ON THE MAIN HIGH-ROAD
(1899)
After a day or two of rest, we started from Tehuantepec upon our return
to Oaxaca. For the first time, we were to follow the usually travelled
high-road. Our hearts failed us, as we thought of thus neglecting the
lovely land of the Mixes, but it was on our program to see the Chontals.
Starting at seven, we lost a little time in having a photograph of our
party taken as we left the city, so that it was really 8:15 before we
were on our way. Our plaster had been sent by _carreta_ to Xalapa. We
had a hot, hot, hot ride over a heavy, difficult sand road. At least
half a dozen times we forded the Tehuantepec river, and everywhere at
places which would have justified the name, Xalapa, "the sandy water."
Finally, arriving at Xalapa at four o'clock, we found it a large
town, of the usual hot, dusty Zapotec kind. The authorities bestirred
themselves vigorously to locate us in comfortable quarters, with an old
lady of regal appearance and dignity. From the start, we feared that
this royal appearance and dignity would be paid for, but the opportunity
for comfort was not to be neglected. One of the houses of her royal
domain was vacated for our use, and two good cots and a hammock were put
at our disposal. The supper was abundant, and capital in quality, and
there was plenty of food for the horses. Strolling down to the river
after supper we found it broad but very shallow; it did not reach our
knees at any point, when we waded across it; the bottom was, as we
imagined it would be from the name, moving sand. After a bath in the
much too shallow stream for swimming, we returned refreshed to our
comfortable beds. As anticipated, we found the bill, when presented in
the morning, truly regal; after some demur, our queenly hostess reduced
it slightly, but, even so, we were reminded of the summer-resorts of our
own country.
Tequixistlan, perhaps the largest of the Chontal towns, we found without
an official head. While we were in Tehuantepec the _jefe_ received
notice of his father's death. This notice had been duly sent to all
the villages and towns within the district, and, on a certain day, the
_presidente_ and other chief officers of the different pueblos gathered
at Tehuantepec to express their sympathy by speeches and to present
flowers to the official. It was for this errand that the _presidente_ of
Tequixistlan had gone to the _cabecera_. Had he been at home, perhaps
we would have had no difficulty, but as it was we found the government
disjointed and nerveless. Constant nagging and harrying were necessary
in carrying out our wishes. The town itself was not bad. It stands upon
a sort of terrace, at a little height above the neighboring river. The
town-house is a long building, occupying the whole upper end of the
large rectangular _plaza_; at the lower end is the fine church and
_curato_. Along the sides were _tiendas_, school, etc., well built
adobes and plastered over with tinted plaster. Behind the church beyond
the river rises a handsome background of mountains. The long corridor in
front of the municipal-house was fine and broad, with a high roof and
brick pavement. Oleanders bloomed before this corridor. The view from
it was fine, and the air cool there even in the middle of the day. We
accordingly took possession of it, working and sleeping there. So far
as personal comfort was concerned, we were well cared for. We had good
meals, comfortable cots, plenty of food for the horses, but, as we have
said, the work lagged, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that
we could accomplish it.
There is little distinctive about the Chontals, as we saw them. The
women dress much like the Zapotec women in the neighboring towns. The
men present nothing notable in dress. Outside the _plaza_, the houses
were built of light materials, and resembled the ordinary cane-walled,
thatched huts of the Zapotecs. The people appeared to be badly mixed,
and this not only with white, but also with negro blood. Nevertheless,
as we worked upon subject after subject, a fairly defined type seemed
to grow upon us. We could see that the Chontals are tall, with rather
well-shaped faces, though somewhat high cheek-bones, with light
complexions, and with wavy or curly hair. When the work was finished,
we had great difficulty in securing carriers to bear our burdens to San
Bartolo. Enormous prices were demanded, and at last, angry over the
attempted extortion, we threatened to leave all our stuff behind us, and
hold the town responsible, reporting them to the authorities when we
should reach Oaxaca, demanding that damages should be collected. These
threats had the desired effect. The _secretario_, who had been the only
member of the town government displaying energy in our behalf, promised
by all that was sacred that our goods should be delivered promptly at
San Bartolo; that if they were not already there on our arrival,
we might safely arrange for further transportation from that town,
convinced that the goods would come before we left.
