The Meeker herald., 1891-02-07
ODD OLD MEXICO.
An Americans Observations on
0reaserdom.
4 Country Whose Militia IL Composed
0f Conviets from the Frisons-'
bone PseuiiAritiss Of the
rcopls.


home rseuiiAritiss Of the
People
II there is ono thing OF which Mexico
Ii more prolific than revolutions IL Is
pcculiarl,ies. The peculinritics OF that
country are many and astonishing, not
that viewed this people from narrow
standpoint, says u writer in tho Chicago
Times, much n the average English
tourist views America, for We Amori-
cans are too familiar with representa-
tiycs OF every. cline and nation to be
guilty Of such irsular prejudice. hut the
American dwcllor in Mexico viii lind
tho pcculiarities of that Nation too
marked Ia bc overlooked. For instance,
what would any civilized people on
earth other than the Mexican think II
their persons and property were. placed
under tho guardianship Of convicts7'
Yet such Is the ease there. Police duty
throu. .hout the country districts and In
large cities like chihuahua Is performed
by the soldiers Of the regular army, said
army being recruited from III. conyicts
OF each State. Complaint as to their
inonicicnoy or dishonesty, however, |.
rarely heard, though IL Is an open secret
In Mexico that u small bribc ,o the of
Nccr" IL sufficient TO secure immunity
from arrest, but this fact, 10 far from
being made a ground for complaint,
seems rather source OF congralg!atlon
than otherwise. How far We ar" In ad.
vance OF this Aystom OF recruiting tho
ranks OF the police, especially In Chica-
go, II il difficult to say; there may bc
some who would extend TO US tho advice
about not throwing stones; however. be
IL said To the everlasting crcli, Of tho
Mcslcans that their police aro natives
Of tho country In which they wlcld the
baton.
From the police ono naturally turns,
especially In this case. To- the criminal.
In Mexico tho burglar In positively un'
known. The houses, constructed a.
they are, In Wow OF uprisings. rcyolu-
tionS etc, present To til" would-bo-bur-
rlar but a small chance of success.
wha, with blank walls, harrlca,ici win
dows. and solid wooden doors, the
dwcilcr within til. ay.rag, adobe il pre-.
pared Mt nightlall TO withstand the siege
OF regiment.
Tho phase of robbery mos; popular In
Mexico Is of tho Dick Turpln pattern.
Dick. however. from all accounts, usual
Is gives voice 10 ,ha, timo.honorcd com.
mand: Your money. or your llfc."
whereas, the Mexican brigand in,aria-
bly, demands your money and your life.
and no amount Of plundcr, pleading, nor
promises will avail to savo the latter
should the opportunity bo favorable to
the robbcr for taking 1t. Tho cause Of
,hi, IL simply ,hs, the laws OF the coun-
try proNii. that the highway robbcr. II
captured, shall suffer death, thus fur
niahiag ,h- tac-nuso for his tnvariabi-
bloody accompaniment to his original
crime. ,ha, he may forever silence tho
witness of tho deed.
Tho Mexican IL the only naturai.born
bred ln.thc.honc socialist In tho world.
lie has never rvad up on the subject; hc
never hears our long.haircd rauinrs
,ociicr.;inE abou, the beauties OF their
system. nevertheless he 1, the IDEAL 10.
c!alisi, and, although he il not up ,o the
average in arithmetic, he knows the ruln
of division to nlccty. Tho average
Mexican will share his blanko, and his
Las, loaf or penny with you. should you
need It. but II you have any thing you
are expected to bo fully as liberal. II
You don't, bc compcls your libcraliiy by
taking your possessions away from you
!orcibly. In short, II you have not, hc
gives: II you have, he takes. whether
or no.
Ono side of this characteristic OF tho
Mosicans is best oxcmpliiicd by their
proceedings in the even, of tho marri-
ago o! ono Of their daughters to an
American. Tho Mexican. bear In mind,
H. possessed OF the incradicablr idea
tha, Americans are all rolling in wealth.
This idea II y source o! noycr-ccasing
envy on the part OF one sex and satisfac-
,ion to the other. Whom an American
marrics Mexican girl her whole fam.
lily. hcr sisters, cousins, aunts, ctc., and
all their sisters, cousins. aun,s, etc, for
hundred miles around are invited to
the wedding. This includes every blood
relation TO the very fomotcs. They
not only come, which H. bad, but they
stay. which IL worse. There they camp.
and until every ounce of food and every
dollar in sightisgonc there they continue
to camp, and should the lucklcss bride
groom have employment they stay still
longer. encouraged In tho most natural
and artlcss manner by their very hospita-
bic relative. the bride. Tho feelings OF the
groom under such circumstances can he
imagined, but pro,cs, only meets with
tears from the bride and indignant aston
ishmcnt from the guests, before which
the bridegroom generally succumbs. 1,
Is apparent that the Mexican merely
gauges tho hospitality and charity Of
others by his own. and wants to be done
by as he does to others.
Tho Ago Of SrsooistionS
Mons. hrgcllio. OF the Paris Perfect
urcof Police, calls attention TO tho rc-
IN arkablc degree In which tho division
of labor princinlp 4, brin, anpllpl to