The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-09-05

requires Philadelphia lawyer to pur-
chase property in Mexico and be sure
of the claim.
Religion controls the poor classes in
Mexico. We walked into great stone
structure during religious service and
there upon hard stone floor was
body Of kneeling poems. The first ar
rivals 60 up front and kneel; then
each succeeding person kneels until
the church is full. Those who can
not enter kneel outside. have seen on
special religious holidays poems kneel-
ing out in the middle Of the street.
The Church is the great opposition
to foreign enterprise. It sees that the
foreign element is not religious and
that the latter is teaching the poems
new tricks of the trade.
l had an opportunity Of seeing what
foreign missions are doing in MeSico.
There is very neat little PresbyIe-
rian mission Church in Aguss Cali
entes. A party Of US were walking
past the mission one evening end we
saw lined up in front Of the church q
body Of soldiers. I asked: What are
those fellows doing here? "Why,
don't you know tnis is the night of
the great jubilee for the election Of
GOVERNOR" was the reply. Well,
what Of that? 1 said. My friend re-
piled: "When these people get out
in mobs and become excited the first
place they break for is the mission
and smash in the windows, break up
the furniture, etc." Icould not have
believed it had not the soldiers been
silent witnesses.
The natives believe in putting their
religion into practice. At the smelter
we had very devoutspumpman. One
day the water supply suddenly stop
ped. Something had happened and
the pumps refused to work. The mas
ter mechanic went down to the river,
and there in the middle Of the pump
house was the attendant upon his
knees praying for the pumps to start.
The master mechanic in fit of laugh
ter told US how he awakened the pray
ing attendant and asked him why he did
not ask the saints to help start the
pumps.
The Mexican replied: II did ask
the saints. but the saints don't care q
d whether the pumps 60 OF not. "
One Of the strangest sights in
Mexico is a funeral. "A native can be
said to be truly religious. He believes
that friend or relative is better of
dead than alive. ''To be dead, to be
happy forever; to be alive is to be
miserable" is the way he reasons.
Therefore, when member of the
family dies feast is held. Dancing
and wine lend joy to the occasion.
We heard 80 much about the strange
methods Of burial that room mate and
I spent Sunday afternoon in the grave
yard to see for ourselves. Inside a
high adobe wall there are two burial
grounds. The first is much the same
as the American cemetery. Lots are
bought and monuments erected and
preserved fer time to come, IL the
second, or pauper, ground lots are
rented for two years. IF relative, q,
the expiration Of that time, happens
to reminder that he has dead respon.
sibility on his hands, and also happens
to be the proud possessor of two dol
lars which he does not know what te
do with, he rerents the silent abode
for two more years. If the lot is moi
again rented the bones are dug up and
thrown down a deep shaft and the
grave is ready for another. After
gathering up the fragments Of skele.
tons that lay around we went to the
deep shaft and peepcd in. There was
a mixture which would have caused 9
feeling of joy to proprietor Of bone
dust factory. A shaft fifteen feet in
diameter was filed to depth Of fifty
feet with human bones. AS we looked
down it was with solemn thought. ]
was in the midst Of an argument as te
what is the difference whether our