The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-03-20

interview. When 8 man gets adm!s-
sion to the President the President is
obliged to listen to all he has to say
or else give mortal offense. AS a
consequence the President is unable
to see more than three or four per-
sons during the hours he can give to
interviews. I know of one young
Mexican Congressman who was
waiting in the city for over week
merely to have an interview with the
President.
Mrs. Diaz IS quite famous for her
beauty and much liked for her viva
cious and cordial manners. She Is
much younger than the President, be-
ing only about thirty years old. She
has a neat figure, Spanish face, with
we'll cut features, and dresses in sim
pie but excellent taste. She is the
daughter of Romero Rubio, the Sec
retary of the Interior, and one of the
richest men in Mexico. I saw the
President and Mrs. Diaz and
Mrs. Diaz's unmarried sister, a
Young woman also remarkable for
beauty, at a private reception a
few evenings ago. Of course the
President and his wife were the central
figures of the gathering, but they bore
themselves in most unassumlng
manner, chatting easily and pleasant
ly with the guests.
Mrs. Diaz speaks English quite flu
emily. When they took their leave
the President shook hands all around,
and Mrs. Diaz following a pretty
Mexican fashion, kissed each of her
lady friends twice, first on one cheek
and then on the other. The only evi.
dence of the presence of person of
unusual prominence was q file OF
mounted guards drawn up in front OF
the house. :.
The Mexicans have a martial spirit,
but the ordinary Mexican soldier, as
seen even about the National palace,
is not an inspiring object. He is all
or half Indian, as rule. He is some
what undersized, and is ragged and
dirty. Often he is barefooted or wears
only sandals made of rawhide and
bound to the soles of his feet by
leathern thongs. Those on guard at
the palace and aronnd other public
offices usually wear shoes, and look as
though they had been partially cleaned
for this duty. There is q big barrack
IN the rear of and attached to the
National palace, which, by the way, is
a long, rambling building, occupying
all one side of the Plaza de Armas,
and accommodating the principal de-
partments and Offices of the Federal
Government.
A visit to the barracks at most any
time will show a crowd of very un-:
tidy looking soldiers. Their garments
need patching as we'll as cleaning. At
meal times there will be throng of
women at the big gateway, bringing
baskets of provisions. The Mexican
army has no commissariat. The COM
mon soldier is paid twenty-five cents
a day, and he gets his pay every day.
When he gets his silver quarter, such
is his suspicious nature, he bites it to
see if it is good. That is all the Gov.
vernment give him to bite. He has
to "fnd" himself. In recent years
the Government has supplied the
means of cooking provisions, but the
soldiers have to supply the raw
materials.
This is the regular standing army
of Mexico. There is another body,
which is virtually military body,
but is under the direction of the In
terror Department. This is the corps
known as "the Rurales" sort Of
mounted police that patrol the coun-
try outside of the cities. Lieutenant
Dwyer, the military attache of the
American Legation, told me that these
Rurales formed probably the finest
body of cavalry in the world. They
are picked men, every one being un-
usually skillful as horseman, even
in this country, where half the people
live on horseback. The Rurales wear
tawny leather suits. big Mexican
sombreros, heavily ornamented with
silver, and besides their sabers and
pistols, carry carbines. They have o
rakish, devil-may-care appearance.
1t is considered quite an honor to be
member of this troop. When man
joins it he has to furnish his own
horse, and give bond for the proper
care OF the arms and equipments sup
piled him by the Government.
On great public parades the Rurales
are given the post of honor. In re-
ality, though not now under the War
Department, they form q very effec'