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•M- AT^ OF THE

CITY or MEXICO

AUTHOKIZED FOB PUBLICATION WITH

THE MEXICAN GUIDE

REFERENCES.

HipAlito, San I. 114

Hospital Real (ProlcsiaiU)T. 6q
Incs, Sw. (Segrado Cora-

zon) O. 45

Jesus Muria O. 33

Jesus Naz.-ireno V. 109

Jos6, San T. 5

Jos6 lie Gricia, San (Prot-
estant) V, 3S

Juan Uc Dios, San I. 71

Juan do la Pcni

San.. R. 34

Lazaro, S,nn P. 71

Lorenzo, Son j. 34

Lorcto N. 38

Lftcas, San W. 47

Maria de los Angeles,

Maria la Rcdonib, Sta. . .H. 9

Miguel. San. V. a

MonscTrata V. 4S

Nicolfts, San Z. 67

Pablo, San X. 10

Pablo, S, (Hospi'l Chapel).X.

Palma, Sanio Tomas la. . .Z.

Pedro S.. and S. Pablo. ...X..

Porta CaH.... M.

Pcofcsa, La K.

Rcgina Cceli T.

Romha. La S.

Rosario. El P.

SaltoUcl Agua T.

S.alvaJor el Seco, San U.

Salvador el Verde, San,,\V,

Santiago Tlaltololco D,

Santlsima, La O,

Sebastian, San N

Segrado Corazon (Sta,
Inis) O

Semlnario iSan Camilo). .V

Tlaxcoaque W. 49

Teresa la Antigua, Stn, . .M,

Teresa In Nucva, Sin..O,, N.

Tomas la Palma. Sio Z. 56

Trinidad (Protcsiani)..

Vera Crui, Sia

Buildings.
Academiadc Bellas Artes.O. 103

Aduana D. 131

Asilo dc Mcndigos F. 134

Asilo para NiHos L. riS

Biblioteen Nacional V. 103

Biblioteca del Cinen de

Mayo K. 31

Dipuiados K. 120

■Ic Helen S. n6

Casa dc Corrcos M. 94

Casa de Maternidad L 108

Casa de Moncda L. 93

Ciudadcla R. 130

CilegiodcS.IIdefonso.M.L. 96
ConeglodolSeminario...V. 99

La O. 107

Ditigcncias Gcncrales K. 139

Diputacion ..M. 133

Escueb dc Comcrcio K. loi

Eacuolo. do Mctliclnu ^Ex
Inquisition)

Hosplcio dc Pobrcs L 106

46 1 Hospital del Divino S.tl'
56

70 I Hospital do Jesus V. 109

Militar V. 113

36 I ■■ dc San Andres. .K. no
de San Hip6lUo..L 114
" dc San Juan de

Dios L 7a

Hospital de San Pablo

(Juarez) X. iia

Mincria.La K. 97

intc dc Piedad M. 9S

Museo Nacional M. 93

Palacio dc Justicia M.

Palaclo Nacional M.

Tcatro Arbeu T.

" Hidalgo V.

" Nacional K.

" Principal K.

Univcrsidad Antigua M. 104

Vizcainos 1

RAII-WAV STATinNS.

Inlcroccanic (Irolo) Pernlvillo. C.
Inlcrocoanic (Moretos) Sun

Mexican (Vera Cruil Bueiia

VVfltB G.'

Mexican Central, nuonaVlsift.G,
Mexknu Natioual, Colonla.. ..Q.

TO TOURISTS AND OTHERS about to
visit Mexico, The Missouri Pacific Rail-
way System offers a choice of the pleasantest
and most direct routes from ST. Louis,
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and Pacific Railway) from Galveston and

NEW ORLEANS.

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86 Washington St., Chicago. iiig Liberty St., Pittsburg, Pa.

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103 Read House, Chattanooga, Tenn. 131 Vine St., Cincinnati, O.

E. S. JEWETT, Pas. & Ticket Agt., A. H. TORRICELLI,New Eng.Agt.,
528 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 214 Washington St., Boston, Mass.

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iIl<!^:s^)^i$«gi6«i^Hgi^:^4^ii:»v

THE

Mexican Guide

THOMAS A. JANVIER

»>

WITH TWO MAPS

I.— THE CITY OF MEXICO
II.— ENVIRONS OF THE CITY OF MEXICO

NEW EDITION

NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

1887

TROW'9

PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANV;

NEW YORK.

PREFACE.

In the present edition of The Mexican Guide the
greater part of the material, fully two-thirds, is new.
The work has been recast into a shape that renders it
more available for ready use ; and that also provides for
the requisite annual revision, and for the expansion that
from time to time will be necessary. I shall be very
grateful for suggestions in regard to changes or ad-
ditions which those who use the Guide may consider
necessary ; and still more grateful for coiTections of the
errors which, in spite of the care exercised to assure
accuracy, may be found in my work. Letters should
be addressed in care of Messrs. Charles Scribner's Sons,
743 Broadway, New York.

Excepting in archaeology, where I have been guided
mainly by the conclusions of Mr. A. F. Bandelier, mj''
authorities are almost exclusively Mexican. I have
drawn freely upon the works of the late eminent his-
torian Senor Manuel Orozco y Berra, and upon the
w^fks of Senor Antonio Garcia Cubas. In ecclesiasti-
cal history I have been guided by the chronicles of

IV PREFACE.

Fray Agustin de Vetancnrt, Fray Baltazar de Medina,
Fray Isidro Felix de Espinosa, Fray Alonso de la Eea,
Fray Francisco de Pare j a, and by the works of Seiior
Luis Alfaro y Pina, Seiior Manuel Ramirez Aparicio,
the Canonigo Jose Guadalupe Eomero, P. Francisco de
Florencia, and the curious "Escudo de Armas de Mexi-
co " of the Presbitero D. Cayetano de Cabrera y Quin-
tero. In matters relating to the general history and
customs of the Catholic Church I have been guided by
"The Cathohc Dictionary," by the Eev. WilHam E. Ad-
dis and Thomas Arnold, M.A. ; and in church statistics
and details of church organization in Mexico b}"" the
works of the Presbitero, Br. Fortino Hipolito Vera,
Cura Vicario Foraneo de Amecameca, to whom I am
further indebted for valuable assistance and advice.

In the preparation of the summary of Mexican his-
tory I have been guided mainly by the three school
histories, written from different political standpoints,
of the Seiiores Julio Zarate, J. M. Eoa Barcena, and
Manuel Payno. In the case of the war with the United
States these authorities have been collated with the
sketch of that war by Mr. Brantz Mayer ; and in the
case of the French Intervention with the "Mexique
Ancien et Modeme " of M. Michel Chevalier, the con-
temporary essays and summaries of events in the Revue
des Deux Mondes, and various contemporary pamphlets
published in Mexico and in France. Minor authorities
are cited in the text, or in notes, as they are used.

PREFACE. V

I am under great obligations to tlie Exmo. 6 Illino.
Sr. Dr. D. Pelagio Antonio de Labastida y Davalos,
Archbishop of Mexico, for assistance in prosecuting my
ecclesiastical researches. I am under obligations also
to General Carlos Pacheco, Minister of Public Works,
for permission to republish the accompanying official
maps of the City of Mexico and environs of the City
of Mexico ; to the late United States Envoy to Mexico,
the Hon. Henry R. Jackson, for his very courteously
given aid in procuring me this privilege ; to Don Gail-
lermo Prieto, and to the Rev. Father Agustin Fischer,
for advice and assistance in obtaining the several works
of reference required in preparing the following pages.

And most of all am I (very happily) under obligations
to my wife, without whose assistance — not only in
translating and in proof-reading, but in the difficult
work of searching and collating original authorities — '■
The Mexican Guide assuredly never would have been

prepared.

T. A. J.

New Yobk, January 1, 1887.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PART I.
GENEEAL INTRODUCTION.

PAGE

I. — Mexico : Geographical Limits, Physical Feat-
ures, Climate, Coasts and Harbors, Plains,
Mountain-peaks, Lakes, Animal-life, Vege-
table Products, Mineral Products, Manu-
factures, Foreign Commerce, Political Di-
visions and Population 3

n. — Constitution AND Government : Constitution,
Government, Taxation, Army, National
Festivals 15

in. — Religion : Roman Catholic, The Religious Or-
der in Mexico, The Inquisition, Protest-
antism, Protestant Missions 19

IV.— Education 32

V. — Language and Literature 34

VI. — Historical Summary: Primitive Mexico, Pe-
riod OF THE Conquest, Viceregal Period,
Revolutionary Period, Independent Mexi-
co, The War with the United States, The
French Intervention 41

Viii TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE

VII. — Practical Information : What to see in Mex-
ico, When to go to Mexico, By Eail to
Mexico, By Sea to Mexico, By Sea and Rail,
Choosing a Route, Expenses, Exchange,
Mexican Money, Mexican Measures, Kilo-
metres AND Miles, Passports, Customs Reg-
ulations, Lunch-basket, Eating, Exercise,
Porters and Stewards, Pulque, Wine,
Spirits, Beer, Sweetmeats, Clothing, Doc-
tors AND Medicines, Cargadores, Servants,
Fees, Baths, Hotels, Restaurants, Official
Permits, Church Visiting, Priestly Aid,
Beggars, Hackney Coaches, Postal Ar-
rangements, Telegraph, Express Service,
At El Paso, Coming Home 77

PART 11.

THE MEXICAN CAPITAL.

I. — Practical Matters: Station to Hotel, Lug-
gage, Hotels, Restaurants, Lodgings,
Boarding-houses, Baths, Interpreters,
Shopping, Tradespeople, Mending, Libra-
ries, Book-stores, Newspa'pers, Post-office,
Telegraph Offices, Railway Stations and
Offices, Diligence Office, Express Offices,
Hackney Coaches, Saddle Horses, Street
Railways, Suburban Tramways (Guada-
lupe, Tacubaya, Dolores, Mixcoac, La Cas-
taneda. La Piedad, San Angel, Tlalpam,
Tlalnepantla, Atzcapotzalco), Govern-
ment Officials, Foreign Legations, Pro-
testant Churches 101

II.— Streets of the City of Mexico 125

in, — Municipality of Mexico : Site, Climate, His-
tory, Statistics, Diputacion, Markets, The
Flower Market, Port ales, Prisons 134

TABLE OF CONTENTS. IX

PAGE

IV. — Federal Buildings : Palacio Nacional, Ca-

MARA DE DiPUTADOS, PALACIO DE JuSTICIA,
AllZOBISPADO, ClUDADELA, ADUANA, CASA DE
MONEDA 140

V. — Public Institutions : Biblioteca Nacional,
Other Libraries, Escuela Nacional de Bel-
las Artes, Museo Nacional 144

VI. — Religious Foundations : The Cathedral, Ca-

PILLA DE LAS ANIMAS, PARISH CHURCHES, SA-
GRARIO METROPOLITANO, CAPILLA DE LA So-

LEDAD, San Pablo, San Sebastian, Santa
Maria la Redonda, Santa Vera Cruz, Santa
Cruz Acatlan, Santa Cruz y Soledad,
Santo Tomas la Palma, San Cosme, Santa
Catarina Martir, Santa Ana, Regina Cceli,
San Miguel, San Jose, San Francisco, Sant-
iago Tlaltelolco, Santo Domingo, Porta
Cceli, San Hipolito, Espiritu Santo, Loreto,
Merced, Belen de los Padres, San Diego,
Carmen, Monserrate, San Juan de Dios,
San Lazaro, San Antonio Abad, Profesa,
Betlemitas, Colegio de las Ninas, San Fer-
nando, San Camilo, Concepcion, Balvanera,
Santa Clara, Jesus Marla., San Geronimo,
Santa Catalina de Sena, San Juan de la
Penitencia, Encarnacion, San Lorenzo,
Santa Ines (Corazon de Jesus), Santa Ysabel,
San Jose de Gracia, Santa Teresa la An-
tigua, Santa Teresa la Nueva, San Ber-
nardo, Capuchinas, Corpus Christi, Santa
Brigida, Ensenanza Antigua, Ensenanza
Nueva, College of the Sisters op Charity
(Caridad), Independent Churches, Jesus
Nazareno, Nstra. Sra. de los Angeles, San-
TisiMA, Salto del Agua 164

Vn. — Schools and Colleges : Conservatorio de
MusiCA (University), La Mineria, Escuela
DE Medicina, Escuela Prbparatoria, Es-

TABLE OF CONTEiq^TS.

PACK
CUELA DE AGRICULTURA, EsCUELA DE COMER-
CIO, ESCUELA DE JURISPRUDENCIA, SeMINARIO
CONCILIAR, SOCIEDAD LANCASTERIANA, LA

Benbficencia, Sociedad Catolica 247

VIII. — Charitable Institutions: Hospital de Jesus
Nazareno, Hospital Real, Hospital de San
HiPOLiTO, Hospital Morelos (San Juan de
Dios), Hospital del Divino Salvador, Hos-
pital DE San Andres, Hospital Municipal
Juarez (San Pablo), Casa de Maternidad,
Hospital Concepcion Beistigui, Other Hos-
pitals, La Cuna, Hospicio de Pobres, Monte

DE PlEDAD, COLEGIO DE LA PAZ (ViSCAINOS),

Other Charities 254

IX. — Public Entertainment: Teatro Principal,
Teatro Nacional, Other Theatres, Salon
de conciertos, circus, bull-fighting 269

X. — Public Works: Plaza Mayor, Alameda, Paseo
DE LA ViGA, Paseo de Bucareli, Paseo de la
Reforma, Calzadas (Causeways), Aque-
ducts 272

XL — ^Various Matters of Interest : Public Monu-
ments, Notable Buildings, Panteones (Cem-
eteries), Salto de Alvarado 283

XII. — Environs of Mexico: Guadalupe, Chapulte-

PEC, MOLINO DEL REY, TACUBAYA, MiXCOAC,

La Castaneda, San Angel, Coyoacan, The
Pedregal, Churubusco, Tlalpam, Popotla
(Tree of the Noche Triste), Tacuba, Atz-
CAPOTZALCO, La Piedad 290

XIII.— Short Excursions from Mexico: The Viga
Canal (Santa Anita, Ixtacalco, Mexical-
cingo), The Desierto, San Juan Teotihuacan
(Pyramids op the Sun and Moon), Texcoco,
Tetzcotzinco, Molino de Flores, Cuatlen-
chan, Tlalnepantla, Tajo de Nochistongo 317

TABLE OF CONTENTS. XI

PART III.
PROVINCIAL IVIEXICO.

PAGE

I. — The Mexican Railway 333

II. — The Mexican Central Railway 343

in. — The Mexican National Railway 851

IV. — The Interoceanic Railway 363

V. — Minor Lines op Travel : Railways, Dili-
gence Lines, Coastwise Steam Lines 366

VI. — PUEBLA DE LOS AnGELES , 370

Vn.— Cholula 393

VIIL— Tlaxcala 397

IX. — ^Zacatecas 404

X. — Agtjas Calientes 409

XI. —Leon 411

xn.— Guanajuato 414

Xin. — Queretaro 421

XIV.— Vera Cruz 429

XV.— Jalapa 433

XVL— Orizaba 436

XVII.— Pachuca and Real del Monte 441

XVIII. — Los Remedios 445

Xii TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE

XIX.— San Miguel de Allende 450

XX.— MoEELiA 455

XXI.— Patzcuaro and Tzintzuntzan 463

XXII. — Monterey 470

XXIII.— Cuernavaca 475

XXIV.— Amecameca 479

XXV.— Minor Cities and Towns : Acambaro, Celaya,
Chihuahua, Cordoba, Cuautla (Yautepec),
GuAYMAs, Lagos, Maravatio, Merida, Sal-
TiLLO, Salvatierra, Silao, Toluca, Tula. . . 485

PART I.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

PAET I.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

7. MEXICO.

Geographical Limits. The shape of Mexico is that of a
cornucopia turned the wrong way — and the relatively slow de-
velopment of the extraordinarily rich region embraced with-
in its borders emphasizes this simile. It extends from the
15th to the 32d degree of north latitude, and from the 86th
to the 116th degree of longitude west from Greenwich. Its
northern and northeastern boundary is the United States
(Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California) ; its western,
the Pacific Ocean ; its southern, the Pacific Ocean, Guate-
mala, and the English colony of Belize ; its eastern, Belize,
the Carribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. Its greatest
leQgth, from northwest to southeast, is 1,900 miles ; its
greatest width, 750 miles. Its superficial area is 768,500
square miles.*

Physical Features. Saving a narrow rim of land upon
its coasts, Mexico is an enormous ridge, raised by volcanic
force, between two oceans. This ridge is a continuation
northward of the Andes. In the Isthmus of Panama, where
its dimensions are least, the ridge is a mass of granite, vary-
ing from 150 to 900 feet in elevation above the sea. It runs
west toward the shores of the Pacific, sending off, in Guate-

. * Trustworthy statistics concerning Mexico are not obtainable. The
figures used in this book are from the sources (usnally cited m the text
or in a note) that are recognized in Mexico as most authoritative.

4 MEXICAN GUIDE.

mala a branch northeast throngh the peninsnla of Yucatan.
On entering Mexico it trends northwest and acquires a
greater breadth. The State of Oaxaca may be said to occupy
the summit of a single ridge, 150 miles wide, that falls rap-
idly on one side to the shores of the Pacific, and on the other
side descends by a succession of terraces to Tabasco and
Vera Cruz. To this elevated, comparatively narrow plain
succeeds the so-called table-land of Mexico, spreading al-
most from ocean to gulf, and having an elevation of between
4,000 and 8,000 feet above the level of the sea. Above this
plateau rise the crests of the great volcanic ridge, still con-
tinuing northward. The main chain of mountains is known
as the Sierra Madre. North of the 21st parallel three well-
defined ranges extend. The middle range joins, finally, the
Rocky Mountains ; as does also the western, after making a
wide loop to the westward ; the eastern sinks away gradu-
ally as it approaches the Rio Grande. Humboldt's fancy for
striking statement led him to write that a wagon could be
driven along the elevated plateau from the City of Mexico to
Santa Fe. This is true ; but what a desperately up-and-
down time of it the driver of that wagon would have may be
seen by reference to the following table of elevations above
sea-level on the line of the Mexican Central Railway — a line
that has far easier grades than would have been possible on
Humboldt's theoretical route.

stations. Feet.

Paso del Norte 3,717.40

GaUego 5,448.40

Chihuahua 4.683.40

8anta Rosalia 4,022.40

Jimenez 4,.531.40

Lerdo 3,725.40

Jimulco 4,157.40

Calera 7,051.30

Zacatecas 8,044.50

Aguas Calientes 6,179.50

Stations. Feet.

Lagos 6,134.50

Leon 5,863.60

Queretaro 5,904.50

San Juan del Rio 6,345.10

Cazadero 7,323.70

Marquez 8,132.70

Tula 6,658.40

Huehuetoca 7,407. 90

Mexico 7,349.80

Climate. Lying partly within the tropical and partly
within the temperate zone, and possessing so curious a physi-
cal formation, Mexico has three well-defined climates : hot

MEXICO. 5

in the tie7'7'a caliente, or hot lands of the coast ; temperate, in
the tiei^'a templada, or region lying at an elevation of be-
tween 3,000 and 6,000 feet above the level of the sea ; cold,
in the iierra fria, or regions lying at an elevation of more
than 6,000 feet above the level of the sea. These several
climates are modified further by latitude. The "cold" re-
gion of the north really is cold, while the cold region of the
south is cold only by comparison with the very hot climate
found near it at a lower level. The mean thermometer (Fah-
renheit) in the hot lands is 80° ; in the temperate lands, 70° ;
in the cold lands, 60°. The extremes are about 100° in the
hot lands, and about 20° in the cold lands. In the temper-
ate lands of about the latitude of the City of Mexico the
mercury generally ranges between 65° and 75° the year
round. The year is divided into two seasons : the dry sea-
son, from November to May ; the rainy season, from June to
October. During the rainy season rain usually falls late
every afternoon and in the night. The mornings usually
are sparklingly clear and the air deliciously fresh and cool.
The climate of Mexico, as a rule, is pleasant and healthful.
The exceptions to this rule are found in summer in the hot
lands of the coast, where fevers of various sorts usually pre-
vail ; and, to a less serious extent, at all seasons of the year
in the damp Valley of Mexico.

Coasts and Harbors. On the east coast of Mexico the
great current of the Atlantic Ocean sweeps around the penin-
sula of Yucatan and through the Gulf of Mexico, causing a
continual extension of the beach, increase of sand-banks,
barring of river mouths. On the whole Gulf coast there is
no bay of any importance ; no good harbor easy of access,
nor any sheltered anchorage. - Excellent harbors might be
made, however, by removing the bars that block the en-
trances to the lagunas of Terminos, Santa Ana, Madera,
Tamiahua, and Tampico. On the west coast the highlands
approach the sea-shore, and the coast-lands, relatively, are
high. On this coast are the excellent harbors of Acapulco
and San Bias — two of the finest harbors in the world — and
the very fair harbors of Guaymas, ManzanillOj Mazatlan,

6 MEXICAN GUIDE.

and several smaller ports in which good anchorage and pro-
tection are found.

Plains. Upon the so-called table-land of Mexico are sev-
eral great plains, which reallj are nearly as level as the whole
of the Mexican "plateau "is supposed to be. The more
notable of these are : the Bolson (great pocket) of Mapimi,
between the States of Coahuila and Chihuahua, a vast desert,
marshy region ; the Bajio, in Guanajuato, a fertile plain
yeilding great crops of cereals ; the Cazadero, in Queretaro
and Hidalgo, affording excellent pasturage (named the Ca-
zadero, place of hunting, because here was organized a great
hunt by the Indians in honor of the Viceroy Mendoza) ; the
plains of Apam, in Hidalgo and Tlaxcala, celebrated for
maguey plantations and for the production of peculiarly fine
pulque ; the great arid j^lain of San Juan, in the State of
Puebla ; the Salada, a sterile desert in which some small salt
lakes are found, in San Luis Potosi.

Mountain Peaks. Eising above the mountain ranges
are certain notable peaks. The elevations in feet (approxi-
mate) of these, and the States in which they are found, are
given in the following table :

Popocatepetl, States of Mexico and Vera Cruz 17,783

Orizaba, or Citlaltepetl, State of Vera Cruz 1 7,356

Ixtaccihuatl, States of Mexico and Puebla 16,060

Nevado de Toluca, or Xinantecatl, State of Mexico 15,000

Nevado de Colima, State of Jalisco 14,350

Ajusco, Federal District 13,612

Matlalcueyatl, or Malintzi, State of Tlaxcala 13,463

Cofre de Perote, or Nauchampatepetl, State of Vera Cruz 13,403

Volcan de Colima, State of Jalisco 12,728

Pico de Tancitaro, State of Michoacan 12,653

Cerro de Patamban, State of Michoacan 12, 390

Zempoaltepec, State of Oaxaca 11,965

Los Llanitos, State of Guanajuato 11,018

Pico de Quinceo, State of Michoacan 10,895

Gigante, State of Guanajuato 10,653

Cerro de Culiacan, State of Guanajuato 10,640

Las Navajas, State of Hidalgo 10,538

Veta Grande, State of Zacatecas 9,965

Cumbre de Jesus Maria, State of Chihuahua 8,230

Cerro del Proano, State of Zacatecas 7,763

MEXICO. 7

Rivers. Altlioiigh some of the rivers of Mexico are of a
very considerable length, they are not navigable ; nor does
their volume materially increase from source to mouth. This
curious constancy of volume is due partly to lack of tribu-
taries ; partly to rapid evaporation ; partly to the tapping of
the streams for purposes of irrigation. The more important
rivers are : the Eio Grande, rising in Colorado and, after
crossing New Mexico, flowing along the borders of Chihuahua,
Coahuila, and Tamaulipas to the Gulf of Mexico, a total
length of 1,500 miles ; the Lerma, flowing through Mexico,
Guanajuato, Michoacan, and Jalisco to the Pacific, 540 miles ;
the Balsas (also called the Mescala and the Zacatula) flowing
through Tlaxcala, Puebla, Morelos, Guerrero, and Michoacan
to the Pacific, 426 miles ; the Yaqui, flowing through Sonora
to the Gulf of California, 390 miles ; the Grijalva, rising in
Guatemala and flowing through Chiapas and Tabasco to the
Gulf of Mexico, 350 miles ; the Fuerte, flowing through
Sinaloa to the Gulf of California, 340 miles ; the Uzumacinta,
rising in Guatemala and flowing through Campeche and Ta-
basco to the Gulf of Mexico, 330 miles.

Lakes. West of the city of Mexico, on the Pacific slope, in
the States of Michoacan and Jalisco, is a very beautiful lake
region. The more important of these western lakes are : Cha-
pala, about 80 miles long by 30 miles broad ; Cuitzeo, about
40 miles long by 10 miles broad, and Patzcuaro, about 25
miles long by 10 miles broad. In the Bolson of Mapimf is the
Lake of the Caiman, upward of 30 miles long, with a number
of smaller lakes near it ; in the Valley of Mexico are the large
lakes of Chalco and Xochimilco (properly a single lake) ; and
Texcoco, and the small lakes of Zumpango and San Cristobal.
Small lakes are found in almost every part of Mexico.

Animal Life. Although the ancient Mexicans did not
subject to economical purposes the wild animals around
them, Mexico at the present day is abundantly stocked with
domesticated animals, introduced by the Spaniards. Horned
cattle and horses have, indeed, grown wild in remote places,
and a large part of the wealth of the country, especially in
its northern portion, is derived from stock-ranging. The

8 MEXICAN GUIDE.

ordinary domesticated animals of Europe— the horse, ox,
ass, mule, sheep, goat, pig, chickens — are found everywhere ;
the turkey is native to Mexico. Dogs are painfully numer-
ous ; every Mexican town swarms with them. Cats, also an
imported luxury, have taken most kindly to the land of
their enforced adoption. Sleeker, liner, more engaging cats
than those of Mexico are not to be found in all the world.
The fact should be noted that in their treatment of all pet
animals the Mexicans manifest a great tenderness. On the
other hand, their treatment of beasts of burden usually is
about as far removed from tenderness as anything very well
can be. Wild animals of various sorts — bear, deer, wolves,
jaguars, pumas, tiger-cats, and hosts of vermin — abound. A
great variety of game-birds are found, and the waters yield
large quantities of excellent fish and oysters. In the Gulf of
California the pearl oyster is found.

Vegetable Products. Under the influence of its widely
diversified climate, Mexico's vegetable products are varied in
the extreme. In the hot lands are forests of mahogany,
ebony, rosewood, and other valuable hard-woods, and in the
temperate and cold lands are found the oak, pine, and other
forest growth of the temperate zone. The principal prod-
ucts of cultivation are corn, beans, wheat, rice, sugar-cane,
cofiee (the coffee of Uruapam is equal to the best Mocha),
tobacco, cotton, cocoa, indigo, vanilla, the agave (maguey :
producing an exceedingly valuable fibre, and yielding a juice
from which, pulque is made), and various medicinal plants, of
which the more important are sarsaparilla aud Jalap. Fruits,
large and small, are cultivated ; and in the hot lands a great
variety of tropical fruits grow wild.

Mineral Products. Mexico's greatest source of wealth
is her mines. Extending from Sonora to Oaxaca, a distance
of 800 miles, is a region of extraordinary mineral richness.
Silver, together with a relatively small amount of gold, is
found principally in Sonora, Chihuahua, Zacatecas, San Luis
Potosi, Guanajuato, and Hidalgo ; p]atina in Vera Cruz and
Guerrero ; copper in Guerrero, Michoacan, Guanajuato,
Sonora, and Lower California ; iron in Hidalgo, Guanajuato,

MEXICO. 9

Jalisco, and Durango — in which latter State an enormous
mass of magnetic iron exists ; lead in Zacatecas, Sonora,
Oaxaca, and Mexico ; tin in Guanajuato and Chihuahua ;
zinc in Guerrero ; quicksilver in San Luis Potosi and Ta-
basco ; cinnabar in Guanajuato, Zacatecas, San Luis Poto-
si, and Guerrero ; alum in Puebla and Michoacan ; bismuth
in Zacatecas ; salt in San Luis Potosi and elsewhere ; sul-
phur in the crater of Popocatepetl ; asphalt in Tamaulipas
and Vera Cruz ; naphtha in the Federal District. Petro-
leum has been found in Tabasco, Oaxaca, and Vera Cruz, but
from the fact that it remains undeveloped, the inference may
be drawn that it is of poor quality. Thoroughly carbonized
coal has not as yet been discovered in Mexico. The annual
output of silver, in round numbers, is about $20,000,000.
The output of all other minerals together probably amounts
to five millions of dollars more each year. The total silver
coinage in Mexico, from the establishment of the royal mint
(1537) until the present year, probably amounts to about
$2,500,000,000.

Manufactures. Although surrounded by a perfect
Chinese wall of prohibitory tariff, Mexico is very far from
being a manufacturing country. Yet it is a fact of much
economical and sociological importance that such manu-
factures as the mass of the people require — cotton cloth
{manta ), woollen blankets {zaraioes), woollen 'cloth [tejidos
de lana), cotton shawls [rehosos), leather goods (including
saddles, shoes, and clothing), coarse pottery [loza), hats of
felt and of straw — all are of native production.

Cotton goods. Of these several manufactures that of cotton
is the most important. It is estimated that 26, 000, 000 pounds
of cotton (the greater portion of which is grown in Mexico)
annually is consumed, and that upward of 50,000 families
are supx^orted (in field work and mill work) by this industry.
The cotton-mills usually are provided with English machin-
ery of approved type, and the business is carried on by a few
operators upon a large scale.

Woollen goods. Wool-spinning, on the contrary, is carried
on (excepting the manufacture of woollen cloth) by a great

10 MEXICATT GUIDE.

many operators npon a small scale. Certain towns — as
Saltillo and San Miguel de Allende — are famous for their
manufacture of zarapes, but the work is carried on upon scat-
tered looms, of coarse, native construction, set up singly, in
private houses. Even Mexican statisticians, whose willing-
ness to guess at almost anything is quite phenomenal, never
have attempted to guess at how many zarapes are made an-
nually in Mexico. The manufacture really is a very impor-
tant one, for every Mexican has a zarape, that he uses as a cloak
by day and a blanket by night — a continuous usage that must
call for comparatively frequent renewals of this useful article.
Woollen-mills — of which there are about a score in the Re-
public— are capable of being handled with a certain degree
of definiteness. That painfully exact statistician, Senor
Garcia Cubas, tells us that three mills in the Federal District
produce annually 162,000 pieces of cloth ; that three in the
State of Mexico produce 150,000 pieces of cloth and floor-
carpet ; that five in the State of Puebla produce 550,000
pounds of yarn; that three in the State of Hidalgo produce
125, 000 pieces of cloth ; that various mills in the State of
Guanajuato produce 85,000 cuts of cloth, and 50,000 varas of
floor-carpet ; that there is a woollen-mill in the City of Mex-
ico, in the Callejon del Bosque. He thoughtfully adds that
the cuts of cloth vary in value from $2.25 to $4.25, and that
the floor-carpet is worth from 83| cents to $1.25 the vara.
And this is a very fair specimen of what is supposed in Mex-
ico to be statistical information !

Pottery. The third great manufacture of the country,
coarse pottery, is carried on everywhere. In Guadalajara the
ware is gray, or ashes-of-roses, soft-baked, unglazed but
polished, and the finer pieces are decorated very elaborately
in color, silver, and gold. In Zacatecas the better ware is red,
hard-baked (something between earthenware and stoneware),
is glazed inside and over a jDart of the outside with a thin
glaze, and is decorated rudely but effectively with splashes
of underglaze color ; an ordinary red earthenware, glazed
inside, also is made. In Guanajuato the ware is hard-baked,
though less hard and less delicate than that of Zacatecas ;

MEXICO. 11

usually is a dark brown or a dark green ; frequently is or-
namented with figures in low relief ; usually has a soft, rich
glaze. In Puebla the liner ware is something between fine
earthenware and coarse soft ^Dorcelain. It has a thick tin-
glaze, and the decoration in strong color is underglaze. Ex-
cellent glazed tiles, also, are made in Puebla ; to be seen
in both inside and outside work in the older churches. At
the little village of Santa Fe, not far from Patzcuaro (and
possibly elsewhere), a very curious iridescent ware, having,
seemingly, a copper glaze, is made. The pieces sometimes
are decorated in low relief. In almost every village in Mex-
ico there is a potter, and each district produces a ware hav-
ing more or less distinctly marked characteristics.

Otlier Manufactures. In the cane-growing regions a very
considerable quantity of sugar is manufactured, though not
enough to supply fully the home demand; in the tobacco
country, and in the several cities, vast numbers of cigaritoSy
and a large number of cigars {puros) are made ; the manufac-
ture oij^ulqueis carried on very extensively on the plain of
Apam, and in this maguey region the distilled liquors mezcal
and tequila are produced ; silver is wrought in all parts of the
country ; felfc hats are made in the principal cities and straw
hats everywhere ; leather work is carried on in all the cities,
but its centre is the city of Leon, where also a consider-
able manufacture of hardware and cutlery is maintained ; a
large business is done, though nowhere upon a large scale,
in the manufacture of sweetmeats {dukes) ; a considerable
quantity of chocolate, a little glass, a little paper, a little
household furniture is manufactured.

Foreign Commerce. Owing to the fragmentary char-
acter and tardiness of issue of the Treasury reports, nothing
like a complete, nor even a relatively recent, exhibit of the
Mexican foreign trade can be given. The following tables
will give some notion, however, of the volume and tenden-
cies of the commerce between Mexico and foreign lands.
The figures, extracted from Treasury returns, are those of
Senor Garcia Cubas.

Imports. The principal articles of importation into Mexico

MEXICAN GUIDE.

are cotton, raw and manufactured (nearly two-fifths of the
total importation), woollens, hardware, articles of food, linen,
and hemp. The following table shows the market-value of
all imports for the fiscal years ending in 1874 and 1883. The
great increase in the volume of trade came in the last two
years of this period, and was due to the increased facilities
for internal transportation afforded by the new lines of rail-
way.

From.

England

United States .

France

Germany

Spain

South America

Total . . .

1873-74.

$12,642,062 56
8,666,643 16
4,878,497 29
4,652,058 25
1.270,496 39
1,895,541 48

#34,005,299 13

1882-S3.

#19,760,051

18,705,488

7,936,144

7,591,276

2,441,152

361,565

#51,795,676

Exports. Instead of continuing this interesting compari-
son by showing in a similar table the exports to the same
countries for the corresponding years, Senor Cubas presents
a table that shows, not by countries but by articles, the ex-
ports for the fiscal years ending in 1878 and 1883. As rail-
road building had not begun in 1878, this date is as valuable
for purposes of comparison as 1873-74 would have been ; but
the failure to specify the destination of the exports is a very
serious omission. The tables are as follows :

Articles.

IS-JT-TB.

1882-83.

Precious metals

#22,584,599 55
6,701,061 35

#29,628,657 69

Other exports ,

12,178,937 66

Total

#29,285,660 90

#41,807,595 35

The articles noted as having especially increased in expor-
tation are : Henequin, from $^1,078,076 to $3,311,062 ; cabinet

MEXICO. 13

woods, from $1,450,468 to $1,917,323 ; coffee, from $1,242,041
to$l,717,190; hides, from $1,242,041 to $1,717,190; live ani-
mals, from $30,000 to $634,370 ; caontcliouc, from $9,055 to
$159,882. The values exported to the several countries with
which Mexico deals, for the year ending in 1883, were :

To England #17,258,242 61

" United States 16,739,097 61

" France 4,204,905 55

" Spain 1,989,258 74

" Germany 1,125,719 21

" aU other countries 490,371 54

Total ^41,807,585 26

The general drift of all these figures is toward showing
very conclusively that railroad building in jMexico is having
a wonderfully stimulating effect upon Mexico's foreign com-
merce, and toward showing that a very large portion of the
newly-created trade is coming to the United States. One
further fact may be cited as showing still more conclusively
the direction of the new flow of trade : the exports from the
port of Vera Cruz, for the three years ending respectively in
1883, 1884, 1885, were $23,956,316, $25,119,420, and $17,067,-
096. For these same years the exports by rail into the
United States through, collectively, Paso del Norte, Nuevo
Laredo, Nogales, and Piedras Negras were : $2,353,422,
$5,583,394, and $11,421,191.

Political Divisions and Population. In the follow-
ing table, showing the area, assessed value, and population
of the several States, the figures, for the most part, are ap-
proximations. How widely this approximation varies is illus-
trated by the two sets of figures j)rinted in parallel columns.
One of these is from the " Cuadro Geografico, Estadistico e
Histdrico de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos " of Sefior Garcia
Cubas, published in the office of the Minister of Public
Works; the other is from the " Geografia de Mexico" of
Seiior Alberto Correa, member of the Mexican Geographical
and Statistical Society. The sum of both estimates is about
the same, but the details have (for statistics) a truly refresh-

MEXICAN GUIDE.

ing variety. In point of fact, a complete census of Mexico
never has been taken, nor lias the whole of the country ever
been surveyed.

Names of States.

Area in
square miles.

Assessed
value.

Correa
population.

Cubas
population.

Aguas Calientes

Campeche

3,080
20,760
59,000

2,700
29,600
89,200
42,300
12,300
22,700

7,600
38,400

8,080
23,000

1,850
25,000
28,400
12,600

3,800
26,100
36,100
77,000
10,000
29,000

1,500
23,840
28,400
25,300
530
60,000
450

#5,119,693

1,243,795

6,274,637

2,674,227

3,430,212

4,653,930

7,057,879

30,071,636

1,487,167

14,384,737

^23,066,248

23,391,096

22,234,279

15,955,515

9,584,790

11,741,300

30,021,544

10,560,483

13,553,656

4,607,790

7,223,500

3,859,558

6,214,935

7,045,716

23,983,387

4,110,455

15,615,651

4,355,526
54,884,421

140,000
90,000
180,000
70,000
240,000
230,000
200,000
970,000
350,000
430,000
850,000
710,000
780,000
140,000
200,000
760,000
790,000
200,000
520,000
200,000
150,000
110,000
140,000
140,000
580,000
.£20,000
430,000
120,000
30,000
430,000

140,430
90,413

Coahuila

144,594
72.591

Colima

Chiapas

242,029
225,251

Chihuahua

Durango

196,852

Guanajuato

Guerrero

968,113
353,193

Hidalgo

434,096

Jalisco

*983,484
710,579
784,108

Mexico

Michoacan

Morelos

141,565
201,732
761 274

Nuevo Leon

Oaxaca

Puebla

784 466

Queretaro

San Luis Potosi

Sinaloa

203,250
516,486
201,918
143,924
108 747

Sonora

Tabasco

Tamaulipas

Tlaxcala

140,137

138 478

Vera Cruz

582,441

Yucatan

302,315

Zacatecas

422,506

Territory of Tepic . .
Lower California . . .
Federal District

t
30,198

426,804

Totals

778,590

1368,357,763

10,500,000

10,451.974

Including Tepic.

t Included in Jalisco.

COJS^STITUTION AND GOVEKNMENT. 15

11. COJSrSTITUTIOJSr AND GOVERNMENT*

Constitution. In virtue of the Constitution adopted
February 5, 1857, the Eepublic is formed of States free and
sovereign, so far as concerns their internal affairs, united
under a Federal government. The national i^ower resides
essentially and primarily in the people, from whom emanates
all public authority, and by whom this authority is exercised
through the channels of State and National Governments :
with the reservation, so far as State authority is concerned,
that the laws of the State shall not conflict with the laws of
the Nation. All persons born in the Bepublic are free, and
by entering the Eepublic slaves become freemen. Freedom
of education, freedom to exercise the liberal professions,
freedom of thought, and the freedom of the press are guar-
anteed— this last with the reservation that private rights and
the public peace shall not be violated. No person may be
obliged to work for another person without freely consent-
ing so to work, nor without receiving just remuneration.
The rights of petition and of association for any lawful ob-
ject are recognized. Arms may be carried for lawful personal
defence. Freedom of entrance to and exit from the Repub-
lic, and of movement from place to place within the Republic,
without passport, is guaranteed. Titles of nobility, heredi-
tary honors and prerogatives are not recognized. The
judgments of privileged tribunals are not recognized. Re-
troactive laws are prohibited ; as also are the making of
treaties for the extradition of political criminals. Search
without warrant is prohibited. Imprisonment for debts of
a purely civil nature is prohibited ; arrest is prohibited, save
in the case of crimes meriting corporal punishment, as is
also detention without trial for a longer period than three

* This chapter has been revised by Sr. Lie. Matias Romero, Envoy
Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of
Mexico to the United States of America.

16 ' MEXICAN GUIDE.

days. The rights of accused persons are guaranteed. The
application of penalties, other than those purely correctional,
is limited exclusively to judicial authority. Whipping,
branding, mutilation, torture, or other infamous punishment
is prohibited. Capital punishment for political crimes is pro-
hibited. The death penalty only may be applied in punish-
ment of the crimes of high treason, highway robbery, arson,
parricide, and premeditated murder. In criminal actions three
appeals only arejDermitted. After acquittal, a second trial for
the same offence is prohibited. The inviolability of personal
correspondence is guaranteed. The right of private prop-
erty is recognized, and in the event of the condemnation of
j)rivate property for public purposes previous indemnity,
under prescribed forms, is guaranteed. The quartering of
soldiers upon the private property of individuals is forbidden
in times of peace ; and in times of war, save under the regu-
lations established by law. Civil and ecclesiastical corpora-
tions are not permitted to acquire landed estates. Monopo-
lies are prohibited ; saving the Government monopolies of
coinage and postal traffic, and the limited monoj)oly enjoyed
by patentees of useful inventions. The President, with the
concurrence of his Cabinet, and with the approval of Con-
gress, should Congress be in session, or of the Congressional
Standing Committee, should Congress not be in session, is
permitted to suspend the Constitutional guarantees : in case
of invasion ; of gi'ave internal disorder, or other serious dis-
turbance that endangers the State. All children born of
Mexican parents, either within or without the Republic ; all
naturalized citizens ; all foreigners who have acquired land
within the Republic ; all foreigners who have begotten chil-
dren by Mexican mothers — saving, in each of these cases,
when a distinct claim of citizenship elsewhere is avowed in
due legal form — are regarded as Mexican citizens. As such
they are liable to military service and to taxation, and are
guaranteed all the peculiar rights and privileges which
Mexican citizens enjoy. All persons within the Republic,
with or without citizenship, are guaranteed the protection
affoi'ded by the Constitution and laws.

CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT. 17

The amendments, to the Constitution, adopted September
25, 1873, establish the independence of Church and State ;
deprive Congress of the power of making laws which estab-
lish or suppress any religion whatever ; institute marriage
as a civil contract ; substitute affirmation for religious oath ;
prohibit the establishment of monastic orders, without re-
gard to denomination or object.

Government. Conformably to the constitutional law
that recognizes as fundamental principles the rights of man,
the Government of the Republic is representative, demo-
cratic, and federal. The supreme Federal power is divided
into three branches : legislative, executive, and judicial.

The legislative power is lodged in the general Congress.
This body is divided into two chambers — Senate and Cham-
ber of Deputies — which have common and several powers.
The members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected, indi-
rectly, by popular vote, every two years, one deputy for each
40,000 inhabitants, or for each fraction of more than 20,000
inhabitants. The Senate is composed of two Senators from
each State, elected indirectly. Half of this body is renewed
every two years. Two sessions of Congress are held in each
year. The first of these begins April 1st and ends May 31st.
It may be continued, on occasion, fifteen days longer. Its
business, primarily, is auditing the accounts of the previous
fiscal year, and making appropriations for the fiscal year to
come. The second session begins September 16th (the na-
tional holiday) and ends December 16th. It may be contin-
ued, on occasion, thirty days longer. Its business is the
general regulation and conduct of the Federal Government.

The executive power is lodged in the person of the Presi-
dent, who is elected by electors, elected by popular vote
every four years. The President is aided in the discharge
of his duties by a Cabinet composed of six Ministers — of
Foreign Affairs, of Internal Aft'airs, of Justice and Public In-
struction, of Public Works, of Finance, of War and Marine —
who severally authorize with their signatures the President's
decrees, and who have charge of the several departments of
the Government designated by their respective titles.

18 MEXICAN GUIDE.

The judicial power is lodged in the Supreme Court of
Justice, and in the District and Circuit Courts. The Supreme
Court consists of one Chief Justice, eleven associate justices,
four alternate justices, an Attorney -General, and a Public
Prosecutor. These several officers are elected by indirect
popular vote, and remain in office for a term of six years.
The Chief Justice formerly was the functionary appointed to
be President in the event of a vacancy occurring, from death
or other cause other than limitation. By the law of October
3, 1882, the presidential succession now vests successively
in the President and Vice-President of the Senate, and the
Chairman of the Standing Committee of Congress. In the
State governments an organization substantially identical
with that of the Federal Government — legislative, executive,
judicial — obtains.

Taxation. The Federal Government is sustained by im-
port duties, by the stamp tax, by the internal revenue taxes,
and by the "Federal contribution," this last being an addi-
tional duty levied on all taxes collected by the States. It has,
besides, other sources of revenue — such as the export duties,
the mint duties, and the duties on nationalized property.

The State governments are sustained by excise duties lev-
ied on all foreign and domestic merchandise, and by certain
relatively small direct taxes.

The city governments are sustained by direct taxes ; in
some cases they receive also a percentage of the duties col-
lected by the State.

Army. The President is commander-in-chief of the Mex-
ican army- The command of the army in the field usually
is confided to a general of division. A military school is
maintained by the Federal Government. The army is di-
vided into three sections : the active army, the reserve, the
general reserve. The active army consists of infantry,
68,000 ; cavalry, 13,000 ; and a small force of artillery. The
resei-ve consists of 24,000 men and 1,500 horses. The gen-
eral reserve consists of 70,000 men and 10,000 horses. A
navy is in contemplation, but as yet scarcely can be said to
exist.

RELIGION". 19

National Festivals. February 5th, adoption of the
Federal Constitution in 1857. May 5th, victory over the
French at Puebla in 1862. May 8 th, birthday of Hidalgo.
May 15th, fall of Queretaro and capture of Maximilian in
1867. June 21st, capture of the City of Mexico by the Lib-
eral forces in 1867. September 15th-16th, declaration of
independence by Hidalgo at Dolores (the grito de Dolores) in
1810.

The national flag also is displayed on the birthdays of the
kings of Spain, Germany, Italy, and Belgium, and on Febru-
ary 22d in honor of the birth of Washington ; on the anniver-
saries of the death of Juarez (July 18th) and of Hidalgo
(July 30th) ; upon the days of the opening (April 1st and
September 16th) and closing (usually May 31st and Decem-
ber 16th) of Congress ; upon the anniversaries of the declar-
ation of independence of the United States (July 4th), Ar-
gentine Republic (July 9th), Colombia (July 20th), and Peru
(July 28th) ; upon the anniversary of the fall of the Bastile
(July 14th) ; upon the first Sunday in June, in honor of the
adoption of the Liberal Constitution by Italy ; upon the
birthday of the President of the Republic of Mexico.

Ill RELIGION.'^

Roman Catholic. The name of the Mexican Church is
given to that portion of the Catholic Apostolic Roman Church
established in Mexico. The foundation of this Church was
laid in the year 1517, when Yucatan was discovered by Cap-
tain Don Francisco Hernandez de Cordova. This adventurer,
one of the richest of the merchants of Cuba, sailed from that
island, April 8, 1517, in command of an expedition consist-
ing of "two great ships " and a shallop, having on board, all
told, one hundred and ten men. And with these was the
cleric Alonzo Gonzales, a native of Santo Domingo. Land
was made near the present Cape Catoche ; and presently the
barbarians gave battle to the Spaniards. Fifteen Spaniards

* See also Historical Summary.

20 MEXICAN GUIDE.

were wounded ; bnfc, by God's mercy, fifteen of the heathen
were slain and two were captured. In the intervals of the
fighting the priest Gonzales bore away from a certain heathen
temple thereabouts the idols that were therein, and when the
fighting was ended this temple was made a Christian church,
and was dedicated under the invocation of Nuestra Senora
de los Remedies (Our Lady of Succor), by whose favor vic-
tory over the barbarians had been gained. Herein, after
being duly catechised and purged of their sin of idolatry,
the two captive barbarians were made Christians, being bap-
tized Melchor and Julian. And this was the first Christian
church, and these were the first Christian converts, that ever
were in the continental parts of the New World.

When Cortes had completed the conquest of Tenochtitlan,
August 13, 1521, with the news of his victory he sent to the
Emperor an urgent request that priests should be sent from
Spain to aid in the conversion of the heathen in the land that
he had won. But the Emperor, being beset by certain
doubts as to whether he could with a healthy conscience
be lord of the newly discovered region, called together at
his court a council composed of the most eminent doctors of
theology and laws, to which his doubtings were confided,
and by which, in due course, they were resolved. This, with
the need of obtaining the Papal sanction, caused a delay of
nearly three years in the sending of the desired religious,
clothed with assured authority, to New Spain. Meanwhile,
the knowledge of these many heathen waiting for a rev-
elation of the true faith was noised abroad in Europe ;
and three Flemish missionaries of the Franciscan order
took upon them the duty and the joy of going forth to
their salvation. These were Fray Juan de Tecto, guar-
dian of the Monastery of Ghent, Fray Juan de Aora, and
the lay brother Pedro de Gante.* Eventually, twelve

* Fray Pedro de Gante (Ghent) was a native of Flanders, and en-
tered the Franciscan Order, it is believed, in the Monastery of Ghent,
He was one of the five missionaries to the Indians who came to Mexico
in 1523 ; and of all the missionaries who came thither he was the most
able and the most zealous. The holiness and usefulness of his life, and

KELIGION. 21

missionaries were sent to New Spain, amply antliorized for
their work by the bull of Adrian VI. and by an order from
the Emperor himself. These twelve religions, usually styled
the "Twelve Apostles of Mexico," arrived in June, 1524,
under the leadershij) of Fray Martin de Valencia, who bore
from the Pope the title of Vicar of New Sjoain. A little
after this date the project of creating the Bishopric of
Mexico was mooted.* The mitre was offered by Charles V.
to Fray Pedro de Gante ; and, later, having been declined by
this holy man, it was offered to and accepted by Fray Juan
de Zumarraga. This ecclesiastic, therefore, was presented
by the Emperor, December 12, 1527, to Pope Clement VII.
as Bishop of Mexico ; and in December of the year ensuing
Zumarraga arrived at Vera Cruz, haying the title of Bishop-
elect and protector of the Indians. He was confirmed in his
position by the bull of September 2, 1530, by which he was
made Bishop of Mexico, suffragan to the Archbishop of
Seville. In the consistory held by Paul III., in 1545, the
Mexican Bishopric was declared independent ; and by the
bull of January 31, 1545, it was erected into an Archbishop-
ric, of which Bishop Zumarraga was made Archbishop. In

his Flanders birth, especially endeared and commended him to the Em-
peror Charles V., and from this patron he received very large sums of
money and extensive grants of land to aid him in carrying on his mis-
sion works. The marked favor of the Emperor gave rise, in later times,
to the assertion that the monk was the Emperor's natural son — a fiction
that is efi^ctively disposed of by these facts : Charles V. was born in
the year 1500. Fray Pedro de Gante came to Mexico, already a pro-
fessed monk, in the year 1523. Consequently, he must have been bom
some years before the birth of his alleged father.

* The Bishopric of Yucatan was erected by the bull of Leo X., Janu-
ary 27, 1518, and to this see was appointed the then Bishop of Cuba, th3
Dominican Fray Julian Garces. But as the Spanish conquest just then
was extended into Mexico, and Yucatan for the time being was aban-
doned, Charles V. obtained from Pope Clement VII. a bull (October
13, 1525) by which the Bishop of Yucatan, who never had entered his
diocese, was translated to the then-created see of Puebla, with the ofiS-
cial title of Bishop of Puebla, Yucatan, Chiapas, and Oaxaca. The
first actual Bishop of Yucatan, as a diocese separate and distinct, was
Fray Francisco de Torral, who was consecrated August 15, 1562.

MEXICAN GUIDE.

1571 the Archbishop of Mexico was made Primate of New
Spain. In the consistory held by Pius IX., March 16, 1863,
it was decreed that the Mexican Church should be divided
into three Archdioceses l The Eastern, or that of Mexico ;
the Central, or that of Michoacan ; the Western, or that of
Guadalajara. To these Archbishoprics the several Bishop-
rics of Mexico are suffragan. The more important of the
events leading to, attendant upon, and succeeding the very
great curtailment in modern times of the prerogatives of the
Church will be found in the Historical Summary.

Dioceses,

Erected,

Seat.

TO
(D

Archb. Mexico

Bish. Puebla

" Oaxaca

*■'■ Chiapas

" Yucata,n

" Tabasco

" Tulancingo

'' Vera Cruz

" Chilapa

" Tamaulipas

Archb. Michoacan . . .
Bish. S. Luis Potosi .

" Queretaro

" Leon

Jan. 31, 1545.1
Sept. 19, 1526.
June 2, 1.535.
March 19, 1539.
Aug. 15. 1562.-!
May 25, 1880.
March 16,186.3.
June 1, 1850.
March 16. 1863.
Oct. 4, 1869.
March 16, 1863 3
Aug. 30, 1854.
Jan. 26, 1862.
Jan. 26, 1862.
Jan. 26, 1862.
Marchl6, 18634
Sept. 28, 1620.
Dec. 25, 1777.
May 7, 1779.
Jan. 26, 1862.
March 15,1883.
March 28, 18556

Mexico.

Puebla.

Oaxaca.

San Cristobal.

Merida.

San J . Bautista.

Tulancingo.

.Jalapa.

Chilapa.

Ciudad Victoria.

Morelia.

San Luis,

Queretaro.

Leon.

Zamora.

Guadalajara.

Durango.

Monterey.

Culiacan.

Zacatecas.

Colima.

1,654

2,513
+1,000
500
234
134
400

+100

879

+300
171
107

+100

+100
376
250
135
200

+100

1,328,000
900.000
700,000
119,000
468,000
140,000
400,000
465,000
300,000
200,000
680,000
570,000
280,000
570 000

" Zamora

Archb. Guadalajara..
Bish. Durango

'' Linares

" Sonora

* ' Zacatecas

" Colima...,,...
V. A. Lower California,

220,000
1,100,000
490,000
275,000
283,000
337,000

36^066

Totals

8,820

9,861,000

1 Erected a bishopric, September 2, 1530. * 2 The erection of January 27,
1518, lapsed. ^ Erected a bishopric, August IS, 1536. ■* Erected a bish-

opric, July .31, 1548. ^ Included with Guadalajara. ^ The bishopric of

California was erected April 27, 1840, under the advocation of San Francisco.
The Vicariate Apostolic of Lower California is the see of the titular bishop of
Anastasiopolis,

IIELIGION". 23

The foregoing table is compiled from the " Catecismo
geogrdfica-liistorico-estadistico de la Iglesia Mexicana" of
the presbitero Br. Fortino Hipolito Vera, vicar foraueo of
Amecameca, In this work the number of ordained priests
is not stated. According to Senor Garcia Cubas the parish
priests alone number 1,349.

The Religious Orders in Mexico. A brief reference
to the history of the religious orders in Mexico is indispen-
sable to a good understanding of the history of the coun-
try itself. As they severally came to the Spanish colony,
churches, monasteries, convents, hospitals, were built, and
throughout Mexico their work survives everywhere : visibly
in the buildings which they erected and in the street nomen-
clature, and morally in the impress that they have left upon
the life of the nation. Their suppression, on the other hand,
brought in its train the absolute destruction, or the deflec-
tion to secular purposes, of many of their foundations, and
the acquisition by the State of all that remained ; while the
opening of new streets through what had been Church prop-
erty, and the names which these streets received — as the
Calles Independencia, Cinco de Mayo, and Lerdo, in the
City of Mexico — mark, in a very striking manner, the end
of the old and the beginning of the new order of things.

To the Franciscans in great part belongs the honor of
having fixed firmly in Mexico the x^ower of Spain ; for their
zealous missionary work among the Indians, and the hold
that they had upon their Indian converts, most powerfully
strengthened the position that the Spaniards conquered and
in part sustained by military power. To the Dominicans, in
some small part, at least, is due the collapse of the Spanish
domination ; for the feeling against the Inquisition unques-
tionably had much to do with fixing many waverers on the
side of independence. To the several orders of hospitallers
was due the establishment of (for the times) admirably ap-
pointed and zealously administered hospitals in every city
of the colony. To the Jesuits belong the honor of liaving
fostered learning in this new land. Broadly sj^eaking, the
influence of the religious orders upon the colony was bene-

24 MEXICATT GUIDE.

ficial during its first century ; neutral during its second ;
liarmful during its third. In this last epoch so considerable
a portion of the wealth of the colony had come into posses-
sion of the Church that the locking up of capital blocked the
channels of trade. Leaving all other questions out of con-
sideration, the suppression of the religious orders was an
economic necessity in Mexico for many years before there
was found, in the person of Juarez, a statesman bold enough
and strong enough to institute so radical a reform.

That the reform was executed with a certain brutal sever-
ity is less discreditable to Mexicans in particular than to
humanity at large. "When evil social conditions, long-fos-
tered, at last are broken down, the radical element in the
body-politic that asserts the right never fails to commit on
its own account a very liberal amount of wrong. Yet all un-
prejudiced travellers in Mexico cannot but keenly deplore,
because of the violence done to art and learning, to the
romantic and to the picturesque, that in the course of the
Reformation so much of value to learning and art perished,
and that so many buildings, deejilj interesting because of
their historic or romantic associations, or in themselves pict-
uresque, were diverted utterly from their primitive purposes
or utterly destroyed.

In point of fact, many of the religious orders in Mexico
disappeared before the Laws of the Reform were promulgated.
The Jesuits were suppressed June 25, 1767 ; re-established
in 1816 ; again suppressed in 1821 ; again re-established in
1853 ; and finally exi3elled from the country in 1856. The
Antoninos were suppressed by a bull of Pius YI. of August
24, 1787. By a decree of the Spanish Cortes of October 1,
1820 (following the re-erection of the Constitution of 1812),
executed in Mexico in 1821, the following named orders
were suppressed: Agustinos recoletos, Hipdlitos, Juaninos,
Betlemitas, and Benedictines. The Cosmistas (Franciscanos
recoletos) having dwindled to but a few members, were ab-
sorbed into the Franciscan order proper in 1854.

All of the remaining orders were extinguished by the law
of July 12, 1859, given in Vera Cruz under the Presidency

RELIGION. 25

of Juarez. Actually, however, this law did not become oper-
ative in the City of Mexico until December 27, 1860, upon
the entry into the cajDital of the Liberal forces. Although
the law provided only for the extinction of the monasteries,
the partial suppression of the nunneries began almost im-
mediately. At midnight of February 13, 1861, at a i3recon-
certed signal (the tolling of the bell of the church of Corpus
Christi) the nuns were removed from twelve convents to the
ten convents remaining for the time being undisturbed.
The law of February 26, 1863, declared the suppression of
the female religious establishments (excepting that of the
Sisters of Charity), and required the several convents to be
vacated within eight days. In a few cases slight extensions
of time were granted, but the actual suppression of the orders
dates from March 6, 1863. Finally, the Laws of the Reform
being incorporated into the Federal Constitution (December
14, 1874), the last remaining religious order, that of the Sis-
ters of Charity, was suppressed.

The fact must be borne in mind that the suppression of
the orders was not accompanied — as it was in the case of
the Jesuits in 1856 — by the expulsion of their members
from the country. The religious orders were suppressed
as communities, but their members were tolerated as in-
dividuals. In point of fact, the priests ministering in the
conventual churches which remain open usually are mem-
bers of the orders by which, severally, these churches were
founded.

The Inquisition. As early as 1527 the influence of the
Spanish Inquisition was perceptible in New Spain in the
promulgation of a royal order in that year by which all Jews
and Moors were banished from the Province. About the
year 1529 a council was held in the city of Mexico composed
of the most notable men, religious, military, and civil, then
in the Province — including Bishop Fuenleal, who was Presi-
dent of the Audencia, together with all the members of that
body ; the Bishop of Mexico (Zumarraga) ; the heads of the
Dominican and Franciscan orders ; the municij)al authori-
ties and two prominent citizens. As the result of its delib-

26 MEXICAN GUIDE.

erations, this council solemnly declared : " It is most neces-
sary that the Holy Office of the Inquisition shall be extended
to this land, because of the commerce with strangers here
carried on, and because of the many corsairs abounding
upon our coasts, which strangers may bring their evil cus-
toms among both natives and Castilians, who by the grace
of God should be kept free from heresy," Following this
declaration several functionaries charged with inquisitorial
powers visited the Province during the ensuing forty years,
suitably discharging the duties of their office by keeping
heresy and crimes against the canon law well trodden under
foot. The full fruit of the declaration of the council ripened
in 1570, when, under date of August 16th, a royal order
issued, ajDpointing Don Pedro Moya de Contreras (afterward
Archbishop, and some time Viceroy of the Province) Inquisi-
tor-General of New Spain, Guatemala, and the Philippine
Islands, with headquarters in the City of Mexico. The
chronicler Vetancurt writes with pious joy : " The tribunal
of the Inquisition, the strong fort and Mount of Zion, was
founded in the City of Mexico in the year 1571 ; " and later
he adds: "They have celebrated general and particular
autos de la fe with great concourse of dignitaries, and in all
cases the Catholic faith and its truth have remained victo-
rious." The fact should be noted that the royal order under
which the Inquisition was established in Mexico expressly
exempted the Indians from its jurisdiction ; a politic ar-
rangement that gave it from the outset a strong popular
support. For the accommodation of the Holy Office the small
monastery at first occupied by the Dominicans was placed at
the disposition of the Inquisitor-General. This i3resently
was rebuilt, to make it more in keeping with the dignity and
the needs of the business carried on in it, but no record of
the structure then erected remains. The existing building
in the city of Mexico, now the property of the Escuela de
Medicina, was begun December 5, 1732, and was completed
in December, 1736. The brasero (brazier), or qicemadero
(burning-place), whereon the decrees of the Holy Office were
executed, was a short distance eastward of the church of San

RELIGION. 27

Diego, upon land since included in the Alameda.* It was a
square platform, "with wall and terrace arranged for the erec-
tion of stakes to which the condemned, living or dead, were
fastened to be burned. Being raised in a large open sj^ace,
the spectacle could be witnessed by the entire population of
the city. When the ceremony was ended, the ashes of the
burned were thrown into the marsh that then was in the rear
of the church of San Diego. Fray Vetancurt, describing
the pleasing outlook from the door of San Diego, writes :
"The view is beautified by the Plaza of San Hipolito and
by the burning-place of the Holy Office." As in Sj)ain, so
also in Mexico, the Dominican order and the Inquisition
were closely associated, though nominally they were inde-
pendent organizations, t

The first auto de fe % in New Spain was celebrated in the

* There was another bi'asero in the plazuela of San Lazaro that served
for the burning of criminals whose crimes did not come within the
jmisdiction of the Holy Ofl&ce. The principal crimes of which the
Holy OflB.ce took cognizance were heresy, sorcery, witchcraft, polyg-
amy, seduction, unnatural crime, imposture, and personation. The
extreme penalty, death by burning, was visited only upon criminals of
the iirst order, as heretics or sorcerers. In the majority of cases the
criminals were strangled before being burned.

t " St. Dominick is said to have first proposed the erection of such a
tribunal to Innocent III. , and to have been appointed by him the first
Inquisitor. . . . The majority of inquisitors employed have always
been Dominicans, and the commissary of the Holy Office at Rome be-
longs, ex officio^ to this order" (Catholic Dictionary, article Inquisi-
tion) .

X The aicto de fe, or act of [the profession of the] faith, was the
public ceremony that followed the secret trial of criminals brought
before the Inquisition. The ceremony began by the avowal by the
members of the tribunal, and by all assembled with them, of their be-
lief in Christianity and the doctrines of the Church. This act of
faith, or profession of faith, being ended, the tribunal announced the
crime for which each criminal had been tried, and the measure of guilt
adjudged to attach to him ; after which announcement, with a per-
functory recommendation to mercy, it relinquished him to the secular
arm {i.e., to the civil authorities) for punishment. Hence, the azito
de fe should not be confounded, as it usually is, with the burning or
other punishment that followed it, and that, in theory, was the work
of the secular power alone.

