OVERLAND TO ACAPULCO.--SCENES OF LONG AGO.--PRESENT MODE OF TRAVEL.--TEN
DAYS ON HORSEBACK.--WAY-SIDE ACCOMMODATIONS.--ACAPULCO'S HARBOR.--RETURN
TO THE CAPITAL.--EXCURSION TO GUADALAJARA.--DOCTOR BRONSON LEFT
BEHIND.--OLD BRIDGES AND THEIR HISTORY.--BATTLE BETWEEN HIDALGO AND THE
SPANIARDS.--STORIES ABOUT BRIGANDS.--SLAUGHTER BY PRIVATE
ENTERPRISE.--HOW SEÑOR PEREZ SECURED PEACE.--ATTRACTIONS OF
GUADALAJARA.--THE CATHEDRAL AND OTHER CHURCHES.--THE GREAT
HOSPICIO.--WHAT THE EARTHQUAKE DID.--PUBLIC SCHOOLS.--A DAY ON A CATTLE
HACIENDA.--A RODEO.--RETURN TO THE CAPITAL.
[Illustration: A WAY-SIDE SHRINE.]
At Cuernavaca our friends learned that they were on the road from Vera
Cruz and Mexico to Acapulco, and the youths greatly wished to continue
to the Pacific Ocean. It is the old route of commerce between Spain and
Asia, and was travelled for hundreds of years by long trains of
pack-mules laden with the products of the Orient on their way to Europe,
and with those of Mexico and Europe destined for Asia. It seems
incredible that such a route should have been so long maintained across
the continent, with no track for wheeled vehicles, over mountains and
through deep gorges, with the dangers of robbers, pestilence, and the
hundred accidents that are liable to occur in such a country and such a
time; but so it was. Over this route were carried the cargoes of many
richly freighted galleons; along these dangerous path-ways thousands of
soldiers marched to glory or the grave, and hundreds if not thousands of
civilians went in search of new lands from which they could gather the
wealth they coveted.
[Illustration: ON THE ROAD TO ACAPULCO.]
It is eighty leagues, or 240 miles, from Cuernavaca to Acapulco, the
port which once enjoyed a profitable commerce but is to-day of
comparatively little moment. Spasmodic efforts have been made at
different times for the construction of a wagon-road, but they have
never been carried far. There is a wagon-road between Cuernavaca and
Mexico City, a distance of about forty-five miles, and over this a
diligence runs three times a week each way, and wagons laden with
merchandise pass in fair number. But the business of the route is less
than it was two hundred years ago; the Mexicans hope for a revival when
the railway is completed from Vera Cruz to Acapulco, and a line of
steamers between Acapulco and China is under consideration.
Doctor Bronson's plans did not include the overland journey to Acapulco,
and by way of consolation the youths determined to write a description
of the route from what they could learn from others. By consulting those
who had made the journey, and by references to some of the volumes in
their possession, they composed the following:
"There is no regular system of hiring horses and baggage-mules for the
journey, and the traveller must make his bargain with an arriero. A
horse to carry himself, and a mule for the baggage, will cost about
forty dollars, twenty for each animal; if there are several persons in a
party the price can be reduced somewhat. It should be carefully
stipulated that the arriero pay his own expenses and those of his
animals, or the traveller will find himself mulcted for a considerable
sum as he goes along. The arriero will want to be paid in advance, a
demand that should be strenuously refused; the affair can be compromised
by paying half down, and the other half at the end of the journey, which
is ordinarily made in ten days.
"As we start from Cuernavaca we find ourselves on a carriage-road, and
wonder how it happens that we were told we must go in the saddle. The
reason is soon apparent, as the carriage-road comes to an end after a
little while. It reminds us of that famous turnpike somewhere in the
Western States that began with a macadamized road fifty feet wide, and
steadily dwindled till it became only a squirrel-track and ran up a
tree, or a similar road that terminated in a gopher-hole. One gentleman
says the route from Cuernavaca to Acapulco is spoken of as a _bueno
camino de pajaros_ (a good road for birds), and he is about right.
