Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-30
THE EVENING STAR THURSDAY, MARCH 80, 1911.
MEXICO.
!. XVI Indian Races.
By Frederic j. Haskin.


dialects spoken i'm Mexico. f1fty-two of
them belonging to the Indian races of the
country. The linguistic characteristics of
these different tongues vary as widely as
Chinese and English, or as French and
1.usssan. So. too, dosthe races differ in
their habits. manners. customs and ap-
! pearances. In Tehuantepec one may see
the best examples of the clearly Zapotec
/ Indians. who are we'll dressed and at
| tractive, while in Mexico City one be-
holds as filthy and bedraggled lot of
| natives as human imag ination can pic
ture.
| The Zapotec Indians are among the
most interesting Of all the tribes in Mex
leo. They have given to the country
some of its best leaders. BenitO Juarez
called by some the Abraham Lincoln Of
Mexico, was full-blooded Zapotec
President Diaz is closely related to the
Zapotecs. his mother having been the
| child Of Spanish father and a pure
breed MiXtec Indian mother The Mix
tees belong to the same general family
and live in the same territory. The city
Of Tehuantepec, peopled almost entirely
by Zapotec Indians. is one of the most
| remarkable and picturesque communities
in the entire republic Every traveller is
who form the bulk of the population.
Some estimate that the proportion of
women to men is five to one, because of
the wars that have taken place in the
past and the number of men who were
killed. The women transact the bust
ness Of the community and the city mar
ket is always a blaze of color during
market hours.
The upper part OF their costume Is an
oriental-looking jacket, cut very low at
the neck and with
Women's Costume short sleeves. 1t is
n:A usually made of
with the dots as large as an American
quarter. The skirt Is a copy Of the Malay
sarong, and consists of loop Of cloth
several yards long, bordered at the hem.
brought snugly around the hips and
tucked in at the waist line. They wear
bright red or yellow silk handkerchiefs
wound coquettishly around the head.
Some of the older women wear q head
dress called the huipil, a white linen at
fair which is sometimes worn as an eX-
aggerated Elizabethan ruff. At other
| times 1t is worn in such way that II
gives the wearer the appearance OF being
arrayed in the bonnet and plume OF an
American Indian chief.
The time to see the Tehuantepec wom-
en- at their best Is. on feast day. At such
|
such striking hues as to shame a Mexican
rainbow. Their favOrite jewelry is
chain Of five or ten dollar gold pieces,
and the possesSion of one Of these chains
pass them in the best society Of the city.
Every American writer who visits Mex
leo endeavors to go to Tehuantepec. Last
year the government entertained g. body
special party was given in their honor
and some OF the women danced with So
Der minded writer's from Washington,
New York and other cities.
The principal trait Of the men from Te-
huantepec is their determination not to
be seen at
Men Dislike work. They
To Be Seen Working. the country
grow their little patch Of corn and then
gather it. It then devolves upon the
women to market the produce and ~
manage the finances Of the home. In til
quaint old Indian city there lives VEN
cradle Canadian by the name Of Woolrich
who has been there fifty-three years He |
is the oldest American resident in south
ern Mexico and one OF the characters o.
the country. He tells many interesting |
ners Of the people. and says the advenl |
Of the Tehuantepec railroad has served to |
take away much Of the picturesQueness |
of the city. Upon one occasion he wished |
to have some soldering done, and asked |
the silversmith Of the community to exc |
cute the work for him. The artisan said |
he would do the work, but would be I'M |
able to carry the package home, as his |
neighbors would talk about it II they saw |
him thus demeaning himself. So Mr.. |
Woolrich carried the bundle for him. |
Among Mr. Woolrichs friends Of early |
days in Tehuantepec was Porflrio Diaz. |
then jefe politico Of the city. In later |
years differences arose between the two |
men, which still divide them, but Wool |
rich declares Diaz to be just and hon. |
est man.
OF the total population of Mexico, 3S |
per cent are full-blooded Indians and AZ |
per cent are |
Many Tongues half-breeds. 1t