IN THE HUAXTECA
(1901)
The scenery on the Tampico branch was at its best, as there had been
recent rains, and everything was fresh and green. At Tampico, we
resisted the attractions of the hotels "where Americans always stop,"
and went to the unpretentious Pan Cardo. Here we were comfortably
located, and early the next morning tried to define our plans. We were
in uncertainty as to what towns we should visit in order to examine
the Huaxtecs. The ancient Huaxtecs were among the most interesting of
Mexican tribes. They are a northern offshoot of that great family, of
which the Maya of Yucatan is the type. The linguistic relationship is
evident upon the most careless comparison. The ancient area occupied
by the Huaxtecs was near the Gulf of Mexico, and on both sides of the
Panuco River, near the mouth of which some of their important centres
were located. To-day Mexicans divide the Huaxteca into two parts,--the
Huaxteca Veracruzana and the Huaxteca Potosina--the former in the state
of Vera Cruz, the latter in the state of San Luis Potosi. At first,
we thought to visit the latter, but the difficulty of reaching it was
presented so forcibly, and the ease of reaching the Huaxteca Veracruzana
so emphasized, that we determined upon the latter, and selected the town
of Ozuluama for our central point. We could go by canoes across the
river to Pueblo Viejo, where we could secure horses for the further
journey. We were led to believe that it would be easy to make the trip
in a single day. We had arranged for a canoe over night. It belonged in
Pueblo Viejo, and it was to come over early in the morning; we were at
the wharf at six, ready to start, but no canoe was in sight. Not only
so, but a norther was blowing, and comforters, lounging on the wharf
assured us that no canoe would come from Pueblo Viejo until the storm
ceased, which would not be for twenty-four hours. We were loath to
believe this information, and brought all our baggage from the various
storing-places, where we had left it, out onto the wharf. Time passed;
the norther continued, and no canoe from Pueblo Viejo came. Thinking
that it might be possible to secure a canoe from here to Pueblo Viejo,
we dickered with a boatman at the wharf. We had agreed to pay for the
canoe ordered $1.00 for the journey, which was something more than the
regular price. The man with whom we now were talking declared that he
would not take us across for less than $3.50. We were on the point of
yielding to necessity, when a rival appeared and offered to do the work
for $2.50. Such is human perversity that we now insisted that he must
go for $2.00, which he finally agreed to do. Hurrying away to get his
canoe, he soon appeared, and our hearts sank. The man who had demanded
$3.50 had a large, well-built boat, which should stand any wind and
water. The man whom we had engaged had a canoe so narrow, low, and small
that we doubted his ability to perform his contract; however, he assured
us that all would be well, and showed himself so skilful in packing our
stuff into his boat, that we ourselves embarked, and started down the
little lagoon in his canoe. So long as we remained in this narrow,
sheltered stream, all was well; but when he poled from its mouth out to
the open river, we found it a different matter. More than this, we saw
two or three canoes dancing over the white caps, and managed with great
difficulty, although not loaded. The courage of our boatman was a little
dashed; he suggested that we leave Ramon, Louis, and Manuel on an old
scow standing on the bank and fast going to ruin, while he poled myself
and the luggage over, after which he would return for my companions.
This seemed good sense, and the boys were left behind. It was
interesting to see the skill with which the man handled our rather
awkward craft, loaded at it was almost to the water's edge. He had no
motive power but his long pole. We did not ship a single drop of water,
and at last entered the quiet, broad, canal-like lagoon on the other
side of the river. A moment more, and we were unloading our luggage onto
the shore. To do this, we were forced to wade through mud up to the
knees. But at last all was safe, and with his empty canoe, our boatman
started merrily back for his other passengers. When they arrived, only
a few minutes were necessary for reloading the canoe, and we started up
the lagoon. Little side lagoons opened frequently into the one through
which we passed. At their mouths were V-shaped weirs of stakes, driven
into the bottom and wattled together with flexible twigs. These were
open at the mouth, and in the openings were set dip-nets, which could
be lowered into the water. Just now, with the heavy norther blowing,
thousands of _camarón_ (shrimps) were driven into the nets, and at each
one we saw fishermen busily occupied. The lagoon abounded in water-birds
of many kinds, and hardly had we entered it, when Louis shot a pretty,
small white heron.
Believing that the owner of animals to whom we had been referred was
demanding too high a price for his horses and mules, we decided to see
what the town authorities would do for us, and went to the _municipio_.
