The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-06-23
THE HISTORY OF MEXICO

tT0n of tribute was the factor which
should have made tine Indians dislike
tine King of Spain In whose naIle NJ
WAS collected, butt instead. they rev
erenced the monarch with real at
fectfOns sufficient evidence that tine
tribute which was I'M REALITY a poll
tax was mot considered burden by
the INDIAN who paid IT. As TG tine
manner OF obtaining this sunni, IL may
be mentioned that farm lahOrgrs I'm
Mexico have always been I'm good
demand, and were paid IN Colonial
days as much, or more. than WAS paid
to the contemporary farm IabOrer I'm
England. and. in addition. received
subsistence.
Educated Indians Abandon Tribal
Relations
The mobile efforts of the clergy in
cfvIlizing work among the Indians is
eyldenced by the records, and 1T is
reasonable to- expect the query of
why. if that be so. do we mot find the
results in the Indian villages of today
The answer is found in a law which
permitted the Indian, when educated
and civilized. to be declared judicial
ly of age In other words, to under
go the process known in the United
States today as that OF abandoning
tribal relations and becoming a citi-
zen In Colonial days the Indian
who desired an education had no
difficulty In acquiring one gratis
The greatest perpiexity-apart from
the lack of sufficient clergy for the
purpose-was to get the Indian to ac-
cept an education at all. The Indian
declared --Of age" fastened to a place
as great a distance as possible be
tween himself and his primitive kin
dred, and then proceeded to merge
himself into the class known as
"Mestizo, or mixed bloods." He
could then buy and sell property and
was to all practical intents and pur-
poses a Spaniard. He could engage
in any calling or profession; could
hold public Office or be priest.
Those who returned educated to the
Indian villages, as has been done by
| thousands of Indians in the United
States, reIapsed into the ways Of their
fathers.
The Conquest put a stop 10 the in
ter-trihal wars. and the clergy Chris
TANNED the natives and prevented
relapses into idolatry and cannibal
ism; they labored long and patiently
to relieve the condition of the Indians
in the hope that they might preserve
their knowledge TO better their fel
lows, but they found themselves ever
confronted with the sodden inertia
produced by the native environment
which was self-perpetuating.
/ Law of Natural Selection Applied.
At first the missionaries endeavoreC
to gather the sons of the principa
chiefs together and educate them. Tt
this end they secured the issuance o
a decree compelling them to attend
probably the first law for compulsor!
education. To avoid compliance the
chiefs at first slyly substituted the
sons of common Indians, but latel
they gladly ayailed themselves of the
opportunities offered As times wen
on the more intelligent and better
class Indians all became educated
and fastened to avail themselves o
the privilege of being declared 20
age" and thus abandoned their kin
dred
In this manner there has ever beer
proceeding in Mexico a process of Sc
lection from the Indian villages, eve
leaving behind the duller members o
the community to produce progen!
still more dull