AREA AND INHABITANTS OF MEXICO.--CHARACTER OF THE POPULATION.--INDIANS,
EUROPEANS, AND MESTIZOS; THEIR RESPECTIVE NUMBERS AND
CHARACTERISTICS.--INCLINATIONS OF THE MIXED RACES.--TENDENCIES OF
EDUCATED INDIANS.--PRESIDENT JUAREZ AS AN EXAMPLE.--HOW THE INDIANS
LIVE.--HOW THE SPANIARDS TOOK POSSESSION OF THE LAND.--CREOLES AND THEIR
ORIGIN.--THE MESTIZOS.--LEPEROS AND THEIR CHARACTER.--ADROIT
THIEVES.--PAWNING A CHURCH ORGAN.--THE LEPEROS AND THE BRIGANDS.--CHURCH
OF SAN DOMINGO.--SHORT HISTORY OF THE INQUISITION IN MEXICO.--THE
_AUTO-DA-FÉ_.
On the day following the visit to the church of Guadalupe Doctor Bronson
was occupied with some business matters that rendered his movements
somewhat uncertain. Frank and Fred thought it a good opportunity to make
some statistical notes about Mexico which they had been for some time
contemplating, but had postponed in consequence of there being no hurry
about the matter. The figures were at hand whenever they chose to use
them, and so they had no anxiety on the subject.
[Illustration: INDIAN OF NORTHERN MEXICO.]
"First," said Fred, "we will see the extent of the country, learn how
large the population is, and of what it is composed."
"Very well," was Frank's reply; "you may put down the figures and other
memoranda as I read them off."
The youths settled down to their work, Fred at table with note-book and
pencil, and Frank with an array of books before him. For an hour or two
their heads were, as Dr. Holmes says, "ant-hills of units and tens," as
we shall see from the following, which they have permitted us to copy:
"Mexico lies between the 15th and 33d parallels of latitude, and the
86th and 117th meridians of longitude. Its greatest length is only a
trifle less than 2000 miles, and its greatest width 750 miles. At the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec it narrows to 140 miles; and this is the place
where Captain Eads proposed to make a railway for transporting ships
from one ocean to the other. We'll have something to say about this
proposition in another place.
"We cannot find that there has ever been an exact survey of the country
or a careful census of the inhabitants. No two authorities agree
concerning the area and population; but an average of the best of them
shows that the country measures about 800,000 square miles, and has
10,500,000 inhabitants. It is divided into twenty-seven States, one
Territory, and one federal district; the federal district includes the
capital city, and may be regarded as the equivalent of the District of
Columbia in the United States, though it is much larger in area.
[Illustration: A MESTIZO WOMAN.]
"One-half the population consists of mestizos, or 'mixed people;'
one-sixth are Europeans or their creole descendants; and one-third and
more are of pure Indian blood. The following figures are from the last
census:
Indians 3,200,000
Europeans and their descendants 1,500,000
Mestizos--mixed races 5,800,000
----------
Total 10,500,000
"Señor Garcia Cubas, a Mexican gentleman who has written a statistical
work about Mexico, published at the office of the Minister of Public
Works, says of the different races of people in the country: 'The
difference of dress, customs, and language shows the heterogeneous
character of the population.... The habits and customs of the people
that make up the creole portion of the population are essentially
European, and conform particularly to the fashions of the French, with
some features borrowed from the Spanish. Their national language is
Spanish; French is considerably used; and English, German, and Italian
are receiving increased attention. The nearest descendants of the
Spanish, and those less mixed up with the natives of Mexico, belong by
their complexion to the white race. The natural inclination of the mixed
races to the habits and customs of the whites and creoles, as well as
their estrangement from those of the natives, is the reason that many of
them figure in the most important associations of the country, by their
learning and intelligence, including in this number the worthy members
of the middle classes. From this powerful coalition the force of an
energetic development naturally results, which is inimical to the Indian
race. Many of the natives themselves contribute to this fatal
consequence, as they have joined the body I have referred to, and
founded new families with the habits and customs of the upper classes.'"
"President Juarez may be cited as an example of the pure Indian of
Mexico," Fred remarked, "who leaves behind him the traditions and
customs of his race, and adopts those of the enlightened classes."
"I presume so," replied Frank, "and every Indian who has adopted the
dress and ways of the European, and identified himself with the
nineteenth century habits of thought, is helping to assimilate the
aboriginal race with the new one. In this way the population will in
time become essentially European, but it will take hundreds of years to
bring about such a state of things. Railways, commerce, education, and
liberal ideas will accomplish it; and the Mexico of the twentieth
century promises to be a great improvement upon that of the eighteenth.
There is now no political distinction on account of race, and the social
one cannot last much longer."