The _presidente_ told us, with delight, that the _jefe politico_ of
Ozuluama was there with his family, rusticating, and at once summoned
him to meet us. He was a gentlemanly fellow, who told us that the price
demanded was regular, but advised us to travel in a different way.
"Here," he said, "you can get a large canoe; starting now, you can
travel all night; reaching La Llave in the early morning, you can get
horses and go the seven leagues remaining comfortably. Take a little
something to eat before you start, and carry something for the way."
This seemed an opportunity for a new experience, and, though the price
was little, if any, less than we were asked to pay for animals, we
decided to try it. Arrangements were begun at once, breakfast ordered,
and a light lunch prepared for carrying. Meantime, the _jefe_ told us
that there were few Indians in Ozuluama, but that in Citlaltepec we
would find abundance. He gave us orders to his _secretario_, who
represented him during his absence, and bade us god-speed. We left at
one o'clock, in a great canoe, a heavy, timber-framed boat, propelled
by long poles, by oars in quiet and deep water, and by a clumsy sail. A
framework of poles, covered with matting, roofed over the middle of the
boat, and a piece of matting was spread upon the floor. Hanging blankets
to shelter ourselves from the heavy wind yet blowing, we busied
ourselves variously, the boys skinning birds which they had shot, and I
making up my various notes. The lagoon which we now entered was a large
stretch of open water. We raised our sail, and made easy work. Having
crossed the large lagoon, we entered the mouth of what probably would be
considered a fair-sized river, which at first was closely bordered by a
tangle of trees and vines, and presented a truly tropical appearance.
Palms were abundant, and, here and there, one of unusual size towered
high above the rest. The other trees were densely hung with long gray
moss. Now and then, we disturbed alligators along the banks, and we were
told that snakes were abundant in the grass. The quantity of water-birds
was astonishing--great and small white herons, large blue herons, little
blue herons, the curious, dark wry-necks, and ducks by thousands. The
positions and attitudes of these long-necked and long-legged birds, in
the water and on the trees, were curious and striking. The boys kept
busy shooting and skinning birds all the afternoon. In the evening, the
men built a fire with charcoal in a tin-lined box in the end of the
canoe, and toasted _tortillas_ and made coffee. The awning was scarcely
large enough to cover the whole party comfortably, when we lay down
to sleep, but we wrapped up in blankets and spread mats for beds. We
suffered intensely with the cold, sleeping little. At five o'clock our
boat came to a stop along the bank, and at six it was light enough to
disembark and explore. Climbing up a little bank of clay, we found
ourselves on a flat meadow, covered with grass and weeds, through which
narrow trails ran to a few scattered palm-thatched huts. With a letter
from the _jefe_, we called at Señora Mora's house. This lady was a
widow, whose husband had but lately died; she was well to do, and
promised to supply us with animals after we should have had our
breakfast. This was long preparing, but at last good coffee, fine
_enchiladas_ and cheese were served, and, after eating heartily, we
found six animals ready for us. When we asked for our account, the good
lady replied that the bill was $2.00. It was plain that she had made no
charge for either breakfast or animals, but only something for the
boys whom she sent along to bring back the beasts. At about eleven, we
started on what was called seven leagues, but what was certainly the
longest nine leagues we had travelled for a long time. We had excellent
horses that kept up a steady jog. Still, it was after five when we
reached Ozuluama. The journey was for the most part over a _llano_,
thicket-covered and sprinkled, here and there, with groves of palm;
the soil was dark clay, which in spots, wet by recent rains, was hard
travelling for the animals. We caught sight of the town, prettily
located upon a hill-slope, about an hour before we reached it. From it,
we looked out over an extensive stretch of dark green plains, broken,
here and there, by little wooded hillocks, none of them so large as that
upon which Ozuluama itself is situated. Riding to the town-house,
the _secretario_ was at once sent for. He ordered supper, and put a
comfortable room, behind the office, at our disposal. On the back porch,
just at our door, was chained a tiger-cat. It belonged to the _jefe_,
and was a favorite with his little children, but since they had been
gone, it had been teased until it had developed an ugly disposition. It
was a beautiful little creature, graceful in form and elegantly spotted.
