The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1921-08-31

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Of Harrisburg. Ell Paso, or San Diego.
San Louis Potosi is the size Of South
Bend, Ind. while Vera Cruz, the great
est port Of the republic and fifth city.
Is smaller than Tampa, Florida, Of
s. c. Salina Cruz and
the other Pacific ports are little more
than villages with extensive docks. As
a rule the cities Of Mexico are not
centers but derive what
they possess from being
the markets for the surrounding agri- |
cultural country or mining regions.
While Mexico Is largely agricultur-
al and therefore rural, its country life |
is strikingly different from that with |
which farm-bred residents Of the Uni. |
ted States are familiar. Seldom Is IN
Isolated farmhouse tn he found; many
Of the tillers Of the soil live in little
villages and go back and forth to their
work, usually on the land of others.
These innumerable villages give one
the impression Of being standardized
and are difficult to tell apart. They
are made up of low, rectangular nat
topped huts Of mud bricks or adobe,
and are huddled closely together. Be-
tween the forbidding walls Of these
tomb-like dwellings, the tropic sun
beats down on a narrow, dusty street
Great Ranches and Plantations
In addition to these more or less in.
dependent villages of the common peo-
pie there are to be found in parts o;
the country the haciendas or great
ranches of the landed proprietors, on
which are other groups Of the newt
able flat-rOOfed hutS, the dwellings OF
the ranch's poems. In the hot country
OF the south are extensive plantations
other special tropical products. These
plantations are often operated by for
eigners, and on them small armies Of
| day laborers are employed. From the
| forest of southern and southeastern
Mexico comes most of the chicle from
which the worlds chewing gum il
made; and from the plantations Of
Iucatan comes practically all the fiber
used in making the miles and miles
! of bundle Irvine with which the huge
wheat crops of the United States are
tied into bundles.
| Aboriginal traits cling to the mass
of the MexicanS who are such short
distance in time removed from the
strange mixture of barbarism and civ
| iliZation that marked the empire Of
the Aztecs found by Cortez when he
landed OF the gulf coast in 151S-a
civilization with its human sacrifices
in city carefully policed. and scrup.
ulously kept clean by a corps of trained
"white-wings with its refined cam
nibalism beside an astronomical abil.
ity superior to that of the scholars
who arranged the Julian calendar
with its institution of slavery the only
one known in the world which pro
vided that every child should be born
a freeman. They are an artistic PEG
pie, the Mexicans, apt musicians. mod
elers, basket-makers, featherworkCrs
weavers and metal-workers.
| Burial Vaults Are Rented.
| Poverty brings It's tragedy into TIE
deaths as well as into the lives Of
the masses Of the Mexicans. Few are
able to buy burial plots. and the Gus
tom Of merely renting vaults for q
short term Of years has become gen
eral. The lease is often not renewed
and the bones are cast on q heap Of
millions Of others to make room fol
time for some other unfortunate.
Mexico abounds in holidays. Be
sides Sunday there il an equal mum
Der of saints days and additional hoi.
and feast days to bring the total t
l31 of the S65.
! MexicO's large unassimilated Indar
population and its even larger popu
lation in which Indian traits FREEDOM
mate makes certain degree of tur
bulence a natural condition tn the re
public south Of the Rio Grande. Tn,
United States had not so long ago o,
its frontiers its Indian uprisingS, Il
stage-coach and train robberieS, an,
its bad men" with a penchant e.
shooting up" towns. Mexico is still
In this stage OF development. and be
cause of the heavy Indian elcmen
in Its population, probably VIII ,
there for many years