Having given utterance to this sage remark, Frank blushed at his
audacity in hazarding a prophecy, and referred again to the books before
him.
"Wouldn't it be well," said Fred, "to say something about the natives,
and compare them with the Indians of the Western States and Territories
of our own country?"
"It certainly would," responded Frank, "and so here goes:
[Illustration: INDIAN GIRL SPINNING COTTON.]
"The Mexican Indian is not much unlike the American one in general
appearance, as he is of a brown or olive color, and has little or no
beard. His cheek-bones are high, and he has slender limbs and a broad
chest. Owing to his having been so long accustomed to carrying burdens
on his back, he is inclined to stoop, while the American Indian stands
erect. The Mexican Indian is also liable to stoutness, while the
American one is not. His dress is pretty much the same in all parts of
the country, varied, of course, by the conditions of the climate. Short
and wide trousers of coarse cotton cloth, a loose jacket of the same
material, a serape or blanket for cool weather or at night, a straw
hat, and a pair of sandals form his costume. The different tribes are
distinguished by the colors of the clothing, but this distinction is
slowly being effaced."
"Now a few words about the creoles," suggested Fred.
[Illustration: PEDDLER OF WOODEN TRAYS.]
"But I have not done with the Indians yet," replied Frank, "as this is a
good place to say something about their houses. We have mentioned them
in another place, but I want to add that in the hot country the Indian
dwelling is made of wood, thatched with palm or banana leaves, while in
the uplands it is of adobe, with a flat roof covered with clay supported
by beams and stamped or beaten hard. A fire is generally kept burning
day and night, and near it are the cooking utensils, which cost
altogether only a few dollars at most. The hut has no furniture except a
few stools and some mats of cane or rushes, which serve as beds at night
and seats by day. A whole family lives in a space which we should
consider small for one person and altogether too restricted for two.
"When the Spaniards conquered the country they took possession of the
lands and everything else; they allowed the Indians only sufficient
space for their villages, and a plot of ground 3600 feet square for
agricultural purposes, which all the inhabitants of a village were to
cultivate in common. They still have this common garden, but the
majority of them abandon their rights in it, and earn their living by
hiring out with land-owners or miners. In former times a Spaniard spoke
of himself as _gente de razon_, or man of intelligence, while he
designated the Indian as _gente sin razon_, a man of no understanding.
The Indians accepted this distinction, and often speak of themselves in
this way. Of course this is not the case with the superior ones, who
have adopted the European ways of living.
[Illustration: CHARCOAL VENDER.]
"Now I come to the creoles," said Frank, "who are either Europeans or
people of European parentage. They were formerly the ruling class of
Mexico in every sense of the expression, but since the Revolution and
the Laws of the Reform their position is changed, as they are compelled
to recognize the equality of the educated Indian, which in olden times
they absolutely refused to do. When Juarez, who, as already stated, was
an Indian of pure blood, became President it was a great shock to the
sensibilities of many of the old aristocrats, but they survived it
because they were compelled to do so. The hostility has generally died
out, but a good deal of it lingers and will remain for many
generations."
[Illustration: OF THE OLD ARISTOCRACY.]
"I am reminded," said Fred, "of a transaction which is attributed to the
Pilgrim Fathers of New England when they landed at what is now
Plymouth."
"What is that?"
"They are said to have held a meeting, and passed the following preamble
and resolution:
"'_Whereas_, it has been decreed that the saints shall inherit the
earth;
"'It is therefore _Resolved_, that we are the saints.'"
"The Spanish conquerors of Mexico evidently did not think it worth
while to pass any resolutions or hold any meetings," answered Frank,
with a laugh. "They went ahead and inherited the earth without bothering
themselves about formalities. The Indians were considered to have no
rights that the white men were required to respect, and were made to
understand that it was owing to the great mercy and tenderness of the
Spaniards that the natives were not slaughtered down to the last of the
race. And there is little doubt that they would have been slaughtered
had they not been needed for menial work and to make life easy for the
newcomers.
[Illustration: A CREOLE RESIDENCE.]
"As before stated, the creoles have the manners, customs, and dress of
Spain to a large extent, though they follow the fashions of France in
several particulars. The account of a Mexican courtship shows how the
women are secluded, as in Spain. The men have the Spanish taste for
gaming, bull-fights, and gallantry, and they have lost little of the
polite forms for which Andalusia is famous. Where their means permit
they are princely in their hospitality, and no grandee of Castile could
stab his intimate friend with a stiletto more gracefully than can the
Mexican creole in case of a misunderstanding. That the creole women are
pretty and possessed of most fascinating manners is the testimony of all
who have seen them.
