have been renowned from the early period when they allured Cortés and
his companions to endure hardship and risk defeat on their difficult
passage up to Anahuac. The most sanguine dreams of the Spanish
conquerors have yet to be realized in the possible amounts to be yielded
from these mines in the future, when stable government shall have
increased the population of the widespread mining districts to an extent
capable of developing all the riches they contain.
[Illustration: AQUEDUCT IN THE CITY OF MEXICO.]
The mines of Guanajuato, which have been the most worked, and which have
already yielded enormously, as yet give no signs of being exhausted. The
soil of the state of Guerrero has been pronounced to be one extensive
crust of silver and gold. The northern states of the Republic contain
inexhaustible veins of gold and silver in their mountain ranges. Silver
and gold are the metals most worked, while other metals and mineral
substances are almost neglected, although present in proportion. The
volcano Popocatepetl is said to be one vast pile of sulphur. In every
state there are quarries of white and colored marbles--those of Puebla
especially remarkable for their rich veins of variegated colors, which,
properly worked, would make beautiful decorative columns and other
architectural ornaments. At present, the specimens of this "Puebla onyx"
are limited to paper-weights, pen-handles, and other small articles,
which, without any solid value, serve to show the variety and beauty of
the material. Precious stones are not unknown in Mexico; opals, with
fickle rainbow hues, now brilliant, now vanished, are found in many
places, and counterfeited in many others. Turquoise, garnet, topaz, and
amethyst are among the native jewels of the Mexican mines.
XLIV.
FUTURE.
If it be conceded that the native races of Mexico are capable of
development, it is evident that what is needed for their elevation from
their present low estate, is good religion, good government, and good
education.
The remnant of the Aztecs and other Indian tribes owed every thing to
the judicious treatment of the first Roman Catholic priests. The wise
teachings of these men, as we have seen, changed, without violence, a
barbarous superstition into a gentle belief in the truths, and
especially the miracles, of the Catholic religion; which through the
epoch of Spanish domination retained its good effect. But as time went
on, the Church became so powerful and so rich, that the suppression of
the religious orders became a necessity; and finally Juarez, although
under much resistance, was able to institute this radical reform. The
final extinction of these orders, the suppression of monasteries and
nunneries, was not achieved until 1874; since when many of these
deserted buildings have been appropriated to other uses. Others remain
standing, sad monuments of a picturesque past; but many of them,
interesting on account of their historic associations, have
disappeared, torn to the ground, to make way for modern improvements.
But the suppression of the orders was not accompanied, except in the
case of the Jesuits in 1856, by the expulsion of their members from the
country. On the other hand, these were still permitted to remain as
individuals; and to the present time, the priests ministering to the
churches formerly connected with convents, are usually members of those
orders by which such churches were founded.
In any one of the smaller cities and towns the parish priest, almost
without exception, is a worthy and faithful _cura_, of devout and godly
reputation, leading among his flock a simple life, wholly occupied in
ministering to his charge according to the best of his abilities. Since
the enactment of the laws of the reform there is nothing to tempt men to
adopt their calling but their love of God and genuine interest in the
welfare of their parish, often composed, for the most part, of ignorant
Indians. These men are entitled to honor and reverence; their ample
reward is the unwavering devotion of their congregations, and the
satisfaction they may receive from observing the development of their
simple minds.
In the year 1770, the Bishop of Puebla published there his form of the
Mozarabic liturgy, the most ancient religious service of the Church of
Spain, which flourished there until the eleventh century, when it was
supplanted by the Roman liturgy. Even at the present time a chapel
exists in the cathedral at Toledo, in Spain, where this service is
habitually used, although in presence of but few if any worshippers.
The revival of Mozarabic rites in Mexico met with little attention; but
its introduction alone shows a tendency towards independence of thought,
very manifest later in the action of Juarez in the sequestration of
Church property. Since 1868 a movement in favor of the Protestant
Episcopal Church has increased to one of importance. Other Protestant
denominations maintain missions in various parts of the country,--the
Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist missions.
