AQUEDUCT AT QUERETARO.--THE RESULT OF A BANTER.--THE HILL OF THE
BELLS.--PLACE WHERE MAXIMILIAN WAS SHOT.--REVOLUTIONS IN
MEXICO.--FOREIGN INTERVENTION.--MAXIMILIAN BECOMES EMPEROR.--THE "BLACK
DECREE."--WITHDRAWAL OF FRENCH TROOPS FROM MEXICO.--MAXIMILIAN'S DEFEAT,
CAPTURE, AND DEATH.--HOW A FRENCH NEWSPAPER CIRCUMVENTED THE
LAWS.--PRONUNCIAMENTOS.--JUAREZ AS PRESIDENT.--THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN OF
MEXICO.--A WONDERFUL PROPHECY.--PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF JUAREZ.--RELIGION
IN MEXICO.--FORMER POWER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.--THE LAWS OF THE
REFORM.--PROTESTANT CHURCHES AND PROTESTANT WORK.--MISSIONARY
MARTYRS.--MURDER OF REV. J. L. STEPHENS.--RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS AT PRESENT.
[Illustration: AQUEDUCT OF QUERETARO.]
One of the first things to attract the attention of the youths was the
aqueduct by which Queretaro is supplied with water. They learned on
inquiry that it was built by one of the citizens at an expense of half a
million dollars; the story goes that it was the result of a banter
between him and another wealthy Mexican, one offering to supply the city
with water if the other would build a shrine and saint of solid silver.
The offer was accepted, and the agreement carried out by both parties.
The water comes from a mountain stream five miles from the city, and is
brought through a tunnel, and afterwards along a series of arches, some
of which are ninety feet high. It was finished in 1738, and has ever
since supplied Queretaro with an abundance of water.
[Illustration: Church of the Cross. Hill of the Bells.
QUERETARO.]
The most interesting sight of Queretaro is the Cerro de las Campanas, or
Hill of the Bells, and thither our friends proceeded as soon as they had
partaken of the mid-day meal, which was ready on their arrival at the
hotel. There is a fine view from the hill, and they greatly enjoyed it;
but they were more interested in the spot where the last Mexican empire
came to an end. Three black crosses mark the place where Maximilian and
his generals, Miramon and Mejia, were shot on the morning of the 19th of
June, 1867. This was the last scene in the drama of the imperial
monarchy which Louis Napoleon sought to found in North America at the
time of the American Civil-War.
Frank and Fred had already familiarized themselves with the history of
Maximilian's career in Mexico. Frank had committed a portion of the
story to paper, and with Fred's assistance it was completed during their
stay at Queretaro, and mailed homeward with their next batch of letters.
Here it is:
"From the time Mexico established her independence of Spain down to
1860, there was a bitter hostility between the two parties into which
the influential portion of the population was divided--the Conservative
or Church party, and the Liberals. The Conservatives represented the
Catholic Church, whose religion was brought to Mexico by the priests
that accompanied Cortez and sought to convert the people from paganism.
They succeeded in great measure, and as long as the Spaniards were in
power the Church was in full control. It possessed a great part of the
wealth of the country; the most moderate estimate is that one-fourth of
all the property in the country belonged to the Church, and some
authorities say that the proportion was far greater.
"When independence was established, the Liberals began active opposition
to the Church party, and the country was hardly ever at peace from one
end to the other. Revolutions followed each other with great rapidity.
Several Presidents were not allowed to enter upon the duties of their
office at all, and the first President to complete the full term for
which he was elected was Benito Juarez. Historians are not agreed as to
the number of revolutions that have taken place in Mexico; but it is
safe to say that they were not fewer than thirty-six in the limit of
forty years, most of them being accompanied by bloodshed. In that period
there were no less than seventy-three rulers, nearly all of them
exercising very brief authority, and some none at all.
"As time went on, the hostility of the Church and Liberal parties to
each other grew more and more bitter, till it culminated in the War of
the Reform, between 1855 and 1858. In 1859 President Juarez proclaimed
the famous Laws of the Reform, which forbade priests to appear in public
wearing their robes of office, suppressed the monasteries and convents,
and gave the property of the Church to the Government. The value of this
property is said to have been more than $300,000,000. The Liberal army
captured the capital city six months after the proclamation of these
laws, and they were immediately put in operation, and with great
severity.