28 MEXTCAK" GUIDE.

year 1574 : as its result, as is mentioned with much satis-
faction by the chronicler Fray Baltasar de Medina, there
perished *' twenty-one pestilent Lutherans." From this
time onward, until the Inquisition was suppressed, these
edifying ceremonies were of very frequent occurrence, some-
times taking place annually (as in 1646-47-48-4:9) for several
years in succession. Frequent though they certainly were,
and large though the number of those who perished in them
undoubtedly was, the number of those actually burned to
death was comparatively small. In the majority of cases,
even when the body of the offender was. burned, grace was
shown in first granting death by strangulation. Thus, in the
memorable auto de fe of April 10, 1649, when (April 11th)
fifteen persons perished, only one — Thomas TremiSo, of
Sobremonte in Castile, who had " cursed the Holy Office
and the Pope " — was burned alive. The remaining fourteen
were burned after strangulation. When the Liberal con-
stitution of 1812 was adopted in Spain the end of the In-
quisition began. One of the first reforms introduced by
the Cortes was the decree of February 22, 1813, by which
the Holy Office was suppressed throughout Spain and the
Spanish dependencies. This decree was promulgated in
Mexico on the 8th of the ensuing June, and by proclamation
of the Viceroy the property of the Inquisition was then de-
clared forfeited to the royal treasury. Another Viceroyal
proclamation ordered to be removed from the cathedral the
tablets on which, according to usage, were inscribed the
names of those whom the Holy Office had declared criminals.
But with the overthrow of the Liberal constitution in Spain,
and the return to the throne of Ferdinand VII., the decree
of suppression was rescinded, and the Holy Office once more
possessed its property and continued its work. The tribunal
of the Inquisition was established again in Mexico, January
21, 1814. This re-erection was for only a little time. Fol-
lowing the revival in Spain (March, 1820) of the constitution
of 1812, the decree issued by which the Inquisition was sup-
pressed forever. The decree became effective in Mexico,
May 31, 1820. There is a certain poetic fitness to be found

RELIGION. 29

in the fact that the last years of the Inquisition in Mexico
were spent in combating strenuously the spread of Liberal-
ism ; that the last notable auto de fe (November 26, 1815)
was that at which the accused was the patriot Morelos. The
finding against him was a foregone conclusion. " The Pres-
bitero Jose Maria Morelos," declared the inquisitors, "is an
unconfessed heretic (liereje formal negativo), an abettor of
heretics, and a disturber of the ecclesiastical hierarchy ; a
profaner of the holy sacraments ; a traitor to God, to the
King, and to the Pope." For which sins he was " con-
demned to do penance in a penitent's dress " (after the usual
form), and was surrendered to the tender mercies of the
secular arm. He was shot, December 22, 1815. But it was
the Inquisition that died.

Protestantism. In the year 1770, under the auspices of
the then Archbishop of Mexico, Francisco Antonio Loren-
zana, the then Bishojj of Puebla, Francisco Fabian y Fuero,
published in Puebla his "Missa Gothica seu Mozarabica" —
the liturgy in use among the Gt)thic Christians in Spain be-
fore the liturgy of the Roman Church was introduced into the
Peninsula.* The avowed purpose of this work was the re-
vival of the Mozarabic rite in Mexico. This purpose was not

* The Mozarabic Liturgy is the ancient communion-ofl5.ce of the
Spanish Church. It belongs to the Gallican family of liturgies, and
can, therefore, be traced back to the Ephesine type, on which all the
Western liturgies, except the Roman, were framed. The name is a cor-
ruption of the term Arab Mosta' ribeh^ meaning naturalized Arabs.
The liturgy, however, is much older than the time of the Arab occupa-
tion of Spain. Dr. Neale concludes that its groundwork is coev^al with
the introduction of Christianity into the country. It was supplanted in
Spain by the Roman liturgy in the eleventh century. The first mass
according to the Roman form was celebrated in Aragon, in the monas-
tery of San Juan de la Pena, March 21, 1071. This primitive liturgy
never wholly ceased to be used in Spain, and even now is in use in three
churches in Toledo — its maintenance in this city being due to the strong
effort made to compass its general revival by Archbishop Ximenes, of
Toledo, in the year 1495. The fact should be noted that Archbishop
Lorenzana, before coming to Mexico, was Vicar-General of Toledo ; and
that Bishop Fabian y Fuero, before coming to Mexico, was Abbott of
San Vicente in this diocese.

30 MEXICAT^- GUIDE.

immediately accomplished, but a decided tendency toward
independence of thought in religious matters was created.
The successful revolt against the authority of Spain tended
still further toward the growth of liberal ideas. Finally, the
positive measures taken by Oomonfort, and later by Juarez,
to diminish and to circumscribe the power of the Koman
Catholic Church in Mexico, gave the opportunity for the seed
that had been sown by Fabian y Fuero and Lorenzana to
ripen. In the year 1868 a positive movement toward the for-
mation of a Christian Church distinct from the Christian
Church of Eome began in Mexico. A representative of this
movement came in that year to the United States asking the
aid of Protestants in making the movement effective. The
aid desired was given, and in 1869 " The Church of Jesus in
Mexico " was organized. The essential fact in regard to this
Protestant Church in Mexico is that it was not the result of
missionary work, but of a spontaneous movement originat-
ing among members of the Boman Catholic Church in
Mexico. The distinct claim is made that it is not a new de-
parture, but a reversion to the original creed and liturgy of
the Christian Church in Spain, on the part of ex-members of
the Eoman communion who desire " a greater liberty of con-
science, a purer worship, and a better church organization "
(see Church of San Francisco). The communing membership
of this church rapidly increased under the direction of Bishop
Henry C. Biley (ordained by the Protestant Episcopal Church
of the United States) until it was officially stated to be 6,000.
Owing to causes which need not be detailed here this mem-
bership has been very greatly reduced. In 1886 * this church
had a membership of about fifteen hundred ; had two large
church buildings, San Francisco and San Jose de Gracia, in
the City of Mexico ; three other important church buildings
outside of the city, and several mission chapels ; maintained
two orphanages and several schools.

Protestant Missions. Aid has been extended by the
Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States and by

* Statistics furnished by letter, under date of October 4, 1886, by H.
C. Riley per J. R. Heath.

RELIGION. 31

the Cliurcli of England to the indigenous Protestant
Church of Mexico. Missions also are maintained in Mexico
by the three Protestant denominations named below, in the
order in which their mission work in Mexico was begun :

The Presbyterian Mission,"^ begun in 1872. Central stations
are maintained in the City of Mexico, Zacatecas, San Luis
Potosi, Jerez, Saltillo, and Lerdo, attached to which are
numerous out-stations. The effective strength of the mis-
sion is : Ordained missionaries, 8 ; ordained natives, 27 ;
licentiates, 19 ; female missionary teachers, 6 ; Bible- women,
3 ; a total native force of 79. Churches, 89 ; communicants
3,916 ; boarding-schools, 2 ; pupils in boarding-schools, 50 ;
day-schools, 28 ; gii'ls in day-schools, 192 ; boys in day-
schools, 492 ; students for ministry, 31 ; sabbath-school
pupils, 1,734.

The Methodist Mission,^ begun in 1873, The following
circuits are maintained : City of Mexico, Miraflores, San
Vicente, Puebla, Sierra, Orizaba, Pachuca, Queretaro, Guana-
juato. The effective strength of the mission is : Foreign mis-
sionaries, 8 ; assistant missionaries, 8 ; foreign missionaries
of Women's Foreign Missionary Society, 6 ; native workers
of Wom. For. Miss. Soc, 13 ; native ordained preachers, 8 ;
native unordained preachers, 25 ; native teachers, 22 ; foreign
teachers, 1 ; other helpers, 16 ; members, 728 ; probationers,
633; adherents 3,873 ; average attendance on Sunday wor-
ship, 1,431 ; high-schools, 1 ; teachers in high-school, 2 ; pu-
pils in high-school, 50 ; day-schools, 19 ; day-scholars, 918 ;
sabbath-schools, 21 ; sabbath scholars, 862 ; churches and
chapels, 14; halls and other places of worship, 22 ; parson-
ages, or ' ' homes," 14 ; volumes issued from the mission
press during the year, 474,740, with a total of 2,595,591
pages.

* From the Forty-ninth Annual Report of the Board of Foreign
Missions of the Presbyterian Church, 1886, the current report at the
time of going to press.

t From the Sixty-seventh Annual Report of the Missionary Society
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, for the year 1885, the report cur-
rent at the time of going to press.

32 MEXICAN GUIDE.

The Baptist Mission.^ "The Baptist churches organized
in Mexico are as follows : Under the Home Mission Society
of New York, a church organized at each of the following
places, Monterey, Salinas, Garcia, Santa Kosa, Montemorelos,
Ebanos, Cadereyta, Apodaca, in State of Nuevo Leon, and
one in the City of Mexico — nine in all, with a membership
of about 300. Under the Southern Baptist Convention,
churches as follows : Saltillo, Patos, Progreso, Muzquiez and
Juarez, in State of Coahuila. There are about 300 members
in these. There are church edifices in Monterey, Saltillo,
and Patos, and $18,000 raised, which will be increased to
^25,000, for the building of a house in the City of Mexico.
There are thirteen ordained Baptist ministers and five
schools.

Missions have been established in Matamoros and the
City of Mexico (and probably at other points) by American
Friends.

IV. EDUCATION.

"Within the past twenty years very astonishing and very
gratifying changes have been wrought in the educational
condition of Mexico. As yet, the system of public instruc-
tion is by no means perfect, but it constantly is being im-
proved. It is alive and growing, and affords substantial
proof of the vitality and progressive tendencies of the nation.
"With very few exceptions free schools, sustained by the
State or municipal governments, the church or benevolent
societies, are found in all the towns and villages ; and in
all the cities and larger towns private schools are numerous.
In the more important cities colleges and professional
schools are found. Thirty years ago illiteracy was very
general. At the present time, probably the majority, cer-
tainly a large proportion, of Mexicans can read and write.
All of the Mexican States have recognized the necessity of

* Statistics received by letter from the Rev. P. C. Pope, D.D., gen-
eral superintendent Church Edifice Department, under date of October,
4, 1886.

EDUCATION.

obligatory, free primary instruction, and, as seen in the siib-
joiued table, aj^propriate annually very considerable sums for
the maintenance of free schools. Included in the general
scheme are free night-schools for men and women, as well
as schools in which trades are taught. The annexed table

States.

Agnascalientes .

Campeche

Chiapas

Chihuahua

Coahuila

Colima

Durango

Guanajuato. . . ,

Guerrero

Hidalgo

Jalisco

Mexico

Michoacan

Morelos

Nuevo Leon

Oaxaca

Puebla

6,500

4,500

2,500

4,500

7,5'00

3,000

5,000

20,000

15,000

19,000

42,000

50,000

11,000

14.000

14,000

21,000

67,000

Queretaro ! 10,000

^ - - 14000

9,500

4,000

3,500

4,000

9,500

27,000

11,500

31,000

1,000

Approximate

school
attendance.

San Luis Potosl.

Sinaloa

Sonera

Tabasco

Tamaulipas

Tlaxcala

Vera Cruz . . .

Yucatan

Zacatecas

Federal District. .
Lower California.

Total.

452,500

School
appropriation.

fl0,000
15,000
10,000
28,000
26,000
18,000
20.000
81,000
35,000
82,000

100,000

187,000
53,000
23.000
68,000
51,000

153,000
30,000
40,000
58,000
20,000;
20,000
10,000
20,000

219,000
50,000
72,000

202,000
10,000

1,711,000

shows, approximately, the annual school attendance at the
free schools in the several States. To the sum total of this
attendance should be added at least half as many pupils more
whose education is obtained in private schools and in the
free schools maintained, as above noted, by the church and
by benevolent societies.

34 MEXICAT^ GUIDE.

Education is further encouraged by the existence of ex-
tensive libraries — largely, however, composed of the wrecks
of the monastic libraries, and notably lacking in modern
works of reference — in all the principal cities. The best of
these is the National Library (which see), that is wonderfully
rich in theology and Spanish American history, and also
contains a large number of modern works. Excellent work-
ing libraries are attached to the several technical and profes-
sional institutions. Museums are maintained in the city of
Mexico, in Guadalajara, in Oaxaca, and in Puebla, all of value.
Numerous learned societies are found in the principal cities.
Astronomical and meteorological observatories are main-
tained by the Federal government;. Newspapers are j)ub-
lished in all the cities and larger towns.

V. LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE,

Language. Excepting the Indian dialects, the language
spoken in Mexico is Spanish. The genius of the Spanish
language is such that it does not readily admit of perversion.
The Spanish of Mexico, therefore, with a few slight eccen-
tricities— e.g., sounding the // as y, the z and c as s instead
of as th, which really are not Mexican peculiarities at all,
but are found also in Spain — is singularly pure. There
are interpolated into the language many proper names — of
places, mountains, fruits, flowers, trees, animals, articles of
household and field use — which are derived from the primitive
dialects. These usually are softened in the transfer. Nearly
all of the words, for instance, ending in il are softened into
te. Thus coyotl becomes coyote ; chocolatl, chocolate, and so on.
The .r, in Mexican j^roper names usually has the sound of s.
Thus, Xochimilco is pronounced Sochimilco — the c/^, as in
Spanish, having the sound of cli in chair. The more impor-
tant of the native dialects now in use (according to the clas-
sification of the eminent philologist Don Francisco Pimen-
tel) are : Mexican, spoken by 1,750,000 persons ; Tarascan,
250,000 ; Mixteco-Zapoteca, 500,000 ; Maya-Quiche, 400,000,

LANGUAGE AND LITERATUKE. 35

and Otliomi, 704,000. Together with these, other dialects
are spoken by many smaller families. The total of Mexicans
speaking native languages is estimated by Senor Pimentel at
3,970,284. A very large proportion of these also speak Span-
ish.

Literature. Of primitive Mexican literature "^ very little
survives ; but the existing fragments are of a quality that al-
most tempt one into believing the ^picturesque romance that
various writers of distinction have given us so freely in the
guise of alleged Mexican history. It is hard to believe that
a man capable of uttering sentiments at once so lofty and so
truly poetic as those expressed by Netzahualcoyotl, chief of
Texcoco, in the fifteenth century, should not have been the le-
gitimate product of a high state of civilization ; instead of
being, as he assuredly was, merely an accidental interpolation
of intelligence and refinement in the midst of barbarism.
Poetry, however, is less a gift pertaining to civilization than
to humanity. A tolerably close parallel, indeed, to the life
of the poet -chief of Texcoco may be found in the life of the
poet-chief of Judea — though to the poetical fervor of David
the Mexican ruler united also much of the enlightened
wisdom of Solomon. Texcoco was the centre of this primi-
tive literature ; perhaps it extended no farther than the little
circle that the Texcocan chief drew around him. But it is
certain that literary qualities of a high order are inherent in
the Mexican race, and need only favorable conditions in
order to manifest themselves in work of exceptional excel-
lence. This fact was demonstrated in the years immediately
succeeding the Conquest— before a severe censorship of the
press was established in Mexico — by the numerous works
written in Spanish by native Mexicans, men and women ; to
which works much of our scant knowledge of primitive
Mexico is due. Succeeding this short period the prostration
of lettei-s in Mexico was absolute ; saving only the theologi-
cal writings in the monasteries and — for the most part in the

* It is with extreme diffidence that this very imperfect sketch of Mexi-
can Uterature is offered at all. The only excuse for it is that to the ma-
jority of English readers the subject is absolutely unknown.

36 MEXICAN GUIDE.

seventeenth century — the chronicles of the several religious
orders. These latter are of very great historic value, and, as
a rule, they are very entertaining reading. Fray Augustin
Betancurt, to be sure, although abounding in valuable facts,
is desperately stupid reading. On the other hand, a more
delightful book scarcely can be found than the chronicle of
Fray Baltazar de Medina ; and only less delightful are the
chronicles of Fray Torribio de Benevente, called "Moto-
linia," of Fray Geronimo Mendieta, and of Fray Alonzo de
la Eea. Yet works of this nature cannot be regarded as lit-
erature. They simply were histories written to order for
ecclesiastical purposes. That some of them chanced to
possess also literary value was nothing more than a happy
accident. During the seventeenth century, however, there
were two writers in Mexico, whose work is of admirable lit-
erary quality, and entitled to all respect. These were :
Carlos de Sigiienza y Gongora, poet (though a stilted one),
philosopher, mathematician, historian, antiquarian, and
critic ; and Sor Juana Ynez de la Cruz, a nun in the convent
of San Geronimo, whose writings, in verse and in prose,
attracted deserved attention not only in Mexico but in Spain.
The works of a third notable Mexican of this period, the
dramatist Alarcon, scarcely can be regarded as belonging to
Mexican literature at all ; for while Alarcon was born in
Mexico, and received his early education in that country, his
literary life was passed in Spain.

The revival of Mexican literature may be said to have
begun in the latter part of the seventeenth century, with the
notable writings of the historians Clavigero, Veytia, and Gama.
It is true that Clavigero wrote in exile, having been expelled
with the Jesuits, and that Veyfcia also wrote in foreign coun-
tries, but both were born and educated in Mexico, and both
devoted themselves to writing, as did Gama, the history of
that country. The poets Navarete and Tagle enlightened
the early years of the present century, the former with j)oetry
of a religious or semi-religious character, showing genuine
feeling and a certain elegance of versification ; the latter
with various odes of a fervid rather than scholarly cast — the

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 37

best being his celebrated ode addressed to the Army of the
Three Guarantees (commanded by Yturbide), in which he
hails the advent of Mexican Independence. Two other
famous patriotic poets of this period were Ortega and Quin-
tana-Eoo. Between the years 1810 and 1820 appeared in
parts the "Periqnillo Sarniento" of Jose Joaquin Fernandez
de Lizardi (over the nom de guerre of "El Pensador Mexi-
cana"), a work that very well might be styled " The Mexi-
can Gil Bias," and that to this day remains one of the wittiest
and most delightful books in the whole range of Mexican
literature. This has been republished again and again, and,
although several other of Lizardi's works still survive, will be
the work by which he will be enduringly known. The drama-.
tist Gorostiza also belongs to this period immediately pre-
ceding the achievement of independence. His writing is
clever, and a considerable ingenuity is shown in his plots.
Some of his plays still hold the stage. Succeeding the war
of independence Mexico was plunged for a long period in
civil wars that almost wholly crushed the nation's literary
life. Only a few names — those of the poets Carpio and
Pesado, and of the poet and dramatist Galvan, with one or
two others — rise conspicuously above the turmoil of civil
strife. But during this time the generation was maturing
that in our own day has raised Mexican literature — though
as yet the fact scarcely is known to the outside world — to an
honorable and even commanding position.

The great figure of this period, ih.Q figure that always will
be great in the literary history as well as in the patriotic
annals of Mexico, is that of the]poet Guillermo Prieto. Born
about the year 1810, almost his whole life has been passed
in an atmosphere of civil war. Primarily, he is a statesman,
and while the varying fortunes of the cause which he has
espoused have placed him at times in extreme personal peril,
and have proved his personal bravery, his fighting has been
done with his tongue and pen. He is a Liberal, and much
of the success of the Liberal party has been due to his wise
counsel and to his sagacious management of its affairs. He
has served in the higher ofiSces of the government, and

38 MEXICAN GUIDE.

always to tHe iDrofit of the country and to his own honor. As
a writer upon political economy and finance he has mani-
fested a solidity of mind and a soundness of judgment such
as poets are not popularly supposed to have. For the use
that he has made of these several qualities in his country's
service he is honored ; but as a poet he is not only honored
but loved. In the intervals of his serious labors he has
made time in which to write the songs and stories in verse,
by which he is best known throughout the Republic. As an
author of whimsical verse, as a i3oet of sentiment, and, above
all, as a poet of patriotism, his work justly is esteemed as of
the best that Mexico has produced. And still, in his young
and vigorous old age, his poet life continues. In 1886 was
published his " Romancero Nacional," that delightfully com-
plements the delightful " Musa Callejera" (Curbstone Idyls)
of his earlier years. Senor Altamirano, the highest critical
authority in Mexico, writes : " Guillermo Prieto has closed
with his book [El Romancero Nacional] the cycle of purely
lyric poetry in Mexico ; and whether this cycle does or does
not begin again, he has acquired a new title to immortality."
In the troublous times during which Prieto began to
write, other important literary work, though in a very small
way, was going on. Roa Barcena, though now best known
as an historian, then was known as a poet ; Lucas Alaman,
Zavala and Carlos Bustamante were engaged upon their
admirable histories ; in the north, Dr, Eleuterio Gonzalez
was writing his fascinating " Life of Dr. Mier " and his ex-
cellent historical works relating to Northern Mexico ; and
various writers of high quality were aiding in the general
revival of letters. The eminent historian Orozco y Berra,
whose death in 1881 still is a living sorrow to those whose
happiness it was to know him, has left us what henceforth
must be the standard history of primitive Mexico and the
Spanish Conquest, a work that deals calmly and judicially
with the facts which Prescott to a certain extent has ob-
scured by tinting them with the glow and color of romance.

The centre of the present literary life of Mexico is the
Liceo Hidalgo, a literary society founded in the capital.

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 39

September 15, 1849, and within the past few years — after a
period of quiescence — renewed with a vigorous vitality.
The present president of this organization is Senor Ignacio
Manuel Altamirano, one of the most charming of living
writers. Ho was born November 13, 183-1: , in the village of
Tixtla, in Oaxaca (now in the recently erected State of
Guerrero), and, like Juarez, is of pure Indian blood. His re-
markable intelligence as a child gained for him a scholarship
in the gift of the authorities of Tixtla, in the College of
Toluca, and his career at this institution, and subsequently
at the (now extinct) College of San Juan de Letran, in the
City of Mexico, was a series of brilliant triumphs. He was
admitted to the Mexican bar in 1859, but almost immediately
entered the Liberal army, (he had already, taking a military
vacation, served with distinction in the rising of Ayutla) , and
for two years, until Liberalism had triumphed, was a gallant
and successful soldier. He was elected to the Chamber of
Deputies in 1861, where he immediately made his mark as a
powerful orator, and as a singularly acute and logical de-
bater. Upon the invasion of Mexico by the French he again
entered the army, and as a general officer gained a number of
brilliant victories, which materially advanced the Mexican
cause. At the close of the war he was elected an Associate
Justice of the Supreme Court, of which he subsequently be-
came the President Justice. His more important works are :
" Eimas," a collection of charming poems ; "Movimiento lit-
erario en Mexico " (" The Literary Movement in Mexico "), a
work both historical and critical of very high value ; ' ' Drama-
turgia Mexicana" (Mexican Dramaturgy), that supplements
the i)i'evious work, and " Clemencia," a novel of singular
grace and j)ower. To these must be added a number of
other novels of high merit ; critical writings at once deli-
cate, trenchant, and astute, and many inimitable descrip-
tive sketches — as that of his own earlv life in his native vil-
lage— that are full of poetry and grace. Senor Altamirano
has been not merely a most important contributor to Mex-
ican literature ; to him, more than to any other single writer.
Mexican literature of the x^resent day owes its existence. By

40 MEZICAN GUIDE.

his associates, and by the younger literary men of Mexico he
is called, lovingly and reverently, ''The Master" — and this
title is well deserved.

Of other living Mexican writers it is difficnlt to speak with-
out making (from lack of knowledge) what may seem to be in-
vidious distinctions, and without omissions (also from lack of
knowledge) which may seem capital. Of the position of Se-
nor Kiva Palacio there can be no doubt. As an historical nov-
elist, combining extraordinary historical accuracy and arch^e-
ological correctness, with a Dumas-like dramatic power and
story-telling faculty, he cannot be too warmly praised ; nor
can he be too warmly thanked for his lucid accuracy as an
editor of historical and general literature. With him may
be grouped, as living writers of high merit, the poets Juan
de Dios Peza, Jose Maria Vigil (who by his admirable
arrangement and ordering of the National Library, of which
he is librarian, has done much to advance the cause of liter-
ature in Mexico, and has conferred a great favor upon all
students of Spanish-American history) ; the archaeologist
and, to quote Bandelier, "great documentary historian of
Mexico," Joaquin Garcia Icazbalceta ; the archaeologist Al-
fredo Chavero ; the philologist Francisco Pimentel ; and
the philosopher Eamon Manterola. In certain aspects the
philosophical writings of Sefior Manterola are the most not-
able literary products of Mexico. His philosophy is not
of the antiquated mystical and objectless sort, but belongs to
the modern and eminently practical school that considers
abstract subjects in the light of their direct bearing upon
existing social institutions and the actual needs and affairs
of human life. Work of this elevated sort necessarily im-
plies the existence of precisely the enlarged intellectual
conditions and advanced intellectual culture that in this last
quarter of the nineteenth century Mexico enjoys.

HISTOKICAL SUMMARY. 41

VI. HISTORICAL SUMMARY.

Primitive Mexico. Into the interesting region of primi-
tive Mexican history there is no need (fortunately) to enter
here. The general opinion may be expressed, however, in
regard to the writings concerning this period that, as a rule,
a most gorgeous superstructure of fancy has been raised
upon a very meagre foundation of fact. As romance, infor-
mation of this highly imaginative sort is entertaining ; but
it is not edifying. Seekers after substantial information
concerning primitive Mexico should consult the " Historia
antigua y de la conquista de Mexico '' of Manuel Orozco y
Berra, or, in English, the even more satisfactory, but less
comprehensive, publications of A. F. Bandelier. As show-
ing the degree of civilization to which the Mexicans had
attained at the time of the Spanish conquest, the following
paragraph may be quoted from the histoiy of the author first
named : " It is to be regretted that from the wreck of this
primitive civilization some of the arts peculiar to it were not
saved : the methods by which its astronomers succeeded in
determining the apparent motion of the sun and the length
of the solar year ; of working and polishing crystal and other
stones ; of manufacturing delicate articles of use and orna-
ment of obsidian ; of casting figures of gold and of silver
in one piece ; of making filagree ornaments without solder-
ing; of applying to pottery even and transparent glazes,
such as are used by makers of fine ware, with colors that,
after remaining for centuries underground, still are fresh
and brilliant ; of weaving extremely delicate tissues of cotton
mixed with silky feathers and rabbits' fur."

Period of the Conquest. The coast of Yucatan was
discovered by Francisco Hernandez de Cordova, March 4,
1517, in the course of a voyage of adventure from Cuba. In
the ensuing year, Velasquez, the Governor of Cuba, sent out
an expedition of like nature under the command of Juan
de Grijalva, who sailed along the coast of Mexico, and

42 MEXICAN GUIDE.

landed on the island of San Jnan de Ulua, fronting the exist-
ing port of Vera Cruz. The result of his trading was so
good, and his report of the country — sent back by one of his
captains, Pedro de Alvarado, subsequently a famous captain
under Cortes — was so promising, that Velasquez at once be-
gan fitting out another expedition, on a much larger scale,
for the conquest of the newly discovered land. And the
command of this expedition was given to Hernando Cortes,^
then thirty-four years old.

* Cortes was horn in the town of Medellin, Province of Estra-
madura, Spain, 5n the year 1485. He was the son of Don Martin
Cortes de Monroy by his wife Dona Catalina Pizarro Altamirano.
lie came to Cuba when about nineteen years old. As the reward
of his services as conqueror of Mexico, he was made Marquis del
Valle de Oaxaca, by a royal order given by the Emperor Charles
V. at Barcelona, July 6, 1529, and received great grants of land.
He died December 2, 1547, in the town of Castelleja de la^ Questa,
in Spain. (See Church of Jesus Nazareno.)

Cortts married in Cuba, under compulsion, Dofia Catalina Ju-
arez ; and there is reason for believing the tradition preserved in
Coyoacan that in that town he murdered her. Sefior Orozco y Berra,
in his ** Noticia historica de la Conjuracion del Marques del Valle "
(Mexico, 1853), incidentally supplies the following facts concern-
ing the descendants of the Conqueror : After the conquest, Cor-
tes married Dona Juana de Ziiniga, daughter of the Conde de
Aguilar, and niece or cousin of the Duque de Bejar. Of his issue
by his first wife no record survives, and it is probable that the one
child that certainly was born of her died in infancy. By the In-
dian La Marina he left one son, Martin. By three other Indian
women of rank he had three daughters. By Antonia Hermosilla
he left one son, Luis. By his second wife he left three daughters
and one son, also named Martin, who was the second Marques,
This son returned to Mexico from Spain, in 1563, and engaged in
a conspiracy (in which his illegitimate brother, Martin, also was
involved) to make himself ruler of the Province, For this crime
of treason his property was confiscated (but was restored in 1574)
and he was sent to Spain. Don Martin, after cruel torture, was
banished forever from Mexico. The second Marqires married
Dona Ana Ramirez de Arellano, by whom he left a son, Hernando,

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 43

Before the preparation of the force was complete, Velas-
quez determined to remove Cortes from his command ; and
this fact being discovered to Cortes, he sailed hurriedly and
secretly in the night from Santiago de Cuba, November 18,

1518. He refitted his fleet and augmented his force in the
Cuban ports of Macaca, Trinidad, and San Cristobal de la
Habana, from which latter port he sailed February 10, 1519.
Off Cape San Antonio he was Joined by two more vessels ; and
finally sailed thence toward the coast of Mexico, February 18,

1519. With him went as interpreters the two Indians, Mel-
chor and Julian (see page 20), brought fuom Yucatan by Her-
nando de Cordova two years before. Most fortunately, as
events tui'ned out, the services of these Indians — whose thin
veneer of Christianity presently became wofully cracked —
were not required. The expeditionary force consisted of
a fleet of eleven sail, including shallops; 110 mariners; 16
cavalrymen with their horses ; 553 foot-soldiers ; 200 Cu-
ban Indians ; a battery of ten howitzers and four falconets.
On board the flagship was raised the standard of the con-
quest, a black ensign emblazoned with the arms of the Em-
peror Charles V. (the double-headed Austrian eagle with the
castles and lions of Castile and Leon) having at the sides
the crimson cross surrounded by blue and white smoke or

third Marques, who married Dona Mencia de la Cerda y Bobadilla
—a marriage that gained for the family the return of its feudal
rights in Mexico. Pedro, the fourth Marques, son of Don Her-
nando, came to reside upon his estates in Mexico, and died in that
country in the year 1629. In his person the legitimate male line
of the Conqueror became extinct. Through the female line the
property of the family passed to the Neapolitan family Pignatelli,
Dukes of Monteleone. Such of the property as remains intact,
still a vast estate, now belongs to Jose de Aragon Pignatelli y Cor-
tes, Duque de Terranova y Monteleone.

The illegitimate sons of the Conqueror, Martin and Luis, were
recognized by their father. Don Martin married Dona Bernaldiua
de Porras, by whom he had one son, Hernando. With the record
of his banishment all trace of him and his descendants is lost.
The descendants of Don Luis are known as Cortes-Hermosilla.

44 MEXICAN GUIDE.

clouds, and bearing the motto : Amid, sequamm- crucem et
si nos fidem habemus vere in hoc signo vincemiis — " Friends, let
lis follow the cross, and, if we have faith, by this sign we
shall conquer." Bearing this flag, and under the patronage
of the Apostle Peter, the fleet put out to sea.

The first halt was made (for missionary and marauding
purposes) on the island of Cozumel. Here the Spaniard
Geronimo de Aguilar, shipwrecked in those parts in the
year 1511, joined the expedition, and, having acquired the
language of the coast, was most useful thereafter as an in-
terpreter. The famous interpreter to the expedition, how-
ever, was the Indian woman La Marina. Sailing from Coz-
umel March 13th, and coasting around Yucatan, a landing
on the mainland was made on the shores of the river Ta-
basco, or Grijalva, March 20th. Here there was battling
with the Indians, that resulted in victory for the invaders ;
and as a result of the victory presents were made to the
Spaniards of precious things, and of male and female slaves.
One of the slaves thus obtained was La Marina. This woman
was a native of Jalisco, whence she had been sold into slavery,
and understood the language spoken on the Mexican pla-
teau. She understood also the coast language, and so could
communicate with the Spanish castaway, Aguilar. Thus
Cortgs was enabled to hold converse with the people whom
he had come among. La Marina quickly acquired also the
Spanish tongue, and through all the i)eriod of the conquest
she was the faithful ally and interpreter of the conquerors.
By her Cortes had a son, Don Martin, who not infrequently
is confounded with his legitimate son bearing the same
name — given to each because it was that of their grand-
father, Don Martin Cortes de Monroy.

Leaving the river Grijalva, the expedition came again to
land, April 21st, at the spot where now stands the city of Vera
Cruz. Here Cortes remained, treating with the natives, for
a considerable period. His efforts to secure the submission
of the Mexican ruler peacefully were unavailing ; and dis-
content arose among his own men. To silence this latter,
by making their only safety lie in their success, he burned

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 45

liis sliiiDS, and, August IGth, began his march toward the
Mexican capital. After four sharp battles with the Tlas-
calans, the members of this tribe became his allies, and
marched on with him toward Mexico. In Cholula a con-
spiracy against the Spaniards was discovered by La Marina,
and, turning upon the Cholulans suddenly the Spaniards
put a great number of them to the sword. The march was
continued, and, without armed resistance on the part of the
Mexicans, the invaders entered Tenochtitlan, the i^resent
City of Mexico, Tuesday, November 8, 1519.

The Aztec chief, Montezuma, came out to meet Cortes ;
and this meeting took place, according to tradition, in front
of the spot where now stands the Hosx^ital de Jesus. The
tradition adds that in founding the hospital Cortes selected
this site because of its association with his entry into the
city. The aggressive acts of the Spaniards, their insults to
the persons and religion of the Mexicans, their imprison-
ment of Montezuma, their massacre in the name of Christi-
anitv, caused a rising against them. Thev were driven out of
the city, over the causeway leading to Tlacopan (Tacuba), on
the night of July 1, 1520, with great slaughter ; and this night
ever since has been called the Dismal Night, la noche triste.
Cortes retreated toward the coast fighting the battle and
gaining the victory of Otumba (July 8th) ; and received the
succor and assured friendship of the Tlascalans. To this as-
surance, at this critical moment, his future success was due.

From Tlascala, after a period of recuperation — during
which period several minor victories had been won, re-en-
forcements had been received from Cuba, gunjoowder had
been made from sulphur obtained in the crater of Poj^ocate-
petl, and small flat-bottomed boats [bergantines] had been
prej^ared, ready to be put together and launched on Lake
Texcoco — Cortes returned to the Valley of Mexico and laid
formal siege to the city. This siege began December 31,
1520. Its base was the town of Texcoco. The force with
which Cortes operated consisted of 40 cavalrymen, 80 arque-
busiers and cross-bowmen, about 450 foot -soldiers armed
with sword and lance, and a train of nine small cannon.

46 MEXICAN GUIDE.

His native allies have been estimated at 120,000. The im-
mediate successor of Montezuma, the chief Cuitlahua, had
died of small-pox and had been succeeded by Guatemotzin.
The siege continued for more than six months. Numer-
ous attacks were made, and the garrison was depleted still
further by starvation. The triumphal entry of the Spaniards
was made August 13, 1521. Almost all of the treasure of
the city had been thrown into the lake and was permanently
lost. Before this fact was determined Cortes, to his shame,
had ]Dermitted the heroic Guatemotzin to be put to the tor-
ture, in order that the hiding-place of the treasure might be
revealed.

Viceregal Period. The Province of New Spain, as it
was styled during the Spanish domination, remained a de-
pendency of the Spanish crown for precisely three centuries.
During this period it was ruled successively by five Govern-
ors (1521-28), two Audencias (1528-35), and sixty-two Vice-
roys (1535-1821). The Governors, of which Cortes was the
first, were merely military expedients whose duties were less
civil than military. The first Audencia, composed of three
members, was so disturbed by the intrigues of each of these
three to secure the supreme power that, notwithstanding
the more harmonious working of the second Audencia, com-
posed of five members, the method of governing by a vice-
roy was adopted. Among the many men in the long line of
the viceregal succession whose acts for good or evil have
made their names especially conspicuous in Mexican history
are the following :

Antonio de Mendoza, first Viceroy (1535-50). He was dis-
tinguished for his humane efforts to mitigate the hardships
of the enslaved Indians. He caused a printing-press to be
brought from Sixain and to be set up in Mexico by Juan
Pablos — whence issued (1535) tlie first book printed in
America: "Escala espiritual de San Juan Climaco," the
third translation into Spanish of the Latin translation from
the original Greek. He aided Fray Pedro de Gante in
founding institutions of learning. He pushed discoveries
and conquest of new territory northward — in which territory.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 47

under his orders, the cities of Morelia and Guadalajara were
founded. In his reign the missionary Bartolome de las
Casas arrived in Mexico ; the mines of Zacatecas and Guana-
juato first were worked, and money first issued from the
Mexican mint.

Luis de Velasco, second Viceroy (1550-64). He emanci-
pated 150,000 Indians held as slaves by the Spaniards.
When the argument was urged against this act that it would
destroy the mining industry of the Province, the Viceroy
replied : "The liberty of the Indians is of more importance
than the mines of the whole world " — a noble sentiment that
in a very little while was forgotten, for the enslavement of
the Indians, in one form or another, was continued until al-
most the jn-esent day. He founded (1553) the University;
he cleared the roads of the country of robbers ; he founded
(1553) the Hospital Real ; he founded the northern outposts
of Chametla and San Miguel (1560), and Durango (1563) ;
he distributed royal lands among the Indians. In his time the
mines of Fresnillo and Sombrerete were discovered, and in
Pachuca, the patio, or amalgamating, process for the reduc-
tion of silver ores was invented by Bartolome de Medina.
In 1552, in consequence of the first inundation of the city of
Mexico, he caused the dvke of San Lazaro to be built. He
died in the city of Mexico, July 31, 1564, greatly lamented
and beloved.

Martin Enriquez de Almanza, fourth Viceroy (1568-80).
He conducted successful campaigns against the savage In-
dians of the north ; he manifested great humanity toward
the Indians during the terrible plague of the matlalzahuatl.
In his reign the Inquisition was introduced ; the company of
Jesus was established in the Province ; the first stone of the
existing cathedral in the city of Mexico was laid, and many
charitable and religious institutions were founded. Just be-
fore his appointment as Viceroy he drove the English from
the island of Sacrificios (off Vera Cruz), November 5, 1568.

Alonzo Manrique de ZufLiga, Marques de Villa Mauriqne,
seventh Viceroy (1585-90). In his reign the commerce be-
tween Mexico and the East was greatly extended. In the

48 MEXICAI^ GUIDE.

year 1586 the English corsair (as he is politely, and perhaps
not improperly, termed by Mexican historians) Cavendish,
cai)tured, off Acapulco, the galleon coming from the Philip-
pines ; and in 1587 " another English corsair, Senor Francis
Drake," captured off the California coast the galleon Santa
Ana, laden with an enormously rich cargo of goods from
China and Japan.

Luis de Velasco, eighth Viceroy (1590-95) son of the for-
mer Viceroy of the same name. He established manufacto-
ries of "woollen cloth ; he began the conquest of New Mexico ;
he made a favorable peace with the Chichimec Indians ; he
framed wise and just laws for the protection of the Indians
generally ; he aided in the establishment of Franciscan mis-
sions in the north ; he laid out the Alameda (the eastern
half of the present Alameda) in the City of Mexico. Having
served as Viceroy of Peru, he was a second time (1607-11)
Viceroy of Mexico. He presided (December 28, 1608) at the
formal beginning of the great drainage cut, the tajo de no-
cliistongo ; he sent an embassy to Japan, and in all his acts
showed himself to be a wise and benevolent ruler.

Gaspar de Zuiiiga y Acevedo, Conde de Monterey, ninth
Viceroy (1595-1603). He despatched an expedition to Cali-
fornia for the extension and pacification of the Spanish do-
minion thereabouts : when was founded the California town of
Monterey ; caused to be founded (1600) the city of Monterey
in Nuevo Leon ; removed the site of the city of Vera Cruz to
the spot where the city now stands.

Diego Carrillo Mendoza, Marques de Gelves, fourteenth
Viceroy (1621-24). This nobleman was of a highly irascible
nature, as was also the Archbishojp, his contemporary, Juan
Perez de la Lerna. By the Viceroy's orders, a robber who had
sought sanctuary in the church of Santo Domingo w^as arrested
in that holy place. A most violent dispute between the two
great dignitaries of Church and State arose in consequence of
this act of sacrilege, the end of which was that the Viceroy
decreed the banishment of the Archbishop, and the Arch-
bishop retaliated by excommunicating the Viceroy ! In point
of fact both were worsted in this encounter, for the Vice-

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. . 49

roy — after himself taking sanctuary in the church of San
Francisco — betook himself to Spain ; and shortly thereafter
the Archbishop also was recalled to the mother country.
However, the Viceroy was successful for the time being in
clearing the highways of Mexico of robbers.

Francisco Fernandez de la Cueva, Duque de Alburquerque,
twenty-second Viceroy (1653-60). In the last year of his
reign he founded a colony of one hundred families in New
Mexico, giving to the city thus formed his titular name —
now corrujpted into Albuquerque.

Fray Payo de Eivera Enriquez, Archbishop of Mexico,
twenty-seventh Viceroy (1673-80). No striking events
marked the reign of this good man, but in a great va-
riety of ways the Province was the better for his wise and
just government. Notably, he caused many important
works of i3ublic utility — as the stone causeway leading to
Guadalupe and the aqueduct that j)rovides that town with
water — to be constructed. His resignation of his two-fold
office of Viceroy and Archbishop was regarded in the Prov-
ince, and with reason, as a public calamity.

Melchor Portocarrero Lazo de la Vega, Oonde de la Mon-
clova, twenty-ninth Viceroy (1686-88). He began the coloni-
zation of Coahuila, and the town founded there was named
Monclova in his honor. He built at his private charge the
aqueduct that brings the water of Chapultepeo to the City
of Mexico.

Gaspar de la Cerda Sandoval Silva y Mendoza, Conde de
Galve, thirtieth Viceroy (1688-96). He accomplished the
conquest of Texas in 1691, and in 1692 caused the city of
Pensacola to be founded ; completed (1692) the conquest of
New Mexico ; put down the mutiny (see Plaza Mayor) of
1692, and in 1695 sent a Mexican contingent to operate with
the English against the French in the attack upon the
island of Hispaniola, an expedition that was brilliantly suc-
cessful.

Jose Sarmiento Valladares, Conde de Moctezuma, thirty-
second Viceroy (1696-1701). The titular name of this noble-
man was derived from his wife, Maria Andrea Moctezuma,

50 . MEXICAN GUIDE.

third Countess of Moctezuma, fourth in descent from the
second Mexican ruler of this name, through his son Don
Pedro Johualicahuatzin Moctezuma. This Viceroy's reign
was uneventful, but in his time (with the death of Charles
II., November, 1, 1700, and the accession of Philip V.)
Spain and its dependencies passed from the House of Aus-
tria to the House of Bourbon. Notwithstanding the conflicts
to which this transfer of the crown gave rise in Europe, the
fidelity of Mexico remained unshaken. It is affirmed (though
on no very high authority) that Philip V. even contemplated
taking refuge among his loyal subjects in Mexico, and so re-
lieving himself of the disturbances that beset him in Europe.

Juan de Acuna, Marques de Casafuerte, thirty-seventh
Viceroy (1722-34). He was noted for his liberal and en-
lightened administration of the affairs of the Province.
During his reign the first issue of the Gaceta de llexico, a
small single sheet, was published in 1722 ; a publication
that was continued regularly, after January, 1728, by Juan
Francisco Sahagun de Arrevalo. The Gaceta was continued
until the year 1807, and to the student of Spanish- American
history the files of this newspaper are exceedingly valuable.

Pedro Cebrian y Agustin, Conde de Fuenclara, fortieth
Viceroy (1742-46). During his reign, by a royal order given
by Philip V., June 19, 1741, the first effort was made to col-
lect and digest practical statistical information concerning
Mexico. The work was conducted by Jose Antonio Vil-
lasenor y Sanchez, with the official title of Cosmographer of
New Spain ; and resulted in the publication in the City of
Mexico, in 1746, of the curious and valuable " Teatro
Americano " ; and later (1751) of a map of the Province. In
the reign of the Conde de Fuenclara, also, colonization be-
gan in the present State of Tamaulipas, then Nuevo San-
tander.

Joaquin de Monserrat, Marquis de Cruillas, forty-fourth
Viceroy (1760-66). He organized for the first time a regular
army in Mexico, a force that in later times was raised to a
considerable size and to a high state of efficiency. By his
orders the houses in the City of Mexico were numbered.

IJISTOKICAL SUMMARY. 51

Carlos Francisco de Croix, Marques cle Croix, forty-fifth
Viceroy (17G6-71). He greatly improved the City of Mexico ;
doubled the size of the Alameda (see Alameda) ; manifested
great firmness in carrying out the royal order (June 25,
1767) by which the Jesuits were expelled from Mexico, and
in every way manifested marked ability as a ruler. In his
time the fourth General Council was held (January 15, 1771)
presided over by Archbishop Lorenzana. In his time, too,
the salary of the Mexican viceroys was raised from $40,000
to $70,000 a year.

Antonio Maria de Bucareli y Urstia, forty-sixth Viceroy
(1771-79). He notably exerted himself to develop the nat-
ural resources and to increase, by urging the removal of va-
rious restrictive regulations and imposts, the foreign com-
merce of the Province, with the result that the product
and trade of Mexico reached an unexampled prosperity.
The fleet that sailed for Spain in 1770 carried a freight val-
ued at upward of thirty millions of dollars ; and a freight
of about the same value was sent in the fleet of the follow-
ing year. During his reign there was coined in the Mex-
ican mint no less a sum than $127,396,000. He fostered
also the military strength of the country ; actively aided in
the construction of works of public utility — completing at
his own cost the Chapultepec aqueduct — and of public
charity ; and in all his acts manifested so liberal a spirit
and judgment so excellent that a Mexican historian very
justly sums his reign in the sentence : " The period of his
government was a period of uninterrupted felicity for New
Spain." He died in office, April 9, 1779, and was buried
with all possible honors in the church of Guadalupe —
where, in the west aisle, a bronze slab in the floor still marks
his tomb. Had the viceroys of New Spain generally re-
sembled Bucareli it is safe to say that Mexico would have
been a Spanish province to this day.

Juan Vicente de Gliemes Pacheco de Padilla, Conde de
Eevillagigedo, fifty-second Viceroy (1789-94). This very
eccentric and very positive nobleman was a most famous
reformer and corrector of abuses, as well as a notable insti-

53 MEXICAN GUIDE.

gator of practical improvements of all sorts. He cleaned,
paved, and lighted the principal streets of the City of Mexico,
and organized an efficient police force ; he built roads ; he
caused to be shot or hung great numbers of highwaymen ;;
he established weekly posts between the capital and the sev-
eral Intendencies ; he remodelled the military organization ;
he placed a locked box having a slit in its lid in a public
place for the receipt of petitions and communications from
those who were not in a position easily to gain audience
of his person ; he despatched expeditions for the exploration
of the Californias that went as far north as Behring's Straits,
and communicated to the Spanish Cortes, as the result of
these expeditions, an admirable and truly prophetic memoir
upon this region. In his desire to assure himself personally
that all was going properly in his capital city, he was in the
habit of making rounds through the streets at night ; and
whatever he found wrong it was his custom to have righted
instantly. If the case was one that belonged directly within
the province of some particular city official, it was his cus-
tom to send to that official the stirring message : "I await
you here ! " — and this regardless of the time of night. On
one occasion he chanced to strike his foot against a stona
unevenly laid in the pavement. Instantly the contractor
■who had done the work was called from his bed and, with
benign politeness, was told by the Viceroy of the accident
that had befallen him and bidden to mend the pavement be-
fore morning ! On another occasion, early one evening, he
entered a street that ended suddenly against a huddle of
squalid dwellings. The Conde sent for the corregidor and
ordered him to clear the hovels away and open a fair wide
street to the barrier of the city, and to have it finished so
that he, the Viceroy, might drive through it on his way to.
mass on the following morning. It was finished : and the
Calle Eevillagigedo, running south from near the west end
of the Alameda to the Plazuela de la Candalaria, remains
to this day a monument to the Conde de Eevillagigedo's
peremptory method of effecting reforms. Despite his pecu-
liarities, possibly because of them, this Viceroy rendered

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 63

substantial services to the country that he governed in so odd
a way.

Miguel de la Grua Talamanca, Marques de Branci forte,
fifty-third Viceroy (1794-98). This Italian adventurer ob-
tained his appointment through the influence of Godoy, the
favorite of Charles IV., or rather, of that monarch's queen.
Fortunately, Branciforte had no opportunity to injure the
Province seriously, but by his petty meanness and many acts
of injustice he made himself cordially hated. The one im-
portant event of his reign, with which he himself had no
connection, was the cession (1795) to France of all that por-
tion of Florida lying west of the Perdido Eiver.

Revolutionary Period. During the Viceregal period the
policy of Spain toward Mexico was harsh and restrictive in
the highest degree. The country was shut tightly against
commerce with every nation save the Spanish, and even this
commerce was trammelled by arbitrary and rasping regula-
tions. Enormous taxes were levied upon the colonial pro-
ducts. The laws governing the colony were involved, con-
tradictory, arbitrary ; and in the making of them the colon-
ists had no share. The colonists, for their part, treated the
natives with extreme cruelty. The Indians were made slaves,
and in every way were oppressed. The Spanish Government,
it is true, forbade this slavery, but the enormous revenues
extorted by the Crown furnished at least a pretext for the
employment of slave labor. Added to these dangerous ele-
ments in the constitution of the colony was a false and
offensive social organization. The only recognized society
was that of the pure-blooded Spaniards. The creole ele-
ment and the half-castes were treated with indignity and
regarded with contempt. It is remarkable, not that revolu-
tion came in a colony thus constituted, but that its coming
was so long delayed. Curiously enough, the first actual
movement toward independence was made by the Viceroy,
the official deputy of the Spanish Crown. With the abdica-
tion of Charles IV. in favor of Ferdinand VII., and with the
luring of Ferdinand VII. to Bayonne, and his enforced abdi-
cation there of his throne, Sj^ain, for the time being, had no

54 MEXICAN GUIDE.

ruler at all. It was some little time before the antliority of
Joseph Bonaparte was recognized. In this period juntas were
formed in many parts of Spain that professed to represent the
government of Ferdinand ; and each of these sent official
notice of their authority to Mexico — coupled, of course, with
a demand for tribute.

Jose de Iturrigaray, fifty-sixth Viceroy (1803-1808) was a
man of public spirit and an excellent ruler. Many notable
public works — among them the national bridge on the road
from Vera Cruz to the Capitol — remain as monuments to his
zeal for the public good. He fostered commerce ; he stimu-
lated home industry. When this perplexing condition of
affairs arose in Spain, he rightly believed that Mexico should
rule herself. To this end he set about convening an assem-
blage of notables that should invest him with full ruling
power until, at least, a Spanish king once more should
be upon the Spanish throne. The Creoles and half-castes
heartily favored this project ; but the Spaniards in the
colony rose against it in revolt, seized the person of the
Viceroy, and, after imprisoning him in the fortress of San
Juan de XJlua, sent him back to Spain ! In the place of the
ejected Viceroy, the Marshall Pedro de Garibay, an aged
Spanish soldier, was made Viceroy by the Spanish party.
He reigned only for a few months, and was succeeded — by
order of the Junta Central Espanola — by the then Archbishop
of Mexico, Francisco Javier de Lizana. The one notable act
of Garibav's administration was the execution, in the Archi-
episcopal palace, of the Licenciado Verdad, who had been
most prominently associated with the movement to make
Mexico free. Verdad is conceded by all Mexican historians
the honorable precedence of first martyr to the cause of Mexi-
can independence.

From this time onward the national party of Mexico
steadily increased in size and influence, and the strong de-
termination to make Mexico independent never was lost sight
of. In Michoacan a conspiracy against the viceregal au-
thority was discovered in 1809, and was crushed promptly.
In the year following the decisive step was taken that event-

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 55

ually separated Mexico from Spain. A conspiracy liad been
for some time in progress against the Spanish power, if it
coukl be called Spanish power when Spain was ruled by
France, in which conspiracy the leader was the patriot priest,
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, cura of the town of Dolores, in the
State of Guanajuato. Actively associated with him were
Allende, Aldama, and other officers of the garrison of San
Miguel ; and with him also were certain patriots — including
Dona Josefa Ortiz, wife of Miguel Dominguez, corregidor of
Queretaro — who, under cover of holding the meetings of a
literary society, fomented in Queretaro the patriot cause.
This conspiracy being discovered prematurely, the conspira-
tors were forced to act before their plans had been fully ma-
tured. Aldama and others coming to Hidalgo's house at two
o'clock on the morning of Sunday, September 16, 1810, awoke
him from sleej) and told him that their purpose had been be-
trayed. The cura decided that they must strike their blow at
once. At the early mass he announced to all the people as-
sembled in the church that the time for Mexico to be free of
European rule, that no longer was Spanish but French, had
come. They responded eagerly to his cry for help, the grito de
Dolores, and that morning he set out, with Allende and the
other officers, at the head of an insurgent mob of 300 men,
armed with clubs and knives for the conquest of Guanajuato,
As this " army " passed the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, Hidalgo
brought thence a banner upon which was blazoned the Virgin
of Guadalupe, thus making the image of the Patroness of
Mexico the standard of the cause of Independence. At San
Miguel the regiment to which Captain Allende was attached
declared for independence; and as the force advanced it
received great additions of country folk imperfectly armed.
With a very large body of men Hidalgo reached Guanajuato,
and after some desperate fighting, including the storming of
the Alhondiga de Granaditas, captured the town. Thence
he marched to Valladolid (Morelia), which city declared for
independence at once. Here his force was augmented by
a considerable body of soldiery. Thence he marched toward
Mexico, gaining constantly new adherents ; and fought at

5Q MEXICAN GUIDE.

Las Crtices (October 30, 1810) his first engagement with the
royal forces in the field. He gained a decisive victory.
Had he moved immediately npon Mexico, after winning this
battle, it is probable that the city would have fallen into his
hands, and that the cause of independence would have
triumphed then and there. Unfortunately, he decided to
retreat toward the interior. In the course of this retreat he
again encountered the royal troops (near Aculco, November
7th) and was defeated. However, he successfully concen-
trated his forces at Guadalajara, and organized a govern-
ment there. While he was thus engaged the Spanish forces
were made effective and were despatched against him. A
pitched battle was fought, January 16, 1811, at the bridge of
Calderon, that resulted in the defeat of the revolutionists.
The patriot forces were dispersed. Hidalgo and his associ-
ates held together and went northward, with the intention of
seeking aid from the United States. They were betrayed
into the hands of the Spaniards in the town of Acatita de
Bajan (May 21, 1811), and were removed thence to Chi-
huahua. They were executed in Chihuahua : Allende,
Aldama, and Jimenez, June 26 ; Hidalgo, July 31, 1811.

So far from checking, the death of these patriots stimulated
the cause of Indejjendence. The more notable of its lead-
ers were : the priest Morelos, a native of Valladolid (which
town now is named Morelia, in his honor) ; Matamoros, Gale-
ana, the Bravos, Martinez, Mier y Teran, and Felix Fernan-
dez, called Guadalupe Victoria. The more notable events of
the war that ensued were : the heroic defence and brilliant
evacuation (May 2, 1812) of Cuautla by Morelos ; the conven-
tion of the first Mexican Congress (September 14, 1813, at
Chilpancingo) ; the formal declaration of Mexican Independ-
ence (November 6, 1813) ; the rout of Morelos before Valla-
dolid (December 23, 1813) by the royalist forces commanded
by Yturbide and Llano ; the capture and execution of Mata-
moros in Valladolid (February 3, 1814) by Yturbide ; the
proclamation at Apatzingan (October 22, 1814) of the first
Mexican constitution, and the execution (December 22, 1815)
of Morelos (see Inquisition). With the death of Morelos the

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 57

patriot canse languished, save that it was maintained at vari-
ous points by a desultory resistance of the royal forces, and
by the splendid and spirited resistance of Vicente Guerrero
in the mountains of the South.

In the year 1820 the Viceroy Apodaca made Yturbide*
commander of the District of the South. He fought a few
engagements with the insurgents, but presently entered into
a correspondence with Guerrero that led to a personal con-
ference at Acatempa (January 10, 1821), and the decision that
they would unite in proclaiming the independence of Mex-
ico. In conformity with this determination, Yturbide pub-
lished (February 21:th) the famous Plan of Iguala. The essen-
tial articles of this plan were : the conservation of the Roman
Catholic Church, to the exclusion of all other forms of relig-
ious belief ; the absolute independence of Mexico as a mod-
erate monarchy, with either Ferdinand VII. or some other
member of the reigning house of Spain upon the throne ; the
amicable union of Spaniards and Mexicans. These three
clauses were styled "the three guarantees." The colors
of the Mexican flag, adopted a little later, represented these
three articles of the national faith : white, religious purity ;
green, union of Spaniards and Mexicans ; red, independence.
Yturbide's army, converted by his suasion to the sujDport of
these principles, was known as the Army of the Three Guar-
antees.

Yturbide's action, combined with his subsequent able di-
rection of military affairs, gained at last Mexico's indepen-

* Agustin de Yturbide was born in Valladolid, now Morelia, Sep-
tember 27, 1783. He entered the colonial army before he was sixteen
years old ; and, as a loyal soldier, he fought with energy and skill
against the insurgents. The re-establishment in Spain (1820) of the
Liberal constitution of 1812 caused a complete change in his political
opinions ; a change that was intensified, according to Bustamante, by
reading the very remarkable "Historia de la revolucion de Anahuac,"
written by Dr. Mier, and published in London about 1810. Yturbide,
however, had no desire to see a republic established in Mexico. What
he sought to accomplish was the erection of a Mexican monarchy, ruled
by an imported Spanish king. These were his secret convictions and
desires when the Viceroy placed him in high military command.

58 MEXICAN GUIDE.

dence. In rapid succession lie captured the cities of Valla-
dolid, Queretaro, and Puebla, entering this last city in
triumph August 2, 1821. Then he laid siege to the City of
Mexico. At this juncture arrived from Spain, to replace
Apodaca, the sixty-second and last Viceroy, Juan O'Donoju.
Being cut off from the capitol, he took the oath of office at
Vera Cruz, August 3d, and at once sought a personal inter-
view with Yturbide at Cordoba. This meeting took place
August 23d and 24th, and resulted in the agreement known
as the Treaty of Cordoba, that embodied, with some slight
modifications, the Plan of Iguala. The only important con-
cession was that O'Donoju should be a member of the pro-
visional Committee of Regency that was to govern Mexico
until a king could be found to accept the Mexican crown.
Yturbide made his triumphal entry into the City of Mex-
ico, September 27, 1821, on which day formally ended the
Spanish power in Mexico. The nation thus created, so far
as territorial extent was concerned, was one of the greatest
in the world. Its possessions comprehended, in addition
to the present Republic of Mexico, the State (now Republic)
of Guatemala* on the south, and on the north all the re-
gion between the Red and Arkansas Rivers and the Pacific,
extending as far north as the present northern boundary of
the United States.

Independent Mexico. On the 24th of February, 1822,
the "first Congress of the Mexican Nation," j)rovision for
the election of which had been made by the Committee of
Regency, was convened with great solemnity. This assem-
blage declared that the Mexican nation accepted as its bases
the Plan of Iguala and the Treaty of Cordoba. Between
the Congress and the Regency difficulties almost imme-
diately arose. Two important parties formed themselves.
One of these, composed of the army, the clergy, and a few
Sjianiards, desired to place Yturbide upon the throne. The

* This possession came after independence was secured, and speedih""
departed. Guatemala voluntarily united with Mexico, Febiuary 21,
1823. It seceded from Mexico July 1, 1823. It never was a p-rt of the
Viceroy alty of New Spain.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 59

otlier party, composed of the old Independents and the
mass of Spaniards — nnited only in their hatred of Yturbido
— desired to have executed exactly the Plan of Iguala by
placing on the throne a Spanish prince. In the midst of
these strivings of rival factions came the news from Spain
that the Cortes (February 13, 1822) had annulled the Treaty
of Cordoba. Taking advantage of this situation, Yturbide
permitted a demonstration to be made by the army against
the Congress ; and under duress the Congress elected him
(May 19, 1822) Emperor by a vote of 67 to 15. On the 21st of
the ensuing July Yturbide and his wife were anointed and
crowned with great solemnity in the Cathedral of Mexico.
His official title was Agustin I., Emperor of Mexico. Almost
his first act was to dissolve the existing Congress ; imprison
its more dangerous members, and rejplace this body by a
junta composed of two deputies from each province, of his
own selection. His empire speedily collapsed. In Vera
Cruz, December 6, 1822, a Republic was proclaimed by Gen-
eral Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. This was more specifi-
cally formulated in the Plan of Casa Mata, that everywhere
met with approval. In a month's time Yturbide found his
empire reduced to the City of Mexico. In this strait he
proclaimed the re-establishment of the Congress that he
had dissolved ; and to this body (March 4, 1823) he tendered
his resignation. Congress took the position that this res-
ignation could not be accepted, because the election of
Yturbide as emperor, being effected under duress, had not
been valid. He was declared banished from the country ;
and was granted at the same time a life annuity of $25,000
in recognition of his eminent services to the nation. A few
months later he wrote from London to the Mexican govern-
ment, warning it of the machinations of the Holy Alliance
to restore the Spanish rule in Mexico, and offering his ser-
vices to his country should such an attempt be made. The
Congress replied to this letter by a decree (April 28) declar-
ing that should Yturbide return to Mexico he would be
regarded as a traitor and put to death. In ignorance that
this decree had been issued he did return to Mexico. He

60 MEXICAlSr GUIDE.

landed in disguise at Soto la Marina, July 14, 1824. He
was recognized, arrested, carried to Padilla, brought before
the legislature of Tamaulipas, there in session, and by that
body was condemned to death. He was shot July 19, 1824.
His last words were: "Mexicans! In the very act of my
death I recommend to you love of our country and the ob-
servance of our holy religion : thus shall we be led to glory.
I die for having come to help you. I die gladly, because I
die among you. I die with honor, not as a traitor. I do
not leave the stain of treason to my sons. I am not a traitor,
no!"

The second Mexican Congress assembled November 7,
1823. It gave itself at once to the making of a Eepublican
constitution. This instrument was patterned closely upon
the Constitution of the United States. It proclaimed the
creation of the United States of Mexico ; declared the gov-
ernment to be republican, federal, and democratic ; gave to
the several States of which it was composed the right of
independent government in internal affairs (without preju-
dice to the rights of the Federal Government) ; created a
National Congress composed of a Senate and Chamber of
Deputies ; vested the executive power in a President, and
the judicial power in a Supreme and Circuit Courts. This
Constitution was proclaimed October 4, 1824 ; and on Octo-
ber 10th ensuing the first President of Mexico, the patriot
General Guadalupe Victoria, took the oath of office. Con-
gress was dissolved December 24, 1824, and the first Consti-
tutional Congress was convened January 1, 1825. In the
year 1825 the fortress of San Juan de Ultia, until then held
by the last of the Spanish forces, was evacuated ; and the
Eepublic of Mexico received the formal recognition of Eng-
land and the United States.

With the consummation of Independence the formation of
two great political parties (including many minor divisions)
began. These were the Centralists or Conservatives, and the
Federalists or Liberals. The warrings of these two parties
have been the cause of all imj)ortant political disturbances
in Mexico until the present day. From 1828 until 1846

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 61

elections were disregarded, and these parties succeeded each
other in power by force of arms. The second election for
president, in October, 1828, resulted in the election of Gen-
eral Gomez Pedraza (Conservative). Against this election
General Santa Anna pronounced (November 11, 1828), thus
setting the fatal example of disregarding the laws in the
most important act that the people of a republic are called
upon to perform. Santa Anna's record is so bad that there
is no reason for supposing that his pronunciamento was dic-
tated by other than selfish motives ; but he shrewdly counted
upon the zealous but short-sighted co-operation of patriotic
Bepublicans, who believed that they saw in the election of
the Conservative candidate a decided step toward the un-
doing of much, or all, that had been accomplished toward
the establishment of popular government. The result of his
act was a revolution that placed the defeated (Liberal) can-
didate, General Vicente Guerrero, in power. A further effect
of this movement was the decree of Congress (March 20,
1829) by which all Spaniards were banished from Mexico.
The banishment of the Spaniards caused an acceleration of
the preparations that Spain had been making in a leisurely
fashion for the re-conquest of the country. A Spanish force,
fitted out in Cuba, landed at Tampico in July, 1829. This
invasion aroused a vigorous spirit of patriotism all over the
country. General Santa Anna, without orders, fitted out a
force in Vera Cruz and went against the invaders ; and,
before Tampico, effected a junction with the force sent by
the Central Government under General Mier y Teran. A
vigorous action began on September 9th, and on the 11th
the Spanish commander capitulated — surrendering his arms,
ammunition, and colors, and agreeing to take back at once
to Cuba his disarmed soldiers. This was the end of the
Spanish attempt at re-conquest. Spain formally recognized
the Republic in a treaty concluded in Madrid, December
28, 1836.

In this place it is impossible, and useless, to follow the
series of revolutions by which Mexico for many years was
kept iu ferment. It is expedient to note, however, certain

62 MEXICAN" GUIDE.

events which were important in themselves and which show
the tendency of the times. The ultra-Liberal congress that
began its sessions in March, 1833, proclaimed (June 28th)
the first law aimed directly at the power of the church — the
direct result of a pronunciameiito in Morelia (May 31st) in
favor of clerical rights. This law (called del caso) withdrew
the right of enforcing payments of tithes by an appeal to
civil tribunals, and the right of maintaining in civil tribunals
the binding force of monastic vows ; declared the religious
of both sexes free to abandon their convents ; excluded the
clergy from teaching in educational institutions supported
by national funds. This law was annulled by Santa Anna
within a year.