There is still a wide field open in Mexico for teaching the
impressionable native of Anahuac the simple tenets of the religion of
Christ. Purity, honesty, charity, the love of his neighbor, duty to
himself, the knowledge of God,--these sure foundations of life are only
needed by him as his first foothold in upward progress. As for the
government, its present action, its promises for the future, are for the
good of the native races. All persons born in the Republic are free; and
freedom of education, freedom to exercise the liberal professions,
freedom of thought, and the freedom of the press are guaranteed. That
this government should prove itself able to carry out its intentions,
and thus encourage in the vast area under its control the presence of
order-loving immigrants from other countries, who, instead of creating
and promoting disorder, as is often the case, shall set the example of
industry and domestic living, is the result desired by all true friends
of Mexico. Although among the many Germans, English, and Americans who
have settled in the different cities and states of Mexico, there are
many who have done so in the intention of earning honest livelihoods,
without interfering with their neighbors, and even with the higher
motive of improving the condition of those around them, it is not yet
possible to say that the example of the foreigners settling in Mexico
has been an advantage to its natives. Many of the acts of violence
ascribed to Mexicans might be traced to men of other blood, who have
sought that territory because they were not tolerated elsewhere. The
general testimony of such observers as civil engineers, telegraph men,
and others who in the development of the resources of the country have
penetrated remote parts of it, is that the native Mexican is peaceful
and quiet in disposition, leading a domestic life with his faithful
wife, fond of his children, and diligently toiling to support his
family. Of course there are exceptions to this, especially when the
pulque habit has brutalized its victims; but it is asserted that the
drunken quarrels in obscure places, often reported in newspapers,
resulting in pistol-shot or dagger stroke, frequently arise less through
the fault of the native than of the adventurers from other lands.
Testimony to the good intentions of the government of Mexico is in the
improved condition of education there. The system of public instruction
is by no means perfect, but it is certainly growing better and better.
Free schools, sustained by city or state, are found in most towns and
villages, even the smallest. Moreover, private schools are numerous in
all the large towns and cities, and colleges and professional schools
are found. All of the Mexican states (for such matters are left to the
jurisdiction of each separately) compel free primary instruction, and
appropriate annual sums to support it.
While these institutions promise much for the future, Mexico is not
without her living writers who, in spite of the unfavorable atmosphere
of disturbed politics, have found time to devote themselves to
literature. Guillermo Prieto has a well deserved fame in his own
country, and outside of it wherever he is known. He was born in 1810,
and has passed his life in devotion to the liberal cause, which owes
much of its success, to his personal bravery, the boldness of his
writings, and his sagacious management of affairs. He has served in the
higher offices of government, and written upon political economy and
finance, but it is as a poet that he is honored and beloved. Prieto is
not alone as a writer of prominence, but of others there is not room to
speak. It would be a mistake to suppose that Mexico was lacking in the
possession of fine minds, cultivated intellects, and eloquent pens.
It will, of course, have been perceived by this time that the Mexicans
from whom so much is expected in the future are the descendants of the
Aztec and other native tribes. These form a large part of the population
of the country,--the portion which their remote origin, and the
vicissitudes of their stay upon Anahuac, make the most interesting to
the romantic lover of picturesque history.
The country is occupied also by those descendants of Spanish families
who avoided the decree of exile issued in the early days of
independence. Inter-marriages with Indian blood have crossed this
stock, so that many good families in Mexico have Indian ancestors among
their Spanish ones, and it would probably be rare to find a family
wholly unmixed with this strain. What effect this grafting of Castilian
character has had upon the native stock, is a subject interesting to
students of national characteristics. Cruelty upon cruelty, superstition
upon bigotry, might be pronounced a dangerous repetition likely to
result from the mixture of the two races which established the
Inquisition and revelled in the custom of human sacrifice. On the other
hand, the lofty pride of the traditional Spaniard might find its match
in the inherited love of splendor of the descendant of the Aztecs.
However these things might be, the Mexican-Spaniard has not attained a
high reputation among other nations for honesty, generosity, or
elevation of character. Whatever may be the fairness of the prejudices
against him, partly due to the disadvantages he has been under by being
judged always by enemies who have invaded his country for his
destruction and their own profit, it is less to this race than to that
of the pure Indian blood of the country, that Mexico looks for the
regeneration of her future history.
