THE ALAMEDA OF VERA CRUZ.--TROPICAL GROWTHS.--THE _PALO DE LECHE_ AND
ITS PECULIARITIES.--A DANGEROUS PLANT.--FOUNTAINS AND
WATER-CARRIERS.--GOVERNOR'S PALACE.--BRIEF HISTORY OF VERA
CRUZ.--PILLAGED BY PIRATES AND CAPTURED IN WARS.--FORTRESS OF SAN JUAN
DE ULLOA.--HORRORS OF A MEXICAN PRISON.--EXCURSION TO JALAPA.--THE
NATIONAL BRIDGE.--CERRO GORDO.--GENERAL SCOTT'S VICTORY.--JALAPA.--A
CITY OF MISTS.--STAPLE PRODUCTS OF THE REGION.--JALAP AND ITS
QUALITIES.--PRETTY WOMEN.--PECULIARITIES OF THE STREETS.--ORIZABA AND
PEROTE.--NEW RAILWAY CONNECTIONS.--TAMPICO AND ANTON LIZARDO.--DELAYED
BY A NORTHER.--DEPARTURE BY STEAMER.--FAREWELL TO VERA CRUZ.
The walk of our young friends took them to the Alameda, which proved
unusually attractive, as it was filled with tropical plants and trees to
which their eyes had not been accustomed in the upland region. They
welcomed the palm-trees as old friends; the palm does not flourish in
Mexico at a greater elevation than 1500 feet above the level of the sea
excepting under peculiarly favorable circumstances. The palms of Vera
Cruz are finely developed, but they do not attain the size of those at
Medellin, twelve miles down the coast. Medellin is a summer resort of
the Veracruzanos; they go there for recreation during the hot season, or
at least such of them as cannot afford the longer journey to Orizaba and
the mountain regions.
Many of the trees and bushes in the Alameda were bright with flowers. As
if there were not enough floral products growing in sight, several
flower-sellers came around with their wares, which they persistently
offered to the visitors. Frank asked for the _palo de leche_, but the
flower-sellers did not have it, though one enterprising dealer
endeavored to substitute a common blossom in its place, with the gravest
assurance that it was the article sought.
"I haven't heard of that flower before," said Fred. "Why were you asking
for it?"
"I read about it last night," was the reply, "and had a curiosity to see
what it was like."
"Well, what did you read that was interesting?"
"The description said that the term _palo de leche_ means simply 'milky
plant,' and is applied to several plants from whose stems a milky
substance exudes. We have the same kind of plant in the North, such as
the milk-weed and its kindred. There are many varieties of the palo de
leche in Mexico, and they belong to the family of _Euphorbia_.
"One kind is used by the Indians for fishing; they throw the leaves into
the water and the fishes are stupefied and rise to the surface, where
they are easily taken before the effect of the narcotic has passed away.
The same writer says that if the milk is thrown upon a fire it gives out
fumes which produce nausea and severe headaches that often last for
several hours. Taken internally, the milk of some of the Euphorbia is a
deadly poison; it will produce death or insanity, according to the size
and preparation of the dose or the condition of the person to whom it is
administered. There is a popular belief among the Mexicans that the
insanity of the ex-Empress Carlotta was caused by this poison. While
many deny this and point to the fact that she became insane after going
to Europe, they admit that the palo de leche is to be feared when in the
hands of unscrupulous persons. On the other hand, it is claimed that the
Indians can so prepare and use the poison as to regulate the time at
which it will cause death or insanity."
"If that is the case," replied Fred, "it is no wonder that the
flower-sellers do not deal in what you wanted. Perhaps it would not be
altogether safe for a Mexican to ask for it, as he might be suspected of
evil designs and bring the police nearer than would be comfortable."
The subject of palo de leche was dropped and the walk continued.
[Illustration: A COFFEE-CARRIER.]