"In regard to the mestizos," said Frank, "I will quote a few words from
'Mexico and the Mexicans,' and let you write them down."
Fred assented, whereupon Frank slowly read out the following:
"The noblest of the Aztecs fell in battle with the Spaniards. Their
property fell into the hands of the victors, who at the same time became
possessed of the families of those who had fallen. The rude warriors
married the dusky daughters, who became their equals by baptism. It was
not considered a _mésalliance_ to marry a noble Aztec girl. The sons of
Montezuma, who were educated in Spain, received the title of count. The
Indian aristocracy adopted Christianity, and became amalgamated with the
new population.
[Illustration: GROUP OF MEXICAN HORSEMEN.]
"The mestizo is thus the child of a white father and an Indian mother.
He is a magnificent horseman; one might take him for an Arab as, lance
in hand, he rushes past upon his light steed. In the warmer regions he
wears, on Sundays, a carefully plaited white shirt, wide trousers of
white or colored drilling, fastened round the hips by a gay girdle,
brown leather gaiters, and broad felt hat, with silver cord or fur band
around it. The mestizos include the great majority of the _rancheros_,
or farmers, and the _arrieros_, or mule-drivers; many of them are
educated, and take a leading part in law, politics, and medicine, where
they often attain high rank. They are excellent soldiers, especially on
horseback, and it is this class of Mexicans that have given the Mexican
cavalry its high reputation."
"How about the leperos?" queried Fred. "Don't they belong among the
mestizos?"
"Yes," was the reply, "that is what the books I am looking at say of
them. They come from the union of the worst of the two races, and are
said to possess the vices of both with the good qualities of neither.
They are the class from which the thieves and beggars of Mexico are
recruited. One writer says, 'A lepero is a thief from infancy, and is
able to steal as soon as he leaves his mother's arms.' The Chief of
Police says that nine out of ten of the men and boys selling lottery
tickets or newspapers on the streets are thieves and pickpockets, and
their legitimate business is simply a cloak for the illegal one.
"Another authority says that on the line of the Mexican Railway from
Vera Cruz to the capital nothing that two men can lift is left
out-of-doors after dark. All car-couplings must be carried into the
stations; and the rascals used to steal the spikes that held the rails
to the ties until the company adopted the plan of riveting them to the
rails after they were driven into place.
"Brantz Meyer tells about an Englishman who was walking along one of the
principal streets of Mexico, when he suddenly felt his hat rising from
his head. He looked up and saw it sailing towards the window from which
the thief had caught it by the dexterous use of a hook.
"Another story that he tells is about a Mexican who was stopped on the
road by three others, who robbed him of his cloak. They told him to wait
where he was and he would be able to make something by doing so; out of
curiosity he waited, and in a little while an accomplice of the thieves
came and handed him a pawn ticket. He accompanied the gift with a
graceful bow, and explained that the cloak had been pawned for thirty
dollars. 'We wanted the money and not the cloak,' the thief explained,
'and as the garment is worth at least a hundred dollars, you can redeem
it and make seventy dollars by the transaction.'
"There was once a lepero who pretended to be converted by the preaching
and teaching of a missionary, and the good man gave him employment as
janitor of the church. One day an organ was delivered at the church, and
the missionary appointed a time when it should be exhibited to his
friends. The party assembled accordingly, and the missionary was
surprised to find that the janitor was absent. He was still more
surprised when he found that the organ had followed the janitor's
example and was missing. The janitor had carried it away during the
night to a neighboring empeño, and pawned the instrument for whatever he
could obtain on it."
[Illustration: A SOCIETY BELLE.]
We may add to Frank's account of this gentry that the brigands were of
the lepero class, though very often they had leaders of a higher rank in
life. The Government has executed a good many of them in its efforts to
break up the system of highway robbery, and altogether the natural
instincts of the leperos have been greatly curbed in recent years. They
are almost always armed with either knife or pistol, and make ready use
of these weapons on frequent occasions. At nearly every festival or
assemblage of any kind, fights among leperos form a part of the
proceedings. It is not customary to interfere between the combatants,
the bystanders forming a circle and looking calmly on until one of them
falls.
[Illustration: A MEXICAN GRANDEE.]
Fred laid aside his pencil and note-book, while Frank closed the volumes
he had consulted. This done, the youths went out for a stroll, intending
to submit the result of their labors to the Doctor when next they met
him.
[Illustration: A SERMON IN THE CHURCH.]
Their walk took them to the Church of San Domingo, which was once a
magnificent building, but has suffered greatly in its proportions and
decorations in recent years. It was the church of the Dominican order of
priesthood, and had a large convent near it. The convent, or more
properly monastery, has been destroyed, and the church has lost some of
its parts by reason of the extension of streets which were needed for
the business of the city.