"The country was deeply in debt, and in 1861 the Liberal Congress passed
a law suspending payment of the interest on its foreign debt. This gave
England, France, and Spain an excuse for sending a naval and military
force to Mexico; they captured Vera Cruz, and then an arrangement was
made which caused the withdrawal of England and Spain; but France
remained, and was evidently determined to conquer the country. The
French advanced towards the capital, which they captured June 9, 1863.
There were 40,000 French troops in Mexico, and they were joined by a
Mexican force which was in the interest of the Church party.
"In July a congress of Mexican notables proclaimed that the Government
of Mexico should be an hereditary monarchy, under a Catholic prince, and
offered the crown to Maximilian, brother of the Emperor of Austria.
Maximilian accepted the offer, and came to Mexico with his wife,
Carlotta; they arrived in July, 1864, and were crowned Emperor and
Empress of Mexico, in the great cathedral of the capital city. The
Emperor selected Chapultepec as his imperial residence; a fine avenue
was laid out from the castle to the city, trees were planted, streets
were improved, and for a short time it seemed as if peace and prosperity
were coming to Mexico.
"Juarez was still President of the Republic; he and his army were driven
far to the north, but they continued to fight, and in October, 1865,
Maximilian signed an order which became known as the 'Black Decree,'
condemning all Republican officers captured in battle to be shot as
brigands. Many of them, including several generals and colonels, were
shot accordingly, and this act exasperated the people.
[Illustration: A MEXICAN CAVALRY SOLDIER.]
"The American Civil War had ended; the United States Government put
60,000 troops along the western frontier of Texas, and then intimated
that the French forces must be withdrawn from Mexico. The diplomatic
correspondence lasted six months, and our Government threatened armed
intervention unless the French troops were recalled. They were
withdrawn; Maximilian had no foreign support, and his own army could not
cope successfully with the Republican forces. Juarez, with his army,
advanced towards the south, and the Imperial army marched to meet him,
and was defeated. A Republican army, under General Diaz, captured
Puebla, and put the Imperialists to flight.
[Illustration: A MEXICAN INFANTRY SOLDIER.]
"Carlotta went to France, and vainly besought Louis Napoleon to continue
his aid and keep a French army in Mexico. Then she asked the Pope to
exercise his influence, and finding that was of no use, she became
hopelessly insane. Maximilian started for the coast, intending to leave
the country; unwisely for himself, he changed his plans, and joined
General Miramon at Queretaro, where there were 5000 Imperial troops.
Queretaro was besieged by 20,000 troops, under General Escobedo; the
siege lasted two months, and ended on the 15th of May, when the key of
the position was captured, and the Emperor and his army surrendered. The
Emperor was taken on the Hill of the Bells, the very spot where he was
afterwards shot by order of the court-martial which condemned him to
death."
[Illustration: LINE OF DEFENCE HELD BY MAXIMILIAN DURING THE SIEGE.]
"A very concise history of the events of that time," said Doctor
Bronson, when Frank paused in reading their joint production; "have you
anything more to add to it?"
"Yes, sir, we have," was the reply. "We have thought that the story of
the court-martial, and the last days and hours of Maximilian, would be
interesting, and ought to form a part of our narrative."
"That is quite right," the Doctor answered, "and if you have not
finished it I will hear it some other time."
On a subsequent occasion Fred presented the following, which was
heartily approved by Doctor Bronson as deserving a place in the
narrative of their journey through Mexico:
"Maximilian was condemned to death on account of the 'Black Decree,' and
the officers who had carried out his orders were sentenced to the same
fate. The wife of General Miramon went to San Luis Potosi to intercede
with President Juarez for her husband's life. The Princess Salm-Salm
went at the same time to do a similar service for Maximilian. The
princess, in the account of her interview, says: 'I saw the President
was moved; he had tears in his eyes, but he assured me in a low, sad
voice, "I am grieved, madame, to see you thus on your knees before me,
but if all the kings and queens of Europe were in your place, I could
not spare that life. It is not I who take it, it is the people and the
law; and if I should not do its will, the people would take it, and mine
also."'
