the popularity of General Diaz as a commander, held its own during a
campaign of more than a year. Its opponents were still undaunted, and
the struggle might have long continued but for the sudden death of
Juarez, on the 19th of July, 1872. At dawn of that day, the sound of
cannon from the citadel fired at slow intervals awoke the population,
who learned on inquiry that their President had died during the night.
Juarez had a singularly robust constitution; he habitually worked eight
or ten hours a day without fatigue, but, unconsciously to himself, some
organic infirmity was affecting him. He was seized during the night with
great pain at the heart, and died very soon in much suffering.
All society was deeply moved by the death of this their faithful
servant, who had given his life to their service. Every party joined in
the solemn ceremony of his burial, which took place attended by an
immense concourse of citizens.
Don Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, then President of the Supreme Court,
assumed the government, was elected President, and the late agitation of
parties was at an end.
XLII.
PORFIRIO DIAZ.
For three years peace reigned in Mexico, and then began another
revolution. Towards the end of 1875, rumors of dissatisfaction were
afloat; in spite of the present quiet, which seemed solid and durable,
distrust reigned, yet no one voice proclaimed the nature of the malady.
Early in the next year, a "Plan" was started, one of those fatal
propositions for change which have always spread like wildfire through
the Mexican community. By midsummer, the Republic was once more plunged
in civil war.
Although he had apparently no hand in the "Plan" of Tuxtepec, General
Porfirio Diaz appeared at the head of the army of the revolutionists. He
had been living quietly in the neighborhood of Vera Cruz, but now he
emerged to take an active part in the general disturbance.
Porfirio Diaz was born in Oaxaca, on the 15th of September, 1830. This
state, the farthest of all the states to the south, and except Chiapas,
the limit of the Mexican Republic, has many claims to distinction. Its
northern part formed the Marquezado, or grant, given in 1529 to Cortés,
with the title of Márqués del Valle de Oaxaca.
The scenery of Oaxaca is of the wildest and grandest in Mexico. The
Pass of Saloméa, leading to the city, recalls those of Switzerland. Wild
animals, not only deer, but pumas and even the jaguar, roam over its
slopes, covered with fan-palms and other tropical growths, while higher
up is a forest of palms and oaks growing together. At the summit is a
grand view of the valley of Oaxaca.
[Illustration: ZAPOTEC ORNAMENT.]
The city, like Puebla, is of Spanish foundation, but at no very great
distance from it are the ancient ruins of Mitla, still a puzzle to
archæologists, since nothing certain is known even of the tribes found
in that region by the Conquistadores,--the Zapotecas, or the traditions
of their origin. Their customs seem to have been like those of the
Mexicans, but their language resembled that of the Mayas. They were
subject to long struggles with the Aztecs, and at the end of the 15th
century their capital city, Mitla, was taken and given over to pillage,
and the prisoners taken to Mexico to be offered up on the altars of
Huitzilopochtli.
The ruins stand in the midst of a gloomy, cheerless landscape, of
stunted vegetation, sandy soil, from which project dull gray rocks. No
singing birds or even insects frequent the place; the turkey-buzzard
soars over the lonely tract under a gloomy sky, and dismal silence
reigns around the abandoned architecture of a forgotten race. Even the
carvings of geometric ornaments, without any human or animal forms, add
to the gloom of this solitary spot.
[Illustration: IMAGE OF A ZAPOTEC CHIEF.]