Vast tracts of profitable land in Mexico are still unsettled. As the
government becomes more and more stable, it is probable that these will
be occupied with emigrants from all other nations, eager to develop the
great natural resources. There are at present many Germans engaged in
all the branches of industry; and Englishmen, attracted by the great
mining and other capabilities of the country, are yearly investing more
and more capital in these enterprises. To the skill of English engineers
is due the successful achievement of the Mexican railway, the first
built of the great lines that now mark up the map in all directions.
Many a Mexican company had faced the chasm between the capital and the
gulf, but baulked before the leap. No government lasted long enough to
ensure the success of the enterprise, until, in 1868 republican
stability and English capital combined to push it forward, and in 1873
the road was opened to the public.
Two great lines connecting Mexico with the United States--the Mexican
Central and the National Railway--are essentially American enterprises.
The Yankee pervades Mexico--not, as many of its inhabitants fear, with
the deep design of absorbing all its territory into the already large
domain of the United States, but with his characteristic instinct for
doing a good thing for himself. He finds a perfect climate, a productive
soil, a land rich in metals and minerals, unlimited space for future
railroads, telegraphs, towns, shops, business. There are instances, no
doubt, where he thinks he has found a simple native population, easily
imposed upon, whose ignorance he may work to his own advantage. But
there is no doubt that Yankee liberality, intelligence, conscience, and
capital have already done much, and will do far more, to advance the
civilization of the country, and lift the spirit of the Aztec, kept low
down by centuries of life at the very base of the social pyramid, so
that it may ascend higher and higher towards its apex.
The darkest days of the Mexican Republic are over. Its members have
learned sharp lessons from adversity; they have suffered every thing
that their own headstrong conduct, their vain-glorious ambition could
bring upon them--civil war, anarchy, invasion by the army of a
neighboring government--their natural friend perverted to an enemy
partly by their own folly,--the unwarranted intervention of a foreign
potentate, the difficulties of debt, want of public faith, a low state
of public honesty.
Out of all these troubles they have bravely emerged, and now take their
stand, heavily weighted still, indeed, with the burdens of past
mistakes, among them the lingering distrust of other nations, but young,
full of promise, with all the elements surrounding them of a possible
great future. This future must depend for the most part on their own
exertions. The children of to-day must be reared in such enlightened
fashion that they may avoid the mistakes and crimes of the generation
before them; they must learn to long for honorable peace, and must
resist the pull there is to their blood for change and military renown.
They must seek glory in the permanence of their institutions and the
development of their great resources, thus slowly winning the confidence
of other nations.
Then they will find these other nations, and especially the powerful one