"Miramon's wife told a similar story about the wish of the President to
be merciful and reprieve her husband. She says he was wavering when his
Minister of Foreign Affairs said, 'It is to-day or never that you will
consolidate the peace of the republic.' Then the President told her as
gently as he could that it was impossible to grant her request.
"The Government of the United States asked that Maximilian's life be
spared, and the Emperor of Austria sent a similar request, but all to no
purpose. On the morning of the execution Maximilian rode in a coach with
his confessor from the prison to the Hill of the Bells, and Miramon and
Mejia, with their confessors, followed in another coach. An adobe wall
had been built up for the occasion, and the three men were placed in
front of it, and about ten paces from the firing party. Maximilian held
a crucifix in his hand, and looked intently upon it as the order to fire
was given. The President caused the remains of the ill-fated Emperor to
be carefully coffined, and they were sent home to Austria for interment
in the Imperial vault of the Hapsburgs.
"President Juarez entered the city of Mexico on the 15th of July, less
than a month after Maximilian's death, and carried with him a train of
provisions for the relief of the suffering inhabitants. Great leniency
was shown to all who had served under Maximilian; nineteen of the
officers who had committed crimes or deserted from the Republican army
were shot, others were imprisoned, and some were ordered to leave the
country under pain of imprisonment in case they returned. The rank and
file of the soldiery were sent to their homes or incorporated into the
national army, and the President did everything in his power to bring
peace to the country; and since that time Mexico has been a peaceful
land compared with what it had been for the preceding forty years."
When Fred completed the reading of his story Doctor Bronson said he was
reminded of an incident that happened at the time of the execution of
Maximilian.
"I was in Paris," said he, "when the news came that the execution had
taken place. The French papers were not allowed to make any comment upon
the affair, except to execrate it and denounce the Mexicans in the
bitterest terms. Louis Napoleon would have caused the immediate
suspension of any paper that uttered a word in sympathy with the acts of
Juarez.
"One of the liberal papers managed very skilfully to get around the
prohibition. It printed the telegram announcing that Maximilian had
been shot by order of a Mexican court-martial, and directly beneath the
telegram it printed the 'Black Decree' of October, 1865, to which you
have alluded, and with it two letters written by Maximilian's victims
just before they were led to execution. The decree and the letters were
copied from the French official newspapers, and therefore they could be
printed without risk of interference. There was not a word of editorial
comment, nor was any needed."
"We said there had been peace in Mexico since the fall of the Empire,"
continued Fred, "but our words deserve to be qualified. There have been
disturbances at different times and in various parts of the country. In
1871 there was something that almost threatened civil war in the shape
of a pronunciamento by General Diaz, and for a while things had a
serious aspect. General Diaz did not like the election of Juarez for a
third time; he proposed an assembly of notables to reorganize the
government, and that he (Diaz) should be commander-in-chief of the army
until the assembly had done its work. This would have been practically
equivalent to making him President, but the whole scheme was ended by
the sudden death of Juarez in July, 1872.
"Lerdo de Tejado then became President, and for three years everything
was peaceful. Then came another revolution, which drove Lerdo from the
capital and installed Diaz in the Presidential chair. At the end of his
term Diaz was succeeded by General Gonzales, who was a poor man when he
became President, and a very rich one when he left the office. He left
it peaceably, and was succeeded, December 1, 1884, by Diaz, who has
shown himself a man of ability, and has managed the affairs of the
country very creditably.
"There you have Mexican history boiled down," said Fred. "Perhaps it may
be tedious to some of the boys at home, and if it is, they know how to
skip."
The conversation that followed this reading naturally turned upon
Mexican affairs. Doctor Bronson signified his readiness to answer any
questions the youths might ask, or, if he did not know the correct
answers, he would try to tell them where the desired information could
be obtained.
"President Juarez was a native of Mexico, and not of Spanish descent,
was he not?" Frank asked.
[Illustration: FIRST PROTESTANT CHURCH IN MEXICO.]