"The country is rough and the scenery wild and interesting, except that
one wearies of mountains and valleys after seeing a few hundreds of
each. Portions of the way as we leave Cuernavaca behind us are through
the sugar region. We pass large fields of cane and meet trains of mules
laden with sugar. At irregular intervals we find villages or isolated
houses, and in the construction of these buildings we observe that the
cane is very prominent. Houses in this region are mostly built of cane,
and their roofs are heavily thatched to keep out the heat of the
tropical suns and the heavy downpour of tropical rains.
[Illustration: A COUNTRY HOTEL.]
"This is the regular routine: We make an early start in the daybreak,
take a long rest in the middle of the day, then ride in the late
afternoon, and put up in a meson, or inn, or in the hut of some
villager. The accommodations are of the most primitive character, but
they are the best the country can afford, and we accept them without
murmuring. For food, we have eggs, chickens, fried bananas, tortillas,
and always the national dish, frijoles. We can get milk in the morning
but not at night, as they milk their cows only once a day.
"Some of the rivers are fordable, others have been bridged, and others
swollen by rains must be crossed in boats. Some of the boats are large
enough to ferry our animals along with ourselves, while at the crossing
of others we are transported in dugouts, and the horses and mules are
compelled to swim. Of course in such a case everything must be removed
from the backs of the animals, and this causes a considerable delay. We
think ourselves fortunate in getting through in ten days when all the
hinderances of progress are considered. In some places there is
absolutely no track, as we follow the beds of streams, where at each
rise all traces of previous travellers are washed away. In the time of
floods these river-beds are abandoned, and the banks of the streams are
followed.
[Illustration: GALLEON OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.]
"Years and years before New England and New York were settled the
Spaniards were traversing this route with long trains of beasts of
burden, laden with the treasures of the East. If you want to know what
they carried, read Bret Harte's poem of 'The Lost Galleon:'
"'In sixteen hundred and forty-one
The regular yearly galleon,
Laden with odorous gums and spice,
India cotton and India rice,
And the richest silks of far Cathay,
Was due at Acapulco Bay.
* * * * *
"'The trains were waiting outside the walls,
The wives of the sailors thronged the town,
The traders sat by their empty stalls,
And the Viceroy himself came down.
The bells in the town were all atrip,
Te Deums were on each father's lip,
The limes were ripening in the sun
For the sick of the coming galleon.
"'All in vain. Weeks passed away,
And yet no galleon saw the bay;
India goods advanced in price;
The Governor missed his favorite spice;
The señoritas mourned for sandal
And the famous cottons of Coromandel;
And some for an absent lover lost,
And one for a husband tempest-tossed;
* * * * *
"'And all along the coast that year
Votive candles were scarce and dear.'
"A thousand mules and donkeys were required for the transport of the
freight of one of these galleons; a cargo was often valued at
$2,000,000, and the return one to the East was of equal worth. The
return cargo consisted mostly of silver, cochineal, cocoa, and other
Mexican products, together with European goods from Spain. The cargoes
from Asia were taken to the city of Mexico, and whatever did not find a
market there was sent to Spain by way of Vera Cruz. The old chroniclers
say that the Mexicans had the first selection of the goods, and often
aroused the jealousy of their friends in Spain in consequence.
[Illustration: TOWN AND CASTLE OF ACAPULCO.]
"Well, here we are at Acapulco, and for the last time dismount from our
steeds. We look upon the blue waters of the little harbor, but can see
no galleon at anchor, only a few sailing-ships and one of the steamers
of the Pacific Mail Company, which has just come into port and lies
fuming uneasily, as though impatient to continue her voyage. Were it not
for the semi-monthly visits of the Pacific mail steamers, Acapulco would
have no regular connection with the rest of the world. The place has a
population of three or four thousand only, and it has a fort on an
island which lies opposite the town, cutting off the long swell of the
Pacific Ocean, and forming one of the best harbors on the western coast
of Mexico."
[Illustration: A SCENE ON THE DILIGENCE ROAD.]
Frank and Fred returned with Doctor Bronson to the city of Mexico by
diligence. The road is rough, and they were severely jolted in their
eight hours' ride; they managed to shorten the rough part to six hours
by leaving the diligence at Tlalpan and coming thence to the city by the
tram-way.
