The true northerner., 1896-04-15
A Visit to Mexico.
republican
LANSING, MICH, April z, '96

| est eVlnceu In my newspaper accounts
of the editorial excursion 10 Florida, 1t
has occurred To me that the NORTH
ERNER readers might also enjoy some
echoes from the strange and picturesque
country through which the Michigan
Press Association SO recently journeyed
IA country SO entirely different in eli
mate, vegetation, people and customs,
that, once within its borders, the tourist
feels as if transported to sunny Spain,
or some other foreign shore.
In the time and space AT my disposal,
1T would be useless To attempt any des-
cription, even in outline, OF our won
derful tour of nearly 1000 miles, during
the whole of which it seemed as if u
swiftly moving, ever-changing panora-
ma were constantly unrolling before us,
SO | will only attempt some mention Of
few of the novel features of Mexico
those which perhaps impressed me most
strongly.
Our sister republic, which is separated
| from us by 800 miles OF boundary line,
and embraces an area of 750, 900 square
miles, is especially wonderful in its va
ried vegetation, since its exceedingly
| high plains, combined with its low alti
tude, crowd all the climatic belts within
| its boundaries, the low elevation along
the coasts being known as the terra
cdttepte, or torrid zone; the high table
| land in the center, as the terra .trldS,
or frigid zone; and the belt between
| the two, as the terra temptddd, or tenn
perate zone. Thus in single days
ride, one can see all kinds OF vegeLa-
ton, and the day on which our party
journeyed from Puebla To Vera Cruz,
descending 1000 1t. in traversing 1S0
miles, we saw the sun set over Il verit-
able Garden of Eden, where hundreds
OF glossy -leaved coffee plants, graceful
palms, swaying vines, and sturdy cac-
tus trees, Wed with luscious fruits and
tlower-crowned hedges in making pic
ture such as is never seen save beneath
tropical sun. This ride also took us
through the so-called Switzerland OF
America, where the railroad is said
Ito double and turn like a hunted hare,
and our train crawled over bridges
spanning deep ravines, or clung TO the
mountain side where we could look
down IA sheer descent of thousand feet
ON one side and seemingly as far up on
the other, until, after rattling through
more than dozen tunnels, Il tinal curve
suddenly brought us into the little vii
lage OF Maltrata, which but short
time before we had been gazing down
upon AS one looks into bowl, its fields
appearing like the squares on "A checker
board, It's buildings mere play-houses,
its streets only dividing lines.
But perhaps nothing strikes the
American as more OF a novelty than the
motley throng he encounters III the
streets OF the larger cities. The popu-
lation OF Mexico is said to be twelve
millions, of which six millions are native
Indians, descendants OF the old Aztccs;
one and one-half millions are native
white, descended from the Spanish
conquerorS; 200, 600 are Americans, 100,-
900 Europeans, and the remainder a
mixture of Mongols, Africans, etc,
though the cUlored contingent is very
small, not more than 10000 in all. In
Il street scene, then, there Is COM
mingling of many types. The well-to-
do Mexican differs not so much from
his American brother in dress, though
his flashing dark eyes, swarthy complex
ion, suavity OF manner and musical
Spanish accents are In strong contrast.
His wife and daughters are arrayed in
French or American garb, though fire.
quently appearing on the street with no
other head covering than the Spanish
mantilla. Many OF the girls are very
beautiful, with creamy compilations, a
wealth of dark hair and sparkling eyes.
In the evening, one can frequently
catch glimpses Of bevy Of Mexican
beauties sitting in senl.circle in the
broad window seat of some overhang-
ing balcony, albeit the windows on the
street are always guarded by iron bars;
and it is not an uncommon thing To see
i'm l.p h
ing glances from afar at the inamOrata
from whom both social and architec.
tural custom bars him. until such time
as pater.familias shall see fit to accept
him as prospective son.In-law.
The costume of the Indians gives a
strange dash of color to any street scene,
as the zerape, u striped blanket of many
hues, is invariably draped about their
shoulders. When the thermometer reg
listers 100 degrees in the shade, the OBJ
server wonders why this article is not
dispensed with, until chance glimpse
at the tattered garments beneath sug
gests that decency demands its addition
TO the toilet, which otherwise consists
of demoralized white cotton suit,
leather sandals, and widerimmed stee-
ple-crowned hat called sombrero.
Sometimes the Zerape and sombrero
are quite fine, the latter being orna-
mented with gold or silver braid and
costing as high as S24. The halfbreeds
are another distinctive feature, often
appearing in buckskin suits with gold
lace or fancy buttons down the seams,
wearing sombreros that are gorgeous
in the extreme. Then there are the
police, both mounted and on foot, look
ing quite picturesque in their white
caps and dark blue uniforms trimmed
in white cord, while everywhere, sitting
on curb-stones or threading their way
through the crowd, are the natives,
both male and female, carrying oriental
looking water jars, or offering for sale
fruit and Mexican confections, which
are made by the natives, known as
dulceS. Their wares are usually carried
upon large boards placed upon their
heads, and often the women have in
fants slung upon their backs These
native women are attired in a dark
cotton skirt, light colored chemise,
and the inevitable rebosa-sort of a
long shawl of somber colored cotton
cloth, which serves the same purpose
for the lower class that the mantilla
does for the Mexican lady. The fruits |