"Yes," said the Doctor; "he was a full-blooded Indian, his parents
having been people in very humble circumstances. He has been called the
Washington or the Lincoln of Mexico; to him Mexico owes the Laws of the
Reform and the concessions that have brought railways into the country
and opened it up to commercial relations with the rest of the world. He
was the first Protestant President of the country, all his predecessors
having been of the Catholic faith. He is described by those who knew him
as a man rather below the average height, stoutly built without being
corpulent, exceedingly plain in dress, but always fastidiously neat.
Ordinarily he wore a dress-coat of black broadcloth, with other garments
to match, and on state occasions he substituted white gloves and cravat
for the every-day black ones. He used to ride in a plain coach, with no
liveried servants, which was quite a contrast to the grand turnout of
Maximilian, who had a state carriage like that of Louis XIV.
"His complexion was Indian, and so were his features; his eyes were
small and black, and his face, which was always clean-shaven, bore an
expression of great firmness. He was not talkative, and was the same
determined, silent man in prosperity as in adversity. His faith in the
success of the republic was never shaken, even when he was living in an
adobe hut on the banks of the Rio Grande, with less than 500 followers,
and a reward offered by Maximilian for his head. When he arrived at El
Paso del Norte he was accompanied by only twenty-two friends, who have
since been called 'the immaculate.'
"I have read somewhere,"[4] continued the Doctor, "a curious story
connected with his history. When Mexico was conquered by the Spaniards,
a priest of the Aztec temple at Taos, in New Mexico, kindled a fire upon
its altar, and planted a tree in front of the edifice. He prophesied
that when the tree died a new white race would come from the East and
conquer the land, and when the fire went out a new Montezuma would arise
and rule Mexico. The tree died in 1846, during our war with Mexico, and
the fire went out when the last of the Aztec priests of Taos died, in
the year that Juarez became President."
[4] In "Our Sister Republic," by Albert S. Evans, p. 305.
[Illustration: PUEBLO AT TAOS, NEW MEXICO.]
"Was he ever imprisoned or banished, like the most of the leading men of
Mexico?" Frank asked.
"Yes," was the reply. "He was a native of the State of Oajaca, where he
was educated in a seminary and studied law; he graduated with high
honors at the college, and for some years held the chair of natural
philosophy in that institution. In 1836, when he was thirty years old,
he was imprisoned by the Conservatives on account of his Liberal
principles. After his release he became Chief-judge of the Republic, and
held several other offices until 1853, when he was imprisoned and
banished by General Santa Anna, and lived two years in the United
States, suffering severe privations. Events brought him into Mexico
again, and from that time he did not leave the country until his death.
He was imprisoned a third time, in 1857, by Comonfort, but only for a
short while."
"We have mentioned the Laws of the Reform, which were proclaimed by
President Juarez and caused the appropriation of the property of the
Church by the Government. Did the Church have much property besides the
convents, cathedrals, and Church buildings generally?"
[Illustration: GARDEN OF A MEXICAN CONVENT.]
"A great deal more than those," the Doctor answered. "The Church owned
real estate in vast extent both in the cities and the rural districts,
and some people say more than half the dwelling-houses in the city of
Mexico belonged to it. It had the reputation of being a very generous
landlord, as it rented its houses at a lower rate than similar property
could be had from private owners. On this subject I will quote from an
English writer who spent some time in Mexico a few years ago."
Thereupon Doctor Bronson read the following from "Mexico To-day," by
Thomas U. Brocklehurst:
"'The Church of Mexico has been all-powerful since its
commencement; it may be said to be the Government, the magistracy,
the army, and the master of the homes. Everything in Mexico has
been subservient to its dictatura. The priesthood has been entirely
free from the national courts of law, they have had courts of their
own, and the _fueros_, or privileges of the ecclesiastics, placed
them entirely beyond the reach of secular power. They levied taxes
and tithes of everybody and everything they had a mind to. The
extent to which the clergy accumulated wealth is almost incredible;
they are said to have possessed three-fourths of the whole property
of the country, consisting of lands and other real estate, rents,
mortgages, conventual buildings, and church ornaments. Moreover,
there were no bankers in Mexico except the clergy, so they had
complete power over the estates as well as the souls of the people.
