AT TUXTLA GUTIERREZ
(1901)
We knew that Governor Pimentel was not at home, having met him in
Coalzacoalcos, where we had presented our official letters, and had
received from him a communication to his Lieutenant-Governor, Lopez.
Having spent the afternoon in settling and cleaning, I called in the
evening upon Governor Lopez and explained my needs. After chatting a
little time together, he inquired whether I had not made the steamboat
journey from Coalzacoalcos to Vera Cruz in March, 1896, and, upon my
answering in the affirmative, told me that we had been fellow-travellers
on that occasion. He promised that there should be no delay, and made
an appointment with me for the morning. I then called on Don Conrado
Palacios, who lived directly opposite our little tavern, and who claimed
that he recognized me the moment I dismounted from our cart this
morning. He is still photographer, but for three years of the time since
last we met has been living in the State of Vera Cruz, and but lately
returned to Tuxtla. In the morning, Governor Lopez supplied the letters
for my further journey, and summoned the _jefe politico_ and the
_presidente_ of the city and gave them personal orders that they were to
assist, in every way, my work at Tuxtla, among the Zoques. The _jefe_
himself took charge of my arrangements, put his office at my disposition
for a workshop, and the work began at once. Contrary to my usual
experience, we had less difficulty in securing female subjects here
than male. The male indians of Tuxtla are, in large part, employed in
contract labor on _fincas_ at a distance from the town. According to
their contract, they are not subject to the order of local authorities,
and may not be summoned without permission of their employers, or a
pecuniary settlement with them. The first day, more than half the women
were measured, and the second day, the rest. As is well known the women
of Tehuantepec are famous for their beauty. It is not so well known that
rivalry exists between them and the women of Tuxtla in this matter. This
rivalry had been called to our attention on our preceding visit, and we
found that it had in no wise abated. Personally, we saw no comparison
between the two sets of women, the Tehuantepecanas being far superior.
Eustasio, however, ungallantly and unpatriotically declared that he
thought the women of Tuxtla the handsomer; however, we suspect that
Eustasio would find the women of any town he might be in, the champions
in beauty for the time being. Their dress is picturesque. The _enagua_
is made of two strips of dark blue cloth, sewed together, side by side,
with a fancy stitching of colored silks. The free borders are also
decorated with similar stitching, and the ends of the strip, which is
usually more than two yards in length, sewn together with similarly
decorative needlework. In fastening this garment about the body, no belt
is used. The open bag is gathered in about the waist, the surplus is
folded into pleats in front and the overlap, at the upper edge, is so
tucked in as to hold the garment tightly in place, and at the same time
form a pouch, or pocket, in which small articles are carried. The little
_huipíl_, worn upon the upper body, is of thin, white cotton cloth,
native-woven, but a neat and pretty stuff; there are no sleeves, and the
neck-opening and arm-slits are bordered with pleated strips of cotton,
worked with black embroidery. A larger _huipíl_ is regularly carried,
but we never saw it in use; practically, it never is worn. If put in
place, it would form a garment for the body, with the neck-opening and
sleeves bordered with lace, and the lower edge reaching to the knees.
The woman carries this garment with her, folding it into a sort of pad,
which she places on her head, letting it hang down upon the back and
shoulders. Upon this cushion, the woman carries a great bowl, made from
the rind of a sort of squash or pumpkin, in which she brings her stuff
to market. These vessels are a specialty of the neighborhood, being made
at Chiapa; they are richly decorated with a lacquer finish, of bright
color. In carrying a baby, the child is placed against one side of the
body, with its little legs astride, one in front and one behind, and
then lashed in place by a strip of cloth, which is knotted over the
woman's opposite shoulder. Almost every Zoque woman is asymmetrical,
from this mode of carrying babies, one shoulder being much higher than
the other. Among the subjects measured, was a woman notable in several
ways. She was the fattest indian woman we had ever seen; she was the
richest of her kind, and not only were her garments beautiful in work
and decoration, but she was gorgeous with necklaces, bristling with gold
coins and crosses; more than this, she was a capital case of purple
_pinta_. The disease is common among the indians of the town, and, while
both the red and white forms are found, purple seems to be the common
type. Sometimes the face looks as if powder-burned, the purple blotch
appearing as if in scattered specks; at other times, the purple spots
are continuous, and the skin seems raised and pitted.