Hardly had the youths shaken the dust of the road from their garments
than they looked around for "new worlds to conquer." Their attention was
drawn to Guadalajara (pronounced gwa-da-la-_ha_-ra), a city that is not
often visited by tourists, for the reason that it lies off the main
route of travel. It is the capital of the State of Jalisco, has a
population of some eighty or ninety thousand, contains a fine cathedral,
and other public buildings, and altogether is worth a good deal more
than a passing thought.
"We can go there by train," said Frank, "as the branch line from the
Mexican Central Railway at Irapuato has been recently opened."
"How long will it take us to get there?" queried Fred.
"About twenty-two hours," was the reply. "We can leave here at 8.10
P.M., and if not delayed, the north-bound train will get us to Irapuato
at 6.57 the next morning. The train for Guadalajara leaves Irapuato at
8.40 A.M., and we are due in that city at 6 P.M."
"But perhaps Uncle will not wish to go there; what will we do in that
case?"
"Why, go alone, to be sure, if he can spare us the time."
The plan was duly laid before Doctor Bronson, who at once gave his
permission for the youths to make the excursion without him. He did not
care particularly for it, and said he would be satisfied to look at
Guadalajara through their eyes.
They immediately secured places in the Pullman sleeping-car for
Irapuato, and were off by the train that evening. By good-fortune they
were introduced during the day to a Mexican gentleman, Señor Sanchez,
who had a large hacienda near Guadalajara, and was then on his way to
it.
With the customary politeness, he informed the youths that his "house
and all it contained were theirs;" he followed up the formality by
inviting them to spend a day or two with him, either on their outward or
return journey. They took the hint, and concluding that he desired to
have a little time to himself on his arrival, they arranged to stop off
on their return from Guadalajara.
It is 353 kilometres from Mexico City to Irapuato, and 260 from that
station to Guadalajara, a total of 613 kilometres, or 380 miles. The
country from Irapuato is for the most part broken, but it contains few
high mountains, and here and there the youths found themselves looking
across plains of considerable extent. The region is well peopled, and
there are several towns or cities along the route, each of them
containing upwards of 5000 inhabitants. There are many _arroyos_ and
barrancas that severely taxed the abilities of the engineers, but they
are insignificant when compared with the great barrancas between
Guadalajara and the western coast. Construction parties are at work on
the western section of the route, and in due time the locomotive from
Guadalajara will sound its whistle at San Blas, on the shore of the
Pacific Ocean.
[Illustration: AN INTERIOR TOWN.]
"There are some interesting bridges along the old diligence-road," said
Mr. Sanchez, "that have excited the admiration of travellers. A few
miles this side of Guadalajara there is a stone bridge of nineteen
arches which crosses the Rio Grande de Santiago. Nobody can tell when it
was built; it bears at one place the date 1740, but whether that refers
to the construction or to the repair of the bridge I am unable to say.
At each end there are the statues of the King and Queen of Spain at the
time of erection, but they are so worn by time and defaced by vandals
that they cannot be recognized.
[Illustration: AT THE HACIENDA.]
"There is another old structure near Zapotlanejo, called the Bridge of
Calderon, which crosses a narrow but deep arroyo. It is of interest to
the student of Mexican history, as it is the point at which the patriot
Hidalgo, with 80,000 Indians, was defeated by a few hundred Spaniards.
His men were armed only with bows and arrows and spears, in addition to
a few old muskets and some wooden cannon that burst at the first fire;
the Spaniards were well armed, and had six or eight cannon, which
wrought havoc among the followers of the patriot priest. They were so
ignorant of the power of gunpowder that they rushed up to the cannon and
crowded their hats into the muzzles, in the expectation that they would
thus prevent the pieces from going off. Thousands of them were mowed
down, and finally the remnant were driven from the field. This was the
last great battle fought by Hidalgo; he retreated to Chihuahua with a
hundred followers, and not long afterwards was betrayed, captured, and
executed.
"The country around here was formerly terribly infested with brigands,"
he continued, "but they are rarely heard of now. A large number were
killed off by the Government troops, others by private enterprise, and
finally those that remained were induced to quit the business of
robbery, and become members of the Rural Guard."
"You mention private enterprise as a way of getting rid of brigands,"
Fred remarked. "I do not understand it exactly."
