Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1905-10-10

1t is said that at the time of evacuation
food was so scarce that eats were sold
for S6 and rats and lizards for 50 each.
In Guanaiaato the houses present
taat antique mold that suggests Egypt
or the Holy Land. The early history
OF this city was a bloody one and there
are still evidences of its stirring times.
On hill is panteon or reproduction
OF the catacOmbs of the old world. A
visit to it is not the most cheerful one.
Bodies are placed in it for five years at
a rental and if at the end of that time
the mourners grief has cooled and
further payment is not made the body
is taken from its resting place. If
nothing but bones remain, they are
thrown into a heap at the end of an
archeo corridor. If the body is pre-
served in the dry air of the climate it is
placed against the wall to grin and
bear company to the other mummies
that have stood there for ages. The
| city is unlike any other of Mexico and
many legends are connected with it,
one of which is that it used to be Gus
tomary to wash the hogs to get the
silver from their bristles, collected iE
their wallows.
lrapuato is perhaps the only city in
| the world where ripe Strawberries are
picked every day in the year. When
your train stops, numerous natives
come into the cars crying "fresas,"
which are sold in neatly made baskets,
and the bottoms of these baskets have
not a rising tendency so common to
strawberry boxes in this country.
Near the city of Palenque are some of
the most interesting ruins of Mexico,
the craven figures and hieroglyphics
resembling those of Egypt. Every city
which you visit has some interesting
feature attached to it. 1t is so widely
different from those of other countries.
A city three hundred years old is a very
common thing and an observing trav
eler could write large book of inter-
| esting reading on the country. Nearly
every one of the larger places has some
connection with the conquest by Cortez
and the bloody history written by
Spain's plunderers. Cities have been
reared and torn down and opulence of
power, crime and bloodshed have
stalked through the land. Races have
come and gone; monuments raised by
| TIE hand of man have crumbled into
dust and are forgotten.
Of people there are several classes to
be found in Mexico, but the ones least
heard of in this country are the poems.
They are the working classes and are
the lowest In Mexico city it can be
said that below the middle class there
are several that are lower, down to the
lowest formed by the pure blood Indian.
In the city they live in viviendas or
houses of the poor, for which they pay
from Sc TO S12 Mex per month. In
the patio in front is a big basin supply
ing the tenants with water. Around it
the women wash and hang up the
, clothes. The children play around it,
half naked and dirty. Their hygienic
practices are limited to the washing of
hands occasionally. The dogs, chick
ems, hogs and other animals sleep in
| the rooms with their masters. There is
scarcely family which has not from
one to three or more dogs. The cheap
lodging houses are even worse.
| Former stables have been turned into
| sleeping places and are called galeras
In some, bed is furnished for three
cents. One on going in pays his money
to the manager, picks up a petate or
mat from large pile in the corner and
selects place to sleep. In these places
| you will find men, women and children
of all ages scattered about, sometimes
as many as 80 together. They arise at
five in the morning and pick up their
petates and deposit them in the corner.
Their recreations and amusements are
confined to the hearing of concerts
given by the military bands or viewing
parades or fireworks on holidays. The
peon lives poor, miserable life, yet he
seems happy, because he makes no
effort to improve his situation, but
rather seems to like to do those things
which Counteract the efforts made by
municipal and federal government for
his benefit. Our experience with the
peon was that he is good worker and
quite expert in some lines of work.
One of the curious things | noted in
Mexico was the ant trails. They are
two or more inches in width and some
are several miles long. You will find
countless millions of ants following
these trails, the ones on the outside
going one way after a load and those
returning with pieces of green leaves,
travelling the center. What the ants do
with the leaves did not have explained
to me. Although there are many
streams of cool water in the country
there are no fish in the streams, which
seems queer There is also little game;
a few deer and some squirrels. There
are few reptiles, occasionally rattle
snake is killed bat they are not numer
ous There is an animal" which
appears to be a cross between frog
and a lizard. 1t has a horned tail with
which it can inflict injury and it is said
to be as dangerous as a rattlesnake.
The climate of the country appears
healthy, and upon the mountains where
we did most of our work, we suffered
little from the heat and the nights were
quite cool After working in such a
high altitude ones ears will ring for
some time after descending to sea level,
a phenomenon unpleasant to the in
experieL Lced.
Volumes could be written on the
country and there is ample material
for the historian to work from.
The ladies of the Presbyterian church
will hold their annual sale and supper