next them on their own continent, ready to perform the neighborly part
of protecting their interests, sympathizing in their prosperity,
generously willing to share with them the growing fame of the
civilization of America.
INDEX.
A
Aak, 78
Academy of Fine Arts, 226
Acamapichtli, 90
Acapulco, 225
Acatl, 76
Acolhuacan, 93
Aculco, 246
Aculhuas, 42
Agave, 34
Aguilar, Jérome de, 138
Agustin I., _see_ Yturbide
_Ahuehuete_, 22, 56
Ahuitzotl, 105
Aldama, 248
Allende, Ignacio, joins Hidalgo, 241;
denounced, 244;
attacked by Calleja, 246;
forced to retreat, 247;
captured and shot, 248
Alta California, 190; _see_ also California
Alvarado, 137, 160, 163, 173, 194
Amaquemecan, 38, 42
Amecameca, 99, 208
Ampudia, General, 318, 319, 322
Anahuac, 6, 8, 12, 17, 33
Anaya, General, 334
Angostura, 323
Apan, 36
Apodaca, Viceroy, 259, 262
Arista, General, 311, 342
Atlantis, 21
Atzacualco, 83
Atzcapotzalco, 42, 43, 51
_Audiencia_, 184
Austin, Moses, 304
Axayacatl, 101, 158
Ayaxzitl, 41
Ayotzinco, 156
_Ayuntamiento_, 184
_Azoteas_, 127
Aztecs, 43;
emigration of, 83;
wanderings of, 84;
settlement at Chapultepec, 86;
driven to the islands, 87;
found Tenochtitlan, 88;
their civilization, 89;
extent of the kingdom, 106;
religion of, 107;
hieroglyphics, 111;
paintings, 112;
religion, 114;
domestic life, 115;
laws, 115;
calendar, 116;
cycle, 118;
agriculture, 119;
character, 120;
priestesses, 121;
policy of the nation, 123
Aztlan, 22
B
Bajan, Las Norias de, 248
Balam, 78
Barradas, 277
Basch, Dr., 375
"Baths of Montezuma,", 57
Baudelier, quoted, 30, 38, 170
Bazaine, Marshal, 356, 360, 367, 371, 373
Bocanegro, 277
Bonaparte, Joseph, 235
Bonpland, 224
Boot, Adrian, 218
Branciforte, Marquis of, 234, 235
Bravo, General Don Nicholas, 262, 268, 274, 307, 321
Buena Vista, 323
Bustamente, 262, 277, 278, 285, 287, 288
C
Cacamatzin, 130, 154, 156
Calderon, battle of, 247
Calderon, Conde de, _see_ Calleja
Calderon, Madame, 290;
quoted, 227, 273, 282, 284, 293
Calderon, Señor, 290
California, 313, 316, 338
Calleja, General, 246, 247, 252, 258
_Calzadas_, 80
Calzonzi, 67, 176, 189
Campeche, 132
_Canoas_, 92, 127
_Cargadores_, 4, 405
Carlotta, Empress of Mexico, 350;
her character, 358, 364;
goes to Europe, 367;
interview with Napoleon, 368;
her madness, 369
_Carratelas_, 292
Casa de Cortés, 28
Casa Grande, 13
Casa-Mata, 268
Catholic Fathers, 9, 412
Cazadero, 202
Cempoallan, 143
Cerro de Borrego, battle at, 355
Cerro Gordo, 330
Ceutla, ruins at, 17
Chaak Mool, 78
Chalcas, 66
Chalchiuhtlatonac, 26, 38
Chalco, Lake, 12, 333
_Chapparral_, 5
Chapultepec, 86, 127, 156, 291, 338, 362, 399
Charles V., 10, 177, 214
Charles II., 220
Charles III., 226, 233
Charles IV., 227, 233
Chavero, quoted, 117
Chiapas, 18, 71, 265
Chichimecatl Tecuhtli, 41
Chichen-Itza, 76
Chichimecs, 26, 38-44, 64, 87
Chihuahua, 323
Chilpantzingo, 252
Chimalpopoca, 91, 94
_Chinampas_, 228
Cholollan, 28
Cholula, pyramid of, 14, 100, 106, 206
Cholultecas, massacre of, 154
Churubusco, 333, 334
_Cinco de Mayo_, 354
_Clerigos_, 344
Coahuila, 338
Coatlicue, 121
Coatzacoalco River, 106
Colima, 62
Colorado River, 24
Columbus, 131
Comonfort, General, 356
_Conquistadores_, 8, 12, 89
Contreras, Don Pedro Moya de, 216
Copan, 17, 71
Córdoba, 5
Cordova, 132
Cordova, treaty of, 264, 266
Cortazar, General, 285
Cortés, Fernando, alluded to, 2, 3;
birth of, 135;
character of, 136;
commissioned by Velasquez, 127;
his squadron, 138;
at the Tabasco River, 139;