At a fountain they saw quite a group of men and quadrupeds, and a glance
showed that the same system of water supply prevails here as in most
other cities of Mexico. Water is carried by the _aguadores_ either on
their own backs or on those of donkeys. An aguador who possesses a
donkey is an aristocrat in his line of business, and looks down upon the
poor wretch who is obliged to be his own beast of burden. The mule and
donkey are important animals at Vera Cruz, and a good part of the
carrying business is in their hands--or on their backs.
[Illustration: FOUNTAIN AT VERA CRUZ.]
Frank and Fred paused to look at the Governor's Palace, an imposing
edifice of two stories with a high tower at one corner. There are wide
balconies on each of the stories, where the occupants can sit in the
shade and enjoy the cool breeze whenever it happens to blow. A drawback
to sitting there is the presence of the mosquitoes, which fill all the
space not taken up by the Governor and his household. Not only do the
inhabitants of Vera Cruz maintain a constant warfare with mosquitoes,
but they associate intimately with fleas, ticks, and other bodily
annoyances. Official station offers no exemption; the insect pests are
indiscriminate in their attentions, and light on the brow of the
Governor or the general in command of the post just as readily as on
that of the humblest peon. If there is any difference it is in favor of
the peon, as his tougher skin renders him less inviting to the
diminutive assailants.
[Illustration: THE GOVERNOR'S PALACE.]
"Vera Cruz has had an interesting history," wrote Fred in his journal.
"It was founded by Cortez in 1519, who gave it the name of Villa Rica de
la Vera Cruz (the rich city of the true cross). The original site was a
little north of the present one, and altogether the location of the
city has been changed three times. The last change occurred in the year
1600, and brought it to where the first buildings were erected by the
Spaniards before Cortez made the formal location of what he intended as
the maritime metropolis of the New World.
"The city has suffered in a great many ways. Leaving out the annual
visitation of yellow-fever, which we have already mentioned, it has had
occasion to mourn the advent of buccaneers, pirates, hostile fleets and
armies, and occasional conflagrations and hurricanes. In 1568, and again
in 1683, it was sacked by pirates, and many of its inhabitants were
killed. In 1618 it was nearly burned to the ground by a fire that broke
out during a northerly gale. In 1822 and 1823 it was bombarded by the
Spaniards, who held the Castle of San Juan de Ulloa, on the island
opposite the city, in the struggle of the Mexicans for independence. In
1838 it was bombarded by the French, and nine years later by the
Americans. The latter captured it by coming ashore on the beach some
distance below the city and attacking it from the land side, so that the
surrender was rendered imperative. Some of the Mexicans complained that
General Scott did not 'fight fair,' as he made his attack where they
were least prepared for defence. Evidently they expected him to march
up to the muzzles of their guns instead of going around to the
undefended rear of the city as he did.
"The shipping in the harbor was destroyed by a hurricane in 1856, and it
has suffered serious damage in other years. President Juarez was
besieged here in 1859 by General Miramon; two years later the city was
taken by the French and Imperialists, and remained in their hands until
1867, when the death of Maximilian and the collapse of the Empire
restored it to Mexican possession."
[Illustration: ON THE WAY TO THE FORT.]
After breakfast the party arranged to visit the fortress which stands on
the island of San Juan, already mentioned. At the mole, or pier, the
only one of which Vera Cruz can boast, they hired a boat in which they
were rowed to the fort; the distance is nearly a mile, and our friends
were easily able to understand the unsafe character of the harbor of
Vera Cruz. It is little better than an open roadstead; when high winds
prevail landing from or embarking upon a steamer is impossible, and
during heavy northers steamers sometimes put to sea for safety. There
are no docks where vessels can lie; everything must be discharged or
received by boats or lighters, and the uncertainties of the weather make
the time of a steamer's departure very uncertain. The dangerous
character of the harbor is said to cause the insurance companies to
increase their rates when Vera Cruz is given as a vessel's destination.