[Illustration: A CORNER OF THE MARKET-PLACE.]
"I can best explain the matter by giving an illustration," Señor Sanchez
replied. "There is a hacienda called Venta de Los Pagarros about
twenty-five miles from Tepotitlan, which belongs to Señor Perez. It is
twenty miles long, and there are nearly 50,000 head of cattle upon it.
Señor Perez bought it for a very low price, as the robbers had driven
away the former occupants, and nobody dared live there. He strengthened
his buildings so that nothing but artillery could do anything against
them, and then he organized his men into a military force and armed and
drilled them till they were excellent soldiers. They were all well
mounted, and he had thus a force of 200 men about him, ready to start at
an hour's notice by day or night. When a band of robbers was heard of,
it was pursued and hunted down, and no prisoners were taken. In two
years nearly 100 robbers were killed by Perez and his men, and the
country became quiet. Other proprietors followed his example and brought
about a peaceful state of affairs."
"That is very much the plan on which the owners of the great mills at
Queretaro protected themselves," Fred remarked, and then the
conversation changed to other topics.
There were broad fields of wheat and barley visible from the windows of
the train, and Fred observed that the fields were separated, and
protected from the incursions of cattle, by fences or hedges of cactus.
Their new friend explained that it was the cheapest fence in the world
to make; they had only to take the long shoots of the organ cactus, cut
them into proper lengths, and stick these lengths, or sections, into a
trench where the fence was to be. The dirt piled around the end of the
sections serves to keep them in place, they soon take root and grow, and
as they live for a hundred years or so the owner has no further trouble
with them. No animal larger than a rabbit can get through such a fence,
and it is equally impervious to a man unless armed with a hatchet.
Señor Sanchez left the train at a station about forty miles east of
Guadalajara. The youths named a day when they would visit him, and then
continued their journey to the city.
For what they saw and did in Guadalajara we will refer to Fred's
note-book:
"It is a handsome city," said the youth, "and we are not surprised to
learn that it is considered next to Mexico in importance. It has a dozen
or more fine churches, and its cathedral, which was completed in 1618,
is one of the oldest in the country, and is considered next to those of
the capital and Puebla in point of wealth and grandeur. It occupies one
side of the Grand Plaza, has two tapering steeples and a handsome dome,
and altogether is well calculated to impress every beholder, whatever
may be his religious leanings.
"The interior reminded us of the cathedral of Mexico in a general way,
though the detail is greatly varied. What surprised us most was the high
altar, which is thirty feet high and broad in proportion, and as rich as
carving and precious metals can make it. It was made in Rome, and hauled
here, we cannot tell how, over the terrible roads between this place and
Vera Cruz. Some of the blocks weigh several tons, and we shuddered as we
thought what an expenditure of muscle, human and quadrupedal, must have
been required to bring these masses of stone from the sea-coast 500
miles away.
[Illustration: COURT-YARD OF A PRIVATE HOUSE.]
"The building has suffered from the elements, the cupolas of the towers
having been thrown down by an earthquake in 1818. Some time in the
sixties lightning struck the cathedral during service, and two of the
organists were killed by the shock. There are many valuable paintings in
the cathedral, and in the vaults beneath it are the bones of the bishops
and priests that have died here during the last 300 years and more.
"We visited several other churches, and went to the great hospital of
San Miguel de Belan, which is generally known as 'The Belan.' It is
near the centre of the city, and covers, or rather encloses within its
walls, about eight acres of ground. It was founded about 100 years ago,
and at one time had a very large revenue; but successive revolutions and
robberies have plundered it of nearly all its possessions. It had an
income of $1,000,000 a year in its best days, but has barely ten or
fifteen thousand at present.
[Illustration: IN THE POOR QUARTERS.]
"It is the best constructed hospital edifice we ever saw, and we're very
sorry Doctor Bronson is not here to see and appreciate it. The buildings
are only one story high, so that the patients, doctors, and nurses have
no stairs to climb, and the rooms are twenty-five feet from floor to
ceiling, and well ventilated. The thick walls and roof make the place
warm in winter and cool in summer; and they told us there is no
artificial heating, and but little change of temperature throughout the
year.
