THE PEON
“And I have said, and I say it ever,
As the years go on and the world goes over,
’Twere better to be content and clever
In tending of cattle and tossing of clover,
In the grazing of cattle and growing of grain,
Than a strong man striving for fame or gain;
...
For these have the sun, and moon, and air,
And never a bit of the burthen of care;
And with all our caring what more have we?”
The distinction between the American and Mexican Indian is not one of
colour alone. There is also a difference in nature. The American Indian
has never been fully subdued, but the Aztecs were conquered by one
overwhelming blow and their spirit crushed. The conquest wrought vast
changes in the lives of these people who once roamed over large estates
which they could call their own. The lands then tilled by their slaves,
they themselves now cultivate for others. Yet they are a satisfied
people, and no one ever hears them complain. Though poverty is their lot
they are content, believing that some people are born rich and others
poor, and that this contrast is in the very nature of things.
Centuries of neglect have not improved either the moral or physical
condition of the peon, but it has not made a misanthrope of him.
Neither has the fact that he bears no part in the government made him
an anarchist or filled his pockets with bombs. So long as a beneficent
providence provides present needs he is supremely content. The mania
for the almighty dollar has not yet entered into his life so that envy
of others does not exist. It is this envy that makes poverty a menace
and element of danger in our own land. The peon neither feels shame for
his own lowly condition nor desires pity from others in more prosperous
circumstances.
[Illustration: A PEON AND HIS WIFE]
Fully one-third of the population of Mexico are full-blooded Indians
and another one-half are _mestizos_, those of mixed blood. Many of the
latter and a number of pure-blooded Indians have reached high positions.
A number of the presidents also, including Guerrero and the noble
Juarez, were pure Indians, and more of them are representatives of the
_mestizos_. This is proof that there is no prejudice against the Indians
as a race such as the anti-negro sentiment in the Southern States. These
illustrious examples are, however, the striking exceptions. Most of them
are in about the same category as the southern negroes,—a race without
ambition. Content to be the servants of another race they neither court
nor welcome change.
These people make up the great peon class of Mexico who constitute the
bulk of the population. They are the descendants of those who were
enslaved by the early conquerors. The Aztecs were an industrious people
as the great structures erected by them, the irrigating works still in
use, and the evidences of judicious and careful cultivation of every foot
of tillable soil bear mute witness. Poverty was almost unknown among them
and rigid laws existed against begging. Among some of the early tribes of
Mexico one-third of the land was divided equally among the able-bodied
men in proportion to the families they had to sustain. Provision was made
by the State for the sick and other classes of unfortunates. No doubt the
enslaving of these people had a weakening effect upon their character.
A natural laziness, ignorance and a lack of interest will probably always
keep down the peon’s efficiency as a worker. The few and simple wants
of his nature and his general contentment eliminate to a great extent
the desire to improve his condition and accumulate property. Then, too,
the evenness of the climate and the fact that at all times some crop is
being harvested, thus making it unnecessary to lay up for an unproductive
season, has had its influence. The labourer is usually given a certain
task for his day’s work. Nothing can induce him to do more than that task
except the assurance that the excess, or over-time, will be credited to
some future day so that he will get a longer holiday. These labourers
are cheap and it requires many of them to accomplish much but there are
millions to be had. They are happy-go-lucky and are unconcerned for the
future. Yet the very fact that they do not possess self-control and are
always willing to follow a leader who understands how to make an appeal
to their prejudices or fanaticism, renders this class a serious obstacle
to a progressive government and one that must be intelligently studied.
The little brown man in the tall, broad-brimmed hat which seems to give
an unusual height to his sturdy frame is a picturesque figure and the
landscape is not complete without him. In the presence of strangers
his face is solemn, but among others of his own kind he is gay and
light-hearted, his face easily bursting into smiles. He will wrap his
tattered shawl about him with as much dignity as the Spanish cavalier
his richly-embroidered _manta_. The act of lighting a cigarette is a
matter of studied ceremony. He will light a match, and first offer it to
a friend with punctilious politeness. The recipient of the favour never
fails to return _muchas gracias_ (many thanks), señor. In fact, this
elaborate politeness between these untidy, ill-clad Indians becomes a
farce-comedy at times. He is polite and never fails to say _con permiso_
(with your permission) if he is obliged to pass by another person,
whether that person be in silks or rags. His own inferiority is admitted
by calling a white man a _gente de razon_ or “one who reasons,” as
distinguished from himself,—a peon.