"The fort is a grim-looking place," said Frank; "its walls are thick
enough to justify the belief of its builders that it was impregnable.
Whatever it may have been in ancient times, it is not of much
consequence at present, and short work would be made of it by modern
artillery. No attempt is made to keep it in condition to resist a
determined attack, all the cannon which it possesses being of ancient
date; many of these cannon would be quite as dangerous to the garrison
as to the enemy in case they were discharged. The story goes that it
cost so much to build the fort that the King of Spain once called for a
telescope, and pointed it at the west.
"'For what is your Majesty looking?' inquired one of his officers of
state.
"'I am looking for San Juan de Ulloa,' he answered; 'I have spent so
much money on it that I ought to see the fort standing out on the
western sky.'
"Our guide pointed out some great rings of copper that were built into
the wall of the fortress on the face next to the city. These rings were
intended for ships to tie to under protection of the guns, but in the
past two hundred years the water has become so shoal that only a small
boat can come near enough to make any use of the fastenings. There are
large court-yards inside the fort, where a whole regiment could parade,
and the casemates are sufficiently capacious to hold a garrison six
times as large as the Government keeps here. Parts of the walls are
broken down, and no effort is made to keep them in repair. The chief use
of the once celebrated fort is as a prison; they told us that about
sixty or seventy prisoners were kept there, some of them being sentenced
for life. We looked into some of the vacant dungeons, and thought them
the most horrible places of imprisonment we had ever seen. They are
badly ventilated, very little light can enter them, and the walls are
damp and almost dripping with moisture. Escape is out of the question,
as the water around the island swarms with sharks, and a prisoner who
should attempt to get away by swimming to the shore would be eaten by
these monsters of the sea."
An excursion of a pleasanter character was made to the city of Jalapa
(ha-_la_-pa--_a_ as in father); it should be called a journey rather
than an excursion, as it consumed no less than three days. Jalapa is
seventy-four miles from Vera Cruz and 4000 feet above the sea, and one
of the prettiest places in Mexico. Our friends were obliged to rise at a
very early hour, as the train starts at 5 A.M.; they went by steam for
sixteen miles to Tejeria, and there changed to a tram-car, drawn by
mules, for a ride of sixty miles. The old diligence-road between Vera
Cruz and the capital passes through Jalapa, but it is not much used
since the completion of the railway.
[Illustration: THE NATIONAL BRIDGE.--ROBBING A COACH.]
General Scott marched by that road, and the youths were on the watch for
_El Puente Nacional_, or the National Bridge, where he was sharply
resisted by the Mexican army. It is thirty-five miles from Vera Cruz,
and is an immense viaduct, built in the early part of the present
century, when the road to the capital was begun. In the happy days of
brigandage it was the favorite spot for stopping coaches and plundering
passengers; many a traveller has given up his valuables at this spot,
under the potent influence of a pistol in the hands of a Mexican
"road-agent."
"Sixty miles by mule-power was a long distance," said Fred, "and we
wondered how it was to be accomplished. The mules went along at a good
pace, considering that it was an ascending grade; they were urged by the
whip in the hands of the driver, and he was certainly not a merciful
one, perhaps for the reason that the mules belonged to the railway
company and not to himself. Part of our ride was through a comparatively
desert region, and we rejoiced that it was early in the morning while
the sun was not high and hot. The train was composed of three cars; each
car had four mules for its motive power, and the vehicles were divided
into first, second, and third class. First class fare is $6.63; second
class, $4.08; and third class not far from $2.00. My memorandum for
third class is so blurred that I cannot make the figures out to a
certainty. The mules were changed every two hours, and seemed very well
satisfied when their terms of service were ended.
[Illustration: SKETCHED AT RINCONADA.]