The War with the United States. In 1835 the re-
bellion of Texas, under the leadership of Houston, occurred.
This rebellion was more American than Mexican. A large
portion of the population of Texas had migrated from the
Unites States, and this was the element that took the lead
in the revolt against Mexican rule — a revolt precipitated by
many arbitrary acts on the part of the Mexican Government.
A crisis was reached in 1835, when the Federal Government
abrogated the State constitution. The excesses of Santa
Anna's army, sent to enforce obedience — notably the mas-
sacre of the Alamo and the affair of Goliad — aroused thor-
oughly the Anglo-Saxon fighting spirit, and made peace
impossible. The Republic of Texas maintained its separate
existence until 1844. It was recognized by the United States,
France, England, and Belgium. During the administrations
of both Jackson and Van Buren earnest but ineffectual efforts
were made by the Texans to have their republic admitted as
a State into the American Union. President Tyler, made
of baser stuff, concluded a treaty (April 12, 1844) with
Texan representatives, by which Texas was admitted into the
American Union . This treaty was ratified by the American
Congress in March, 1845. It was characterized by General
Almonte, the then Mexican Minister at Washington, as an
act of aggression, ''the most unjust which can be found in
the annals of modern history." Bearing in mind the fact

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 63

that Texas was an independent power, and was recognized
as such by the Mexican Government, and consequently had
a perfect right to annex itself to the United States, this
sweej)ing condemnation obviously is not borne out by the
facts. But every fair-minded American will concede that
our national action at this juncture, while it may have been
justified by selfish expediency, was not justified by the laws
of honor and international good faith.

The war that followed had no formal beginning. Each
country massed troops upon the frontier, and a general conflict
was precipitated (April 24:th, 1846) by a Mexican ambuscade,
on the Texas side of the Rio Grande, by which was routed a
reconnoitring party of dragoons commanded by Captain
Thornton. In this skirmish sixteen Americans were killed
and wounded, and the remainder of the force was captured.
After the affairs of Palo Alto (May 8th) and Eesaca de la
Palnia (May 9th), both in Texas, and both defeats for the
Mexicans, General Taylor crossed his forces to Mexico (May
18th) and occupied Matamoros. In the meantime (May 13,
1846) the American Congress had appropriated $10,000,000
for the prosecution of the war, and 50, 000 volunteers were
ordered to be raised. The facts should be noted here that
(1) the revolt of Texas probably would not have occurred
had Mexico been governed in an orderly manner in con-
formity with its constitutional law ; and (2) that a peace-
ful settlement of the Texas difficulty unquestionably would
have been reached had there been a stable government in
Mexico to treat with the Government of the United States.
In point of fact, Mr. Slidell, the special envoy sent to
Mexico by the United States Government, agreeably to an
intimation on the part of the President, Herrera, that a
special envoy would be received, was refused an audience
by General Paredes, who had usurped the presidential office
(December 30, 1845) while the envoy was on his way to
Mexico ; and (3) had the Mexicans held together as a nation
and united in fighting the Americans, instead of weakening
their forces by fighting also among themselves, while the
result of the war would have been the same, it would not

64 MEXICAIT GUIDE.

liave been, as it was, almost a walk-over for the invading
army. All through this wretched business the United States
had a colorable excuse for each of its several offensive acts ;
but its moral right to attack a nation infinitely weaker than
itself, to conquer that nation and to strip it of more than
half of its territory never was justified and never will be.

The events of the war may be summarized in a few words.
Taylor advanced from the east ; captured Monterey (see Mon-
terey) September 26th, 184:6, and remained victor at Buena
Vista, or Angostura, February 23, 1847. Doniphan advanced
through New Mexico (followed by Price, who had some
sharp fighting with the Pueblo Indians) and, after the battle
of Sacramento, February 28, 1847, occupied Chihuahua.
Early in March, 1846, Captain Fremont, acting under orders
from the Secretary of War, incited a revolt in California
against Mexican rule. Commodore Sloat occupied Mon-
terey (California) July 7th ; Commander Montgomery occu-
pied San Francisco July 8th ; and Commodore Stockton, in
a proclamation of August 17, 1846, took formal possession
of California. The conquest was completed by Stockton
and Kearney. The main invasion of Mexico was in the
south, and was aimed directly against the capital. Scott
landed at Yera Cruz, March 9, 1847 ; forced the capitulation
of the city after a five days' bombardment, March 27th ; out-
flanked and defeated Santa Anna at Cerro Gordo, April 18th ;
occupied Puebla, without opx30sition. May 25th ; entered
the Valley of Mexico,* August 9th ; defeated the Mexicans
at Padierna, August 20th, and made a brilliant strategic ad-
vance across the Pedregal that cut the Mexican centre and
rendered possible the victory of Churubusco on the same
day ; carried (after an interval of truce) the positions of the
Casa Mata and Molino del Eey, September 8th ; stormed
and carried the castle of Chapultepec, September 12th and
13th ; took possession of the garitas of Belem and San
Cosme, on the afternoon of September 13th ; completed the
conquest and took possession of the City of Mexico, Septem-
ber 15, 1847. Peace was made by the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo, concluded February 2, 1848, by which Mexico

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 65

ceded to the United States all of tlie territory held or
claimed north and northeast of the present boundary, and
received in return from the United States the sum of fifteen
millions of dollars. The treaty provided also for the pay-
ment by the United States of about three and a quarter
millions of dollars of claims of American citizens against
Mexico. For a treaty dictated by a conquering army, in the
captured capital of the nation treated with, this instrument
stands unparalleled in history.

A period of i^eace and comparative prosperity succeeded
the war. In 1851, for the first time in the history of the
Eepublic, the constitutionally elected President, Mariano
Ai'ista, was suffered to take his seat. He did not, however,
complete his term of office. Confronted'by a revolution, he
resigned the presidency at the end of two years. For rather
more than two years ensuing (1853-55) Santa Anna was
Dictator. Under the Plan of Ayutla, Comonfort became
President, December 12, 1855. He repressed vigorously both
the army and the church, enforcing his decrees with the
portion of the army that remained loyal to his government.
His most imx)ortant measure for circumscribing the authority
of the church was the decree of desamortizacion (June 25,
1856), ordering the sale at its assessed value of all landed
estate held by the church ; the church to receive the money
proceeds of such sale, while the lands, passing into private
hands, and freed of mortmain, would become j)art of the
mobile and available wealth of the country at large. Another
vigorous blow (September 16, 1856) in the same direction
was his suppression, upon the charge of a conspiracy against
the Government fomented by the monks, of the monastery
of San Francisco (which see). A Congress, meanwhile, was
in session, having in charge the framing of a new Consti-
stitution for the Eepublic. This instrument (see Constitu-
tion) was adopted February 5, 1857. Comonfort, subscrib-
ing to it, remained in office pending the election of a Presi-
dent under its provisions. He was himself elected, and
(December 1, 1857) took the oath of office. Ten days later
Comonfort ovei-threw the Constitution that he had just given

QQ MEXICAN GUIDE.

his oatli to support. His explanation of this act was that he
considered the operation of the Constitution impracticable.
He dissolved the Congress (December 11th) and threw his
legal successor, Benito Juarez, Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court, into prison. His efibrt at revolution being vigorously
opposed, its result was his own downfall. He vainly tried
to undo what he had done ; and, failing, left the country,
February 7, 1858. (It is only just to Comonfort to add that
he returned to Mexico at the time of the French Intervention
and fought gallantly with his countrymen against the French.
By his flight Juarez became Constitutional President (Janu-
ary, 1858) and at once departed for Guadalajara, where he
organized his government. Thence he passed to the Pacific
seaboard, and, by way of the United States, came to Vera
Cruz. Here he maintained his government for three years.
During this period a government existed also in the City of
Mexico. Immediately upon the flight of Comonfort the re-
actionary party proclaimed Felix Zuloaga President ; and
he and his four successors were at the head of affairs in the
capital dui'ing the War of the Eeform. This war was the final
clinching of the two parties which had been fighting each
other since the year 1810. It was the culmination of the strug-
gle between the Conservative-clerical party and the party of
Liberalism and Progress. It was not confined to any one part
of the country ; the fighting was everywhere. - It was the
cruellest, bitterest war that Mexico has ever known. In the
very thick of it, and at a time, too, when the prosjDect of vic-
tory seemed most doubtful, Juarez proclaimed (July 12, 1859)
the famous Laws of the Reform, by which, by nationalizing
church property, the very heart of the matter was reached
and the substantial cause of the half-century of civil war
was removed at a blow. The City of Mexico was captured
six months later by the Liberals, and Juarez entered his
capital January 11, 1861. From this centre the Laws of
the Reform at once were made operative, and the Liberal
programme as a whole was put into effect throughout the
region occupied by the Liberal forces. Although at this
moment the position of the Liberals was far stronger than

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. ^7

it bad been at any time since the conflict began, it still was
far from being assured. The fighting still was in piogress.
in nearly all parts of the country ; and presently an act of
very doubtful statesmanship on the part of the legislative
department of the Government opened the way to a new and
great calamity.

The French Intervention.* On July 17, 1861, the
Congress ]3assed a law suspending payment on the foreign
debts of the Republic. This law gave a substantial pre-
text for the iucervention of three European nations in Mexi-
can affairs — while the War of the Rebellion, just then be-.
ginning in the United States, made futile an appeal to the
one Power strong enough to give Mexico efficient aid in such
an emergency. The intervention had been strongly urged,
esjjecially at the court of France, by the accredited envoys
of the reactionary government that had been the de facto
government of Mexico for the period of the War of the Re-
form. It was realized by Napoleon III., and was formu-
lated in the Treaty of London (October 31, 1861), by which
France, England, and Spain bound themselves to occupy
jointly the coast fortresses of Mexico, and, without modify-
ing the territory of that country, to put its j)eople in a posi-

* The first intervention of France in Mexican affairs was in the midst
of the anarchical period that followed the achievement of independence.
During the Presidency of Bustamante, a claim of $600,000 was preferred
by France for damages suiFered by French citizens during the civil wars.
The validity of this claim may be judged from one of its items : $60,000
demanded by a French pastry-cook to indemnify him for pies stolen
from him and eaten by revolutionists ! From this item the claim re-
ceived the derisive name of the reclamacion de los pasteles — the claim
of the pies. As a whole it was denied by the Mexican Government in
specific terms, in answer to the French ultimatum of March 21, 1838.
A French squadron, commanded by the Princa de Joinville, arrived at
Vera Craz October 27th following ; captured the fort of San Juan de
TJliia, November 27th, and occupied Vera Cruz, December 5th. The
French were attacked and driven back to their ships the same day by
General Santa Anna, who in this engagement lost his leg. A treaty
finally was concluded (March, 1839) in accordance with which Mexico
paid the claim of #600,000 in full. In 1854, the port of Guaymas was
held for a short time by a party of French filibusters.

68 MEXICAN GUIDE.

tion to establish a government of their own. The allied
squadrons of these three powers arrived at Vera Cruz in De-
cember, 1861, and January, 1862, bringing also the three
special commissioners — General Prim, M. de Salignj, and
Admiral Wyke — accredited severally by Spain, France, and
England, to treat with representatives of the Mexican Gov-
ernment. This recognition of the power of the Government
to make treaties, it will be observed, virtually was a recog-
nition of the Government itself — precisely the point denied
by the European powers. A proclamation was issued by
the commissioners, declaring that their presence in Mexico
was for no other purpose than that of settling vexed ques-
tions of finance. A conference was effected, resulting in
the preliminary Treaty of La Soledad (signed February 19,
1862), concluded between General Prim and the Mexican
representative, Sefior Doblado. This treaty stipulated that
satisfaction would be given to the claimants by the Mexican
Government and that, temporarily, the Sj^anish troops might
be advanced to Orizaba, and the French troops to Tehu-
acan. Practically, no troops were sent by England. One
thousand marines accompanied the English commissioner,
but the express statement was made that these were not an
aggressive force, but simply a guard of honor. The prelim-
inary treaty further stipulated that the Spanish and French
troops should be withdrawn when the preliminary treaty
should be confirmed by the English and French commission-
ers. This approval was given (although in the case of France
subsequently rej^udiated). The Spanish forces, therefore,
were withdrawn, and the English and Spanish ships left
Mexican waters. The French forces remained ; were rein-
forced (in March), and what practically was an attempt to
subjugate a friendly nation, without even the preliminary of
a declaration of war, then began.

The only shadow of excuse that the invaders had at this
time was the Junction with their forces of a portion of the
army attached to the reactionary government. With the ex-
ception of the brilliant repulse at Puebla (May 5, 1862), by
General Zaragoza — a repulse of infinite moral value to the

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 69

constitutional Government — the very slow advance of the
French was not materially impeded. Fresh troops came
from France, and in January, 1863, the army of invasion, com-
manded by Marshal Forey, numbered 40,000 men. This
was exclusive of the considerable Mexican force fighting with
the French. Puebla was captured May 17, 1863. This con-
quest forced Juarez to abandon the capital, and during the
remainder of the war he moved from place to place in the
northern portion of the Eepublic. The French troops occu-
pied the City of Mexico June 9, 1863. An Assembly of
Notables was called, and by this body (July 10th) a declaration
was made to the effect that the Government of Mexico should
be an hereditary monarchy under a Catholic Prince ; and
that the crown should be tendered to Maximilian, Archduke
of Austria. This prince was selected because, as a represent-
ative of the house ruling in Spain before the accession of the
Bourbons (a Bourbon representative being objectionable to
Napoleon III.), he reunited the Mexico of 1863 with the mon-
archical Mexico of 1821. Thus, practically, after an inter-
val of forty-two years, Yturbide's Plan of Iguala was made
effective.

Maximilian accepted the crown subject to the two condi-
tions that (1) he should be elected by a popular vote in
Mexico, and (2) that the Emperor Napoleon should give him
armed aid as long as such aid should be required. He
arrived in the City of Mexico, June 12, 1864, accompanied by
his wife, Carlotta, daughter of Leopold I., King of the Bel-
gians. They were crowned with great solemnity, in the
Cathedral, Emperor and Empress of Mexico. The clerical
party by which this unfortunate ruler was placed in j)ower
was greatly disappointed by his government. He did not
abrogate the Laws of the Reform, as he confidently was ex-
pected to do ; and the result was that the clerical party
found the most objectionable features of the constitutional
government continued, with the added discomfort that the
enforcing power was a foreign prince upheld by a foreign
army.

Upon the strength of the assurance that Juarez had aban-

70 MEXICAlvr GUIDE.

doned Mexico and had betaken himself to the United States,
Maximilian was induced, it is believed by Bazaine, to pub-
lish a decree (October 3, 1865) declaring all persons found
in arms against the imperial government bandits, and order-
ing that such persons, when captured, should be shot with-
out trial. Under this law the Mexican generals Arteaga and
Salazar, with Villagomez and Felix Diaz, all of whom were in
ignorance of its existence, were shot at Uruapam, October 21,
1865. The moral effect of this act was most disastrous to
Maximilian's interest. A most vigorous resistance to his
authority was aroused throughout the country, and niimerous
victories were gained by the national forces.

The death-blow to this exotic empire, however, came not
from Mexico, but from the United States. November 6, 1865,
Secretary Seward forwarded to Paris the despatch in which
he informed the French Emperor that the presence of a
French army in Mexico was a source of " grave reflection "
to the Government of the United States ; that the United
States could not tolerate the establishment of an imperial
government, based on foreign support, in Mexico; that it
declined to recognize in Mexico any government that was not
republican. The diplomatic correspondence thus begun
was continued for six months. At the end of this period,
upon a plain intimation on the part of Secretary Seward of
the intended armed intervention of the United States in favor
of President Juarez, Napoleon (A^Dril 5, 1867) abandoned
his position, and ordered the evacuation, in November, 1867,
of Mexico by French troops. It is not too much to assert
that the benefit conferred by the United States upon Mexico
at this time offsets the wrong done Mexico seventeen years
before.

In addition to this j)eremptory and irresistible pressure
from without, the collapse of the empire was forced also by
the condition of its own internal affairs. Maximilian lacked
the force of character that would have enabled him to strike
out a strong policy and maintain it. He was possessed by
an illusive desire to harmonize the conflicting elements, of
which the Mexican body politic was comi^osed. He offended

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. ^^ 71

the Conservative party that had placed him in power by con-
tinuing in effect the Laws of the Eeform that liad emanated
from the Liberals ; and the Liberals, so far from being pla-
cated by this concession, resented what they deemed his
effrontery in putting in effect any laws at all in a country
that he held by force of foreign arms. He burdened the
country with a debt far in excess of its possible paying power ;
and he wasted much of this money in the foolish and child-
ish pageantry in which his court was engaged. And yet
it is impossible for any impartial student of his reign not to
feel a profound sorrow for his dismal failure and tragic end ;
coupled with a not less profound feeling of contemptuous
hatred for Bazaiiie, the immediate cause of all his calami-
ties in Mexico, and of Napoleon III. , whose false friendship
led him to a place where he had no right to be, and whose
abject cowardice, before the threat of the Government of the
United States, surrendered him to absolute failure and death.
The collapse of the empire under pressure of these several
causes, foreign and domestic, was rapid. The personal ap-
peal of Carlotta to Napoleon for aid was unsuccessful, as
was her appeal to the Pope, and the unfortunate Empress
went mad. The last of the French troops left Mexico in
February, 1867 ; and Maximilian, after making arrange-
ments to leave the country, unwisely decided to remain.
Juarez, meanwhile, had left Paso del Norte — in which town,
on the very verge of Mexican territory, he had maintained
his rights as Constitutional President of the Republic — and
advanced rapidly toward the south. Miramon, sent out with
a considerable force to capture Juarez, was defeated by the
Liberal troops at San Jacinto (February 1st), and fell back in
confusion to Queretaro. Here he was joined by Maximilian.
Elsewhere the Liberal army was completely successful.
Porfirio Diaz captured Puebla, after a siege of twenty-five
days, on the 2d of April ; defeated Marquez at San Lorenzo
(April 11th), and at once laid siege to the City of Mexico.
The siege of Queretaro by Escobedo began early in March
and lasted until May 15th, when the city fell. Maximilian
was captured on the Cerro de las Campanas ; and qxx this

72 MEXICAN GUIDE.

same hill, together with the generals Miramon and Mexia,
after formal trial and condemnation, he was shot, at seven
o'clock on the morning of June 19, 1867. (See Quer^taro.)
A request on the part of the Government of the United
States that the life of Maximilian might be spared received
no attention. Nineteen other general officers of the Impe-
rial army, being also condemned to death, were pardoned
by President Juarez. The City of Mexico surrendered to
Diaz June 21st ; and President Juarez, with the officers of
his Government, entered the capital in triumph July 15,
1867. So far from committing excesses in the conquered
city, as had been greatly feared, a train of provisions for
gratuitous distribution among the famished populace pre-
ceded the army ; and when the army did enter perfect order
was preserved. The most striking feature of this conquest
was the extraordinary moderation that the conquerors mani-
fested toward their late foes.

The Liberal Government made the Constitution of 1857
once more effective throughout Mexico. A new Congress was
elected; Juarez was re-elected President (October 12, 1871),
and the whole energies of the Government were directed
toward repairing the evils and waste of the war. The result
of the enlightened policy of internal development that Juarez
then adopted is seen to-day in the stable and flourishing con-
dition of the Pepublic. It was Juarez who devised the sys-
tem of railway and telegraph lines that, even now, when
only partially completed, knits closely together the several
parts of the Republic. That the construction of these rail-
ways has been accomplished by Americans, with American
money, is another strong reason why Mexico should be grate-
ful to the United States.

Various small disturbances occurred in Mexico during the
three years succeeding the fall of the empire. Serious
difficulties arose in 1870, incident to the opening of the
Presidential campaign. No objection could be urged to the
re-election of Juarez by his own party, for he had not in
the smallest degree transcended his constitutional powers, nor
in the least particular done violence to the principles that

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 78

the Liberal party professed. The pith of the opposition
developed against him was the sound objection entertained
by many Liberals to re-electing a man who had already been
President, either in law or in fact, for upward of ten years.
Two other candidates were in nomination, Sebastian Lerdo
de Tejada an d Pornrio Diaz. However, Juarez was re-elected,
and (December 1, 1871) took the oath of office as Constitu-
tional President for the third time. Even before his formal
entry upon his third term there was a rising (October 1st)
against his authority in the City of Mexico, where Generals
Negrete and Chavarria pronounced against him, and held
the National Armory (Ciudadela) for some hours against the
Government troops. Numerous other small risings occurred
throughout the country, and these culminated (November
8th) in the revolt headed by General Diaz, at his hacienda of
La Noria in Oaxaca. His manifesto, called the Plan of La
Noria, proposed the convention of an Assembly of Notables
to reorganize the government ; and that he, Diaz, should be
Commander-in-Chief of the army until such reorganization
was effected. The collapse of this movement was caused by
the sudden death (July 18, 1872) of President Juarez, and
the accession {ad intermi) to the Presidency of the Bepublic
of the then President of the Supreme Court, Lerdo de Tejada.
The policy of Juarez was maintained, as was his actual Cabi-
net, and in due form of law the order for a special election
went out. Preceding this, Lerdo Issued a proclamation of
general amnesty. This moderate course restored peace.
L/erdo himself was elected President, and took the oath of
office December 1, 1872. During the three ensuing years
his administration was prosperous and peaceful. The more
important events of this period Avere the opening of the
Mexican Eailway between Mexico and Vera. Cruz, January 1,
1873 ; the adoption of the Laws of the Eeform as constitu-
tional amendments, December 14, 1874 ; the opening of the
National Exhibition of Mexican products in the City of Mex-
ico, December 5, 1875, from which Exhibition was selected
the very fine exhibit sent to the Centennial Exhibition at
Philadelphia in the ensuing year,
4

74 MEXICAN GUIDE.

After this peaceful period anotlier serious revolution be-
^an. This had its start in the Plan of Tuxtepec, pro-
nounced in Oaxaca, January 15, 1876, which denied the
rights of the existing Govern ment^-a x^lan that was seconded
so rapidly that by midsummer the whole republic once
more was plunged in civil war. General Porfirio Diaz had
no apparent connection with this movement at its inception,
but he presently appeared on the scene and, taking com-
mand of the revolutionary army, carried on an energetic
and successful campaign. Lerdo was forced to leave the
country, and Diaz entered the City of Mexico, November 24,
1876. He was proclaimed Provisional President, and, after
a good deal of fighting in various parts of the country,
he was declared by Congress (May 6, 1877) to be the Con-
stitutional President for a term ending November 30, 1880.
Diaz consolidated his power ; j)ut down various small ris-
ings against his authority — including the execution (on the
night of June 24-25, 1879) of nine alleged revolutionists at
Vera Cruz, that excited great indignation throughout the
country, but that received the approval of the Federal
courts — and when order was restored set himself to carry-
ing out some of the projects, notably those for railroad
building, that Juarez had instituted. Diplomatic relations
with France also were resumed. As his term of office drew
near an end so many candidates were placed in nomination
that serious fears of a new civil war were entertained. Fort-
unately these fears proved to be groundless. Congress de-
clared (September 25, 1880) the election as Constitutional
President of General Manuel Gonzalez ; and on the 1st of
December following, for the second time in the history of
the Republic, the retiring President relinquished his office
to his legally elected successor.

The more notable events of the administration of Presi-
dent Gonzalez were the " nickel riots" in 1883, a rising of the
common people of the City of Mexico against the manipula-
tion of a new issue of small nickel coins in such a manner
as to cause a considerable loss to small shopkeepers and
others of like class ; the collapse of the credit of the Monte

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 75

de Piedad, throngli the depletion of its reserve by the
Federal Government ; and the disturbances incident to the
proposal of a very unpopular plan for liquidating Mexico's
English debt. The bulk of this debt, !B30,000,000, was con-
tracted in the early years of the Republic, and, the unpaid
interest being added to the principal, had increased as long
ago as the year 1850, to $50,000,000. It was in order to ar-
range for the payment of some part of this sum that England
consented to be a party to the intervention of 1864. By a
convention, concluded in London, September 18, 1884, it was
agreed on the part of the Mexican commissioners that a
debt of $85,000,000 should be acknowledged by Mexico as
representing the original debt of $30,000,000— of which, in
point of fact, owing to heavy discounts, Mexico had received
but $14,407,500. When this convention came before Con-
gress for ratification (November 7th), it was opposed by the
advanced Liberals with great vigor ; while a popular out-
break against it, in which the students bore a conspicuous
part, caused bloodshed in the streets and threatened a revo-
lutionary outbreak. The matter was compromised by the
decision (November 20th) to defer all further discussion
until the return to office of Diaz, then President-elect. The
one other very important event of the administration of
Gonzalez was the completion (in April) and formal opening
(May 5, 1884) of the Mexican Central Railway.

General Diaz, having been constitutionally elected, again
became President, December 1, 1884. The treasury of the
countiy was absolutely empty, and the Rei^ublic was abso-
lutely without credit. As a means of relief in this embarras-
sing situation, Congress decided (May 28, 1885) to bring to
trial the Minister of the Interior and the Secretaiy of the
Treasury of the Gonzalez administration, with the pui-pose
of recovering an alleged large deficit in the national ac-
counts. This plan, however, was not made effective. June
22d a decree issued ordering the emission of treasury bonds
to the amount of $25,000,000, and the suspension of pay-
ments of railway and other subsidies ; and on the same day
was published a circular by the Secretary of the Interior,

76 MEXICATT GUIDE.

ordering a reduction of from fifty to fifteen per cent, in the
salaries of all Government employees receiving pay of more
than $500 per annum, including the reduction of the salary
of the President from $30,000 to $15,000. Also on the same
day issued a law for the consolidation of the national debt,
in which was admitted an item of $51,000,000 due to English
creditors. These heroic measures have resulted in placing
the government of President Diaz upon a tolerably stable
financial basis ; and the recognition of the English debt,
coupled with the definite plans now (November, 1886) in
course of formation for payment of interest upon it, have
done much to restore the foreign credit of the Eepublic.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION. 77

VII. PRACTICAL information:

What to see in Mexico. A flying trip tlirougli Mexico,
visiting only easily accessible places, may be arranged some-
thing in this way : a day in Merida, while the steamer lies at
Progreso ; a day in Vera Cruz ; three days in a trip to Jalapa ;
a day in Orizaba ; three days in Puebla (including one day
devoted to an excursion to Cholula) ; half a day in Tlaxcala
(the morning train from Puebla to Sta Ana, thence by tram-
way to Tlaxcala, returning in time to take the afternoon train
to Apizaco) ; a week in the City of Mexico ; one day in Tex-
coco ; three days in Cuernavaca ; three days in Cuautla ; two
days in Morelia ; two days in Patzcuaro ; half a day in Acam-
baro ; two days in San Miguel de Allen de ; a day in Celaya ;
two days in Queretaro ; two days in Guanajuato ; two days in
Aguas Calientes ; two days in Zacatecas. (It is not worth
while to visit Chihuahua, as there is little of interest in the
town.) This outline, including the time sj)ent in the jour-
ney to and from Mexico, and allowing a small margin of time
for contingencies, represents a trip of about two months'
duration. The mental results of such an expedition will be
somewhat kaleidoscoj)ic, probably ; but no more so than re-
sult from a similarly rapid run through Europe.

When to go to Mexico. The most desirable time to
visit Mexico (the visit being confined to the Plateau) is be-
tween April and October. But as the most desirable time
to get away from the north is between January and April,
there is not much probability that many American travellers
will see Mexico when it is at its best. Those who go to
Mexico for the winter will find the climate of Orizaba, or
even of Puebla, or Morelia, more satisfactory than the cli-
mate of the City of Mexico. Travellers of this more leisurely
class will do well to defer their visit to the capital until the
middle or end of March.

78 MEXICAN GUIDE.

By Rail to Mexico. At present the only all-rail route
to the city of Mexico is to El Paso, Texas, and thence south-
ward over the Mexican Central Railway. The running time
to El Paso from New York is a little more than four days ;
to the City of Mexico from El Paso, sixty-two hours. Mon-
terey and Saltillo, the more important towns of Northeas-
tern Mexico, are reached most directly by wa,y of the Mex-
ican National Eailway, starting from Laredo, Texas. The
running time between New York and Laredo is about four
and a haK days. It is possible also by tliis route, taking
coach from Saltillo to San Isidro, on the line of the Mexi-
can Central, to reach the City of Mexico. The coach charge
for luggage, however, is excessive ; and so are the rates for
way passengers and for way luggage, on the Mexican Cen-
tral (see Express Service). The through fare from New
York to the City of Mexico (all-rail route) is about $125 ; to
which must be added about $50 for sleeping-car fare, meals,
and incidental expenses.

By Sea to Mexico. The direct sea route from the North
Atlantic States to Mexico is from New York to Vera Cruz,
Steamers, leaving New York every other Thursday, usually
reach Havana on Monday or Tuesday, and remain there one
or two days ; Progreso, thirty-six hours after leaving Ha-
vana, and remain there one or two days ; Vera Cruz, thirty-
six hours after leaving Progreso, Calls are made occasion-
ally at the ports of Frontera and Tampico. Under ordinary
conditions, the through time from New York to Vera Cruz
is ten to eleven days ; New York to the City of Mexico,
twelve to thirteen days. Fare, New York to Vera Cruz, $85 ;
Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico (Mexican money), $16. The
charge for extra luggage (more than thirty-three pounds) on,
this road is excessive. On through tickets from New York
to the City of Mexico one hundred and fifty pounds of bag-
gage is allowed.

From New York to Vera Cruz by sea, by way of Galveston
(involving a change of steamers at that port) the fare is $70.
The sea journey can be made, also, via Nassau, Havana, and
Vera Cruz ; and via New Orleans, Galveston, and Vera Cruz.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION. 79

By Sea and Rail. A combination, land and water,
route, is possible by going to New Orleans or Galveston by
rail, and thence (by steamers leaving each of these jDorts
fortnightly) to Vera Cruz by sea ; or, by going to New Or-
leans or Galveston (by steamers leaving New York weekly
for each of these x^orts) by sea, and thence to El Paso or
Laredo by rail.

Choosing a Route. In choosing a route the main fact
to be kept in mind is — at least by travellers who do not ob-
ject to seafaring — that the best return for money expended
can be got by making the journey to Mexico by sea and
from Mexico by land. The converse of this arrangement
gives a less picturesque result (the effect of the ascent from
the coast to the Plateau being lost), and is less satisfac-
tory in the matter of temperatures. During March or April
the sudden descent from the cool table-lands to the hot
lands of the coast is imprudent ; and in an " early " year is.
exceedingly dangerous. Should winter sojourners be de-
layed by sickness or other cause until fever is rejported in
Vera Cruz, the return journey absolutely should be made
overland.

Expenses. Ten dollars a day is a liberal estimate of ex-
penses for a short trip in Mexico, including expenses of
travel between New York and the Mexican frontier. Two
or four people travelling together can make the trip very
comfortably for $8 apiece a day. If the trip is prolonged
for several months this rate can be very materially lessened.
In the City of Mexico board and lodging can be had by the
month for !^2 a day. In the provincial cities, by bargaining
closely, board and lodging can be had for ^1.50 a day. As
all of the Mexican cities are small, and as nearly all are well
provided with street cars, carriage hire (usually a consider-
able item in foreign travel) practically is eliminated from
the expense account. And as all of the sights in Mexico are
free, the numerous petty drains upon the purse, that make
by no means a petty aggregate, incident to EurojDean travel
are unknown. Moreover, servants and sacristans are bliss-
fully ignorant of the fee standards of Europe, and accept

80 MEXICA]^ GUIDE.

thankfully sucli occasional medios and reales as chance to
come to them. The total result of these, and other prac-
ticable and legitimate small economies, is a saving that per-
sons who have travelled in Europe will regard wonderingly,
but with a glad surprise.

Exchange. The best form in which to carry funds for
the journey is that of drafts on New York. These can be
sold throughout Mexico (excepting, perhaps, on the west
coast, where drafts on San Francisco will be more available)
to better advantage than drafts on any other American city.
In the City of Mexico bank-notes of American issae can be
sold for a little less than drafts ; and American gold can be
sold for a little less than notes. American silver is current
at par. Enough American currency should be reserved for
the return trip, for each transfer from one currency into the
other entails a loss ; and, apart from this, it is not always
easy to procure American money in Mexico.

If Mexican money can be bought before starting — in New
York, or elsewhere — a better rate can be obtained than in
Mexico. If a stop is made at El Paso the necessary Mexican
currency can be procured at fair rates at El Paso banks.
Mexican money also is for sale in the station of the Mexican
Central Railway at Paso del Norte. If money is bought
here the purchase should be limited to what is required in
order to reach the first stopping-point in Mexico, for the
rate is high. No Mexican bank-notes should be accepted,
save those issued by the Banco Nacional and the Bank of
London, Mexico & South America. For a journey away from
the lines of railroad only silver should be carried.

Mexican Money. A metric system of coinage was
adopted some years ago, and stray five- and ten-cent pieces
are in circulation ; but in naming prices the old system is in
use in all shops, and everywhere among the common people.
The half- and quarter-dollars in common use are never
spoken of as pieces of twenty-five or fifty cejitavos, but as
quatro reales and dos (usually sounded do') reales : and some-
times by their formal names of toston and peseta. In ordi-
nary small dealings the unit is the real: the price for a

PRACTICAL INFORMATION-.

thing is ires (3) or diez (10) or veinte (20) reales, or whatever
number of reales it may happen to be. In barterings with
fruit or other small dealers centavos sometimes are men-
tioned ; but, even with these, prices usually are made in
tlacos — the smallest coin of the old system, worth l^ cents.
In 1883 nickel coins of one, two, three, and five centavos were
nttered. After the ' ' nickel riots " of that year they were
withdrawn. In the subjoined table the values of the several
coins are expressed in Mexican dollars, reales, and centavos.
The gold coins practically are unknown except as denomi-
nations of value :

Oiiza de oro (gold ounce) =$16

M^dia onza de oro.

Pistola

Escudo de oro .
Escudito de oro.
Peso (^silver) ....

8
4
2
1
1

Toston (4 reales) .... =50 cts.

Peseta (2 reales) =25 cts.

Real , = 12^ cts.

Medio real = 6^ cts.

Cuartilla (copper) . . . = 3 cts.

Tlaco (copper

= 1-J-cts.

Mexican Measures. While the French metric system
of measures has been adopted by the Republic of Mexico,
the law making this system compulsory is still suspended.
(The Act of Congress of June 3, 1885, defers the operation
of this law until January 1, 1889.) In the shops goods are
sold by the vara (33^ inches, nearly), a,nd distances usually
are reckoned by the legua (approximately 2.6 miles).
Lengths less than a vara usually are described as fractions
of a vara, and distances less than a legua usually are de-
scribed as fractions of a legua. The old measures are :

Cordel

linea . .
pulgada

= 0.0064 inch.

.... = 0.0763 "

.... = 0.687 ''

.... = 0.916 "

= 8.25 inches

.... =11.

Vara = 2 feet 9.3141 inches, or 2. 784 feet.

Punto . . ,
Linea . . .
Dedo. .,
Pulgada.
Palmo . .
Pie

1 l

_\
J 2

-fg- vara,

_L_

1 -i

L
4
X

pie .
vara,
vara.

= 50 varas = 137.50

Legua = 100 cordels or 5,000 varas = 2,637 miles.

The Mexican vara, the unit of this system, is about one-
fourth of one per cent, longer than that of Burgos, the Gas-

MEXICAN GUIDE.

tilian standard measure, which was originally known as Sol-
omon's pace^ — tradition telling that it is the length of the
pace, or stride, taken by King Solomon in measuring off the
site of the temple at Jerusalem.

In square measure the vara also is the unit. An ap-
proximate reduction of varas into acres may be made by
dividing the number of varas by 5,646, rejecting the fractions.
A legua of land, known also — because of its use for cattle-
raising — as a sitio de ganada mayor, is a j^lot 5,000x5,000
varas square, and contains, approximately, 4,400 acres. An
liadenda, strictly, is a plot 5,000x25,000 varas square, con-
taining, approximately, 22,000 acres. A fanega is a plot
276 X 184 varas square, containing, apiDroximately, 8|- acres ;
it derives its name from the fanega (nearly 2 bushels), the
measure of grain necessary for its sowing.

Kilometres and Miles. — The only approach to a pop-
ular use of the metric system is the custom of the railway
companies to give upon their time-tables distances in kilome-
tres. In view of this custom the following table sometimes
will be found convenient in ai^proximating distances in kilo-
metres and in miles. A metre is, exactly, 39.37079 inches.
For purposes of approximate estimate it may be considered
a yard and a tenth. A kilometre is, exactly, 0.62138 of a
mile. For purposes of approximate estimate it may be con-
sidered five-eighths of a mile, upon which basis this table
is prepared.

Kilometres.

MUes,

3?^

Kilometres.

Miles.

Kilometres.

Miles.

63^

100

12>^

200

124

300

186

400

249

500

311

600

373

433<

700

435

800

497

900

559

Passports. Circumstances may arise, of course, in which

the

'ass ports. Uircumstances may arise, oi course, m wnicn
protection afi'orded to a traveller in Mexico by a passport

PRACTICAL INFORMATION. 83

will be required ; but the chances are that the traveller for
jileasure only, especially if his journeyings are coiifined to
railway lines, will have no use whatever for this ornamental
but rather cumbrous document. American citizens taking
up a residence in Mexico, and engaging in business there, or
American citizens who expect to visit remote jDortions of the
Republic, certainly should provide themselves with pass-
ports. Persons wishing to obtain passports can procure
blank forms of application fi'om the State Department,
"Washington. In writing for blank forms the a^Dplicant
should declare whether he is a native citizen or a naturalized
citizen, and must give his full name and post-office address.
His communication should be addressed : Department of
State, Washington, D. 0. ; and should be indorsed : Passport
Division.

Customs Regulations. As a rule, honest travellers
have no trouble in passing a custom-house. It is cheaper to
declare dutiable articles than it is to be fined for trying to
smuggle them. Promptness should be shown in opening
baggage in readiness for inspection ; and undue haste should
not be shown in closing it when the inspection is at an end.

Mexican Regulations. As a rule, Mexican customs officials
are polite and obliging. In the small matter of personal
luggage, any suggestion of financial transactions would be a
mistake. Passengers are required to open their baggage for
inspection, and if they have dutiable articles to declare them.
The free list includes : clothing for jpersonal use, if not ex-
cessive in quantity ; articles worn or in use, as a watch,
chain, buttons, cane, etc. ; one or two fire-arms, with their
accessories, and one hundred charges ; each adult male pas-
senger may bring in ninety-nine cigars, forty packages of
cigarettes, and half a kilogramme (1^0 lb.) of snuff or chew-
ing tobacco. Professional men or artisans are permitted to
bring in free the instruments or tools indispensable or most
essential to the exercise of their profession or trade. No
charge is made for examining baggage. The rules by which
examination of personal baggage is regulated are ordered to
be kept in a conspicuous place in the search room, printed

84 MEXICAI^ GUIDE.

in Spanish, English, French, and German. Another, bnt
very perfunctory examination is made on entering the City
of Mexico.

Umted States Regulations. With the eccentricities of the
New York custom-honse most of us are painfully familiar. The
frontier custom-houses of Nogales, Eagle Pass, Laredo, and
El Paso are in pleasing contrast with the New York establish-
meut. At all of these points the revenues are collected faith-
fully, but a decided desire is manifested to spare travellers
as much as ]DOssible from personal annoyance. The American
regulations practically are the same as the Mexican. The free
list includes : * amber beads ; animals imported for purposes
of exhibition or breeding ; stuffed birds ; books, engravings,
bound or unbound, etchings, maps, and charts, which shall
have been printed and manufactured more than twenty years
at the date of the importation (of later date, 25 per cent, ad
val.) ; professional books imported by and with their owners ;
books, household effects, or libraries, or parts of libraries in
use, of persons or families from foreign countries, if used
abroad by them not less than one year, and not intended
for any other person or persons, nor for sale ; cabinets of
coins, medals, and all other collections of antiquities ;
coffee ; coins, gold, silver, cox3per, fossils ; manuscripts ;
mother-of-pearl; personal and household effects, not mer-
chandise, of citizens of the United States dying abroad;
tortoise and other shells unmanufactured ; wearing apparel in
actual use, and other personal effects (not merchandise) ;
professional books, implements, instruments, and tools of
trade, occupation, or employment of j)ersons arriving in the
United States (exclusive of machinery or other articles im-
XDorted for use in any manufacturing establishment, or for
sale). And to this free-list our almost too-paternal Govern-
ment thoughtfully adds, among other things : hop-poles,
sauer-kraut, curling-stones, joss-sticks, skeletons, turtles,
and bologna- sausages. By the Treasury decision of April 3,
1885, " it is decided that any cigars in excess of fifty, in the

* Act of March 3, 1883.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION. 85

baggage of any one passenger, shall be subject to duties, or
to a fine equal to the duties, as the case may require."

Tins much of the Treasury circular of July 29, 1878, still
is in eftect : " Tourists are often under the erroneous im-
pression that all articles purchased for their personal use, or
for the use of friends, or intended as presents, are exempt
from duty. Officers of the customs and United States con-
sular officers abroad are therefore instructed to inform
them, as far as practicable, of the laws and regulations relat-
ing to such importations, and especially of the provisions of
the Revised Statutes imposing penalties for the unlawful
importation of merchandise into the United States. All
articles subject to duty, whether contained in baggage or
otherwise, must be reported to the customs officers on
arrival at a port in the United States, under the penalties of
Section 2802 of the Revised Statutes, which is as follows:
' Whenever any article subject to duty is found in the bag-
gage of any 23erson arriving within the United States, which
was not, at the time of making entry for such baggage, men-
tioned to the collector before whom such entry was made,
by the person making entry, such article shall be forfeited,
and the person in whose baggage it is found shall be liable
to a penalty of treble the value of such article.' Persons
who arrive in the United States will be required to make
due entry, on blanks to be furnished them by the i^roper
customs officer, of the articles believed to be entitled to free
admission under the provisions of the law above referred to,
and to make oath, as XDrovided for by Section 2799 of the
Revised Statutes, that the entry contains a just and true
account of the contents of the package or packages men-
tioned therein, and that no such packages contain any
merchandise whatever, other than the articles specified. A
separate entry must be made of all dutiable articles con-
tained in the baggage, to which the oath of the passenger
must also be annexed. Such entry must specify the name of
the article, the precise quantity thereof, and the exact cost or
foreign market value. It will be the duty of the surveyor of
customs to see that the baggage-entry is made by each cabin

86 MEXICAN GUIDE.

passenger, and filed in the custom-house. Blank forms will
be furnished by the customs oflScers to the passengers,
and the oflSicers of the steamers are hereby respectfully re-
quested to co-operate with this Department in its efforts to
carry out the law by delivering to each passenger one or
more of the blanks."

Nervous travellers may be assured by the knowledge that,
in point of fact, a custom-house is not as black as this cir-
cular paints it. Ordinarily, the search is not severe ; at the
frontier custom-houses the filling out of blanks is not re-
quired, and, as already said, the honest traveller has little
trouble. But it is well that travellers should know of the
rigors as well as of the leniencies of the law.

Lu nch- Basket. For the traveller by rail a lunch-basket
is a necessary part of the outfit. "West of the Missouri River
railway trains make stops for meals with a cheerful disregard
of the times and seasons that ordinary mortals regard as ap-
projjriate for the discharge of that office ; and the length of
the stop (never more than twenty-five minutes, and some-
times no more than eighteen minutes) is better adapted to
stoking (it cannot be called eating) a condensed attack of in-
digestion than acquiring that sustenance which is neces-
sary for the maintenance of human life. The lunch-basket
should contain canned meats — Richardson & Robbins' canned
chicken and chicken-livers (not their canned game, which
takes u-p too much room in pro]3ortion to the amount of food
carried) are the best. If the party is large, a canned ham
may be added to this stock. Bread may be bought at the
lunch counters connected with the railway eating-houses, as
may also eggs, sandwiches, cold meats (of dubious quality),
coffee, and tea. A bottle of condensed coffee, a package of
tea, and a spirit-lamp make the position of the traveller im-
pregnable in the event (highly probable) of making the
breakfast stop between 10 and 11 a.m. Cooked gluten (to be
had at the agency of the Health Food Co., Tenth Street and
Fourth Avenue, New York) is a very valuable article in trav-
elling. It is highly nutritious, occupies very little room,
and needs only to be stirred into a tumbler of water in order

PRACTICAL INFORMATION. 87

to be eaten. Dried prunes (those put up by Violett & Co.
are the best) also should be carried. Also, enough sherry
or claret to make an allowance of one bottle for each mem-
ber of the party. The furniture of the lunch-basket should
consist of a plate, knife, fork, spoon, cup and saucer for each
member of the party, and a bundle of paper napkins — those
•which are crinkly, like crape, are the best.

Eating. The majority of travellers make the serious
mistake of eating too much. It is much better on a long
journey to err in the other direction, though there is no es-
pecial reason, other than the general weakness and fallibility
of humanity, why there should be any error in this matter
at all. For most jDeople, one heavy meal a day is quite suf-
ficient while travelling. This should be taken at the rail-
way eating-house, and as near noon as possible. If the
breakfast stop is not made until 11 a.m., or later, the heavy
meal should be eaten then. For breakfast, coffee and bread
is sufficient for most people. Fruit, bread, crackers, or
cooked gluten, can be eaten in the forenoon in case of hunger,
but not to kill time. Supper can be made about 6.30 p.m.,
on canned meats, bread (bought at the lunch-counter at
the dinner stop), and sherry-and- water, or weak tea. Before
turning in at night six or eight prunes should be eaten as a
preventive of constipation. The wisdom of this simple
regimen will be admitted by any one who will faithfully
carry it out.

Exercise. In the course of a long railway journey every
opportunity for exercise should be made the most of. A
stop of five minutes gives time enough for a brisk walk up
and down the station platform ; and the breakfast and supper
stops (these meals being taken, as suggested, on the train),
can be devoted to a good mile's walk. But this exercise
always should be taken on the platform ; it is a very unsafe
thing to go far from one's train.

Porters and Stewards. Always begin by feeing these
important functionaries roundly. This removes from their
minds all doubt as to your intentions toward them, and sug-
gests the pleasing hope that they will receive yet another

88 MEXICAlSr GUIDE.

and a larger fee at the end of the run. This hope, in part,
should be realized ; but in strict proportion to the amount
and quality of service rendered, and should be accompanied
by a small homily to the effect that they are paid well be-
cause they have done well, or are j)aid little — or not paid
anything more — because they have been careless. If travel-
lers generally would adopt this system the service of steam-
ships and Pullman cars would be wonderfully improved in- a
short space of time.

Pulque, Wine, Spirits, Beer. Whenever pulque can
be obtained, it should be used in preference to any other
drink. It is thoroughly wholesome, and has a tendency to
decrease the bilious habit that in many persons is induced
by an altitude of a mile above the sea level. As compared
with the delicious pulque to be had in the maguey region of
Apam, the pulque sold in the City of Mexico deserves little
praise. It should be drunk, however, from a sense of duty.

Excellent wines may be bought in the City of Mexico. At
the larger grocery stores the prices are very reasonable ; at
the hotels they are extortionate. In the other cities the wine
usually sold (for a dollar the bottle) is a heavy red Spanish
wine, highly astringent. Sometimes, in Monterey and Sal-
tillo, a very good native wine, made at Parras, may be ob-
tained ; usually for only four or five dollars the dozen. The
white wine of Parras is the best ; though the red is sound
and of good flavor. A wine also is made from the juice of
the quince, vino de inemhrillo, that is not unpalatable. The
brandy of Parras is famous all over Mexico. A strong dis-
tilled spirit is made from the root of the maguey, the best
variety of which is the tequila de pechuga. It has something
the taste of Scotch whiskey. It costs seventy-five cents a
bottle.

Almost eveiywhere on the lines of railroad a very good
native beer can be bought for a real the bottle — in the hotels
of the city two reales is charged. It is a much better and
purer article than the beer that is imported from the United
States, and that is sold for from two to five times as much as
the native brew.

PKACTICAL INFORMATION". 89

Sweetmeats. The Mexicans are great lovers of sweet
things, and dulees of various sorts are for sale all over Mexico.
The more famous of these sweets are made at Celaya, Quere-
taro, and Morelia. The Celaya didce (the manufactory of La
Fama is the best) is a glutinous paste compounded of milk,
sugar, and flavoring matter, boiled together for a long time.
The Queretaro dulce is an excellent nougat. The Morelia
dulce is a stiff jam of guava, quince, and other fruits, and is
the best of all.

CSothing. In making the Journey to Mexico by sea,
summer clothing will be required in crossing the Gulf, and
in crossing the hot country of the coast. On the Mexican
plateau clothing suitable to spring or fall will be required,
and the more prudent underwear will be winter flannels.
Overcoats and shawls will not often be required on the street
by day, but they should be at hand in readiness to put on
when churches or other buildings are entered, and for use
in the evenings. It is a fact that in Mexico wrapping up is
much more necessary in the house than out of doors. Even
when a norther at Vera Cruz sends a chill across the moun-
tains, the streets rarely are cold ; but at such times the
houses frequently are very cold indeed. The comfort of a
fire practically is an unobtainable luxury.

Doctors and Medicines. In the City of Mexico there
are several excellent medical men of both schools, allopathic
and homoeopathic ; and, occasionally, a good doctor is met
with in the provincial cities. As a rule, however, the medi-
cal practice outside of the capital is of the old-fashioned
heroic type, that only a person blessed with a most vigorous
constitution can encounter safely. It is wiser, therefore, to
carry along a supply of such ordinary medicines as are likely
to be required ; and, in the event of serious illness, to take
the chances of travel, and get to the capital as quickly as
possible. In case of yellow fever, it is much safer to employ
a native doctor than a foreign doctor. In case of small-pox,
the wisest course is to inquire among the servants for a good
old-woman nurse, and with this attendant to remove the
patient to an isolated house, where careful nursing, with

90 MEXICATT GUIDE.

plenty of fresh air, nsually can be depended upon to assure
a good recovery. During convalescence, the room should be
kept darkened ; the only important matter that a good Mexican
nurse is likely to forget. As a preliminary to an extended
journey in the interior of Mexico, vaccination is very necessary.
It is not an unwise preliminary to going to Mexico at all.

Cargadores. In all the larger towns the combined du-
ties of a local express and district telegraioh service are per-
formed by cargadores (porters). These men are duly licensed
by the municipal authorities, and wear upon their breasts
large brass plates, on which their respective numbers are
inscribed. (When employing one it is well to make a note of
his number.) As a class they are renowned for their trust-
worthiness, and safely may be employed to carry luggage,
parcels, or letters. The fee varies with the service per-
formed, and a bargain always should be made in advance.
When luggage, or any heavy burden, is carried an extra
medio is expected for drink.

Servants. A good Mexican servant is a very good article
of servant indeed, and is about as rare as a good servant of
any other nationality. In the cities, men-servants may be
hired for from twelve to twenty dollars (Mexican money) a
month. Women-servants, much more difficult to obtain, are
paid a little less. In hiring servants references should be
insisted upon and should be verified.

Fees. Better service can be had in Mexico, as in other
parts of the world, by paying extra for it. The fees to ser-
vants, however, should be small. For some inscrutable reason,
a Mexican servant who receives a large fee does his work
badly — far more badly than if he had received no fee at all.
Waiters at restaurants should not be given more than a
medio for each cover at each meal ; chambermen at hotels
an occasional real. It is customary also to give coachmen a
medio in addition to their regular fare. As a general rule,
governing all but very exceptional cases, no casual fee
should exceed a real.

Baths. In even the smaller Mexican towns very fair
baths usually are found ; and in the cities the bathing ar-

PRACTICAL INFORMATION. 91

rangements, with a few exceptions, are excellent. The haths
rarely are found in hotels, and. sometimes (as at San Miguel
de Allende, where they are delightful) are far out in the
suburbs. The usual price for a hot bath in Mexico is two
reales ; for a cold bath, one real. This usually includes soap
and towels — and the doubtful privilege of a comb and
brush.

Hotels. In the provincial cities the hotels are fairly
good. In most of them food as well as lodging is provided ;
and the usual rate for food and lodging is two dollars a day.
Lodging without food, and food without lodging, usually
cost one dollar a day each. Single meals usually cost four
reales — sometimes six. The charge for lodging is made
for the bed, and two beds usually are placed in one room.
Double beds, save in a few of the larger hotels, are rare.
In taking rooms at a hotel, a bargain always should be made
in advance. Usually a considerable reduction, from one
quarter to one-half less than the price by the day, is made
for terms of a week or more. The time of intended occu-
pancy always should be stated, if it is to be longer than a
day or two, when the rooms are hired. Outside of the larger
cities the beds are ax3t to be hard, and everywhere the pil-
lows are of hair.

Restaurants. Even in very small towns, lacking a hotel,
a restaurant [fonda) usually is found. The food provided
at these restaurants is of the country, but usually is palatable
and fairly served. In the small towns the price for a meal usu-
ally is four reales, and six reales is the usual price of board by
the day. The food served is : for breakfast, .coffee and bread
(though eggs and meat usually can be obtained also) ; for mid-
day breakfast, soup, rice, meat, bread, a salad, beans (frijoles),
sweets, and coffee ; for supper, chocolate or coffee, and bread
— with the possible addition of meat and eggs. In the
larger cities the dinner usually is a repetition of the mid-
day breakfast. In even very small towns of unpromising
appearance a satisfactory meal can be obtained by a special
order backed by a promise to pay a trifle more than the
regular price.

92 MEXICAl^ GUIDE.

Official Permits. As a rule, Mexican officials are ex-
ceedingly courteous in granting permits to visit such insti-
tutions as are not open to the general public. The follow-
ing form of application will be found useful by travellers
whose Spanish is not perfect. In the City of Mexico it
should be addressed, for permission to visit the military col-
lege of Chapultepec (the grounds are open to the public), the
National Armory, or other Government institution, to the
Governor of the Palace. In all other cases the address may
be to the Administrador of the institution that the traveller
desires to see — this may not always be exactly correct, but
it will be near enough for practical purposes.

Sil. GOBERNADOB DE PaLACIO,

Presente.
or
Sr. Administrador de ,

Presente.
Agradeceria a Vd. que, si no tiene inconveniente para ello, se
sirviese expedirme uu permiso escrito para visitar

Con sentlmientos de consideracion, quedo de Vd.,

atento seguro servidor.

Hotel de

Mexico, de de 188 — .

Church Visiting. In their own interest, as well as in
the interest of abstract decency, visitors to churches should
conduct themselves reverently while in such sacred edifices.
A respectful stranger very frequently will receive a courteous
attention, in being directed where to find what is most beau-
tiful or curious, that assuredly will not be accorded to
strangers who are vulgarly noisy or vulgarly frank in their
expressions of derision and contempt. Attentions of this
sort frequently are volunteered, and are the more welcome
because frequently there is no one to be found in the churches
to act as a guide. As a rule, the churches that have i3er-
tained to nunneries will be found more quaint and interest-

PRACTICAL INFORMATION. 93

ing than those which have pertained to monasteries ; and the
more desirable churches to visit, of course, are those which
have not been remodelled in modern times. It is well to
make a point of seeing the ante-sacristy and sacristy, as in
these places usually are foimd ancient and curious articles
retired from active service in the church, as well as inter-
esting pictures. In visiting shrines (as at Los Remedies or
Ocotlan) the visitor should ask to see the camarin — the little
chapel in the rear of the high altar. The richest treasures
and most curious possessions of a shrine usually are found
in this place. If neither the priest in charge nor the sa-
cristan can be found, the old woman who sells rosaries and
holy images will be found a useful ally. She is to be pro-
pitiated by spending a real or two in purchase of her sacred
wares, and by complimentary remarks upon the church, and
upon the cat that usually bears her company. When the
sacristan happens to be available as a guide he should
receive a fee of a real or two for his services. Persons even
who do not read Spanish will find their visits to churches
materially aided by either of the church almanacs — the " Al-
manaque Catolico y Historico," or the " Almanaque Galvan,"
which may be bought in almost any book-store for two
reales. These books will give the saints' days for the cur-
rent year, and by visiting in the morning the churches dedi-
cated to the saint whose day it is, a special service, of a
more or less imposing character, usually will be found in
progress. On the other hand, these almanacs will show
when special services are not in progress, and when, there-
fore, the church may be visited without encountering a crowd.
Priestly Aid. In the smaller cities and towns the best
results in sight -seeing can be secured (by persons speaking-
Spanish) by calling at once upon the parish priest and ask-
ing his advice and assistance. This move has a two-fold re-
sult : the priest, almost without exception, is exceedingly
courteous in advising the visitor what is most worthy to be
seen, and in aiding him to see it ; and the people of the
town, seeing that the stranger is on terms of amity with the
cura, are prone to render further practical aid of a like nat-

94 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Tire. The parish priests of Mexico, as a class, it is not in-
appropriate to add here, are men of devout and godly lives,
who are entitled to all honor and reverence. Since the Laws
of the Eeform, there is nothing to tempt men to adopt the
clerical life save a genuine love of God and a strong desire
to minister to the religious welfare of their fellows accord-
ing to His ordinances. Apart from the selfish motive of ob-
taining from them increased facilities in sight-seeing, most
travellers will find much pleasure in the society of these
simple-minded and godly -minded men.

Beggars. There are not many beggars in Mexico ; but
the few found there are apt to be most resolutely persist-
ent in their demands. They can be shaken off by the pay-
ment of a few coppers, or they may be exorcised by the for-
mula : Perdona me, hermano, en el nombre de dios — of which
phrase, usually, the words perdona me will suffice.

Hackney Coaches. In almost all the cities of Mexico
(Zacatecas and Guanajuato are notable exceptions) hackney
coaches are plentiful. The fare usually is four reales an
hour ; and a lower rate can be obtained, usually, should a
coach be hired for half a day or longer. In case of hiring
by the hour, the driver should have the precise time im-
pressed upon his mind by being shown a watch ; and at the
end of the drive, should he manifest a disposition to insist
upon over-payment, the traveller should make a serious de-
monstration of entering the coach again, the while saying,
with much firmness and decision, " Vamonos a la administra-
cion " — a threat that never fails, when the driver really is in
the wrong, to bring him to terms. It is customary to add a
medio to the regular fare. The coaches usually found in the
provincial cities are ruinous structures, dating from a remote
antiquity, and are apt to be itinerant asylums of fleas. In
nearly all the Mexican cities street railways now are in
operation.

Postal Arrangements. The letter rate from Mexico
to the United States and Canada is five cents for each half
ounce or fraction of a half ounce ; to other countries in the
Postal Union, ten cents. The rates on j)rinted matter are

PRACTICAL INFORMATION. 95

' one cent per ounce and three quarters, or fraction thereof, to
the United States and Canada ; and two cents to EuroiDean
countries in the Postal Union. The limit of weight for
printed matter is 4.4 pounds (2 kilogrammes). Letters and
packages may be registered on payment of a fee of ten cents.
The rate on letters for points within the Eepublic of Mexico
is ten cents for each half ounce or fraction thereof ; on news-
papers, or other printed matter, one cent for each two
ounces, or fraction thereof.

The J)rocess of extracting a letter from the Mexican post-
office is somewhat complicated. "Within an hour, if the
mail ha^Dpens to be small and if the postmaster happens to
be active, after a mail is received, an alphabetical list of the
letters received is hung in some conspicuous place about the
post-office. Each list is dated and each letter is numbered.
In applying for a letter it is necessary to give the date of the
list and the number of the letter. To avoid unnecessarv
complications with the Spanish tongue, an effective plan is
to write these necessary facts, together with the name of the
inquirer, upon a card and hand the card to the mail clerk.
In addition to the daily lists, several of which hang together,
with the latest outermost, there are lists of letters remaining
unclaimed at the end of each month. The lists are arranged
alphabetically, but as a measure of precaution it is well to go
through the entire list of each day. In the small post-offices
of the interior the section "E " in the list always should be
examined, as the suffix "Esq." not infrequently is converted
into a proper name. Especially valuable letters may be sent
to many parts of the EexDublic by express (see Express
Service, and also paragraph Post-office in chapter on City of
Mexico).

Telegraph. Government wires connect all the principal
cities and towns of Mexico. This service is fairly punctual
and trustworthy. The Mexican, Mexican Central, Mexican
National, Interoceanic, and Sonora Railway Companies main-
tain telegraph lines which parallel their respective tracks.
The Mexican Central and Mexican National (northern di-
vision) wires connect with the Western Union wires at El

96 MEXECAN GUIDE.

Paso and Laredo, respectively. The Mexican & South
American Cable Company has a branch wire from Vera Cruz
to the City of Mexico, and connects with the telegraph sys-
tem of the United States at Galveston. (See also telegraph
o£Sces in the City of Mexico.)

Express Service. An express service is maintained
by Wells, Fargo & Co. over the lines of the Mexican, Mexi-
can Central, and Sonora Railways, and by stage to Guada-
lajara and San Luis Potosi. Travellers without through
tickets {e.g., those taking the trains of the Central Railway
at San Isidro or Zacatecas) can make a considerable sav-
ing by sending their extra luggage through to the City of
Mexico by express — an arrangement that provides for free
delivery at destination. Extra luggage also may be sent to
advantage in this manner to El Paso, on the return journey,
where it may be taken again in charge by its owner ; or di-
rect to destination. The express company attends to pass-
ing property through the custom-house and pays duties.
In shipments from Mexico, or other points, the duty and
charges may be j^aid at destination ; or may be paid at point
of departure on the return from El Paso of the way bills
with customs charges added. Persons shipping in this lat-
ter manner must give a city reference, or deposit at the ex-
press office, in addition to charges, the amount estimated to
be due for duty. By a recent arrangement with the Federal
Government the express company is permitted to carry let-
ters— a fact to be remembered in sending important letters
to interior towns. An express service also is maintained by
the Mexican National Railway Company over its several
lines. (See also Mexican Central Railway in regard to extra
luggage.)

At El Paso. Although the Pullman car is backed across
to the station at El Paso, it is not opened until after the ex-
amination of hand luggage by the Mexican customs officials
at Paso del Norte. Travellers leaving El Paso from a hotel
may secure a more comfortable evening meal than can be
obtained in the railway eating-house at Paso del Norte by
sending their luggage with the train, but themselves follow-

PRACTICAL INFORMATION. 97

iug later, cither by carriage or tramway. If tliis plan is
adopted, sufficient time should be allowed to attend to cus-
tom-house formalities. On the return northward there is
ample time between the arrival of the Mexican Central train
and the departure of the first train for the north to bathe and,
if it is desired, to eat a solid breakfast at one of the hotels.

Since the concentration of several railway lines here, El
Paso has ceased to be a draggle-tailed little suburb of Paso
del Norte, and has become an enterprising, thriving frontier
town — with al] the crudeness and rawness and painful ugli-
ness that an enterprising, thriving frontier town necessarily
must have. Passengers arriving by the Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fe Railroad will have little knowledge of it, for
their train will make a close connection with the south-
bound train on the Mexican Central. Passengers arriving
by either of the other lines will find the awkwardness of ar-
riving in the middle of the night counterbalanced in part
by the j)ossibility of a bath and change of linen that a wait-
ing-time of from twelve to eighteen hours renders possible.
The Grand Central Hotel will be found reasonably comfort-
able, with tolerably clean bath-rooms, rather dingy tubs,
abundant towels, and fairly satisfactory bedrooms. A room
for any part of a day can be had for one dollar (provided a
room at that price is asked for). The bath costs half a
dollar. Any idle time may be employed in a drive through
the aclohe town of Paso del Norte ; thence along the river-
side, and, late in the afternoon (so as to get the sunset view
from the mesa), to Fort Bliss. Good carriages may be hired
at the door of the hotel. Rates : ^2.50 the first hour ; $1.50
the second ; ^1 for each subsequent hour. The drive across
the river will occupy about two hours ; the drive on the
American side about one hour. Travellers who have a
liking for queer characters will do well to employ for their
coachman Mike Brannahan, an Argonaut of '49, whose inti-
mate acquaintance with extraordinary persons and events in
California and elsewhere is equalled only by his capacity for
clothing his possibly extravagant reminiscences in eccentric
language. As his carriage and horses are excellent, there is
5

98 MEXICAN GUIDE.

no sacrifice of practical comfort involved in this enjoyment
of his peculiar personal charms.

Coming Home. For the return journey the same pro-
vision that has been suggested for the outward journey may
be made. Should increased packing-space be required, the
traveller will do well not to bay a trunk, a costly article in
Mexico, but a strong basket. In the City of Mexico baskets
can be bought in the market of the Volador (in the northwest
corner) of any desired size, one as big as a large travelling-
trunk costing about two dollars. To make the basket dust-
proof it should be lined first with newspapers and then with
coarse cotton cloth. It should be well corded. If without
this addition the total amount of luggage equals the allow-
ance (150 pounds) for each through ticket, the basket may be
advantageously sent home by express (see Express Service).

PART II.

THE MEXICAN CAPITAL

PAET n.
THE MEXICAN CAPITAL.

/. PRACTICAL MATTERS.

