New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-02-02

untutored peon.
| The nights and mornings during the entire
journey from the Rio Grande to the City Of Mex
| leo are uncomfortably COOL fires in the cars being
| considered a superfuous comfort It is well
therefore, for the traveller in search of the white
sunshine" TO wear warm clothing, and carry an
extra heavy wrap. Another item il will be well
to bear in mind: Soap and matches are not fur
nished to guests in Mexican hotels, and cake
Of plain soap costs in the City Of Mexico 81 cents
Fine perfumed soaps sell for 75 cents and 81
a cake. box of ceriIas. or wax matches 1.-THE
only kind here costs 3 cents. In some of the
| hotels only one candle is allowed in the lower
priced rooms; the rooms renting for So, "a and
80 day are furnished with kerosene lamps.
There is no gas, no electric light in the bed
| rooms, although the latter illumines many of the
! patos and corridors. There are no baths in the
hotels; no running water, warm or cold, in the
rooms, and, outside of the City of Mexico, no car
pets on the bricktiled floors. The toilet furnish
ings are OF painted metal. The narrow, iron
bedstead, about the width OF o sleeping-car BERTH
is furnished with cotton mattress like unto the
soft side of board. The pillows are of the same
character i here is no ice-water drinking water
| Is supplied IN earthenware water bottles The
m6ermald-who is mostly man, of an age
anywhere from the adoescent period TO that of
three-score-wlll fetch for your morning additions
| Jug Oh aqua callente, for which he expects a
medic 10 IA cents, The proprietor of the ltur-
blde Hotel, IN the City Of Mexico (Once the resi-
dence OF the Inflated Prince Iturbide says he
| lntends-manana Ito introduce steam heat into
his house Until some means Of warming the
dungeon-uke apartments Of the Mexican dwell
tngs-especially those Of the higher plateaus-are
employed, Mexico, with its cold nights and morn
lngs, is not desirable nor healthful residence
for the rheumatic or weak-lunged invalid. For
those persons who can endure with cheerful In
difference the discomfOrts and dangers of chilly
atmosphere after shutdown, the climate is all that
/ n fr,1cp aN ST All n
alone, and until the Mexican landlord awaEens
to this TACT he need not expect to reap the shekes
remain merely an attraction for the SPECTATOR
the curious tourist, and the personally-con-
Quoted" excursion party
GuadalaJara, in the State of Jalisco, is said to
possess the greatest climatic advantages. From
November until May the nights are rarely cold
enough to require artificial heat and during the
rainy season IL is never too warm for comfort
But the hotels of Guadalajara also in need Of
Improvement. The food is excellent: indeed, the
menu OF Mexican hotel or restaurant VIII com
pare favOrably with many of the irstclass hotels
OF the States. dominant component Of the
Mexican meal is dish Of baked beans. The
friiole is prominently the favorite tidbit with
the senior, as well as with the peon a noteworthy
fact that sets to wondering if there was not in
remote aniquity, some connection between the
Boston molecules and those of pre-Adamite Te-
nochttlan
The fear that danger, in the shape Of brigands
and assassins, turks in every dark corner on Mex
lean territory, is groundess. One may with per-
provided always that the wanderer conducts him
self properly One may see the streets OF
Mexico, as well as in the minor cities, men and
boys carrying openly bags OF coin from bank or
warehouse, and no case of such messengers hav
ing been "sandbaggedn has as vet been recorded.
4 distressing feature, however, of the Mexican
streets-partcularly those of the metropOlis-is
the beggar. He Is ublqultous-in the restaurant
the shop, the church, at every step you take you
applied to the accomplishment Of some labor,
would reward him with a competency. He will
follow you, If he walk or hobble, for squares,
unless you dismiss him with a few centaVos, or
exercise his opportunities with the usual formula
PerdOna me, hermand en- ell nombre de dos
Nowhere else is 1t possible TO see more crlpples'
more abect poverty, than on the streets of Mex
leo during fiesta At such times they seem
TO congrcgate from all corners of the Republic,
and one cannot help but contrast so much wretched
poverty with the evident wealth of the numerous
churches.
As every church-tower contains two or more
bells, the tintinnab ulatory reverberatons may be
imagined when, on a feast-day, every bell In
every tower Is rung with all the force and fervor
contained in the frame Of the devout peon bell
ringer. And the peon is devOut 10 intensest
bigotry. He evinces zeal for his religion ardent
enough to satisfy q Torquemada; a faith In all
the teachings and dogmas of his Church as per-
feet and as unquestioning as a Loyola. Three
fifths Of his scant wages are poured with cheer
full willingness into the Church treasury.
He forgets in thus giving all his
his own Indulgence to compare it with the riches
of his church. To see the peOn at work is TO
wonder how he accOmpllSheS SUCH results WIN
such implements Were the artisan Of the States
compelled TO labor for the same wages, the same
number of hours and with the same tools, the
strikes there would be perennial The commonest
laborer Of the United States would consider him
self il-used indeed were he compelled 10 eat the
same kind of food which nOurishes, without varia-
ton from years end to years end; the MeH5ca1
peOn. The peon expects nothing better-lndeed
IL is doubtful If he would relish anything SO much
as he does his dish Of tortilas' and friloles, |
sort Of pancake made of cOrnmeal and boiled |
lis OF a
and trousers and a Zarape, which serves as wrap
when he is cold and as a blanket when he goes
10 bed on his straw mat. His shoes are leather !
sandals strapped with thongs across the instep. |
His hat is a sombrero Of straw or, If he can afford
to buy it, of felt and deliberately ornamented |
with silver braid. 1t has been said that the peon
will steal ANYTHING he can lay his hands on The |
writer can only state that during lengthy soourn
in Mexican hotels and inns, where all the servants |
are peOns and all the entrances open to whomsO- !
ever may choose to enter, it was never once found
necessary TO lock doors or luggage; nor was any
thing ever stolen.
peon class is an undoubted fact The peOn is |
quick to learn, and where instruction is denied
him he will, with commendaole patience ana
persistence apply himself to the requirement OF /
the art or trade he has chosen to master. A |
peon now living at San Pedro Ia suburb of
Guadalaiara), who has never seen the interior OF
a sculptor's studio, or had the advantage OF
studying any plastic art other than the images OF |
the saints in his church. moulds IN clay the most
exquisite statuettes so perfect IN every oeIa ian
never had an hours instruction, and that MS |
work was fashioned by the simple tools Of his |
own making A brief study Of a patrons face
or a photograph, is sufficient 20 enable this I'M
tutored artist TO mould perfect likeness: 1here
are potters whose wares are the embodiment OF |
refined taste and artistic ornamentatlon, wood
carvers, and painters whose work will compare
favorably with that of the skilled artisan OF
Europe or the United States. And yet with all
his capabilities of usefulness, the Mexican peon
is looked upon as little better than the burro.
THAT most patient most ill-treated of all beasts
of burden. BY the laws and constitution OF
Mexico universal suffrage exists as matter or
fact however, suffrage is confined. as In the
Southern States Of the United States. TO the e1n-
no.od rnIinr class But here as in the Southern