But it snarled and strove to get at everyone who came near it. The
_secretario_ at once told us that Citlaltepec was not the point we ought
to aim for, as it was purely Aztec; our best plan was to go to Tamalin,
where we would find one congregation of Huaxtecs. From there, if we
needed further subjects, we might go to Tancoco, although it did not
belong to this district, but to that of Tuxpan. In the course of our
conversation, I was reminded that Ozuluama is the home of Alejandro
Marcelo, a full-blooded Huaxtec, who once published a book upon the
Huaxtec language. Expressing an interest in meeting this man, he was
sent for. He is far older than I had realized, celebrating his 74th
birthday that very week. He was a man of unusual intelligence and most
gentle manner. At nine o'clock next morning, supplied with new animals,
we started for Tamalin, said to be thirteen leagues distant. We were
well mounted, and the journey was much like that of the preceding day.
For three hours we were impressed with the loneliness of the road; no
people were to be seen anywhere. Here and there, set far back from the
road, were country houses. The road itself was an extremely wide one,
cut through a woods, which consisted for the most part of low and
scrubby trees, with scattered clumps of palm trees here and there.
Usually the trail was single, but where we came on mud patches, many
little trails were distributed over the whole breadth of the road. Here
and there, where there were particularly bad spots, into which our
horses would have sunk knee-deep, we were forced to take trails back
among the trees. While the earlier part of the journey was through
rolling country, we came at noon into a true plain, though wooded. We
found many cross roads, broad and straight, cut through the woods, and
were impressed by the great number of dry _barrancas_ into which we
had to descend, and out of which we had to climb. Most of these were
actually dry, but many of them contained a dirty pool of stagnant water.
At many places, the road was bordered with plants, the leaves of which
somewhat resembled those of the pineapple. They were light green in
color, narrow and long-pointed at the upper end, and spiny along the
sides. This plant, named _guamara_, bears spikes of yellow fruits which
are pointed at the upper end, but in color, size, texture, structure and
taste reminded us of podophyllum, though it leaves a prickly sensation
in the mouth, much like that produced by fresh pineapples. There were
also many trees bearing little limes or lemons, of which we gathered
abundance for making lemonade. At two o'clock our man pointed out a
ranch-house near the road, in front of which two men sat eating, and
told us we could procure food and drink there if we wished, and that we
had plenty of time for stopping. We found the men at the table to be the
parish priest of Tantima and his servant. The priest informed us that
Tamalin was three and three-fourths leagues away, while Tantima was
four. The road for the greater part of the distance to the two places
was the same. We had an interesting conversation with the good priest,
and for the first time we met the curious prejudice, which exists
throughout this portion of the Huaxteca, against the Huaxtecs, and in
favor of the Aztecs. We were kept waiting some little time for our
dinner, but by three o'clock were again upon our way. Just as we
started, we crossed the first true stream which we had met, but during
the balance of the journey we crossed one or two others. Soon, leaving
the main road, we bore off to the left, and found several bad spots of
stiff black mud, into which our poor animals sank frightfully. After
five o'clock we saw, from the slope on which we were, for we had left
the _llano_ and were again in rolling country, a little village, and
higher and further to the left, a second. The first of these was
Gutierrez Zamora, which is Huaxtec, with a few Mexican families living
at one side; the second was our destination, Tamalin. We passed through
Gutierrez at six, and reached Tamalin at seven.
The _alcalde_ of the village was not there; in fact, we suspect that
he but rarely is. The _secretario_, likewise, was absent. We finally
prevailed upon his brother to help us to find an indian girl to cook our
meals, and a room in the _secretario's_ house. In this room there was
but a single bed and our helper thought me very particular in demanding
that _petates_ should be brought as beds for my companions. He assured
us that, when he traveled, he slept upon the floor, without _petates_.
It was long after 10 o'clock before we had supper and secured a
resting-place. We had planned to push out from here the following
morning; no sign, however, of our baggage had appeared, and we were
forced to spend two days at Tamalin waiting for its coming. Here, too,
we found that there were no Huaxtecs, the town being, so far as it was
indian, purely Aztec. We decided, therefore, to try Tancoco, returning,
if need be, to Gutierrez. Both Gutierrez and Tancoco were in the
district of Tuxpan. Fortunately, we still carried our last year's letter
from the governor of Vera Cruz to serve us with the local authorities,
as it would be most inconvenient to go to Tuxpan for orders. Seeing
that it was impossible to leave that day, I walked in the afternoon to
Tantima to visit the priest. Between the two towns rises a fine, high
rock hill. The ascent from Tamalin was in three slopes, with short
levels between; the crest was but a few yards wide; the descent to
Tantima was abrupt and short. From the summit we looked down upon the
pretty, level, enclosed valley occupied by a rather regular town, built
about a large plaza which, the day being a market day, was gay with
booths and people. I met almost the whole population of Tamalin on my
way over, as they returned from market. All the men were drunk; some
were so helpless that they sprawled upon the road, while others were
being helped by their more sober comrades. I reached the plaza just
thirty-seven minutes after leaving Tamalin, and at once telegraphed to
Ozuluama about the baggage. When I inquired for the priest's house, the
telegraph operator informed me that the _padre_ had told him all about
us and our errand and that he would accompany me to the _curato_.
