Churubusco and the Pedregal. — Cruz del Marques. — Cuernavaca, home of Cortes. — Mexican missionaries. — The vast Barrancas. — Scenes of past fights. — Palace of Cortes. — Gardens of Laborde. — Artificial lakes. — Hunting in a plantain grove. — Sugar and coffee. — El Castillo. — Ruins of Xochicalco. — The Caverns. — Strange sculptured forms. — Cacahuamilpa. — A Mexican Mammoth Cave. — The saloon of the dead. — A subterranean wonder. — Gardens of Maximilian. — Staging it by torchlight 396 XXI. THE MEXICAN RAILWAY MOVEMENT.

A chapter to read or skip. — Explanation of Map. — History of the great railway movement. — List of Concessions granted up to 1884, with subsidies, length, and obligations. — Territory traversed by the railways. — ■ The Mexican Railway. — The " Central," the railway back-bone of the Mexican Plateau. — Its charter and obligations. — Cities on its line. — Topography and resources of region penetrated. — A Mexican's estimate of its agricultural and mineral wealth. — The initial movement. — Rapid progress, northward and southward. — Crossing the Rio Grande. — Exit from the Valley of Mexico. — Enthusiastic receptions. — Triumphant advance. — Track completed and road-bed graded. — The " Mexican National." — Short line to Texas and New Orleans. — Subsidy of $7,000 per kilometre. — Cities tributary to this line. — Triumph over difficulties. — An adventure with a pay train. — $30,000 in silver. ■ — Length of line completed. — A rival of the Burro. — Morelos Railroad. — The Transcontinental Route. — Grand banquet. — A terrible accident. — Difference between rainy and dry season. — Railway building, Mexican and American methods contrasted. — At the wrong end. — General summary. — Will these roads pay ? — The bands that bind our sister 416 XXII.

A RIDE THROUGH A MINING REGION. " Mucho polvo." — The face of nature dusted. — " Si, Seiior." — An involuntary clay-eater. — Pachuca. — Seiior Medina, discoverer of the Patio Process. — The Anglo-Spanish mining fever. — Mines in Bonanza. — $90,000 per share. — $4,000,000 in four years. — San Rosario mine. — $100,000,000 from a single mine. — The castle of the silver king. — A mine three hundred years old. — How miners steal the ore. — Abandoned mines. — Those silver hills. — Millions and billions. — The mining laws of Mexico. — Their impartial and just workings. — Mining terms. — Requirements for denoun- CONTENTS. XVI 446 492 cing a mine. — Real del Monte The English venture. — $20,000,000 output, $16,000,000 income. — Veins miles in length, worked for 350 years. — Giant's Causeway of America. — The Cascade of Regla. — Basaltic columns. — How a muleteer became a Count.— A silver footpath. — 500,000 pounds of silver. — The Patio Process. — Silver dust and mud. — A wasteful process. — The Arrastre. — My Mozo. — Obsidian and Obsidian Mines. —San Miguel. — The Saxony Process.— Chilenos. — Ojos de Agua. — Total product of Mexican mines over $4,000,000,000. — Richest regions in the Republic. — The cavern of silver. — A field of doubtful profit. — Miners on the rampage XXIII.

TOLTEC RUINS AND PYRAMIDS. Northward out of the valley. —The bull-fight. — The great Canal. — Railroad building with Mexicans. — Huts of aloes leaves. — Tula, City of the Toltecs. — Ruins of Indian cities. — A very old church. — Toltec remains unearthed. — A chance for archæologists. — God of the Air. — The City of the Gods. — Teotihuacan. — Pyramids of the Sun and Moon. — The road of the dead. — A Treasure-chamber. — Heads of clay and terra-cotta. — Egyptian pyramids. — Tezcoco, the Athens of Anahuac. — A hunt for a missionary. — On his blind side. — A quiet city. — More ruins. — Tienda and Fonda. — Brigantines of Cortes. — Palace of the Hungry Jackal.— Ruins of reservoirs • . 469 XXIV. TLASCALA, PUEBLA, AND CHOLULA. Apizaco. — Chieftains of Tlascala. — Banner of Cortes. — Convent of early times. — Old bells. — Ancient font. — The first pulpit in New Spain. — The Meson. — The ever-present Cross. — City of Puebla. — A centre of priestly power. — " Pay or pray." — The City of the Angels. — A miracle somewhere. — A gorgeous cathedral. — Mexican onyx. — Translucent tecalli. — Church treasures. — A sanctimonious city. — Libraries and paintings. — A wonderful market. — Alarming telegrams. — The disappointed agriculturist. — A "holy terror." — Mexican versus vulture. — Pawning a plough. — Stealing the teeth from a harrow. — Untrustworthy people. — Pyramid of Cholula. — The Feathered Serpent. — Old conventual structure. — The man with a butterfly net. — A naturalist's privileges. — A safeguard in Mexican travel . .

XXV. SIX WEEKS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. The Place of Pomegranates. — City of the Miztec Gods. — Cerro Colorado. — The Grant- Romero Railway. —A Sunday bull-fight. — A skirmish with fleas. — The Organ Cactus. — Nopal, or Prickly-pear. — A sugar plantation. — The drunken musicians. — Dominguillo. — A house and a cow-yard. — Zapotecs and Miztecs. — The buried golden throne. — Valley of Oaxaca. — Horseback and muleback. — The triple valley. — Fruits and cabinet woods. — Indian opposition to immigration. — A man to the square foot. — Antequera the Beautiful. — The home of distinguished men. — Institute of Oaxaca. — The Museum. — Monte Alban. — Hedges of cactus. — Cochineal culture. — An industry of the past ci. CONTENTS. XVII XXVI. THE WONDERFUL PALACES OF MITLA. Mitla A Mexican giant. — Astonished Mozo Cannibal Indians. — Tlacolula.

The Zapotec dwelling of the dead. — Elaborate ornamentation. — Peculiar mosaics. — The Pillar of Death. — Blocks of porphyry. — Egyptian characters. — Idols of clay. — Grecques A sanguinary battle. — Montezuma's daughter. — The buried chamber. — St. John of the Drunkards. —The Alcalde, and his badge of office. — The giant tree of Tule. — A find of copper axes. — That fabled mine of gold. — Gorged with ruins. — The mines of Montezuma. — Don Santos Gomez. — Our frisky mule. — A Caballero's equipments. — The Mexican horse and its caparison. — The Sarape, Manga, and Poncho. — Saddle, bits, and bridle. — Sabre and pistols. — An aboriginal garment. — Off for the hills. — Indians of the Sierras. — Unsophisticated people. — The Cabildo, or King's House. — " Mexican Connection." — Six weeks in the saddle. — A bolt for the coast. — Smitten with fever. —Small-pox and vomito. — Unanswered telegrams. — A ravaged town. — On the Yucatan shore. — A " Norther." — Death on shipboard. — Havana 531