"We stopped at Rinconada, where we breakfasted, and changed mules for
the second time, the first change having been made at the National
Bridge. The second station from Rinconada was Cerro Gordo, where General
Scott defeated the Mexicans in 1847. It is a narrow pass bordered by
high hills, and connects the lowlands of the coast with the regions of
the _tierra templada_. How an army could get through the pass in the
face of anything like determined and intelligent opposition by a force
superior in numbers, it is difficult to understand. An English writer
who has visited the spot says of it as follows: 'That 10,000 Americans
should have been able to get through the mountain passes, and to reach
the capital at all, is an astonishing thing; and after that, their
successes in the Valley of Mexico follow as a matter of course. They
could never have crossed the mountains but for a combination of
circumstances.'
"After passing Cerro Gordo, in which we had no such difficulties as
beset General Scott, we found ourselves in a less tropical region than
the one behind us. Cornfields were numerous, and so were fields of
barley; that we had not left the region of warmth altogether was evident
by the sugar-cane and the coffee-trees that abounded in many places.
They continued up to and into Jalapa, whither our mules went at a
gallop, and came to a halt about half-past four in the afternoon. Twelve
hours for a journey of seventy-four miles, up a slope of 4000 feet, and
sixty miles of the distance by mule-power, isn't so bad after all.
[Illustration: PART OF JALAPA.]
"There was a drawback to the interest of the scene in the shape of a
cloud of mist in which we were enveloped as we entered the city; but the
wind swept it away and we had some beautiful views; then it came on
again, to our aggravation, and in fact it kept up a sort of peep-show
performance all the time we were there. They told us that a good deal of
rain falls at Jalapa, and when there is no rain there is generally a
mist of more or less density. We were reminded of Ireland and Scotland,
and in more ways than one; the mists that obstruct the view are the
glory of Jalapa in keeping everything green, even to our memory of it.
It does not rain, nor is the sky obscured all the time, else there would
be no ripening of fruit in the gardens; and the gardens of Jalapa are
among the finest in the world.
"The great staple of Jalapa is coffee, but there is a large product of
sugar; and as for plantains, bananas, mangoes, and similar fruits, they
are to be had in abundance and for little more than the asking. We
looked for that old-fashioned drastic medicine, jalap, which takes its
name from the city, but were told it is no longer exclusively produced
here. Doctor Bronson says the drug was introduced into England from
Mexico in 1609, and was in use for 200 years before the plant from which
it came was known. It belongs to the same family as the 'four-o'-clock'
of our gardens, and grows wild in the mountains in the neighborhood of
Jalapa. As this city was then the centre of commerce in this article,
the name adhered to it, just as the name of Calicut adhered to the cloth
called calico, which originally came from that town of India.
"Another staple for which Jalapa is famous is pretty women; but so far
as we have been able to observe, it has no monopoly of them against the
other cities of Mexico. They have been praised by many travellers, and
there is a Mexican saying that '_Las Jalapeños son muy halagüeñas_'
('the women of Jalapa are very charming.') We have seen many pretty
faces, and if the weather had been uninterruptedly fine perhaps we could
have seen more.
[Illustration: A NARROW STREET.]
"The streets resemble those of Spain more than do any we saw in Mexico,
Puebla, or Vera Cruz; they are narrow, crooked, and irregular, and
separating solid old buildings with thick walls and heavily grated
windows. The city has about 15,000 inhabitants, and there is said to
have been an Indian town here at the time of Cortez's arrival. The
houses cling to the hill-side as though afraid of falling off, and there
is a good deal of uphill and down-hill in a walk through the streets; in
fact it seems to be uphill no matter which way you go. An excellent
feature about the streets is their cleanliness.
"Another vegetable product of the region around Jalapa is the vanilla,
which was cultivated here long before the Conquest. The Indians had
practically a monopoly of it at one time, but its cultivation has spread
to other parts of Mexico and Central America, and also to distant
countries. The best quality still comes from this part of Mexico, and
the Indians show great skill in harvesting and curing the pods. The
drying of the pods takes a long time, and if any mistake is made in the
process, it greatly injures the value of the product.