[Illustration: ZOQUE MODE OF CARRYING BABIES; TUXTLA GUTIERREZ]
[Illustration: FAT, RICH, AND PIXTA; TUXTLA GUTIERREZ]
It appears that the adjusting of family quarrels and disputes between
friends are among the duties of the _jefe_. In the office that day, a
quarrel was settled involving two young men related by blood and by
comradeship; a woman and a man of middle age were also interested;
the quarrel had been a serious one, involving assaults, ambushes, and
shootings. The _jefe_ first summoned each of the four persons singly,
going over the whole matter with each one; the more intelligent of the
two combatants was first to be reasoned with; then the woman was called
in and he and she were left together in the office. For a long time,
they would not even speak to each other. Finding this condition, the
_jefe_ reasoned with them, and warned them that they must come to some
conclusion, after which he left them to themselves again. At first
they would not speak, but finally held a conversation, and came to an
understanding; the old man was then called in and made to talk the
matter over with the two, who had already been in conference. Lastly,
the more belligerent youth was summoned, the _jefe_ remaining in the
room with the whole party. At first he would not speak, but finally his
pride and anger gave way, and he shook hands with his cousin, and the
whole party left, after promising the _jefe_ that the past should be
forgotten.
The first afternoon that we were working, a curious couple came to the
_jefe's_ office. The woman was not unattractive, though rather bold
and hard in bearing. She was dark, pretentiously made-up, and rather
elegantly dressed. The gentleman was a quiet, handsome fellow, dressed
in sober black. When they sailed in, I supposed they were the _jefe's_
personal friends. Sitting down, they showed interest in my work, and the
lady in a rather strident voice, but with much composure, addressed
us in English. Her knowledge of our language, however, proved to be
extremely limited, being confined to such expressions as "How are you,
sir?" "I am very well," "Yes, sir," "No, sir," and "I know New York."
She was a mystery to the town, where she was commonly called "the
Turkish lady."
[Illustration: ZOQUE WOMEN; TUXTLA GUTIERREZ]
[Illustration: THE INDIAN ALCALDES; TUXTLA GUTIERREZ]
This nickname, her limited knowledge of English, and her boasted
acquaintance with New York, aroused the question, in my mind, whether
she might not have been an oriental dancer. She, herself, told us that
she was born in South America, and referred to Caracas, as if it were a
place with which she was familiar. The _jefe_ was extremely polite in
his dealings with these people, and, as soon as they were seated, rang
his bell for glasses, and we all drank the lady's health in cognac. The
fact was, that these two persons were prisoners; they had come here
within a few days, and had the city for a prison; as they had made no
effort to leave the town, their movements were not interfered with, but
if they had attempted to step outside the city limits, they would have
been shot without a word of warning. The _jefe_ himself did not know who
they were, nor what crime they had committed; nor did he know how long
they would remain in his custody; they had come a weary journey, as he
put it, "along the Cordillera;" they had been passed from hand to hand,
from one _jefe_ to another; when the order came, he was to start them on
their journey to the _jefe_ of the next district. Of the many stories
told regarding them, a few will serve as samples. She was said to be the
wife of a wealthy merchant of Campeche, from whom she had eloped with
her companion, carrying away $150,000. According to another view, they
were connected with an important band of forgers and robbers, who had
been carrying on extensive operations. The most minutely detailed story,
however, was that she had been the mistress and favorite of Francisco
Canton, Governor of the State of Yucatan; that, pleased with a younger
and handsomer man, she had stolen $7,000 from His Excellency, and
attempted an elopement; that, captured, they were being sent as
prisoners, nominally to Mexico. Whether any of these stories had a basis
of fact, we cannot say, but from remarks the prisoners themselves made
to us, we feel sure that the centre of their trouble was Mérida, and
that, in some way, they had offended the pompous governor. At all
events, it is likely that, long before these words are written, both
have met their death upon the road. It is a common thing for prisoners,
passing along the Cordillera, to be shot "while attempting to escape
from their guard."
The _jefe politico_ of this district is a man of education, and
professional ability; he is a physician, trained in the City of Mexico;
he is ingenious in mechanics, and has devised a number of instruments
and inventions of a scientific kind. He had been but a short time in
this district, having come from Tonala, where he has a _finca_. He
entertained us at his house, while we were there, and showed us every
assistance. It is plain, however, that he found us a white elephant upon
his hands. Not that his willingness was lacking, but where should
he find one hundred indian men? We pestered him almost to death for
subjects, when at last his _secretario_ suggested the district jail.