worshipped as Quetzalcoatl, 141;
sends gifts to Montezuma, 141;
visits Cempoallan, 143;
destroys the ships, 144;
interview with Montezuma, 147;
conquers Tlaxcalla, 152;
at Cholula, 154;
arrives in Mexico, 156;
meeting with Montezuma, 157;
seizes Montezuma, 159;
expedition to Vera Cruz, 160;
abandons Mexico, 163;
retreat from the city, 164;
gathers a new army, 171;
campaign against Mexico, 173;
at Coyoacán, 175;
conquers Michoacan, 176;
expedition to Honduras, 177;
voyages to Spain, 178;
death of, 178;
burial in Mexico, 179
Cortés, Martin, 180
Cotton, 92, 406
Council of Music, 53
Coxcox, 22
Coyoacán, 175
Cozumel, 138
Cuahtemoc, 167, 170, 174, 175, 178
Cuauhnahuac, 92
Cuautla, 252
Cuba, 132
Cuepopan, 88
Cuernavaca, 28, 225
Cuextecas, 106
Cuicuicatzin, 155
Cuitlahuac, 101
Cuitlahuatzin, 161, 166
Cuitzao, Lake, 62
Culhuacan, 23
Culhuas, 87
D
Diaz, Bernal, 137;
quoted, 127, 148, 181
Diaz, Porfirio, takes Oaxaca, 371;
takes Puebla, 376, 384;
a candidate for the presidency, 390;
at the head of the revolutionists again, 392;
his earlier life, 394;
in the war of the reform, 395;
campaign against Oaxaca, 395;
an escape from government troops, 396;
president, 398;
re-elected, 398;
his home, 399
Doblado, 346
Dolores, 240
Dominicans, 324
Dominiguez, Doña Josefa, 258
"Drinking cup of the Eagle," 101
E
Escobedo, General, 374, 375, 378
Estrada, Gutierrez, 299, 349
F
Farías, Valentine Gomez, 279, 282, 307, 321, 330
Ferdinand VII., 234, 259
Fischer, Father, 371
Forey, Marshal, 356
Franciscans, 324
Fremont, Colonel, 316
_Frijoles_, 26
G
Galves, Viceroy, 226, 228
Garces, Fray Julian, 204
Garibay, Viceroy, 236
Ghent, Fray Pedro de, 192
Gonsalez, General Manuel, 398
Good-Friday in Mexico, 294
Gorostiza, 334
Grant, Ulysses, quoted, 341
Grenaditas, Alhóndiga de, 243, 248
Grijalva, Juan de, 132-134
_Grito de Dolores_, 242
Guadalajara, 193, 246
Guadalupe-Hidalgo, treaty of, 338
Guanajuato, 19, 243, 409
_Guardias Rurales_, 298
Guatemala, 71, 265
Guerrero, 259;
joins Yturbide, 261;
joins in the Casa-Mata, 268;
a candidate for the presidency, 275;
president, 277;
his government overthrown, 277;
captured and shot, 278
Guillermo, 346
Guzman, Nuño de, 184, 185-194
H
Herrara, General, 262, 307, 342
Hicuxaxé, 66
Hidalgo, Manuel, birth and education, 238;
life at Dolores, 240;
declares independence, 241;
_Grito de Dolores_, 242;
takes Guanahuato, 243;
takes Valladolid, 245;
defeated at Aculco, 246;
defeated at Calderon, 247;
captured and shot, 248
Hidalgo, state of, 41
Historia Chichimeca, 60
Holy Brotherhood, tribunal of, 203
Houston, General, 305
Huactlatohani, 41
Huatusco, ruins at, 16
Huehue-Tlapallan, 19, 24
Huehuetoca, 218
Huematzin, 24
Huexotzinco, 106
Huitzilihuitl, 91, 92, 94
Huitzilopochtli, 29, 87, 88, 99, 105
Human sacrifices, 102
Humboldt, Alexander von, visits Mexico, 224-232
I
"Iguala, Plan of," 261
Indian, the name, 184
_Indios_, 184
Inquisition, 196, 216
Iré-Titatacamé, 65
Istaccíhuatl, 6
Iturrigaray, Don José de, 224, 236
Itzcoatl, 96, 97, 98
Ixtlilxochitl, Fernando de Alva, 23, 44, 60, 64
Ixtlilxochitl, king of the Chichimecs, 44, 45, 94
Ixtlilxochitl, of Texcuco, 130, 154, 155, 171
Izamal, 81
J
Jaramillo, Don Juan de, 183
Jesuits, 324
Jimenez, 247, 248
Joinville, Prince de, 281
Jorullo, 231
Juarez, Benito, his descent, 344;
governor of Oaxaca, 345;
president, 346;
withdraws from the capital, 356;
advances to Zacatecas, 374;