That we might not be too much delayed by this palaver regarding
carriers, I had started the balance of the party ahead, and rode on
alone after them. They had left at 10:15, and we all had a hot, dry,
dusty, thirsty mountain ride until five o'clock in the afternoon, when
we reached the ranch, Las Vacas. It consisted of a dozen houses. We
rode to the last one in the place, which consisted of brush and leafy
branches, and had an enclosed _corral_ adjoining it, where we asked
for lodging. The owner was a young Zapotec, who, with his wife, was
strikingly neat and clean. A little girl of seven was the only other
member of the family. The house had but a single room, but there was a
_coro_, or cane platform, and loft. Having fed our horses and eaten our
own supper, I mounted to the loft, despite the advice of all the members
of the party, who predicted smoke, heat, mosquitoes, fleas and other
trials. They stayed below. There is no question that they fared worse
from all the sources mentioned than myself. The woman worked until
midnight, making _tortillas_ and cooking chicken for us to carry as
luncheon on the road. We had started by four in the morning, and
pushed along over a mountain road. The first portion of the road was
well-watered, but afterward it became hot, dry, and stony. Having gained
the pass looking down upon the valley, we could see, at its further
side, lying on a terrace, the pueblo of San Bartolo, stretching out in
a long line near the front of a mighty mountain, upon which plainly our
way would pass. It was almost noon when we reached the municipal-house,
and found that our carriers had already arrived, and left the luggage.
Here things were really quite as bad as at Tequixistlan, but here
fortunately we had no work to do. The town was Zapotec. One might
suppose, from its being upon the main high-road, that they would be
accustomed to see strangers. We have hardly found a population at once
so stupid and timid. It was with great difficulty that we found food
to eat. Here we had to pay for beds (made of sticks tied together),
belonging to the municipality, a thing which we had never done at any
other town in Mexico.
[Illustration: VIEW FROM OUR CORRIDOR; SAN BARTOLO]
The people wear curious and characteristic garments.
All the stuff used for clothing is woven in the town, and not only the
women's _camisas_, but the men's _camisas_ and trousers, are decorated
with elaborate designs--birds, animals, and geometrical figures--worked
in various colors. Even in purchasing examples of these clothes, we were
compelled to make a vigorous display of our civil and religious orders.
After some bickering, we arranged for carriers to San Carlos, which is
the _cabecera_ of the district. Starting by moonlight, at two o'clock in
the morning, we struck out over the enormous mountain mass to which we
have already referred. Roads in the Zapotec country do not go directly
up the hillside, as in the land of the Mixes, but zigzag by gentle
diagonals up the slopes. The road was largely composed of jagged rock;
two hours and fifteen minutes were necessary for the ascent; the descent
was bad enough, but a distinct improvement. At one place, however,
we wandered from the main-travelled road, and found ourselves in an
abandoned portion of the road, full of great holes which were filled
with drifted fallen leaves, so that their presence was not betrayed
until our horses fell into them. The latter part of this descent was
slippery, being over hard stone, which was worn almost to a glassy
smoothness by the passage of many hoofs. A little before reaching
Manteca, as we looked down from the height, we saw an immense train of
pack-mules coming. In the good old days, before there were railroads,
such trains as this were frequent. From Manteca the road penetrated into
contracting valleys, until finally it might, with propriety, be called a
cañon road. At half past eight we reached San Carlos, a mean town with
no _meson_ or other regular stopping-place. We left the horses under
the shady trees with the old farrier. While we rested and waited for
breakfast, I called upon the _jefe politico_, who had received several
communications from me, and had become interested in my work. Our
luggage was all at his office, and he promptly made arrangements for its
further transportation. At breakfast, we received the cheerful news
that Mr. Lang's horse had the lockjaw and showed signs of dying. On
inspection, this proved to be quite true; the poor animal was in great
pain, and could eat nothing, though making every effort to do so. Our
first thought was a shot in the head to put it out of misery, but the
old farrier wished to try a _remedio_. He did his best, and it looked as
if the animal might recover; it was plain, however, that he could not be
used again that afternoon. Accordingly, an extra horse was rented for
Mr. Lang's use. The remainder of the party was started on the road at
1:50, while I waited to give the _remedio_ a chance to operate and the
beast an opportunity to rest. At three I started, leading the sick
horse. We had a fine ride in the cool of the evening, over a mountain
road past the little ranch El Quemado, beyond which we found an immense
ascent. When we reached the summit, it was fast darkening, and I
pressed on as rapidly as the led horse would permit. Finally, I reached
Escondido at seven. Several large parties of packers, with their trains
of mules, had already settled for the night; camp-fires were burning.
