A MEXICAN ARCADIA.
"If you come over here you will get a better view," spoke a gentleman
as he came from the back end of the car hauling us from Cordoba to this
place. We were nearly breaking our backs in a vain endeavor to look
over a man and wife, surrounded by almost as many children as belonged
to the old woman in the shoe, down the perpendicular side of the
mountain into the deep ravine beneath. We took a survey of the speaker,
of his light woolen suit with wide sombrero to match, his pleasant,
handsome face, and mentally decided that he was not only worth looking
at, but also worth talking to. By the time the train had passed the
barranca we were in a deep conversation, quite after the manner of
Americans, and although none of us asked any impudent questions we were
discussing marriage and women's rights.
"I think every woman should be taught some useful occupation," he said,
"and their education should be unlimited. But the one great fault
of the world is not paying a woman what she is worth. There are few
things in which a woman is able to sell her talents at the same price
as a man, and it is a reproach to humanity that it is so. I have three
daughters now at school. The oldest is studying to be a physician, the
second has great artistic ability which she is cultivating, and the
third is a good musician. In either of these vocations they can take
their place among men and receive the same recompense.
"I am living in Orizaba now," he continued, "and have been hunting deer
for the past few days just below Cordoba. We saw plenty, but our man
and dogs did not understand the game, so we returned empty handed. The
only thing wounded is my friend back there, who fell out of a hammock
while we were away and sprained his ankle." As we told him Orizaba was
also our destination, the next question was where did we intend to
stop, and found it was the place where he lived. After he had given
the wounded man into the care of friends, we got on a car and soon
reached our hotel. It was so dainty and nice that I cannot resist a
brief description for the benefit of those who may some day be in its
locality.
It is known as the La Borda, and is near the station, as well as the
best in the town. The rooms are a model of cleanliness and neatly
furnished. From the front one can survey part of the village, and the
range of mountains outlined against the sky like immense waves, each
one climbing higher, and above all the great mountain, that majestic
monument which wears its snowy nightcap seventeen thousand two hundred
feet above the level of the sea. At the rear of the house, just below
the dining-room windows, is a never-ceasing waterfall which goes to
feed some mills in the vicinity. In the first glimmer of day with our
wakening senses we hear its murmuring song with that of the birds. Its
sound is in a gentle, half-subdued manner, as though enticing the
birds to come nearer to its brink and bathe their toes and quench
their thirst with its foaming waves. Near mid-day it gets loud and
boisterous, and you seem to hear: "The day is short, improve your
time," over and over with a monotony that rather fascinates us.
Directly above this wonderful fall is a cozy little garden, cultivated
by the landlady, who also deserves a word. She is a German, who
accompanied her husband to this country some years ago. He died and
left her in a strange land with two baby girls, whom she maintains by
running this hotel. She is quite pretty, and speaks German and Spanish
fluently, while she is studying English, and understands some now. She
keeps her house, like most Germans, as clean as it can possibly be
made, and endeavors to have all her guests feel at home. The cooking
is so good and everything so comfortable that one would fain have the
little German woman and the La Borda in every town in the Republic.
Orizaba is a beautiful little valley surrounded by a chain of majestic
mountains. The houses are white and most generally of one and two
stories. There are 25,500 inhabitants. It was for a long time the
capital of Vera Cruz. When this place was first founded in the year
1200 by the Tlascaltacas, its original name was Ahanializapan, which,
translated, meant "Pleasure in or on the water." The people prospered
and lived in peace and happiness until the Aztec Emperor Montezuma
reduced them to his dominion in 1457. Still under such a good and wise
king they could not be otherwise than happy in this lovely garden,
until Gonzalo Sandoval undertook and was successful in conquering them
in 1521. But even war did not stop its progress, and in ten years
later, in 1531, the governor gave it its present name, the Valley of
Orizaba. The people grew in intelligence, and were industrious and
religious. In 1534 they built their first parish church, Gonzalode
Olmedo, and as early as 1599 had put up a building and opened their
first school. Inhabitants increased rapidly, and in 1774 it took the
rank of town. Not satisfied yet, they built up, and the population
increased by birth and new settlers until in 1830 it was declared to be
a city.
Orizaba was for a long time capital of its state, Vera Cruz, and is now
the pleasure and health resort for people from all over the Republic,
besides being the home of the wealthy people of Vera Cruz. No yellow
fever or any of the other diseases come to this dainty valley, yet
twelve doctors are holding forth and trying to gain a living in the
vicinity. All are Spanish, with the exception of one, an Austrian,
and only two speak English, one of whom used to write for an American
paper. For the entire population there are but three baths (banos), but
the poor can go to the river which runs near by. The only amusements
are the billiard hall, bowling alley, and two fine theaters. One
contains 272 lunetas, eighteen plateas, nineteen palcos, and one
galeria. The other cost $100,000, and has a magnificent interior. It
has 252 lunetas, eighty balconies, three grilles, thirteen first-class
and thirteen second-class palcos, and one galeria.