The present generations of Oaxaca have the reputation of being the
steady, independent mountaineers of Mexico; like the Swiss, always ready
to defend their rights. Among them, Porfirio Diaz has been involved in
every contest for his view of the right, since he was old enough to bear
arms. He was, like many other of the Mexican generals, intended for the
bar, and studied with that object, concluding the usual course in the
seminary at Oaxaca; but in 1854 he served a campaign, returning again
to his studies only for a time. In the so called war of the reform he
distinguished himself, and during the intervention was conspicuous as a
military leader. In the disaster of Puebla, when, after the brilliant
repulse of the _Cinco de Mayo_, the Mexicans had to give up the city to
the French, Diaz escaped being taken prisoner, and hastened to Oaxaca,
the city of his birth, which, with forces raised by his own efforts, he
succeeded in putting in a state of defence. Bazaine himself marched
against the resisting city, and it was obliged to capitulate. Porfirio
was carried a prisoner to Puebla, and there held; but he managed to
escape after some months by letting himself down from his window with a
rope in the middle of the night. This was in September. The next month,
returning with a new army, Diaz besieged his own town, now in the hands
of those who were lately its besiegers. While his brother Felix held the
siege, Porfirio routed a column of French coming to the aid of the
troops within the city, and after two weeks he compelled a surrender and
entered it in triumph. Porfirio, always successful in his contests with
the French, continued so after their support was withdrawn from the
imperialists. His military fame reached its height after the taking of
Puebla, which was the last act in the French intervention, and the
peaceful occupation of the city of Mexico.
All these feats of arms gave to the general who accomplished them a
military prestige of great importance in a country where military
prowess means so much as with the Mexicans. The revolution of the
summer of 1876 gained importance from the arrival of Diaz at Vera Cruz.
It is said that, alone and disguised, he was hastening thither from New
Orleans in a steamer which, touching at Tampico, took on board a body of
government troops destined for the same port. The favorite chief of the
liberals, seeing that he was recognized by one of the Federal officers,
and convinced he should be arrested by him, jumped overboard and swam
away. He was seen and brought back to the steamer by friends, under
cover of the dark, and so well concealed that his hiding-place was not
discovered, and the impression was encouraged that he had either reached
the shore by swimming, or been drowned. Disguised as a workman, he left
the steamer among the boxes and bales of its cargo, and landed at Vera
Cruz. Speedily furnished with horses and guards he made his way to
Oaxaca, where he took command of the forces of the rebellion, hitherto
scattered and insufficient for lack of a head.
During the summer there was fighting and much confusion, in the midst of
which the election took place for the choice of President for another
term of four years. The result was in favor of Lerdo de Tejada, but he
was so unpopular that he was obliged soon after to leave the capital, on
the 20th of November, accompanied by his ministers and a few other
persons. The other Lerdistas hid themselves, Congress dissolved, and the
opposition triumphed.
Thus ended the government of the Lerdistas, but a few days before the
expiration of its legal term. On the 24th of November, General Porfirio
Diaz made his solemn entry into the capital, and was proclaimed
Provisional President.
[Illustration: PRESIDENT PORFIRIO DIAZ.]
After a good deal of fighting all over the country, Congress declared
him, in May 1877, to be Constitutional President for a term to last
until November 30, 1880.
It was just after this successful general grasped the prize, that Santa
Anna, forgotten, neglected, old, and blind, died close by, in his house
in the Calle de Vergaza.
But little more remains to be said of the government of Mexico up to the
present time. President Diaz was able to consolidate his power, and to
retain his seat without civil war, although this has been imminent at
times, especially towards the end of his term. In 1880 General Manuel
Gonsalez was elected, and on the 1st of December of that year, for the
second time only in the history of the Republic, the retiring President
gave over his office to his legally elected successor. That this was
possible, is proof of great improvement in stability and the growth of
steadiness and good judgment among the Mexicans. The administration of
Gonsalez passed through its four years without any important outbreak,
in spite of the difficult questions there were to deal with, chief among
them the huge debt to England, contracted in the early days of the
Republic, and ever increasing by reason of unpaid interest.
At the end of that term, General Diaz was re-elected and became
President December 1, 1884. The treasury of the country was empty, the
Republic without credit, yet he has, by heroic measures, succeeded in
placing his government upon a tolerably stable financial basis, and done
much to restore the foreign credit of the Republic. President Diaz is
disposed and able to serve his country by an advanced and liberal
policy. The result of his firmness and judgment is already seen in the
returning confidence of nations and foreigners alike in Mexican affairs,
and with it the rapid development of the resources of the country.
