The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-02-08
MEXICAN CITY DYING
Signs of WretchednesS and
Decay in Old Zacatecas.
PRISONERS IN THE STREETS
Victor Murdoch Finds More
Wichita People.
IN THE STREETS

part OF ZacatecaS. Right above this city
is hill, about one thousand feet nigh
and sheer, which is shaped like a buffalo
hence called Bufa. On top of this hill
is chapel, built in 172S by a spaniard
and called Los Remedies. Near it is a
cross twenty feet high marking a battle
field.
Of the three churches at Zacatecas, iii
is the least important. We took in all
three and know. First we visited the
church of Guadalupe. One chapel there
Is the most glittering thing from human
| hands ever seen. An architect, a paint
&c and a cardinal could together write a
fair description of it. No one else would
try. What impressed me most was the
floor of this church, a very ancient, vel
vety wood, across which a platoon of
! heayy-booted policemen could walk with
out making more noise than so many
cats. Then we went into the cathedral
itself. It's magnifcence of course is be-
yond one, and the mind for foothold,
/ grasps some small detail and clings to it
/ The detail in this instance was an
| acoustic charm, probably common to all
great cathedrals, whereby the air is set
quavering with the voice of some forty
women kneeling in the church and telling
their beads in unison. Technically of
course this is an echo but to the ear it
is not an echo, but an answer to the bent
| fingers. Most of those who retired, knelt
at the door and kissed the floor
In the afternoon we set out. for the
church on the hill Something after the
fashion of working one of these circular
puzzles, where you are to reach the center
without retracing any lines, we lodged
in and out of the tortuous streets and
finally had to ask the aid of a policeman
and it is wonderful how useless panto-
mime can render language. Pointed to
the hill, pointed up a street, and that was
all. He smiled, shook his head, raised
his hand to show the steep ascent,
breathed hard to discourage us. We in
sisted. So away we went on journey
few foreigners care to attempt. We soon
discovered that we were on an unusual
journey, for while the past week the city
has had many tourists, the population
came to the door and chartered and
smiled at us and shook their heads. Chill
dren began tagging after US, out Of curl
osity. and soon we had a procession of
thirty half-naked little tots trailing in
our steps. 1t was steep from the word
go" and as the altitude increased, it
was exceedingly laborfous and we began
10 feel that strange taste of blood in the
throat which comes with high climbing
The policeman, the limits of the city
being reached, now left US, but the chill
dren remained with us. We soon reach
ed ascents of granite into which had been
worn with hands and knees of the peni-
tential pilgrims for centuries, grooves.
Finally we reached the top and assembled
the wall by a great flight of stone steps,
the children remaining below. We went
into the church and viewed it, but a sol
tary figure in zarape swaying before the
lighted altar, made sightseeing seem
profane and we tip-toed out again and
stood on the wall and waved handker-
chief and hat to the watchers below and
were answered by an of them, including
policeman's club. When we reached the
policeman again he conducted US back to
the end of his beat, where we knew the
way.
Before leaving Zacatecas. this word.
Zacatecas is dying. On the night of Sep
TENDER s, 1916, Jean de Tolosa built a
campfire here. From that fire trickled
out a little silver thread. In two years
city, silver city, had grown here For
over four hundred years men delved and
brought forth silver and Zaca tecas pros
pered. But the silver is pinching out.
The mines are coming to be holes in the
ground. The people are becoming poorer
and poorer. Half of them I am told never
take their clothes off, and sleep on the
floor I saw more wTetchedness here
than I ever saw before or will ever see
again. The plaster Is scaling from the
houses. Hundreds of other houses are de-
serted, their walls broken and cactus
growing in their floors. I saw an Eng
lishnan. a mine owner pacing the court
of our hotel and looking all varieties of
despair. One gentleman told me that
Zacatecas had lost half of its population
in the last five years.
OF all the cities Of Mexico this one, in
It's primitive way, most closely resembles
ancient Jerusalem, and a recital of a
plaza scene in its last days" may not
be amiss
This IS what happened in the plaza
under our portico this morning. Day
break and the rumble of bells. those on
the hills answering the rumble of those
in the cathedral near.
The click and swish Of sandaled feet |
from soldiers conducting fifteen convicts |
to work from the prison near by. Every |
convict has his zarape: soldiers in white |
First two oonvicts have across their |
shoulders a wooden beam on which is
swung between them a barrel with I!
brooms in It Most of the convfcts. carry
crow-bars and each has little woven |
sack over his back. Soldiers careless; one |
shoulders his gun; another swings his |
across his back: another carries arms |
soldiers and convict alike sandaled Just !
as this group swings around our corner |
another group meets them. One group |
os c0nvicts give uniform cheer Of some /
length; the Other group answers. seem |
ingtngly derisively. It is probably the |
Mexican horse-laugh given in cases Of |
mutual misfortune.
One convict and soldiers are dropued in /
our plaza The convict is armed with one /
Of the old-fashioned broorns Mother /
Goose is pictured as riding. round and i
shaped Ike a shaving brush. He sweeps I
around in our plaza Evidently he doesn't /