On the map there are recorded but eleven churches, but even from our
hotel window we could count many times the number. Those recorded are
the San Antonio, Calverio, Concordid, Las Dolores, Santa Gertrudes,
San Jose de Gracia (ex-convent), San Juan de Dios, San Maria, Tercer
Orden and La Parroquis, which is the largest and finest. It is situated
in the zocalo and has had its steeple knocked off three times by
earthquakes. The latter seem to have a special grudge against this
one church, for although they have caused the towers of many others
to lean, they have never shaken any of them completely down. Orizaba
must be a very naughty child--beautiful children most always are--for
Dame Nature often gives it a shaking. She is an indulgent and not very
severe mother, as little or no damage is ever done by the correction,
excepting to this one cathedral. During our stay the earth shivered as
though struck with a chill, but the people paid no more attention to it
than we do to a summer shower; not half so much, in fact, as we do when
the mentioned shower threatens to ruin our Easter bonnet.
Two little Spanish papers of four pages, or two sheets, about 8x6
inches square, retail at twelve and a half cents and furnish the
news for the inhabitants. The children here should not be lacking in
education, as there are ten schools for boys and six for girls; they
can start at any age, and go as long as they wish. Besides this, the
government sustains a preparatory college of one hundred and fifty
students, at the yearly cost of eleven thousand dollars; a high school
for girls, two hundred and fifteen pupils, at two thousand eight
hundred dollars, and a model school for boys, one hundred and eighty
students, at five thousand six hundred dollars. The government also
gives a subsidy to five adult schools of six hundred dollars. The
municipality schools, four for boys, three for girls and five for
adults, cost yearly eight thousand dollars. In addition, there are
twenty-nine private schools, with an attendance of five hundred and
forty girls, six hundred and forty boys and sixteen adults; yet, with
all this well-made report, there are in the Republic of Mexico two
million five hundred thousand people who cannot read or write.
Orizaba has rather a big heart--they furnish a free home for men and
one for women with hospitals attached, but one don't dare mention their
cleanliness or order; they are under the superintendence of the Board
of Charity. There is also a retreat for the insane, which, like ours
in the States, occupies a spot free from all other habitations. The
last year's report of the town's statistics shows that they received
indirect contributions, $25,000; direct contributions, $20,000;
miscellaneous sources, $4,000; municipal rights, $4,000; contribution
of twenty-five per cent. to Federal district, $27,000. Pulque shops are
scarce, there being only three, besides one lithographer, one public
garden, two photographers, one dentist, four established cigarette
manufactories, and one lottery, for it is impossible to find a Mexican
town without. There are no Americans in the town, except those who
belong to the railroad.
Many things of interest are to be seen in and around Orizaba. One
who cares to climb can ascend the Cerro del Berrego and view the old
ruins which mark the spot where the Mexicans were defeated during
the French invasion, June 13, 1862. A little way out is Jalapilla,
where Maximilian resided a short time after the French army had gone,
and where he held the famous council to determine whether he should
abdicate or not. One and a half miles south are large sugar plantations
and mills. Besides, there are several waterfalls, between two and five
miles distant, noted for their beauty and strangeness; the Cascade
Rincon Grande is about one mile east; the water has a fall of over
fifty feet, and all around is a luxuriant growth of vegetation, which
helps to make the spot one of the prettiest in Mexico. Donn Tonardo
Cordoba is a forty-foot fall, which disappears in a round hole in the
earth, falling to a depth that has never been measured.
Another thing interesting to foreigners are the old Spanish deeds,
written on parchment during the time of Cortes. They can be seen at
the register's office by giving the man in charge two reals for his
trouble. On Sunday afternoon bull-fights are held in an old convent,
and what was once a fine church is now the barracks for a garrison and
hall for the Masonic lodge.
Many people have a fancy to climb the peak of Orizaba, which is 17,200
feet high. It requires but five hours of a good climb to reach the
summit. The last eruptions it had were in 1545 and 1566. Several
times it has been reported smoking, but the rumors were finally, on
investigation, pronounced unfounded. The well-to-do people occupy one
and two-story houses with overhanging and tile roofs, while the poor
class construct their mansions out of old boards, sugar cane stalks,
barrel staves, pieces of matting, sun-dried bricks, and thatch them
with palm leaves and dried strips of maguey. Their floor is always the
ground. The highest temperature in the shade at Orizaba is 30 deg., the
lowest 12 deg., but the average is mostly 21 deg., with always an east
wind prevailing.
Orizaba is a delightful place for a stranger to stroll about in. We
started out to see the town without guide or companion, and felt
ourselves fully repaid by the many strange and delightful things we saw.
We went to the market, which is situated on an open square, and
examined all the curious things. The birds especially attracted our
attention, the many varieties, colors and shapes, and the extremely
low prices, some selling for a medio (6 1/4 cents), others for a
real. Young parrots were fifty cents, mocking-birds $1, and buglers,
a bird shaped like the mocking-bird, but lighter in color and far
superior in song, $2.50 and $3. All that restrains one from making a
large investment is the fact that many cannot live in cages, as none
know on what food they subsist, consequently they have to die. Little
snow-white dogs, with bright black eyes and hair fine as silk, about
three to five inches in length, sell for $2, while the famous Chihuahua
dog, which weighs about half a pound when full grown, commands from $75
to $100, since tourists have ruined the prices.