"We had a fine view of the peak of Orizaba and the famous mountain of
Perote, which, from its shape, is known as the _cofre_, or casket. At
the base of this mountain is the town of Perote, which was famous during
the Mexican War as the place where some Americans were imprisoned.
Doctor Bronson says there was a novel of that time called 'The Prisoner
of Perote,' which had a very large circulation.
"Downhill is easier than uphill all the world over, and nowhere more so
than on a tram-way. We started from Jalapa at seven in the morning, and
went flying down the road, turning curves at a gallop, dashing on as
though pursued by a Nemesis or a pack of wolves, and raising clouds of
dust wherever the roads were dry. Our hair stood on end half the
time--figuratively at least; and I wished the mules could have told us
what they thought of such recklessness. We breakfasted again at
Rinconada, and at a little past four in the afternoon rolled into Vera
Cruz."
Jalapa is to be connected with Puebla and the city of Mexico by the
Interoceanic Railway, perhaps before these words appear in print, as a
part of the line is already built and work is being pushed on the
remainder. As has been shown on previous pages, it is the intention to
carry the railway through to the Pacific Ocean by making use of the line
already completed from the capital to Morelos and Yautepec. Another
Pacific line has been surveyed from Puebla through the State of Oajaca,
and a part of the road has been built.
On their return trip from Jalapa to Vera Cruz our friends made the
acquaintance of a railway engineer who had been at work upon the line
from Tampico westward. He was enthusiastic about the future of Tampico,
and predicted that when the railway had formed its connection with the
National and Central lines Vera Cruz would be "out in the cold," as he
expressed it. "Tampico has," said he, "a harbor that can be greatly
improved by dredging away a part of the bar, which is now dangerous; the
town is five miles up a river, and affords the shelter which a ship
cannot find at Vera Cruz. With the dredging I mentioned, the port can be
used by the same class of vessels that now go to Vera Cruz. Tampico will
get all the business when the railway is completed and the line opened
to the capital."
[Illustration: EXTERIOR OF A CHURCH.]
Filled with the idea of the importance of Tampico and the ruin that
awaited Vera Cruz, before leaving the latter city Frank had a
conversation with an advocate of another port of future importance. The
new claimant for commercial favors was Anton Lizardo, which lies some
distance down the coast and was selected as the starting-point of the
Mexican Southern Railway. It is claimed to be in a healthy locality, and
to have a fairly good harbor capable of improvement by the use of the
dredge and the construction of piers at which vessels may lie. General
Grant was the President of the Mexican Southern Railway, and since his
death the enterprise has languished, and our friends were unable to
learn that it showed any positive signs of activity.
It was Doctor Bronson's intention to leave Vera Cruz on the day
following their return from Jalapa, but his plans were rudely upset by a
norther, which set in furiously and for two days cut off all
communication with the ships in harbor or out of it. Frank and Fred
climbed to the top of the highest tower they could find, and watched the
waves breaking on the walls, and also on the long line of beach north
and south of the city. At times the island of San Juan de Ulloa seemed
to be half buried in the spray; the ships rose and fell unpleasantly as
they tugged at their anchors, and some of them took the course of
prudence and steamed away seaward. Two or three small craft were torn
from their moorings and driven ashore; that similar accidents may befall
larger vessels was painfully evidenced by an English steamer which lay
high and dry on the beach, where she had been wrecked in a norther a few
weeks before.
But all things have an end, and so did the gale, which blew itself out
after cleansing the city of all miasmatic impurities, and rendering it
healthy for a while. The sea went down, and as soon as the steamer on
which they were to leave had completed her cargo and was ready for sea,
the travelling trio went on board. An hour later they were moving over
the dark waters of the Gulf of Mexico, with their faces turned in the
direction of the equator.
[Illustration: A TOURIST.]