Station to Hotel. Street cars connect the several
railway stations with the Plaza Mayor. The fare by
these is a medio, excepting the special car that meets
the train from Vera Cruz, by which the fare is a real.
As the car lines do not pass near any of the desirable ho-
tels, travellers unacquainted with the city should take a
carriage. The fare should not exceed the regular rate for
a single coach (see Hackney Coaches), but it usually
does. Six reales for a white-flag coach, or a dollar for a
red-flag coach, including carriage of hand luggage, will
be a good bargain. A dollar, and a dollar and a quar-
ter, respectively, will not be outrageous. But beyond
these figures the traveller should refuse to go, unless
the supply of carriages should chance to be unusually
small. In case of a difference of opinion about the fare
at the end of the course, it is the part of wisdom to
turn the matter over for settlement to the people of the
hotel

Luggage. A luggage express agent usually boards
incoming trains at a short distance out from the Buena
Vista station (or will be found in the station on the ar-

102 MEXICAN GUIDE.

rival of the train), who gives, in return for the railway-
company's checks, checks for city delivery. Although
there is a regular tariff for this service (two reales for
each piece) it is the part of prudence to arrive at a clear
understanding, before the checks are exchanged, as to
precisely what the cost of delivery will be. This func-
tionary also will require the key of the piece to be de-
livered, or, if a number of pieces are to be delivered, the
key of any one piece of the lot, in order that the form of
a custom-house examination may be gone through with.
The key may be given confidently, as the express com-
pany is responsible for the safe delivery of articles in-
trusted to its care. It is as well, of course, to give the
key of a piece that does not contain articles of any espe-
cial value. Travellers arriving by way of the Vera Cruz
Railway will not receive their luggage until the follow-
ing morning. Hand luggage, therefore, should contain
provision for the night.

Hotels. In comparison with even second-class New
York hotels the best hotels of the City of Mexico make
a poor showing. They are meagrely furnished ; their
service is poor ; their prices, relatively, are high. In the
majority of them, the bath that the arriving traveller
wants immediately cannot be obtained ; and even in
those which possess bathing establishments, the baths
are on the ground floor. To compass a pitcher of hot
water in one's own room requires the outlay of a vast
amount of vital energy, and a fee to the chamberman of
a real. In engaging rooms it is desirable to secure such
as face east or south, in order to secure an abundance
of sunlight. Booms facing north or west are apt to be
damp and cold.

The Hotel del Jardin, opened during the past sum-
naer, has yet to be proved. All that can be said of it is

TRACTICAL MATTERS. 103

that it promises to be tlie pleasantest, as it certainly is
the most picturesque, hotel in the city. It is built
around two sides of the old garden of San Francisco,
and is itself a portion of the ancient convent. The
rooms are sunny. The rate here will be fifty dollars a
month, and upward, for rooms, and thirty dollars a
month for board. The rate by the day for board and
lodging probably will be $2.50 and upward. An omi-
nous feature of this hotel is that it is designed especially
for Americans, and promises American cooking. The
Hotel San Carlos is especially desirable because of its
many sunny rooms, and because of its location on the
Calle de San Francisco, and consequent coign of vantage
from which to see the frequent military parades upon
this street — the sunny rooms, however, face upon the
side street of the Coliseo. The little Hotel del Cafe
Anglais has only a few rooms, but these are exception-
ally clean, and the service here is exceptionally good.
This is the most desirable hotel for ladies travelling
alone. On the Calle del Cinco de Mayo there are three
quiet little hotels which are not uncomfortable — the
Comonfort, Gillow, and Cantabro. The largest hotel in
the city is the Yturbide. If this hotel is selected, the
traveller should ask for one of the new rooms, open-
ing on the Calle de Gante ; for these, while they do not
command a view of anything in particular, and have little
sunlight, are large, airy, and clean. All of these hotels
have restaurants connected with them, or near at hand.
At all of them a considerable reduction will be made
when rooms are taken for fifteen days or a month. A
bargain as to rates always should be made in advance.

Restaurants. Food and lodging are distinct parts
of the Mexican hotel system, though by an especial
agreement they can be combined. Having lodgings in

104 MEXICAN GUIDE.

one hotel does not interfere in any way with getting
meals at the restaurant belonging to another. At all the
restaurants a table d'hote is served twice daily — between
12 M. and 3 p.m. for breakfast, and between 6 and 8 p.m.
for dinner, these hours not being very rigidly observed.
The first breakfast, coffee and bread, is served from 7
A.M., and to get it at an earlier hour very emphatic or-
ders must be given over night. In lieu of bread and
coffee, however, a substantial breakfast can be obtained
by special order. At the Cafe Anglais, in the Calle del
Coliseo, where the head waiter speaks English, and where
providing for American wants is made rather a specialty,
the solid breakfast can be obtained without friction ;
and regular boarders at this place can arrange to take
their light meal, bread and coffee or bread and soup, in
the middle of the day, and thus obtain their heavy break-
fast without extra charge. The Cafe Anglais provides
quite as good food as will be found at any of the tables
d'hote, and its prices (1 real for first breakfast, 5 reales
for second breakfast, 5 reales for dinner ; or $30, Mex-
ican money, a month) are decidedly lower than those
of any of the first-class restaurants. As compared with
the handsome rooms of the restaurant of the Hotel
Yturbide, or of the Restaurant Concordia, at either of
which the charges for meals are from a dollar upward,
the quarters of the Cafe Anglais are not brilliant. The
Concordia, at the corner of the Second Plateros and
San Jose el Eeal, is a very fair restaurant, where a rea-
sonably good dinner, reasonably well served, can be or-
dered either in the public room or in a private apart-
ment. It is especially celebrated for its pastry and ices.
Its prices, relatively, are high. The tivolis, or garden
restaurants, in the suburb of San Cosme and at La Cas-
taneda — on the tramway to San Angel — are peculiarly

PRACTICAL MATTERS. 105

pleasant institutions of Mexico. Excellent breakfasts are
served — at from two dollars a cover upv^ard — in rustic
bowers or closed cabinets standing in charming gardens.
For a breakfast with ladies the Tivoli of San Cosme prob-
ably wdll be found most satisfactory, though ladies also
may be taken to the Ehseo and La Castaneda. At all
the restaurants the charges for wines and for imported
malt liquors are extortionate. Both as a sanitary meas-
ure and as a measure of economy travellers will do well
to drink pulque, or native beer.

To obtain genuine Mexican food, the traveller must go
to one of the Mexican fondas. The best of these is the
Fonda de la Eeforma, about midway of the Calle de
Ortega, on the south side. Another that also can be
recommended is the Fonda Mexicana, on the north side
of the Calle del Cinco de Mayo, at the corner of the
Callejon de Sta Clara. Neither of these establishments
is sparkHngly clean, and at neither is the service of
a very high order of excellence. Both are entirely re-
spectable, and to both ladies may be taken. To obtain
a really representative breakfast {i.e., the midday meal)
the order should be given a day in advance, coupled
with the explanation that the meal is to be composed of
characteristic Mexican dishes — and something pleasant
about the high reputation of that particular yb?2^« for
the excellence of its cooking should be added in order
to make the venture an entire success. The price should
not exceed a dollar or a dollar and a half a cover, if the
party consists of four or more. For only two persons,
two dollars a cover would not be an unreasonable price, as
some of the Mexican dishes are troublesome to prepare.
Somewhat the same result may be obtained by taking the
regular table d'hote breakfast at either of these /b?2c?as.
This is served every day at noon, and costs four reales.
5*

106 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Specialties. Naylor's, No. 18 Calle de Escalerillas
(upstairs), roast beef, cut from the joint in the presence
of the diner, plum-pudding, and pies. — Italiano, Calle
del Cinco de Mayo, corner Callejon de Sta Clara, mac-
caroni and chocolate. — Cafe de Paris, No. 18, Calle de
Coliseo Viejo, fish, fried chicken, ham and eggs. — Con-
cordia, corner second Plateros and San Jose el Real, ices.
Especially good pulque can be had at the pidqueria de
las DatnaSj'No. 2, first Calle de las Damas, and at the
l^ulqueria de los Perros, Cinco de Mayo, north side, a
little east of the Hotel Comonfort. The earlier in the
day that pidque is drunk the better it is.

Lodgings. So far as saving money is concerned,
there is little to be gained by hiring private lodgings,
unless they are required for a term of several months.
The charges for furnished rooms, in desirable parts of
the town, are but little less than the monthly charges of
the hotels ; and while unfurnished rooms can be had at
comparatively low rates, the cost of furnishing them is
exorbitant when judged by au American standard. Per-
sons intending to pass a whole winter in Mexico, how-
ever, can effect a considerable saving by hiring unfur-
nished rooms and furnishing them, even at a heavy
outlay ; for unfurnished rooms rent for less than half
the cost of furnished rooms, and furniture usually can be
disposed of at no great loss. Should rooms be hired,
either furnished or unfurnished, much caution should be
exercised. Many houses in Mexico that to a foreigner
will seem absolutely respectable will prove to be by no
means desirable j)laces of abode.

Board ing-Houses. The equivalent of the American
boarding-house is the casa de huespedes. There are
many of these in the City of Mexico, man}'" of them very
comfortable, and relatively moderate in their charges.

PRACTICAL MATTERS. 107

or an ADierican, however, the cooking is likely to prove
a decided drawback upon the otherwise obvious merits
of these establishments.

Baths. Of the many clean and well-ordered baths
in the city, the most conveniently situated — for the use
of residents of any of the central hotels — are the
Banos del Factor in the Calle del Factor ; the Bafios de
Vergara, in the Calle de Vergara, and the baths in the
Yturbide Hotel. The street cars of the Circuito de
Banos run direct to excellent baths (the Pane and Oso-
rio) near the Paseo de la Eeforma. Passengers on these
cai'S can buy bath tickets from the conductors, in which
case the ride to the bath is free. The usual price for a
cold bath is one real ; for a hot bath, two reales. The de-
licious and beautiful bafio oriental of the Pane baths, the
price for the use of which is one dollar, is one of the
sights of the City of Mexico. Ladies may go with pro-
priety to any of the baths here named.

Interpreters, An interpreter and guide can be ob-
tained at the Agenda Inglesa, No. 12 First Street of
San Francisco. His pay should not exceed three dollars
a day — but it probably will.

Shopping. The larger shops in the City of Mexico,
those on the Calle de los Plateros, are suppHed directly
from France. Their stock of high-priced and, with some
limitations, of medium-priced goods equals, in some re-
spects surpasses, the stocks of the best Broadway shops
in New York. The prices (allowing for the difference in
value of the currencies) are about the same as in New
York. In all these larger shops French also is spoken,
and Enghsh, of a somewhat spasmodic variety, has be-
gun to make its appearance. In these larger shops the
deahng is fair, but abatements in prices sometimes will
be made. There are several large shops of a lower

108 MEXICAI^ GUIDE.

grade on the south, side of the Plaza Mayor, and in the
first and second Calles de la Monterilla, where the upper
middle classes deal. In these, haggUng over prices is
the rule rather than the exception. In the smaller
shops — as those in which rebosos are sold, in and near
the streets of the Flamencos, Bajos de Porta Coeli and
Puente de Jesus — the battling over prices always is fierce
and prolonged. Shops such as are found in New York in
Sixth Avenue, abounding in honestly made goods which
are both pretty and cheap, have no parallel in Mexico.
The best shops in which to buy rebosos and zarapes are
in the Calle de San Bernardo.

Hat stores. For felt hats, west side of the Plaza
Mayor. For straw hats, Calle de los Meleros, east of the
market of the Volador (Spanish spoken).

Common pottery and glazed tiles. A little shop, presided
over by an affable old woman, on the west side of the
Puente de Zacate, immediately in the rear of Las Bo-
nitas. Upon the calzada, north of this shop, are several
potteries (Spanish spoken).

Watch-mending. German Laue, corner of Second San
Francisco and Callejon del Espiritu Santo (English
spoken).

Leather worJc. Trunk-mending, trunk-straps, shawl-
straps, Calle de Gante, No. 8 (French spoken).

General mending. Trunks, locks, fans, etc., Eduardo
Kaymond, Calle de los Kebeldes, No. 19 (English spoken).

Shoemaker. Shoes for men and women. Calle del
Espiritu Santo, No. 3 (French spoken).

Cobbler. "La Pie de Sara," under Hotel del Cafe
Anglais (Spanish spoken).

Mending clothes (for men). "El Medico de la Kopa,"
Callejon de Sta Clara, just north of Cinco de Mayo
(Spanish spoken).

PRACTICAL MATTERS. 109

Milliner. Will "do up" bonnets, Calle de Gante,
No. 8, over saddler's (French spoken).

Drawn ivork. This beautiful Mexican work, as well as
all sorts of embroidery, can be ordered from the Senora
Baeza, a widowly body of great respectability at Arcos
de San Agustin, No. 5, upstairs. Her prices are very
reasonable (Spanish spoken).

Silver Jewellery. Very good work, at fair prices, is
done by Antonio Carrillo, Calle de Ortega, No. 5 (Span-
ish spoken).

Mexican didces. Very good candied fruits and other
Mexican dulces can be bought at moderate rates at Arcos
de San Agustin, No. 5, down-stairs. This little shop
opens upon the inner paiio of the house, and has no
other sign than the occasional wafting forth of a sweet
smell (Spanish spoken).

Good butter. Very good fresh butter can be bought
at Calle de Sta Ysabel, No. 4. Butter not so good also
is sold at No. 3, in the same street (Spanish spoken).

Hardware. There are several large shops at and near
the corner of the Calles del Refugio and Lerdo where
hardware and house-furnishing articles may be bought.
From an American standpoint, the prices are very high
(English spoken).

Libraries. The Biblioteca Nacional (which see) is a
free library, open daily, feast-days excepted, from 10 a,m.
till 5 P.M. The Biblioteca del Cinco de Mayo (which
see) also is a free library, open daily, feast-days except-
ed, from 9 A.M. till 12 m., and from 3 till 7 p.m. There is
an excellent French circulating library (Second Sau
Francisco, No. 2), where also are a few ancient English
novels ; and, among others, two good Spanish circulat-
ing hbraries, at respectively. No. 5 Calle del Espiritu
Santo, and No. 5 Callejon del Espiritu Santo.

110 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Book Stores. The book stores of Aguilar & Sons,
First Calle de Santo Domingo, No. 5 ; Eduardo Mur-
guia, Portal del Aguila de Oro, No. 2 ; Juan Buxo &
Co., Portal del Aguila de Oro, No. 5 ; Carlos Bouret,
Cinco de Mayo, No. 15, all contain good collections of
Mexican and Si^anish works. At the last-named a fair
stock of French books will be found. Second-hand
books are for sale in the Portales, and in the book-mar-
ket, erected in 1886, in the Plazuela del Seminario.
Among these, occasionally, a prize may be secured.
Rare, standard books on Mexico usually can be found
at the shop of Francisco Abadiano, Calle de las Escal-
erillas, No. 17, but are held at very high, prices. Very
handsome colored maps, costing 11.50 each, of the City
and Valley of Mexico — the last a bird's-eye view — may
be bought at the shop of Debray Sucesores, corner of
the Calle Coliseo Viejo and Calle j on del Espiritu Santo.
Here also may be bought a beautiful, but not very ac-
curate, atlas of Mexico, the several maps of which are
bordered by well-executed pictures in chromo-litho-
graph, illustrating Mexican scenery and races.

Newspapers. The only daily paper pubHshed in
English in the city is the Two Republics. This will be
found serviceable in its presentment of current railway
time-tables and official directory, as well as in its hints
of Mexican and general news. It contains a list of
places of interest in and near Mexico that could be made
exceedingly valuable to tourists, but that, being full of
inaccuracies, is less helpful than dangerously misleading.
The Mexican Financier, a weekly publication in Spanish
and English, deals broadly with national and interna-
tional subjects, mainly from the standpoint of com-
merce, and gives a clear presentment of the general
drift of Mexican affairs. Its especial mission is the fos-

PRACTICAL MATTERS. Ill

teiTDg of international commerce and the development
of the resources of the Republic. As its circulation is
among Mexican merchants and manufacturers it has
done much toward introducing American machinery and
methods into Mexico, and toward securing to the United
States a very profitable Mexican trade. El Diario Oflcial,
the official daily organ of the Federal Government, pub-
lishes a monthly summary of events in English that will
be found of much interest. Le Trait d' Union is a daily
published in French. A number of daily, weekly, and
monthly journals are published in Spanish. Indeed, in
proportion to its population, the City of Mexico has al-
most as many newspapers as New York.

Post Office. (See also p. 94) There is a regular de-
livery by carriers in the City of Mexico, and letters ad-
dressed to any hotel will be delivered promptly. But as
carelessness in regard to letters is the rule at Mexican
hotels, this is a very unsafe plan for travellers to adopt.
A safe plan is to have letters addressed in the care of
the Agenda Inglesa de C. M. St. Hill, Calle de San Fran-
cisco la, No. 12. At the Agenda Inglesia official letter
lists are received daily from the General Post-office,
stamps are for sale, and letters may be mailed in a
locked letter-box that is cleared several times daily
by the regular postmen. Letters directed simply to
the City of Mexico must be called for at the General
Post-office, in the northern portion of the Palacio Na-
cional, fronting on the Calle del Arzobispado. There
are several sub-post-offices in the city where stamps
may be purchased and letters mailed. It is not advis-
able to mail letters in the letter-boxes found in remote
parts of the town. The letter-boxes on the principal
streets probably are cleared regularly. Letters for the
United States should be mailed before 5 p.m.

112 MEXTCAlSr GUIDE,

Telegraph Ofifices. Cable to tlie United States and
Europe via Vera Cruz and Galveston, corner Second
San Francisco and Santa Clara. Overland to the United
States, and thence to Europe, office of the Mexican Cen-
tral Railway, First San Francisco (Plazuela de Guar-
diola). For points on the southern division of the
Mexican National Railway, Calle de Cadena, No. 12, en-
trance on the Jardin del Colegio de Ninas. For points
on Interoceanic (Morelos, Irolo) Railway, Calle de San
Agustin, No. 14. Government Telegraph Office, lines
to all important points in the Republic, Callejon del
Espiritu Santo, No. 5.

Railway Stations. Mexican Central, Buena Vista ;
Vera Cruz Railway, Buena Vista ; Mexican National,
Colonia ; Interoceanic, San Lazaro and Peralvillo.

Railway Offlces. Mexican Central, Buena Vista
(ticket office in First San Francisco : Plazuela de Guar-
diola) ; Vera Cruz, Buena Vista ; Mexican National,
Calle de Cadena, No. 12 ; interoceanic, Calle de San
Agustin, No. 14.

Diligence Office. First Calle de la Independencia,
No. 14, in rear of Yturbide Hotel. General and partic-
ular information may be procured at this office, and
seats may be secured. Diligencias, seating nine peo-
ple and upward, may be hired for the day, for pic-
nics or driving parties, at a cost of twenty dollars and
upward. (See Excursions, p. 117.)

Express Offices. Wells, Fargo & Co. (see p. 96),
and Central (local), both in Calle de Santa Ysabel ;
Mexican National, No. 12 Calle de Cadena.

Hackney Coaches. There are four classes of hack-
ney coaches, commanding four rates of fare : "White flag,
50 cents the hour ; red flag, 75 cents the hour ; blue
flag, $1 the hour ; green flag, $1.50 the hour. These

PRACTICAL MATTERS. 113

prices bold good between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., before and
after wbicb bours tbe prices are tbe same as on feast
days. Tbe least time tbat a coacb can be bired for is
balf an bour ; and in tbis must be included tbe time
required for tbe coacb to return to tbe stand wbence
it is taken. Tbus a course of twenty minutes will in-
clude twentj'' minutes for tbe return and must be paid
for as a wbole bour. On feast daj'S and Sundays tbe
prices are increased : Wbite flag, 75 cents ; red flag, $1 ;
blue flag, $1.50 ; green flag, $2, tbe bour. Coacbmen
expect a small gratuity, a medio or a real, according to
tbeir class and tbe lengtb of time tbat tbey bave been
employed. Tbe wbite flag coacbes usually are dirt}^ and
are to be sbunned. Tbe red flag coacbes are quite as good
as tbe average of backney coacbes in New York. Tbe
green and blue flag coacbes — between wbicb tbere is no
appreciable difference — are as good as backney coacbes
can be. Eacb coacbman is compelled to carry, and to
sbow upon demand, bis tariff of cbarges. If any difficulty
arises in regard to fares it usually can be settled by an
appeal to a policeman ; and policemen, by a miracle tbat
only tbe municipal governments of Mexico can work,
usually are available wben an appeal is to be made to
tbem. Sbould tbe policeman prove unequal to tbe sit-
uation, an equitable adjustment always can be secured
by driving to tbe Administracion, on tbe soutb side of
tbe Plaza Mayor.

Saddle-horses. Tbere are several good livery-sta-
bles in tbe City of Mexico from wbicb saddle-borses can
be obtained. Tbe usual rate is about $3 for a morning's
ride.

Street Railways. By a judicious use of tbe street
railways almost every part of tbe city can be reacbed
far more easily — tbe nature of tbe paving, save on

114 MEXICAN GUIDE.

the principal streets, being considered — than in a car-
riage. On all city lines (though not on all suburban
lines within the city) the fare is 6|- cents, excepting the
cars run after 8 p.m. from the several railway stations, on
which the fare 'is 12|- cents. On the circuito lines (except-
ing the Circuito de Bafios) passengers receive transfer
tickets, good from transfer stations, on the day of issue,
on connecting circuits. The transfer stations are marked
upon the accompanying map by red flags.

San Gosme y Santa Maria. Start from southwest corner
of Plaza Mayor and from Sta Maria at 6.30 a.m. and run
every 15 minutes from 7 a.m. until 7.30 p.m. On feast-
days after 7.30 p.m. (at half -hour intervals) till 9.30 p.m.
from Sta Maria and 10 p.m. from the Plaza.

San Gosme y Tlaxpana. Start from southwest corner
of the Plaza Mayor and from the Tlaxpana at 6.37 a.m.
and run every 15 minutes from 7.07 a.m. until 7.37 p.m.
On feast-days after 7.37 p.m. (at half hour intervals) until
9.15 from the Tlaxpana and 9.45 from the Plaza.

Colonia de Arquitectos. Start from the southwest cor-
ner of the Plaza Mayor at 7 a.m. and run every half hour
until 9 P.M. From the Colonia at 6.30 a.m. and run
every half hour until 8.30 p.m. A car leaves each termi-
nus a half hour later on feast-days.

Los Angeles (broad gauge). Cars leave the northwest
corner of the Plaza Mayor every 20 minutes between
6.40 A.M. and 12.20 p.m. and 1.40 and 7 p.m. Leave
Plaza de los Angeles every 20 minutes between 7 a.m.
and 12.40 p.m., and 2 and 7 p.m.

Los Angeles y Guerrero (narrow gauge circuito).
Leave transfer station in front of Chamber of Deputies
at 7 A.M. and every 35 minutes thereafter until 7.55 p.m.
Leave Plaza de los Angeles at 7.17 a.m. and every 35
minutes thereafter until 8 p.m.

PRACTICAL MATTERS. 115

Buena Vista (broad gauge). Cars leave the south-
west corner of the Plaza Mayor every 20 minutes from
6,40 A.M. till 1 P.M. and from 2.20 till 6.20 p.m. Leave
Buena Vista every 20 minutes from 7 a.m. till 1.20 p.m.
and from 2.40 till 6 p.m. Extra trips (fare, one real), are
made in the early morning, and in the evening, connect-
ing with departing and arriving trains.

Buena Vista (narrow gauge, circuito). Leave transfer
station in front of Chamber of Deputies at 7 a.m. and run
every 14 minutes from this j)oint and Buena Vista until
8.04 p.m.

La Viga. Cars leave the southeast corner of the Plaza
Mayor at 7 a.m. and run thereafter every half hour until
8 P.M. Leave the Viga at 6.45 a.m. and every half hour
thereafter until 7.45 p.m.

San Ldzaro. Cars leave the southeast corner of the
Plaza Mayor at 6.30 a.m. and run every half hour there-
after until 7.30 P.M. Leave San Lazaro at 6.45 a.m. and
every half hour thereafter until 7.45 p.m. Extra cars
(fare, one real) meet trains arriving at the San Lazaro
station after 8 p.m.

San Juan y Nino Perdido. Leave southwest corner
of the Plaza Mayor at 7 a.m. and every half hour there-
after until 8 P.M. Leave the Nino Perdido at 7.15 a.m.
and every half hour thereafter until 8. 15 p.m.

Belem, por San Juan. Leave the southwest corner of
the Plaza Mayor at 7.15 a.m. and every half hour there-
after until 7.45 p.m. Leave Belem at 7.30 a.m. and every
half hour thereafter until 8 p.m.

Belem, por la calle Ancha. Leave the southwest corner
of the Plaza Mayor at 7.15 a.m. and every half hour
thereafter until 7.30 p.m. Leave Belem at 7.30 a.m. and
every half hour thereafter until 8 p.m.

Peralvillo y San Lilcas. On this circuit cars leave the

116 MEXICAN GUIDE.

northwest corner of the Plaza Mayor at 6.32 a.m. and
every eight minutes thereafter until 8 p.m. Supplemen-
tary cars leave at 8.15 and 8.30. On the run south, cars
leave the southeast corner of the Plaza.

Guerrero. On this circuit cars leave the northwest
corner of the Plaza Mayor at 6.50 a.m., and every twenty
minutes thereafter until 8.30 p.m.

Santisima y Mariscala. On this circuit cars leave the
corner of the Calles Santo Domingo and Escalerillas and
run every 15 minutes from 7.15 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Santiago (narrow gauge, circuito). Leave transfer sta-
tion, in front of Chamber of Deputies, at 7.14 a.m. and
every 28 minutes thereafter until 7.50 p.m.

Circuitos: Norte, Oriente, Sur, Central (narrow gauge).
Beginning between 7 and 7.07 a.m., cars are run on these
circuits eveiy seven minutes until 8 p.m.

Circuito de la Reforma. On feast-days special cars are
run on the track that parallels the Paseo de la Reforma.
They usually are frightfully' crowded and are to be
shunned Fare, 6|- cents.

Circuito de Bancs. At intervals of 7 minutes from the
Pane and Osorio baths, near the Paseo de la Reforma,
to a point just south of the market of the Merced. Cars
of this line meet trains at the Colonia (Mexican Na-
tional) railway station.

Suburban Tramways. These lines are admirably
managed ; the service is punctual, the running time ex-
cellent, and the first-class cars — save for occasional dust
— are clean. The only objection that can be urged
against them is the method of running trains at long in-
tervals, instead of single cars at short intervals. Usually
two first-class and two second-class cars are run to-
gether at intervals of from half an hour (to Guadalupe) to
an hour and a half (to Tlalpam). The train system origi-

PRACTICAL MATTERS. 117

nally was adopted for greater security, attacks by robbers
beiug feared. As the valley in the neighborhood of the
city — excepting, perhaps, in the vicinity of Tacuba — is
now well policed and absolutely safe, the system very
advantageously might be abandoned. A Mexican, how-
ever, does not easily change his habits ; and the tradi-
tional fear of robbery as a prominent feature of a jour-
ney still is strong within him. In point of fact, soldiers
armed with carbines occupy the front platforms of these
suburban tram-cars, although the only practical pur-
pose, presumably, of this ornamental military attach-
ment is to afford a ready outlet for such conversational
overplus on the part of the driver as may remain after
his occasionally picturesque, frequently fervid, and nor-
mally forcible addresses to his frisky mules. The mules
are capital little fellows. They are changed at short in-
tervals and, outside of the city, usually are driven at a
gallop. Tickets are sold by the conductor and are col-
lected by a ticket-taker who comes on board about mid-
way of the run. The value of the ticket is printed on
its face. On the longer runs the passenger receives
several tickets, the collective value of which is the price
of passage. On all the suburban lines monthly commu-
tation tickets are sold. On Sundays and feast-days the
car service usually is increased.

Excursions. Cars may be hired for excursions over
tbe suburban lines — a very satisfactory arrangement,
since in the suburbs of Mexico (excepting the Paseo to
Chapultepec) the condition of the roads is such that
driving is almost impossible. A very desirable excur-
sion to make is from Mexico, through Chapultepec,
Tacubaya, and Mixcoac, to San Angel ; thence through
Coyoacan to San Mateo ; thence (possibly) to Tlalpam,
or directly back to Mexico by the Tlalpam line. An ex-

118 MEXICAN GUIDE.

cursion only second to this in pleasing possibilities is
through Tacuba and Atzcapatzalco to Tlalnepantla and
return. Whether made in a special car, or in a regular
car, neither of these excursions should be omitted. The
tariff below for special cars, carrying twenty-five, or less,
passengers, provides for the detention of the car for two
hours longer than the schedule time required to make
the round trip. Arrangements also may be made for
the use of a car for the entire day, or for a private car
out in the morning and back in the afternoon or evening.
The rates for single and round trips from Mexico are :

Single trip. Round trip.

Tacubaya, Tacuba, or Guadalupe $3 00 $4 50

Mixcoac, Atzcapotzalco, or Dolores. .. . 4 00 6 00

San Angel 5 00 7 50

Coyoacan 6 00 9 00

Tlalpam or Tlalnepantla 7 00 10 50

These rates are liable to be increased on feast-days.
Application for special cars should be made to Sr. D. I.
P. de Castillo, Administrador General de la Compaiiia
Limitada de Ferrocariles del Distrito Federal. (For
suburban excursions see also Diligencias, p. 112.)

Suburban Time-tables. The official time tables of
the suburban lines give only the time of departure from
terminal points. The following schedules of running
time between terminal points are the result of averages
of several runs and, while they are approximately cor-
rect, are liable to variations of several minutes.

Guadalupea First class fare, 12^ cents. Cars leave
the northwest corner of the Plaza Mayor at 5.30 a.m.,
and every half hour thereafter until 12 m. ; at 2 p.m., and
every haK hour thereafter until 8 p.m. ; at 9 p.m. Leave
Guadalupe at 6.15 a.m. and every half hour thereafter un-
til 12.15 p.m. ; at 2.15 p.m. and every half hour there-
after until 7.45 p.m. ; at 8.45 p.m.

PRACTICAL MATTERS. 119

Running time : Plaza Mayor to Guadalupe, or vice
versa, 25 minutes.

Tacubaya, via Ghapultepec. First-class fare to either
point, 12^ cents. Cars leave the southwest corner of the
Plaza MaVor at 5.20, 5.40, 6, 6.20, 6.40, 7, 7.20, 7.40, 8,
8.20, 8.40, 9, 9.20, 9.40. 10, 10.20, 10.40, 11, 11.20, 11.40,
12 A.M., and 12.20, 12.40, 2, 3, 3.20, 3.40, 4, 4.20, 4.40, 5,
5.20, 5.40, 6. 6.30, 7, 7.30, 9 p.m. Leave the plaza in
Tacubaya at 6.10, 6.30, 6.50, 7.10, 7.30, 7.50, 8.10, 8.30,
8.50, 9.10, 9.30, 9.50, 10.10, 10.30, 10.50, 11.10, 11.30,
11.50 A.M., and 12.10, 12.30, 12.50, 1.10, 2.10, 2.30, 2.50,
3.10, 3.30, 3.50, 4.10, 4.30, 4.50, 5.10, 5.30, 5.50, 6.10,
6.30, 7, 7.30, 8, 9 p.m. Between October 1st and April 1st
the 5.20 and 5.40 a.m. trips are omitted. (For additional
trains to Tacubaya, see San Angel time-table.)

Running time : Plaza Mayor to Ghapultepec, 30 min-
utes ; to Tacubaya, 40 minutes.

Dolores, via Ghapultepec. First class fare, 18 cents.
This tramway is a branch (at Ghapultepec) from the
Tacubaya hne. Excepting on the 7 a.m. trip, w^hen a
through car is run, passengers will take Tacubaya cars
in Mexico and change cars at the Ghapultepec station.
Cars (marked "Tacubaya") making direct connection
with the Dolores branch leave the southwest corner of
the Plaza Mayor at 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 a.m., and 3.20, 4.20,
5.20 p.m. Leave Dolores at 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 a.m., and
4.20, 5.20, 6.20 p.m.

Punning time : Plaza Mayor to Ghapultepec, 30 min-
utes; to Dolores, 55 minutes,

Mixcoac and the Casteneda. Through fare from
Mexico, first class, 18 cents. In addition to the trains
to San Angel stopping at Mixcoac (see San Angel time-
table) a special service is arranged between Tacubaya
and Mixcoac and the Casteneda in connection with the

120 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Taoubaya trains. Cars leave Tacubaya, from the inter-
section with the San Angel line, at 6, 7.20, 8.40, 10, 11.20
A.M., and 12.40, 2, 3.20, 4.40, 6 p.m. Leave the Casteneda
at 6.55, 8.15, 9.35, 10.55 a.m., and 12.15, 1.35, 2.55,
4.15, 5.35, 6.55 p.m.

Running time : Tacubaya to the Casteneda, 20 min-
utes ; the Casteneda to Tacubaya, 19 minutes. Through
time, Mexico to Mixcoac, one hour.

La Piedad. Fare, first class, 6|- cents ; on feast days
12^ cents. (N.B. — It usually is a feast-day). Cars leave
the southwest corner of the Plaza Mayor at 6.40, 7.20,
8, 8.40, 9.20, 10, 10.40, 11.20, 12 a.m., and 1.20, 2, 2.40,
3.20, 4, 4.40, 5.20 p.m. Leave the Piedad at 7.20, 8,
8.40, 9.20, 10, 10.40, 11.20, 12 a.m., and 12.40, 2, 2.40,
3.20, 4, 4.40, 5.20, 5.40, 6 20 p.m.

Running time : Plaza Mayor to Garita de Belem, 15
minutes ; to the Bomita and Petit Versailles, 17 minutes ;
to the French Race-track, 20 minutes ; to the French
Cemetery 25 minutes ; to the Piedad 30 minutes.

San Angel, via GhapuUepec, Tacubaya, and Mixcoac
(La Casteneda). First class fare to Chapultepec, or
Tacubaya 12-^ cents ; to Mixcoac (La Casteneda), 18
cents ; to San Angel, 25 cents. Cars leave the southwest
comer of the Plaza Mayor at 6, 7.20, 8.40, 10, 11.20 a.m.,
and 12.40, 2, 3.20, 4 40, 6 p.m. Leave San Angel at 6,
7.20, 8.40, 10, 1L20, 12.40, 2, 3.20, 4.40, 6 p.m. (For
additional cars to San Angel see Tlalpam time-table.)

Running time : Plaza Mayor to Garita de Belem, 15
minutes ; to Chapultepec, 30 minutes ; to Tacubaya,
40 minutes ; to Mixcoac (La Casteneda), 60 minutes ; to
San Angel, 75 minutes.

J^ote. These cars are run without reference to the
running time of the line from San Angel through
Coyoacan to San Mateo and thence to Mexico.

PRACTICAL MATTERS.

121

TIalpam, Churubusco, Goijoacan, and San Angel. First
class fare to Garita de San Autoiiio Abad, 9 cents ; to the
Ladrillera, 12^ cents ; to San Mateo (Churubusco), 18
cents ; to San Antonio, 25 cents ; to Tlalpam, 31 cents.
From San Mateo (by branch line) to Coyoacan, San Anto-
nio, Chimalistac, or San Angel, 7 cents.

A.M.

P.M.

Plaza Mayor. . . Lv
Garita

6.00
6.20
6.33
6.45

7.30
7.50
8.03
8.15

9.00
9.20
9.33
9.45

10.30
10.50
11.03
11.15

12.00
12.20
12.33
12.45

2.00
2.20
2.33
2.45

3.30
3.50
4.03
4.15

5.00
5.20
5.33
5.45

6.30
6.50

La Ladrillera

San Mateo Jc

7.03
7.15

Churubusco

Coyoacan

Chimalistac

San Angel

6.49
6.57
7.08
7.15

8.19

8.27
8.88
8.45

9.49

9.. 57

10 08

10.15

11.19

11.27
11.38
11.45

12.49

12.57

1.08

1.15

2.49
2.57
3.08
3.15

4.19

4.27
4.38
4.45

5.49
5.57
6.08
6.15

7.19
7.27
7.38
7,45

San Antonio

Tlalpam Arr

6.55

7.20

8.25
8.50

9.55

10.20

11.25
11.50

12.55
1.20

2.55
3.20

4.25
4.50

5.55
6.20

7.25
7.50

Tlalpam Lv

San Antonio

San Angel

Chimalistac

Coyoacan

Churubusco

San Mateo Jc

La Ladrillera

Garita

Plaza Mayor. .Arr

6.00
6.14

7.30
7.44

9.00
9.14

6.00
6.06
6.15
6.25

7.30
7.36
7 45
7.55

9.00
9.06
9.15
9.25

10.30
10.44

10.30
10.36
10.45
10.55

12.00
12.14

12.00
12.06
12.15
12.25

2.00
2.14

2.00
2.U6
2.15
2.25

3.30
3.44

3.30
3.36
3.45
3.55

5.00
5.14

5.00
5.06
5.15
5.25

6.30

8.00

9.30

11.00

12.30

2.30

4.00

5.30

6.38

8.08

9.38

11.08

12.38

2.88

4.08

.5.38

7.00

8.30

10.00

11.30

1.00

3.00

4.30

6.00

7.15

S.45

10.15

11.45

L15

3.15

4.45

6.15

6.80
6.44

6.30
6.36
6.45
6.55

7.00
7 08
7.30
7.45

Note. The cars to San Angel by this line are run
without reference to makinof connections Avith the direct
line between San x\ngel and the City of Mexico. The
connection with the 3.20 p.m. car from San Angel to
Mexico cannot be depended upon. For additional cars
to San Angel, see preceding time-table.
6

122 MEXICAN GUIDE.

TIalnepantIa, via Popotla (tree of the Noche Triste),
Tacuba, and Atzcapotzalco. First class fare to Popotla or
Tacuba, 12 1 cents ; to Atzcapotzalco, 18 cents ; to Puente
de Vigas, 25 cents ; to Tlalnepantla, 31 cents. Cars leave
the southwest corner of the Plaza Mayor at 5.30, 7.30,
9.30, 11.30 A.M., and 1.30, 3.30, 5.30 p.m. Leave plaza in
Tlalnepantla at 5.40, 7.40, 9.40, 11.40 a.m., and 1.40, 3.40,
5.40 P.M.

Running time : Plaza Mayor to Garita de San Cosme,
25 minutes ; to Agricultural College, 30 minutes ; to Po-
potla (tree of the Noche Triste), 36 minutes ; to Tacuba,
42 minutes ; to Atzcapotzalco, 57 minutes ; to Puente de
Vigas, 77 minutes ; to plaza in Tlalnepantla, 97 minutes.
Beturning : Tlalnepantla to Puente de Vigas, 20 mioutes ;
to Atzcapotzalco, 40 minutes ; to Tacuba, 50 minutes ; to
Popotla, 60 minutes : to Agricultural College, 67 min-
utes ; to Garita de San Cosme, 72 minutes ; to Plaza
Mayor, 97 minutes.

Atzcapotzalco, via Popotla (tree of the Noche Triste)
and Tacuba. First class fare to Popotla or Tacuba, 12|-
cents ; to Atzcapotzalco, 18 cents. Cars leave the southwest
corner of the Plaza Mayor at 5.30, 6, 7, 7.30, 8, 9, 9.30,
10, 11, 11.30, 12 A.M., and 1, 1.30, 3, 3.30, 4, 5, 5.30, 6,
7j and 8 p.m.

Note. The cars for Atzcapotzalco running on the half
hours are marked "Tlalnepantla."

Running time : Plaza Mayor to Garita de San Cosme,
25 minutes ; to Agricultural College, 30 minutes ; to
Popotla (tree of the Noche Triste), 36 minutes ; to Ta-
cuba, 42 minutes ; to Atzcapotzalco, 57 minutes. Return-
ing : Atzcapotzalco to Tacuba, 10 minutes ; to Popotla,
20 minutes ; to Agricultural College, 27 minutes ; to
Garita de San Cosme, 32 minutes ; to Plaza Mayor, 57
minutes.

PRACTICAL MATTERS. 123

Mexican Government Officials. The offices of the
several officers of the Mexican Government named be-
low are in the Palacio Nacional, on the east side of the
Plaza Mayor.

President of the Republic : General Porfirio Diaz.
Audiences from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily (Wednesdays ex-
cepted). Persons intending to call on the President
should leave their cards v^ith the Adjutant at the Palace.

Secretary of the Interior : Manuel Romero Rubio.
Office hours from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Secretary of the Treasury : Manuel Dublan. Office
hours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Secretary for Fo7'eign Affairs : Ignacio M. Mariscal.
Office hours from 9 a.m. till 1 p.m., and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Minister of Justice and Public Instruction : Joaquin
Baranda. Office hours from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Secretary of War and Marine : • General Pedro Hino-
josa. Office hours from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Secretary of Public Works, Colonization, Industry, and
Commerce {Ministerio de Fomento) : General Carlos Pa-
checo. Office hours 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Governor of the National Palace : General Agustin
Pradillo, to whom requests for permits to visit national
institutions should be addressed. (See p. 92.)

Foreign Legations. Nearly all of the great, and
several of the minor, powers maintain diplomatic repre-
sentatives in the City of Mexico.

The United States: Minister Plenipotentiary and En-
voy Extraordinary, Hon Thomas Courtlandt Manning.

Consul-General, James W. Porch, north side Plazuela
del Seminario.

Gr^eat Britain: Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy
Extraordinary, Sir Spencer St. John. Office of the Lega-
tion, Calle de San Diego, No. 4.

124 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Consul-General, Lionel Garden, San Diego, No. 4

Germany : Minister Kesiclent, Baron von Waecker
Gotter, Jarclin cle Buena Vista, No. 2.

Consul, Pablo Kosidowsky, Capuchinas, No. 7.

France : Secretary, Count Rene Gaston de la Marliere,
Avenida Juarez and Calle de Ex-Acordada.

Spain : Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraor-
dinary, Don Guillroem Crespo, Jardin de Buena Vista.

Italy : Minister Resident, Com. G. B. Viviani, Portillo
de San Diego, No. 2.

Belgium : Minister Resident, Baron Frederic Dael-
man, Rivera de Sta Maria, Fourth Calle de Naranjo,
No. 4.

Protestant Churches. Including the several mis-
sion churches (in which services are held in Spanish)
there are ten Protestant churches in the City of Mexico.
Services in English are held as follows :

JEjnscopal. Christ Church, Calle de Gante, No. 3.
Every Sunday at 11 a.m.

Methodist Episcopal. Trinity Church, Calle de Gante,
No. 5. Rev. John W. Butler, Pastor. Preaching every
Sunday at 10.15 a.m. Prayer meeting every Friday at
7.30 P.M. Sunday-school, 9.15 a.m.

Union Protestant Congregation. Calle de San Juan de
Letran, No. 12. Service every Sunday at 10.30 a.m.
Prayer meeting every Friday at 7.30 p.m. Sunday-
school and Bible class every Sunday from 9.15 to 10.15

A.M.

Church of Jesus in Meocico. (See Church of San Fran-
cisco.) Services, usually in Spanish, every Sunday.

THE STREETS OF MEXICO. 125

IL STREETS OF THE CITY OF MEXICO.

Street Nomenclature. Strangers are not a little
confused by the custom that obtains of giving, in most
cases, a separate name to each block, and of speaking of
each block as a separate street (or, when a street has the
same name for several consecutive blocks, of distinguish-
ing these blocks as first, second, third, and so on) ; and
of numbering the houses in each block separately. As
this illogical arrangement makes a specific address by
street and number of very little use to a stranger, the
following list of streets — arranged alphabetically, with
reference by letter to the section of the accompanying
map in which each street will be found^is a necessary-
portion of the present work. The abbreviation pte. , pre-
fixed to the names of many of the streets, signifies puenie
(bridge), and refers to the fact that at one time there
was within the block so named a bridge crossing a canal.
The other abbreviations used in the following list are :
cte. for cuadrante ; cer. for ceiTado ; en. for callejon ;
plaz. for plaza or plazuela ; calz. for calzada ; rinc. for
rinconada ; av. for avenida ; esp. for espalda ; est. for
estampa. The many sacred names given to streets are de-
rived, as a rule, from the names of churches or convents
which stood, or are still standing, upon the streets to which
their titles by a perfectly natural process have been con-
veyed. The honest objection on the part of many Prot-
estants to these names must be lessened by supplying
the implied qualification that every Mexican very well
understands. The street of the Holy Ghost is the street
of the Church of the Holy Ghost — and the abbreviation

126

MEXICAN GUIDE.

is used in mucli the same way that the name Trinity
Buildings is used in New York.

Aduana pte V

Aguila J, K

Agustin , V

Alameda I

Alamedita P

Alamo A

Alconedo R

Alegria O

Alfaro T,V

Alhdndiga O

Altuna J

Alvarado pte G

Amargura J, L

Amor de Dios O

Ancha E

Andalicio O

Angel T, V

Antonio en E

Apartado , L

Aranda en T

Arbol en V

Arbol plaz. V

Arcos de Belen R, S

Arco de San Agustin .... V

Armando en N

Arquitectos F

Arsinas L

Arteaga C

Artes Q, E

Ave Maria O

Ave Maria en. ... , V

Ave Maria plaz O

Aynntamiento E

Aztecas E

Arzobispado M

Bajos de Porta Cceli.M, V

Bajos de S. Agustin V

Balvanera V

Balvanera, est. de M, V

Balvanera, rejas de M

Balderas I

Basilisco en J

Beata N

Belen, Arcos de E, S

Belen plaz S

Berdeja J

Berdeja en J

Betlemitas en K

Bilboa en. M

Blanco pte E

Blanquillo pte X

Bosque E

Bucareli, Paseo de R

Buena Muerte V

Buena Vista plaz G

Cabezas en W

Cacahuatal X

Cacahuatal calz Y

Cadena O

Cadena K

Caler T

Gallejnela en M

Calvario I

Calzada de Cacahuatal . . Y
Calzada de Campo Flori-

do U

Calzada de Chapultepec . S
Calzada de la Escuela de

Artes A

Calzada de Guadalupe . E
Calzada de la Hacienda de

la Teja Q

Calzada de Invatidos .... F
Calzada de la Peniten-

ciaria E

Calzada de la Piedad. ... S
Calzada del Rancho de

Casa Blanco Q

Calzada de S. Antonio

Abad W

STREETS OF THE CITY OF MEXICO.

127

Calzada de Sta. Maria. . . J

Calzada de Sau Rafael . . F

Calzada de Sau Cosme . . F

Camarones en T

Camelia A, 0

Camilito J

Cami3o Florido calz U

Candelai'ia i3laz R

Candelaria plaz P

Candelarita en R

Caneria de S. Cosme .... F

Canoa K

Cantaritos N

Capuchinas . ,• M

Carbajal E

Carmen pte L

Carretones en X

Carretones pte . , W

Carrizo en J, D

Casa Blanca F

Cazuela en M

Cedaeeros en. (2) U

Cipres F

Cerbatana L

Cerca de S. Domingo. . . L

Cerca de S. Lorenzo .... J

Cerrada C

Cerrada de Jesus V

Cerrada de Necatitlan ... W
Cerrada del Parque de la

Moneda M, O

Cerrada S. Miguel V

Cerrada Sta. Teresa M

Chapultepec ealz S

Chaneque X

Chapitel de Monserrate. . V

Chavarria O

Chiconautla L

Chinampa rinc W

Chinampa en H

Cliiquihuiteras T

CMquis O

Cliirivitos pte E

Chopo A

Ciegos. X

Cinco de Mayo av K

Cincuenta Siete (57) .... K

Clerigo pte D

Cocheras L

Coconepan Z

Colegio de Ninas K

Colegio de Ninas plaz . . , K
Colegio de San Juan

Letran K

Colegio de las Inditas ... N

Coliseo K

Coliseo Viejo K

Colon I

Colonia de los Arquitec-

tos F

Consuelo en. . , O, X

Colorado pte X

Comonfort pte J)

Compuerta de S. Tomas, X

Coneepeion E

Concepeion plaz J

Coneordia plaz L

Condesa en K

Corazon de Jesus V

Corchero V

Cordobanes M

Corona C

Corpus Cristi J, K

Correo Mayor pte M

Costado de Ex-Aeordada. I

Coyote . N

Cmees en , O, X

Cruz Verde X

Cuadrante de Sta, Cata-

rina Martir L

Cuadrante de S. Miguel. V
Cuadrante de S. Sebas-
tian N

Cuadrante de Soledad de

Sta. Cruz P

Cuajomulco en I

Cuea C

Cuevas , X

Cuervo pte . L, N

Curtidores pte X

128

MEXICAl^ GUIDE.

Damas T

Damas en K, T

Danza en X

Dallas F

Degollado av C

Degollado en O

Degollado plaz I

Delicias E, T

Diablo en U

Dieguito en Y

Dolores K

Dolores en J

Donate Guerra E

Doneeles M

Don Jnan Manuel . , V

Don Toribio T

Don Toribio en T

Eliotrope . . . • A

Embareaderos X

Empedradillo M

Encarnaeion L

Escalerillas M

Eselavo K

Eseobilleria O

Eseretoria en L

Escobedo . . . . , C

Eseondida T

Escuela de Artes ealz ... A

Espalda de Jesus Maria. O

Espalda de S. Diego .... I
Espalda de San Juan de

Dios I

Espalda de San Lorenzo. J

Espalda de la Merced ... O
Espalda de la Miserieor-

dia J

Espalda de Sta. Teresa.. O, N

Espantados en E

Espiritu Santo K

Espiritu Santo pte K

Esquiveles Comonfort

pte D

Estaeas N

Estampa de Balvanera .M, V

Estampa de la Merced . . X

Estamjja de Eegina T

Estaneo de las Muje-

res E, J, L

Estaneo de los Hombies. J,L

Estanquillo en E

Ex-Aeordada, costado de. I

Factor K

Ferroearril en D

Fierro pte X

Flamencos M

Flores, Portal de las M

Florida N

Fernando en V, X

Fresno A

Gachupinesen J

Gallos en V

Gallos X

Gallos pte K

Gante K

Garrapata V

Garavito pte . . . .' Z

Garavito en Z

Garita. E

Garita de Juarez G

Garita del Nino Perdido. U

Garita de Nonoalco A

Garita de Peralvillo E

Garita de San Cosme ... F

Garita de San Lazaro ... H

Garita de Vallejo B

Garrote I

Geronimo V

Giron en L

Golosas en L

Gomez Parias H

Groeolitos en H

Groso en X

Guadalupe E

Guadalu^De ealz E

Guardiola plaz K

Guerras j)te J

STKEETS OF THE CITY OF MEXICO.

129

Guerrero av C, G

Guerrero, Jardiu G

Guerrero pte Z

Hacienda de la Teja

calz Q

Hidalgo 0

Higuera X

Hombres Illustres av.G, I, L
Hospicio del Amor de

Dios O

Hospicio de Pobres I

Hospicio de S. Nicolas . . O

Hospital de Jesus V

Hospital Eeal T

Huacalco ' I

Humboldt av C, H, R

Ignacio T

Hdefonso L

Independencia K

Inditas, Colegio de N

Indio Triste M

Industria F

Invatidos calz F

Isabel, Sta , K

Isabel, Sta. en K

Iturbide I, G

Jardin de San Fran-
cisco. ... K

Jardin Guerrero G

Jardin Lopez J

Jardin, Plazuela de J

Jardin del Zocalo M

Jazmin A

Jesus V

Jesus cer V

Jesus pte V

Jesus plaz V

Jesus, Hospital de V

Jesus Maria O

Jesus Maria esp O

Jesus Maria pte O

Jose de Gracia V

Joya V

Juan Carbonero pte K

Juan Carbonero plaz .... J, H

Juauico en N

Juan J. Baz R

Juan J. Baz plaz X

Juarez G

Juarez, Garita de G

Jurado X

Junio21 D

Ladrillera Z

Laga J

Lagartijas N

Lagunilla en J

Leclieras en O

Lecumberri en N

Leguisamo L

Lena pte O

Lerdo M

Lerdo av C, H

Limon en O

Lopez K

Lopez en X

Lopez, Jardin de J

Loreto plaz N

Luna D

Machincuepa O

Madrid plaz . . . ^ I

Magnolia F, G, H

Magueyitos en H

Manco'^cn T, U

Manito X

Manrique K

Manzanares en O

Mara villas O

Mariscala pte K

Marquezote O

Matadero W

Mayo 15 D

Medinas L

Meleros ' M

Mercaderes, Portal de . . M

Mercado D

130

MEXICAN GUIDE.

Mercado plaz A

Merced O

Merced, esp. de O

Merced, est. de X

Merced, Puerta falsa de . . X

Merced pte O

Mesones. T,V

Migueles . . V, X

Miguel Lopez J)

Miguelito en O

Mil Maa-avillas en R

Mina G,H

IMirador de la Alameda. . K

Mirto F

Misericordia J

Misericordia, esp. de . . . . J

Misericordia pte J !

Mixcalco O

Mixcalco plaz O

Mocteznma av G,H

Moneda M

Monserrate, Chapitel de . V

Molino pte Y

Monstrno N

Montealegre M

Monte Pio Viejo L, N

Monterilla M,V

Montero plaz J

Monton X

Monton en X

Moras L

Morelos plaz I

Moscas O

Mosqueta F, G, H

Muerto en L

Mnguiro en N

Munoz X

Nahuatlato X

Naran jo en A

Nava en U

Necatitlan V,W

Necatitlan cer W

Nino Perdido, or Piedad . U

Nino Perdido, Garita de . U

Nonoalco, Garita de . . . . A

Nopalito D.

Nopalito en E

Norma en I

Norte F

Nueva I

Nuevo Mexico R

Ocampo M,V

Ocampo G

Olivido en X

Olivo (2) A

Olivocn y, X

Ollacn M

Olmedo V, X

Olmo A

Organo en D

Ortega T

Pacheco X

Pacheco en X

Pacheco plaz O, X

Pachito X

Padre Lecuona en L

Paja Y

Pajaritos en T, U

Palma M

Palma X

Palma en X

Palma esp Z

Palma plaz X

Palomares plaz X

Pane R

Panetas . T

Panteon X

Papas en J

Parados L

Parque del Conde V

Parque de la Moneda cer . O

Paseo Nuevo R

Paseo de Bucareli . . , , G, R, S
Paseo de la Reforma. . Q, R, G

Paseo de la Viga Y

Patoni G, I

STREETS OF THE CITY OF MEXICO.

131

Paz F

Pelota en I

Penitenciaria calz E, G

Pemlvillo E

Peralvillo, Garita de E

Perpetua L

Pere Jo pte T

Pescadi R

Piedad, or Nino Perdido . U

Piedad calz S

Pila Aznl en O

Pila de la Habana J

Pila Seca J

Pino F

Pinto en I

Pipis pte Y

Plantados N

Plateros M

Polilla en T

Porta Coeli M

Porta Coeli, bajos de . , . . M, V

Portal del Coliseo Viejo. K

Portal de las Flores M

Portal de Mercaderes, . . M
Portal de Prado (TeejDan

de San Juan) T

Portal de Refne'io

Portal de Sto. Domingo. L

Portal de Tejada T

Portal de Tlapaleros M

Portillo de San Diego ... I
Potrero de San Agus-

tin Z

Pradera Z

Pradito H

Prado, Portal de (Tecpan

de San Juan) T

Prima B

Profesa (3rd S. Fran-
cisco) K

Progreso K

Progreso en . K

Providencia R

Pneblita. B, C

Puente del Molino plaz . X

Puentecito en E

Puerta Falsa de S. An-
dres K

Puerta Falsa de S. Do-
mingo J, L

Puerta Falsa de la Mer-
ced X

Puesto Nuevo X

Puesto Nuevo en X

Pulqueria de Celaya L

Pulqueria de Palacio ... O

Pulqueria de Palacio en . O

Quebrado pte T

Quemada X

Quesadas X

R^bano plaz U

Balono del Obispo en . . . J
Banelio de Casa Blanco

calz Q

Rastro V

Rastro plaz W

Ratas T

Ratas en. X

Real de Sta Ana E

Real de Santiago D

Rebeldes T

Recabado en I

Reeogidas W, V

Reeogidas en V

Ref orma en J

Ref orma, Paseo de la . Q, R, S

Refugio M

Regina T

Regina plaz T

Rejas de la Balvanera. . . M

Bejas de la Coneepcion .J, K

Rejas de S. Geronimo. . . V

Relama en V

Reloj E, L

Revillagigedo I, R

Reyes R

Risco x^laz V, W

Rivera en. (2) 0, E

132

MEXICAN GUIDE.

Eivera de Sau Cosme. . . F

Eobles P

Eoldan O

Eiosa A

Bosales G

Eosario pte P

Sabino A

Salitreria en T

SaltodelAgua T, U

Salsipuedes en K

San Agustin, Arco de . . . V

San Agustin, bajos de . . V

San Agustin, Potrero de Z
San Agustin, Tercer Or-

den de T, V

Santa Ana pte E

Santa Ana plaz E

San Andres K

San Andres, Puerta falsa

de K

San Antonio Abad W, Y

San Antonio Abad pte . . W, "¥

San Antonio Abad calz . . W

San Antonio Tomatlan . U

Santa Barbara D

Santa Barbara en. (2) .... I, X

San Bernardo M

Santa Catalina de Sena L

Santa Catarina E, L

Santa Catarina cbe L

Santa Clara K

Santa Clara en K

San Camilo X

San Cosme calz F

San Cosme, Caneria de . , F

San Cosme, Garita de . . . F

San Cosme, Eivera de . . , F

Santa Cruz plaz O

Santa Cruz Acatlan plaz. W

San Diego I

San Diego esp I

San Diego, Portillo de . . I

San Diego rinc I

San Dieguito Z

San Dimas, or Venero,

pte V

Santo Domingo M

Santo Domingo, cerca de L

Santo Domingo, Portal de L
Santo Domingo, Puerta

falsa de J, L

Santo Domingo plaz .... L
Santo Domingo, Sepul-

cros de . . L

Santa Escuela en P

Santa Efigenia en O

San Felipe de Jesus .... V

San Felipe Neri T

San Fernando plaz G

San Francisco K

San Francisco pte K

San Francisco, Jardin de K

Santa Gertrudis en V

San Geronimo P

San Hipolito , . . . . I

San Hipolito en I

Santa Ines M, O

Santa Isabel K

Santa Isabel en K

Santiago E

Santiago plaz D

Santiago, Eeal de D

Santiaguito pte. (2) . . . .D, X

San Jose de Gracia T

San Jose el Eeal K

San Juan T

San Juan de Dies I

San Juan de Dios esp ... I

San Juan de Letran K

San J. deNepomuceno en H

San Juanico en N

San Lazaro pte O

San Lazaro, Garita de . . . P

San Lorenzo J

San Lorenzo, cerca de . . J

San Lorenzo, esp J

Santa Maria calz J

Santa Maria pte J

Santa Maria rinc J

STREETS OF THE CITY OF MEXICO.

133

Santa Maria en H

Santa Maria plaz H

Santa Maria de la Bivera. F

San Miguel V

San Miguel cer V

San Miguel cte V

San Nicolas, Hospicio de. O

San Pablo pte X

San Pablo plaz X

San Pedro j S. Pablo. . .L,M

San Rafael calz F

San Eamon X

San Salvador el Seco U

San Salvador el Seco plaz U
San Salvador el Verde

plaz W

San Sebastian L

San Sebastian cte N

San Sebastian plaz N

San Sebastian pte ...... N

San Simon de Eojas en . . O

Santa Teresa M

Santa Teresa cer M

Santa Teresa esp O, N

Santo Tomas X

Santo Tomas, Compuerta

de X

Santo Tomas plaz X

Santa Vera Cruz en I

Santa Ysabel K

Santa Ysabel en K

Santisima O

Santisima pte. (2) O, T

Santisima plaz O

Saj)o E

Sepulcros de S. Domingo L

Seminario M

Siete Principes O

Solano pte O

Soledad cte P

Soledad de Sta Cruz O

Sombreros en I

Solis en O

Soto H, I

Soto en I

Sur F

Susanillo O

Tabaqueros en M,V

Tacuba M

Talavero en X

Tarasquillo en I

Tecolotes jDte D

Teci^an de S. Juan plaz . . T

Tecumarana N

Teja en , . . . T

Tejada, Portal de T

TenesjDa en E

Tepechichilco en J

Tepozan en E

Tequezquite plaz J

Tereer Orden de S. Agus-

tin T,V

Tezontlale pte E

Tiburcio T

Tiradero en Y

Titireteros en X

Tizapan en U

Tlapaleros M

Tlazcoaque en W

Tompeate pte V

Topacio X

Tornito de Eegina T

Toro en I

Trapana X

Triunfo en T, U

Tumbaburros T

Universidad M

Ureno en X

Valle C

Vallejo, Garita de B

Vanegas O

Vaquita en J

Vazquez en E

Veas en O

Venero, or SanDimas pte V

Verdas E

Verde V

134

MEXICAN GUIDE.

Vergara K

Veronica N

Viboritas en X

Victoria ' T

Viga Canal. Y

Viga, Paseo de la Y

Villamil plaz J

Villamil pte J

Vina en. (2) D,E

Violeta..... F, G, H

Vizcaynas T

Vizcaynas en T

Vizcaynas plaz T

XicotencatI X

Ysabel K

Yturbide I, E

Zacate, pte. de J

Zacate en. V

Zapateros L

Zarco av C, H, I

Zaragoza C, G

Zaragoza O

Zaragoza plaz 0

Zavoja P

Zocolo, Jardin de M

Zoquipa calz Z

Zuleta K,T

///. MUNICIPALITY OF MEXICO.

Site, Climate, History, Statistics. — The City of
Mexico, in lat. 19° 26' 5" north, long. 99° 6' 45" west from
Greenwich, capital of the Federal district and of the Ke-
public of Mexico, lies nearly in the centre of the Valley
of Mexico, at an elevation of 7,434 feet above the level
of the sea. The climate usually is mild, though ranging
between rather wide summer and winter extremes— 35°
to 90° in the shade, and 45° to 120° in the sun (Fahren-
heit), During the winter the "northers" that visit
Vera Cruz are felt in the capital in a milder form, but
with sufficient intensity to render a fire — that practi-
cally is an unobtainable luxury — very desirable. The
winter climate usually is dry, the rainy season lasting
usually from June to September.

Tenochtitlan, the ancient Aztec city, covered (as Mr.
Bandeher shows) about one-fourth of the area covered
by the existing City of Mexico. Its centre was the great
teocalli (temple), on or neai- the site now occupied by the

MUNICIPALITY OF MEXICO. 135

cathedral ; its circumference was about half a mile from
this centre — that is, about the distance from the ca-
thedral to the eastern end of the Alameda. Of the num-
ber of its inhabitants no trustworthy record exists.
This primitive cit}'' was destroyed utterly by the Span-
iards during and after the siege.

The Sj^anish city was founded in the year 1522, the
fii'st building erected being the atarazanas (naval arsenal),
in which were guarded the hergantines (see Texcoco) so
successfully used by Cortes in his final assault upon
Tenochtitlan. Senor Orozco y BeiTa was of the opinion
that this fortified building stood near the site of the pres-
ent church of San Lazaro. The city increased rapidly
in size and importance. In 1600 the population con-
sisted of 7,000 Spaniards and 8,000 Indians ; and the
value of its real estate was estimated at $20,000,000.
By 1746 its population was 90,000. The founder of mod-
ern Mexico was the eccentric but excellent Viceroy Don
Juan Vicente Giiemes Pacheco, Conde de Kevillagigedo
(1789-94). When he became Viceroy the city was mean
and foul beyond all description, unHghted, unpaved,
and infested by footpads. At the expiration of his short
term of government it was clean, drained, its j)rincipal
streets paved and Hghted, an effective police force estab-
lished, and the custom of building handsome and sub-
stantial dwellings firmly established. The census taken
by order of the Conde de Kevillagigedo showed a popu-
lation of 112,926 souls.

From this time onward the city has increased con-
stantly in size and in the elegance of its buildings, both
public and private. Of late years, its tendency of growth
has been northwestward, as witness the handsome sub-
urbs of Santa Maria, Guerrero, and the Ai-quitectos.

136 MEXICAN GUIDE.

For a city of Spanish foundation the streets and side-
walks are remarkably wide, though the streets, as a rule,
are ill-paved — notable exceptions being the fine pave-
ments of the streets of San Francisco and Plateros and
of a part of the Cinco de Mayo. These streets, and the
Plaza Mayor, are lighted by electric lamps ; elsewhere
gas and oil lanterns are used. An excellent police sys-
tem is maintained. Water is provided in abundance by
two aqueducts and a pipe service, besides which nearly
500 artesian wells have been sunk. The drainage sys-
tem— if it can be called a sj'^stem — is thoroughly and
radically bad, incorrect in its engineering, and ineffec-
tive in its results. To this cause is to be attributed the
constant presence of typhoid and consequent great mor-
tality among the poorer classes. Among the richer
classes — well-fed, well-clad, well-housed, and, most im-
portant, seldom living on ground-floors — the disease
rarely appears. The existing city is about two miles
and a half square, and has a population (estimated) of
300,000 souls.