enters the capital, 386;
president, 387;
character of, 389;
re-elected, 390;
death of, 390
Juarez, Doña Catalina, 137, 181, 182
_Juntas_, 235
K
Kinich-Katmo, 78
L
Lane, General, 340
Leon, Diégo Velasquez de, 132, 135, 137
Leon y Gama, quoted, 117
Le Plongeon, Dr., quoted, 78
Lerdo, Don Sebastian de Tejada, 391, 396
Lerma, River, 219
Le Teja, 372
_Liberales_, 344
Lopez, General, 377
Lorencez, General, 354
Loreto, Fort, 331
Louis Philippe, 281
M
_Maguey_, 35
Malinche, mountain of, 46
Malintzi, birth and early life, 145;
in slavery, 146;
given to Cortés, 146;
becomes interpreter, 147;
appearance of, 149;
escape of, 164;
life with Cortés, 180;
marriage of, 183;
death of, 183
Marina, _see_ Malintzi
Markets in Mexico, 228
Márques, General, joins the _clerigos_, 346;
joins Maximilian, 372;
becomes quartermaster-general, 375;
sent to the capital, 375;
his escape, 384
Martin de Valencia, Fray, 208, 211
Martinez, Enrico, 218, 219
Maximilian, emperor of Mexico, 350;
his character and aims, 352;
arrives in Mexico, 357;
his reception, 358;
life at court, 360;
policy of, 362;
appeals to Napoleon, 367;
prepares to leave Mexico, 369;
goes to Orizaba, 370;
influence of the clerical party, 371;
returns to Mexico, 372;
at Querétaro, 374;
his appearance described, 376;
a prisoner, 378;
death of, 380
Maxixcatzin, 171
Maxtla, 44, 48-51, 92-97
Mayapan, 71, 72
Mayas, 18, 70-82
Mayorga, Viceroy, 226
Meconetzin, 36
Meija, General, 373, 378, 380
Mendez, 378
Mendoza, Antonio de, character of, 191;
his administration, 192-202
Merida, 80
Mexcalla, 106
Mexicans, 51
Mexico, climate of, 5;
relief of, 6;
early races of, 9;
government of, 10;
natural resources of, 11, 402;
roads in, 80;
natives of, 185;
mines of, 229, 409;
society in, 290;
women of, 292;
soldiers, 308;
vegetation, 402;
flowers, 403;
market-place, 404;
schools of, 415;
literature of, 416;
railways in, 418
Mexitli, 84
Mexitzin, 90
_Mezcal_, 36
Michoacan, 19, 62-69, 106, 176, 194
Mines of Mexico, 229, 409
Miramon, General, joins the _clerigos_, 346, 349;
joins Maximilian, 372;
advances to Zacatecas, 374;
raises troops for Maximilian, 375;
taken prisoner, 373;
shot, 380
Mitla, 393
Mixcoatl, 40
Mixtecas, 19
Molino del Rey, 334, 360
Monasteries, suppression of, 412
Montaño, 176
Monte de la Cruces, 245
Monteleone, Dukes of, 179
Monterey, 317
Monterey (in California), 314
Montezuma I., 92, 98, 100
Montezuma II., 101, 124;
coronation of, 125;
court of, 128;
interview with Cortés, 147, 157;
a prisoner, 159;
death of, 161
Montezuma, Conde de, 220
Montezuma's Cypress, 129
Morales, General, 328
Morelia, 194, 251
Morelos, José Manuel, birth of, 250;
education of, 251;
joins the Independents, 251;
defends Cuautla, 252;
calls first Mexican congress, 252;
appointed captain-general, 253;
defeated at Valladolid, 254;
captured, 254;
shot, 254;
his character, 255
Morelos, state of, 41
Mound Builders, 20
Moyotla, 88
Mozarabic liturgy, 413
N
Nachan, 71
Nahuas, 19, 20
Nahuatl, language, 19, 27;
legends, 22;
family, 70
Napoleon I., 235
Napoleon III., 349, 360, 366, 368
Naranjan, Princess of, 65
Nata and Nana, legend of, 23
National Museum of Mexico, 33
Nevada de Toluca, 29
New Mexico, 313, 338
New Spain, extent of, 190
Nezahualcoyotl, 44-61, 96, 98
Nezahualpilli, 105, 125, 130
_Noche Triste_, La, 163
_Nopal_, 87
Noriega, General, 384
Northers, 1, 3
Novella, Francisco, 263, 264
Nueva Leon, 316
O
Oaxaca, 275, 392