The Oskaloosa herald., 1909-08-12
DOWN in OLD MEXICO
Robert Meredith Tells of an Excit-
ng Experience

During my ramblings in Mexico
have had many thrilling adventures
but none that equalled my capture b.
the Poems OF Oaxaca one night.
left Vera Cruz in the morning, intend
ing to go to village called Perez II
the state of Oaxaca and from there
was going to make a 4O-mile triI
through the country to an American
settlement. | had been told that II
would be impossible for stranger tc
find his way through the jungle and
that | would have to secure horses
and guide. | had not expected to
find any English speaking people at
Perez, but upon alighting from the car
] noticed a man who looked ike an
American and | asked him If he spoke
English He replied, Il ought to, I'm
from Chicago" His name was Fitz-
gerald and he was brother to the
man by that name who has written a
book on the resources of Mexico. He
was interested in the colony that
was going to visit and he took me to
the hotel and introduced me to his
wife. They we're both much interest
ed in my visit to their colony, but
thought it doubtful if | could reach
it without a guide, which would cost
me 81 day. | told them had been
around a good deal and thought !
had made as difficult journeys before.
NIr r.
aid marked out the route on slip OF
paper and described very infinitely
the cross roads and landmarks. such
as ranches, creeks, bridges, etc.
could follow the telephone wires the
first twenty-five miles, but after that
my trouble would begin.
| started in the morning before
breakfast. Ii had rained little the
night before and although l was walk.
ing under a tropical sun it was de-
lightfully pleasant and the trees were
so thick that | could be in the shade
most of the way. One who has never
experienced it can not imagine the
beauty of the tropical country where
it rains a little almost every night
and the vegetation grows luxuriantly
and the air is full of the perfume of
perpetual flowers, where the trees are
the homes of dozens of song birds
and the landscape gay with those long
tailed, beautiful parrots that one sees
here. In such inspiring scenes time
flies rapidly and the sun was near the
T.
en- nothing that day, so | stopped az
an old shanty and ordered dinner by
signs. A bright senorita hurried
around and gave me fine meal OF
tortilla, eggs, frijOles Cbeans) and
beef, for which she charged five cents.
/ soon came to the river opposite the
village of Plaza Vicenta, where | hail
ed the boatman, who ferried me
across. Fitzgerald had told me the
boatman would charge twenty-five
cents so handed him a Mexican
quarter, but he fumbled in his pocket
and handed me 10 cents in change.
simply mention this fact to show
you how much cheaper some men can
travel than others. Usually when an
American would come along with
horses and guides he would conclude
that he could afford to pay big price,
but as ] was afoot and alone he only
charged me six cents Mexican or three
American. That is as much as | ever
paid for being ferried across river
in Mexico, and ! have crossed some
that were nearly quarter of mile
wide. Fitzgerald had told me | would
have to stay over night at Plaza vi
cente, but as there was no one there
who spoke English and | had walked
20 miles before one o'clock, | thought
] could easily make the other Is
miles before night. | hurried on, in
tending to spend that night with
Americans at the San Gabriel sugar
plantation. ! had only Fitzgerald's
rude map to guide me, but | only made
one little mistake in the road. i pass
ed many native shanties and banana
patches which were often alive with
turkeys, chickens and pigs. In other
places ] passed pastures where the
cattle were wading in the para grass
as high as their backs. saw patches
OF corn of all sizes, for they plant corn
any day OF the year in this sunny
cline and raise two or three crops
annually. When the corn is in the
roasting ear stage one will always see
boy on a tower in the middle of the
field yelling and beating tin pans to
keep the parrots and blackbirds from
destroying the crop. | was caught in
rain about five o'clock and thorough
ly drenched before / could get to a
natives shanty. The man invited me
in with two other men who came up
about the same time. After awhile it
stopped raining and ! started out,
thinking ! could yet make the six
miles TO San Gabriel, but the men
followed me out and by signs made
me understand that they did not want
me to go, so 1 went back into the
shanty and looked around 10 see what
kind OF accommodation three strang-
ers could get there. There was one
bunk made of bamboo poles with no
bedding except an old blanket and
some gunny sacks; another bunk of