Diputacion, or Palacio del AyuntamBerjto (City
Hall, M. 132), on the southern side of the Plaza Mayor.
The site upon which this building stands was set apart,
when the city was partitioned among the conquerors, as
that upon which a house should be erected for the use of
the municipal government ; and by May 10, 1532, the first
small building was completed and in possession of the
officials of the new city. In 1564 a larger and more
imposing building was erected — that was almost totally
destroyed, rather more than a century later, in the great
riot of June 8, 1692. It remained in this ruinous con-
dition until October 3, 1720, when the present building
was begun. The first story, with the fine portales, was

MUNICIPALITY OF MEXICO. 137

finished in 1722, and the entire building was completed
Februaiy 4, 1724, at a cost of $67,861. In the council
chamber is a very interesting collection of portraits of
the governors of Mexico from the time of Cortes.

The government of the City of Mexico is vested in an
Ayuntamiento (city council — as nearly as the word can
be rendered in English) composed of nineteen regidores
(approximately, aldermen) and two syndics. The admin-
istration of municipal affairs is admirable, being at once
economical, energetic, and effective. The city, at least
the better portion, is a municipal miracle of cleanliness
(looking at it from the stand-point of New York) ; the
police are well disciplined and effective ; the streets are
very fairly lighted ; the city ordinances are judicious and
rigorously enforced. Nor is this excellence of municipal
government peculiar to the capital : it seems to obtain
in all Mexican cities and towns.

Me read OS (markets). — The largest and most impor-
tant market of Mexico, the Volador, south of the National
Palace, occupies a site that was included in the grounds
of the " new house " of Montezuma, and, therefore, after
the Conquest was a part of the property of Cortes. The
land hereabouts was swampy, and for a long while this
plot was a waste place in the city. Occasionally bull-
fights took place here in celebration of the crowning of
a new King of Spain or of the coming to Mexico of a new
Viceroy ; and here was held the celebrated auto defe (the
burning being at the usual place, in front of San Diego)
of April 10, 1649 — one of the most imposing church fes-
tivals ever held in Mexico. In order to free the Plaza
Mayor from the encroachments of small shop-keepers, the
Ayuntamiento decreed, on the 2d of January, 1659, that
the bakers, fruit-sellers, and pork dealers should be re-

138 MEXICAN GUIDE.

moved thence to the Plaza de la Universidad — popularly
known, because of a game of ball formerly played there,
as the Volador — and since that time the chief market oi
the city has been established here. For nearly two hun-
dred years the city rented the land from the heirs of Cor-
tes. In 1837, by purchase from the Duke of Monteleone,
the city possessed the property in fee for a consideration
of $70,000. The present arrangement of narrow paved
alleys between the stalls was completed in January, 1844.
From the central portion of the city this is the most ac-
cessible of the several markets, as well as the most
characteristic. Besides being worth a visit in itself, pur-
chases of fruit may be made here to better advantage
than from the street-vendors — -the assortment being
better and the prices lower. Cargadores always are in at-
tendance to carry home purchases. The fee for this ser-
vice should not exceed a medio, or, if the load is large
or the distance more than ten minutes' walk, a real. The
other important general markets are : the Merced — oc-
cupying the site of the monastery of the same name ;
San Juan, on the site of .a still older Indian market ;
Jesus, and Santa Catarina.

The Flower Market, in the garden west of the cathe-
dral, is, in fact, a continuance of the custom of selhng
flowers in the public markets that obtained in Mexico
before the time of the Conquest. Here is a handsome
pavilion of iron and glass where Indians bring for sale
every day great quantities of all manner of lovely flowers.
There is no fixed tariff of prices, and strangers usually
are made to pay three or four times as much as resi-
dents. But even when what are meant to be exorbitant
prices are demanded, the actual sums are very small in
comparison with the value received in huge masses of

MUNICIPALITY OF MEXICO. 139

flowers. On principle, however, it is as well that stran-
gers should offer haK the price asked, and compromise
on not more than three-quarters — a good general rule
for all street-trading in Mexico.

Portales. — These are arcades through which the side-
walks pass, the space near the curb, between the pillars
of the arches, being occupied by vendors of second-hand
books and all manner of second-hand wares. One of
the most exciting expeditions to be made in the city —
supposing the traveller to have a taste for old books or
bric-a-brac — is a round of these street shops of a Sunday
or feast-day morning. (The old book-dealers, or the
majority of them, will be found on w^eek-days also,
together with some few of the second-hand dealers ; but
only on a Sunday or feast-day morning will the visitor
find a complete display.) The more notable portales are
in the Calles Tlapaleros, Refugio, and Vie jo Coliseo, and
in the Plaza of Santo Domingo. The Baratillo, and the
shops adjoining the market of San Juan, also are places
for shopping of this sort. Baskets, pottery, toys, and
other native products are hawked about the streets.
Things of this nature, when desirable, should be bought
at once — for the street vendors are uncertain in their
habits and the chance to buy may not occur again. In
all deahngs with street vendors or small shopkeepers it
is a good general rule to offer one-quarter, and to pay
about one-third, or one -half, of the price asked.

Prisons. — The municipality sustains a small temporary
lock-up {deposito de detenidos) in the Palace of the Ayun-
tamiento, and the large city prison — usually containing
between 4,000 and 5,000 prisoners — of Belen, in the
southwest suburb. This edifice is of a considerable an-
tiquity. The college of San Miguel de Belen was found-

140 MEXICAIT GUIDE.

ed April 25, 1683, as a school for girls, and was con-
tinued in this use for nearly two hundred years. In
September, 1862, the college was closed, the pupils then
in the institution, one hundred and six, being removed
to the Vizcainas (which see). A few months later the
prison of Belen was established. The prison is dirty,
unhealthy, badly-ordered, and crowded greatly in excess
of its capacity.

Hospitals, see Charitable Institutions.

IV. FEDERAL BUILDINGS.

Palacio Nacional (National Palace, M. 90). — When
the lots of partition of the city of Tenochtitlan were drawn
by the Spanish conquerors, the site now occupied by the
National Palace fell to the lot of Cortes. Upon it had
stood before the Conquest the then recently erected
palace of Montezuma, described by the early chroniclers
as "Montezuma's new house." Cortes caused to be
built here a large, low house capped by four flank-
ing towers. The property was confirmed to him by the
royal order of July 6, 1529, and he and his heirs contin^
ued in possession of it until the year 1562, when it was
bought by the crown and set apart as the Viceroyal resi-
dence. The primitive building was destroyed in the
great riots of 1692, in which year the present Palace was
begun. Since that time additions have been made to it
as occasion has required, until now the building is the
largest, and one of the ugliest, in the city. It occupies
the entire eastern side of the Plaza Mayor — having a
frontage of six hundred and seventy-five feet. In the
Palace are housed the following named departments of

FEDERAL BUILDINGS. 141

the Federal Government: Presidency, State, Treasury,
Headquarters of the Army, Archives, Direccion General ;
also, the Senate, the Post Office, and the Astronomical
and Meteorological bureaux ; while two large barracks
afford accommodations for several regiments. Architect-
urally, there is little to commend this building save its
size ; and even this, owing to its utter lack of proportion,
is extraordinary rather than imposing. It is a mere ag-
glomeration of parts, having been added to from time
to time without any regard to continuity or general plan.
The principal court {jpatio) is large and of handsome
construction, as also is the court of the Presidency. The
Hall of the Ambassadors reproduces the faults of the
building as a whole : it is very large, but very badly
proportioned. In it is a notable collection of full-
length portraits of the prominent leaders of the revolt
against Spain and of other celebrities, the work of lead-
ing Mexican artists. Historically, the more notable
of these portraits are, of Hidalgo, Yturbide, Morelos,
Guerrero, Matamoras, and Allen de, together with the
Presidents Ai'ista and Juarez. Artistically, the more im-
portant are the Hidalgo by J. Ramirez and the Arista
by Pingret. In one of the galleries of the Presidency is
a fine allegorical picture, "The Constitution," by Petro-
nilo Monroy, a modern Mexican painter of high stand-
ing. There also is here the picture by P. Miranda com-
memorating the battle of the "Cinco de Mayo" (May
5, 1862).

Camara de Diputados (Chamber of Deputies, K.
120). Upon the destruction by fire (August 22, 1872)
of the hall in the National Palace occupied by the lower
House of Congress, the Yturbide theatre was rented by
the Federal Government for the temporary use of the

142 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Deputies. The accommodation afforded by this build-
ing being excellent, the use of the theatre in this man-
ner has continued until the present time. The exterior
of the building has but scant pretensions to elegance.
The interior has been adapted to its present purpose by
modifications of the stage and pit, the galleries remain-
ing unchanged.

Pa3acio de Justicia (Federal Court, M. 91), in a por-
tion of the old convent of the Ensenanza (which see).

Arzoblspado (archiepiscopal palace), northeast corner
Calles Arzobispado and Seminario, now occupied by the
department of Internal Eevenue and other Federal offices.
The building is a very ancient foundation. In the year
1530, Fray Juan de Zumarraga, first Archbishop of Mex-
ico, began here the building of an episcopal residence ;
and by the royal order of August 2, 1533, Charles V.
provided that, inasmuch as the building fund was tithe
money, the palace should pertain to the Archbishops of
Mexico and should be lived in by them "forever and
ever" (para siempre jamas). The palace was rebuilt in
1730, and in the year 1800 the present building was com-
pleted. In 1861 it was declared government property.

Ciudadela (Citadel, R 130), in the southwestern sub-
urb of the city, near the line of the horse railway to
Tacubaya ; a large building, inclosing several acres, now
used as an armory [fdbrica de armas).

Ad u an a (Custom House, T>. 131), on the northern
side of the Plaza of Santiago Tlaltelolco, was begun in
1883 and was completed in 1886. The old church of
Santiago Tlaltelolco, just west of it, now is dismantled
and is used as a bonded warehouse.

Casa de Moneda (Mint, L. 93), in the Calle del Apar-
tado. Very soon after the Conquest there was established

FEDERAL BUILDINGS. 143

in the City of Mexico an assay office, for the valuation of
refined silver, and that from the silver might be de-
ducted the royal tribute. Ingots and bars bearing the
stamp of this office were permitted to circulate in lieu
of coin. The need for coin being urgent, it was decreed,
by a royal order of May 11, 1535, that three mints
should be established in America : one in Potosi (Bo-
Hvia), one in Santa Fe (New Grenada), and one in the
City of Mexico. In all of these establishments the regu-
lations regarding coinage were identical with those gov-
erning the royal mint in Castile. The demand for in-
creased space led. to the removal of the Mint to the
Viceroyal Palace in 1562, when the building was pur-
chased by the crown from the heirs of Cortes ; and in
1569 it was estabhshed beside the royal treasury. The
pressure upon it increased constantly, and in 1729 a
new and much larger building became necessary. The
plans were prepared by Don Nicolas Peinado in 1730 ;
were approved by a royal order of August 2, 1731, and
the work was completed in 1734. The original estimates
of cost were $206,000 ; the actual cost was $554,600. At
this period the coining was farmed, much more to the
interest of the farmers than to the interest of the govern-
ment— for which reason, in 1733, the government took
the coining into its own hands. As the Mint necessarily
had to deal with a business that increased with great
rapidity, a new enlargement became necessary in less
than half a century — the work being completed between
1772 and 1782 at a cost of $449,893. After the erection
of Mexico into a Hepublic branch mints were established
in several of the silver-producing centres, with the result
of greatly diminishing the demands upon the establish-
ment in the capital. Part of the building was used by

144 MEXICAN GUIDE.

the government for other purposes, and the machinery
was suffered to become antiquated and worn. With a
view to restoring the Mint to a state of efficiency, the
money required for the purchase of new machinery
twice was appropriated — but, somehow, the new machin-
ery was not bought ! By way of radical remedy, the
government reverted to the Viceroyal custom of farming
the coinage. By the act of February 23, 1847, the coin-
age was leased, and the stipulation was made that it
should be carried on in the building that the Mint now
occupies. In 1850 this removal was effected, and coin
issued under the new arrangement July 1st of the same
year. The greater part of the machinery then put in was
bought in England. In August, 1865, improved stamps
were imported from the United States, and in Febiniary,
1866, the beautiful coins of the Empire were issued.
About $3,000,000 of the Imperial money passed into
circulation, almost all of which was recoined after the
Empire fell. Senor Garcia Cubas places the total coin-
age of the Mint of Mexico between the time of its es-
tablishment and the year 1883, at : gold, $81,859,873 ;
silver, $2,261,334,899.

V. PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.

Biblioteca Nacional (National Library, Y. 102. Free.
Open daily, feast-days excepted, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.).
The building in which the Library is housed, once the
Church of San Agustin (which see), is massive, of mag-
nificent proportions, and both inside and out its archi-
tectural features are very fine. In common with all
Spanish- American churches, its mass is admirable ; and

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 145

in this case the columns, basso-relievos, friezes, and
other embellishments, are executed in excellent taste.
Particularly to be noted is the fine basso-relievo of San
Agustin, over the main portal. The building has upon
its north and west sides an ornamental garden sur-
rounded by a high iron raiUng, the iron posts being sur-
mounted by portrait busts of the following named Mexi-
can celebrities : poets, Manuel Carpio, Francisco Manuel
Sanchez de Tagie, Jose Joaquin Pesado, Fray Manuel
Navarrete, and Netzahualcoyotl ; dramatist, Manuel
Eduardo Gorostiza ; historians, Fernando A. Tezozomoc,
Fernando A. Ixtlilxochitl, Francisco Javier Clavijero,
Mariano Veytia, Lucas Alaman, and Fernando Ramirez ;
juiist, Manuel de la Pena y Pena; philologist, Fray
Juan Crisostomo Najera ; humanist, Carlos Sigiienza y
Gongora ; naturalist, Jose A. Alzate ; chemist, Leopoldo
Rio de la Loza ; Joaquin Cardoso, Jose Maria Lafragua.
Facing the garden, from a niche in the western wall of
the Library, is a large statue of Minerva.

In the north front a noble portal, guarded by a
wrought-iron gate, gives entrance to the marble-paved
vestibule. From the pavement rises a line of Ionic col-
umns, supporting the groined arches of the old choir ;
and from this stately vestibule the great nave of the
building is entered — a magnificent hall, along the sides
of which rise slender pilasters, supporting the rich cornice
whence spring the arches of the vaulted roof. Between
the pilasters formerly were the openings into the several
chapels ; these openings now are walled up, and the
chapels form a series of alcoves parallel with the nave
and connected with each other by door- ways cut through
their dividing walls. Ample light is obtained from
windows above the cornice, and from a noble window in

146 MEXICAN GUIDE.

tiie apse — in front of which is displayed a colossal cast
in plaster, admirably modelled, of the arms of the Re-
public. Balancing this work, a fine statue of Time, also
colossal, stands in an open arch above the choir. Ranged
on pedestals along the walls of the great nave are colos-
sal statues of the following named fathers of learning :
Valmiki, Confucius, Isaiah, Homer, Plato, Aristophanes,
Cicero, Virgil, St. Paul, Origen, Dante, Alarcon, Coper-
nicus, Descartes, Cuvier and Humboldt. On each side
of the entrance are medallion portraits, the one of Jua-
rez, by whom was issued the decree ordering the estab-
lishment of the Library ; the other of Antonio Martinez
de Castro, the IMinister of Justice by whom the decree
received its official authorization. Annexed to the prin-
cipal building is the old chapel of the Tercer Orden,
used at present as a storehouse for unclassified books.
This quaint edifice, in shape a Greek cross, contrasts
very effectively with the majestic mass and elegant de-
tails of the Library building proper.

The Library, containing upward of 150,000 volumes,
is composed mainly of books which were removed from
the libraries of the several monasteries in accordance
with the operation of the Laws of the Reform. It has
also, notwithstanding its recent foundation, a consider-
able collection of standard and current works in Spanish,
French, English and German — a collection that is in-
creased annually by judicious purchases. Naturally,
its source being remembered, its strongest departments
are theology and Church history, in both of which it is
very rich ; and it is scarcely less rich in the department
of Spanish-American history — which, indeed, during its
first and second centuries, is little more than Church his-
tory under another name. The labor of organizing and

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 147

digesting the chaotic mass of books here brought to-
gether has been very great ; nor is it yet ended. Al-
ready, however, enough has been accomphshed to place
at the easy disposition of students one of the most im-
portant collections of books on the Continent ; and
earnest is given by this hard work well done that what
remains to be accomplished will be not less satisfactory.
All students who require the use of this Library have
cause for profound gratitude to its librarian, by whom
order has been drawn from confusion, and by whom
every facility and courtesy is afforded for earnest work,
Don Jose Maria Vigil.

Other Libraries of importance in the city are : Cinco
de Mayo, in the old church of the Betlemitas, a free
hbrary open daily from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and (feast-days
excepted) from 3 to 7 p.m., containing 9,000 volumes ;
Escuela Preparatoria, 8,000 volumes ; Escuela de Juris-
prudencia, 14,000 volumes, and Escuela de Ingenieros,
7,000 volumes. Each Department of state, the National
Museum, the Academy of the Fine Arts, the several col-
leges and scientific societies, possess libraries adapted to
their several needs. There are also circulating libraries
(see p. 30). In the Palacio Nacional are fourteen rooms
filled with the National archives.

Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes (O. 103). Na-
tional School of the Fine Arts ; usually spoken of as the
Academy of San Carlos. Open daily from 12 to 3 p.m. ;
Sundays and Feast Days from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admis-
sion by card from the Secretary. A plan for admission
on payment of an entrance fee is under consideration.

In the year 1529 the eminent Franciscan Fray Pedro
de Gante founded the College of San Juan de Letran, in
which he established departments of music and drawing.

148 MEXICAl^ GUIDE.

This was the parent art school of Mexico. Eodrigo de
Cifuentes, it is believed, arrived in New Spain as early as
1523, and painted portraits of Cortes. The real art life
of the colony began with the arrival, near the end of the
sixteenth century, of the great artist Sebastian Arteaga,
whose influence upon painting and architecture was so
strong that he justly may be considered the founder of
these arts in Mexico. And about the same time came to
Mexico the eminent painters Alonzo Vasquez, and Baltasar
Echave. With the latter came also the celebrated woman
artist, known as La Sumaya, who was, according to tra-
dition, both his wife and his instructor in painting.
(The best example of this woman's work is the San Se-
bastian, above the altar de Perdon, in the Cathedral of
Mexico.) To the seventeenth century belong Herrera ;
Andreas Lopez ; Aguilera ; Luis, Juan, and Nicolas Ro-
driguez ; Cabrera, a Zapoteca Indian born in Oaxaca ;
Jose, Luis, Rodriguez, and Nicolas Juarez ; Juan Correa ;
Vallejo, a pupil of Cabrera's ; Ibarra ; Lopez ; Saenz ;
Esquivel ; Zendejas ; Alcibar, and the sculptors Patiilo
Instolinque (an Indian) and Cora. The works of these
men are found all over Mexico. Many of them lived and
worked into the early part of the eighteenth century,
But of new material the eighteenth century, with the
brilliant exception of Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras
(see Celaya) produced practically nothing. Tresguerras,
a great architect, and a painter and sculptor of marked
ability, has been styled, not inaptly, ''the Michael Angelo
of Mexico."

The existing School of the Fine Arts had a smaU be-
ginning in a school of engraving, established in the Mint
(by a royal order given by Charles m., March 15, 1778),
under the direction of the principal engraver, Geronimo

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 149

Antonio Gil. This school was opened in May, 1779.
The general interest manifested in the school of engrav-
ing caused the Director of the Mint, Don Fernando Man-
gino, to propose to the Viceroy, Don Martin de Maj^orga,
the establishnient of an academy of the three noble arts,
painting, sculpture, and architecture : and, the approval
of the Viceroy being given, September 12, 1781, classes
■were begun on the 4th of November of the same year.
The project of formally founding an academy of the fine
arts was a matter of such moment that it was referred to
the crown. By the royal order of December 25, 1783,
the king's approval was accorded, and license was given
for founding the existing institution under the name of
the Academia de las Nobles Artes de San Carlos de la
Nueva Espafia ; and with much ceremony the Academy
formally was opened November 4, 1785. Its first j^ro-
fessors, sent from Spain, were the painter Aguirre, and
the architect and painter Velazquez. In September, 1791,
the classes were removed from the cramped quarters in
the Mint to the building formerly occupied by the Hos-
pital de Amor de Dios. In this building, much enlarged
and improved, the Academy still remains. In the year
of its removal hither, there catne from Spain, to take
charge of its two more important departments, the
painter Rafael Jimeno, and the architect Manuel Tolsa,
— the latter bringing with him an admirable collection
of casts from the antique (costing $40,000), sent by
Charles III, This conjunction of fortunate circum-
stances made the ensuing twenty years the most fruitful
in the whole period of the Academy's existence. The
troublous times of the war of Independence, and the
subsequent epoch of anarchy, wofuUy disturbed the
workings of this art school. In 1810 its endowment

150 MEXICAN GUIDE.

fund became exhausted, and, after struggling for an ex-
istence during tlie ensuing eleven years, it was closed in
1821. A small fund was provided from the city treasury
that enabled the Council to resume the classes in Feb-
ruary, 1824 ; and to continue them, though under diffi-
culties, until 1843. By the decree of December 16,
1843, the academy was permitted to receive the annual
proceeds of a lottery ; with which the buildings, pre-
viously rented, were purchased, much improved, and
formally reopened January 6, 1847. The war of the Re-
form brought another season of disaster ; but with the
accession of the Juarez government came a period of
prosperity that has continued until now — when, with an
annual allowance of $35,000, the institution is in fairly
flourishing circumstances. In 1868 the name of the
Academy formally was changed to that of the National
School of the Fine Arts, and at the same time various
reforms were instituted in its organization and methods.
Prizes are given for meritorious work by pupils, including
a Roman prize of a pension of $600 a year for six years.
The attendance at the classes averages about one hun-
dred. The recently instituted night classes for artisans
have proved a great success. All tuition is free.

The galleries of the Academy are rather awkwardly
lighted, and the handsome, but too pronounced, decora-
tion of the third gallery tends somewhat to distract at-
tention from the pictures themselves. The first and
second galleries are hung with paintings of the early
Mexican school, and the quality of the work here is so
decidedly superior, with one or two exceptions in favor
of the moderns, to that of the fourth and fifth galleries,
in which the work of modern Mexican artists is shown,
that there really seems to be some foundation for the

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 151

sayincf that " the fonndinof of an Academy of the Fine
Arts in Mexico was the death-blow to Mexican At't."

The more notable works in the first gallery are :
''Christ in the Garden," No. 21, by Luis Juarez, prob-
ably his best pictui'e ; the " Adoration of the Magi," the
"Holy Family," No. 21, and the wonderfully fine "Mar-
tyrdom of San Apronianio," No. 6, all by Echave ; the
" San Agustin," No. 13, very striking color combined
with good drawing and composition, by Antonio Rodri-
guez ; the quaint picture of the little saints and martyrs
Justo and Pastor, No. 5, by Jose Juarez, and, in the same
somewhat conventional style, by the same artist, the
"Life of Saint Alexis," No. 4; the fine "Meeting of
Mary and Elizabeth," No. 14, attributed to Ai-teaga —
though the treatment of the hair rather suggests one of
the Juarez ; the impressive " Christ and Saint Thomas,"
certainly by Arteaga, in which the principal figure is less
well treated than are the secondary figures ; the dehght-
ful portrait of "Don Joachin Manez de Sta Cruz, at the
age of four years," by Nicholas Juarez.

In the second gallery the more notable works are :
*•' The Holy Sepulchre," No. 95, in which the Ught is so
well carried off over the faces of the Virgin and Mag-
dalen, the " Santa Ana and the Virgin," No. 65, and the
" Meeting of Mary and Elizabeth," No. 63, especially
beautiful in color, all by Echave ; the striking "Virgin
of the Apocaljrpse," No. 13, by Cabrera ; the portrait,
No. 69, of Cabrera, painted by himself ; the " Adoration
of the Magi," No. 85, in which the painter, Nicholas
Juarez, has introduced his own portrait — the second
figure, on the picture's left, in blue drapery ; the "In-
terior of the Convent of the Betlemitas," by Villalpando,
interesting rather because of the subject than because of

152 MEXICAN GUIDE.

the quality of the work. There is a quaintness and a ten-
derness about Echave's work that, with his fine color,
make his paintings exceedingly attractive. Ibarra, on
the other hand, as seen in his four pictures, Nos. 45, 48,
55, 58, is less impressive in his color, and is apt to be
weak in his expression — though there certainly is de-
lightful color in his " Women of Samaria," No. 48 ; and
in his " Woman taken in Adultery," No. 55, there is a
charming bit of expression in the face of the leaning-for-
ward boy. He is seen at his best, probably, in the por-
trait, No. 77. Of Cabrera's work probably the best ex-
amples are his "Bernard " and "Anselm," in which are
seen much more of his personality and of his fine tech-
nique than in his great " Virgin of the Apocalypse."

In the Sala de Actos, also examples of this early Mex-
ican school, are a wonderfully fine "Crucifixion," by
Arteaga ; a " Martyrdom of St. Lawrence," delightfully
quaint in treatment, but excellent in drawing, color, and
light and shade, by Luis Juarez, and a singularly beau-
tiful " Virgin de la Purisima," by Aguilera.

The third gallery is hung with pictures by European
artists. Among the more notable works are : " San Juan
de Dios, No. 123, by Murillo, a replica of his picture in
the church of the Caridad in Seville ; a " San Eafael "
No. 14, also believed to be by Murillo ; a " Saint John
in the Desert," No. 9, attributed to Murillo, painted in
his " ugly " style but certainly by him or by a very good
artist of his school ; the important pictures, " San Fran-
cisco," No. 55, and " San Antonio de Padua," No. 57, of
the Seville school, and possessing Murillo-like qualities,
by an unknown artist ; the " Christ Tormented," No. 61,
attributed to Rubens : note the mocking face in the pic-
ture's left, exactly in that artist's style ; the portrait of

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 153

Kubens, No. 107, believed, and from good internal evi-
dence, to have been painted by himself ; the " Seven
Virtues," No. 39, painted on wood, attributed to Leon-
ardo— whatever its source, this picture possesses unde-
niably great qualities, the drawing is wonderfully fine,
and the subdued coloring is enchanting ; a "San Sebas-
Jtian, No. 14, attributed to Van Dyke ; a beautiful por-
trait of Murillo, No. 104, believed to be by Velazquez ;
the "Buen Pastor," No. Ill, by Kivera (Spagnoletto),
much injured by time and bad treatment, but still show-
ing its high quality ; two wonderfully well-painted pic-
tures of Saint Gregory, Nos. 3 and 121, by Andrea
Vaccara ; the " Santa Catalina de Sena," No. 6, very
striking in its light and shade, and the "Santa Teresa,"
No. 1, both by Carreuo ; another " Santa Catalina de
Sena," attributed, and probably justly, to Guercino ;
two not especially interesting pictures, " Santa Barbara,"
No. 98, and " Santa Catarina," No. 105, attributed to
Guido; the "Episode of the Flood," No. 71, by Cog-
hetti ; the " Emaus," No. 117, by Zurbaran. The very
striking portrait. No. 1, a woman in the habit of a Do-
minican nun, is believed to be a portrait of Maria Ana
de Austria, second wife (here represented as the widow)
of Philip TV. The picture is supposed to be by Carrerio.
The Uttle landscape room, opening from the third gal-
lery, has an old-fashioned air about it that is highly sug-
gestive of English landscape work of about half a century
ago. The more notable works here are a court-yard.
No. 31, by Goto, brilliant with almost Fortuny-like sun-
light ; the inner court of the Loreto, No. 26, by Jimenez;
and a well-painted and very interesting interior of the
convent of San Francisco in the City of Mexico, No. 62,
by Landesio.

154 MEXICAN GUIDE.

The fourth gallery, hung with the works of modern
Mexican artists, has a general glaring effect of strong,
crude color that is anything but agreeable. The more
important works, those in which these unpleasant quali-
ties are least conspicuous, are " Juana the Mad," No. 41,
by Pelegrin Clave ; the " Giotto," No 87, by Jose Obre-
gon, and the "Saint Charles Borromeo," that won for
its painter, Solome Pina, the Eoman prize.

The small fifth gallery contains the best utterances of
modern Mexican art, and some of the work here is of a
very high order of excellence. Some of these pictures,
it is true — as the nude study. No. 16, by Felix Parra —
are nothing more than uninteresting exhibitions of a
considerable technical skill, yet some few are admirable
examples of good technique manifested in an adequate
treatment of subjects which intrinsically are picturesque.
The " Job " of Carasco, the " Caridad Romano " of Luis
Monroy, the " Margaret " of Felipe Ocadiz, the *' Galileo"
of Parra, are pictures which would command attention
anywhere. The "Las Casas"of Parra, in nobility of
subject, grandeur and simplicity of treatment, and strong
but subdued color, ranks as one of the great pictures of
the world. Work such as this affords ample ground for
faith in the future of Mexican art;

Sculpture has not flourished in Mexico. In the gal-
leries of the Academy are some few portrait busts in
marble of fair quality, and a few plasters, notably the
"Aztec Gladiator," "Columbus," "Dona Marina," and
others by Vilar, of positive merit. The finest piece of
sculpture by Mexican artists is the monument to Juarez
in the Panteon de San Fernando, a very noble work by
the brothers Yslas.

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 165

Museo Nacional (National Museum, opendail}', Sat-
urdays excepted, from 10 a.m. to 12 m., M. 92), in the
jijortion of the National Palace formerly occupied by the
Mint, fronting on the Calle de Moneda. The existing
large and most interesting collection is the outgro\Yth of
what for manj years was a neglected department of the
University. There, in two rooms and a courtyard, were
exhibited the antiquities discovered from time to time
about the city, together with some specimens of natural
history, a few historic portraits, and other matters of in-
terest, the whole being presided over by a single zealous
but sadly undei^aid curator. When the University was
extinguished, in 1865, the collection was ordered to be
removed to the building that it now occupies ; but as this
building then was utterly unsuited to its needs — being-
even yet in process of adaptation — everything was stored
until the necessary alterations could be made. With
various interruptions, these alterations have been in prog-
ress for a number of years, and although much still re-
mains to be accomplished the work is now so far advanced
that the rich collections may bei seen to fair advantage.
A most marked improvement has been made in the pres-
ent year in the completion of the south gallery on the
ground floor, in w^hich the greater number of heavy pieces
are to be displayed. The so-called " calendar stone," for
many years embedded in the western tower of the cathe-
dral, was removed to the south gallery of the Museum
in 1886.

The Museum is divided into two sections : Natural
History, and Antiquities. The first of these, subdivided
into the departments of mineralogy, palaeontology, zo-
ology, and botany, can only be described as a fairl}^ good
but very small beginning of the great work of represent-

156 MEXICATT GUIDE.

ing adequately the manifold natural products of Mexico.
The department of Antiquities is a veritable treasure-
house, upon the organization of which has been expended,
with obviously satisfactory results, a vast amount of in-
telligent labor and thought. It includes a very curious
and imj)ortant collection of prehistoric remains : arms and
devices, utensils, jewels and ornaments, idols, imitative
heads, picture-writings, and so forth, related to ancient
Mexicans ; together with portraits and relics associated
with the history of the country subsequent to the Con-
quest.

The Stone of the Sun. — The laborious investigations of
Antonio de Leon y Gama resulted in giving to this block
the erroneous name of the " Aztec Calendar Stone." The
history of the stone and its present name were estab-
lished successively by Senor Chavero and by Dr. Valen-
tini. From the facts known concerning it, Mr. Bande-
lier * infers " that the Stone of the Sun was originally
placed on one of the artificial mounds in the centre of
the Indian pueblo of Mexico [Tenochtitlan], and that it
served as the base of the smaller perforated stone to
which the victim was tied, and that upon the two stones
the gladiatorial sacrifice was performed." Specimens
of the smaller stones here referred to will be found in
the large south gallery of the Museum. They are very
like small mill-stones. A block of this kind and size,
with a rope passed through it and fastened to the ankle
or even around the body of a man, would be of sufficient
weight to hold him fast, unless he was of gigantic
strength ; but two men easily could lift it, to fasten or

* "Report of an Archaeological Tour in Mexico in 1881,'' by A. F.
Bandelier. Published for the Archseological Institute of America
by Cupples, Uphaia & Co., Boston, 1884.

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 157

replace the cord. These stones sometimes are called
iemalacatl. In regard to the carvings upon the Stone of
the Sun, the following parts of them are ascertained be-
yond all doubt : The central figure, representing the
sun, and perhaps the year also ; the twenty figures
placed in a circle around it, representing the twenty
days of the Mexican month ; the date, 13th acatl, cor-
responding with 1479 A.D., above the head of the sun on
the rim or border. Seuor Chavero and Dr. Valentini
have carried the interpretation further, but their inter-
pretation requires confirmation.

The Idol Huitzilopochtli (called also Teoyaomiqui).
This huge idol of porphyritic basalt, nearly nine feet
high, stands in the southern gallery of the Museum.
It is covered with carvings almost to overloading. How-
ever well executed some of them are when taken singly,
their combination is devoid of symmetry. The general
effect is appalling, presenting a most hideous agglomer-
ation of repulsive forms. The two faces of this sculpture
are not alike. Antonio de Leon y Gama adopts the
view that one represents a male, the other a female
fig-ure ; and calls the rear figure Huitzilopochtli and the
front Teoyaomiqui, stating that the latter was the for-
mer's companion. By an exhaustive examination of orig-
inal authorities Mr. Bandelier finds that not one of the
older writers upon Mexico mentions an idol or deity
called Teoyaomiqui ; and by a close chain of eliminative
reasoning he anives at the conclusion that this figure
was "the well known war god of the Mexican tribe,
Huitzilopochtli ; and that, consequently, it was the fam-
^ous principal idol of aboriginal Mexico, or Tenochtitlan."
'B The Sacrificial Stone, also in the southern gallery.
The late archaeologist and historian, Don Manuel Orozco

158 MEXICAN GUIDE.

y Berra, has written at great length upon this relic,*
showing that it is at once a votive and commemorative
monument celebrating the victories of the chief Tizoc
over the tribes represented by the figures carved upon
the circumference of the cylinder. These figures, dis-
posed in groups of two, represent conqueror and con-
quered ; the victor holding the vanquished by the hair,
the latter holding a bunch of inverted arrows. In the
panel in which each of these groups is carved is seen,
near the back of the prisoner's head, the phonetic sym-
bol of the name of his tribe. The effigy of the sun,
carved upon the upper surface, indicates that the work
as a whole is a votive offering to that deity. Senor Oroz-
co y Berra placed the date (accepted also by Senor Gar-
cia Cubas) of the construction of this monument be-
tween the years 1481-86. Mr. Bandelier accepts his
conclusions in regard to the character of the sculpture
and its general purpose ; but does not accept the date
that he assigns to it, nor his interpretation of the carv-
ings. In writing of the two known (by existing speci-
mens) varieties of sacrificial stones, techcatl and cuauhxi-
calli, Mr. Bandelier affirms that this stone "has been
thoroughly identified as belonging to the last named
variety." He adds : "It is circular, and its distinguish-
ing features are the cup-shaped concavity in the centre,
and the channel which runs therefrom to the outer rim."
Seiior Ramirez (quoted by Senor Garcia Cubas) explains
that when the stone was dug up in the Plaza, near the
cathedral (December 17, 1791), it was considered too
heavy to move, and was ordered to be broken up that it

* " El Cuauhxicalli de Tizoc," AnaUs del Musco JVacwnal, vol. i.,
No. 1.

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 159

might be used for paving stones — as was done with
many similar relics ; and that the process of cutting
actually was begun, as the channel cut in it shows, but
was stopped by the Canon Gamboa, who happened then
to pass that way, and who ordered the stone to be pre-
served. It is obvious that in regard to this relic there
is a trifling clashing of facts and opinions.

Tlie Indio Triste (the Sad Indian), in the south gallery.
Mr. Brantz Mayer was the first observer to point out the
true meaning of this curious statue. He wrote : "This
figure probably was set on the wall or at the portal of
some edifice, and in its hand was erected a banner or
insignia of command." In the most satisfactory manner
Mr. Bandelier has verifi.ed this shrewd inference. He
quotes from the writings of Fray Juan de Tobar this
portion of the description of the place of worship of
Huitzilopochtli : "It had on the tops of the chambers
and rooms where the idols were a handsome balcony [or
balustrade] made of many small stones as black as jet,
set with much regularity, so as to form a field checkered
black and white, very conspicuous from below ; over this
balcony there rose turret-like battlements, and on the
top of the pillars were two Indians of stone, seated, with
candlesticks in their hands." Mr. Bandelier therefore
concludes : "I have unhesitatingly accepted the Indio
Triste as a torch-bearer of stone — consequently as a mere
ornament, without any direct relations to worship what-
ever." This piece of sculpture was dug up in the street
(now called the Calle del Indio Triste) in the year 1828.
How it came by its present name is not of record ; nor
can any good reason for it be found. A merrier little
smack-chops of an Indian never was put into stone.

Two colossal heads of snakes, in the south gallery.

160 MEXICAiq- GUIDE.

Surrounding tlie cluster of mounds of worship in tlie
pueblo of Tenochtitlan was a wall composed of colossal
heads of serpents carved in stone. Senor Garcia Cubas,
by whom these interesting relics were discovered, has
shown that they were a part of the ancient cohuatepantli,
or snake-wall. The stones were found beneath one of
the columns of the first cathedral (razed in the year 157-2)
having been used as a part of the foundation. They
were buried again, and were rediscovered by Seiaor
Garcia Cubas when the garden south and west of the
cathedral was made in 1881.*

Coiled serpent, in the south gallery ; a serpent coiled
in pyramidal form, its body covered wdth feathers, carved
in basaltic porphyry. As is pointed out by Seiior Garcia
Cubas, this fantastic effigy is found repeated in many of
the ancient Mexican monuments, often of colossal size.
It is received as the symbol of one of the oldest and
most famous divinities of the American pantheon ;
American, because it is found, but slightly modified, in
all parts of the continent. In this myth is preserved (in
Mexico, and regions south of that country, certainl}') the
memory of a mysterious white and bearded jDersonage
who taught a strict and pure morality ; who brought
the knowledge of the sciences and arts ; who is regarded
as having been at once the priest and the civilizer of the
people. Naturally, among a semi-barbarous people, this
personage, possessing such god-like attributes, as time re-
moved the memory of his personality, became a divinity.
The Peruvians called him Manco-Capac ; the Muiscas,

* There is strong reason for believing that many more Aztec
relics remain buried in this vicinity. In the course of excavation
in the Plazuela del Seminario, in October, 1885, an important
sculptured stone was found.

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 161

Bocliicii ; the Yucatanos, Kukulcan ; the Mexicans, Quet-
zalcoatl. The Christian missionaries, astonished at find-
ing among a semi-barbarous and heathen people traces
of a j)ure system of morahty, and of customs very Hke
those of Christianity, fancied that this mysterious per-

Isonage must have been either one of the Disciples of
Christ, or one taught du'ectly by Him or His Apostles,
who had come to preach the true faith in the new world.
Several Mexican writers (notably the celebrated Dr.
Mier, in his address before the Spanish Academy) demon-
strated to their own satisfaction that he was no other
than the Apostle Saint Thomas — an important feature of
their argument being that in Spanish Quetzalcoatl is ren-
dered Tomas. Seiior Orozco y Berra was the first to draw
attention to the rather awkward conjunction of facts that
this supposed Saint Thomas figured in Mexican history
about the tenth century of our era, while the genuine
Saint Thomas undeniably belonged in the first. Seiior
Orozco y Berra makes the very reasonable suggestion
that the mysterious personage may have been a Christian
missionary from Iceland. The significance of quetzal-coall
Senor Garcia Cubas shows, is " serpent of quetzalli." The
word quetzaUi anciently had a variety of significations,
though all j)^i'taking of the same general nature. Its
root is quetzal, meaning a species of bird-of-paradise —
- though applied especiall}^ to the two long and brilliant
tail-feathers of that bird, that constituted one of the prin-
cipal articles of tribute paid to the Mexican chiefs. From
this direct meaning its metaphorical use as descriptive of
anythingvery precious naturally followed — and thus it be-
came appHed to the man-god, Quetzalcoatl. Besides this
very fine and perfect specimen, the Museum possesses
many specimens, large and small, of the serpent symbol.

162 MEXICAN GUIDE.

God of Fire, also called Chac-Mool (two specimens), in
souttiern gallery. The larger of these two figures — a re-
cumbent colossal figure, holding over the navel with both
hands a round disk with narrow rim — was exhumed by
Dr. and Mrs. Le Plongeon at Chichen-Itza, in Yucatan.
By them it was described as a personal monument, or
sepulchral statue, and was given the name of Chac-Mool.
From the fact that at least three other similar figures
have been discovered in other parts of Mexico — one of
which is the smaller figure near it, found in the State
of Tlaxcala — the name, and the theory that are thus
advanced, do not seem to be tenable. Senor Chavero
has advanced the more probable suggestion that the fig-
ure represents the God of Fire, and that the disk held
in its hands is the emblem of the sun. Very bitter con-
troversies have raged, and still are raging, over the up-
turned stomach of this defenceless stone image, the chief
point at issue being whether it was, or was not, an idol.
Without venturing into the arena of this painful discus-
sion^ at least this much of Mi'. Bandelier's remarks con-
cerning the figure — being also an admirable criticism of
early Mexican stone-work — may be quoted in safety :
" I have already alluded," he writes, " to the imperfec-
tions of aboriginal art in Mexico. While many of the
faces and heads are well done, particularly those of clay,
this excellence very rarely, if ever, extends to the other
parts of the body. On the contrary, there is always a
certain disproportion and consequent lack of harmony.
The Chac-Mool, which (excepting, perhaps, the Indio
Triste) is the best of all, still shows strange defects in
the proportions of its lower limbs. The same is true in
regard to the figures of animals. Quadrupeds are mostly
rude in shape ; still I have seen more than one head of a

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 163

tiger wlucli is fairly executed. Birds are always mon-
sters, the workmen being unable to overcome the dif-
ficulty of rendering the j)lumage ; but all simple forms
like snakes, turtles, frogs, and reptiles general^, seem to
be well imitated. Thus the head, coils, and rattles of the
rattlesnake are excellent. Fishes are poorly represented ;
and plants, which occur rarely except as leaves and sin-
gle flowers, are mostly of stift^ conventional tj'^pes. The
art of sculpture in aboriginal Mexico, while considerably
above that of the Northern Village Indians, is still not
superior to the remarkable carvings on ivory and wood
of the tribes of the Northwest coast, and often bears a
marked resemblance to them."

In addition to these more important objects, the south
gallery contains numerous other objects in stone deserv-
ing careful attention. In the upper floor of the Museum
are several galleries containing smaller objects. The col-
lection of arms and weapons is excellent, and may be
studied to especial advantage in connection with Mr. Ban-
delier's exceedingly interesting " Art of War and Mode of
Warfare of the Ancient Mexicans " ; and to like advantage
may be studied the less complete (for lack of space, not
for lack of material) collection of objects illustrative of
house life, articles of dress, and tools, in connection with
his " Social Organization and Mode of Government of
the Ancient Mexicans." * The most famous of the pic-
ture-writings here preserved is that believed to represent
the migrations of the Aztec tribes. The most interesting
personal relic of the vanquished race is the shield of
Montezuma 11.

* Persons conversant with Spanish will find still more ample in-
formation on these heads in the scholarly " Historia Antigua y de
la Conquista de Mexico " by the late Sr. Lie. Manuel Orozco y Berra.

164 MEXICAN GUIDE.

In the historical section of the Museum will be found
another and not less interesting class of objects. Of these
may be mentioned : the standard raised by Hidalgo,
September 16, 1810 — the picture of the Virgin of Guada-
lupe from the Santuario de Atotonilco ; the stole, gun,
cane, silk handkerchief and chair once belonging to the
liberator-priest ; the Standard of the Conquest, the red
damask flag carried by the Conquerors ; a portrait of
Cortes ; arms and armor of the time of the Conquest,
including the helmet and breast-plate belonging to Pe-
dro de Alvarado ; portraits of the Viceroys ; silver table-
service belonging to the Emperor Maximilian (the state
coach of this unlucky emperor is preserved in one of the
lower rooms) ; and various other objects intimately con-
nected with the persons of those most notable in Mexi-
can history.

An excellent descriptive catalogue (in Spanish) of the
possessions of the Museum has been prepared by its Di-
rector, Senor Gumesindo Mendoza, assisted by Professor
Jesus Sanchez. The work, in sjDite of very serious ob-
stacles, that Senor Mendoza has done in assembliug and
organizing the materials of the Museum cannot be too
warmly praised.

VI. RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS.

Before the separation from Spain, almost ever}' public
institution in the Province was a religious foundation —
schools, hospitals, asylums, even the principal theatre
of the city : all had their origin in the church. As the
term is used here, however, its meaning is restricted to
churches, and to establishments of which a church was the

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 165

principal or a very prominent part. Yet as a church was
a part of ahnost everything in that earher time, a few of
the churches of the city are not included in the follow-
ing list, but are treated of in connection with the build-
ings to which they pertained. In the general index will
be found the names of all the churches in the citv, in al-
phabetical order.

The Cathedral./ The Bishopric of Mexico was erect-
ed by Pope Clement VII. in 1527. ?<Dn the 12th of Decem-
ber of that year, Fray Juan de Zumarraga was presented
to the Pope as Bishop of Mexico, by Charles V. ; and
in December of the year ensuing he arrived in the
city with the title of Bishop Elect and Protector of the
Indians. He was confirmed in his position by the bull
of September 2, 1530. The Archbishopric was erected
by Poj)e Paul 11., January 31, 1545, when Bishop Zu-
marraga was raised to the Archiepiscopate.

The Cathedral, the Holy Metropolitan Church of Mex-
ico, consecrated as the Church of the Asuncion de Maria
Santisima, is built upon or near the site of the great
Aztec temple (teocalli) that the Spaniards destroyed
when the city was conquered in 1521. Upon the parti-
tion of the city this site was set apart, that upon it
should be built a Christian church ; and the church, a
very small one, actually was built previously to the year
1524. It was replaced, in a few years, by the first cathe-
dral ; a small edifice, in fact, but spoken of with great
admiration by contemporaneous chroniclers. Philip II.,
desiring to place here a larger and more stately struc-
ture, sought and obtained permission from Clement VH.,
to destroy this first cathedral that the second might be
begun. The first stone of the existing building was
laid in the year 1573 ; but in order to preserve the older

166 MEXICAN GUIDE.

structure until tbe new one should be sufficiently ad-
vanced for services to be held in it, the new cathedral
was begun a little to the northward of the old one.
The site of the first Christian church in the City of
Mexico, therefore, is the open space (atrium) in front of
the present cathedral. The more important dates in the
history of the existing building are : 1573, corner-stone
laid ; 1615, foundations and part of the walls completed ;
1623, sacristy under roof ; 1626 first service held in
sacristy — where services were held until 1641 ; 1629-
1635, work stopped by the great inundation of that per-
iod ; February 2, 1656, dedication — the interior of the
building still being incomplete ; December 22, 1667,
final dedication. Completion of the towers, 1791. Be-
tween the years 1573 and 1667 the cost of the work was
$17,52,000. With the cost of the towers ($190,000), of
work upon the interior, of the bells (the great bell, alone
costing $10,000) the entire cost of the work was about
$2,000,000. The great bell, 19 feet high, in the western
tower, is named Santa Maria de Guadalupe. It was
placed in position in the year 1792. The larger of the
bells in the eastern tower is named Doiia Maria.

Exclusive of the very thick walls, the building meas-
ures 387 feet from north to south ; 177 feet from east to
west, and has an interior height of 179 feet. It is built
of stone. The fa9ade, at the sides of which rise the
towers, is divided by massive buttresses into three por-
tals, which, in turn, are separated by cornices into two
divisions — the first, Doric, very elegant by reason of its
correct proportions ; the second, Ionic, confused and
unsatisfactory. The basso-relievos, statues, friezes, bases
and capitals are of white marble, making a harmonious
color effect with the gray stone. The towers (203 ft. 6

EELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 167

in. liigli) are in two divisions, the lower Doric and the
upper Ionic, this last finished with very beautiful archi-
tectural details, and the crown of each is a bell-shaped
dome capped by spheres and crosses of stone. The cor-
nices of the towers, as well as the cornices elsewhere
upon the building, are surmounted by balustrades of
carved stone upon which, disposed at regular intervals,
are carved stone vases. The cornices immediatelv be-
neath the domes of the towers serve as pedestals for
colossal stone statues of the Doctors of the Church and
the Patriarchs of the Monastic Orders ; and those of the
central portal, occupied by the clock, are pedestals for
statues of the Theological Virtues with their attributes.
Beneath the clock are blazoned the arms of the Republic
— a modern innovation that emphasizes the controlhng
attitude of the State toward the Church. Above the
whole, as seen from the southern side of the Plaza, rises
the dome, surmounted by its slender, graceful lantern,
the work of the architect Tolsa. The architect of the
work as a whole was Alonzo Perez Castaiieda.

A garden, the beauty of which is by no means so great
as to justify its existence, has been made in modern
times from a portion of the atrium, thus reducing the
actual atrium to miserable dimensions ; and the massive
iron chains, swung upon 124 stone posts, which origin-
ally inclosed the atrium (and remnants of which may be
seen at the outer corners of the garden) have been re-
placed by an unsightly railing of iron that cuts the lines
of the building and so materially lessens the architectural
effect. From the standpoint of the architect, also, the
tree-planted Garden of the Zocalo, in the centre of the
Plaza, is a great mistake — forcing the observer desirous
of obtaining an unobstructed view of the front to come

168 MEXICAN GUIDE.

much closer to it than the requirements of good per-
spective will allow.

The interior of the cathedral, in the Doric style, with
traces of the Gothic which marked the Spanish architec-
ture of the sixteenth century, is almost severe in its sim-
plicity. It is marred by its wooden floor, by its modern
altars constructed in direct violation of the general de-
sign, by the inartistic iron gratings which have replaced
the beautifully carved wooden gratings inclosing the
chapels, and by a general lack of suitable decoration ;
further, the position of the choir (in accordance with the
Spanish custom) in the middle of the nave greatly lessens
what otherwise would be a very imposing and majestic
interior effect. The aisles are divided from the nave by
20 fluted columns which support the light and elegant
vaulted roof. The central arches form a Latin cross,
above which rises the fine dome. "Within the dome are
paintings in tempera, representing the Assumption of the
Virgin and groups of the principal characters of sacred
history. Outside of the aisles are rows of chapels, seven
on each side of the building. The main altar, erected in
1850 after designs by Lorenzo Hidalga — a work that jars
upon the prevailiug simplicity of design, and that is de-
cidedly inferior to the structure that it replaced — is
raised upon a pedestal of four stej^s to the height of the
choir. A vast amount of money was S23ent ujjon this
work — with very unsatisfactory results. The choir oc-
cupies the space between the third and fifth pairs of
columns of the nave. It is inclosed in front by a hand-
some railing (of tumbago, a composite metal of gold,
silver and copper) made in Macao — as were also the
railings of the tribunal of the choir, of the passageway
between the altar and the choir, and the pedestal

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 169

of the altar. The stalls are richly carved in wood, and
above them is to be observed a painting b}'- the Mexican
artist Juan Correa : the Immaculate Concej^tion. Two
organs, in carved cases, rise from the lateral tribunals to
the height of the arches of the aisles. The finest altar
in the cathedral is that of Los Reyes (the Kings), in
the apse, rising from the pavement to the roof. Be-
neath it lie buried the heads of Hidalgo, Allende, Aldama
and Jimenez, brought here with all honor froDi Guana-
juato when Independence had been secured. The altar
was executed by the same artist who carved the altar of
Los Reyes in the Cathedral of Seville, and is richly carved
and gilded in the churrigueresque style. Inclosed in
its complicated details are many excellent statuettes, and
some good paintings by the Mexican artist Juan Rodri-
guez Juarez — the best of which are the " Epiphany " and
"Assumption." The altar del perdon (of pardon), in the
the rear of the choir, is in the same churrigueresque
style, but is less rich. It has two fine paintings, the
" Candelaria " of Baltasar de Echave, and a San Sebas-
tian by (it is believed) the celebrated woman artist. La
Sumaya.

Chapels. — The more notable of these'are : (1) San Fe-
lipje de Jesus, in which are some relics of this saint,
Mexico's protomartyr ; and just outside the grating is
the font in which he was baptized. Within the chapel
are the remains, and a modest monument to the memory,
of the unfortunate Agustin Yturbide, First Emperor of
Mexico — whose well deserved, as well as more lasting
and honorable title, here inscribed, is " The Liberator."
(2) De las reliquias, contains twelve pictures of holy mar-
tyrs by Juan de Herrera, called by his contemporaries (for
a reason not apparent to his successors) " The Divine."

170 MEXICAN GUIDE.

(3) San Pedro, in which are the remains of the first Mex-
ican Archbishop, Fray Juan de Zumarraga ; and, as is
beheved, those also of the mysterious person the heato
Gregorio Lopez — the Mexican "Man with an Iron Mask,"
popularly supposed to have been a son of Philip 11.

The Sacristy is decorated with six great paintings
which completely cover the walls : three — " The Glory
of Saint Michael," "The Immaculate Conception," and
" The Triumph of the Sacrament" — by Cristobal de Vill-
alpando; and three — "The Assumption," "The Catho-
lic Church," and "The Entry into Jerusalem " — by Juan
Correa. In the Meeting-room of the Archicofradia are
two fine pictures by Jose Alcibar, " The Last Supper "
and " The Triumph of Faith," together wdth a very in-
teresting collection of portraits of all the Archbishops of
Mexico. In the Chapter-room are the three choicest
paintings that the cathedral possesses : a picture by an
unknown artist of the Itahan school representing Don
John of Austria imploring the help of the Virgin at the
Battle of Lepanto ; a Virgin, by Pietro de Cortona, and
Murillo's " Virgin of Bethlehem." /

CapHIa de las £inimas (Cliapel of the Souls). This
little chapel, although a portion of the structure of the
cathedral, has no connection with it. It faces upon the
Calle de las Escalerillas, the street passing in the rear of
the cathedral. Of its origin nothing is known save that
it was there at the beginning of the last century, and that
it has been there ever since. At the time that record of
it first appears there was connected with it a fraternity,
the especial object of which was to pray for the release
of souls from Purgator}''. The priest then having it in
charge was Don Cayetano Gil de la Concha, " a most
saintly man," who died October 7, 1755, at the age of

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 171

eighty-seven years — leaving beliincl him a record (as yet
unbroken) of having celebrated the mass in this chapel
45,324 times ! The chapel was destroyed by lire March
3, 1748, and was immediately rebuilt in its present
form. Upon one of the altars is the image of Santa Eita
de Casia, a saint in great favor among the lower classes
of the city.

Parish churches. Upon the site now occupied by the
Sagrario was built, immediately after the Conquest, as is
established by high non-partisan authorities, the first
parish church in the City of Mexico. This church, it is
believed, was administered by the priest Juan Diaz, chap-
lain to Cortes, until the year 1523 ; after that date, as is
established by an order of the Emperor Charles V., it was
administered by the priest Pedro Villagran. As the Fran-
ciscans came to the city about the midsummer of 1524,
the claim (preferred by their eminent chronicler. Fray
Agustin de Vetancurt, and by others) that they founded
the first parish church is not tenable. The explanation
of the rival claims to this honor seems to be that the
church upon the site now occu]Died by the Sagrario was
the first parish church of the Spaniards, and that the
Franciscan foundation was the first parish church of the
Indians — a distinction that for a long while was main-
tained.

It is certain that in the year 1524 Fray Pedro de Gante
(see p. 20 et se^.) founded within the Franciscan establish-
ment the church of San Jose de los Naturales (described
by Vetancurt as " the first parish of the Indians ") that had
parish charge of the Indians of the four grand divisions
of the city ; and that almost contemporaneously he estab-
Hshed in these four divisions four adjunct parish chapels,
viz. : San Juan Bautista, in the southwest quarter called

172 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Moyotla ; San Pablo, in the southeast quarter called
Teopan ; San Sebastian, in the northeast quarter called
Atzacualco ; and Nuestra Seiiora de la Asuncion (now
known as Sta. Maria la Redonda) in the northwest quar-
ter called Tlaquechiuhcan. Three of these foundations
are still parish churches ; the fourth, San Juan Bautista
(now known as San Juan de la Penitencia, which see)
is not. As the city increased in size and in population
these four primitive parish divisions were subdivided, and
new churches were built, as occasion required. Finally
the present partition of the city into fourteen parishes
was made by Archbishop Lorenzana, March 3, 1772. The
parish churches are the following fourteen :

Sagrario R^etropolitano. This church, immediately
adjoining the cathedral on the east, is, as is stated above,
the first parish foundation of the city, and still remains
the first parish church. It was founded, probably, in the
3^ear 1521, being then dedicated to Santiago, the patron
Saint of Spain. In the Escudo de Annas de Mexico it is
written that Don Fernando Cortes gave orders to Juan
Podriguez de Villafuerte to build a chapel for the hous-
ing of Nuestra Senora de los Remedios (which see) ; and
this was done — the chapel being at first known as the
chapel of Santiago, and afterward as the chapel of the
Pemedios. The present building of the Sagrario is of
modern construction, dating from the middle of the last
century — replacing the older church, destroj^ed by fire.
The plans were presented by the architect Lorenzo Rod-
riguez January 7, 1749, and, these being accepted, work
was at once begun. The more important dates in the
construction of the edifice are : Foundation laid, January
7, 1749 ; main altar dedicated September 15, 1767 ;
dedication of the church as a whole, January 9, 1768 ;

EELTgToUS' FOUND ATIONST" 173

completion of the interior decorations, 1770 ; dedication
of the existing main altar, 1829 ; important repairs, fol-
lowing the earthquake of June 19, 1858.

This very elegant building, in the churrigueresque *
style, directly adjoins the cathedral and communicates
with it by mterior doors. The rich fayade and harnao-
nious mass contrasts agreeably with the grander mass
and severer style of the cathedral. So admirable is the
work — in its elegance and purity of complicated filigree
carved in stone — that it may be accepted as a standard
of excellence by which to judge other i)i"oductions in
this same curious but (when judiciously used) highly
effective style. The general design is a Greek cross of
symmetrical proportions, the relatively high vaulted roof
being upheld by finely-carved stone pillars, in keeping
"with which are the equally well-carved pilasters. The
main altar is of wood, of harmonious proportions and
decorated in excellent taste — among its decorations be-
ing two good paintings after Dominichino. There are
twelve minor altars, many of which have been reduced
to a most unsatisfactory condition by modern reno-
vation in very bad taste. Upon those which have been
i^reserved intact are to be observed a number of paint-
ings by leading Mexican artists. The pernicious tend-
ency to paint and whitewash that has ruined a great
many churches in Mexico has done much to mar the
interior of this beautiful building. Fortunately, the
baptistry has escaped from this vandal method of reno-
vation. In it is a fine fresco by the master Jose Gines
de AguuTe — the first professor sent from Spain to take

* The liiglily ornate style of decoration notably practised by the
Spanish architect and sculptor Churriguera about the end of the
seventeenth century.

174 MEXICAN GUIDE.

charge of the Academy of San Carlos^ — representing the
baptisms of Jesus, Constantine, Saint Augustine and San
Felipe de Jesus. Here also is a fine picture of the Mu-
rillo school : St. John the Baptist in the Desert.

Capiila de la Soledad. In the year 1750, when the
present Sagrario was in course of construction, there
was placed between it and the cathedral a Uttle chapel
that, according to tradition, first served as a baptistry.
A pious person having placed within it an image of San
Antonio, the chapel for a time was known by that name.
Later, a pious woman having placed here an image of
Nuestra Sefiora de la Soledad, it acquired its present
name.

San Pablo (X. 10). This parish church is not to be
confounded with the closely adjacent chapel of San
Pablo, now a part of the Hospital Juarez. Both, how-
ever, come from the same foundation. Primitively there
was here established, by Fray Pedro de Gante, an In-
dian parish chapel, adjunct to the church of San Jose in
San Francisco. This was administered by the Francis-
cans until the year 1569 when, the adjunct parish hav-
ing become an important one, it was erected into an in-
dependent parish and was given into the control of the
secular clergy. At this time, 1569, the first parish
church was built. In the year 1575 the Augustinians
petitioned the Archbishop, Sr. Don Pedro Moya de
Contreras, to give them this church, with its accruing
parish fees, that they might establish here a college ;
and, although their request was not granted, they act-
ually did take possession of the church (August 15, 1575)
and built the college as they had planned. (See Hospi-
tal Juarez.) In 1581 (probably) the parish church was
founded upon its present site, immediately east of the

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 175

Augustinian establishment. The existing church was
completed at the beginning of the present century.

San Sebastian (N. 8). Founded as a parish by
Fray Pedro de Gante about the year 1524, the Church
of San Sebastian was founded by Padre Juan Martinez,
with a hospital adjoining it — of which the Hipolitos
took charge. The parish was relinquished by the Fran-
ciscans in 1585 (see Nuestra Seiiora del Carmen) to the
Carmelites ; and these, in turn, relinquished it in 1607
to the Augustinians ; and finally, in 1636, it passed into
the control of the secular clergy.

Santa Maria la Redonda (H. 9). About the year
1524 was founded, writes the chronicler Fray Agustin de
Vetancurt, in a suburb of the city called Tlaquechiuhcan
(meaning w^here sleeping-mats are made) a chapel dedi-
cated to the Assumption of Our Lady. Hither went on
Sundays and holy days a monk from the church of San
Jose to say the mass ; and every year on the Feast of
the Assumption went out from this chapel a procession
of its Indian worshippers who thus celebrated the day.
One year it fell out that certain students who had gone
thither to see the procession made light of it ; which so
enraged the Indians that they mutinied against them.
Therefore the Lord Archbishop ordered, under pain of
excommunication, that neither students nor monks any
more should go to see that procession. In the cha^^el
was venerated an especially holy image, the making of
which was miraculous ; for a pious Indian having begun
to make it, and leaving it for a time, found upon his re-
turn that his handiwork had been miraculously carried
on. And by this image many miracles were wT.'Ought —
most notable of which was the quenching of a certain
fire, December 11, 1676, by which the first great church

176 MEXICAl^ GUIDE.

of San Agustin was consumed. (Doubtless the Augus-
tinians regretted the fact that the image arrived too late
at the scene of the conflagration to be of really practical
service.) The parish continued to be administered by
the Franciscans — the chronicler Vetancurt being at one
time guardian of the little monastery connected with it
— until June 26, 1753, when it passed into the control
of the secular clergy. In this church was preserved,
until its removal to the Museum, a fine early Mexican
stone carving : a coiled feathered serpent, the emblem of
the god Quetzal coatl. The stone, being inverted and
hollowed out, was used as a font for holy water.

Santa Vera Cruz (I. 4). The Conqueror, Don Fer-
nando Cortes, founded in this church a Brotherhood of
the True Cross, charged with the somewhat painful duty
of comforting condemned criminals previous to their ex-
ecution, and of giving burial to their bodies afterward.
The statutes of this Brotherhood were approved, March
30, 1527, by Fray Domingo de Betanzos, Vicar General
of the Province. By a bull of January 13, 1573, per-
mission was given that the Brotherhood should be
united with the Brotherhood of the Santisimo Cristo
de San Marcelo ; and by the same bull one hundred
days of indulgence were granted to the faithful who,
visiting the holy image (the crucifix) should see it un-
veiled. The image was concealed in a shrine behind
seven veils, whence comes the name by which it always
has been known : El Seiior de los siete velos — " the
Lord of the seven veils." In the " Almanaque Catolico
e Historico para el ano 1885," the image is thus referred
to: "January 2, Friday. Every Friday of the je^v
plenary indulgence can be obtained by visiting the
Santo Cristo venerated in the parochial church of the

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 177

Santa Vera Cruz under the title of the Sefior de los siete
velos, brought to Mexico by the Conquerors and greatly
venerated since ancient times because of its pious tradi-
tion." Although the church was founded immediately
after the Conquest, the parish was not erected until the
-year 1568. The existing church was built by the Brother-
^hood and was dedicated October 14, 1730. "Unfortunate-
ly (and to translate literally) it " suffered an interior re-
form " during the curacy of Padre Jose Maria Aguirre ;
and this, with similar sufferings in the year 1850, and in
the spring of 1885 have destroyed completely its charm
of quaint antiquity.

Santa Cruz Aeatlan (W. 11). This is one of the
primitive parish foundations of the city, having been
established as an adjunct to the Indian parish church of
San Jose in San Francisco. Beside it, in those early
times, was a little convent. In March, 1772, it passed
into the control of the secular clergy. The church con-
tains three historic pictures.

