The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-13
THE MORNING NEWS. SUNDAY. JANUARY IS. 1901.

ward turns out TO be burro so loaded
that he himself is scarcely visible.
In all of the stores, said Mr.. Solomons,
American methods are in use. so that
shopping is comparatively easy. The city
is also peculiar for the number of We
hicles that are to be had for any and all
purposes, excellent ones of their kind. and
at very low charge. Mexico is ahead
of us, he said, in that she has already in
full operation an excellent lot Of auto
mobiles which are for hire just like hacks.
From Mexico proper Mr.. Solomons made
various excursions to points and places
of interest in the neighborhood, among
them to the palace of Chapultepec, This
building which was built in 1855 occu-
pies the site of Montezuma's palace, 1t is
occupied by President Diaz and by the
National Military School. The furnishings
of the palace, said Mr.. Solomons are
superb They were brought from Europe
by the Inflated Macmillan. In the
grounds surrounding the palace are
number of cypress trees that in many
cases reach a hight of 100 feet and girth
of between 80 and 10 feet, In the grounds
is a monument erected to the memory
of the cadets that fell here in battle
with the American forces in 1S47. and here
also is a monument erected by Americans
to their soldiers that fell at the same
time
Not far distant from the City of Mex
leo is quite famous tree, the "Arbol de
la Noche Triste," or Tree of the Dis
NAL Night" so called because of a legend
that it was there that Cortez. wept on
the night of the expulsion of the Span
iards from Mexico, July l, 1870.
In his travels about and around the city
Mr.. Solomons visited many of the
churches, among them the Cathedral Qua
dalupe. Here he was much surprised to
find that the entire plaza in front of the
building had been occupied as sites for
small tents in each of which there was
gambling of some sort going on, the
games being patronized Unfortunately
by men. women and children. Indeed, said
Mr.. Solomons, one of the most peculiar
and characteristic sights of the whole city
is the vendors of lottery tickets who are
made up of people of all ages, both
sexes, and seemingly of many conditions.
These tickets are showed at one from
every side: always with the information
that it is the last of the vendors supply,
which is supposed to make it exceptionally
lucky.
Another characteristic sight that the
traveller will not soon forget is FUN
eral that Mr. Solomons saw, when,
according to the custom, the body
of the dead was placed in
trolley car prepared for the occasion,
while the mourners in another trolley,
with curtains, brought up the rear.
This is the way of carrying the dead
that obtains among the higher class
cs with the poorer, it is much simpler and
ALSO with them still greater desldera-
tum, much cheaper one. The BODY, IN
coffin rented for the occasion, is borne
on the shoulders of the pail bearers, TO
the cemetery and there put into grave
that is rented for the term of two years.
At the expiration of that time, should
the grave not have been paid for the re-
mains are disinterred and thrown on
bean of the bones of similar unLortunates,
and the grave relet.
One of the chief discomforts of his stay
in the CITY of Mexico Mr. Solomons found
in the climate. In the morning ana at
night, he said, it is extremely cold, though
If is warm in the middle of the day.
This cold is accentuated to the VISITOR oy
the fact that there are absolutely no
means for heating rooms. Neither stoves
nor chimneys. This is explained by the
natives who say that to have warm
room, and then go into the cold street or
another room at a different temperature,
would be almost sure to give one pneu-
nonia. which, in this region, Is usually
fatal. Mr. Solomons could not get used
TO this popularity of the place, and was
forced to go 10 pea III OttleL 10 set W al ~
Among the other places that were VS.
tied by Mr. Solomons was Puebla, be-
tween which and the City of Mexico, he
says, the scenery of a mountainous char
acter was magnificent. At Zacatecas, too,
another of the neighboring cities that he
visited he was much impressed with the
beauty of the buildings, particularly the
market Here he said one of the most
peculiar sights of the whole journey was
seen, that of twenty-five convicts clean
ing the streets. Each householder of the
town is compelled to keep the sidewalks in
front of his premises clean, and this they
do by carefully sweeping it off with a
broom no larger than one of our common
whisp brooms. The trash thus swept
from the sidewalk to the street Is pick
ed up by hand, the convict carefully put
ting it in a bag on his back until the
bag is fun, when he and the others are
marched off to a sort of dumping ground
The peculiar feature of the whole bust
ness Is that there were only twenty-five
convicts, while their guards numbered
eleven, each mounted. and armed with
pistol, and carbine, besides a club.
popularity of the poorer classes, Mr..
Solomons thought, was their evident solic-
itude for the cleanliness of the premises,
but their evident neglect of their persons.