Crossing the square, we found the _padre_ living in a comfortable place,
close by the great, pretentious, stone church. We were warmly welcomed,
and orders were at once given for coffee. The Aztec servant hastened to
bring some, piping hot, and was quite abashed at being sharply reproved
for offering it directly to me. No, indeed, a gentlemen so distinguished
was not to be thus served; the table was moved up before my chair, a
clean cloth spread, sweet cakes were sent for, a glass of fresh milk
placed, and then the coffee was set upon the table. Thus, in solitary
grandeur, I sat and ate and drank, while the priest and operator took
their cups of coffee in their hands. Though we had ordered horses for
the following morning, the baggage had not come, and we waited all the
day. Strolling around the village, we found it a pretty place, through
which ran a fine stream, separating the houses into groups or clusters.
It is a true Aztec town, and the houses are well-constructed. Several
houses are set irregularly within a single enclosure; the walls are
built of poles set upright, but these are so heavily daubed with a
mixture of mud and chopped straw that they are strong and durable. In
applying this daub, the hand is used, and a simple block of wood of
rectangular form, with a projecting edge extending midway of the upper
side, is used as a trowel for spreading it, and giving it a smooth
finish. The thatchings are thick, and project far beyond the walls; they
are of palm, and neatly cut at the edges; a cresting, thin, but evenly
placed and firmly pegged down, projects over the ridge, down either
slope, and its edges form the only break in the smooth surface. Many of
the houses had _temascals_, differing considerably from those of Puebla
and Tlaxcala. They are rectangular; the walls are built of poles,
set upright, close together, and strengthened by being lashed to a
horizontal timber set midway of their height. The roof is a round vault
or arch of poles set lengthwise. The whole is neatly plastered over with
a mixture of mud and chopped straw, and in the front a cross is worked
in the clay mixture, to insure good fortune. The women here wove cotton
in the usual indian fashion, but few wore the old dress, and those few
were mostly aged. We noticed quantities of pottery here, and throughout
the Huaxteca, but none of it is local in manufacture. Most of it has
come from the two towns, Huejutla, an Aztec town, and Panuco. We were
forced to spend a third night at Tamalin. The _secretario_ had been at
home for two days and had fairly done his duty; still, our animals were
late when we were ready to start the following morning, and we were not
off until 9:30. It was a steady climb, over a long series of ascents,
until we reached a crest from which Tancoco could be seen. We made
a long descent and then a little upward climb to the town, which is
notable for its cleanliness and the industry and cleanness of its
inhabitants. The town is situated upon a little hill, from which one
looks out on a sea of green forests, with little rocky hillocks covered
with trees rising from it, here and there, like wooded islands. Between
us and Tamalin rose a semi-circle of ridges, sweeping from us off to the
left and forward in the distance. In front, near the top of this curve
of ridges, two leagues distant, lay Amatlan, clear and impressive, from
this point. Riding up to the little town-house, which had a portico
enclosed by a neat railing and supplied with pine benches, we
dismounted, and, with some doubt as to its reception, presented our old
letter. The _secretario_ was an intelligent _mestizo_ from Tuxpan. He
sent at once for the _alcalde_, who was a good-natured, little Huaxtec,
of pure blood, thoroughly dependent upon his subordinate officer. We
were promised everything. The schoolhouse, remarkably clean, was put
at our disposal, and a messenger was sent to notify an old woman named
Guadelupe that she was to prepare our meals. Before four o'clock, work
was under way, and during the two days that we remained, there were no
difficulties. The houses of the town are somewhat like those of Tamalin,
but less well built. The single industry is the weaving of hats from
palm. On the house-roofs, and on the ground before the houses, palm was
drying. Some of the work was extremely delicate, and the four grades of
hats sell for from four pesos upward. Men, women and children are all
occupied in the manufacture, and as they sit in their houses or at the
door of an evening, or as they walk through the village on errands,
their hands are ever busily occupied with the plaiting. There is
absolutely nothing characteristic in dress, both men and women dressing
like _mestizos_ in the important cities of the Republic. Almost every
one wears shoes; women, those with high French heels. A resident tailor
makes the bulk of the clothing for the more particular men of the
town. In our school-room we were supplied with good kerosene lamps, an
experience almost unique. Few, if any, of the houses in the village
were without the same mode of light. Many, if not all, of the women had
sewing-machines.
