The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-09-09
KINGDOM OF PRTZCUARO,
ANCIENT COUNTRY OF THE TAR ASCAN MONARCHS.

A Bit of old Mexico Seldom Visited by
 the Tourist-COfTee Groves Where
 the Women Do All the WOrIS-A
 Prin,ftiye and GOOd-Natured People.
 People who make the adventure of Mexico the coming winter will do well to leave the beaten track and penetrate the ancient kingdom of the Tarascan 1nonarchs who dwelt, part of the year, in picturesque old Patzcuaro with it's lovely lake. Here one is far from the roar and din of the times, far from all talk of wars and of the rise and fall of nations. It is as if in the fair Tarascah land the modern world was not.
 And in this almost perfect climate men and women grow strong and live to laugh at pessinlistic Oslers. The natives explain it, as did tln old wo- man who keeps little fonda or res taurant: Tt is the equal climate, for We suffer no extremes. It Is always Anllt l4i0 SeilAASy oAlO RCOPlS AltC AOAIk5' You see the sturdy Tarascans coming into town on market day, the women well formed, broad shouldered, and with clear, gray eyes. The men also are well built, but the women appear to be the superior sex, and, like the Indian woman among the Tehuanas down on the Tehuantepec Isthmus, take the lead, working, cultivating their little fields, merchandising and dominating the men, who are to often addicted to drink.
 All around this little city one sees the tiny coffee groves where the wo- men do everything;5 most picturesque are the homes, shaded by tropical foli- age and brightened by flowers of warm hue. One can understand the love of the Indian for his country, his "tirra." |" Wonderful women are these robust In- dian danes who carry great burdens easily. No one may talk of women as the weaker sex. The Tarascans all, both men and women, have something of pride; they are full of health and they are free people, and have never bowed their necks to any mans yoke. Always in the ancient days were they a warrior race, and to the present time conserving, with Indian tenacity, language. and customs. In some village only few of the elder and governing men talk Spanish. A most interesting and unspoiled people, real indigenes.
 The little city has about 12,000 in habitants, and is the centre of no in- considerable trade. for the country around is fertile and the coffee Uruap- am is famous all over the Republic. In the evening, under the portales or ar cades, one sees many stands with huge coffee urns, and the fragrant beverage is the popular drink. The coffee of the region is delicious and aromatic. Pity that in the fondas they persist in serving the extract of coffee, custom almost universal all over Merico. Old people relate that the coffee .planta- tions are really quite new, and have come into being since they were young folk. However that may be, the coffee Is noted even as far as Hamburg.
 Uruapam is not ancient. It does not give one the idea of having existed for centuries, like stately Morelia with its ancient and massive edifices. Here there are no great churches with noble domes, and the houses are mostly of one story, with wide, projecting roofs, which afford shelter from summer rains.
 The pavement is something to won der at, being largely of sharp stones with the points uppermost; as a de- vice for torturing the feet the pave ment is an eminent success. But the townsfollz do not appear to mind.
 One notes that the air is denser than in the valley of Mexico, and that 1t is most agreeable to breathe, it's purity being evident. In the midst of the rainy season this air is most rest full and Uruapam could easily be made a health resort for tired Northerners. The temptation is to sleep at all times, and to forget plans for country rides and picnics. tangled nerves get into tune again, For sole diversion, are walks and rides on horseback into the environs, and the plantations are worth looking at. Nobody here is ever in a hurry, and our American habit of always going about to see some new thing fills the natives with mild wonder.
 The people are primitive, good humored, and all unconscious of the crazy ways of our civilization, so call ed. There is no fashionable society, no signs of an addiction to culture, no clubs, and no bothers. Life merely flows along, and to the people of this place the City of Mexico seems as re- mote as Paris or London.
 Morelia is the capital of Michocan and the grand metropolis of all this re- zion. There appears always to be trade here, and the little shops, or tiendas, are busy. People ride ints town, if they are of the ranchero class, or walk if they are plain Indians. All business is carried on in leisurely fashion, and