This was a veritable inspiration. There they were sure we would have no
difficulty in finding the remainder of our hundred. To the jail we went,
but out of seventy-five prisoners fully half were Tzotzils from Chamula
and not Zoques. More than half of the remainder were not indian, but
_mestizos_. In fact, out of the total number, only a baker's dozen
served our purpose. When we again presented ourselves, the following
morning, for subjects, the poor man was in genuine desperation. But
again his assistant made a shrewd suggestion. Yesterday we were at the
jail; to-day we should go to the _cuartel_, and measure the soldiers.
There were two hundred there, and this would more than see us through.
The _jefe_ himself accompanied us to the barracks and introduced us to
the colonel, leaving orders that we should be supplied with every aid,
and went off happy, in the sense of a bad job well done. But out of the
two hundred soldiers in the barracks, just ten turned out to be Zoques
of pure blood. And long before the day was over, we were again clamoring
at the _jefe's_ house for thirty-six more subjects. To tell the truth,
we doubted his ability to secure them, and, in order to lose no time,
started our goods and plaster by _carreta_ for San Cristobal. Still,
while it was plain that he did not know where to look for help, the good
man assured us that we should have our thirty-six subjects the next
morning. Meantime, he sent officials with us to visit certain indian
houses which we desired to examine, and arranged that we should see a
certain characteristic indian dance at his house, at four o'clock that
afternoon.
Tuxtla Gutierrez is a capital city. It is also a busy commercial centre.
Of course, the population is for the most part _mestizo_, and not
indian. We had been surprised at finding so many indians in the city as
there were. We were yet more surprised to find to what extent the
houses of the city, though admirably built, were truly indian in style,
presenting many points of interest. The walls of the "god-house" were
heavy and substantial, smoothly daubed with mud, neatly plastered and
often adorned with colored decorations. The "cook-house," slighter and
less well-built, was made of poles daubed with mud, and rough with heavy
thatching. The granary was elevated above the ground, and sheltered with
its own neat thatching.
In the afternoon, at four o'clock, we betook ourselves to the _jefe's_
house to see the dance. At Tuxtla, there are two town governments,
that of the _mestizos_ and that of the indians. The indian
officials--"_alcaldes indios_"--are recognizable by their dress, which
is a survival of the ancient indian dress of the district. Their
_camisa_, broad hat, and leather breeches, are characteristic. Around
the head, under the hat, they wear a red cloth, and those who have
served as indian _alcaldes_ continue to wear this head-cloth after their
official service ends. These indian officials had been commissioned to
bring together the dancers, and make all necessary arrangements. The
colonel, the prisoners of state, and one or two other guests were
present. The leader of the dance was gaily dressed, in a pair of wide
drawers with lace about the legs below the knee, a pair of overdrawers
made of bright-colored handkerchiefs, and a helmet or cap of bright-red
stuff from which rose a crest of macaw feathers, tipped with tufts of
cotton. On his back, he bore a kind of pouch, the upper edge of which
was bordered with a line of macaw feathers. In his hand, he carried a
wooden war-axe. A pretty little girl, dressed in a Guatemaltec _enagua_,
wore a fancy head-dress, and, in her hand, bore a _jícara_, which was
filled with pink carnival flowers. These two dancers faced each other
and in dancing moved slowly back and forth, and from one foot to the
other; the only other dancers were two men, one of whom was dressed as,
and took the part of a woman. This couple danced in much the same way,
but with greater freedom than the chief persons, and at times circled
around them. The music consisted of a violin and native _pito_ or pipe,
and a drum of the _huehuetl_ type,--cut from a single cylindrical block,
but with skin stretched over both ends instead of one.
I was surprised the following morning when thirty-six subjects were
produced; we knew that, for the moment, the building operations of the
government palace were discontinued, and we suspected that all the work
done by indians in Tuxtla was likewise temporarily ceased. When the last
one had passed under the instruments, the _jefe_ heaved a sigh, rang his
bell for glasses, and the event was celebrated by a final draught of
cognac.
[Illustration: ZOQUE DANCERS; TUXTLA GUTIERREZ]
[Illustration: TZENDALS FROM TENEJAPA; COLD HANDS]
The man with whom we had expected to arrange for animals had promised to
come to the hotel at seven. He came not then, nor at half-past, nor at
eight, nor at nine. When we sent an inquiry, he made the cool reply,
that it was now too late to arrange matters; that he would see us at
eight the following morning. Furious at his failure, we ourselves went
with the boy from the hotel at ten o'clock to his house, but could not
get him even to open the door. "To-morrow! To-morrow!" was his cry.
Desperate, we went, although it was now almost midnight, to another
_arriero_, who, after some dickering, agreed to leave at eight the
following morning, charging a price something more than fifty per cent
above the usual rate. Of course he was behindhand, but we actually set
out at nine.