[Illustration: VIEW AT TANCOCO]
We were more than ever impressed with the anomalous condition of these
people in their own land. They were the cleanest, most industrious, best
dressed and most progressive indians whom we had seen in any part of
Mexico; but in the Huaxteca, the land which bears their name, they are
being crowded by the less progressive Aztecs. _Mestizos_ and Aztecs both
speak of them with contempt, and treat them like dogs. As for their
language, it is neglected and despised; while many of them know both
Spanish and Aztec, neither _mestizo_ nor Aztec considers it worth while
to know a word of Huaxtec. While we had no trouble with the men, we
began to feel that the women would fail us. It was after five o'clock,
the last day of our stay, before a single one appeared. Then they came
in a body, accompanied by the full town force, and each with her husband
as a guard, to our quarters. They were dressed in their best calico,
muslin, silk and satin, with laces and artificial flowers, earrings,
necklaces, and with shoes the heels of which measured from thirty to
thirty-five millimeters. They were perfumed; their hair was heavily
oiled with odorous greases. Each shook hands with our whole party,
greeted us politely, and sat down on the long school-benches, waiting
for her turn for measurement. Notwithstanding this rather oppressively
lady-like mode of procedure, we were assured by old Guadelupe that our
errand and work in the town had caused much terror and doubt, the women
particularly feeling sure that it boded ill. It was said that they
recalled the fact that years ago certain of their old men predicted that
strangers would eventually come to the village, who would bewitch the
people and destroy the town. It was commonly believed that we were now
fulfilling this prediction.
The physical type of the Huaxtecs seems to be well marked. A peculiar
gray tint underlies the brown color of the skin. The head is short,
broad, and curiously compressed behind; the eyes are wide apart, and
frequently oblique; the mouth is large, with thick but not projecting
lips.
We had planned to leave about the middle of the afternoon, and at 3:50
the best animals we have ever had were ready for our use. A magnificent
horse, the special pride of the _alcalde_ himself, was put at my
disposal. When we came to settle for the animals, all payment was
refused, their use being the voluntary offering of the town officials.
The animals made nothing of the journey, and within an hour and a half
we had again reached Tamalin.
We found that Aztec town as disagreeable as ever. Solemn promises had
been made that various _danzas_ should be ready for us, and that there
should be no delay regarding animals. Of course, we found nothing doing.
The only satisfactory memory connected with the town is our cook,
Porfiria. She was a master hand, and with training, should make a
reputation and a fortune. A pure indian, we would rather eat at her
table than at that of any half-breed cook in all that section. She
always had quantities of food, and no two meals were alike. Unless we
expressly ordered something we had had before, it is doubtful whether
she would have repeated a single dish. Her _enchiladas_, seasoned with
cheese and onions, were the best we ever had, and after the first
experience, we insisted on having them at every meal. Her masterpieces
were in simple maize. Her _tortillas_ were good, but _tortillas_ one
finds everywhere; she served _cocoles, chavacanes_, and _pemol. Cocoles_
are round, flat biscuits or cakes of maize, a couple of inches across
and half an inch in diameter; they contain shortening, and when served
hot, are delicious. _Chavacanes_ are thin, flat square crackers of
corn-meal with shortening and eggs; they are good even when cold, but
are best when hot from the griddle. _Pemol_ is a corn-cake, crumbly,
sweet, and baked; it contains sugar and shortening, and is made up into
the form of rather large cakes, shaped like horse-collars.
As the result of vigorous remonstrance, the _secretario_ really had the
_danza_ of _los Negros_ at his house that night. Music was furnished by
_pito_ and _huehuetl_. The two performers, one representing a Spaniard
and the other a negro, were masked. The action was lively, and the
dialogue vociferous--both players frequently talking at once. The dance
was kept up until nearly ten o'clock, after which, as we planned an
early start, we were soon in bed. Just as we were dropping off to sleep,
we heard the whistling and roaring of the norther outside, and the cold
air found its way through every crack into our room. From our house the
musicians and the dancers had gone to the _syndico's_, where they stayed
some time; but, between one and two in the morning, they came back to
our house and played in the room next to ours, with the door wide open.