President Diaz, with his handsome wife, the daughter of his Minister of
the Interior, Manuel Romero Rubio, has not been able to resist the charm
of Chapultepec, in spite of the melancholy associations hanging about
the spot Carlotta loved and Maximilian adorned for her enjoyment. The
Pompeiian apartments are restored, and the hanging gardens bloom with
roses all the year, while fountains sparkle in the sunlight. From the
broad terrace gleam in the distance the cold peaks of the volcanoes,
while Mexico spreads wide in the valley its rectangular lines, every
year stretching out farther in all directions, a practical proof to the
wise chief of the administration, as he looks down upon them from the
now peaceful height of his terrace, of the success of his schemes of
improvement and progress.
Let us hope that the tranquillity is permanent and that a long season of
peace and prosperity has come to settle upon the long tormented, much
enduring valley of Mexico, and the broad plateau of Anahuac.
Now, at last, may the Indians, descendants of the Aztec chief, look up
and hope for the development of their race. For the first time in
history they have a chance to show whether they are capable of taking a
leading place among the races of the earth. Poor fugitives, hiding among
the rushes of the lake, some centuries ago, their leaders knew how to
build up a powerful, warlike nation, but the people were oppressed by
the horrors of a bloody religion, degraded and kept down by the practice
of human sacrifice. The Spanish conquest brought them other rulers, and
priests who gave to them a kindlier faith; but their minds were little
cared for, and they were still oppressed, like slaves, by the new race
which came to govern them.
Spanish domination civilized the Indians, but scarcely developed the
powers which may exist in their natures. That yoke thrown off, they have
seen their day of real freedom once and again postponed, through the
personal ambition of their own leaders, or the audacious interference of
foreign powers, while their own blood has been made to flow freely for
causes not really their own. In spite of all this, the native character
has asserted itself with vigor wherever it has had a chance. Juarez, the
first successful ruler of Mexico of real Mexican blood, by a true Indian
trait of tenacity, held the government through the dark period of the
intervention. Diaz, also of native descent, has kept the country in a
progressive path.
The true native character of Mexico has now a chance to assert itself.
The future will look on with interest to see whether it has the
capacity of self-government which its friends fully ascribe to it. If
the Mexicans can profit by the sharp lessons taught them by the events
of the present century; if they can root out of their nature the savage
instincts which have given the national character its reputation for
cruelty--instincts, not only inherited from the bloody practices of the
Aztec, but fortified by the dark streak of ferocity which belongs to the
Spanish race; if they can prove that the development of intellectual
powers is possible to the race as well as to those individuals, then
their country has before it the prospect of taking an honorable place
among the peoples of the western continent.
XLIII.
PHYSICAL ADVANTAGES.
The physical advantages of Mexico are favorable to its future
prosperity. Of its great range of climate, the temperate one of the
plateau may be said to be almost perfect. By descending towards the
coast all the delights of the tropics may be enjoyed, while its lofty
peaks afford adventure for the enterprising climber, ice for lower
regions, and all the attractions of mountain scenery. Large lakes
enhance the beauty of the landscape; rivers, though not large, answer
the purposes of irrigation and boundary lines; an extended coast-line on
the Pacific and that of the Gulf of Mexico offer opportunities, not yet
much developed, for admirable harbors.
There is every variety of vegetation in this varied climate. Forests of
valuable woods, such as mahogany, ebony, and rosewoods, extend over the
_tierra caliente_; higher up, oak and pine in abundance furnish supply
for any demand. It is safe to say that any thing may be cultivated
somewhere in Mexico. Corn, beans, wheat, rice, sugar-cane, tobacco,
cotton, cocoa, indigo, vanilla, are at present raised; above all,
coffee, which has a high reputation--that of Cordova and of Uruápam
especially. The latter is considered by experts to be not only equal to
the best Mocha, but similar to it in flavor. It is possible that it
belongs to the same variety, brought from Arabia by unknown hands. The
medicinal plants of Mexico have long been well known. Spanish historians
at the time of the conquest all speak of the knowledge of herbs
possessed by the native doctors. They believed that all the ills that
flesh is heir to, might be cured by proper use of the herbs of the
field; and they acquired in the course of generations great skill in
adapting the remedy to the disease. Many of the drugs in general use all
over the world were made known by Mexican research, such as
sarsaparilla, jalap, and rhubarb; the number of emetics, antidotes,
infusions, decoctions, ointments, balsams, known to the Aztecs, was
enormous. To be sure, they attributed much of the power of these drugs
to the prayers and ceremonies they offered up while they were applying
them.
