Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1884-01-26
IN AND Asovr THE ciry or Mfx,co.


That the valley OF Mexico, viewed from
any Of the hundred mountains which
surround it,-far surpasses all others.
And it is scene which impresses one
at first with an overpowering thrill of
awe, and then a feeling rushes over
him of happiness, and grandeur.
Standing upon the rock Of Chapulte-
pee, and looking down into the great
valley, with its rolling fields and eter
nal growth of tropical vegetation, en-
comprised on every side by the noun
tains of the Sierra Madre, and off to
the right the snowy cone of Popoea-
tapelt towering nearly eighteen thous-
and feet high, like lofty monarch
one sees in the midst of the landscape
the old, old city of Mexico. History
cannot tell when it was founded. There
are relics in perfect preservation which
battle all the efforts of archaeolo-
gists.
It is almost strange how, at distance
Of 263 miles inland, away from every
natural facility of access, in valley
surrounded by almost impossible
mountains, there should have sprung
up city of such magnifcence as
Mexico, which now numbers about
$4,000 souls. One can easily imagine
why the Spanish explorers in the early
days, having traversed bleak and DESC
late mountains, suddenly turning
narrow pass and seeing spread out be-
fore them grand array of marble
palaces, with gold and silver cleaning
from nearly every roof, and clear lakes
covered with the luxuriant floating.
gardens, should have spread the re-
ports of Ell Dorado, the Golden.
And the old charm has never been
wholly taken away, and never will be.
Progress and Civilization, it is true,
have made enormous strides in the
past few years; railroads intersect the
land, and have laid the Hidden City
open to every eye; telegraph and tele-
phone wires form may net over
head, and horse cars thread the streets.
But much of the primevai character
remains. Water carriers, with huge
red earthenware jars strapt on their
bent shoulders plod along the narrow
sidewalks; the drivers of the street.
cars smoke their cigarettes and give
notice of their approach by a blast
from fog-horn. These cars are very
accommodating; they are perfectly
willing to stop and allow passenger
to make a purchase of some article
that has caught his eye at one of the
booths in the R7tales, which are so
plentiful around the Zocalo, or central
square.
Among the lower classes, descend
ants of the aboriginal Aztecs, it does
not appear that there can have been
much progress They seem to be
contented and happy, and yet two reals
(25 cents) day is to them magnifi-
cent sum. Their dress does not re- |
quire an enormous outlay. A woman
is happy with coffee-sack; a mans
costume consists of pair of trousers
and Serape, or blanket which is some
times wound round the shoulders,
sometimes has an opening in the
center to admit the head-always fall
ing in graceful folds. Whirling up to
the city from Vera Cruz, one always
looks with interest at the lone, silent
figures scattered here and there along
the fields, with their arms folded, and
their crimson or scarlet serapes dreop-
ing from their shoulders-they are the
perfect embodiment of grace. They
all seem to be placed with care in pre-
cisely the same pose, however, and it
soon becomes monotonous. No mat
ter how miserablv poor the man is, he
is always crowned with a som6rero,
wide-brimmed and conical topped,
heavily laden with silver broidery, Of
ten costing from $25 to $780, Among
the middle class of Mexico the hat is al
ways thus bedecked, the trousers are
slashed at the bottom and heavily en-
broidered with silver, two inches wide,
up the sides. A short jacket also en-
takes the place of the Serapo,
md sash of bright red or blue is ,
wound several times about the waist ,
he ends dropping to the knee. 1t is
most picturesque costume, and most S
The polished barrel of i
| two-foot revolver generally projects s
rom under the jacket, and sheath {
lnife is conveniently placed in front. I
There is no law in Mexico against car |
wing weapons, and mans life is safer I
here than in New York. The Mexi- {
ans are experts in the use of pistol, !
md these are gorgeously inlaid with /
,old, and sometimes encrusted with t
pals and other gems. They have \
cry poor opinion of a pistol which is '
lot at least eighteen inches long. A /
2-caliber s. e. w. was greeted with
loots and jeers, and several Offered i
as targets for "toy like [
hat" To command any degree of re- e
pect, pistol should carry As ball, at i
he least. But these weapons are out q
f the reach of the poorer classes, who {
ave to content themselves with a
owie-k knife hidden beneath their ser 8
pc. They are very likely to have one 81
ways handy, too and sometimes des- d
crate duels are fought with these n
hives, in which, as rule, 10th the O
fall. have several times.
hen standing on the street, been il
assed by stretchers carried between n
NO policemen, upon which lay two fl
lotionless figures covered by sheet; 81
nd on asking what was the matter, Il
eceived the reply: ooh, it is nothing; n
yo natives had a quarrel, that's ALL n
nd every time, the bier sustained u
vo corpses. pl
Their diet is very simple-TOrtilGs re
thin cakes of very tough dough, well d.
,oked, and of the consistency of w