[Illustration: CHURCH OF SAN DOMINGO.]
Close to the church is the School of Medicine, which is partly supported
by Government and partly by fees received from the students. The
building was interesting to Frank and Fred because it was once the
tribunal of the Inquisition, which was established in Mexico in 1571,
and suppressed in 1813. Immediately after the suppression of the
Inquisition the building was converted into a prison; afterwards it was
the office of the Government lotteries, and then a barrack for soldiers.
The Mexican Congress met here for a time; and in 1854 the building was
adapted to its present use as a School of Medicine.
One day the youths accompanied Doctor Bronson in a visit to the school,
and while he was busy with medical matters they accompanied their guide
in looking up the few traces that remain of the Inquisition. Some of the
cells where prisoners were confined were shown to them, and also the
room where they were tried. After their return from the inspection the
youths tried to obtain a full history of the Inquisition, but were
unsuccessful. Doctor Bronson told them that no satisfactory and
impartial history of it had ever been written, all the works that have
appeared on the subject being either very hostile or very friendly.
"Briefly we may say," added the Doctor, "that the Inquisition was
formally established in the thirteenth century, and came to an end in
the first part of the nineteenth; but trials and punishment for heresy
had taken place as early as the fourth century. The Inquisition was more
powerful in Spain than in any other country of Europe; and it never had
any hold of consequence outside of Spain, Italy, and France, and the
colonies of Spain. One historian (Llorente) says that during the whole
period of the Spanish Inquisition--from 1483 to 1808--31,912 persons
were burned alive, 17,659 were burned in effigy, and 291,456 were
subjected to rigorous pains and penalties. The accuracy of his
statements is doubted, Prescott considering them greatly exaggerated and
his figures most improbable; and other writers share Prescott's opinion.
"The decree by which the Inquisition was established in Mexico
especially exempted the Indians from its operations, and thereby secured
its popularity among them, as the public burning of Spanish and other
heretics afforded much amusement to the natives, and was a sort of
substitute for the human sacrifices of the Aztecs, which the Conquest
had abolished. The Mexican Inquisition was under the special charge of
the Dominican order, the same as in Spain, and hence was associated with
the Church of San Domingo.
"There is," continued the Doctor, "a popular misapprehension concerning
the _auto-da-fé_, or profession of faith. It is generally believed to be
the burning of the condemned, whereas the _auto-da-fé_ was simply the
public ceremony that followed the secret trial by the Inquisition. The
members of the tribunal, and all others assembled with them, made a
public _auto-da-fé_, or profession of their faith in Christianity and
the doctrines of the Church. After this was done the list of the
condemned was read, together with the punishments accorded to them, and
then the victims were handed over to the civil authorities for
punishment. The trial and sentence were the work of the Church, but the
punishment was that of the civil power only.
"The first _auto-da-fé_ in Mexico was in 1574, when 'twenty-one
pestilent Lutherans' were burned, and from that time on the public
burnings were frequent. How many people perished in these affairs is not
known; but it must not be understood that all the victims who suffered
were burned alive. In most instances, even where the body of the
condemned man was burned, he was killed by strangling; thus in one case
where fifteen persons perished, fourteen were first strangled, and only
one was burned alive. The penalty of death by burning was visited only
upon heretics and sorcerers.
"And here," added the Doctor, "is a photograph of four victims of the
Inquisition, whose skeletons were found in the wall of the building
which was the seat of the tribunal in Mexico. They are supposed to have
been built into the wall at the time of its construction, but nothing is
actually known concerning them.
[Illustration: TORTURE CHAMBER.]
"The trials of accused persons were always held in secret; the
unfortunates were not permitted to see their accusers, or even know
their names. The punishments were death by fire or on the scaffold,
imprisonment for life or shorter terms, with or without hard labor,
forfeiture of property, civil infamy, and in mild cases public
retraction and penance. Accused persons might be tortured to make them
confess their guilt, and an accomplice might be a witness against an
accused individual."
"What a horrible system!" exclaimed Frank.
"Yes," replied the Doctor, "but you must remember that it was very
nearly the same form of procedure as that of the civil tribunals of the
same countries and times, and not unlike what is known in some parts of
the world at the present day. And, furthermore, remember that while the
Inquisitors of Spain and Mexico were doing the deeds which have been
proven against them, persecution was by no means unknown in England and
America. Perhaps at the very hour when a victim of the Inquisition was
being put to death in Mexico, the Christian people of Salem,
Massachusetts, were hanging somebody accused of being a witch, or the
English Puritans, under Cromwell, were putting Charles I. to death!"
[Illustration: PRISONERS OF THE INQUISITION.]