The flora of Mexico is equally varied and beautiful. Growing by the
roadside as common weeds, are to be recognized blossoms which are the
pride of northern green-houses. Many ornamental Mexican plants became
first known in the United States, after the war of 1848. Humboldt, half
a century before, had described the wealth and profusion of Mexican
vegetation. As for fruits, every variety may be cultivated, in the hot
lands; many tropical kinds grow wild. Any market in any Mexican town is
a delight by reason of the display of various fruits, heaped up, to
tempt the customer, in little pyramids, and made bright with flowers.
Not only in the large cities, but even smaller towns, travellers should
be sure to visit the market-place. Generally one day in the week is
market-day, when all the population swarms to the plaza, either to sell
or buy, or both. It is the same in many towns in Europe; but Mexico, at
present, surpasses Europe in the picturesque costumes of the common
people, the primitive fashion in which they display their simple wares,
and the entertaining activity of the busy population.
Each booth is a small enclosure, built of low tables, shaded by a huge
rectangular umbrella made of matting with four sticks only. A whole
Indian family sits within at the receipt of custom. The old grandmother,
her white hair smoothed down over her wrinkled old brown cheeks, with
skinny trembling hands, but a glance like a hawk's, is taking pay or
making change. Her daughter, the efficient business woman of the
establishment, is young and active. Her long black hair is braided down
her back, her eyes are bright, her teeth flash white when you make her
smile by a joke about her prices. The father of the family lolls against
the central post of the booth, tipping up his chair, after a custom not
inherited from the Aztecs, but borrowed from a neighboring nation. The
tables are heaped with little piles, like cannon-balls, of red
_ciruelas_, yellow apricots, or green _abogatos_; in their season,
delicious _grenaditas_, whose cup-like rind contains a juicy draught of
luscious flavor. Oranges and bananas are on the table, under the table,
over the table, everywhere. If you are very friendly, the old lady
selects you as a gift the very best of all the bananas. Let not the
wanderer from the north be surprised to find it is, according to his
estimation, far gone in decay. The natives eat bananas only dead ripe,
when they are beginning to grow soft,--not as they are found in the
northern market, hard and indigestible after a long voyage without
ripening influences. Hens and chickens are straying about, and a tough
old rooster, tied by the leg, awaits the pot, after his purchaser shall
have been found.
You select such little heaps of fruit as please your inexperienced eye;
a small _cargador_, all eyes and teeth, springs up from the earth at
your feet, with a big loose basket on his back. Every thing you buy is
tumbled into it; he follows you from stall to stall, accumulating such
treasures as you select. You will not be able to resist several
specimens of native pottery. This is generally spread out on the ground,
while the vendor sits behind it. Manufacture of coarse pottery is
carried on everywhere, and different regions have their distinctive
varieties, influenced by different colored clays and methods of
treatment. The ware of Guadalajara is perhaps the most esteemed; it is
of a soft gray in tint, polished but not glazed, and often delicately
decorated with color and gold. But every village has its characteristic
pottery, simple in form, pleasing in color, and although the pots and
jugs are so fragile that it is hopeless to think of packing them
securely, it is impossible to resist their attractions compared with the
trifling sum demanded for them.
The basket of your _cargador_, well filled with fruit and figs, and
heaped high with sweet peas and poppies, the little fellow runs before
you to the hotel where he deposits his burden, and goes away fully
content with a _medio_ in his hand--6-1/4 cents.