The peon is indispensable in Mexico for he is not only the labourer, but
the body servant as well. In the latter capacity, if he becomes attached
to his employer, he will not think of his own wants until the master is
provided for, and will be faithful unto death, if necessary. His wages
are always small, but he is satisfied with the little he gets. Gambling
is a natural trait and he loses or gains with a stoicism worthy of
greater things. His money is likewise spent freely at the pulque shop so
that his finances are never embarrassed by a surplus. A little money will
make him very full of liquor, and a little liquor will sometimes make him
a bad man to handle.
The tenacity with which these people cling to an environment is a most
notable trait. The peon is a lover of locality. Seldom can these Indians
be induced to go away from their accustomed habitations. It is this trait
that has made peonage an easy system to maintain in Mexico. They do not
apply much intelligence to their work. Scratching the surface of the soil
with a crooked stick is the perfection of ploughing in their estimation.
The peon does not know and does not care to learn any different way of
doing his work than the one taught him by his fathers. The possibility of
earning more money by the use of labour-saving devices does not possess
the same attraction as for the American labouring man.
Peonage, which is a mild form of slavery, is in force in Mexico. Earning
from eighteen to fifty cents (silver) wages per day and improvident by
nature, it is only natural for the peon to want at some time a little
more money than that earned. An unscrupulous employer can easily involve
the poor, ignorant Indian in a net of debt. After a while a debt of $50
to $100 has accumulated and the worker is in bondage until this amount
is paid. It is an impossible sum for him to save out of his small wages,
for live he must and support a family, which is usually large. The price
of freedom is the total amount of the debt. Until that is paid the law
compels him to work for his creditor, but he is free to get some one else
to advance this money and change masters. He cannot be separated from
his family, nor compelled to leave the plantation on which the debt was
incurred without his consent. The owner may, however, sell the plantation
and transfer the debt to his successor, and the peon must serve the new
master under the same conditions.
On the immense _haciendas_ of the uplands the peons are almost as much
of a fixture as the buildings themselves. It is a strange adaptation of
the old feudal relation and the idea of changing their abode never occurs
to them. They were born in debt, always remain in that condition, and
transmit the same burden to their posterity. This condition is usually
entered into voluntarily by the Indians, so that in the beginning he
has only himself to blame. An Indian who desires work will apply to the
manager of a plantation or ranch for a retainer which seldom exceeds
thirty dollars. He then signs a contract which binds himself, his family
and his posterity to work until this advance is liquidated. Only a small
part of the weekly wages may be applied on the debt, and it is tacitly
understood that the debt may be increased after a time. The employer is
obliged to furnish medical assistance free in case of sickness, and to
advance the necessary fees for marriage, baptisms, confirmations and
burials. Furthermore, whenever overtaken by old age and no longer able
to work, the peon must be taken care of and furnished the necessities of
life.
Holidays, feast-days and saint-days are many, and the peon insists on
celebrating them all. Whether he understands much of the ritual and
doctrines of the Catholic Church or not, he understands full well the
meaning of a feast-day or “_fiesta_” for on that day he rests from his
labours. It would not be patriotic to work on a national holiday (and
they are numerous) so he abstains from labour on these occasions. Sundays
are rest days and it generally requires Monday to recuperate from the
effects of the _pulque_ or _tequila_ imbibed on that day. Then as each
person has a patron saint, he insists on celebrating the saint-days of
the master, mistress and each one of their family, of his own family, his
father, mother, his wife’s father and mother, and, last, but not least,
his own saint-day. Then each marriage, birth or death in the family gives
occasion for another off-day. After this list is gone through with there
remains only about two hundred working days for the average labourer.
The peon is a philosopher. Knowing that it was a curse that man should
earn his bread by the sweat of his brow, he tries to avoid as much of the
curse as possible.
The system of peonage or contract labour in the tropics is revolting and
often inhuman. The peon of the hot country is more independent, is fond
of social life and is not so industrious as his brother in the uplands.
