New-York tribune., 1909-03-20


Gs6ov. Illustrated. svo. PIP 5Z'- Inipoi'ed ~
Charles scribaer's Sons
That this IS an admirable book, not only
spriehtIy narrative Of incidents Of travel out a
valuable account Of country Of which We KNOW
ccrnnzrs;iveiv little We need hardly tell those
srhe several years ago. shade delighted acqualnt-
snee with Mr. Gadow's story OF a Journey IN
Northern spain With his wife as companion,
ana carving the ofTicial recommendations OF
President Iiaz he has spent eight months IN eK-
rIorfng the various states Of southern Mexico
While accomplishing the scientific objects OF MS
travels in the study Of animals and plants ana
the accumulation OF rich collections. he had ever
an sye ta human character and the unfamiliar
conditions encountered on the way He has en-
tflussssn hurnor. = keen relish for the lowell
ness Of nature. and the intelligent apprehension
Of . trained observer. and bringing all these
qualities te she use Of his pen he has given 70
as & volume fer which his reader should be sin
csrely grateful
The greater part Of these travels in regions
remote from the railroad was necessarily under
taken on horseback or mulehaek with the as
sistance 20 Indian gUides-and sometimes, in
bandit infested places, with the company OF
'rI1rales" or mounted police. But this guard
vac not often invoked: the book as q whole, is
q testimony 10 the statement once made by its
author: You do not need any arms whilst
travelling in Mexico. but when you do, YOU want
them badly" i is fear. the absolute certainty
OF being caught. he tells US that keeps the peo-
pie On their good behavior. When. after the
final establishment of the republic soldering as
profession failed the free lances and dis
banded troops cften found the most prohtable
occupation that Of robberE-and thus Mexico &C
oufred 2 very unpleasant reputation. Diaz. that
man Of ideas hft upon capital one: ne sum-
rlened the leaders Of the bandit bands and
H. drrf7z OhieC-
tion 10 gaining good living in honest way
II they had not he would guarantee them con-
genial occupation. namely, that of hunting down
other robbers and indictments. and he promised
20 pay them regularly and better than any corps
in any other country" They accepted; the
runsles have become z proud Organization OF
picked men. under iron discipline; and IN the
CAPTURE % criminals they said 70 be inyari-
shiv successful Mr. Gadow believes that most
Of the country is now safer than are ether lands
OF older civilization But, however safe il may
be il vas not a particularly comfortable one
for an energetic naturalist 70 travel in The re-
peated hiring of horses and mules was the chief
VERY, for letters from governors Of states and
local projects were not always effective. The
village authorities" says the author. are bound
te respect the governmental order to procure the
raen and beasts. but If he feels So inclined the
head nan tells You that there are none ar that
that the- cannot be got together until the day
after tomorrow, and if you insist upon having
your half 8 dozen mules ready by tomorrow,
they viii be ready. but one Of them viii he a
broken down horse. another viii be a similar
beast, with sores too terrible 10 behold. and a
third viii be a donkey. This assortment will be
sent TO your camp. but without any pack sad
dies, without which they are useless. and if then
you walk into the village and al last find the
chief 70 storm and 10 threaten. he calmly says
that he told you yesterday that they would not
be ready before Tomorrow. These men were not
al Ike this: some few were good, others great
deal worse" The mules when procured were
generally exsspeEatiRg beasts. Every mule
has q te1npeTFIsays M. GadeN. and this is
rather bad -..
Il kicks and bites. me riders toes being con
venient object for conveying hint that some
thing is wrong with the saddle or gIrth; some
q perhaps projecting rock tie side Of the
track proves an Irresistible attraction, the riders
knee hssing 10 act buffer On the other hand,
II there is a precpice, your mule VIII walk along
e T seE ef ses5o eas; 5t TO il but it viii also as likely
as not make ha5 THU turn s3iG riek SSii Ibic 3erer
loses the charm OF novelty. because has heard
% % f5e Te,fs u on such an occasion is at once
serted BY impatient jerk OF the head, MIllSf , a
,nI5steer vii call out you and TO his special
sIfs n d ~ 9 se The brute alone since it is ''only
measuring The depth" But thiags Feaeh Climax
Al the animal coming up behind, " f, ilsn ~
sa i our with rs beast which if not TesentfuI
81 once makes a mental note OF H. and ahldes IT'S
time
The traveller sometimes found the natives as
dtfiouft 20 deal with their mules, but they
ha,e tl,ei- virtues too. one Of these virtues is
their iecency Of speech. They are not given TO
the use Of foul oaths themselves. and they
s,lkffy resent any such oaths addressed to them
p. outsiders. The unspoiled natives of Southern
Mexico do not steal, and the State Of Oaxaca
Is specially noteworthy for honesty. Mr- Gadow
applied to the head CT one village for guard
f, he placed over his possessions and explained
"a the sstanished chief that he feared 10 lose
their, There were no thieves among them. said
,te official How is that Why not?' Be
,ause II is not the custom the answer
TIE Indian has often a curious ineaDacity for
.akinz IN an idea If he doesn't want TO give
an answer. his expression does not change,
.-eut his eyes become CLASSY as in the mo-
merit OF death. a film passes over them. and no
white man can tell whether there is soul
behind it Mexicans. author adds. divide
the Indians into gente de rszon'-reasonable
people r-ho can, or are willing TO. understand
anothers thoughts and those who are 'cerra-
dos'-Gscked up' in theic Own thoughts un-
manageable. unappToachable." This lack of
reasoning power is illustrated by the story OF
two encounters on the highroad between OAK
aca and the coast, whereon caravans travel
ling daily: "A small pedler with only donkey
load OF apples would not sell that load. even
half of il, before he reached his goal az Te-
huantepee: the advantage Of continuing with a
lighter lead could not he grasped. At san Car
los got into a difficulty about hiring ami
mails. and it so happened that two strings Of
with rgack-SaSdlas 01-erfooIy rs