A Mexican market is interesting, apart from such simple purchases as the
traveller may be inclined to make on his own account, because the people
are all so absorbed in their own affairs. They scarcely give a thought
to the few foreigners with European clothes and staring manners poking
about among them. This good Indian mother has come to buy the daily food
of her family. Some dreadful viand is dipped for her out of a deep dish,
and transferred to her little pottery bowl. A violent discussion ensues
about the price to be paid, and neighbors gather round to offer their
opinions. The _rebozos_ of the women slip off their heads and show their
white shirts--not always white--and their brown well-formed arms. The
men look on idly and let their better halves fight it out. A compromise
is effected, and the excitement subsides as suddenly as it rose. The
contested sum was probably a _tlaco_--small, but much-beloved coin,
worth one cent and a half.
Besides the manufacture of pottery, the Indians make themselves all the
wearing apparel they use, such as cotton and woollen cloth, including
_serapes_ and _rebozos_, the two picturesque garments in constant use.
The _serape_ is a woollen blanket which every man winds about him
whenever the air is a little chilly. It serves him many a time for not
only blanket, but sheet and bed as well, since his sleeping-place is
often a sheltered doorway, and no more. Certain towns are famous for
their serapes--those of San Miguel are especially good, and some of them
are very pretty. Travellers buy them and carry them off to serve as
_portières_ or _afghans_ at home. The Indian taste for colors, though
gaudy, is naturally controlled by a good perception of harmonious
effects. Unluckily in late years, the aniline dyes of recent discovery
have brought into the country a facility for making intense purples,
magentas, and violent blues, which have dazzled their untrained eyes.
For this reason, many modern serapes are too violent in coloring; and
æsthetic collectors must seek for old fabrics, among which some examples
are lovely in tone. The rebozo is a long broad scarf, generally blue,
worn by every woman over her head, instead of hat or bonnet. It protects
her shoulders also, and conceals whatever deficiency of style or
cleanliness may exist underneath. It is made of cotton, but has some
warmth in its soft folds. The dexterity is wonderful with which even
little girls wind these wraps around their heads, in such a way as to
keep firm, while the ends fall in not ungraceful lines over one arm
laden with a basket, a bundle, or a baby, while the other arm and hand
are free. A large quantity of cotton is grown in Mexico, and upwards of
fifty thousand families, Mr. Janvier says, are supported in its
manufacture. The cotton mills are provided with English machinery of
approved type, and the business is carried on by a few operators upon a
large scale. The Indians show ready intelligence in understanding their
work in the mills, and remarkable aptitude in acquiring methods of
handling whatever improvements in machinery may be from time to time
introduced.
A large establishment for the manufacture of cotton cloth not far from
the city of Mexico, which has been in operation for years in the hands
of an English house, is like a little city in itself. Its large
enclosure is surrounded by strong walls, upon which are still the cannon
necessary in the troublous times of the young Republic to protect the
place. Paved streets within the great gate of entrance lead to the
extensive buildings, the home of the families of the proprietors, hung
with vines and possessing a beautiful garden, where superb roses blossom
all the year round, while from beneath the shade of ancient trees one
may look through a gate-way over fields of _alfalfa_ to the snow-peaks
of the two volcanoes. More than two hundred workmen are employed in this
establishment. They are all natives of Mexico, and, for the most part,
the superintendents as well as the operators are of Indian blood. Every
means is taken to educate and improve the condition of these people and
their families, who lead happy, intelligent lives, encouraged by the
favor of their employers to do their best for the success of the mill
and the mutual well-being of all. It is a little community of interests.
Of late, a large unoccupied room, by permission of the owner, has been
converted into a theatre; and here, wholly by the exertions of the
operatives themselves, a stage has been erected, where plays are acted
once a week--the men themselves taking all the parts. Among the audience
are the families of the employers, readily giving encouragement to the
exhibition, for whom a large box is reserved. The Indians of the
neighborhood, on the opening night of the new entertainment, flocked to
see what it was like, had free admission, and the house was crowded with
an amazed and delighted audience. Enthusiasm was great, especially when
the national banner was waved to the stirring strains of the fine
national march of Mexico.
It is to such influences as these that Mexico will owe her success. The
native race requires good masters, good examples, and the opportunity of
good intellectual training, to enable it, in future, to walk alone up
the steep path of national progress.