Santa Cruz y Soledad (P. 7). This church was
founded (probably about the year 1534) as an Indian
mission, and was in the charge of the Augustinians until
it became a parish church and passed into the control of
the secular clergy. The existing church was dedicated
October 21, 1731 ; and was renovated in 1791. It is a
large building, in the aisles of which are eight altars
decorated by early Mexican artists of prominence. As
the chui'ch is not well lighted the pictures cannot
be seen to advantage. In the church is celebrated
annually, June 4, the feast of Nuestra Senora del Refu-
gio, of which a famous image is here preserved. Con-
cerning this image Sefior Orozco y Berra writes : "The
Calle del Refugio, formerly known as the Calle de Ace-

178 MEXICAN GUIDE.

quia, was called by its present name because of a large
image of Nuestra Senora del Refugio that was there fas-
tened to a wall. This was taken down in 1861." The
image subsequently was placed in the church of San
Lorenzo, whence, in 1883, it was brought to the church
of Santa Cruz y Soledad, where an altar has been built
for it under the choir.

Santo Tomas la Palma (Z. 56). The church of La
Palma was founded (probably before the year 1550) as
an adjunct to that of Santa Cruz y Soledad, and also
was in the charge of the Augustiuians. Being built
upon the Plazuela de Santo Tomas, this name became
entangled with its own and the two never have been
separated. When the parish was secularized (probably
in 1772) the existing church building was erected — at
some little distance from its primitive site. The main
altar possesses merit. The roof is curious, as being
partly of wood and partly of stone vaulted.

San Cos me (F. 14), Parish of San Antonio de las
Huertas. The chapel of San Cosme y San Damian was
an adjunct parish church (to the church of San Jose in
San Francisco) from sometime in the year 1593 until
May 7, 1667. Being then transformed into a casa de
recoleccion (house of retreat for the strict observance of
the most severe rules of a monastic order) the adminis-
tration of the parish was transferred about three-quar-
ters of a mile northwestward to the chapel of San Lazaro.
Here the Viceroy, Don Antonio de Toledo, Marques de
Mancera, had founded a village with the name of the
Villa de Mancera, apportioning its lands among the In-
dians— by whom were cultivated many kitchen gardens
and orchards. Near to San Lazaro the Franciscans
built for a parish church the little church of San Anto-

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 179

'nio de Padua, wherein was housed a miracle-working
image of that Saint (" The image is miraculous, and
there is of record an authentic miracle performed by it

Ain the resuscitation of a child," writes the contemporary
chronicler, Vetancurt) that still is preserved in the ex-
isting church of San Cosme, where its titular function is
celebrated annually on the 13th of June. The church
of San Antonio being completed in the year 1670, the
administration of the parish was removed thither from
the chapel of San Lazaro. Adjoining the church was a
very little monastery, in which dwelt two monks of the
order of San Francisco who administered the parish
under the authority of the cura of San Jose. And be-
cause the church stood in the midst of orchards and
gardens it came presently to be known, and with it the
parish, as San Antonio de las huertas — which name sur-
vives even until this day : so the by no means vaulting
ambition of the Viceroy to perpetuate his name in that
of this httle town came to naught. In March, 1772, the
parish was rehnquished by the Franciscans into the
hands of the secular clergy — the first priest being Dr.
Cobos y Mugica — and finally, in November, 1862, to
provide for the fortification of the Garita de Tlaxpana
against the French, the church and the tiny monastery
and the village were swept away. "When this destruc-
tion was ordered, the administration of the parish was
removed once again to San Cosme ; and there it has
since remained. It was in the tower of this church of
San Antonio, probably, that Lieutenant Grant mounted
the howitzer that played so important a part in the
attack upon San Cosme.

The church of San Cosme, besides being upon a very
old foundation, actually is one of the oldest buildings

180 MEXICAIN" GUIDE.

and one of the most interesting in the citj. Fray Juan de
Zumarraga, first Archbishop of Mexico, established here
(probably before the year 1540 ; he died June 3, 1548)
a hospital for the care of wayfaring Indians ; and there-
fore dedicated the chapel attached to it to the physician
saints, Cosmo and Damian (" the holy Arabian doctors ").
This institution, however, soon collapsed for want of
funds for its support. In 1581 the deserted hospital
was given to the Franciscanos descalzos (the barefooted
order of Franciscans ; in Mexico known as Dieguinos,
because their Province was dedicated to San Diego de
Alcala), that they might establish here a hospice for the
rest and refreshment of missionaries on their way from
Spain to the Philippine Islands. In 1593, upon the com-
pletion of the church and monastery of San Diego (which
see) they abandoned the hospice ; when it passed to the
possession of the Franciscans proper — becoming then, as
above stated, an adjunct to the parish of San Jose, and
so continuing during the ensuing seventy-three years.
Fray Baltasar de Medina, the lovable and delightful
chronicler of the Franciscanos descalzos, writes that in
1593 the chapel and hospital were given to the Provincia
del Santo Evangelio (of the regular order of Franciscans)
for a casa de recoleccion ; which, however, was not estab-
lished for many years. But from alms received for that
purpose a small monastery and church were built im-
mediately, being completed in the year 1600. This, and
the previous foundations, were upon the north side of
the existing aqueduct (built in the years 1603-20).

The first erection upon the site occupied by the pres-
ent church was begun early in the seventeenth century
under the patronage of a pious gentleman, Don Agustin
Guerrero, who gave there a field, and at whose charges

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 181

building began. Bufc, unfortunately, in a little time this
pious gentleman died, and for many years the new mon-
astery remained incomplete. Tlie son of Don Agastiu
having relinquished his claim to be patron, though con-
tinuing the gift of ground, a new patron at last was
found in the person of Captain Don Domingo de Canta-
brana. This gentleman, being newly arrived in Mexico,
was riding one evening on the Tacuba road when he
was overtaken by a prodigious storm of rain. Knowing
of no other place of shelter, he sought admittance to the
little monastery of San Cosme, where he was received
most hospitably by the monks ; was entertained with the
best that their poverty afforded, and in the morning was
set gladly upon his way. In return for this gracious
charity he built for them, at a cost of 170,000, their long-
delayed monastery and church. The corner-stone of
the church, that now existing, was laid August 29, 1672,
and the building was dedicated, January 13, 1675. The
dedication was to Nuestra Seiiora de la Consolacion ;
but the older name of San Cosme always has been re-
tained. So great was the gentlemanliness (Jiidalguia) of
the Sen or de Cantabrana, declares the chronicler, that
in due le£>'al form he renounced for himself and his heirs

the title of patron that was his by right of his munifi-
cence. His w^ork, he said, was "not for any temjDoral
profit, but for the diffusion of divine religion and for the
exaltation of the glorious patriarch San Jose ; " therefore
he begged the Fathers to accept in his place the holy
patriarch San Jose as their patron. In commemoration
of this pious act the syndic of the monastery in the
year 1762, the Sr. Dr. Mtro. Don Agustin de Quintela,
caused to be painted a picture — now to be seen in the
church — recording it in allegory. In the upper part of

182 MEXICAN GUIDE.

the picture is represented San Jose, supported by a
group of angels, and below a group of raonks with whom
are three laymen. One of the laymen is Captain Don
Domingo de Cantabrana in the act of relinquishing his
title of patron to the patriarch ; another is the notary
in the act of drawing the deed by which the patronage
formally is surrendered to the Saint. Beneath the pic
ture is a long inscription setting forth Don Domingo's
meritorious action and telling by whom the memorial
was made. This picture is not only interesting as a
curious historic relic, but is very worthy of attention on
purely artistic grounds ; for it is the work of the great
Mexican artist, Don Jose de Alcibar. Just in front of
the picture is the tomb — in very bad taste, but charac-
teristic of the times — of the good Viceroy Don Juan de
Acuna, Marques de Casafuerte, who died March 17,
1734. In addition to the image of San Antonio, al-
ready mentioned, there is another miraculous image in
the church — that of Nuestra Seiiora de la Consolacion,
to whom the church is dedicated. This is enclosed in
the tabernacle of the main altar. The regard of the Vir-
gin is fixed upon the ground at her feet, and her right
arm is extended downward as though in the act of res-
cuing some person from peril — thus commemorating the
rescue by the image of a little girl from death by drown-
ing in a well. As the miracle is chronicled by Vetancurt,
together with a description of the image in its present
position, the age of the figure is established as greater
than two hundred years.

The monastery of San Cosme was maintained as a
casa de recoleccion until near the end of the year 1854,
when the two monks then remaining on the foundation
were removed (being received into the monastery of San

RELIGIOUS FOUTSTDATIONS. 183

Diego), and ifc was transformed into a military hospital.
This institution was opened with much ceremony Feb-
ruary 18, 1855 — the madriria (godmother) at its conse-
cration being the Sefiora Doiia Dolores Tosta de Santa
Ana, wife of General Santa Ana, then President — and
was abandoned in 18G2. In 1862 the church became,
provisionally, the administrative head of the parish of
San Antonio de los huertas, and so continues.

Santa Catarina Martir (L. 3). The primitive church
upon this very ancient foundation, having fallen into
decay, was demolished about the middle of the seven-
teenth century, and upon its site the present church
was built. The money required for its building was be-
queathed by the pious Doiia Ysabel de la Barrera, wife
of Simon de Haro — himself a notable benefactor in his
day to many churches and religious establishments of
the city. The church was dedicated January 22, 1662.
The main chapel, the Preciosa sangre de Nuestro Seiior
Jesucristo, was dedicated November 16, 1693. There
are some curious altars. Previous to the sequestration
of church property, this was one of the richest parishes
in the city. This church, with that of San Miguel, has
the right of sanctuary.

Santa Ana (E. 6). The primitive foundation where
the church of Santa Ana now stands was a chapel adjunct
to the parish of Santiago Tlaltelolco, administered by the
Franciscans. By the solicitation of this order, the pres-
ent church was built, being dedicated March 16, 1754.
No sooner was it completed, however, than it was claimed
as an adjunct parish church by the secular clergy of the
near-by church of Santa Catarina Martir. This claim
was allowed, and they took possession February- 19, 1755.
It w^as erected into an independent parish in 1770. In

184 MEXICAN GUIDE.

a room adjoining the sacristy is preserved a font in -wliicli,
it is affirmed, was baptized the Indian Juan Diego, to
whom the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared.

Regina Coeli (T. 20). Parish of the Salto del Agua.
This church and its adjoining convent (now the hospital
Concepcion Beistigui) were built at the charges of the
Concepcionistas in the year 1553. Both were rebuilt in
1656. The present large church, erected mainly at the
charges of Fray Jose Lanciego y Eguiluz, was dedicated
September 13, 1731. The interior, profusely rich in
colored and gilded wood-carving, is one of the quaintest
and most beautiful church interiors in all Mexico.

San Miguel (V. 2). The parish of San Miguel was
established in the ancient church of San Lacas Evangel-
ista (one of the primitive adjunct chapels to San Jose in
San Francisco) January 21, 1690, whence it was removed
to the present church October 17, 1692. The building
seems to have been incomplete at this time, as it was
thereafter much enlarged, and was dedicated to San Mi-
guel in the year 1714. The main chapel is dedicated to
Maria Santisima del pilar de Zaragoza, who is an adjunct
patron of the parish. In this chapel the butchers of the
city hold annually, on October 18th, a solemn service to
this their patron saint. This church, with that of Santa
Catarina Martir, has the right of sanctuary. The build-
ing was renovated in the year 1850. The doors have
quaint carvings in wood.

San Jose (T. 5.) The existing parish is not to be
confounded with the primitive parish of the same name,
although the existing parish is an offshoot from, and so
in some sort a lineal successor of the primitive one.

A little way southeastward of where the church of San
Francisco now stands, there was built by Fray Pedro

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 185

de Gante, about the year 1524, a church consecrated by
the name of San Jose de los Naturales. This, as has
been mentioned, was the primitive parish church of the
Indians, as the Sagrario was the primitive parish church
of the Spaniards. The several adjunct parish chajDels
for the Indians were adjunct to the church of San Jos6
in San Francisco. This church was demolished, in whole
or in part, in the year 1769, in order to make place for
the building of the cliurch of the Seiior de Burgos. The
only connection between the existing parish church of
San Jose and this primitive foundation is that they have
the same name ; and that, as stated above, the parish
probably was founded in one of the numerous chapels
for the Indians which Fray Pedro de Gante caused to be
built — in addition to the four principal ones (see intro-
duction to parish churches and also San Francisco) that
he founded in the four quarters of the city.

The existing church was begun by the exertions of Sr.
Lie. Don Diego Alvarez, who was parish priest at the
beginning of the present century. The interior formerly
was adorned by some very interesting frescoes, the work
of Sr. Alvarez. These were in chiar-oscuro, picked out
with gold, and represented, upon alternate panels, scenes
from the life of the patriarch San Jose and from the his-
tory of the conquest of Mexico. The unpardonable van-
dalism has been committed of painting over this most
curious work. By the earthquake of July 19, 1858, the

(church was so much injured as to require repau's that
almost amounted to reconstruction. At this time there
were brought to it some portions of the altars and of the
church furniture of the church of San Francisco, then
being dismantled. The repairs being completed, it was
once more dedicated, June 20, 1861. It contains the

186 MEXICAN GUIDE.

noticeable chapels of Nuestra Sauora de la Luz and tlie
Purisima.

The Religious Orders in Mexico. A brief refer-
ence to the history of the religious orders in Mexico is
indispensable to a good understanding of the history of
the city itseli As they severally came to the Spanish
colony, churches, monasteries, convents, hospitals, were
built, and in the City of Mexico their work survives
everywhere : visibly in the buildings which they erected
and in the street nomenclature, and morally in the im-
press that they have left upon the life of the nation.
Their suppression, on the other hand, brought in its
train the absolute destruction, or the deflection to secu-
lar purposes, of many of their foundations, and the ac-
quisition by the State of all that remained ; while the
opening of new streets through what had been church
property, and the names which these streets received —
as the Calles Independencia, Cinco de Mayo, and Lerdo
— mark, in a very striking manner, the end of the old
and the begiDning of the new order of things.

To the Franciscans in great part belongs the honor of
having fixed firmly in Mexico the power of Spain ; for
their zealous missionary work among the Indians, and
the hold that they had upon their Indian converts, most
powerfully strengthened the position that the Spaniards
conquered and in part sustained by military power. To
the Dominicans, in some small part, at least, is due the
collapse of the Spanish domination ; for the feeling
against the Inquisition unquestionably had much to do
with fixing many waverers on the side of Independence.
To the several orders of hospitallers was due the estab-
lishment of (for the times) admirably appointed and
zealously administered hospitals in every city of the col-

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 187

ony. To the Jesuits belong the honor of having- fos-
tered learning* in this new laud. Broadly speaking, the
influence of the religious orders upon the colony was
beneficial during its first century ; neutral during its
second ; harmful during its third. In this last epoch so
considerable a portion of the wealth of the colony had
come into possession of the Church that the locking up
of capital blocked the channels of trade. Leaving all
other questions out of consideration, the suppression of
the religious orders was an economic necessity in Mexico
for many years before there was found, in the person of
Juarez, a statesman bold enough and strong enough to
institute so radical a reform.

That the Keform was executed with a certain brutal
severity is less discreditable to Mexicans in particular
than to humanity at large. When evil social conditions,
long-fostered, at last are broken down, the radical ele-
ment in the body-politic that asserts the right never
fails to commit on its own account a very liberal amount
of wrong. Yet all unprejudiced travellers in Mexico can-
not but keenly deplore, because of the violence done to
art and learning, to the romantic and to the picturesque,
that in the course of the Reformation so much of value
to learning and art perished, and that so many buildings
deeply interesting because of their historic or romantic
associations, or in themselves picturesque, were diverted
utterly from their primitive purposes or utterly de-
stroyed.

In point of fact, many of the religious orders in Mex-
ico disappeared before the laws of the Reform were pro-
mulgated. The Jesuits were suppressed June 25, 1767 ;
?e-established in 181 G ; again suppressed in 1821 ; again
re-established in 1853 ; and finally expelled from the

188 MEXICAIT GUIDE.

country in 1856. The Antoninos were suppressed by a
bull of Pius VI. of August 24, 1787. By a decree of the
Spanish Cortes of October 1, 1820 (following the re-
erection of the Constitution of 1812), executed in Mexico
in 1821, the following named orders were suppressed :
Agustinos recoletos, Hipolitos, Juaninos, Betlemitas,
and Benedictinos. The Cosmistas (Franciscanos rec-
coletos) having dwindled to but a few members, were
absorbed into the Franciscanos in 1854.

All of the remaining orders were extinguished by the
law of July 12, 1859, given in Vera Cruz under the
Presidency of Juarez. Actually, however, this law did not
become operative in the City of Mexico until December
27, 1860, upon the entry into the capital of the Liberal
forces. Although the law provided only for the extinction
of the monasteries, the partial suppression of the convents
began almost immediately. At midnight of February
13, 1861, at a preconcerted signal (the tolling of the bell
of the church of Corpus Christi) the nuns were removed
from twelve convents to the ten convents remaining;' for
the time being undisturbed. The law of February 26,
1863, declared the suppression of the female religious
establishments (excepting that of the Sisters of Charity) ;
and required the several convents to be vacated within
eight days. In a few cases slight extensions of time
were granted, but the actual suppression of the orders
dates from March 6, 1863. Finally, the Laws of the
lieform being incorporated into the Federal Constitution
(December 14, 1874), the last remaining religious order,
that of the Sisters of Charity, was suppressed.

San Frars Cisco (K. 1). The history of this founda-
tion almost may be said to be the history of Mexico,
for contained in it, or linked with it, is almost every

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 189

event of importance in the colonial or national life.
From this centre radiated the commanding influence of
the Franciscan order — the strong power that kept what
was won by military force, and that by its own peaceful
methods greatly extended the territorial limits of New
Spain. Here masses were heard by Cortes, and here
for a time his bones were laid. Here, through three
centuries, the great festivals of the Church were taken
part in by the Spanish Viceroys. Here was sung the
first Te Deum in celebration of Mexican Independence,
the most conspicuous man in the rejoicing assemblage
being General Agustin Yturbide — by whom, virtually,
Mexican Independence was won ; and here, seventeen
years later, were held the magnificent funeral services
when Yturbide — his Imperial error forgiven and his
claim to the title of Liberator alone remembered — was
buried. Around no other building in Mexico cluster
such associations as are gathered here. And even now,
when the great monastic establishment has been swept
away, and the church itself has become a Protestant
cathedral, the very wreck of it all serves to mark, in the
most striking and dramatic wa}^, the latest and most radi-
cal phase of development of the nation's life.

The Franciscan order — founded by Saint Francis of
Assisi in the year 1208, approved by Innocent IH. in
1215, and confirmed by Honorius HI. in 1223 — was es-
tabhshed in New Spain wdthin three years after the Con-
quest. The twelve founders, usually styled the Twelve
Apostles of Mexico, were from the Franciscan Province
of San Gabriel in Sixain. Their leader was the Superior
of the Province, Fray Martin de Valencia, " the Father
of the Mexican Church" — identical with the zealous Fray
Martin de Boil, told of by the chronicler Medina, ''who

190 MEXICAN GUIDE.

with his own hands reduced no less than 170,000 Pagan
idols to dust ! " Of the missionaries were also two other
men afterward very prominent in Mexico : Fray Toribio
de Benevente, the eminent chronicler, better known by
the name of Motolinia (meaning poor, miserable) ; that,
being applied to him in derision by the Indians, he glad-
ly adopted in his humility as the name best befitting his
deserts ; and Fray Francisco Ximenez, author of the
first grammar of the Mexican tongue. And all of the
twelve were very godly, and earnest in the good work to
which they had devoted their lives. The little company
sailed from the port of San Lucar de Barrameda, Jan-
uary 25, 1524, and — after stopping at various towns in
the West Indies — came safely to land at San Juan de
Ulua on the 23d of May of the same year. From the
coast they walked to the capital ; and by the way, in
Texcoco — where he had been for a twelvemonth en-
gaged in missionary work — they were joined by Fray
Pedro de Gante,* who walked on with them to Mexico.

* Fraj Pedro de Gante (Ghent) was a native of Flanders, and
entered the Franciscan Order, it is believed, in the Monastery of
Ghent. He was one of the five missionaries to the Indians who
came to Mexico in 1523 ; and of all the missionaries who came
thither he was the most able and the most zealous. The holiness
and usefulness of his life, and his Flanders birth, especially en-
deared and commended him to the Emperor Charles V., and from
this patron he received very large sums of money and extensive
grants of land to aid him in carrying on his mission works. The
marked favor of the Emperor gave rise, in later times, to the asser-
tion that the monk was the Emperor's natural son — a fiction that
is effectively disposed of by these facts : Charles V. was born in
the year 1500. Fray Pedro de Gante came to Mexico, already a
professed monk, in the year 1523. Consequently, he must have
been born some years before the birth of his alleged father.

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 101

And all of these iliirteen came into the city on the 23d of
June, in the year 1521.

In 1531 the mission was erected into the Province of
the Santo Evangelio (confirmed by a bull issued by
Clement XL in the ensuing year), and from this province
have come out successively five other provinces of the
Order : San Jose de Yucatan, 1559 ; Santo Nombre de
Jesus de Guatemala, 1565 ; San Pedro y San Pablo de
Michoacan, 1565 ; Santiago de Jalisco, 1606 ; Nuestro
Padi'e San Francisco de Zacatecas, 1606.

For a little while after their arrival in Mexico the
Franciscans were domiciled in a shelter upon or near the
site of the present church of Santa Teresa la Antigua.
From this they removed to their permanent abiding
place — the lands where formerly had been the garden
and wild-beast house of the kings of Tenochtitlan.
Funds for the building of the first church were provided
by Cortes, and the material employed in its construction
was the hewn-stone from the steps of the great Teocalli.
The church soon was finished, as was also the chapel of
San Jose de los Naturales, the parish church for the
Indians that Fray Pedro de Gante organized immediately
upon his arrival ; and from this centre missionaries went
out everywhere over the land, and far away into the re-
gions of the North. Being gentle and good and thor-
oughly in earnest, these first missionaries made many
converts ; and by the hold that they thus acquired over
the Indians were able greatly to strengthen the hands
of the viceroyal government in its administration of
affairs.

As years went on and the Order increased in numbers
and in wealth — ingenious systems of trusts effectively
cu'cumventing the vow of poverty — the primitive mon-

192 MEXICAN" GUIDE.

astery was enlarged from time to time until it came to
be of a prodigious size ; new chapels were built about
the church ; the church itself was rebuilt upon a scale
of great magnificence, and more and more land in the
Yiciuity of the monastery was secured. This process of
accretion continued for nearly three full centuries, and
no diminution of the great estate was suffered for a
round three hundred and thirty years. About the year
1811 the property held by the Order in the vicinity of
the monastery, until then broken by lanes and alley-
ViSijB into three parcels, was united in a single plot by
an inclosing wall. The boundaries of this inclosure
were : to the south, the Calle de Zuleta ; to the west,
the Calle de San Juan de Letran ; to the east, the Calle s
Coliseo and Colegio de las Ninas, and to the north the
first Calle de San Francisco. Upon the southeast cor-
ner of the tract was a small reservation belonging to the
Colegio de las Ninas. Li the southern half of this estate
were the gardens — the present garden of San Francisco
— upon which opened the infirmary and the lodging-
rooms of the commissioners-general ; the cemetery ; the
great refector}'', in which was room for five hundred
brothers to sit together at meat ; the princij)al cloister
and a smaller cloister ; the sala de profundis ; the sac-
risty, and the ante-sacrist}'. In the northern half were
the several chapels and the main church, standing in the
great atrium. This general inclosure had two entrances :
the one to the north, now existing, on the first Calle de
San Francisco ; the other, the main entrance, to the
west, on the Calle de San Juan de Letran.

The main Church. The existing church, dedicated De-
cember 8, 1716, though bereft of its stately surroundings,
with its main entrance closed by a row of houses, with

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 193

its tower demolished, and with all its interior splendor
departed, still maintains its rank as one of the most noble
and impressive buildings in Mexico. Its plan is a single
great nave, with apse and transepts, lighted by a row of
windows between the cornice and the spring of the
vaulted roof, and by three domes — the main dome rising
to a height of 90 feet and supporting a lantern 24 feet
high. The nave is 56 feet wide and, with the apse, 230
feet long. In its present condition the church is bare
and cold. Architecturally, it requires lavish decoration —
gilding, color, great pictures — to relieve its vast expanses
of windowless walls. Before the time of the Reform, of
course, this requirement was fulfilled. Thirty years ago
its interior decoration was in keeping with its majestic
proportions and stately grace. For nearly a century and
a half great sums of money were expended in making it
more and more beautiful — the silver tabernacle of the
high altar alone cost $24,000 — and the result was a rich-
ness and splendor unsurpassed in Mexico. The main
entrance, now closed, was from the west, through a richly
ornamented fa9ade, surmounted on its southern side by a
small bell-tower. The side entrance, as at present exist-
ing, was through the chapel of Nuestra Seiiora de la Bal-
vanera (which chapel was built at the charges of certain
pious natives of Eioja). The doorway through which the
chapel is entered — and, through the chapel, the church,
is a very elegant specimen of the churrigueresque style :
especially commendable because of its freedom from the
overloading into which this style almost inevitably leads.
From the church access was had to the beautiful chapel
of the Pui'isima Concepcion (built in 1629 at the charges
of Don Cristobal Zuleta, from whom the name of the Calle
de Zuleta is derived), and of San Antonio, built ten years

194 MEXICAIT GUIDE.

later. Some traces of the walls of these chapels still may
be discerned on the north side of the church.

The complete group of churches, famous throughout
Mexico as the seven churches of San Francisco, consisted
of those which have been named and the following :
El Senor de Burgos, and the little chapel of Dolores,
otherwise known as the Segunda Estacion, both close to
the Calle de San Juan de Letran and facing each other
from opposite sides of the main entrance to the great
church ; the Tercer Orden and Nuestra Senora de Aran-
zazu, both upon the first Calle de San Francisco and fac-
ing each other from opposite sides of the entrance f i*om
that street ; and the famous chapel of San Jose de los
Naturales, southeast of the great church, and upon or
just east of the present Calle de Gante.

El Senor de Burgos. — Upon the site afterward occupied
by this church there stood in primitive times the parish
church of San Jose de los Espauoles — built for the use of
the Spaniards, as the other parish church of San Jose was
built for the use of the Indians. Both w^ere demolished
in the same year, 1769. The church of Nuestro Senor de
Burgos was immediately erected upon the vacated site,
and was dedicated February 6, 1780. Although not very
large — 98 x 40 feet — it was the most splendid of all the
outlying churches of the Franciscan establishment, being
especially noted for the paintings upon its walls, by the
Mexican artist Echave, illustrating the life of San Jose.

Tercer Orden. — This chapel, dedicated November 8,
1727, stood just west of the side entrance to the great
church — the only entrance now remaining. It has been
in part destroyed, and what is left of it has been ab-
sorbed into the walls of houses fronting on the first Calle
de San Francisco. A portion of its eastern wall still may

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 195

be seen, upon which may be deciphered an inscription
telling that for a period of forty years from July 10,
1831, this church was authorized to be joined with the
church of the Lateran in Rome. The Laws of the Reform
diminished the privilege by very nearly a decade, for the
destruction of the chapel took place in 1862. The Ter-
cer Orden (founded in Mexico October 20, 1615), a third,
and lay, order of Franciscans, was very popular and (in
a proper and serious way, of course) very fashionable. It
was the correct thing for people of high station to join
it ; but while this custom was fashionable it was anything
but a fashionable folly. The order was philanthropic in
its purposes, and in its time accomplished many good
works. The most notable of these was the founding of
the Hospital de Terceros — the great building, at the cor-
ner of the Calles Santa Isabel and San Andres, now occu-
pied by the Escuela de Comercio, the Sociedad Geogra-
fia y Estadistica, and a primary school. This hospital
was opened in June, 1756, and for a hundred years fol-
lowing was an excellent and well managed charity.

Nuestra Senora de Aranzaz'd. — Excepting the Balvan-
era (now a part of the Protestant cathedral) this is the
only surviving chapel of the San Francisco group. For
upwards of twenty years it has been closed and dis-
mantled, but it now is in course of rehabilitation and is
to be reopened as the church of San Felipe de Jesus.
The corner-stone of this building was laid March 25,
1683, and it was dedicated December 18, 1688. Al-
though shorn of its interior splendors the church still
retains its beautiful, and curious, western front — facing
upon the church-yard of San Francisco. This is a very

(rich work ornamented with figures in relief. The prin-
cipal group represents a shepherd, surrounded by his

196 MEXICAK GUIDE.

flock, seated at the foot of a tree in the branches of
which the Virgin is seen in a vision. On the frieze that
follows the architrave of the doorway is the inscrip-
tion : Sacro Sancta Lateranensis eccleda. Below the
alto-relievo of the tree and Virgin and shepherd is in-
scribed in Spanish : " Chapel of the Miraculous Image
of Our Lady of Axanzazii, and burial place of the sons
and natives of the three provinces of Biscay and the
Kingdom of Navarre ; of their wives, sons, and descend-
ants, at whose \sic\ expense it was built and dedicated
in the year 1688." Near the top of the fa9ade is the in-
scription : Tu honorificentia populi nostri.

San Jose de los Naturales. — This chapel, occupying a
site a short distance southeastward of the great church —
either upon the line of the Calle de Gante or just east of
it — was built by Fray Pedro de Gante about the year
1524. As has been mentioned it was the first parish
church of the Indians, as the Sagrario (which see) was
the first parish church of the Spaniards. The many
parish churches for the Indians thereafter established
by Fray Pedro de Gante were adjunct to this church of
San Jose in San Francisco. The building itself was a
great arcade, or shed, its vaulted roof upheld by stone
pillars, and stone pillars taking the place of walls ; being
thus constructed that not only might a great number of
Indians be assembled under its roof, but that several
thousands more clustered around it might see and take
part in its services. Cathedral privileges were conceded
to this church by Charles V. and Philip II. ; and in it the
first Mexican Council was held. It was demolished in
1769. Upon its site was erected the church of Los Servi-
tas, dedicated November 12, 1791. This last was de-
molished when the Calle de Gante was opened, in 1862.

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 197

The first assault upon the integrity of the Franciscan
establishment was struck by President Comonfort in
1856. Positive information reached him upon the 14th
of September of that year that a conspiracy, having its
origin in this monaster}^, had been formed for the over-
throw of the existing government and the establishment
of a government in harmony with the views of the ultra
clerical party. The revolution was to begin on the 16th
of September — the great national holiday commemorat-
ing the declaration of Independence. Comonfort acted
with his customary energy. On the morning of the 15th
the monastery was taken possession of by Federal troops,
and the entire community of monks placed under ar-
rest ; on the 16th a decree was promulgated ordering
the opening of a new street, to be called Independencia,
directly across the middle of the monastery inclosure
from east to west ; and on the 18th another decree was
promulgated in which the treasonable acts of the mem-
bers of the Order were recited and, in punishment of
this treason, the monastery was declared suppressed and
its property forfeited to the State. Satisfied, however,
with having proved the supremacy of the civil to the re-
ligious power, Comonfort annulled the decree of sup -
pression by a decree of February 19, 1857, that per-
mitted the re-establishment of the monastery. But the
decree did not restore the commanding moral standing
of the Order lost through its temporary suppression ;
any more than it restored the real estate sacrificed to
make way for the new street that in the interval had
been opened. It was this bold act of Comonfort's that
made possible the bolder act by which Juarez, four years
later, extinguished all the religious orders at a blow —
the general catastrophe in which the great Franciscan

198 MEXICAN GUIDE.

establishment found its end. On the 27th of December
1860, the army of Juarez entered the city, and imme-
diately made operative and effective the decree of July
12, 1859. The monastery of San Francisco was closed
at once ; early in 1861 the jewels and pictures were re-
moved from the church — the latter going to the Academy
of San Carlos ; the altars were destroyed ; the bells were
taken from the tower, and, a little later, the construction
was begun of the houses upon San Juan de Letran by
which the fagade was hidden and the main entrance
closed. In the following AjDril a street was cut through
the property from north to south, crossing or passing
very near to the site of the first chapel of the Indians : and
in the name given to this street, Gante, is preserved a
memorial of the good work here wrought by the purest
and noblest Franciscan ever known in New Spain.

In 1869 the great church, together with the chapel of
the Balvanera, passed by purchase to the Church of
Jesus in Mexico (see Protestantism). Much of the ancient
property of the monastery, while diverted to new pur-
poses, still may be identified. The Methodist Episcopal
Church of the Trinity (K. 68) has been ingeniously
constructed by roofing over what was the large inner
patio. Adjoining this building on the north, one of
the old chapels, now Christ Church, is used for the ser-
vices of the Church of England. On the streets of In-
dependencia and San Juan de Letran, portions of the
monastery buildings have been incorporated into dwell-
ing-houses. The new hotel, south and west of the Jar-
din de San Francisco, occupies the former dwelling-place
of the commissioners-general of ihe order, the old in-
firmary, and the chapel of San Antonio. The stable east
of the garden was the refectory.

KELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 199

Santiago TIalteloIco (D. 42). 'By a ro3'al order of
Charles Y.; given at Barcelona May 1, 1543, the present
*' domed church " was erected. Nineteen years earlier,
the Franciscans had estabhshed here a chapel — one of
the numerous foundations of Fray Pedro de Gante —
together with a school. This foundation was materially
enlarged b}' the patronage of the first Viceroy, Don An-
tonio de Mendoza, who established here the celebrated
College of Santa Cruz for the Indians, with a liberal en-
dowment of landed estate. The college was opened in
1537 with an attendance of more than one hundred In-
dian pupils, who were taught (possibly somewhat more
to their amazement than to their edification) Latin, logic,
and philosophy. The college justified its existence, how-
ever, for among its Indian graduates w^ere several nota-
ble men who have left their impress upon Mexican lit-
erature. But as a race it is probable that the Indians
gave no very adequate return for their training in Latin,
logic, and philosophy, for the college declined, and
finally, about the year 1578, expired. Twice it was re-
vived— once as the College of San Buenaventura and San
Juan Capistrano, in the year 1667, to expire early in the
ensuing century ; and again under its original title of
Santa Cruz, in 1728, to expire finally in 1811. Since
this latter date the convent and college buildings have
been used for a variety of secular purposes. There is
now established here a military prison. Upon the
secularization of the Church several pictures and some
curious ancient images, including a life-size equestrian
figure of Santiago, were removed to the church of Santa
Maria de los Angeles, and the font in which Juan Diego
was baptized was placed in the baptistry of Santa Ana.
(See Aduana.)

200 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Santo Domingo (L. 15). The Dominican Order,
founded in Tolosa, Spain, by Santo Domingo de Guz-
man, was approved by Pope Honorius m. in the year
1223. The Mexican missionary monks of this order
came from the Province of Santa Cruz de la Isla Es-
panola, in Spain, and arrived in Mexico June 23, 1526.
Under the mutual rule of the orders of Dominicans and
Franciscans, they were sheltered in the monastery of
San Francisco until their own temporary monastery was
completed for their reception, in October of the same year.
This first building was on the site of the present College
of Medicine.- From it they removed in 1530 to the mon-
astery (now almost wholly demolished) that was built
on land adjoining the present church on the west. By
the buUs of Clement VH. of July 2, 1532, and March 8,
1533, the Dominicans of Mexico were erected into an
independent province under the name of the Provincia
de Santiago de Mexico, Orden de Predicadores. The
first church was completed in 1575. This, and the ad-
joining monastery, were destroyed by inundation in
1716. The present church was dedicated in August,
1736. In order to open the street on the western side
of the church, in April, 1861 (after the secularization of
the property by the Laws of the Reform) not only was
destroyed the greater portion of the monastery, but also
the fine chapel of the Tercer Orden. What remained of
the monastery was sold to private individuals. The
chapel of the Rosary (capilla del rosario), the most beau-
tiful chapel annexed to the church, was entirely destroyed
when the street through the monastery was opened. The
church is one of the largest in the city, and, by reason of
its noble proportions, one of the most impressive. It
contains some very good pictures — notably the Crucifix-

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 201

ion and San Yldefonso, in the sacristy ; a number of
richly carved altars, with others, of later date, less satis-
factory in their decoration.

Gapilla de la Esperacion. This little chapel, on the
west side of the Plazuela de Santo Domingo, is a de-
pendency of the church. Its interior is not especially
interesting.

Porta Coeli (M. 41). This Dominican foundation, of
August 18, 1603, was at first a college only. As such it
was approved by the General Chapter of the order at
Valladolid, in Spain, in 1605. The college was sup-
pressed in 1860, but the curious little church still re-
mains. On its front is the quaint Biblical inscription :
Terribiles est locus iste Domus Dei, et Porta Coeli.

The inquisition (L. 98). As early as 1527 the influ-
ence of the Spanish Inquisition was perceptible in New
Spain in the promulgation of a royal order in that year
by which all Jews and Moors were banished from the
Province. About the year 1529 a council was held in
the City of Mexico composed of the most notable men,
religious, military, and civil, then in the Province — in-
cluding Bishop Fuenleal, who was President of the Au-
dencia, together with all the members of that body ; the
Bishop of Mexico (Zumarraga) ; the heads of the Domini-
can and Franciscan orders ; the municipal authorities
and two prominent citizens. As the result of its delibera-
tions, this council solemnly declared : "It is most neces-
sary that the Holy Office of the Inquisition shall be ex-
tended to this land, because of the commerce with stran-
gers here carried on, and because of the many corsairs
abounding upon our coasts, which strangers may bring
their evil customs among both natives and Castillians,
who by the grace of God should be kept free from

202 MEXICAN GUIDE.

heresy." Following this declaration several function-
aries charged with inquisitorial powers visited the Prov-
ince during the ensuing forty years, suitably discharging
the duties of their office by keeping heresy and crimes
acfainst the canon law well trodden under foot. The
full fruit of the declaration of the council ripened in
1570, when, under date of August 16, a royal order issued
appointing Don Pedro Moya de Contreras (afterward
Archbishop, and some time Viceroy of the Province)
Inquisitor General of New Spain, Guatemala, and the
Philippine Islands, with headquarters in the City of
Mexico. The chronicler Vetancurt writes with pious
joy : " The tribunal of the Inquisition, the strong fort
and mount of Zion, was founded in the City of Mexico
in the year 1571 ; " and later he adds : " They have cele-
brated general and particular autos de lafe with great
concourse of dignitaries, and in all cases the Catholic
faith and its truth have remained victorious." The fact
should be noted that the royal order under which the
Inquisition was established in Mexico expressly ex-
empted the Indians from its jurisdiction ; a politic ar-
rangement that gave it from the outset a strong popular
support. For the accommodation of the Holy Office the
small monastery at first occupied by the Dominicans
was placed at the disposition of the Inquisitor General.
This presently was rebuilt, to make it more in keeping
with the dignity and the needs of the business carried on
in it, but no record of the structure then erected remains.
The existing building, now the property of the Escuela
de Medicina, was begun December 5, 1732, and was
completed in December, 1736. The hrasero (brazier), or
quemadero (burning-place), whereon the decrees of the
Holy Office were executed, was a short distance east-

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 203

ward of the church of San Diego, upon land since in-
ckided in the Alameda.* It was a square platform, with
wall and terrace arranged for the erection of stakes to
which the condemned, living or dead, were fastened to
be burned. Being raised in a large open space, the
si3ectacle could be witnessed by the entire population of
the city. When the ceremony was ended, the ashes of
the burned were thrown into the marsh that then w^as in
the rear of the church of San Diego. Fray Vetancurt,
describing the pleasing outlook from the door of San
Diego, writes : " The view is beautified by^the Plaza of
San Hij)61ito and by the burning place of the Holy
Office." As in Spain, so also in Mexico, the Dominican
order and the Inquisition were closely associated,
though nominally they were independent organizations. "j*
The first auto def'3 % in New Spain was celebrated in

* There was another brasero in the plazuela of San Lazaro that
served for the burning of criminals whose crimes did not come
within the jurisdiction of the Holy Office. The principal crimes
of which the Holy Office took cognizance were : heresy, sorcery,
witchcraft, polygamy, seduction, unnatural crime, imposture and
personation. The extreme penalty, death by burning, was visited
only upon criminals of the first order, as heretics or sorcerers.
In the majority of cases the criminal was strangled before being
burned.

f "St. Dominick is said to have first proposed the erection of
such a tribunal to Innocent III., and to have been appointed by
him the first inquisitor. . . The majority of inquisitors em-
ployed have always been Dominicans, and the commissary of the
Holy Office at Eome belongs, ex officio, to this order."' — Catholic
Dictionary, article "Inquisition."

I The auto defe^ or act of the [profession of the] faith, was the
public ceremony that followed the secret trial of criminals brought
before the Inquisition. The ceremony began by the avowal by
the members of the tribunal, and by all assembled with them, of

204 MEXICAN GUIDE.

the year 1574 : as its result, as is mentioned with much
satisfaction by the chronicler Fray Baltasar de Medina,
there perished " twenty-one pestilent Lutherans." From
this time onward, until the Inquisition was suppressed,
these edifying ceremonies were of very frequent occur-
rence, sometimes taking place annually (as in 1646-47-
48-49) for several years in succession. Frequent though
they certainly were, and large though the number of
those who perished in them undoubtedly was, the num-
ber of those actually burned to death was comparatively
small. In the majority of cases, even when the body of
the offender was burned, grace was shown in first grant-
ing death by strangulation. Thus, in the memorable
auto de fe, of April 10, 1649, when (April 11th) fifteen
persons perished, only one — Thomas Trevino, of Sobre-
monte in Castile, who had " cursed the Holy Office and
the Pope " — was burned alive. The remaining fourteen
were burned after strangulation. "When the Liberal
constitution of 1812 was adopted in Spain the end of
the Inquisition began. One of the first reforms intro-
duced by the Cortes was the decree of February 22, 1813,
by which the Holy Office was suppressed throughout
Spain and the Spanish dependencies. This decree was
promulgated in Mexico on the 8th of the ensuing June ;

their belief in Christianity and the doctrines of the Chnrch. This
act of faith, or profession of faith, being ended, the tribunal an-
nounced the crime for which each criminal had been tried, and
the measure of guilt adjudged to attach to him ; after which an-
nouncement, with a perfunctory recommendation to mercy, it
relinquished him to the secular arm {i.e. to the civil authorities)
for punishment. Hence, the auto de fe should not be confound-
ed, as it usually is, with the burning or other punishment that
followed it, and that, in theory, was the work of the secular
power alone.

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 205

and by proclamation of the Viceroy the property of the
Inquisition was then declared forfeited to the royal treas-
ury. Another Viceroyal proclamation ordered to be
removed from the cathedral the tablets on which, ac-
cording to usage, were inscribed the names of those
whom the Holy Office had declared criminals. But with
the overthrow of the Liberal constitution in Spain, and
the return to the throne of Ferdinand VIE., the decree
of suppression w^as rescinded and the Holy Office once
more possessed its property and continued its work.
The tribunal of the Inquisition was established again in
Mexico January 21, 1814. This re-erection was for only
a little time. Following the revival in Spain (March,
1820) of the constitution of 1812, the decree issued by
which the Inquisition was suppressed forever. The de-
cree became effective in Mexico May 31, 1820. There is
a certain poetic fitness to be found in the fact that the
last years of the Inquisition in Mexico were spent in
combating strenuously the spread of Liberalism ; that
the last notable auto defe (November 26, 1815) was that
at which the accused was the patriot Morelos. The find-
ing against him was a foregone conclusion. "The Pres-
bitero Jose Maria Morelos," declared the inquisitors,
"is an unconfessed heretic {hereje formal negativo), an
abettor of heretics and a disturber of the ecclesiastical
hierarchy ; a profaner of the holy sacraments ; a traitor to
God, to the King, and to the Pope." For which sins he
was " condemned to do penance in a penitent's dress "
(after the usual form), and was surrendered to the ten-
der mercies of the secular arm. He was shot, Decem-
ber 22, 1815. But it w^as the Inquisition that died.

San Agustin (V. 102). Founded in Tagaste, in Nu-
midia, by Saint Augustine in the fifth century, the order

206 MEXICAN" GUIDE.

of Augustinian friars was made an establishment of
the Church and united in a single body by Pope
Alexander VI. in the year 1256. The first Augustin-
ians, seven in number, entered the City of Mexico
June 7, 1533, and were housed by the Dominicans until
their own temporary house was completed. They were
ceded a tract of land, then called Zoquiapan, on the site
now occupied by the Biblioteca Nacional, and of this they
took possession in the following month of August. Here
they built their first church and monastery, at a cost of
$162,000 ; which money was given to them from the pub-
lic funds by order of the Emperor Charles V. The cor-
ner-stone of the church was laid by the Viceroy, Don An-
tonio de Mendoza, August 28, 1541. This first church
was destroyed by fire December 11, 1676. The first stone
of the new building was laid on the 22d of the ensuing
May, and the new church was dedicated December 14,
1692. Adjoining the west side of the church is the older
chapel of the Tercer Orden. In the church was a choir
of exceeding magnificence, the cost of which alone was
$240,000. The convent was suppressed by the general
law of July 12, 1859, and in 1861 the church was dis-
mantled, the beautiful choir being sold out of the
country for $3,000. There is now established in this ex-
church the Biblioteca Nacional (which see).

San Hipdiito (I. 114). Historically and sentimentally
this is one of the most interesting churches in the city.
In front of the spot where it now stands there existed in
the year 1520 the second line of defenses on the causeway
(now the street occupied by the horse railway to Tacuba)
that connected the Aztec city with the main-land west-
ward. At this point was the greatest slaughter of the
Spaniards during the retreat of the memorable Noche

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 207

Tiiste (July 1, 1520). After the final conquest of the
city, one of the survivors of that dismal night, Juan Gar-
rido, having freshly in mind its bloody horrors, built of
adobe at this place a little commemorative chapel. For
a short time the chapel was known as " the chapel of
Juan Garrido " ; but presently it came to be styled " the
chapel of the martyrs " ; receiving this grander name, as
Senor Orozco y Berra shrewdly observes, " perhaps with
the object of making the Conquerors appear in the guise
of defenders of the faith." The recouquest of the city
was completed on the day of San Hipolito, August 13
(1521), and this coincidence led to the dedication to San
Hipolito of the commemorative chapel — the name that
the»church, San Hipolito of the Martyrs, still retains.
The present church, built mainly at the charges of the
Municipality, was a very long while in course of construc-
tion. It was begun in 1599, but was not dedicated,
finally, until 1739. Later it was renovated, its present ap-
pearance dating from the year 1777. Upon the exterior
angle of the wall surrounding its atrium is a commemor-
ative monument, consisting of alto-relievos in chiluca
stone, representing in its central part an eagle carrying
in his talons an Indian ; at its sides are arms, musical in-
struments, trophies and devices of the ancient Mexicans,
and in the upper part is a large medallion of ellij^tical
form in which is carved this inscription : *' So great was
the slaughter of Spaniards by the Aztecs in this place on
the night of July 1, 1520, named for this reason the
Dismal Night, that after having in the following year
re-entered the city triumphantly the conquerors resolved
to build here a chapel to be called the Chapel of the Mar-
tyrs ; and which should be dedicated to San Hipolito be-
cause the capture of the city occurred upon that Saint's

208 MEXICAN" GUIDE.

day." Until the year 1812 there was celebrated annu-
ally, on the 13th of August, at this church a solemn
ceremony, both religious and civil, known as the Pro-
cession of the Banner {paseo del pendon), in which the
Viceroy and the great officers of State and the nobilit^^
together with the Archbishop and dignitaries of the
Church, took part. Its principal feature was the carry-
ing in state of the crimson banner (still preserved in the
National Museum) that was borne by the conquerors.
(See Hospital de San Hipolito. )

Espfrltu Santo. This church, an offshoot from San
Hipolito, has been extinct since the year 1862. All that
remains visible of it is its eastern wall, a part of which
may be seen above the row of little shops on the west
side of the Calle de Espiritu Santo. From the suppres-
sion of the Hipolitan order (see Hospital de San Hipolito)
in 1821, the church and its adjoining convent was vari-
ously used, as a school, and as a printing-house, until
1853, when it was given to the Congregation of St. Vin-
cent de Paul — by which the property was occupied until
the order was suppressed. May 28, 1861.

Nuestra Senora de Loreto (N. 38). The first repre-
sentatives in Mexico of the Company of Jesus (founded by
Saint Ignatius Loyola in 1534) sailed from Cadiz June 13,
1572, and landed at Vera Cruz on the 9th of the ensuing-
September. They were housed temporarily in the hos-
pital of Jesus Nazareno, and soon took possession of lands
given them by Alonzo de Villaseca, where they erected,
in 1576, the church and college of San Pedro y San
Pablo (L. 70). They were opposed by the Dominicans,
and the college that they established brought them into
conflict with the University ; but in time these differences
were adjusted. The order was suppressed, by the de-

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 209

cree of the Spanish Cortes of June 25, 1767 ; was re-es-
tabhshed by the royal order of September 10, 1815 ;
and was suppressed again by the order of Ferdinand VII.,
confirmed by the Cortes, of September 6, 1820 — the order
being promulgated in Mexico January 22, 1821. Under
the Presidency of Santa Ana, by the decree of September
19, 1853, the order once more was established in Mexico,
only to be suppressed again, and finally, during the
Presidency of Comonfort, by the decree of June 7, 1856.
The church and college of San Pedro y San Pablo, after
undergoing various vicissitudes — being in turn a hall of
assembly for Congress, a theatre, a church once more, a
Ubrary, a military hospital, a storehouse for forage in the
time of the French occupation — finally became extinct ;
thus leaving the Loreto as the oldest remaining of the
Jesuit foundations.

The pious Cacique of Tacuba, Don Antonio Cortes,
built for the Jesuit Fathers, in 1573, a little church of canes
dedicated to Saint Gregorio. (See Escuela Correcional de
Artes y Oficios.) A more stable, though small, church
succeeded this primitive structure. About the year 1675
the Father Juan B. Zappa came to Mexico, bringing with
him the image of Nuestra Seiiora de Loreto together with
the plans and drawings of the Santa Casa. This house
of the Virgin he desired to erect in Mexico, but his in-
tention did not become effective. A chapel was built
for the accommodation of the image upon the site oc-
cupied by the baptistry of the church of San Gregorio.
The worship of the image growing apace, new and larger
chapels were built, successively, in the years 1686 and
1738. Upon the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767, the
image was taken temporarily to the church of the Incar-
nacion ; and then for its shelter the present fine church of

210 MEXICAN GUIDE.

the Loreto was erected. This was begun in the year 1809,
and was dedicated August 29, 1816. It was built at the
charges of Seiior Don Antonio de Bassoco, and his wife
the Marquesa de Castaniza, at a cost of $517,000, from the
plans of the architects Manuel Tolsa and Agustin Paz.
An architectural peculiarity to be observed in the build-
ing is that for the minor branches of the Latin cross are
substituted four rotundas, above the circular walls of
which, and above the main arches of the nave, rises a
superb dome — the grandest both in size and treatment
now to be found in the capital. Within the brilliant in-
terior are some notable paintings, probably by the
eighteenth century artist Joaquin Esquivel, illustrating
the life of Loyola ; and a fine San Gregorio beneath the
choir. The structural error was made of using in the
eastern wall a solid, and in the western a porous stone,
with the result that the eastern wall has settled to such
an extent that the church is very perceptibly out of the
perpendicular. This dangerous sinking, together with
the inundation of the building, that still further threat-
ened its integrity, caused the church to be closed from
the year 1832 till the year 1850 — the image meantime
being housed in the church of San Pedro y San Pablo.
Previous to its reopening examination of the building by
competent engineers led to the conclusion that no fur-
ther settling of the walls was likely to occur — a conclu-
sion justified by the fact that no change in its condition
has since taken place. In the sacristy, with other inter-
esting pictures, is a portrait of the founder of the church.
Father Zappa.

Nuestra SePiora de la WIerced. The Order of
Our Lady of Mercy {Nuestra Seiior a de la Merced) was
founded, in August, 1218, by San Pedro Nolasco, some-

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 211

time the tutor of the young King James of Aragon, better
known as Don Jayme el Conquistador. The principal
motive of the order was the rescue of Christians held
captive by the Moors. Later it became a j)urely religious
institution, and as such only (with the amusing excep-
tion noted below) was known in Mexico. Its chroniclers
affirm, and such is the fact, that it was the first of the
religious orders represented in Mexico, inasmuch as one
of its members. Fray Bartolome de Olmedo, was in the
company of Cortes. But it also is a fact that the order
was not regularly founded in Mexico until the year
1574, and its first convent was not completed until the
year 1593. Both church and convent were very small.
By sturdy begging the brothers presently acquired a
capital of $18,000, which was invested in the purchase
of a certain landed estate, the property of Guillermo Bor-
ondate, erroneously (see p. 135) believed to have been
pre\dously occupied by the arsenal in which the famous
" brigantines " of the siege were housed. Here in 1601
they founded a new church and convent ; and very con-
siderably extended their lands by the purchase of adja-
cent property, and by taking forcible possession of a
small street by which their estate was divided. In order
to obtain the right to close and take possession of this
street, they asked title to it from the Viceroy, Don Gas-
par de Zuniga — who very promptly refused theu' request.
Paying no attention to this refusal, they worked so hard
through a whole night that in the morning the street
was closed at its two ends by stout waUs ; at sight of
which the citizens living thereabouts, angered by this
invasion of their rights, set themselves in array to tear
the walls down. But the monks, not ha\dng lost their
military instinct, so valiantly defended their ill-gotten

212 MEXICAN GUIDE.

property that their besiegers were repulsed. Nor was
the ajDpeal of the citizens to the Viceroy more successful.
Don Gaspar paid no attention to their complaint, and
the street remained from that time onward closed.
Later, a magnificent church costing $150,000 was built
here, the first stone of which was laid March 20, 1634,
and which was dedicated August 30, 1654. Upon the
suppression of the order, in 1860, the church was par-
tially destroyed, together with the convent ; new streets
were laid out through the property and the market of
the Merced (Mercado de Merced) was here established.
Upon the destruction of this church the church of Belen
de los Padres remained the oldest surviving foundation
of the order.

Belen de los Padres (S. 43). In the years imme-
diately succeeding the Conquest there lived, near by
where the church of Belen de los Padres now stands, a
pious Indian woman named Clara Maria, the owner of a
small landed estate. In their walks in the fields the
Brothers of Mercy passed often her door, and she was so
well pleased with them and with their holy work that
she offered to present them with land for a monastery,
and to maintain the monastery, should they build one
near a httle chapel that she herself already had raised.
Accordingly such a little monastery was built beside the
chapel, and the good Clara Maria punctually fulfilled her
promise during the space of eleven j^ears : providing the
maintenance of the monastery and herself daily cleans-
ing and decorating the chapel. At the end of this time
she married a good-for-nothing ("bad-head," mala cabeza,
to quote exactly the words of the ancient chronicle)
who speedily spent all her substance, and left both her
and the miniature religious establishment utterly desti-

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 213

tute. lu her poverty, Clara Maria was cared for kindly
by the good brothers, for whom, most opportunely, there
was raised up another Indian patron, Juan Marcos,
who gave them the land on which the present church
stands, and who dedicated himself and his family to
their service. A certain Dona Ysabel de Picazo supple-
mented this gift by giving her considerable fortune for
the building of the new church — which was dedicated,
under the name of Nuestra Seiiora de Belen, August 3,
1678. The present church, built by the munificence of
Don Domingo del Campo y Murga, was dedicated De-
cember 14, 1735. Adjoining the church and convent
was built (being opened in April, 1687) the college of
San Pedro Pascual. In the church and sacristy there
are several anonymous pictures of much merit.

San Diego (I. 16). Of the third company of discalced
Franciscans (styled Dieguinos in Mexico) that passed
westward to the Philippine Islands, nine remained in
Mexico to found the order there. On the 27th of July,
1591, they began to build the church and monastery
of San Diego in the plaza then called the Tianquis
(market-place) de San Hipolito, the charges of the
work being borne by a pious gentleman, Don Mateo
Mauleon, and his wife. Work w^as pushed so vigorously,
that in 1593 they removed from their temporary quar-
ters in the hospice at San Cosme (which see) to their
own monastery. The church was built less rapidly, be-
ing finally dedicated in September, 1621. It survived
for nearly two hundred years, the present church having
been built early'in the present century. By the Laws
of the Beform the monks were expelled and the mon-
astery was changed into dwelling houses. The church,
being property vested in private hands, was not dis-

214 MEXICAN GUIDE.

turbed. Services continue to be held in it. Sa-n Diego,
at the west end of the Alameda, is not a large church
but it is richly decorated. Attention should be paid es-
pecially to the chapel of Los Dolores, the most harmo-
niously decorated of any chapel in the capital. Fifteen
large pictures by Vallejo completely cover the walls, tbe
more notable being "The Last Supper," "The Prayer
in the Garden," and " The Exposition of Christ." In the
four angles beneath the dome are good statues of the
four Evangelists, and on each side of the main altar are
allegorical pictures, dedicated, respectively, to the Vir-
gin of Guadalupe and San Jose, which are deserving of
attention. The main church contains a handsome tab-
ernacle, completed through the exertions of the illus-
trious Fray Carnago. In the sacristy are some credita-
ble pictures representing scenes in the life of the Virgin.
Nuestra Senora del Carmen (L. 17). Tbe first
members of the Carmelite order established in Mexico
came in the fleet that accompanied the Viceroy Villa
Manrique, and entered the city October 18, 1585. They
were first established in some houses adjacent to the
church of San Sebastian, of which they took charge —
their entry into these houses and their administration
of the affairs of the parish being in accordance with per-
mission given by the Viceroy : but most vigorously,
though ineffectually, opposed by the Franciscans, by
whom the church had been built and to whom the houses
belonged. Twenty years later the church and monas-
tery were established in their present situation, the
church of San Sebastian being turned over to the Au-
gustinians. After several partial renewals the building
at last was pulled down, early in the present century,
in order to erect a new and magnificent church. Bat

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 215

this project never got beyond the foundations for the
main building, and the completion of the church now
existing — a relatively small building, that was included
in the plan as a chapel. In 1866 the monastery was
turned into dwelling-houses, and in May of that year the
treasures of the church were taken possession of by the
government and its tower was destroyed. Later, it was
reopened and services continue to be held in it.

Nuestra Senora de Monserrate (V. 48). About
the year 1580 there lived in Mexico two devotees of the
Virgin of Monserrate, who caused to be brought for
them from Monserrate, in Catalonia, a replica of the
famous image there preserved. It was their purpose to
build for the housing of the holy image a church, and
with the church also a hospital. A brotherhood was
organized, and a small hospital was built on the site of
the present Molino de Belen — which did good service
during the pestilence (known as the cocoliztli) among the
Indians. Later it was decided to build a monastery and
church in the city, but dissensions in the brotherhood
led to difficulties with the archbishop and suits in the
civil courts ; so that, finally, the brotherhood was dis-
solved and the church (built in 1590) and the monastery
were turned over to the Benedictines of Monserrate —
— two members of which monastery came from Spain
(in the year 1602) to take possession of it and to organ-
ize the religious establishment. The order finally was
established in the year 1614; but its house never
had more than eight or ten members, and never passed
beyond the condition of a priory, always remaining
subject to the abbot of Monserrate in Spain. Notwith-
standing its unfortunate beginning, this learned and use-
ful order prospered in Mexico, and iu return conferred

216 MEXICATf GUIDE.

upon the country substantial benefits. Following their
custom in Europe, its members Avere zealous in the
good work of teaching ; they enriched the literature of
the country with a number of important works, besides
copying many valuable manuscripts, and so giving to
their contents a wider currency ; they introduced into
Mexico many fruits and vegetables from the old world ;
they were noted always for their charity and good works.
On the 20th of January, 1821, the order in Mexico — then
consisting of two priests and two lay-brothers — was sup-
j^ressed by order of the Spanish Cortes. The church
remains open. Three pictures from the priory are pre-
served in the Academy, the most important of which is
St. John in the Desert, by the celebrated Spanish artist
Zurbaran.

San Juan de Dios (I. 72). The present church
was built upon the site of the little chapel (built about
1582) of Nuestra Senora de los Desamparados, attached
to the hospital of the same name, and was dedicated
May 16, 1629. It was partially destroyed by fire March
10, 1766, and then was rebuilt as it now is seen. It has
a very handsome recessed portal, and a fine fa9ade. The
effect of the side upon the street has been destroyed
by the erection of a row of highly objectionable houses.
(See Hospital de San Juan de Dios.)

San Ldzaro (P. 71). Cortes founded a hospital for
lepers that soon became extinct. To meet the need for
such an institution, the Hospital of San Lazaro, with its
church of the same name, was founded by the philan-
thropic Dr. Pedro Lopez in the year 1572. The hos-
pital was maintained at the charges of Dr. Lopez and
his descendants until the year 1721. From that date it
was in charge of the Juauinos (Brothers of St. John),

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 217

until the suppression of the order in 1821. It then
passed into the control of the municipality, and finally
was extinguished, the patients being transferred to the
Municipal Hospital, August 12, 1862. The present
church was erected in 1721 (when the property passed
into the hands of the Juaninos) at the charges of Father
Buenaventura Medina Picazo. The cost of the church
was $75,175, and of the organ and interior decorations
$7,867. The church was the finest belonging to the
order in Mexico.

San Antonio Abad (W. 53). Upon the arrival of the
first representatives of the order of San Antonio Abad in
Mexico (1628) they built for themselves a church and
a convent-hospital for contagious diseases in the south-
eastern suburb of the city — the church being very small,
and the hospital, for the period, very large. The order
never exceeded ten in number, in this establishment ;
and was extinguished, in common with the order gener-
ally in Spain and Spanish dependencies, by the bull of
Pius YL (August 24, 1787) — on the representation of
Charles m. that the houses of the order practically were
deserted because of the gadding tendencies of its mem-
bers. All that remains of this establishment in Mexico
is the Capilla de San Antonio Abad (W. 53) ; but the
name survives in many ways in the vicinity of the foun-
dation : the Calzada de San Antonio Abad, the Garita de
San Antonio Abad, the Puente de San Antonio Abad and
the Calle de San Antonio Abad all derive their names
from this source.

La Profesa (K. 36). Properly speaking, the name
of this church is San Jose el Eeal, Oratorio de San
Felipe Neri ; but popular custom has retained its jDrimi-
tive name. It is a Jesuit foundation, of 1595, built

218 MEXICAN GUIDE.

upon property bequeathed by Don Fernando Nuilez
Obregon. The present church was dedicated, as the
Casa Profesa de la Compaiiia de Jesus, August 28, 1720 ;
and remained in the possession of the Jesuits until their
expulsion from Mexico in 1767. (See church of the
Lore to. ) The church, with its dependent very consider-
able estate of houses and lands in its vicinity, then re-
verted to the government ; of which the property was
bought by the Felipenses (Oratorians) in 1771 — their
own habitation, and a magnificent church partially com-
jDleted, having been destroyed by the earthquake of
April 4, 1768. This division of the congregation of San
Felipe Neri, an unvowed religious order, had its inde-
pendent origin in Mexico. It was founded by Don An-
tonio Calderon Benavides in 1657, in accordance with
the rule of San Felipe Neri, and eventually was incor-
porated with the Congregation by the Papal bull of De-
cember 24, 1697 ; being then instituted as the Oratorio
de Mexico. The church, an elegant building of nave
and aisles, is one of the finest in the city. It was de-
signed by Pelegrin Clave, by whom — assisted by his
three most famous pupils, Petronilo Monroy, Jose Ra-
mirez and Felipe Castro — its best ]3ictures, representing
the Seven Sacraments and the Adoration of the Cross,
were painted. The interior is very richly decorated in
white and gold ; and its main altar is one of the most
notable works of the architect Tolsa. The magnificent
drapings of crimson velvet embroidered with gold, used
on the great festivals, were presented by Father Man-
ual Sanchez de Tagle y Bolea ; a notable benefactor of
the church. At the time of the purchase of the edifice by
the Felipenses, its name was changed to San Jose el Real ;
but the name of Profesa, having been in current use for

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 219

nearly seventy years, was too firmly fixed iu the popular
mind to be abandoned ; and to this day that name is re-
tained. The street upon ^Yhich the church fronts, how-
ever, is called San Jose el E,eal — while the street ujjon
its southern side (in reality the Third of San Francisco)
often is called the Calle de Profesa. Upon this southern
side of the church the municipality caused to be made,
in the year 1885, a very pretty little garden. The
baildin^'s at one time belonofino* to the church have for
the most part disappeared, and the few remaining have
been materially modified. After the expulsion of the
order (under the general law of suppression) the prop-
erty reverted to the government, and in February, 1861,
the work of demolition was begun for the opening of the
fine Calle del Cinco de Mayo.

Betlemitas (K. 31). The order of Betlemitas (Beth-
lehemites) was founded in Guatemala, in the year 1653,
bv Pedro de San Jose Vetancui't, a " descendant of the
ancient Kings of the Canary Islands," and a cousin of the
chronicler. Its object was the care of the sick and the
education of youth. The order was founded in the City
of Mexico in 1674, and in March of the ensuing year re-
ceived the lands upon which the present church building
stands. Their hospital was opened, with nineteen beds.
May 29, 1675. The present church building was erected
at the charges of Don Manuel Gomez, the corner-stone
being laid June 2, 1681, and the church dedicated Sep-
tember 29, 1687. In the monastery attached to the
church were the free schools for which the order was
famous ; not less famous for the thoroughness of the
teaching than for the vigorous methods by which study
and discipline were enforced. Among the much be-fer-
uled pupils was current the dismal aphorism : " learn-

220 MEXICAN GUIDE.

ing is bought with blood ! " — la letra con sangre enira /
The order was suppressed loj a decree of the Spanish
Cortes of 1820. The monastery for a time was occupied
as a military school, later was occupied in part by the
nuns of the Enseiianza Nueva (which see) and in part by
the school of the Compaiiia Lancasteriana (which see) —
the latter still being in possession. The church build-
ing has been transformed into a public library. (See
Libraries, Cinco de Mayo.)