"'In 1850 Señor Lerdo de Tejara, Minister of Public Works,
published a statistical account of the revenues and endowments of
the Church, with the numbers of the clergy, monks, nuns, and
servants connected with the religious establishments. The details
he gives, like the evidence of the existing churches, and the
remains of the disused ones all over the country, quite support his
statement that the Church was possessed of three-fourths of the
property of the State.'
"Another writer," continued Doctor Bronson, "says that the property of
the Church included about 900 rural estates and 25,000 blocks of city
property. When this property was confiscated and sold, the Church
authorities warned all good Catholics not to invest in it. The result
was that it went at very low prices, and fell into the hands of those
who cared nothing for the religion of the former owners. The Church
people probably see by this time that they made a mistake. Had they
allowed Catholics to buy the confiscated property, they could have got
it back again into their own hands with very little trouble, and at a
small valuation. Dwelling-houses, shops, and all sorts of ordinary
buildings, along with the rural estates and the convents, have been sold
for secular purposes, but the church edifices proper are permitted to
remain in the hands of their former authorities, and services go on
there without interruption. The Laws of the Reform allow freedom of
religious worship, and a Catholic has the same protection as the
adherent of any other faith."
"Were there any Protestant churches in Mexico before the Laws of the
Reform were proclaimed?" Fred asked.
"No," was the reply; "the Catholic Church did not permit them to exist
any more than the Puritans allowed a Quaker in their midst in the early
days of the Plymouth Colony. Human nature is the same all the world
over, and any religious body that has supreme control of a country is
pretty certain to exercise its power. You know the old explanation of
the difference between religion and superstition?"
"What is that?"
"Religion is what we believe; superstition is what others believe."
The boys laughed, and said they had heard the definition before. Then
the Doctor continued:
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, CITY OF
MEXICO.]
"The Laws of the Reform tolerated all religions, and guaranteed freedom
of public worship. During the Mexican War our army was followed by
colporteurs, who distributed tracts and did other religious work. They
followed the example of the priests who accompanied Cortez, but, unlike
them, they did not succeed in converting the population. Missionary work
was begun by the American Baptists in 1863, and followed shortly after
by the Methodists, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians. There was much
opposition on the part of some of the priests, and in several instances
their ignorant followers were incited to hostility. You must remember
that the Mexican priests are not as intelligent, taken as a body, as the
Catholic priests of the United States; and understanding this, you will
not wonder at the open hostility displayed towards all other forms of
religion.
[Illustration: REV. JOHN L. STEPHENS, A MARTYR MISSIONARY.]
"In the early days of the Protestant missions the missionaries in Mexico
entered upon their duties at the risk of their lives. In 1872 a
missionary and his wife settled in Guadalajara. During the first few
weeks of their residence in the place they were stoned whenever they
appeared on the streets. The Governor came to their aid, and in time the
prejudice against them wore away. In November of the same year another
missionary, Rev. John L. Stephens, settled in Ahualuco, a town of five
thousand inhabitants, ninety miles from Guadalajara, and began his work.
On the 2d of the following March, at two o'clock in the morning, his
house was attacked, and he was murdered with a brutality which could not
have been excelled by Apaches or Sioux. One of his converts was killed
at the same time, and others barely escaped with their lives.
[Illustration: IN THE CATHEDRAL.]
"There have been other martyrs, and many cases of persecution. Hostility
has not ceased, but it is greatly diminished, and the Protestants have
obtained a foothold in Mexico. There are not far from 300 Protestant
congregations in the country, with 15,000 communicants and 30,000
adherents. There are about 100 foreign missionaries, many of them
accompanied by their wives; as many more ordained native ministers; and
twice that number of unordained native helpers. There are many day,
Sunday, and theological schools, which have been established by the
missionaries; and there are printing establishments, which are sending
out religious matter for all who are willing to read it. There are more
than fifty church edifices, some of them built expressly for the
purpose, the others being old structures altered for Protestant use."
[Illustration: MEXICAN PRIESTS.]
In closing this talk on religious matters, Doctor Bronson remarked that
it would take many years for the quarrels between the Church party and
the Liberals to come to an end; but in the mean while Mexico would
continue on her progressive way, and all her friends, of whatever creed,
would be encouraged to hope for the best results.