Hence it becomes necessary to transport hundreds of labourers for work
on tropical plantations. These are secured through contract agents who
make this work a business. These agents pick them up over the country and
deliver them in hundred lots to the plantation managers. The contractor
advances from thirty to fifty dollars in silver to each labourer, and
this amount together with his own fee, is then charged up against the
peon who has contracted to work six months at perhaps fifty cents per
day in the same white metal. The plantation manager binds himself to
furnish rations, which usually consist of little more than _tortillas_
(unleavened corn cakes), beans and rice and a little meat for Sunday,
and a big palm hut will furnish accommodation for fifty or more men. But
little space is allowed each worker, and here he spends all his time when
not at work, for these contract men are, on many plantations, kept under
guard night and day by armed overseers. Many of these poor fellows come
from cities on the plateaus and soon fall a victim to tropical fevers.
Many are men who have been convicted of petty offences and sign a labour
contract in return for the payment of their fines by the contractor’s
agent and consequent release from confinement. All, however, are treated
alike on the plantations and are worked under the lash if necessary.
At the end of the six months, there are not many dollars due the poor
peon after deducting the price of the drinks and cigarettes which he has
purchased at the company’s store. After drawing his money he is likely to
make for the first town and drink or gamble it away. Then, not having
funds enough to get home, he is again at the mercy of the contract agent
or plantation owner.
The little brown man with back bent under a load has a countenance
which is as full of rest and patient philosophy as a modern financier’s
face is of care and wrinkles of anxiety. It is almost unfair to the
simple-minded, patient and docile peon of Mexico to speak of him as an
Indian for he is at once confused with the bloodthirsty redskin of the
north. He is a peaceful, if improvident, character, and is a child in
nature. He represents cheap labour and is one of the great attractions
that brings wealth to Mexico. After a day’s work he is content to share
his little adobe hut with the pigs and chickens, and can even find room
for the chance wayfarer. A family of three or four generations, and
numbering twenty people, will live in a hut that would not be considered
a fit habitation for a donkey in the north. One American writer who was
obliged to seek shelter in one of these huts gives an amusing account of
his experience which shows the harmony and good-fellowship that exists in
these households between the human and brute members. “I took an account
of the stock before I turned in, and found there were three dogs, eleven
cats, seven children, five men (not including five of us), three women
and a dozen chickens, all sleeping, or trying to sleep, in the same room,
under the one roof. And when I gave up sleeping, or trying to sleep, and
wandered out into the night, I stepped on the pigs and startled three
or four calves that had been sleeping under the porch.” So it is not
surprising that a village of fifty huts may contain a thousand souls.
A cigarette given in proper spirit every day will more effectually keep
his friendship than a present of a new suit of clothes. The latter will
not be remembered long while the former keeps the memory ever fresh.
They have been called the best and the poorest servants in the world.
A trusted servant is, however, usually an honest one. These wholly
satisfied people with whom our essentials are non-essentials rather
disprove the theory that modern civilization is necessary to true
happiness. Will the peon in the future wearing shoes, eating prepared
breakfast foods and sleeping in a bed, be any happier than he is now
barefooted and sleeping on a rush mat spread on an earthen floor?
A constantly increasing number of the peon class are moving to the
industrial centres. Slowly but surely the leaven is working, and the
opportunity for better wages is withdrawing the labourers from the
plantations. The railroads, the mines and the factories are paying much
higher wages than formerly prevailed, and find it difficult to secure
sufficient labourers. Only the selected men can fill these positions
for the average peon has not sufficient intelligence. He has a great
imitative faculty and can learn a task, but is not a success in an
employment that needs the exercise of reason and judgment. In many lines
of work more is accomplished at less expense by peons with the rudest
methods than by the use of the latest labour-saving machinery operated by
peon labourers. Education will no doubt work great changes in the lives
and habits of these people, but this will be a slow process in this land
of “to-morrow.” The present conditions are interesting to one who desires
to see how the rest of the world lives, and it will be a long time before
the peon class will change very materially.
There is one class of the Indian worker that deserves more extended
mention. This is that time-honoured institution called the cargador.