Coiegio de las Ninas (K. 40). This educational es-
tablishment, of which now the church only survives, was
founded in the year 1548 by Fray Pedro de Gante as a
free school for poor girls of good position. It was gov-
erned and administered by the Archicofradia del Santis-
imo Sacramento, and being an institution well-meriting
approval and aid it acquired, by gifts and bequests, a
very considerable estate. All of this estate, including
the handsome building in which the school w^as housed,
passed into the hands of the government under the op-
eration of the Laws of the Reform. The school building
is now occupied by the German club. The little church
remains open.

San Fernando (G. 18). The Order of San Fer-
nando, belonging to the Franciscan apostolic college
called of the Propaganda Fide, was first established in
New Spain, in the city of Queretaro, in the j^ear 1650.
The order was founded in the City of Mexico about the
year 1693 by the venerable Fray Antonio Margil de Je-
sus ; and the college was established in the city by the
royal order of October 15, 1733. The corner-stone of
the present church was laid October 11, 1735, and the
church was dedicated — with most imposing ceremonies
extending over five days — April 20, 1755. The church

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 221

is one of the largest in the city, and before its recent re-
construction was decorated in a style of elegant severity.
It was badly shattered by the earthquake of June 19,
1858 ; and while the necessary work of reconstruction
was in progress the Juarez government possessed the
city and for a season the church was closed. The repairs
have been completed, but much of its original beauty is
now lost. Its altars, in the churrigueresque style, have
entirely disappeared, and so have many fine paintings
which once adorned it. A few paintings yet remain, the
most notable of which are a "Birth of Christ — " illustra-
ting a mass of the Nativity — and " Duns Scotus before
the Doctors of the Church." From all of the j)aintings
the names of the artists have disappeared. Upon the sup-
pression of the religious orders the church was partially
dismantled, and the monastery was sold into private hands
— being subsequently (September, 1862) in great part
demolished in order to open the Avenida Guerrero.
Adjoining this church is the burial place of San Fernando
(which see).

San Camilo (Y. 99). The Camilists, vowed to the
care of the sick and the consolation of the dying, were es-
tablished in Mexico by Father Diego Martin de Moya in
the year 1755. Their monastery was extinguished by the
laws of the Reform. It is now occupied by the Catholic
Theological Seminary. The church remains — a small
building, with an interior tastefully decorated in white
and gold. Its official name now is the church of the
Seminario Conciliar.

Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion (J. 19). This
(in Mexico) Franciscan order was founded in the City of
Mexico (under a royal order given in 1530) in the year
1541 : in which year* Fray Antonio de la Cruz, a Francis-

222 MEXICAN GUIDE.

can, brought from the convent of Santa Ysabel de Sala-
manca three nuns by whom the convent, the first convent
of nuns in New Spain, was estabhshed. The first house
of the order became ruinous about the year 1644 ; and
then was built — at the charges of Don Tom as Suaznaba,
and of Don Simon de Haro and Dona Ysabel Barrera,
his wife — the convent, and the church now existing, at a
total cost of $250,000. The church, repaired in 1809,
and again in 1854, is a costly, ugly building of the
Greek composite order, and before the Reform was dec-
orated throughout its interior with extraordinary mag-
nificence. Some portion of this decoration still remains.
The tower is one of the highest in the city. Over the
main altar is an image of the Purisima Concepcion, the
origin of which is lost in antiquity. There is a tradition
to the effect that in the rear of the organ was a damp
place caused by the falling, ina most mysterious manner
and at long intervals, of drops of water. The source of
the drops never could be found, although most diligent
search was made by masons to find some flaw in the. roof
that would account for them. To one of the nuns of the
convent it was revealed in a vision that the drops were a
sort of heavenly clock, marking off the years of the con-
vent's existence and that when the dropping ceased the
convent would fall. As the convent was secularized
in the Reformation, and now is utilized for a school and
dwellings, this mysterious supernatural water-clock may
be supposed to have ticked out its prophecy to a com-
plete fulfilment. The convent was the most fashionable
religious establishment in Mexico, its inmates being re-
cruited from among the noblest families of the land. Its
wealth was prodigious, a valuation of its property at the
time of secularization showing a total of $1,660,955,

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 223

Through the convent property have been opened the
streets of Progreso and Cinquenta-siete.

La Balvanera (V. 21). Upon its foundation by Con-
cepcionistas in the year 1573 this convent and church
were dedicated to Jesus de la Penitencia. Later, the
dedication was changed to Nuestra Seiiora de Balvanera.
The primitive church having fallen into decay, the exist-
ing church was built by the Licenciado Jose de Lombeida
with property bequeathed for that purpose by the Dona
Beatriz de Miranda — the source whence the building
fund came being so well concealed that not until the
Licenciado's death was the charity of Dona Beatriz
known. The corner-stone was laid May 3, 1667, and the
church was dedicated December 7, 1671. Since that
date it has been materially repaired.

Santa Clara (K, 33). Francisca de San Agustin
and her five daughters lived together a holy life of re-
tirement from the world in the beaterio adjoining the
chapel (now the church) of La Santisima (see p. 181) :
a little dwelling given them by the Ayuntamiento un-
til such time as they should find benefactors to build
them a convent. These they found in the persons of Don
Alonzo Sanchez and his wife, who gave them a house at
the corner of the present Calles Vergara and Santa Clara ;
and here, upon the 22d of December, 1579, they took up
their abode — having previously, January 4, 1579, taken
iipon themselves the vows of the order of Santa Clara in
the church of the Concepcion. The church of Santa
Clara was dedicated October 22, 1661. This church,
and a large part of the convent, were partially destroyed
by fire April 5, 1755. The present church, practically,
dates from the completion of the restoration after the
fire, March 18, 1756. The convent was closed February

224 MEXICAN GUIDE.

13, 1861, and subsequently was sold and transformed
into dwelling bouses. The church, lacking its choir, re-
mains open. It has been modernized and is uninterest-
ing. Even the beautiful altar, the work of the celebrated
ecclesiastical artificer Pedro Eamirez, although it escaped
destruction in the fire, has been removed. The convent
is now a stable. At the outer corner of the church, on
the streets of Vergara and Santa Clara, was a little
chapel, completed and dedicated to La Purisima January
7, 1730. This building has been degraded into a shop.
Jesus Maria (O. 22). About the year 1577, two
pious men, Pedro Tomas Denia and Gregorio de Pes-
quera, conceived the purpose of founding a convent
into which the descendants of the Conquerors should be
received without dower. With money of their own to
the amount of nearly $5,000, and with alms given them,
they purchased property at the corner of the present
Puente de Mariscala and Callejon de Sfca Cruz, and there
built a little convent and a little church. The author-
ization for this establishment was given by Pope Greg-
ory Xin. in a bull dated January 21, 1578, in which was
decreed that the convent should be known as Jesus
Maria, and that the nuns entering it should take the
vows and be under the direction of the Concepcionistas.
Therefore it was that the first nuns to enter into the
new convent came from the convent of the Concepcion ;
and this took place February 10, 1580 ; and on tlie en-
suing day both church and convent, with solemn cere-
monies, were dedicated. The site of the convent pro \dng
damp and unhealthful, especially because of the inunda-
tion of that year, a new site was purchased — that where
the church now is — and thither, September 13, 1582,
the establishment was removed. It is said that about

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 225

this time there came to dwell in the convent of the Con-
cepcion, and thence presently removed to this convent
of Jesus Maria, a nun who was the daughter of King
Pliilip n. ; and who also was the niece of the then Arch-
bishop of Mexico, Don Pedro Moj^a de Contreras, later
Viceroy of the Province, and first Inquisitor General of
New Spain— some of which honors, at least, fairly ma}'
be supposed to have come to this excellent prelate through
his sister's connection with the King. It is certain that
the coming of this nun to the convent of Jesus Maria
was of great material benefit to the establishment. It
was raised to the titular order of a royal convent ; es-
pecial directions were given from Spain for its care and
protection by the authorities of the Province ; and from
both the Provincial and Koyal treasuries large sums of
money were given it. With the money thus obtained
the corner-stone of the existing church was laid March
9, 1597 ; and the church (lacking then its tower) was
dedicated February 7, 1621. The convent also was much
enlarged and improved, " so that the presence of that
lady within its walls was to all a blessing." February
13, 1861, the nuns were expelled from the building, and
the building itself was sold and changed into dwelling
houses. The church, built in the pseudo-classic style, is
massive and lumpj^ In the chancel are two pictures by
Jimeno, a St. Thomas and a Virgin with the Infant
Christ, ver}'' agreeable in color. The altar-piece, Christ
in the Temple, by Cordero, is good in drawing and com-
position, but its color is crude.

San Gerdnimo (V. 23). This convent, founded un-
der the Augustinian rule by the Concepcionistas, in the
year 1586, was one of the most extensive establishments
of its kind in Mexico. But its most enduring fame rests

226 MEXICAN GUIDE.

upon the fact that here Juana Inez cle la Cruz, the cele-
brated poetess and general writer, took the veil and lived
for many years ; and that here, April 17, 1695, she died.
The convent was suppressed under the Laws of the Re-
form and a portion of it is now used as a barrack. An
effort has been made recently (1885) by the ladies of the
City of Mexico to purchase and preserve that portion
of the building in which is the cell once occupied by the
" Musa Mexicana."

Santa Catalina de Sena (L. 32). By the exertions
of two pious women named Felipas this Dominican or-
der was founded in the City of Mexico July 3, 1593 ;
when two nuns came from the convent of the order in
Oaxaca and took possession of the little convent that the
pious Felipas had prepared for their abode. Two years
later the establishment was removed to the spot occu-
pied by the existing convent building ; and shortly there-
after the present church was built. The corner-stone of
the church was laid August 15, 1615, and it was dedi-
cated March 7, 1623. The convent was suppressed by
the Laws of the Reform.

San Juan de la PenitencSa (R. 34). In the quarter
of the city then called Moyotla, a low-lying, swampy re-
gion where only Indians dwelt, there was, in former
times, in the place where the existing church now
stands, the little chapel of San Juan Bautista. This
chapel was one of the four chapels founded by Fray
Pedro de Gante about the year 1524 as adjuncts to the
parish church of San Jose in San Francisco. After a
time, however, it was neglected, and but for the active
piety of the Indians themselves would have utterly dis-
appeared. These, abounding in good works, not only
maintained it in repair, but built beside it a little hos-

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 221

pice where travellers from distant parts coming to the
city might be freely housed. Later, the wish arising
in the hearts of these Indians that their hospice might
be made a little convent of Santji Clara nuns — an order
which they much loved — they petitioned the Viceroy,
Don Luis de Velasco, that this might be ; and Don
Luis, beholding gladly their piety, granted their prayer.
So it came to pass that on the 18th day of July in the
year of grace 1593, there came out from the convent of
Santa Clara, being duly licensed by the Eev. Padre Fray
Eodrigo de Santillan, four nuns ; and these, marching
in procession, accompanied by the nobility of the city
and a great multitude, went to the quarter where the
little convent was and there took up their abode — being
received by the pious Indians of that quarter, and many
Indians gathered fi'om afar, with glad shouts and dances
and music and all manner of such si^ns as these bar-
barics use to express great joy. And when, by an earth-
quake, the church here built was destroyed, there was
performed a miracle ; for a wooden figure of the Child
Jesus that was in the church upraised its arm and sta^^ed
the fall of a great arch ! Which miracle being noised
abroad, the figure thenceforth was held in great venera-
tion ; and the fame of it caused great alms to be given
quickly to the convent, so that the church in a little
Avhile was built anew. And when this second church,
and the convent with it, grew ruinous with age and
were pulled down, the convent and the present church
were built at the charges of a pious woman. Dona Juana
Villaseiior Lomelin ; the corner-stone of the church being
laid February 6, 1695, and its dedication taking place
January 24, 1711. But even the possession of its mir-
aculous image did not save the convent of San Juan de

228 MEXICAIN' GUIDE.

la Penitencia from the destructive force of the Laws of
the Reform. When the convents throughout Mexico
were suppressed this also passed away.

Nuestra Senora de la Encarnacion (L. 30). This
convent, the most magnificent in the city, practically re-
mains intact, and from it may be obtained some notion
of the elegance to which convent life was carried in
Mexico, in the richer establishments, before the Laws of
the Reform were put in force. The foundation of Nues-
tra Senora de la Encarnacion — usually spoken of sim^^ly
as La Encarnacion — was laid in a small way March 21,
1593, by nuns vowed to the rules of the Concepcion-
istas, under the patronage of Dr. Sancho Sanchez de
Munon. New buildings quickly were erected, and a
patron was found, in the person of Don Alvaro de Lor-
enzana, who built the church from plans by the Jesuit
Father Luis Benitez at a cost of $100,000. The corner-
stone was laid December 18, 1639, and the church was
dedicated with magnificent ceremonies (for which Don
Alvaro paid, in cost of decorations, entertainment, etc ,
$3,113), March 7, 1648. At the end of the last century
the cloister, extending in front of each of the three
stories of the convent in the inner court-j'^ard, was built
by the architect Don Miguel Constanzo. This beauti-
ful cloister remains unchanged. Here were deposited,
after the suppression of the monastic orders, the very
many pictures removed from the other convents and
from the monasteries of the city. After the convent
became government property it was used for various
purposes, and is now (1886) occupied by the Law
School (Escuela de Jurisprudencia), and a school for
girls. The value of the property owned by this convent
when it was suppressed was $1,077,191, The church is

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 229

without aisles, and loses somewhat in effect by the com-
parative lowness of the vaulted roof. The interior has
been modernized, new altars having been erected of the
rather meaningless Grecian type that has been in vogue
in Mexico during the past century. The main altar, of
compai'atively recent construction, is notable for the
la\dsh use of gold in its decoration.

San Lorenzo (J. 24). This Augustinian establishment
was founded in 1698 by four nuns from the convent of
San Geronimo and two from the convent of Jesus Maria,
the patrons of the foundation being Don Juan de Chav-
arria Valero, and Doiia Maria Zaldivar Mendoza ; the
latter being also the first novice. The present church
was built at the charges of Juan Fernandez Eiofrio, and
was dedicated July 16, 1650. The convent is now used
by the Escuela de Artes y Oficios para hombres.

Santa Inez (O. 45). In the year 1600 this convent
was founded by nuns from the Concepcion, under the
patronage of the Marqueses de la Cadena who spent
upon the building and the chui'ch connected with it enor-
mous sums. The convent, now converted into dwelling
houses, contained many pictures by the Mexican artist
Ibarra. The present church was dedicated January 20,
1770. It has a fine doorway of the Ionic order, and the
large doors are richly ornamented with carvings in wood.
After the suppression of the convent the church was dis-
mantled and was closed for twenty years. It was re-
opened June 11, 1883, under the name of the Sagrado
Corazon de Jesus — but commonly is spoken of by its
primitive name.

Santa Ysabel (west side Calle de Sta Ysabel). This
beautiful convent and church have almost entirely disap-
peared. The tower of the church has been demolished.

230 MEXICAN GUIDE.

but a portion of the southern wall still may be seen above
the roofs of the houses on the western side of the Calle
de Santa Ysabel. The convent property included the
square between the Puente de San Francisco and the
Callejon de Sta Ysabel, and the Calle de Sta Ysabel and
the Mirador of the Alameda. After the suppression of
the order all of this space, excepting the part occupied
by the church, was transformed into dwelling houses —
the handsome row of houses on the Mirador of the Ala-
meda being then built — and the church was occupied as
a manufactory of silk. The convent was founded under
the patronage of Dona Catarina de Peralta (who herself
was the first novice), February 1, 1601. It was intended
by the patroness that the establishment should be of the
bare-footed first order of Santa Clara ; but as the situa-
tion, by its dampness, offered but little encouragement to
barefooted piety, the rule adopted was that of the Fran-
ciscanas Urbanistas — an order that wears shoes. The
convent was twice rebuilt, upon a scale of increasing mag-
nificence, the latest building being completed May 27,
1852. The church now is occupied by the French So-
ciete Harmonique et Dramatique.

San Jos6 de Cracia(V. 25). In a house that stood
upon the present site of the church of San Jose de Gracia
there met in ancient times a little company of pious wom-
en, some widows and others wives, who associated them-
selves together in a society to which they gave the name
of Santa Monica. At the wish of this compan}^ that a con-
vent should be established in the place where their meet-
ings were held, Fray Garcia Guerra obtained the neces-
sary license, and the convent was founded by two nuDS
from the convent of the Concepcion and two from the con-
vent of the Encarnacion, under the patronage of Don Far-

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 231

naiiclo Villegjis, in the year IGIO ; in which time also was
built the first church. About the year 1658, the church
being- then much dilapidated, the present building was
erected at the charges of Don Navarro de Pastrana ; the
corner-stone being laid March 19, 1659, and the dedica-
tion taking place November 24, 1661. The convent, as
such, has passed away. The church, becoming the prop-
erty of the government when the Laws of the Reform
w^ent into effect, was purchased from the government,
about the year 1870, by the Protestant organization
known as The Mexican Branch of the Catholic Church of
our Lord Jesus Christ. (See San Francisco.)

Santa Teresa la Antigua (M. 26). The Carmelite
order of Santa Teresa first was planted in New Spain in
the year 1604, being then established in Puebla. Thence
the order w^as established in the City of Mexico in this
wise : There were in the convent of Jesus Maria two
nuns devoted to the rule of Santa Teresa, which they
followed under the guidance of the Carmelite Fathers.
Hearing of their devotion, Don Juan Luis de Rivera of-
fered to found in the city a convent of this order in which
they might dwell. Dying before his pious purpose could
be executed, he left provision for it in his will ; devising,
for the use of the to-be convent, certain moneys and the
house in which he had lived. Yet some years went by after
Don Juan's death and no disposition w^as shown by his
heirs to make the bequest operative ; and so the matter
stood when there arrived in Mexico the new Archbishop,
Don Juan Perez de la Serna. Now this Archbishop was
a brisk and most punctual person, and so soon as he
knew that the Church w^as defrauded of her rights by the
heirs of Don Juan he went straightwa}^ to law with them ;
and as the will of Don Juan was clear and explicit the

232 MEXiCAisr gijide.

suit was adjudged in his favor. Therefore, July 1, 1615,
the money in dispute was paid over to him, and the
possession of the houses was his. But here a new diffi-
culty confronted him in the plump refusal of the tenants
of those houses to move away. However, this Archbishop
was a person of expedients. Gaining entrance to the
houses in the night time, he caused to be built within
them an altar : and in the first light of dawn on the
morning of July 4, 1615, all of the recalcitrant tenants
were aroused by a most prodigious thumping and shout-
ing and ringing of bells, and then were bidden to attend
at the impromptu altar while the Archbishop celebrated
the mass. In wonder and astonishment they came ; and
when the mass was at an end the Archbishop told them
shortly that he had taken possession of those houses for
a holy purpose with the authority of the Law and with
the approval of the Church ; and that the sooner they
got out of them the better. And thereupon they went.
With the same energy that had characterized his fourth
of July celebration, the Archbishop set workmen to the
demolition of the buildings on the morning of the 5th ;
and on the afternoon of the same day the foundations of
the long-delaj^ed convent were set in place ; and so furi-
ously did this vigorous churchman push matters that on
March 1, 1616, the two nuns who so long had desired to
be of the order of Santa Teresa — having the day before
taken the vows and assumed the Carmelite habit — were
installed in their convent. Their installation was accom-
panied by imposing ceremonies, at which the Vice-queen
and some of the most noble ladies of the cit}^ assisted ;
and the solemnity of the occasion so impressed one of the
ladies in waiting upon the Vice-queen that then and there
she became the convent's first novice. This convent was

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 2'S,^

dedicated, as was its church, to San Jose. The existing
church was built at the charges of Seilor Estc'ban MoUna
de Mosquera ; the corner-stone being laid October 8,
1G78, and the church dedicated to Nuestra Senora la
Antigua (this dedication being expressly stipulated for
by Don Esteban as a condition precedent to his patron-
age) September 10, 1684.

The convent and the church practically lost their primi-
tive names (even before the convent was suppressed) ;
these being merged in the name of the existing chapel
of El Sefior de Santa Teresa : and as there exists also
a church (Santa Teresa la Nueva) dedicated to Santa
Teresa, this church always is spoken of as Santa Teresa
la Antigua. The beautiful chapel of El Seiior de- Santa
Teresa, in reality a large church, was built for the suita-
ble housing of the miraculous crucifix still remaining
there. This crucifix was brought from Spain in the year
1515, and was placed in the church of the mining town
of the Cardonal (in the present State of Hidalgo), where
it was known as the Santo Cristo de Cardonal. In course
of time the crucifix became injured and unsightly and
was thrown into a fire to be burned. The fl.ames failing
to consume it, it was buried. Later, it chanced to be
dug up again ; and was found still uninjured. Finally,
it mii'aculously renewed its freshness and appeared as
though newly made. Hearing of these things, the Arch-
bishop of Mexico, Don Juan Perez de la Serna, caused it
to be placed in an oratory ; and in 1634, his successor,
Don Francisco Manzo de Zuniga, caused a chapel to be
built for it at his private charge. The crucifix was
brought to the City of Mexico — though in order to secure
it the emissaries of the Archbishop had to give regular
battle to the people of the Cardonal, who most vigorously

234 MEXICAN GUIDE.

opposed its removal — and when the church of Nuestra
Senora la Antigua was erected an especial chapel therein
was provided for it. The worship of the miraculous im-
age spread rapidly in the city, and as the chapel con-
taining it was deemed too poor to be thus honored, a
new one was built at the charges of Don Manuel Flores ;
the corner-stone being laid December 17, 1798, and the
dedication taking place May 17, 1813. This structure,
of which a considerable portion still remains, was con-
sidered one of the most beautiful church buildings ever
erected in Mexico ; and the greatest work of its archi-
tect, Don Antonio Velasquez, first Professor of Architec-
ture in the Academy of San Carlos. It was badly shat-
tered by the earthquake of April 7, 1845. The beautiful
dome, part of the vaulted roof, and the chancel were de-
stroyed— the destruction of the chancel involving also that
of a curious fresco by Jimeno representing the fight be-
tween the servants of the Archbishop and the people of
the Cardonal. The miraculous crucifix (thereby doing
violence to the precedents in its history of two hundred
years earlier) was somewhat damaged. Pending the re-
construction of the chapel, it was placed in the cathedral.
The chapel was repaired under the direction of the archi-
tect Don Lorenzo Hidalga (the work going on slowl}^ as
alms for its prosecution were received) and was reopened
May 9, 1858 — when, with very imposing ceremonies, the
miraculous crucifix was brought back from the cathedral.
The existing dome is one of the most beautiful in the
city (though said to be less elegant in its proportions
than that which it replaced). The church is maintained
in somewhat painfully good repair, and the renewal of
its hio-h and side altars in recent times has detracted
from its antique picturesqueness. These modern altars,

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 235

however, are handsome after their kind ; as is also the
new chapel of the Soledad. On the north wall hangs a
fine Coronation of the Virgin. Fortunately, the shape
and proportions, with the imposing Corinthian columns,
of the original chapel of El Senor are preserved.

Santa Teresa la Nueva (O. 27). A church and con-
vent of Carmelite nuns were founded by this order under
the patronage of Don Esteban Molina de Mosquera (pa-
tron also, as stated above, of the church of Santa Teresa
la Antigua). The corner-stone of the church was laid
September 21, 1701, and the church was dedicated Janu-
ary 25, 1715-16.

San Bernardo (M. 39). Don Juan Marquez de
Orozco, a rich merchant of the City of Mexico, dying in
1621, left his house and goods, valued at |60,000, to
found a convent under the Cistercian rule. Fourteen
years having elapsed leaving this bequest still unused,
no nuns of the Cistercian order having come from Spain
to make it operative, three sisters of the deceased mer-
chant, nuns in the convent of Regina Coeli, together
with two other nuns in the same establishment, ob-
tained permission to live in the vacant building where
Don Juan had intended that his nunnery should be
founded. Here they established themselves in the year
1636 : and thus was the foundation of the convent of
San Bernardo laid. There being here no church, and the
building being unsuited to convent pui'poses, a patron
was found in the person of Don Jose Ketes Largache,
at whose charges both were built. The corner-stone of
the church was laid June 24, 1685 ; and the church was
dedicated June 18, 1690. The present church building,
into w^hich some portion of the older building was
incorporated, was dedicated September 29, 1777. Upon

236 MEXICATT GUIDE.

the suppression of the convent the church was dis-
mantled, and for a time was used as a storehouse. It
has been reopened. Its fayade may be seen, as though a
framed picture, from the northern end of the Callejon
de la Callejuela — the little street running southward
from the Plaza Mayor. The convent in part has been
destroyed in order to open the Calle de Ocampo.

Capuchin as. The first members of the order of
Capuchinas in Mexico, coming from a convent of the
order in Toledo, arrived in the capital October 8, 1665.
These came to accept the bequest of Dona Ysabel de
Barrera, widow of Don Simon de Haro, who in her will
had bequeathed the house in which she had dwelt and
$10,000 in money for the founding of a convent of this
order. Upon their arrival they were received into the
convent of the Concepcion until their own convent should
be ready for their habitation ; and this building being
completed they were inducted into it, with solemn cere-
monies, May 29, 1666. The primitive church, built with
a portion of Dona Ysabel's bequest, was replaced by a
larger structure that was dedicated, September 11, 1756,
to San Felipe de Jesus, the Mexican proto-martyr. In
February, 1861, both convent and church were demol-
ished in order to open the Calle Lerdo — an extension
southward of the Calle de la Palma. All that remains
now of this foundation is its name, that still designates
the street on which the church of the Capuchinas faced.

Corpus ChristI (I. 35). The then Viceroy, Don
Baltasar de Zuniga, Marques de Valera, wishing to es-
tablish a Capuchin convent into which should be re-
ceived only Indian girls of noble descent (jilnas caciques
y nobles) bought the property upon which the church
and convent building of Corpus Christi now stand. At

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 237

a charge of $-40,000 be erected the convent and cliurch,
the corner-stone being laid September 12, 1720, and the
church being dedicated July 10, 1724. On the 13th of
July following, the sisters of the foundation — coming
from the convents of Santa Clara, San Juan de la Peni-
tencia and Santa Ysabel — took possession of the new
convent. In order to enforce his wish that the convent
should receive Indian nuns onl}^ Don Baltasar obtained
from the Pope, Benedict XIII., a most peremptory bull
(given June 26, 1727) commanding that only such should
be received within its walls. In this convent was the
custom that novices taking the veil should be dressed in
the richest possible Indian costume, the ceremony be-
ing one of the most distinctive sights of the Mexican
capital previous to the adoption of the Laws of the Ee-
form. The convent has been transformed into dwelling
houses. The church, a small building without aisles,
remains open.

Santa Brfgida (K. 28). The order of Bridgittiue
nuns (founded by Saint Bridget of Sweden about 1344,
and introduced into Spain by Queen Ysabel, wife of Philip
IV., October 8, 1734) was founded in Mexico by Span-
ish nuns under the patronage of Don Jose Francisco de
Aguirre and his wife Dona Gertrudis Roldan. By these
pious persons the convent and church of Santa Brigida
(the sole establishment of the order in Mexico) were
completed, December 21, 1744, and immediately were
taken possession of by the founders — who had arrived
in the city on the 13th of September, 1743, and had been
housed, meanwhile, in the convent of Regina Coeli.
Upon the confiscation of church property the church of
Santa Brigida was bought by a rich family of the city,
and, being held in trust for church uses, remains o^^en

238 MEXICAN GUIDE.

for worship. It is too modem a building to be especi-
ally interesting, and is maintained in a condition of such
aggressive newness and freshness that it possesses little
claim to consideration from the standpoint of the pic-
turesque. But it is the most fashionable church in the
City of Mexico.

Enserianza Antigua (M. 29). The Compafiia de
Maria, an order having in charge the preparatory teach-
ing of girls, was founded in Bordeaux by Jeanne de Les-
tonac about the year 1600 as a counter-stroke to the
then recently established Calvinistic schools. The found-
ers of the order in Mexico came from the convent of
Bessiers, in Barcelona, arriving in the City of Mexico
August 30, 1753. Pending the completion of their con-
vent, they were housed in the convent of Begina Coeli.
They purchased, June 22, 1754, for $39,000, certain
houses in the Calle de Cordobanes ; and these, being
modified to their purposes, they took possession of in
the month of October following. On the 21st of Novem-
ber the house was formally blessed by the Archbishop
under this ample and imposing name : Nuestra Senora
del Pilar de religiosas de la Enserianza, escuela de Maria.
The church belonging to the establishment was dedi-
cated November 23, 1754 At later dates the convent
building was enlarged to its present proportions. It is
now occupied in part by the Palacio de Justicia (M. 91),
and in part b}^ the school for the blind. The church is
open for Avorsliip. There are here some good pictures
of the early Mexican school.

Enserianza Nueva. This was a branch establish-
ment of the Euseiianza Antigua, founded, under the
patronage of the then Bishop of Durango, Don Francisco
de Castafiiza, in the vear 1811. It was intended, exclu-

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 239

sively, for the education of Indian girls. The institution,
after being housed in several successive buildings, Avas
suppressed bj' the Laws of the Eeform. The only trace
of it surviving is the name of the street where it first
was established : Colegio de las Inditas — the College of
the Indian girls.

College of the Sisters of Charity (J. 64). The
large building in which the Sisters of Charity were
housed, north of the Plaza de Villamil, was built at a
cost of ^150,000, by Padre Bolea Sanchez de Tagle, who
desired here to found a college in which Indian girls
whose beauty w-ould expose them to temptations and
dangers in the world might be educated and at the same
time kept in safety. The building was not completed,
and the j^hilanthropic project never was realized. But
the name of Colegio de las Bonitas (the college of the
pretty girls) usually shortened into Las Bonitas, always
has clung to the edifice, and so it is generally styled to-
day. After being used for various purposes, the build-
ing was set apart for the Sisters of Charity. The found-
ing of this beneficent order in Mexico was due to the
patronage of Dona Maria Ana Gomez de la Cortina, who
provided for the costs of bringing members of the order
from Spain, and very liberally endowed the Mexican es-
tabhshment. Twelve members of the order, from Mad-
rid, arrived in the city November 15, 1844 ; and to these
Doila Maria joined herself, taking the habit of the order
and giving herself with them to good works. She died
January 6, 1846, and w^as buried in one of the courts of
the house which she had established — in which forlorn
and dismantled place her handsome tomb may still be
seen. By her will she bequeathed to the order the sum
of $^141,000, which was lounctually paid by her executors

240 MEXICAN GUIDE.

within a month of her death. The church, La Caridad,
still open, was built with a portion of this fund ; it is a
small but elegant building, with excellent interior decora-
tions in white and gold. It was dedicated — General
Santa Ana serving as padrino (god-father) — May 8, 1854.

The Sisters of Charity, during their stay in Mexico,
had charge of the principal hospitals of the capital,
and of many hospitals also in the other cities of the Ee-
public ; and everywhere performed most effectively their
good work. So highly were their services esteemed
that they were by name expressly exempted from the
operation of the Laws of the Reform. However, when
the Laws of the Reform became incorporated into the
Federal Constitution (by the act of December 14, 1874)
the order of Sisters of Charity also was suppressed. This
act was most violently denounced by the Conservative
party, and was not by any means general^ approved by
the Liberals. But in spite of the very active opposition
that it encountered, it was made effective. During Jan-
uary and February, 1875, the Sisters left the country :
thus formally bringing to an end the existence of re-
ligious orders in the Republic.

Independent Churches. In addition to the cathe-
dral and parochial estabHshment, and the foundations of
the several religious orders, there are a few churches in
Mexico which occupy an independent position in that
they are the foundations of individuals or of societies.
The more important of these are the following :

Jesus Nazareno (V. 109). Under the name of Nues-
tra Seiiora de la Purisima Concepcion this church (with
its hospital of the same name, see Hospital de Jesus
Nazareno) was founded by the Conqueror Hernando
Cortes before the year 1524 ; as is proved by a reference

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 241

to it in the municipal accounts of that year. After the
death of Cortes (by whom an ample endowment was
made for both hospital and church) his administrators
contracted (November 26, 1601) for the completion, at a
cost of $13,000, of the new church, begun in 1575 and
then in course of erection. This work was not com-
pleted at that time, and for nearly a century the church
remained with its walls built only to the height of the
cornice, and with only a portion of it under roof. Even
this roof was defective, being of clay, in which trees
grew and thrust out the lower walls. In the meantime
service continued to be held in the primitive church.
Such was the condition of affairs in the year 1663 when,
a pious Indian woman dying to whom it had belonged,
there came into the possession of the church and hos-
pital a celebrated image of Jesus Nazareno. The imme-
diate result of owning the image was a great increase of
revenue from alms. At this fortunate time the chaplain
of the hospital (named to that position May 22, 1662)
was Don Antonio de Calderon Benavides, by whose
energy the rapidly accumulating wealth was used for the
completion of the church in a manner at once substan-
tial and elegant. Finally, this church, begun in 1575,
was dedicated with much solemn rejoicing in the year
1665 ; then receiving officially the name of Jesus Naza-
reno, by which it long had been known. Its exterior
remains practically unchanged. The interior was ma-
terially modified in 1835, when all the woodwork was
renewed. The church contains a very large tabernacle,
the four pillars of which sustain an entablature that sup-
ports a statue of the Virgin of the Immaculate Concep-
tion. In the transepts are two altars, one dedicated to
Nuestra Senora del Rosario and the other to Jesus Naz-

243 MEXICAN GUIDE.

areno — upon which latter the famous image stands. In
the church are the tombs of the philologist Fr. Juan
Crisostomo Najera ; the historian Don Lucas Alaman ;
the sculptor Don Manuel Vilar, and Colonel Manuel Cal-
deron. The sacristy is notable for its wooden roof beau-
tifully carved ; a very elegant structure, and the last re-
maining of the several which once were found in the city.
In the church reverently is preserved — in a niche of
the altar of Nuestra Senor de la Cadena — the image of
Nuestra Seiiora de la Bala : Our Lady of the BaU. The
legend connected with this small, very old, and greatly
venerated image is this : In ancient times it was the prop-
erty of a good poor man of the village of Ixtapalapan,
who had made a shrine for it in his house. This poor
man charged his wife with infidelity and threatened to
shoot her. She threw herself before the image, imploring
the Virgin's protection — and this was granted, for when
her husband fired the image intercepted the ball ! So
miraculous an intervention satisfied the poor good man
that his suspicions had been groundless, and he restored
his wife to her rightful place in his heart, and together
they worshipped the image reverently. The fame of
what the image had done w^as noised abroad, and pres-
ently it was placed in the church of La Purisima ; where
it was greatly venerated. In response to the prayer of
Dr. Pedro Lopez it was given him, later, that he might
place it in his newly founded church of San Lazaro ;
where, performiDg many miracles, it remained for up-
ward of two centuries. Finally it was placed in its
present position, by order of Archbishop Labastida y
Davalos, March 2, 1884. There are many married
women of the capital who bold this miraculous image in
very high esteem.

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 243

Li the chancel of this church, beneath a handsome
marble monument, also now in Italy, formerly reposed
the bones of Cortes. By his will, Cortes ordered that
should he die in Spain his bones should be brought in
ten years time to Mexico and deposited in the convent
of the Concepcion that he purposed building at Coyoa-
can — but which, in point of fact, never was established.
He died December 2, 1547, in the town of Castilleja de
la Qaesta ; whence his body was carried in great state
and buried in the chapel of the Dukes of Medina Sidonia.
At the time that he had fixed for their removal thither
his bones were brought to New Spain, and at first were
deposited in the church of San Francisco at Texcoco.
Here they remained until 1629. On the 30th of Janu-
ary of that year died his grandson, Don Pedro Cortes,
the last of the male line. It was then decided that Don
Pedi'o should be buried in the church of San Francisco
in the City of Mexico, and with him the bones of his
grandfather. All of which, with much pomp and cere-
mony, was done upon the 24th of February following.
On the 2d of July, 1794, the bones of the Conqueror
again were moved, this time to the marble sepulchre
that had been prepared for their reception in Jesus Naz-
areno, the church that he himself had founded. But in
the troublous years of the revolt against Spain it was
feared that his tomb would be violated — so great at that
time was the popular hatred of the Spaniards and of all
things Spanish — and that the remains of the. Conqueror
might be preserved in safety they were removed from
the sepulchre on the night of September 15, 1823, and
hidden in another part of the church. Thence they were
secretly removed by Don Lucas Alaman, the agent in
Mexico of the Duke of Monteleone (heir to the estates of

244 MEXICAl^ GUIDE.

Cortes), and were sent to Italy — where at last, in tlie
vaults of the Dukes of Monteleone, they were at rest.

Nuestra Sehora de Los Angeles (C. 44). Concern-
ing the founding- of the church of the Santuario de Nu-
estra Senora de los Angeles, tradition tells that a cacique
(chief) named Isayoque found floating upon the water,
during the inundation of 1580, a beautiful picture,
painted upon canvas, of the Virgin. Very much de-
lighted with his good fortune, and desiring to do the
Virgin honor, he built to contain the picture a little
chapel of adobe on the exact spot beneath where
he had found it floating upon the waters — that is to
say, precisely where the sanctuary now stands. For
some reason, however, the cacique decided not to keep
the original picture in the chapel that he had built
for it, but to have it copied very exactly by a skill-
ful painter upon the adobe wall. This, therefore, was
done ; and in the year 1595 a larger and handsomer
chapel, though still a very small one (precisely the size
of the chancel of the existing church) was built over the
adobe wall on which the picture was painted. The new
chapel was dedicated under the name of the Assumption
(although, in point of fact, the picture represents the Im-
maculate Conception) ; but, as there were many angels
upon the picture, the chapel came in a little time to be
known by the name of Our Lady of the Angels — which
name remains and is recognized as that of the existing
church. Not a shrine in Mexico has seen so many re-
verses of fortune as have attended this one. It has been
time and again abandoned and suffered to fall into ruin ;
and once (1607), being then roofless, it passed through
the inundation and precedent great rains by which the
city was submerged. But through all its exposure to

KELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS. 245

sun and water and falling walls the hands and face of the
picture (though painted upon sun-dried clay) remained
unharmed — a preservation that came in time to be rec-
oii'nized as a cumulative miracle. At one time and an-
other various pious persons repaired the chapel, and at
last, in the person of Senor Larragoitis, a patron was
found by whom the present church was erected. The
project of this patron was to erect a very large and hand-
some church of nave and aisles surmounted by a dome ;
but upon the report by the architect that the ground
was too swampy to permit of the erection of such a build-
ing, the plan of the existing church was adopted. This
was completed in the year 1808. It is a quaint structure,
having the appearance of being much older than it really
is. The miraculous painting (at least the hands and face,
which only are visible) continues in excellent condition.
The other portions of the picture are hidden behind a
dress made for it by a most pious tailor, Jose de Haro,
in the year 1776 ; in which year he also rebuilt the
chapel — then in one of its periodic conditions of ruin.
As the picture, besides being thus draped, is inclosed in
a glazed shrine, very little is to be learned by looking at
it of the substance upon which it is painted. In the
church is preserved a most dashing (but somewhat ruin-
ous) life-size equestrian ef&gy of Santiago — brought
hither from Santiagfo Tlaltelolco when that church was
taken possession of by the government. There is also
preserved here a stone, upon which is engraved the date
1595, that is said to have been a part of the second of
the several chapels built for the housing of the j^icture.

La Santfsima Trinidad (O. 37). About the year
1658 there was founded, close to the site of the present
church, a heaterio — a^Httle house wherein holy women

246 MEXICAN GUIDE.

dwelt, voweel to good works but not to the rule of any
especial religious order — dedicated to La Santisima
Trinidad ; and here were housed (1570-79) while wait-
ing for the building of their own convent, the founders
in Mexico of the order of Santa Clara (which see). Ad-
jacent to the beaterio there were granted (January 9,
1596) to Francisco de Olmos and Juan del Castillo, al-
caldes of the tailors of the City of Mexico, two lots of
land ; upon which they agreed to establish a hospital
for the poor, and a chapel, dedicated to the physician-
saints Cosme, Damian, and Amado — which pious work
was begun precisely fourteen days after the grant was
made. Later, there was founded, in connection with
these religious establishments, a society known as the
Congregacion de los Trinitarios (Trinitarians). Upon
these several foundations the present church (always
spoken of as La Santisima) was reared. The second
church of the foundation was dedicated September 19,
1677, and the existing church, begun in 1755, was dedi-
cated January 17, 1783. The building is notable for its
exceedingly rich f ayade in the churrigueresque style, and
for its fine towers. The interior is not especially inter-
esting, having been made over in relatively modern
style.

Salto del Agua (T. 12). The license to collect alms
for the building of the present church — upon a site once
occupied by one of Fray Pedro de Gante's Indian mis-
sion chapels — was given to Sr. Dr. Don Francisco Na-
varijo January 7, 1729. But the alms came in slowly,
and the corner-stone was not laid until March 19, 1750.
In 1761 the church was made adjunct to the parish church
of Santa Vera Cruz ; and became itself a parish church in
1772, when the existing parochial division of the city was

SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 247

made bj Archbisliop Lorenzana, Its name is derived
from its proximity to the fountain at the termination of
the aqueduct from Chap ul tepee. The parish in which
this church is situated, and of which it was the head,
continues to be known by the name of the Salto del
Agua ; the administration of the parish, however, has
been removed recently to the old conventual church of
Regina Coeli (which see).

VIL SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES.

In the municipality of Mexico there are 89 primary
schools, directed by 153 teachers, attended by about
4,700 scholars, and supported by the Ayuntamiento at
an annual charge of $127,000 ; also, within the munici-
pal limits the Federal government sustains nine primary
schools for children, two primary schools for, respec-
tively, male and. female adults, and one graded school
for girls, the total attendance at which is 2,700 ; also,
within the municipal limits there are 24 primary schools,
attended by 4,049 pupils, sustained by the Catholic So-
ciety and other societies of the same faith ; 37, attended
by 1,340 pupils, sustained by the Evangelical Church,
the Lancastrian Society and the Beneficial Society. All
the foregoing schools are free. Of private, paid, schools
within the municipal limits there are 128, attended by
2,900 pupils. Including the secondary and higher
schools, and colleges, the total number of educational in-
stitutions within the municipality is 288, with a total at-
tendance of 15,754. Detailed information in regard to
the schools and school S3^stem of the city and of the
country at large may be obtained, by any properly pre-

248 MEXICAN GUIDE.

sented person, at the Ministry of Justice and Public In-
struction. (See Government Officials, Presentation to.)

Many of the buildings now occupied by schools and
colleges possess such historical or architectural interest,
or contain such works of art, as make them very well
deserving the attention of the traveller. Mainly from
this standpoint of secondary interest, therefore, the fol-
lowing named institutions are treated of.

Conservatorao de MCisica (Ex-University, M. 104).
The University of Mexico was erected by a royal order
of the Emperor Charles V. of September 25, 1551, being
then granted the statutes, privileges, and prerogatives
of the University of Salamanca. The institution was
opened (vide Yetancurt) January 25, 1553, in houses
adapted to its needs at the corner of the Calles Arzobis-
pado and Reloj ; thence it was removed to houses the
property of the Hospital de Jesus Nazareno ; and thence,
finally, to the site occupied by the present building.
The establishment of the University upon this site was
attended with much difficulty. The land was a por-
tion of the estate of Cortes, and the agent of the Mar-
ques resisted the decree of the Audencia (June 1, 1584)
permitting its purchase by the Rector of the University.
After htigation, the right of the Rector was recognized,
and the building was erected about 1590. The existing
building was erected during the reign of Charles HE. —
that is, previous to the year 1787. The career of the in-
stitution was a stormy one ; frequently it was in collis-
ion with the government, and several times it was sup-
pressed. Its final suppression was in the year 1865,
when this building became for a time the office of the
Ministry of Public Works. In 1877 the Conservatory of
Music was established here. The interior is notable for

SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 249

the beautiful cloisters surrounding the central court —
now converted into a garden ; for the fine and artistically
decorated concert hall ; for the handsome stairway ; and
for the painting by Vallejo that is one of the three with
which the stairway is adorned. Vallejo's work is a votive
picture ordered in commemoration of the promise made
by Clement XIV. to Charles III. to insert in the Litany
of the Virgin the invocation Mater wimacidata. The
lower plane of the picture shows a large edifice, in the
midst of which are seen, kneeling, the Pope, Clement
XrV., King Charles m., the Archbishop Lorenzana, the
Viceroy Bucareli and, standing, Duns Scotus and groups
of students ; in the upper plane, relieved against bril-
liant masses of clouds, are seen the Virgin with the
Four Doctors, Saint Paul and Saint Catharine (patron
saints of the University), together with Saints Thomas,
John of Nepomuck and Luis Gonzaga (patrons of study).
The composition of the work has excellent quality, and
upon it and the pictures in the church of San Yldefonso
the reputation of Vallejo mainly rests. The Conserva-
tory has a library and collection of music and is doiug
admirable work in maintaining the musical standard of
the capital.

La Mineria (School of Engineers, K. 97). The Tri-
bunal de Mineria was founded, May 4, 1777, by Don
Velazquez de Leon and Don Lucas de Lasaga, having for
its purpose the stimulation of mining enterprise, the cou-
rection of existing abuses, the formulation of an improved
code of mining laws, and the foundation of a school of
mines. The laws requested by the founders, together
with permission to create the school, w^ere granted in a
royal order dated May 22, 1783. Pending the erection
of a suitable building, the school was opened, January

250 MEXICAN GUIDE.

1, 1792, in a house adjoining the Hospicio de San Nico-
las. The ground upon which the existing building
stands was purchased March 14, 1793, and, after a con-
siderable delay, during which other suggestions for hous-
ing the school were under consideration, the plans for
the building were presented by Don Manuel Tolsa, March
16, 1797. These, after modification, being accepted,
work began on the 22d of March ensuing, and the build-
ing was completed, April 3, 1813, at a cost of $1,597,435.
Scarcely was it finished, however, when the walls began
to settle ; and this continued until they were dangerously
out of line and in many places cracked. So considerable
was the injury to the structure, and so costly were the
plans suggested for restoring it, that at one time the in-
tention seriously was entertained of demolishing it. For-
tunately, at this juncture, the skilful architect Don An-
tonio Villard presented a plan of restoration that was ap-
plied successfully (at a cost of $97,000), in the year 1830
— the school being housed, while the repairs were in prog-
ress, in the present Hotel Yturbide. The curving lines
of the cornices of the east side show how far the settling
had gone before it could be staid. This building is con-
sidered by all Mexicans, and with justice, one of the most
imposing both in size and architectural treatment of the
capital. It has fine courts, galleries, and stairways, and
one hall of magnificent proportions. The decoration
throughout, save in the chapel, is simple and in excellent
taste. The chapel is decorated richly, containing a very
elegant altar of bronze, and upon its walls and flat roof
frescoes by the Mexican artist Jimeno. The school pos-
sesses a serviceable library, an astronomical and meteoro-
logical observatory, fine cabinets of geology and miner-
alogy, and a museum of mechanical apparatus of con-

SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 251

siderable value. It was in this building, during Lis visit
to Mexico in 1880, that General Grant was lodged.

Escuelade Medicina (Medical College, L. 98). By
a royal deci'ee of March 16, 1768, there was ordered to be
established in the Hospital Real (which see) a course of
i3ractical anatomy, under the direction of Don Andres
Mantani y Virgili. To this, by a decree of May 20, ensuing,
was added a course in operative surgery. The classes
formed under these decrees began February 3, 1770 ;
after which date degrees in medicine were granted by
the Universities of Mexico and Guadalajara. A decree
of November 21, 1830, extinguished this primitive medi-
cal establishment and created the Medical Faculty of the
District ; and this in turn was amended by the decree of
October 23, 1833, that created the Institute of the Medical
Sciences — virtually the existing Medical College. To
the Institute quarters were assigned in the ex-monas-
tery of the Betlemitas ; and by the ordinance of January
24, 1842, it received its present name of Escuela de
Medicina. From the Betlemitas the college was re-
moved to the ex-monastery of San Hipolito in September,
1850, and finally, by purchase (at a cost of $50,000), ac-
quired its present building (formerly occupied by the
Inquisition, which see) in 1854. The college has a fine
amphitheatre, a committee room in which is a notable
statue, by the sculptor Soriano, of St. Luke the Physician,
cabinets of chemistry and natural science, and a library.

Escuela Preparatoria (Preparatory School, M. 96).
This institution, the function of which is to prepare ad-
vanced pupils from the lower schools for the several pro-
fessional careers, is the lineal descendant of an ancient
Jesuit foundation ; and still is known x^oj^ularly by its
ancient name of the College of San Yldefonso. In the year

MEXICAN GUIDE.

1582 the Jesuits in Mexico were commanded by the Gen-
eral of their order to consolidate into one institution their
several then existing seminaries. Some difficulties in the
way of the execution of this order were overcome, and by
license of the Viceroy (July 29, 1588) the colleges of San
Gregorio, San Miguel, and San Bernardo were extin-
guished and the College of San Yldefonso was founded
in their place ; in which, January 17, 1618, the College
of San Pedro y San Pablo also was merged. The pres-
ent building was completed in 1749, at a cost of $400,000.
During the several periods in which the Jesuits were ban-
ished from the country the College building was used for
various purposes, and was revived as a school upon their
several returns. Since the final expulsion of the order
the college has been administered by the government ;
as it was also during the long period of Jesuit banish-
ment between 1821 and 1853. The college building is
of a severe style of architecture, massive in construction,
and very large. Especially to be noted are its fine courts
surrounded by arcades ; its handsome halls ; its cabinets
of physics, chemistry, and natural history ; its palseonto-
logical museum, and its well-selected librar}^ Two of
the most important works by the painter Vallejo are in
the sacristy of its chapel, " The Feast of Pentecost" and
"The Holy Family."

Other Important Schools. Escuela de Agricultu7'a
(School of Agriculture, on the road to Tacuba). This
institution, after many ineffectual attempts at its founda-
tion (the first of which was made in the year 1833),
finally was founded in the year 1854. It is now estab-
lished outside the Garita of San Cosme in the hacienda of
San Jacinto. It possesses a library adaj^ted to its needs,
cabinets of physics and chemistry, a garden of acclimat-

SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 253

ization, and large grounds for practical agricultural train-

ing.

Escuela de Comercio y Administration (Commercial
College, K. 101), is established in the building formerly-
occupied by the Hospital del Tercer Orden, adjacent to
that of the Mineria. It is provided with a library and
collections of samples for practical study.

Escuela de Jurisprudencia (Law School, L. 30) has ap-
propriated to it a portion of the beautiful convent of the
Encarnacion. The school possesses a good library and
is well attended.

Seminario Conciliar de Mexico (Catholic Theological
Seminary, V. 99), was founded in the present Calle de
Seminario in the year 1691. It is now established in
the ex-monastery of San Camilo.

La Sociedad Lancasteriana (Lancasterian Society). The
monitorial system of Bell and Lancaster, by means of
which it was considered that primary instniction could
be much extended at little expense by setting the older
children, as monitors, to teach the rudiments to the
younger, was first practised in England in 1797. Under
the patronage of the above-named society the system has
been in use in Mexico for a number of years with excel-
lent results. The first school was opened in the ex-In-
quisition building in 1822. The Society supports, in
addition to its day schools for children, night schools for
men. The fund of maintenance is derived from con-
tributions of members, and from a small subvention
granted by the municipality.

La Beneficencia (the Benevolent Society). The schools
of this society were founded in the year 1842, by the
philanthropist Vidal Alcocer — a working-man whose sole
fortune was a salary of $30 a month. So zealously did

254 MEXICAN GUIDE.

this excellent man apply himself to the realization of his
philanthropic project that in a short time a stable and
affluent society was founded for its support. A number
of well-managed schools are maintained.

La Sociedad Gatolica. This organization was founded
in the year 1869. It supports about twenty free schools
and is prosecuting actively its educational work.

VIIL CRARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.

It is most creditable to the municipal governments of
the Republic that under all circumstances the schools and
hospitals necessary for the public good have been in some
sort maintained, and that the charitable institutions gen-
erally have been cared for. (The Federal Government
has not so good a record.) As a result of this admirable
policy, veiy many of the ancient beneficent foundations
of the City of Mexico — of the church and of pious indi-
viduals— still survive ; while new foundations have been
added as occasion has required.

Hospital de Jesus Nazareno (V. 109). Under the
name of Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion, this
hospital, with its church of the same name (see church
of Jesus Nazareno), was founded by the Conqueror Her-
nando Cortes, before the year 1594 ; as is proved by a
reference to it in the municipal accounts of that year.
For the maintenance of the hospital Cortes left an ample
endowment, but this was so badly administered that the
ill-treatment of the sick in the hospital became a by-word
in the city — thus impelling the philanthropist Bernardo
Alvarez to establish the hospital that subsequently was
known as San Hipolito. In later times, however, this

CHAKITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 255

reproach has been removed. The hospital has been
much improved and enlarged in the course of the past
three hundred years, but remains a most quaint and cu-
rious building. It is maintained by the endowment be-
queathed b}^ the Conqueror — all attempts by governments
and individuals to break his will having failed. (So re-
cently as the spring of 1885 the will once more was sus-
tained by the Mexican courts.)

Hospital Real (extinct, T. 69). A royal order, given
in Madrid May 18, 1553, decreed that there should be
established in the City of Mexico a hospital for the care
of poor sick Indians. For this purpose a grant of
$20,000 was made from the royal rents, against which was
made also a charge of $400 a year in perpetuity for the
hospital's support. That the building with its church was
nearly completed by November 6, 1556, may be inferred
from an existing royal order of this date granting $2,000
more with which to finish it. For the purposes of the
charity a large tract of land was set apart, bounded on
the west and north by a wide water-channel (a part of
the ancient system of canals) that now has been filled in
and forms the street of Santi^imo and part of the street
of the Eebeldes. The annual allowance of $400 a year
being insufficient for the maintenance of the hospital,
successive Viceroys imposed tribute for its support upon
the Indians themselves. At one time the tribute exacted
was a measure of corn ; and later this was made a medio
— six and a quarter cents. But even thus aided the Hij^o-
litos, in whose charge the hospital was placed, had to re-
sort to urgent begging and to many curious expedients
in order to discharge properly their trust. Among their
expedients was the founding of a theatre, from per-
formances given at which the hospital derived a very

256 MEXICAN GUIDE.

considerable part of its support. (See Teatro Principal. )
This extraordinary departure created much scandal, but
the Hipolitos contended that while the means might be
open to criticism the end was above reproach ; and so
placidly continued during the ensuing half century upon
their theatrical way. By a royal order of December 31,
1741, the Hipolitos (possibly because of their irregular
method of raising revenue) were removed from the hos-
pital, and its direction was assumed by the Viceroyal
government. In this hospital was organized the second
medical college in America, a royal order of March 16,
1768, providing for the establishment here of courses in
practical anatomy and surgery ; which courses began
February 3, 1770.* (See Escuela de Medicina.) From
lack of a sufficient income, and from inefficient manage-
ment, the hospital gradually deteriorated ; and finally, its
usefulness having departed, it was closed February 21,
1822. All that now remains of the establishment — the
hospital having been replaced by dwellings — is the little
church that once belonged to it, and that now is occu-
pied by the Presbyterian mission.

Hospital de San Hipdlito (I. 114). The pious Ber-
nardino Alvarez, a native of Andalusia, sometime a pros-
perous merchant in Peru and in the Province of New
Spain, becoming tired of a wandering life, dedicated him-
self to the care of the sick. For ten years he served as a
nurse in the hospital of the Concepcion (now Jesus Naz-
areno), and then, being pained by the ill-conduct of that
charity, the desire came into his heart to found a hospi-
tal of his own. Therefore he asked for certain vacant
lands adjacent to the then chapel of San Hipolito ; and

* The Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania
was founded in the year 1764 ; of Harvard, 1783. .

CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 257

these were given to him, January 28, 1567, with permis-
sion to found thereon a hospital that also should be ded-
icated to San Hipolito. With his own property, and with
alms that were given him for this purpose, he built there a
little hospital, into which he gathered the crazed and the
sick and the old ; and these he nursed and feasted {regal-
aba) ! He even went to Vera Cruz and brought thence
sick and crazed persons for his hospital, together with
vagrant emigrants fi'om Spain who had no means of sup-
port. In time various pious persons joined themselves
to him in aiding to carry on this charitable work, so that
it came into his heart to found a brotherhood that should
have for its purpose the care of the sick. To this end
he formulated in 1569 a constitution for the brotherhood,
that was approved by the Archbishop of Mexico and sent
by him for ratification in Rome. The project was ac-
cepted by Gregory XIII., but formal approval of it was not
given until May 1, 1585, by Sixtus V. It Was approved
by the Council of the Indies January 11, 1589. A defect
in this first organization, which became apparent very
soon after the death of the zealous founder, was that the
brothers were in no wise bound to their charitable work ;
which looseness produced not a little inconvenience to
the sick, who frequently found themselves deserted by
their nurses and left to shift for themselves. To remedy
this defect, the bull of Clement VKL, of October 8, 1604,
ordered that the Brothers of Charity should take the vows
of hospitality and obedience, and should be subject to
the senior brother of the order : after which the sick
people in the hospital found things much more comfort-
able. The brotherhood became a regular monastic order
(notable as a purely Mexican foundation) by the oj^era-
tion of the bull of Innocent XQ. of May 20, 1700. The

258 MEXICAN GUIDE.

bull increased the vows to be taken to four — cbastitv,
poverty, hospitality, and obedience ; gave to the order the
rule of the Augustinians, with the privileges of the
mendicant orders, and gave also certain very desirable
religious privileges. From this time onward the Brothers
of Charity in Mexico were known as Hipolitos. Shortly
after the formal estabhshment of the order it was decid-
ed to use the primitive hospital foundation exclusively for
the care of insane males ; and for this purpose exclusively
it has ever since been used. The existing building was
erected in the year 1773, during the beneficent rule of the
Viceroy Bucareli. By a decree of the Spanish Cortes of
October 1, 1820, the order of Hipolitos was suppressed
and its property sequestrated. The ex-members of the
order having this hospital in charge, however, remained to
care for it ; the last survivor dying in 1843. The liquida-
tion of the property created a fund of upward of $187,000
that passed into the control of the municipality, and the
income of which was administered honorably in the
maintenance of the hospital By a decree of February
10, 1842, Santa Ana covered this fund into the Federal
Treasuiy — and that immediately was the end of it. The
municipality thereupon assumed and has since continued
the charge of maintenance. In 1848 the interior of the
hospital was remodelled and much improved.

The large monastery of San HipoHto was converted
into barracks upon the suppression of the order ; was
used as a military hospital during a stray revolution ; as
a municipal hospitid in 1847-48 ; as quarters for the
Medical College in 1850-53, and since that date for less
important uses. (See Church of San Hipolito.)

Hospital Moreios (San Juan de Dios, I. 72). In
the place where the Hospital Moreios (still commonly

CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 259

known by its ancient name of Hospital de San Juan de
Dios) now stands, there was, in the year 1582, a little
hospital for the care of the mixed races, mulattoes and
mestizos. This charity, known as the Hospital de la
Epifania, was founded by the philanthropist Dr. Pedro
Lopez, founder also of the Hospital de San Lazaro, one
of the first professors of medicine who came to Mexico
from Spain. In addition to the hospital there was es-
tablished here by Dr. Lopez a foundling asylum, under
the protection of Nuestra Seiiora de los Desamparados
(Oui' Lady of the Forsaken) ; and by this name both
asylum and hospital were known during the ensuing
twenty years. In the year 1604 there arrived in Mexico
five brothers of the order of San Juan de Dios — the emi-
nent order of hospitallers whose knowledge and practice of
sanitary science as applied to hospital treatment was very
nearly abreast of the highest authorities of our own day.
(It was by this order that the, for the times, enormous
advance was made of providing a bed for the sole occu-
pancy of each sick person.) These brothers brought
with them a royal order commanding the Viceroy to give
into their charge the Hospital del Espmtu Santu ; but as
this hosj)ital was in charge of the Hipolitos the Viceroy
accommodated the royal order to the existing situation
by placing them in charge (February 25, 1604) of the
Hospital de los Desamparados — which thereafter was
known by the name of their order and became once more
a hospital only. Their arrival was opportune for the good
maintenance of the charity, as the excellent Dr. Lopez
had died in the year 1596. Under their admirable man-
agement the hospital was materially improved and the
church, some years later, rebuilt in its present handsome
form (see Church of San Juan de Dios) ; and during the

260 MEXICAN GUIDE.

two hundred and sixteen years that the hospital was in
their charge they administered its affairs in the most ex-
emplary manner. In accordance with the tendency of
the Spanish government to suppress worthy and useful
religious orders while permittiog unworthy and useless
orders to survive, the order of Juaninos was suppressed
by a decree of the Cortes of October 1, 1820. Shortly
after this decree was executed in Mexico the hospital was
closed. By the exertions of private individuals, however —
notably by the exertions of Sr. Don Gaspar Cevallos —
the hospital was reopened March 8, 1845. It is now
known officially as the Hospital Morelos, but commonly
is called by its ancient name.

Hospital del Divlno Salvador (K. 115). In the lat-
ter part of the seventeenth century there was in the city
of Mexico a pious carpenter named Jose Sayago, whose
heart was troubled because there were found wandering
in the streets of the city many crazed women of whom
no one took thought or care. Therefore, aided by his
pious wife, he gathered together into his own small
house such of these as he could give place to ; and at his
own charge cared for them. In course of time the fame
of this most excellent charity came to the ears of the
Archbishop, and he, Don Francisco de Aguiar y Seijas,
enlarged and strengthened it by giving to Sayago, rent
free, a larger house, and by contributing from his purse
to the support of the crazed. In the year 1698, the
Archbishop dying, and Jose Sayago being dead also, the
Jesuit congregation of the Divine Saviour assumed the
charge of the hospital. By them the present site was
purchased, in the Calle de la Canoa, and here a new and
large hospital was opened in the year 1700. Upon the
suppression of the Jesuits, in 1767, the control of the

CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 261

hospital passed to the government ; when the building
was greatly improved and enlarged, at a cost of $50,000.
At this time, also, an improved system of treatment was
introduced, under which many of the crazed women were
restored to reason. Through all the changes of govern-
ment in Mexico this excellent charity has been con-
tinued. In the 3^ear 1861 its usefulness was impaired
temporarily by the diversion of its revenues by the gov-
ernment of Juarez. In 1863 its revenues were restored.

Hospital de San Andres (K. 110). The existing
hospital was established (in a building previously occu-
pied by the Jesuits as a novitiate and known as the Col-
legio de San Andres, because of the patronage in 1676,
of Captain Don Andres de Tapia Carbajal) as a pest-
house during a plague of small-pox in the year 1779. Its
founder was the Archbishop Nunez de Haro y Peralta;
and by certain concessions made by this ecclesiastic to
the Ayuntamiento, when the plague was ended the foun-
dation remained in his charge and was continued as a gen-
eral hospital. By the Laws of the Reform the property
passed to the government, and with it the very large
outside estate that the hospital had acquired. Since
this time it has been continued at the charges of the
municipality. It includes a department for the free
treatment of diseases of the eye.

Hospital Municipal Juarez (San Pablo, X. 112).
In August, 1575, the Augustinians having taken posses-
sion of the site now occupied by this building, built here
the College of San Pablo (see Church of San Pablo) ; and
in 1581 built a chapel wdthin their college upon the site
previously occupied by the parish chapel. Although
this was an important institution for more than two cen-
turies it fell gradually into decay ; so that in the early

262 MExiCAisr guide.

part of the present century a portion of its vacant build-
ings was bought or leased by the government and was
used as barracks. About the year 1847 urgent need for
a municipal hospital arose — through default of payment
by the Ayuntamiento of a debt of $80,000 due for the
care of the city's sick to the Hospital de San Andres,
and the consequent refusal of the custodians of that
hospital to receive any more patients for whose charges
the city was responsible. To meet this need, therefore,
the barracks in San Pablo were fitted up provisionally
for hospital purposes. The first patients received here
were the wounded from the battle of Padierna — the en-
counter with the American forces near San Angel of
August 19, 1847. During the war the hospital was
used by the military authorities ; but after the evacua-
tion of the city by the Americans the project of organiz-
ing here a municipal hospital was completed. The
establishment of this institution was due mainly to the
exertions of Dr. Jose XJrbano Fonseca. Later, additional
portions of the ancient college property were purchased
from the Augustinians ; and upon the sequestration of
the property, in 1861, the whole of it was converted to
hospital purposes. The Municipal Hospital of San Hipo-
lito (used as such fi-om some time in 1847) was merged
in it October 7, 1850 ; and August 12, 1862, the hospital
of San Lazaro was merged in it. The official name of
this institution now is the Hospital Municipal Juarez,
but it is better known by its ancient name of San Pablo.
Casa de Maternidad (I. 108). By an Imperial decree
of April 10, 1865, there was erected a Council of Public
Charities (Consejo General de Beneficencia) composed of
ten persons, under the presidency of the Empress Car-
lotta. By order of this council, and at the immediate

CIIAIIITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 263

and urgent suggestion of the Empress, the Casa de
Maternidad (Lying-in Hospital) was estabhshed. It was
founded by a decree of June 7, 1865, and so actively
was the work pushed that on June 7, 1866, it was for-
mally, opened. The hospital was built and furnished at a
cost of 814,000, its appointments being in every way in
conformity with the best French models. So great was
the interest taken in this institution bv the unfortunate
Empress that after her return to Europe she sent for use
in it a very perfect set of surgical instruments ; and,
later, 16,000 in money for its support.

