St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1886-04-29
A TRIP TO OLD MExICo--Ix.

Mexico the Ancient-Its present Inhabi-
tants-Taxes and Protection-Electio
A visit 20 the Opening of Congress
UnheaIthiness of the City.
Mexico is country which affords
unusual facilities for dropping into the
historical not to say pOetical. The
duIlest letter writer need draw but
slightly on his imagination. The temp
tation to "gush" is ever present; for
smile as you may, when one stands on
which have a connected history that
reaches back a thousand years, the
oldest thingszln our country seem new
and immature and it is a cold and
unpoetic nature that does not thrill
and glow. When the Spaniards came
here, more than a hundred years before
the Pilgrim fathers touched on Ply
mouth rock, they found a civilization,
then old, ofintelligent people, with good
farms, fair dwellings, sculpture, temples
and pyramids. These were some of
the things that the ambitious and cruel
Cortes saw and which the sword and
torch of his followers have completely
changed or destroyed altogether.
1t must not be forgotten that the
original Mexican was very different
being from the common North Ameri-
can Indian, with whom he is by many
confounded The Mexico of to-day,
however, is a still different affair. Sew
en- millions of its estimated ten mill
ion inhabitants are yet Indian; not
like the nomadic tribes in our western
PueblOs of New Mexico or Arizona
with permanent homes, dOcile, peace
able, capable of great endurance, and
patient workers in a limited sphere.
In travel they can cover as much
ground in a day as good horse; they
can carry burdens ,tbat would break
the back of mule they can live and
thrive on a few tortillas (thin cakes
made from corn meal soaked in lime
water) and handful of beans, at
gross expense of six cents day. They
seldom get meat, but occasionally a
few cents worth is put into pot with
peppers and beans, and stew is made
that furnishes a thanksgiving dinner
for family of twelve. To boil it down,
(this letter, not the stew, a Mexican
labOrer will take load of $50 pounds
on his back, of grain, vegetables or
ore, and travel ten, fifteen, twenty five
miles to town, dispose of his wares and
return home the same day, and do it
all on less amount of food in quaint
ty or value, than would serve a street
loafer in st. Johnsbury for a good
breakfast. How they do it is mystic
ry, but they are doing it constantly
and appear to thrive under it.
AS a race both men and women are
and muscular. They remind one of
the Canadian French but are even
more hardy and prolific than that peO-
pie. Children abound everywhere. No
family is complete without baby, and
most families have two or three MEM
bers that will come under that head.
To their credit it must be said that
they appear affectiOnate towards chill
dren and there is less apparent cruelty
and harshness than is everywhere
seen in New England. 1t is not un-
common to see a stranger pick up
little, dirty tOddler who has fallen in
the street and kissing him place him
on his feet and then pass on in the
crowd. The children too are quiet
and we'll behaved. In their play they
do not exhibit the rough ways nor does
one hear the wraDgling so often seen
and heard in "civilized" country.
The women of this Indian race toll
like the men. They are the water
carriers in many towns, and they also
work in the fields. On April ?, at
Toluca, women were planting corn
with the men at midday although the
sun was so hot that the Overseer who
stood near by was forced to raise his
umbrella. When and how will the
condition of this class be improved
That is a question which may be con-
sidered later.
Nearly all the land in Mexico that is
worth anything is owned by few men
and lies in great estates, often many
miles in extent. How these men got
this land is not important to this let
ter; probably in much the same way
as the cattle men procured their ranch
es in the western territories fenced
them in-until President Cleveland
ordered them to take down their
fences. These great estates, or ha-
ciendas, as they are here called, have
a house for the owner or manager
sometimes the owner living in Eu-
rope) and near by are the adobe buts
of the laborers. Every such hacienda
has a store. LabOrers are hired at
very low rate of wages, 25 cents day
being about the average price. If they
need any thing to live on before pay
day comes-and they always dot is
sold them out of the store for which
they are charged two or three prices.
When payday comes the laborer finds
that instead of anything being due
him, he is in debt to the master; and
precious good care is taken, if the la
bOrer be a good hand, that he never
gets out of debt. So it goes on from
year to year-a sort of half voluntary