The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1886-05-12
MEXICAN MARKET PLACES.
Picturesque Scene Among Those Who
Buy and Sell.

Picturesque Scene Among Those vVhe
Buy and Sell.
Every town has its great market place,
usually large building filed with Inaian
sellers-men, women, children and babies
of all the local products of the earth and
those varieties of merchandise that appeal
to the people, writes correspondent from
the City of Mexico. Up at Toluca, for ex-
ample, the market building is better than
that in the capital Of the United States, be-
sides being more neatly kept and generally
more attractive. Between the ragged and
shiftless negroes of Washington and the In.
dams of Mexico the latter make the best ap.
pearance. Their wants are more simple and
the artistic sense that governs their costume
gives them an individual standing. When
they begin to adopt cast-of garments of
European style some critics of Mexico will
feel better, but the charm of a picturesque
civilization will be broken. The greatest
market of the capital, and therefore of all
Mexico, (there are several others in this
aity) is the Valador, south of the national
palace that occupies one side of the great
central square of the city. 1t covers his
toric ground that once lay near Montezuma's
new ome,n and thereby was part of the
plumber that fell to the share of Cortez
Thither by decree of the Ayuntamiento in
1919 the bakers, fruit sellers and pork deal
ers were ordered from the Plaza Major
For some 200 years the city paid rent for
the use of this market place to the heirs of
Cortez, but in 1887 the property was bought
for $40 000.- As q spectacle the market
will be found very fascinating place in it.
self, and because the utmost of historical
interest hangs about it. Bsrnal Diaz, the
companion of Cortez, who writes SO graph
cally of ancient Mexico, assures us that the
market place of the original city did not
greatly differ from what we see to-day-the
chief change being that now no male and
female slaves are on sale. The fruits of the
soil and the results of individual labor have
been repeating themselves for hundreds of
years. Men have died, but others do the
same things from generation to generation.
Here as impressiyely as anywhere in Mexico
appears the tireless and mechanical iteration
that marks the Indian as an unprogressiye
human animal, and shows him to be in
lower life the same child of nature as the
uneducated negro of the Southern States of
the United States. The Aztec sold fowls.
game, vegetables, fruits, articles of food
ready dressed, bread, honey and sweet
pastry when Diaz saw him-and he does
the same to-day. There is no more organ
ization about it now than there was 300
years ago. Each Indian works for himself
and sells when he wants money. Up from
the hot country lie passes to the city, tray-
ersing SO and 60 miles a day, with a back
load of chickens, baskets, poultry, wooden
bowls or other salable stuff. Often the
whole family make the trip and camp out
ON the flags of the Plaza or the market
house, guarding little piles of fruits or yege-
tables-beans, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes,
peppers, radishes, beets, potatoes or squash
es-until the load is disposed of. 1t will
be seen that the city is thus dependent on
the capriees Of the Indian vendors. If the
people who raise potatoes or carrots do not
happen to be in crying need of funds, il
sometimes happens that there is raging
scarcity of these or other articles. There
is no thrift or forehandedness about these
Indians, and the half-dollar more or less
that represents the sum total of q venture
of this kind is squandered with reckless
rapidity. The prospector of mining days
wanted few provisions and much whiskey,
and the peon adopts the same thoughtless
and wanton policy-a little cloth and much
pulque. The results are seen even in the
very best articles he barters. The stock
has not been cultivated, and bis vegetables
are often withered and small and "run
OUT A first class market garden in the
hot country would be a boon to this city
but when it comes the poems will probably
assert !" the rights of labor !" against such a
wholesale aggression of greedy capital, and
they are not likely to do it any more brutal
ly than have the strikers of countries that
boast their higher civilization.