"There is another immense establishment, called the Hospicio de
Guadalajara, which is an asylum rather than a hospital, and an asylum
for everybody. It was founded about the same time as the Belan hospital,
by some gentlemen of immense wealth, and they are said to have expended
eight or ten millions of dollars in building and endowing it. Sixteen
hundred people are accommodated there, from infants only a few hours old
up to people who are nearing the end of a century of life. It has
sixteen departments that comprise an Infant Asylum, Reform School,
Juvenile School, Orphan Asylum, Deaf and Dumb Asylum, Blind Asylum, Home
for the Aged and Indigent, High-schools for Boys and Girls, School of
Arts, Schools of Trades, Workshops, College, and Hospital!
"We saw boys in the workshop making shoes, clothes, hats, and other
articles of wear, while others were at work at carpentering, and still
others were setting type and working a printing-press of the
old-fashioned kind. In the girls' section there were classes in sewing,
knitting, lace-making, and the like; and there were classes of young
women who were learning fine embroidery, music, and painting, to fit
them for governesses in families. It would take too long to write down
all we saw and heard, and you might get tired before you read it
through. We couldn't help wishing that some of our very rich men would
endow just such establishments in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and
other large cities of the United States, and take their reward in the
knowledge that they had done a great deal of practical good.
"We were told that the city has an excellent system of public education,
and many of its people think it is the best in the whole country. There
are twenty primary day schools, five evening schools, and two
high-schools or _liceos_, one for boys and one for girls. The girls'
high-school is in an old convent which was confiscated at the time of
the Reform, and is admirably adapted to its uses. The boys' high-school
is in an equally spacious building, and the two schools have each four
or five hundred pupils, with a proportionate number of teachers. The
boys' school has a library of 30,000 volumes, gathered mainly from the
monasteries and convents. Then there are a School of Arts and Industries
and a School of Painting similar to that of San Carlos, though somewhat
smaller.
[Illustration: MEXICANS PLANTING CORN.]
"They have an opera-house and theatre here, and of course such an
enlightened city as Guadalajara must have a bull-ring. This ring is
equal to the principal one at the capital, and the 'sport' in it is
liberally patronized. There are four large cotton-factories here, and
there is a considerable industry in making pottery. We have mentioned
elsewhere the pottery of Guadalajara, which is famous throughout the
country and largely exported. We have bought a considerable number of
the clay statuettes that are sold here; they represent all the
industries and characters of Mexico, the prominent men of the country,
and in fact of the whole world. Statuettes twelve inches in height and
well modelled and colored are worth about twenty-five cents each, and
you can buy smaller ones as low down as a cent or even half a cent
apiece. They offered to make busts or statuettes of Frank and myself
for three dollars each, and have them ready in two days, but we declined
the proposal.
"As for the people and the sights and scenes of the streets, they are so
much like what we have described elsewhere that I will not venture upon
an account for fear of repetition. We will say good-by to this
interesting city, and return to the capital, stopping a day at the
hacienda of Señor Sanchez."
[Illustration: A RODEO.]
They kept their promise and visited that hospitable gentleman, who
organized a _rodeo_, or cattle-muster, for their benefit. The
_vaqueros_, or herdsmen, rode away in different directions, and after an
absence of an hour or two reappeared driving numbers of cattle before
them. These cattle were assembled in a large drove, and there was a
continuous pawing, bellowing, and dashing here and there as long as they
were together. The vaqueros showed their skill in lassoing the animals,
seizing them by the leg or horn according to previous announcements of
their intentions. The performance ended with a contest of skill in
picking up hats or other objects on the ground. Frank placed a silver
dollar edgewise on the ground, and half a dozen vaqueros, one after the
other, endeavored to secure it.
The first, second, and third missed it by only a fraction of an inch.
The fourth tumbled it over but did not catch it. It was set up again for
the fifth, who missed, and saw the coin taken in by the sixth and last
as he rode past at a gallop.
Their host pressed the youths to remain longer, but they felt that they
might interfere with Doctor Bronson's plans by so doing, and therefore
declined the invitation. They returned to the capital without any other
break in their journey, and were warmly congratulated by the Doctor on
the good use they had made of their time.
[Illustration: DRIVING A HERD.]