Out by the unlucky Cathedral we saw the hearse of the town. It is
the shape of a coffin, held aloft by springs above four wheels. It
is draped with crape and plumes. Two black mules, stuck with plumes
on every available spot, draw it, and the driver, dressed in black
with high hat decorated with a plume, handles the reins, perched on a
small seat about four feet above the rest of the hearse. The coffin is
slid in at the back or end like the case in which coffins are often
hermetically scaled.
Selecting a poor street, we started to make our way toward the
mountains. On it we found a row of houses numbered in the following
style: January 1, February 2, March 3, April 4, May 5, June 6, July
7, August 8, September 9, October 10, November 11, December 12.
Still further down we saw one called "The place of Providence," each
different door designated as "The place of Providence A, the place
of Providence B," and so on throughout the alphabet. Next we came to
a laundry which did not remind us in the least of those at home. The
river was the tub, a porous stone the washboard, and the little bushes
and green bank the clothesline. In this manner all the washing of the
town is done. We admired the washwomen for quite a while as they rubbed
the clothes on the stone and then doused them up and down in the stream.
At last we concluded to jump across and go down on the other side, but
we forgot we were women and that the dress of last fall was extremely
narrow. We jumped from one washboard to another. We landed on it all
right, but we did not stay long, but slipped back into the water, which
was about three feet deep, much to our consternation. On our way home
we stopped at the Tivoli, the bath-house and the main alameda, which is
situated at the foot of an immense mountain, and is said to be one of
the prettiest in the Republic. The walks and drives are wide and nicely
paved, a great variety of trees furnish the shade and musical fountains
are plentiful. A music stand is in the center and is occupied nightly
by a good band. The water-carriers were getting their supply from one
of the large basins; they were also different from others we have
seen. They have a long pole across their shoulders, and suspended from
each end is a bucket containing the water, after the style of the
milkmaids in the States. It seems strange that though every city has
its water-carriers and that every one in the same town carries exactly
alike, yet in no two towns do they carry in the same manner.
I cannot forget to introduce you to the pleasant gentleman we met on
the train. He is Mr. A. Baker, Her Britannic Majesty's Consul at Vera
Cruz. He speaks fluently fifteen different languages, and when I asked
him if he was not very proud of the fact, he replied: "Yes, until I met
a waiter in a restaurant who could speak eighteen." He is a widower,
and came here accompanied by his only son, while his three daughters
are at school in Europe. The common expression made of him here is,
that "he is good enough for an American." Now you can judge how
agreeable he is. He has been knighted three different times, and was
colonel in two different armies, yet he is still plain Mr. Baker. "Oh,
I had ancestors," he said, jokingly, as we were discussing people's
little vanities, "and they came over in the ship of the conquerors,
also. My forefather was a cook. One day the bread was exhausted, and
there was no way to procure more, so the cook made some pancakes, and
waited in terror while they were taken in to his majesty. At last he
got a summons to appear before him; trembling and expecting to be
beheaded, the poor fellow sank at his sovereign's feet, when, instead
of a sentence to be executed, he heard: 'Rise, Sir Baker.' Since then
that has been the family name."
Accompanied by Mr. Baker, we started north to see a waterfall, and to
take the train at the next station. We got in a car and went winding
in between the high mountains from which the black marble is quarried
until we reached a stretch of land, where we alighted and crossed the
fields until we came to that wonderful stream. The water is quite cold
and mineral, and as clear as crystal, one being able to see the bottom
at the depth of twenty feet as though there was no water intervening.
Down where the water was more shallow were several horses fishing for
the grass that grows in the bottom; they thrust in their heads until
their eyes were in the water, and then pulled out a mouthful of grass;
they made a beautiful picture. Baths are situated here, and trees grow
around just plentiful enough to be pretty. Foot logs span the stream,
and the cool, green, velvety plots invite a longer stay.
On one foot log we discovered what appeared to be walking leaves, as
the green leaves glided along, moved by an unseen power. Investigation
proved them to be an army of ants, each one carrying a leaf on its
back which looked like a little sail. On the edge of the bank, half
in the water, half out, lay a branch of willow. These little things
climbed it, risking life and limb, and, cutting off a leaf, hoisted it
on their backs and marched easily a quarter of a mile to their home.
They had a path of road about five inches wide made along the grass
all the distance. The street cleaners must be faithful, as it was as
clean as could be, shaded on either side by the grass, without one
blade in their way. They crossed the foot log and disappeared in a hole
at the other end. We wondered what they were making inside with those
many leaves. They were so interesting at their work that it was with
reluctance we left them. Boarding our train, with much regret, we were
soon lost to sight of the Valley of Orizaba and were once more on our
way to a new and strange city.