Our interest was not great enough to lead us forth again. Finally they
left, but at four o'clock the musicians, now quite drunk, appeared
again, and for a long time the _secretario_, his lady, and the
school-master, danced in lonely grandeur up and down the room.
[Illustration: OUR CANOE FOR SIXTY HOURS; THE LAGOONS]
[Illustration: MANGROVE ROOTS]
Don Leandro, the _secretario_, had promised to accompany us the
following morning as far as San Geronimo. We had decided to go on
horseback to Paso Real, a little distance beyond San Geronimo, and there
take boat for Tampico. When morning came, we expressed surprise over Don
Leandro's charging rent, in addition to the rather large price which we
had already paid for beds. This seemed to hurt his sensitive feelings,
with the result that we started without his company. The ride was
monotonous, over a road which made few ascents or descents, and
presented little of variety or interest. Little green hills bordered
the road on either side, and on many of them were ranch-houses, some of
rather good construction. In a little stream over which we passed, we
saw a great idol's head, of stone, a foot or more across, and well
made. San Geronimo we found to be the comfortable country-house of the
_alcalde_ of Tamalin and all the ranches among which we had made our
journey. It was a fine old place, with high airy rooms, good verandas,
and an old-fashioned tile roof. Our journey had been hot, and we found a
fine breeze blowing through the house. The _alcalde_ knew all about
our errand and was ready to be helpful. He was a tall, slender,
mild-mannered and polite _mestizo_. After we had eaten, he rode with us
to Paso Real to arrange about a boat and point out various objects of
interest on the way. _Chapapote_, from which chewing gum is made, is an
important product here, and among those interested in it as a business
is an American dentist. We saw many birds, among which doves were
conspicuous; the _alcalde_ says that six or eight species occur here,
the different kinds singing at different seasons; one of them had a
peculiarly sad and mournful song, and is heard in the early morning.
Another bird, the _primavera_, seems to be like our mockingbird,
imitating the notes and cries of many other birds and animals. At two
places we passed black lines of foraging ants, and he told us that
insects, frogs, toads, and even snakes, encountered by these lines, are
helpless, being promptly overcome and devoured. Arrived at Paso Real,
the _alcalde_ arranged for our boat. He told us that loaded boats
require three days for making the journey to Tampico, but that ours,
being empty, would probably go through in twenty-four hours. The boat he
arranged for had been partly loaded, but its owner had agreed to unload
in order to receive us. As a favor to him, we consented to permit five
or six not large boxes to go along. Having ordered supper for us at the
house upon the summit from which the road descended to Paso Real, the
_alcalde_ left us. Supper was slow, but at last was over. Our baggage
had already been carried to the boat, and we strolled down to take our
passage. Less room was left for us than we had expected the boxes would
leave, but it was dark and we raised no question. We waited an impatient
hour for our canoemen to take their supper, being almost devoured by
mosquitoes, but at last were off at nine o'clock. Our force consisted
of two men and a little lad. It was with difficulty that two could
be accommodated beneath the awning, and Manuel and I took our places
outside. For my own part, sleep was impossible. Now that we were in
motion, the mosquitoes ceased to trouble us. The stream was narrow, and
on account of the curves, we were forced to move slowly. We floated out
under and beneath bamboos, which hung far over the water and outlined
themselves like lace-work against the sky. At first, there was
moonlight. Later, the moon set, but the stars were brilliant. The early
morning was cold, and a heavy dew dampened everything outside the
awning. During the day our men stopped on every pretext to rest and
sleep, and whenever we came to a considerable stretch of water, any sign
of storm or cloud was heralded. Just before daybreak, we had reached the
beginning of the first large lagoon. Here our sail was hoisted, though
it was of little use, while we poled along near shore, following all the
long curves. Our first stop, on account of a norther, was exciting; from
the anxiety of the men, we expected to be instantly upset. We ran
into the mouth of a little stream and lay to, and the men were almost
instantly asleep. Our party went out exploring; our landing place was a
heap of shells, whether artificial or natural I am not sure; the place
was a favorite spot with hunters of caimans, or alligators, and we found
numbers of almost complete skeletons and skulls lying on the banks. The
boys picked up quantities of scales and teeth, and it was interesting to
see how the new conical teeth grow up under the hollows of the old ones.