Here and there drinking had been going on, and there was noise of loud
laughter, singing and dancing. Our party was already eating supper when
I arrived, and my own meal had been ordered. Shelter was supplied
us adjoining the house, where we spread our blankets and spent a
comfortable night. We were late in starting, and were not upon the road
until seven in the morning. We found the high-road most uninteresting.
For long distances we descended, passing a ranch and emerging finally
into a deep, hot gorge. By the time we reached Pichones we were tired,
hot and thirsty. There, however, we could get no water, for man or
beast, for love or money; suffering with thirst, the road seemed long to
the river near Totolapa, where we refreshed ourselves with water, but a
heavier road than ever had to be traversed. Much of the way we followed
the stream-bed, fording repeatedly; the remainder was through deep sand
and over rolling pebbles. Passing Juanico, on a high bank overlooking
the river, at noonday, we were delighted to strike upon a rock road,
high on the river bank. Keeping to this trail, passing from plantations
of bananas lying at the river level below us and catching many pretty
views of valley and of mountain, we at last reached Totolapa, completely
worn out with the journey and the heat. Here we rested until the heat of
the day should be past.
[Illustration: OUR PARTY LEAVING TEHUANTEPEC]
[Illustration: ZAPOTEC WOMEN AND GIRLS, TLACOLULA]
We had expected at this town to secure a muleteer, as the one we hired
from San Carlos had agreed to come only to this town. Here, too, we had
expected to rent a new horse for Mr. Lang. Our muleteer, however, was
much taken with the party, and declared that he should hire himself to
continue with us to Tlacolula. We quickly arranged with him, and at four
o'clock prepared to leave. The sick horse was then at its worst; it had
lain down, and for a time we believed it was really dead; it was out of
the question for it to go further; so, calling one of the villagers, I
told him that he might have the horse, and if there was any possibility
of curing, it, he should do what might be necessary.
From four to seven it was a tiresome climb, largely through stream-beds
to Carvajal. It is a large _rancho_, but we stopped at the first house
we came to, a miserable place, where, however, we got coffee, bread,
beans and eggs, and some mats for beds, which we laid out upon the
ground, under the open sky. Taking early coffee and _tortillas_, we were
again mounted at four and on our way. It was the last ascent. The moon
was shining brightly, and we could see that the road followed the edge
of a fine gorge. When we once reached the summit, there was no further
descent to make. We were on the high, flat, table-land of Oaxaca, and
from here to the capital city of the state, the road is level, and
passes through a rich agricultural district. Passing San Dionisio at
seven, we pressed on as rapidly as possible to Tlacolula, where we
arrived before noon, ready for the good meals and comfortable quarters
which we well knew awaited us there.
Tlacolula is a large town, in the midst of a dusty valley. Its houses
are large, rectangular constructions, well built of poles, with fine
thatched roofs. They stand in yards, which are enclosed by fences of
organ-pipe cactus. The people dress well, and at almost every house they
own an ox-cart and a yoke of animals. While photographing there that
afternoon, we suggested that we wanted a group of girls and women in
native dress. "Very well; I will take you to the house, where you can
get one." Arrived there, the policeman at once led out five women and
four children, whom he placed in line. After the picture was taken, we
expressed our satisfaction and surprise that so good a group had been so
readily secured at a single house. "Oh, sir," he replied, "we struck a
lucky time; there is a funeral going on there."
[Illustration: IN THE HOT VALLEY; CUICATLAN]