As you meet him at every place throughout Spanish North America it may
be interesting to the reader to learn something of his history and
his accomplishments. It is not necessary to institute a search for the
cargador. At the station you will be besieged by a small army of them
and the hotel entrance may be blocked by them. When travelling across
the country there is a never-ending succession of these picturesque
characters singly and in groups. Sometimes the entire family is along.
In such cases the boys, even down to little tots, carry a small package
on their backs and the wife and girls balance a basket on their heads.
Perhaps all their earthly belongings are contained in these various
bundles.
The cargador of Mexico and Central America claims an ancient and
honourable lineage. His occupation may be a humble one, but he can
trace his ancestry back to the followers of that haughty Aztec emperor,
Montezuma, or even to the still older race of the Toltecs. Not many
years ago almost everything in these countries was carried on the
backs of cargadors. Even now in the City of Mexico the cargador is an
indispensable factor in the carrying trade, though there are many express
and transfer companies engaged in that business. In the smaller places
of Mexico, in the mountain districts, and in Central America he holds
his old-time prestige and, with the cargo mule, monopolizes the carrying
business.
The strength of these little, brown-skinned cargadors is wonderful. Short
in stature and with thin legs and arms they look very insignificant. They
cannot lift a very heavy weight, but they can make their fairer-skinned
brother cry out in astonishment at the load they will carry when it is
once adjusted on their back. The average load for a cargo mule is one
hundred and fifty pounds. A cargador will start on a journey of two
hundred or more miles with such a load and will cover more miles in a
day over a rough mountain trail than a mule. At the station you will see
the little cargador pick up a heavy trunk that you can scarcely move and
start off with it at a faster pace than you care to walk. They always
move in a peculiar jog-trot, and can usually keep it up for a long time.
Up and down hill they go at an even pace, and will average about six
miles per hour. For short distances some cargadors will carry as great a
load as five hundred pounds, a seemingly impossible burden for so slender
a body.
The strength in the back is a matter of training extending over many
centuries. The Aztecs had no beasts of burden and the baggage of their
armies was always carried by cargadors. The Spanish conquerors were
obliged to adopt the same methods. Now, although there are mules and
burros in great numbers, the cargador is still the great burden bearer
and takes the place of the fast freight in the commerce of those sections
away from the railway lines. A traveller can take his mule and send his
baggage by a cargador, and the latter will reach the same stopping place
each night and sometimes ahead of the man on the mule. Many cargadors
carry their loads in a frame, supported by a broad leather band across
the forehead. When thus loaded they cannot turn their heads and they do
not seem to hear well, so that I have feared many times they would be
run over by the careless drivers. If there are several together they
trot along in the middle of the road in Indian file. If going on a long
journey they carry along enough tortillas for the entire trip, and must
always be given enough time to make these preparations. Several times a
day they will stop and make a fire, prepare their coffee, and eat their
tortillas and fruit if it can be obtained. At night they will sleep out
in the open air under a porch, if possible; if this shelter cannot be
had, then they will lay themselves down to rest under the brilliant
starlit canopy of this tropical clime.
[Illustration: A CARGADOR]
Many of the Indians are very swift runners. An instance is told in
Guatemala of a runner who carried a dispatch one hundred and five miles
into the interior and returned with an answer in thirty-six hours, making
the trip over mountains and a rough trail at an average speed of six
miles an hour, including stops and delays. It is said that fish caught
at Vera Cruz in the evening were served at the dinner table of Montezuma
the following day at his capital near the site of the present City of
Mexico, a distance of nearly three hundred miles by road. This was done
by a system of relay runners stationed about a mile apart, and they
made almost as fast time as the railway train to-day. Whether this is
true or not it is well known that the Aztecs had a wonderful system of
communication. The Spaniards were frequently astonished at the rapidity
with which the news of their movements was spread. These runners were
trained to great speed and endurance from their youth. Hundreds of them
were in constant use, and the Aztec emperors were kept in communication
with all parts of their empire. The Aztecs also used these runners as
spies and they thus took the place of scouting parties in present-day
campaigns.
So it is that these cargadors come and go. Each generation is like the
last. They are happy in that they want but little and that little is
easily supplied. They are contented because they live for to-day and
worry not for the morrow. They are satisfied to go through life as the
bearers of other people’s burdens.