We killed a duck or two for supper. One or two large caimans were seen,
as we strolled along. Finally, I insisted upon the men starting again.
We were traversing a system of great lagoons which opened one into
another. Poling was our only mode of progress. That night Manuel and I
occupied the shelter. When we rose, we found the great lagoon, through
which we were then passing, quite different in its character from those
preceding it. Thickets of mangroves bordered the shore; the display
of aerial roots was interesting, and here we were able to examine the
curious smooth tips of the roots which are to penetrate the soft mud
bottom. We landed at one place to get wood and to catch a glimpse of
the sea, whose roaring we had for hours heard. We left our boat in the
lagoon, and walked a short distance over sand dunes, thickly grown with
trees, to the beach, which only appeared in sight when we reached the
top of the last dune. It was a gently sloping sandy stretch, upon which
a fine surf was beating. There were no pebbles save bits of water-worn
coral and shell. Quantities of sea-gulls were flying about and flocks of
little snipe ran down over the retreating surf, catching food, turning
and running rapidly in before the coming wave. A single shot into the
flock killed thirty-one of the little creatures, which later in the day
supplied us an excellent meal. From this lagoon of mangroves, we finally
entered the great lagoon of La Riviera, which pretty town we passed a
little before three o'clock. From here we knew that, by hiring horses,
we could reach Tampico in two hours; had we really known what lay before
us, we would have done so. Having passed La Riviera, we entered a narrow
canal, bordered for the most part with tall, flat rushes and a great
grass much like our wild rice. Here again we saw large herons and great
kingfishers; the boys had repeatedly tried to shoot one of the latter
birds, but with no success; finally, one was seen standing on the branch
of a tree hanging over the stream; this one was shot, and when we picked
it up, we found it to be curiously distorted, the breast being strangely
swollen. When skinned, this swelling proved to be due to a fish which
the bird had eaten, and which was almost as large as itself. Weighted
with this heavy burden, it is no wonder that the bird had been shot so
easily. At dusk we found ourselves at a landing-place, where we left the
boxes, which turned out to be eight in number, each of which weighed one
hundred and twenty-five pounds. They contained _chapapote_. Our men had
talked much of _the_ canal, to which, for some time, we had been looking
forward. At this landing, arrangements were made for helping us through
the canal, a little canoe being despatched after us, to help unload us.
When we reached the canal, narrow, shallow and straight, cut for the
most part through the solid rock, the moon was shining brightly. Our
great canoe was soon aground, and whole party, seven in number, climbed
out into the water to push and pull. We dislodged it soon, but shortly
came to a complete standstill. Here for the first time, we realized the
cargo which we carried, which before had been carefully covered so that
we really were in ignorance of it. Eighty half-dozen cakes of sugar were
unloaded into the little canoe, which paddled away. We waited, noting
with regret that the falling water, probably due to tide, was fixing our
canoe more and more firmly in the mud. Finally, the little canoe came
back, taking another eighty half-dozen cakes of sugar on board. Our
canoe having been thus lightened, we made another effort to move it,
and, after many struggles and groans, finally found ourselves in deeper
water, embarked, and poled off. Having reached the place upon the bank
where the canoe loads had been left, we stopped to freight again. To our
surprise, we found here once more the eight boxes of _chapapote_, which,
apparently, had been carted across. We were now able to calculate the
load which our "empty" canoe, hired at thirty pesos, in order to take us
quickly through to Tampico, was carrying:
120 dozen cakes of _panela_, of 2 lbs 2,880 lbs.
8 boxes _chapapote_, of 125 lbs 1,000 lbs.
6 sacks of beans, of 100 lbs 600 lbs.
Total 4,480 lbs.
In other words, we had been crowded and delayed by more than two tons of
cargo. Perhaps, had we been actually alone in the boat, it might have
made its journey in the twenty-four hours promised, instead of the sixty
of accomplishment. It was nine o'clock when we were again aboard, and we
made the boatman travel all night long. At the stroke of half-past-three
we heard the bells of Tampico, and drew up along the waterside-landing
of that city. For two full hours we lay there, listening to the buyers
bartering with the boatmen for their load of maize, _frijol_ and
_panela_ until daylight, when we gave orders to unload.