Hospital Concepcion Beistigui (T. 20). This ad-
mirable institution, founded under the provisions of the
will of the Seiiorita Concepcion BSistigui, was opened
March 21, 1886, in the entirely remodelled convent of
the Begina Coeli. It is the best arranged and best ap-
pointed hospital in the city.

Other Hospitals. There are several other hospitals
in the city : the military hospital of San Lucas, and the
excellent private hospitals, respectively, of the American
(opened in 1886), French, and Spanish Benevolent Soci-
eties. Contributions to the American hospital fund may be
left with the Bev. John W. Butler, Calle de Gante, No, 5.

La Cuna (Foundling Asylum, O. 107). La Casa de
Sr. San Jose de Niiios expositos (known as la cuna —
literally, the cradle) owes its origin to the learned and
excellent Archbishop Lorenzana. It was founded Jan-
uary 11, 1766, upon its present site, Puente de la Merced,
No. 3, the building being purchased by the Archbishop
and the charity sustained from his private purse until his
return to Spain in the year 1771 ; while from Spain he
sent for its support very considerable sums. The same
interest was manifested in the charity by the succeeding

264 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Archbishop, Don Nuiiez Haro j Peralta, who supplied it;
with funds, and who, the better to secure its perpetual
support, founded for its custody and administration the
Congregacion de la Caridad. The constitution that he
then prepared for its direction was approved by a royal
order of July 19, 1774 ; and the same order declared the
Archbishops of Mexico to be its rectors in perpetuity.
By a decree of July 30, 1794, the children reared in the
charity were declared legitimate for all civil purposes, and
capable of enjoying all employments and honors open
to good citizens of known birth. It was further provided
that the children should receive as a patronymic the name
of Lorenzana, at once to provide them with an honorable
name and to perpetuate the fame of the excellent charity
of the founder. So popular did this charity become that
its endowment fund in the course of a few years amount-
ed to upward of $200,000. Nearly all of this endowment
was dissipated by the waste incident to revolutionary
times, and the charity now is maintained at the charges
of the municipality. It has accommodations for more
than 200 foundlings. Besides caring for their material
needs, the children are taught reading, writing, arithme-
tic, grammar, drawing, sacred history. Christian doctrine,
polite behavior ; besides which the girls receive instruc-
tion in sewing, embroidery, and music.

Hospicio de Pobres (Asylum for the Poor, I. 106).
This very large and important charity, situated upon the
Avenida Juarez nearly opposite the western end of the
Alameda, owes its origin to the Precentor Dr. Fernando
Ortiz Cortes. This worthy gentleman, sorrowing for the
condition of the many poor in the city's streets, obtained
a license — approved by a royal order of July 9, 1765 —
that permitted him to gather them together and care for

CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 2Go

them. The asykim was opened March 19, 1774 ; and so
rapidly did the demands upon it increase that in 1783 an
annual gi-ant of $1,000 monthly for its support was made
from the receipts of the government lottery. The build-
ing was much enlarged by Don Francisco Zufiiga. Later
the entire charge of the asylum was assumed by the
municipality. The charity is divided into departments
in which, respectively, old men, old women, girls, and
boys are cared for. It has at present about 800 inmates.
Monte de Piedad (M. 95). The National pawn-shop
of the Monte de Piedad was founded by Pedro Romero
de Terreros, Conde de Eegla, owner of the famous
mines of Real del Monte, for the charitable purpose of
enabling the poor of the capital to obtain loans on
pledges for almost nominal rates of interest. Its effect,
to the material gain of the poorer classes, was to break
up the usurious rates of interest previously charged
by private pawn-brokers. For the purposes of the
charity he endowed the establishment with a fund of
$300,000. His project was approved in a royal order of
June 2, 1774, published in Mexico February 11, 1775 ;
and on the 25th of February ensuing the Monte de Pie-
dad was opened to the public in the ex-college of San
Pedro y San Pablo. Thence it was removed to the Calle
de San Juan de Letran ; whence it was removed finally
to its present handsome building — erected for its accom-
modation on the site previously occupied by the palace
of Cortes — in the Calle del Empedradillo, just west of
the Cathedral. Upon its foundation no fixed charges,
or, indeed, charges of any sort, were made for its loans.
Payment for the obligation conferred was left to the dis-
cretion of the borrower, who simply was invited, when
repaying his loan and receiving again his pledge, to make

266 MEXICAN GUIDE.

a gift for the maintenance of the charity. This benevo-
lent laxity led to so much abuse that it became necessary
to fix a regular rate of interest for loans ; but the rate
was fixed at the lowest figure that would yield sufiicient
revenue to meet necessary expenses. These exceedingly
low charges always have been maintained ; the charitable
purpose of the founder never having been lost sight of
by the administrators of the fund. When, by bad man-
agement, in the year 1814, the capital was seriously im-
paired, being reduced to but little more than $100,000,
the deficiency was made good and the original endow-
ment regained. Subsequently to this, good management
and careful investments raised the capital to upward of
half a million. The average annual loans on pledges are
in the neighborhood of $1,000,000, distributed among
from 40,000 to 50,000 borrowers. During the adminis-
tration of President Gonzales, in 1884, the capital of the
Monte de Piedad again was most seriously impaired, and
its charitable usefulness correspondingly crippled. From
this blow it has not yet recovered, though on narrower
lines the beneficent purpose of its founder still is ful-
filled.

Sales of unredeemed pledges are made at the Monte
de Piedad and tourists will find this a very desirable
place in which to look for bargains in bric-a-brac. As
the articles are put on sale they are marked with a cer-
tain price that cannot be lessened until a month has
passed. During the second month a lower price is af-
fixed ; and this monthly lessening continues until they
are sold, or the sum that has been advanced ujDon them
is reached. By keeping track of these marking down
periods the searcher for bric-a-brac very often can secure
great prizes for comparatively small sums.

Charitable institutions. 267

Colegio de la Paz (Vizcainas, T. 100). Tradition tells
that one evening in the year 1732, three rich merchants
of Mexico, Don Ambrosio Meave, Don Francisco Echev-
este, and Don Jose Aldaco, all by birth Biscayans, were
^valking• together in the waste place where now stands
the magnificent building of the Colegio de la Paz. As
they thus walked they met a party of unkempt, ill-clad
little girls, whose evil language no less than their forsaken
appearance pained deeply the hearts of these honest gen-
tlemen. They asked the children if there was no school
in that quarter of the town ; and the children answered
that there was none. As they walked homeward, com-
muning together upon the pitiful sight that they had
seen, they resolved conjointly to build and endow a
school into which girls thus uncared for might be re-
ceived and carefully taught such useful knowledge and
such moral truths as would fit them to lead honorable
and useful lives. This project they at once put into exe-
cution. The very spot upon which their charitable pur-
pose was conceived they bought, paying for it the sum
of $33,618, and the first stone of the building now stand-
ing there was laid July 31, 1734 — which was then dedi-
cated to San Ignacio Loyola, whence it derived its primi-
tive name of Colegio de San Ignacio. By the year 1767,
the founders had expended upon the institution, in its
erection, furnishing, and maintenance, the sum of $583,-
118, and since that date enlargements and repairs have
brought the total cost to very nearly $2,000,000. The
foundation, and the constitutional scheme provided for
its conduct, were approved by Charles III. in a royal
order of September 1, 1753, the charge of administration
being confided to the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Aran-
zazLi — also a Biscayan foundation. From its control

268 MEXICA]^ GUIDE.

by this Biscayan fraternity, and influenced by the Bis-
cayan extraction of its founders, the college came pres-
ently to be known as the Yizcainas — by which name it
continues popularly to be styled. Upon the extinction
of the Brotherhood the college was taken charge of by a
board of direction empowered to fill vacancies in its
number subject. to the approval of the government. The
institution has a considerable endowment, and receives
also an annual subvention from the government for its
support. The school, divided into primary and second-
ary departments, is admirably managed, the course of
teaching including, in addition to the ordinary branches
of education, sewing and embroidery — for which latter
the establishment is famous. (Persons properly presented
may purchase specimens of this very beautiful work. )
There are at present about 300 pupils in the institution.
On the execution of the Laws of the Reform the pupils
of the Colegio de Ninas and the pupils of the Colegio
de San Miguel de Belen were brought hither. The
college building is one of the most extensive, substan-
tial, and magnificent edifices of the capital. Within it is
a handsome chapel dedicated to San Ignacio.

Other Charities. 1. Escuela correccional (Correc-
tional School) de Artes y Oficios was founded in the ex-
college of San Gregorio by the governor of the Federal
District, Don Ramon Fernandez, in the year 1881. — 2.
Tecpan de Santiago, industrial school for orphans,
founded, in the ancient building of the Tecpan de San-
tiago, by Don Manuel Eduardo de Gorostiza, in 1841.
There are 1,300 scholars in the school. — 3. Escuela de
Artes y Oficios para mugeres (industrial school for
women) founded by the Minister de Gobernacion, under
the auspices of President Juarez, in 1871. — 4. Escuela

PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT. 269

Je Artes y Oficios para bombres (industrial school for
men), fouuded iu the ex-convent of San Lorenzo by Don
Francisco Tagle. — 5. Escuela de sordo-mudos (school
for deaf mutes), founded by Don Ignacio Trigueros and
Don Urbano Fonseca in 1867. — 6. Escuela de ciegos
(school for the blind), founded in a portion of the ex-
convent of the Enseiianza by Don Ignacio Trigueros in
1871. — 7. Asilo de mendigos (asylum for beggars)
founded, in a building erected for this purpose, by Don
Francisco Diaz de Leon in 1879.

IX. PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT.

Teatro Principal (K. 121). Toward the end of the

seventeenth century the Brothers of San Hipolito, in
order to obtain funds wherewith to sustain the Hos-
pital Real (which see) founded, in connection with that
charitable institution, a small theatre. In this little
wooden structure plays were given by the plaj^ers whom
the Brothers hired, to the very serious annoyance
— as contemporary writers declare — of the unlucky
patients ; for the performances made a prodigious noise !
And much scandal was created in the city by the spec-
tacle of theatrical performances presided over by, and
given for the benefit of, a religious order. On the night
of January 19, 1722, the play of " The Ruin and Burn-
ing of Jerusalem " was given, with " Here was Troy "
underlined for the ensuing evening. But a part of the
embers of Jerusalem remained after the performance
was ended ; and early on the morning of January 20,
the theatre was burned down. Among the common
people the fire was looked upon as a sign of heavenly

270 MEXICAN GUIDE.

reprobation of the unlioly means of making money that
the Brothers had adopted. In this fire a part of the
hospital also was destroyed. Undeterred by their
severe lesson, the Brothers rebuilt their theatre imme-
diately ; and in the year 1725 they built once more,
though still of wood, in a more desirable location^^ — upon
the street then called the Calle de la Acequia, but now-
known as the Coliseo Viejo. The entrance to this theatre
still may be seen near the centre of the Portales. Finally,
December, 1752, the present building was begun, being
completed December 25, 1753 — and being that day
opened with the comedy " Better it Is than it Was."
The theatre belonged to the Hospital Keal until that
institution was extinguished. It then passed to the
college of San Gregorio by the decree of October 11,
1824 ; and in 1846 passed into private hands. Very
little of the original structure remains visible. The
interior has been completely transformed, and the exist-
ing fayade is a recent construction of the architect Ig-
nacio Hidalga. It is very rarely that leading attractions
are found here.

Teatro Nacional (K 119). This is the principal and
most fashionable theatre of the city. It was built after
plans by the architect Don Lorenzo Hidalga by Don
Francisco Ai'beu, and was opened in the year 1844. It
has a seating capacity of 3,000, a large foyer, and a
handsome portico. At this theatre at least one good
Italian or French opera company fills an engagement
of several weeks in the course of each winter, and other
performances of merit are given here. It also is the
scene of public functions — as the commencement ex-
ercises of the Military School of Chapultepec — of popu-
lar concerts, and so forth.

PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT. 271

Other theatres. The Ai-beu (T. 123), in the Calle de
San FeHpe Neri, was opened in 1875. A company of
Mexican plaj'ei's usuall}' gives good comedy or entertain-
ing tragedy.— The Hidalgo (V. 122), in the Calle de Cor-
chero, is on the same footing as the Arbeu. Neither of
these theatres is fashionable, but both are wholly respect-
able.— There are several small theatres, roughly built of
wood, in w^hich performances are given on Sunday and
feast-day afternoons to popular audiences. A great deal
of human nature can be seen at these performances ; but
the audiences are not of a desirable sort to mingle with.

Salon de Conciertos, the concert hall of the Conser-
vatorio de Musica (M. 104). Concerts of a high order
of excellence are given here by the Sociedad Filarmonica.
This little theatre is the handsomest in the city.

Circus. A fairly good circus company gives perform-
ances every evening, and on Sunday and feast-day after-
noons in the Plazuela de Santo Domingo.

Buii-flghting. As this pleasing pastime is prohibited
within the limits of the Federal District, travellers desir-
ing to witness it must go a-field in order to gratify their
sporting tastes. Bull-fights usually are given on Sunday
and great feast-day afternoons at Tlalnepantla, within an
hour's ride by horse-car, or a half hour's ride by steam-
car. Fights are given occasionally in Toluca on Sundays
or feast-days, when special trains are run by the Mexican
National Railway Company.

273 MEXICAN GUIDE.

X PUBLIC WORKS.

Plaza Mayor de la Constltucion, the Main Plaza,
in the centre of the city. In the primitive city of Tenoch-
titlan a considerable portion of the present Plaza was
included in the grounds belonging to the great temple.
"When the present city was laid out, in 1522, after the
temple had been destroyed, an open space was left here.
In course of time, however, various small buildings
were erected on this space, and the portion of it remain-
ing free of buildings was occupied as a market. The
present Plaza, therefore, dates from a royal order of
January 18, 1611, that caused the market to be removed.
A large number of small wooden buildings still re-
mained in the southern half of the Plaza, but these,
fortunately, were burned down. The fire, which took
place November 16, 1658, began in a barber shop be-
longing to a Chinaman (at this time Mexico's trade with
China had risen to great proportions) and was fought in
an eminently characteristic manner. The fire brigade
consisted of the prominent clergy of the cit}", headed by
the Archbishop, and the fire-quenching apparatus was a
formidable array of holy relics held up in sight of the
flames. The method was not a success : all the build-
ings were burned. This portion of the Plaza being
cleared, a still further clearance was made in the ensuing
January, when all the fruit-sellers and bakers were
ordered to betake themselves to the site of ihe present
market of the Volador ; and in October a general clear-
ance of the remaining buildings was effected, and drain-
age trenches were cut leading to the acequia that then
ran along the southern side. The reform was only tern-

PUBLIC WORKS. 273

porary, however, for presentlj'- the little shops all were
back again. No less than 280 of them were erected —
the rents derived from them by the city being more at-
tractive than their objectionable presence was repulsive
— and the aggregation of little buildings was known as
the cajoncitos (shoplets) de San Jose. These were all
destroyed in the great riot of June 8, 1692. In the year
1692, following a bad season, there was a famine in the
land, disposing the common people to mutiny. The
actual beginning of the riot was the killing of an Indian
woman by a vender of corn, a mulatto, as the result of
an altercation that had arisen between them in regard
to the price — for corn was more precious than silver in
that bad time and the price was very high. The hus-
band of the slain woman carried her body to his home
in the Indian quarter of Santiago Tlaltelolco ; and there,
showing her thus dead to his hungry and moody neigh-
bors, and calling for vengeance, he found no difficulty in
sowing the seeds of riot in the fertile field of their dis-
content. Presently, at the head of a mob of two hun-
dred, he returned to the city ; and he and his company
sought to see the Archbishop and the Viceroy that they
might have justice and food. But as these dignitaries
of the Church and State refused to hold converse with
them, the Indians presently assaulted the Archbishop's
and the Viceroy's palaces with sticks and stones. With
each moment came more Indians, swelling the crowd in
the Plaza ; and as they grew bolder with added numbers
they built fires at the doors of the palaces, and before
the door also of the house of the Ayuntamiento, and
these fires they fed with the wood whereof the little
shops in the Plaza were built : and the end of it all was
that the palaces and some other buildings were injui-ed

274 MEXICAl^ GUIDE.

and all the little shops, were destroyed. On this occa-
sion the clergy made no effort to put out the fire, but to
them the ending of the riot was due : for the canons of the
Cathedral brought thence the Host, and at sight of this
the tumult was stilled. The loss occasioned by the riot
was upward of $3,000,000. In the fire were lost a portion
of the archives of the city ; and all would have been lost
but for the bravery of their guardian, Don Carlos de Sigii-
enza y Gongora, who at the peril of his life brought the
more precious of the records from among the flames.

After this sweeping of the Plaza the Ayuntamiento
erected upon its southern side a handsome stone building
for the accommodation of merchants of the better class,
that was completed April 19, 1703, and that was known
by the Mexican name of the Parian (bazar) — and in a
little while the venders of fruit and other small mer-
chants asserted themselves as before. An existing print,
of about the beginning of the eighteenth century, shows
the Plaza thus encumbered ; and adorned — directly in
front of the Vice-royal palace — with the gallows and the
frame for the display of the heads of criminals, with a
forlorn statue of Fernando YL, and with the cemetery of
the cathedral extending far beyond the limits of the pres-
ent atrium ; while along the Plaza's eastern and southern
sides were open drains foul beyond words. Such was
its condition when the Conde de Eevillagigedo became
Viceroy in 1789. This very positive and energetic gentle-
man reformed a great many things in Mexico, and the
Plaza Mayor was one of them. He caused the open
ditches to be made into culverts ; the walls surrounding
the cemetery of the cathedral to be torn down, and a
smaller space inclosed by stone posts and chains (some
of which still remain) ; the gallows and array of crimi-

PUBLIC WORKS. 275

nal's heads to be removed, and the whole Plaza cleansed
and set in order. Still further improvements were made
by inclosing a large circular space with a stone wall and
iron gates preparatory to the erection here (November 9,
1803) of the equestrian statue of Charles V. (which see) ;
subsequently removed (1824) for safe-keeping to the pa-
tio of the University.

Dui'ing all this time, a period of more than a century
and a quarter, the Parian remained the seat of Mexico's
richest trade. Within it the merchant princes of the
city had great stores of all manner of gold and jewels
and rich stuffs from the East. It disappeared in Decem-
ber, 1828, in the midst of a revolutionary outbreak.
For several days, following December 3, the robbing
continued, no effort being made to check it by the revo-
lutionary leaders temporarily in possession of the city.
The stolen merchandise even was sold publicly, at very
low prices, in the plazuela of Santo Domingo. In the
history of Mexico there is no more disgraceful page
than this which records the sacking of the Parian. When
order was restored the merchants had no desire to re-
turn to the unlucky building ; and from that time dates
the establishment of the principal shops of the city in
the streets of San Francisco and Plateros. In the j^ear
1843 the Parian was torn down and its site became a part
of the Plaza. The existing Garden of the Zocalo derives
its name from the foundation [zocalo) that was laid there
forty years or so ago, for a monument to Mexican Inde-
pendence ; but the monument never got further than its
foundation,* and the zocalo is now used as a music stand.

* There is a precise parallel to this in the base of the Washing-
ton Monument laid mortj than fifty years ago in Washington
Square, Philadelphia.

276 MEXICAN GUIDE.

The Garden of the Zocalo is pretty in itself, but as it
ruins the view of the cathedral its removal is to be hoped
for. It was made in 1866, during the French occupation,
and is an artistic mistake. The gardens on the western
and southern sides of the cathedral, also are to be re-
gretted, since they have lessened the size of the atrium
and injured the general effect. The western and southern
gardens have been made, and the flower-market erected,
since the year 1880. The fight against the little shops
and other disfiguring features still continues — the city
fathers being tempted, as in the past, b}'' the considerable
rents to be obtained from thus leasing the public lands.
Only a short time ago, in the spring of 1885, the pressure
of public opinion compelled the removal of a circus tent
and a disreputable shanty-theatre from the Plaza del
Seminario (where the book market now is), these struc-
tures having for several years interrupted the beautiful
view of the Sagrario that now can be had from the north-
ern end of the Palace. Usually a band plays in the gar-
den of the Zocalo in the evening ; the whole Plaza is
lighted brilliantly, and all classes take here their evening
stroll. The general effect is eminently operatic.

Piaza del Seminario, an extension northward of the Plaza
Mayor. It derives its name from the extinct Seminario
Conciliar, formerly housed in a large building (part
of which still exists) at its northern end. In this plaza
is a curious and very interesting monument to Eurico
Martinez, the famous engineer by whom the drainage of
the valley was effected by the cut of Nochistongo. On
a base, surrounded by an iron railing having bronze
lamps at its angles, is raised a square pedestal of marble
supporting a female figure in bronze, emblematic of the
City of Mexico, modelled by the sculptor Noreiia. Inlaid

PUBLIC WORKS. 277

in the marble pedestal are bronze standards of the vara,
metre, and yard ; the bench-mark (identical with that on
the northwestern corner of the Palace) from which all
elevations are computed ; a record of the level of the
water in Lake Texcoco at various epochs ; the magnetic
declination, together with other interesting engineering
data.

La Alameda (so-called because it was first planted
with alamos, or poplars. The name is now applied very
generally throughout Mexico to any large pleasure-
ground or park). In a council held January 11, 1592,
the then Viceroy, Don Luis de Yelasco, requested the
Ayuntamiento to set apart a portion of the city funds for
making a paseo for the ennoblement of Mexico and the
recreation of its citizens. The Ayuntamiento, approving
tliis request, set apart the place known as the Tianquis
(market) de San Hipolito, a very ancient Indian market,
for a pleasure-ground ; the tract embracing only that
portion of the present Alameda that lies east of a line
drawn from the church of Corpus Christi to the church
of San Juan de Dios. And this place was planted with
poplar trees ; was made beautiful with fountains and
flowers, and was inclosed with a wall pierced by gate-
ways. In the open space westward was the Plaza del
Quemadero, so-called because there was erected the
stone platform whereon were burned the criminals con-
demned by the Inquisition (see p. 26). During the
reign (1766-71) of the Viceroy the Marques de Croix,
the quemadero was removed (though the unholiness of
the act raised such a storm about the Viceroy's ears that
the quemadero seemed in a fair way to remain and the
Viceroy to be burned upon it for heresy !) thus giving
to the Alameda its present shape and size : a parallelo-

278 MEXICAN GUIDE.

gram 1,483 feefclong, by 712 wide. It was still further
improved by the Viceroy Revillagigedo who, in the year
1791, encircled it with a high wooden fence through
which access was had by means of wooden gates. In
1822 the stone wall and iron gates which had inclosed
the statue of Charles IV. in the Plaza Mayor were re-
moved, and were erected around it ; a wdde, shallow
fosse being made outside of this inclosure. Within
the past few years the Alameda has been given its pres-
ent beautiful appearance. The fosse has been filled in,
the gates and wall removed (the last of the wall being-
taken away in 1885), the numerous fountains placed in
perfect order, quantities of roses and flowering shrubs
planted, a handsome music stand built, and various other
substantial improvements in excellent taste effected. In
the course of this reformation one change in shock-
ingly bad taste has been made : all of the picturesque
gray stone benches have been painted in offensively
brilliant colors ! The Alameda is the favorite morning
walk for ladies and children. It is much frequented,
also, by the students of the capital, who come to this
quiet place to study.

Paseo de la Viga, in the southeastern suburb, on the
banks of the Viga canal. This ancient paseo is almost
deserted save during Lent, when an old custom pre-
scribes that fashion shall air itself here — a custom that
with each passing year is less and less observed. It is a
forlorn paseo now, having been sadly neglected of late
years. About midway in its length is a melancholy bust
(erected August 13, 1869) of Guatimotzin — the last of
the Aztec kings. But for all its forlornness, it is by far
the most entertaining drive in the vicinity of the city,
the very picturesque adjunct of the Viga canal (which

PUBLIC WORKS. 279

see) giving* a cliaracteristic qualitj^ to it not to be
found elsewhere. During Lent, and especially early in
the morning of Thursday in Easter week (when the banks
of the canal and the boats pl3dng upon it are buried in
flowers), a more delightful drive than that along the
Paseo de la Viga is not to be found.

Paseo de Bucareli, or Paseo Nuevo, in the south-
western suburb, was opened November 4, 1778, during
the Vice-royalty of Don Antonio Maria de Bucareli —
whence its name. The paseo has the same starting-point
as that of the Reforma, the circular plazuela in which
stands the statue of Charles IV., and extends almost due
south from the city to the Garita de Belen, a distance of
about half a mile. In the glorieta (the large circular space
surrounded by stone benches) near its centre is a once
handsome fountain surmounted by a statue of Victory,
the whole (completed September 16, 1829) having been
erected in honor of Guerrero. This paseo practically is
abandoned.

Paseo de la Reforma, in the southwestern suburb,
the fashionable drive, and one of the most beautiful
drives possessed by any city either in Europe or Amer-
ica. The paseo, begun during the French occupation,
is of ample width, two miles long, and leads in a straight
line from the plazuela in which stands the equestrian
statue of Charles IV. to the gates of Chapultepec —
the castle standing out very effectively upon its craggy
height at the end of the long perspective formed by the
double row of trees on each side of the avenue. Be-
neath the trees are broad footways, along which carved
stone benches are disposed at short intervals. In the
course of the two miles there are six glorieta^, each 400
feet in diameter, surrounded by stone benches. Two of

280 MEXICAN GUIDE.

these already are adorned with imposing monuments,
Columbus and Guatimotzin (see Monuments) ; in a third
a monument to Juarez soon will be erected, and the
others similarly will be devoted to the memory of men
illustrious in Mexican history. The statue of Charles
rV., at the beginning of this line of works of art (al-
though foreign to the historic unities of the scheme as a
whole) adds materially to the very impressive general
effect. The paseo is the daily early morning and late
afternoon ride and drive of fashionable Mexico. In the
morning the pasear — usually extended through the grove
of Chapultepec — is taken at a brisk pace and for its own
sake ; in the afternoon it is a slow, formal performance
over less than half the length of the paseo, and is taken
for the sake of seeing and being seen.

Calzadas (causeways). Three narrow causeways,
north, south, and west, connected the ancient city of
Tenochtitlan with the mainland. Eastward of the city
were the far-extending waters of Lake Texcoco, The
southern causeway, probably known as Acachinanco,
forked at a point northward of the existing Garita of
San Antonio Abad, one branch extending southwest to
Coyoacan, the other southeast to Ixtapalapan. It was
by the route from Ixtapalapan that Cortes entered the
city, his meeting with Montezuma taking place in Huit-
zillan at the intersection of the present streets of the
Paja (or Hospital de Jesus) and Jesus. The causeway
was enlarged in the year 1605.

The western causeway, leading to Tlacopan (of which
word Tacuba is a corruption) is identical with the cause-
way now existing. This primitive footway, being the
shortest connection with the mainland, was the first to
be widened by the Spaniards after the Conquest. In

PUBLIC WORKS. 281

order to make a sure way of retreat the several cuts, so
disastrous to them during the retreat of the Noche
Triste, were filled in ; the path was broadened, and
especial inducements were offered to house-building
along the causeway to the end that a series of defences
might be thus obtained.

The northern causeway, leading to Tepeyac, now Te-
peyacac is identical with the eastern of the now-existing
two causeways leading northward. It was repaired and
enlarged, under the direction of Fray Juan de Torque-
mada, then guardian of the monastery of Santiago Tlal-
telolco, after the inundation of 1604 — at which time all
of the causeways underwent repair and enlargement,
and the new causeways leading to Chapultepec and to
the Piedad, were built. The western of the two cause-
ways to Guadalupe, the Calzada Nueva, is of more recent
construction. It was begun December 17, 1675, and
was finished August 17, 1676, under the direction of the
then Viceroy and Archbishop, Don Fray Payo de Eivera.
This elegant work was ornamented by a large glorieta
near its middle, and by fifteen beautiful altar-hke struc-
tures of stone, richly sculptured, disposed at regular in-
tervals, dedicated to the fifteen mysteries of the rosary ;
in front of each of which the appropriate prayer was
made by the pilgrims walking from the city to the shrine
of Guadalupe. It is greatly to be regretted that this most
curious and magnificent work has been suffered to fall
into decay. The arches of the numerous little bridges
along it have been broken down ; several of the beautiful
altars have disappeared entirely ; the glorieta (restored
about forty years ago) again is in ruins, and — crowning act
of vandalism — the entire causeway has been turned into a
railway embankment for the use of the line to Vera Cruz !

282 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Aqueducts. The water-supply of the city is prO'
vided by two open aqueducts, numerous artesian wells,
and a line of pipes (for the supply of the northern
quarter) from springs near Guadalupe. The longer
aqueduct, bringing the best water, is supplied from
springs in the mountains of the Leones and near the
Desierto, about twenty miles southwest of the cit^^o
The aqueduct proper begins at Tres Cruces, four milea
from the city, skirts the western edge of the park of
Chapultepec and enters the city at San Cosme. Form-
erly it was continued eastward from San Cosme to the
street of Santa Ysabel — passing tlie Alameda and af-
fording a convenient place from which to witness the
burning of criminals condemned by the Inquisition.
From San Cosme the water now is brought into the
city through pipes. This important work was exe-
cuted b}'^ the Viceroy, the Marques de Montes Claros be-
tween the years 1603 and 1607, being then completed
to precisely where it now ends at San Cosme ; it was
extended to Santa Ysabel in 1620. It is composed of
more than nine hundred arches of brick and stone, ris-
ing from a solid stone foundation, and carrying a solid
stone wall five feet thick, upon the top of which is the
open channel. Its cost was $150,000 — probably little
more than the cost of material employed.

The shorter aqueduct, about two miles in length,
similar in construction to the foregoing, brings the water
from the great spring at Chapultepec to the southwestern
quarter of the city. Its terminus is the handsome foun-
tain, in the churrigueresque style, known as the Salto
del Agua. Along inscription upon this fountain tells
that the aqueduct was completed during the Viceroyalty
of Don Antonio Maria de Bucareli, March 20, 1779.

VARIOUS MATTERS OF INTEREST. 28',]

Another inscription contains the statement : *' The course
of this aqueduct is the same as that of the aqueduct
made by the Aztecs in the reign of Chimalpopoca, who
was granted the right to the water of Chapultepec by
the king of Atzcapotzalco : to whom the Aztecs were
tributary until the reign of Itzcohuatl (1422-33, a.d.)
when they achieved theh' independence." A part of the
aqueduct was torn down in 1886.

XL VARIOUS MATTERS OF INTEBEST.

Public Monuments. Among the notable public
monuments of the city the oldest, and on some accounts
the most interesting, is the equestrian statue of Charles
rV., standing in the plazuela at the western end of the
Avenida Juarez. At the request of the then Viceroy, the
Marques de Branciforte, a royal order was issued, Novem-
ber 30, 1795, granting him permission to erect this statue
in the Plaza Mayor. The Marques formally assumed the
charges of the work, but in point of fact nearly the whole
of its cost was defrayed by the municipality and private
individuals. The commission was given to the sculptor
and architect Don Manuel Tolsa, and the casting in bronze
to Don Salvador de la Vega. Pending the completion of
the work, a wooden model of the statue, gilded, was
placed on the pedestal prepared for it in the centre of
the Plaza Mayor ; around the pedestal was a lai'ge glorieta,
inclosed with stone seats and four handsome iron gates
(now the gates of the park of Chapultepec). The mould
and furnaces were made ready in the gardens of San
Gregorio, and — after two days spent in fusing the mass
of metal, nearly thirty tons — the casting was made at 6
A.M., August 4, 1802. The casting, remarkable alike for

284 MEXICAN GUIDE.

being in a single piece, and for being the first important
piece of bronze executed in America, came out from the
mould complete and without defect. Fourteen months
were employed in finishing the work, and on November
29, 1803, it was raised upon its pedestal in the Plaza. The
formal unveiHng took place, with great ceremony, on the
9th of the ensuing December. Here it remained until
1822 when, the feeling against Spain being very bitter,
the glorieta in the Plaza was torn away — the stone benches
and gates being removed to the Alameda — and the statue
was inclosed in a great wooden globe, painted blue, so
that the sight of it might not be an offence to patriotic
eyes. But even thus covered the statue excited so much
ill-will that, in 1824, it was taken down from its pedestal
and placed in the patio of the University — a comparatively
out-of-the-way jDlace, where it remained in genteel semi-
obscurity until 1852. By this time the bitter feeling
against Spain had so far passed away that the statue safely
could be made public once more. It was then set up in
the commanding position that it now occupies. It is, as
has been said, a solid casting in bronze, weighing nearly
thirty tons ; the height of horse and rider, together, 15 ft.
9 in. The king is dressed in classic style, wearing a laurel
wreath and holding in his right hand a raised sceptre. The
horse is represented in the act of walking slowly, the
left fore-foot and the right hind-foot being raised. The
general effect of the work is heavy, but the lines and com-
position are good ; the figure is well seated, and the ac-
tion of the horse is excellent. Considering the circum-
stances under which this work was executed — to say noth-
ing of the difficulty of making an heroic figure out of
such desperately ugly material as was afforded by this
particular king — the statue is entitled to high praise.

VAiaOUS MATTEKS OF INTEREST. 285

The Columbus monument, in the Paseo de la Reforma,
was erected at the charges of Don Antonio Escandon, to
whose public spirit and enterprise the building of the
Vera Cruz and Mexico railway was due. The monument
is the work of the French sculptor Cordier. The base
is a large platform of basalt surrounded by a balustrade
of iron, above which are five lanterns. From this base
rises a square mass of red marble ornamented wath four
basso-relievos : the arms of Columbus, surrounded with
garlands of laurels ; the rebuilding of the monastery of
Santa Maria de la Rabida ; the discovery of the island of
San Salvador ; a fragment of a letter from Columbus to
Raphadi Sauris, beneath which is the dedication of the
monument by Seiior Escandon. Above the basso-relievos,
surrounding the pedestals, are four life-size figures in
bronze : in front and to the right of the statue of Co-
lumbus (that stands upon a still higher plane) Padre
Marchena, guardian of the monastery of Santa Maria de
la Rabida ; in front and to the left, Padre Fray Diego
Dehesa, confessor of King Ferdinand — to the support of
which two men Columbus owed the royal favor ; in the
rear, to the right, Fray Pedro de Gante ; in the rear, to
the left. Fray Bartolome de las Casas — the two mission-
aries who most earnestly gave their protection to the In-
dians. Crowning the whole, upon a pedestal of red mar-
ble, is the figure of Columbus, in the act of drawing
aside the veil that hides the New World. In conception
and in treatment this work is admirable ; charming in
sentiment, and technically good. The monument stands
in a httle garden inclosed by iron chains hung upon
posts of stone, around which extends a large glorieta.

The Cuauhtemotzin (Guatimotzin) monument, in the
Paseo de la Reforma, not yet completed, promises to be

286 MEXICAN GUIDE.

a worthy associate of the monument to Columbns. It is
the work of the architect Don Francisco Jimenez, and
very skilfully combines modern forms with primitive
Mexican architectural detail. A bust of this unfortunate
monarch, the last Aztec king, also is found in the old
Paseo de la Viga, where it was placed August 13, 1869 —
the anniversary of the final conquest of the city.

The Juarez monument, the work of the brothers Islas,
marking the grave of the great President in the cemetery
of San Fernando, is entitled to almost unqualified praise.
The design comprehends a Grecian temple of marble,
small but well proportioned, without interior walls and
surrounded by rows of columns. On the base thus pro-
tected but not obscured is the commemorative group :
the dead President stretched at full length, his head
supported on the knee of a mourning female figure of
Mexico. There is a simplicity, a nobility, a freedom
from conventionaHsm, in this work that, joined with its
excellent technical qualities and its full expression of
heroic grief, makes it most impressive as a monumental
marble and to a high degree satisfying as a work of art.

In the plazuela de Morelos, between the churches of
Santa Vera Cruz and San Juan de Dios is a statue in
marble of the hero-priest Morelos, the work of the
sculptor Piati. It is interesting as having been erected
during the French occupation — though ordered before
that time — and as having been unveiled by Maximilian,
September 30, 1865, on the one hundredth anniversar}"
of the patriot's birth. In the plaza of San Fernando is a
bronze statue of the patriot Guerrero, modelled by the
sculptor Norena and cast in Mexico.

Notable Buildings. North of the Calle del Parque
del Conde, facing the Hotel Humboldt and close by the

VARIOUS MATTERS OF INTEREST. 287

Hospital de Jesus, is the quaintly magnificent house
once owned by the Condes de Santiago, one of the most
noble families of New Spain, The house is three stories
in height and gains distinct individuality from the
stone water-spouts, wrought in the form of cannon, pro-
jecting from its battlements. The doors of the main
entrance are richly carved, the central carving being the
arms of the family. In the interior is a large and hesm-
tiiu\2Mf.io. The lower floors of the building are now
used as shops. In the rear of the house formerly were
extensive grounds, the parque, whence the adjacent
street derives its name.

The building in the First Calle de San Francisco, pop-
ularly known as the Palace of Yturbide (occupied since
1855 as a hotel), a ponderous and rather dismal struc-
ture, was erected by the Marquesa de San Mateo Val-
paraiso in the last century. This estimable lady was
possessed of a very large fortune and by a strong de-
termination that her lawful heirs should derive no bene-
fit from it. Therefore she built this palace, apparently
believing that no one ever would be found who willingly
would live in it. The land upon which it stands had
belonged to the convent of Santa Brigida, and a convent
would have been built here but for the Marquesa's whim.
The building is notable as having been occupied by the
Emperor Yturbide during his ephemeral reign.

On the northern side of the causeway leading to Ta-
cuba, a short distance outside the Garita of San Cos me,
is the casa de los mascarones, so called because of its
curious grotesque ornamentation, of which stone masks
are a conspicuous feature. This highly original dwell-
ing was begun by Don Jose de Mendoza, Conde del
Valle de Orizaba, but at the time of his death, in the

288 MEXICAN GUIDE.

year 1771, only the extraordinary exterior was com-
pleted. Upon this he had spent $100,000. For a long
while it was suffered to fall into decay, being even used
as a stable. In the year 1824 it was sold at auction for
a small sum and was made habitable ; not being finished,
however, in accordance with the original plans. A more
delightfully irrational dwelling than this is never was
devised by mortal man.

In the house No. 3, Calle de San Agustin, Humboldt
lived during his sojourn, in the year 1803, in the City of
Mexico. The tablet commemorating this fact was
erected by German residents of the city on the one hun-
dredth anniversary of Humboldt's birth, Sept. 14, 1869.

Near the western end and upon the southern side of
the Puente de Alvarado is a house noticeable because of
the recessed curve of its front, its walled-up windows
on the ground floor, and the glimpse to be had through
its locked iron gates of a great tangled but beautiful
garden in the rear. It was originally the property of the
Seiiora Dona Victoria Eul de Perez Galvez ; but is more
noteworthy as having been owned for a time by Bazaine.

On the First Calle de San Francisco, with its western
side upon the plazuela de Guardiola, is the very beauti-
ful casa de azulejos — tiled house — built by the Conde del
Valle de Orizaba, probably early in the last century. As
an architectural curiosity, and as a work of art, this house
is unique in Mexico.

Among the other buildings which command attention
either by their size or their beauty, or by both combined,
are : The Banco Nacional, at the corner of the Puente
del Espiritu Santo and the Calle de Capuchinas ; the
dwelling of the Escandon family, fronting upon the
plazuela de Guardiola ; and the Vera Cruz railway station.

VARIOUS MATTERS OF INTEREST. 289

Throughout the whole city, but especially in the regions
adjacent to the Hospital de Jesus, the Cathedral, and the
church of Santo Domingo, manj^ old houses will be found
adorned with carvings in stone and wood, stucco-work,
and wrought iron, the sight of which will warm an artist's
heart.

Panteones (cemeteries). The most renowned ceme-
tery in Mexico, that of San Fernando, adjoining the
church of the same name, is closed to the pubhc. The
attendant in charge, however, usually permits strangers
to enter ; in return for which courtesy (and not because
a fee is expected) a present of a real will not be out of
place. Here are buried some of the men most illus-
trious in Mexican history : Juarez, Guerrero, Miramon,
Zaragoza, Comonfort, and others only less famous. Ex-
cepting the noble tomb of Juarez (see Public Monu-
ments), a work of which any nation might well be proud
as fitly marking a glorious grave, the tombs in San Fer-
nando are conventional and for the most part in very
bad taste.

In the open cemetery of Dolores, on the hill-side south-
west of Tacubaya (Tacubaya car to the station just be-
yond Chapultepec, whence a smaller car runs direct to
the cemetery) are many beautiful tombs, and much taste
has been shown in laying out the grounds.

The French cemetery (reached by the Piedad line of
cars) also contains a number of fine tombs. The Eng-
lish and American cemeteries He together in the Tlax-
pana, and are reached by the tramway to that suburb ;
in the American cemetery are buried more than four
hundred American soldiers who died in Mexico in 1847.
A small cemetery is attached to the chapel of Guadalupe
that, being an especially holy place of burial, contains

290 MEXICAN GUIDE.

the remains of many illustrious personages. Other im-
portant cemeteries are : San Diego, San Pablo, Piedad,
Salinas, los Angeles and Campo Florido.

El Salto de Aivarado (Alvarado's Leap). A little
west of the middle of the Puente de Aivarado the line of
house -fronts is broken by a recessed space that is shut
off from the street by a low wall, surmounted by an iron
gTating. Tradition declares that precisely at this point
in the primitive causeway, leading from Tenochtillan
westward, was the break across which, during the re-
treat of the Noche Triste, Aivarado made his famous
leap.

XII. ENVIRONS OF MEXICO.

Guadalupe. In primitive times an Aztec divinity,
Tonantzin (" the Mother of Gods "), was worshipped at a
shrine where the capilla del cerrito of Guadalupe now
stands. The chronicler Fray AgTistin de Vetancurt
(tempo 1672) thus describes the miracle that occurred to
change the worship of the pagan mother of gods to wor-
ship of the Christian God-mother : Juan Diego, a native
of Cuauhtitlan, who lived with his wife Lucia Maria in
the town of Tolpetlac, went to hear mass in the church
of Santiago Tlaltelolco on the moining of Saturday, De-
cember 9, 1531. As he was near the hill called Tepeya-
cac he heard the music of angels. Then beheld he amid
splendors, a Lady who spoke to him, directing him to go
to the Bishop and tell that it was her will that in that
place should be built to her a temple. Upon his knees
he listened to her bidding, and then, happ^^ and confused,
betook himself to the Bishop with the message that she
had given him. But while the Bishop, Don Juan Zumar-

ENVIRONS OF MEXICO. 291

raga, heard him with benignity he could not give credence
to the prodigy that he was told. With this disconsolate
answer he returned, finding there again the Lady ; who
heard what he had to tell and bade him come to her again.
Therefore on the Sunday ensuing he was at the hill-side,
when she appeared to him for the third time and repeated
her order that he should convey to the Bishop her com-
mand that the temple should be built. The Bishop heard
the message, still incredulously, and ordered that the In-
dian should bring some sure sign by which might be
shown that what he told was true : and when the Indian
departed the Bishop sent two of his servants to watch him
secretly ; yet as he neared the holy hill he disappeared
from the sight of these watchers ! Unseen, then, of these,
he met the Lady and told that he had been required to
bring some sure sign of her appearance ; and she told him
to come again the next day and he should have that sign.
Bat when he came to his home he found there his uncle,
Juan Bernardino, lying very ill [having that fever which
the Indians call cocoUxtli]. Through the next day he was
busied in attendance upon the sick man ; but the sick-
ness increased, and early on the morning of December
12th he went to call from Tlaltelolco a confessor. That he
might not be delayed in his quest by that Lady's impor-
tunities, he went not by the usual path, but by another
skirting the eastern side of the hill. But as he passed
the hill he saw the Lady coming down to him and heard
her calling to him. He told her of his errand, and of its
urgent need for quickness, whereupon she replied that
he need not feel further trouble as already his uncle's
illness was cured. Then ordered she him to cut some
flowers in that barren hill, and to his amazement he per-
ceived flowers growing there. She charged him to take

292 MEXICAN GUIDE.

these miraculous flowers to tlie Bishop as the sign that
he had requested ; and she commanded that Juan Diego
should show them to no other until they were seen of the
Bishop's eyes. Therefore he wrapped them in his tilma,
or blanket, and hastened away. And then, from the spot
where most holy Mary stood, there gushed forth a spring
of brackish water, which now is venerated and is an anti-
dote to infirmities. Juan Diego waited at the entrance
of the Bishop's house until he should come out, and when
he appeared and the flowers were shown him, there was
seen the image of the Virgin beautifully painted upon the
Indian's tihna ! The Bishop placed the miraculous pic-
ture in his oratory, venerating it greatly ; and Juan Diego
returning to his home with two servants of the Bishop,
found that his uncle had been healed of his sickness in
the very hour that the Virgin declared that he was
well. As quickly as possible the Bishop caused a chapel
to be built upon the spot where the Virgin had appeared
and where the miraculous roses had sprung up from the
barren rock ; and here he placed the holy image on the
7th of February, 1532. Juan Diego and his uncle Bernar-
dino became the servants of the Virgin in this sanctuary ;
and Juan Diego, being moved by a sermon preached
by the venerable Fray Toribio Motolinia, and his wife
Lucia Maria consenting and taking a like vow, took there
the vow of chastity. Thenceforth he lived in a little house
beside the chapel ; and there he died a most Christian
death in the year 1548.

The Papal sanction of the apparition followed in due
order of gradation, from recognition to entire approval.
In 1663 Alexander VII. admitted the relation of the
apparition and ordered its investigation by the Congre-
gation of Eites, preparatory to granting the request pre-

ENVIRONS OF MEXICO. 293

f erred by the cliurcli in Mexico that the 12th of De-
cember should be set apart in perpetuity as a day of holy
festival in the Mexican Virgin's honor. Pending further
inquiry, Clement IX. conceded (1667) a plenar^^ jubilee
to be held upon this date. For nearly a century the
festival was continued on this basis, during which period
the Vii'gin of Guadalupe received recognition in various
ways from successive Popes, but the formal and official
recognition and indorsement of the miracle by the Con-
gregation of Rites still was withheld. In the meantime
the Mexicans on their own account had made this Vir-
gin their Patron Saint. In recognition of the protection
that she had afforded during the dreadful pestilence,
known as the matlazahuati, of 1736, the ecclesiastical and
secular chapters, representing the church and the peo-
ple, solemnly elected her their patroness. At last,
through the exertions of the Jesuit Father Lopez, sent
expressly for this purpose to Rome, the long-delayed
confirmation of the mu-acle by the Congregation of Rites
was accorded — though somewhat grudgingly — in the
Papal buU of May 25, 1754. By this buU the festival of
December 12th officially was instituted, and the Virgin
of Guadalupe was declared to be the Patroness and Pro-
tectress of New Spain. Being so essentially a Mexican
divinity, the Guadalupe Virgin was looked upon as the
especial champion of the Mexicans in their revolt against
Spanish dominion ; and the more so because the stand-
ard around which Hidalgo rallied the first army of revo-
lutionists was a banner whereon this Virgin was blaz-
oned. " Guadalupe " became the war-cry of the rebels,
as "Remedios" (which see), the especially Spanish Vir-
gin, was the war-cry of the loyalists. The conspicuous
part thus borne by the Mexican Virgin in the war for

294 MEXICAN GUIDE.

independence, and the bappy issue that her assistance
gave to that con:flict, still further endeared her to the
Mexican people ; and one of the very first acts of the
Congress of the new Republic (November 27, 1824) de-
creed the festival of December 12th a national holiday.
The Virgin of Guadalupe therefore has attaching to her a
political significance quite as important as the signifi-
cance that attaches to her in her religious capacity. She
is at once an embodiment of the national character and
the defender of the nation's Hfe — an abstract and con-
crete divinity such as might result from infusing super-
natural power into a mass composed of Queen Victoria
and the British Lion. Above all, she is the divinity of
the Indians. The festival of December 12th is cele-
brated with enthusiasm by the Indians throughout the
Republic ; and thousands of them each year make long
pilgrimages that they may be present on that day at the
Virgin's shrine. So completely is the Indian character
of the festival recognized that the church is wholly given
up to the Indian worshippers. In it they conduct their
celebration, unhampered by priests, in their own way :
but whether or not there survives in their rites any trace
of the worship of Tonantzin, "the Mother of Gods," is a
curious question that need not be raised here. A cele-
bration of a more orthodox sort, less original but more
imposing, in which the Archbishop and the higher
clergy of the See take part, takes place on the 12 th of
January. Other especially Indian festivals are cele-
brated on the 22d of November ; almost every day in
December, but most notably on the 3d (the novenay^io of
the 12th) ; and on the 12th of every month throughout
the year.

At a distance of about two miles and a half north from

ENVIRONS OF MEXICO. 295

the city (reached by horse-cars startiug from in front of
the Cathedral) is the collegiate church of Nuestra Sefiora
de Guadalupe. The church stands at the foot of the hill,
on the site of the fourth apparition of the Virgin to Juan
Diego. It is a comparatively modern structure, and the
fourth erected for the housing of the miraculous image.
The first was built by Bishop Zumarraga, as told above,
and about forty years later this first chapel was very con-
siderably enlarged. It is still in use, being now the sa-
cristy of the parish church. At the beginning of the
seventeenth century a new and large church was erected
upon the site occupied by the present collegiate church ;
which, being completed at a cost of $50,000, was dedi-
cated, and the miraculous image was placed in it, in
November, 1622. In 1695 the present parish church
was built, being intended as a temporary' abiding-place
for the image while a new and grander church was
building. Work upon this latter edifice, the existing
collegiate church, began at once, and it Avas completed
and dedicated with great solemnity May 1, 1709. It is
184 feet long by 122 feet wide, covered by a vaulted
roof that rests upon two rows of Corinthian columns —
by which the aisles are divided from the nave. The
whole is surmounted by a dome, the lantern of which is
125 feet above the floor. The very plain fa9ade is flanked
by towers 110 feet high. The interior, unusually well
lighted, is finished in white and gold. The magnificent
high altar and tabernacle are made from designs pre-
pared by the architect Tolsa about the year 1802 ; but
the revolutionary troubles that began in 1810 and con-
tinued until 1821 so delayed the progress of the work
that the altar actually was not completed until the year
1836. The structure is of marbles of various colors,

296 MEXICAIS" GUIDE.

joined with good effects of harmony and contrast. The
cost of the work, together with other renovations of the
church then made, was $381,000. The primitive cost
was more than $800,000 — all alms-offerings — :making a
total of $1,181,000. The value of the jewels, gold and
silver plate and other rich belongings of this church
— nearly all of which have passed into the possession of
the government — safely may be estimated at two mill-
ions more. In the tabernacle, in a frame of mingled
gold and silver, inclosed with plate-glass, is preserved
the miraculous image. The picture, somewhat conven-
tional in type, is good in drawing and still retains much
strength of coloring. The material apoii which it is
painted is a coarse cloth woven of ixtli fibre. The me-
dium cannot be determined — at least not by examination
through the glass covering. It does not seem to be dis-
temper, water-color or oil-color, though more suggestive
of oil-color than of either of the others ; and this fact of
its lack of resemblance to the effects of the ordinary
methods of painting is one of the strong practical points
urged in favor of its miraculous origin. The picture has
been examined twice, the glass covering being removed
on these occasions, by Mexican painters of high standing,
and on each occasion the method by which the picture
was made has remained undetermined. The chancel,
and the passage-way between the chancel and the choir,
are inclosed by a massive silver railing set upon a base
of pure white marble, the whole being the gift of the
Viceroy Bucareli — who lies buried in the west aisle. The
choir, set in the nave, after the Spanish fashion, and seri-
ously marring the general interior effect, is a very elegant
structure especially rich in fine carvings in mahogany.
There are two rows of stalls, also of richly carved ma-

ENVIRONS OF MEXICO. 297

hogany, still further ornamented with carvings in ebony.
Above the stalls are basso-i^elievos, carved in wood, illus-
trating the litany of the Virgin. In the sacristy are
more fine carvings, two curious tables of Mexican onyx,
and a number of curious and a few very good pictures.
The best of the pictures, and one of the best pictures in
Mexico, is a magnificent Crucifixion — hung in an atro-
cious light on the north wall. The church became col-
legiate * in 1749, an ample endowment for this purpose
having been provided by several rich, patrons. The
chapter house, built at this period, adjoins the church
on the north.

Capilla del Gerrito. — This ^' chapel of the little hill"
marks the spot where Juan Diego cut the roses which
sprang up there from the hard stone in order that the
Bishop might be convinced. For many years the spot
was marked only by a rude wooden cross. In the year 1660
a Uttle chapel was built here by Cristobal de Aguirre, who
endowed it with the sum of $1,000 that there might be
held here every year on the 12th of December a solemn
service in commemoration of the Virgin's appearance.
The present chapel was built at the beginning of the
eighteenth century by the Presbitero Don Juan de Mon-
tiifar, who built also the stairway and path leading up
the hill. On the line of this stabway, near the top of the
hill, is built in stone the semblance of a ship's mast and
sails. The date at which this curious structure was
erected is unknown, but there seems no reason for doubt-
ing that the story told of it is true : That certain mari-
ners, being in dire straits at sea, their ship tempest-tost

* A collegiate eliurcli is a eliurcli in which, while not the seat
of an archbishop's or bishop's see, the organization is the same as
that of a cathedral.

298 MEXICAN GUIDE.

and rudderless, vowed that should the Virgin of Guada-
lupe save them they would bring their ship's mast to her
shrine and set it up there as a perpetual memorial of her
protecting power ; that immediately their ship came
safely to Vera Cruz, and that the mariners loyally fulfilled
their vow, carrying the mast with its yards upon their
shoulders from Vera Cruz to the capital and thence to
this place, where they set it up and builfc around it for
protection from the weather the covering of stone. And
there the mast is, even until this day. Lower down the
hill, on its western side, is a curious httle grotto, the work
of one of the servitors of the church, most ingeniously
lined with a mosaic made of broken china-ware — very
well worth the real that the visitor is expected to pay for
the privilege of seeing it.

Capilla del Focito. — The "chapel of the well " is a very
elegant little structure, roofed with a dome of enamelled
tiles, that covers the miraculous spring that gushed forth
from beneath the Virgin's feet. The well is in the ante-
room to the chapel proper, and is surrounded and covered
by a grating of wrought iron. In the chapel is a hand-
somely carved pulpit, the support of which is an image
of Juan Diego. The gracious little building was com-
pleted in the year 1791, at a cost of $50,000. Its archi-
tect was Don Francisco Guerrero y Torres, whose services
were given to the church. Directly opposite the door
of the chapel, just at the beginning of the ascent of the
hill, is a pillar, crowned with a figure of the Virgin, that
marks the precise spot of the first of the miraculous ap-
paritions.

Adjoining the Collegiate church on the east is the
church and ex-convent of Santa Coleta, a Capuchin foun-
dation, popularly known as the Capuchinas de Nuestra

ENVIRONS OF MEXICO. 299

Senora de Guadalupe. Two unsuccessful attempts, in
1575 and 1707, were made to found a convent near the
sanctuary. The third attempt, in 1779, was successful.
In that year a Capuchin nun, Sor Maria Ana de San Juan
Nepomuceno, was moved in her spirit to make yet one
more effort to establish here a house of religious ; and
to this end she personally petitioned the Archbishop Nu-
iiez Haro y Peralta, though telling him that all the for-
tune at her command for this work was the sum of two
reales ! Pursuing her project vigorously, she went over
seas to Spain and applied to the king for aid ; and the
king, much impressed by her devotion, granted her
prayer. A royal order issued, July 3, 1780, permitting
the convent to be erected ; and with this order Sor Maria
came again to Mexico joyfully. Work began at once,
money being given in great abundance, and the church
and convent were completed, at a cost of $212,328, Au-
gust 30, 1787. On the 13th of the ensuing October, five
Capuchinas, of whom one was the faithful Sor Maria, took
possession of the new building. The convent was closed
by the operation of the laws of the Reform. In the con-
vent church there is usually to be found, as in Mexican
churches generally, a httle old woman who sits near the
entrance and sells holy images ; and with her there is usu-
ally a decorous and rather clerical-looking black cat. A
few words in praise of this staid animal, and the invest-
ment of a couple of reales in holy images, will so dispose
this old woman to friendliness that she will permit the
visitor to pass through the church to the lower floor of
the convent. In the inner patio the cells once belonging
to the nuns may be seen : windowless vaults six feet
square with a stone bench for a bed — for of all the rules
that of the Capuchinas was the most severe.

300 MEXICAN GUIDE.

By a royal order of 1748, the village of duadalupe
was made a town ; and by the act of Congress of Febru-
ary 12, 1828, the town became the City of Guadalupe-
Hidalgo. The present " city " has a population of about
3,000 souls. In front of the parish church is a very
pretty little public garden, . that was opened in 1866.
The town is memorable poHtically as being the scene of
the climax of the war between the United States and
Mexico : the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was signed
here February 2, 1848.

Chapultepec, the Presidential residence, and the
National Military Academy, a little more than two miles
southwest of the city. (The Tacubaya and San Angel
lines of horse cars, from the west side of the Plaza Mayor,
pass close by the park gates.) The hill of Chapul tepee
is one of the several isolated rocks which protrude above
the swampy soil of the valley. Formerly, being sur-
rounded by a marsh, it was occupied by the founders of
Tenochtitlan before making their still more secure city
in the middle of the lake. At its eastern foot is a large
spring, whence a portion of the city's water-supply is
drawn, and around its base grow many ancient ahue-
huetes — a species of cypress. The grove of these huge
and ancient moss-draped trees — dating from before the
Conquest — forming the park at the base of the hill on
the west, is one of the most impressive sights of Mexico.
Owing to its strong defensive position and its abundant
supply of water the hill was a point coveted by the var-
ious tribes settled in its vicinity. The people of Tenoch-
titlan, when firmly established in their lake city, repos-
sessed themselves of it ; built a connecting causeway,
and on this an aqueduct — precisely over the line occu-
pied by the aqueduct now existing. While mentioning

ENTIRONS OF MEXICO. 301

this fact (also recorded by Vetancurt and contemporary
chroniclers) Mr. Bandelier affirms positively that the hill
"never was used as a * summer resort ' for the chiefs, or
a 'royal villa,' as has been imagined." It was used,
however, to some extent as a burial place, and a few of
the Mexican chiefs had their effigies carved upon its
rocky base. Reference is made to these carvings by
Torquemada ; Gama refers to them as in existence at
the close of the last century ; and Senor Orozco y Berra
mentions having seen their remains — adding that when
looking for them subsequently he was unable to find
them. Mr. Bandelier was assured in Mexico that the
carvings had disappeared. He whites : " Nevertheless, I
found on March 6, 1881, what clearly appears to be the
remainder of the effigy of Ahuitzotl, the last Monte-
zuma's predecessor in the command of the Nahuatl con-
federacy. It was carved in half relief, and was originally
a full-length figure of a man, life-size, stretched out on a
ledge of natural rock sloping at an inclination of nearly
fifty-five degrees. Only the lower limbs are preserved.
The top and the whole body evidently have been blown
off [the holes drilled for blasting are plainly visible]
nothing remains of them but these fragments. The feet
also are mutilated ; they appear to have stood on an im-
perfectly carved moulding. But the principal features
of the monument are the figure of 2nd acatl, or ' cane '
(still visible to the right of what was once the head), and
beneath it the picture of a water-rat. Both are suffi-
ciently distinct. The former is a date, and corresponds
to 1507 of our era ; the latter is a name, and reads
'Ahuit Zotr in the native Mexican language." This very
interesting fragment is on the eastern base of the hill, a
short distance northwest of the drive leading past*the

302 MEXICAN GUIDE.

battle monument, and a few feet to the left of the drive
leading around the base of the hill to the park. The
vines and underbrush by which the carving for a long
time had been hidden were removed in 1886.

In the year 1783 the Viceroy Don Matias de Galvez
obtained permission from the King of Spain "to repair
and put in order the palace of Chap ul tepee," thus im-
plying that before that date an edifice of considerable
proportions had crowned the hill. In this case, how-
ever, repair meant reconstruction. The death of the
Viceroy delayed for a short time the execution of the
work ; but it was pushed forward so rapidly by his son,
Don Bernardo de Galvez, who also was his successor in
the viceroyalty, that the new palace was completed in
1785, at a cost of upward of $300,000. Very consider-
able additions to the building have been made both in
Viceroyal and Kepublican times, and further additions
were made to it during the brief reign of Maximilian —
who made it his residence. During the recent Presi-
dency of General Gonzalez plans were perfected for
making this the Presidential residence ; in pursuance of
which it is expected that President Diaz will make his
home here during the remainder of his official term.
The palace is such in fact as well as in name, an im-
mense building, in which are large halls and galleries
handsomely decorated, and around which are marble-
paved terraces commanding one of the most magnificent
views in the world : the beautiful valley of Mexico, with
its city and lakes in the foreground, and for background,
in the east, the snow-capped volcanoes — tinged at even-
ing with ruddy reflections and overhung by great masses
of crimsoned clouds. Upon the terraces are flower-
gardens, and at the eastern base of the hill — reached by

ENVIRONS OF MEXICO. 303

a winding, terraced drive — is a larger flower garden in
wliich is a little artificial lake. Inclosing the entire
base of the hill is a strip of woodland that on the western
front broadens out into the noble park.

The National Military College occuj)ies a large build-
ing on the lower terrace of the Palace. The system of
training pursued is similar to that of West Point.
About 325 cadets attend the College. Admission to the
College and to the Palace is obtained by a card granted
on application to the Minister of War.

The hill of Chapultepec was taken by storm by the
American troops under General Pillow, after a day's
bombardment, early on the morning of September 13th,
1847 ; the gallant defender of the position. General
Nicolas Bravo, being taken prisoner. The cadets of the
Military College took ]3art in the defence with great hero-
ism, and many of these brave lads fell. A handsome
monument in memory of their courage and patriotism
was erected in the garden at the eastern base of the hill
in the year 1880.

Molino del Rey (reached by the branch tramway to
Dolores, starting from a point on the Tacubaya tramway
just south of Chapultepec). This point w^as carried,
together with the Casa Mata, by General Worth — fight-
ing against great odds and sustaining a heavy loss — on
the morning of September 8, 1847. Lieutenant Grant
was one of the first to enter the Mill. In his recently
published " Memoirs " he expresses the opinion that
both Chapultepec and Molino del Rey were unnecessary
battles, as the two positions could have been turned ;
though in regard to Scott's generalship as a whole he
speaks in high praise. The war generally he character-
izes as "unholy" ; " one of the most unjust ever waged

304 MEXICAN GUIDE.

by a stronger against a weaker nation " ; an opinion in
vvhicli every fair-minded American must concur.

Tacubaya (reached by horse cars starting from the
west side of the Plaza Mayor ; also by the horse car
line to San Angel, starting from the same point). Primi-
tively known as Atlacoloayan (" place in the bend of the
brook "), the suburb of Tacubaya de los Martires, with
a population of nearl}^ 8,000 souls, is the most beau-
tiful town in the valley. It is built upon a hill-side,
sloping to the northwest, at a distance of about three
miles southwest of the city. The town, in its present
form, is comparatively modern, although from the
earliest times a small village existed here ; and the pro-
ject seriously was entertained, after the great inundation
of 1629-34, of making this the site of the City of Mexico
— the lapse of which project, on sanitary grounds, is to
be much deplored. There is a parish church, an ex-
monastery some time the property of the Dominicans,
the handsome church of San Diego and several small
chapels ; also a small Alameda, and a pretty garden in
the Plaza de Cartagena. In the ex-palace of the Arch-
bishop (built by the Archbishop and Viceroy Vizarron
in 1737) is housed the National Astronomical Observa-
tory ; and in this building at one time was housed the
Military College now at Chapultepec. The chief charm
of Tacubaya is found in its numerous very beautiful
private gardens — -huertas, large inclosures, half garden,
half park, belonging to rich citizens of Mexico, who
come here for recreation and rest. The more notable
of these (to which admission may be obtained by a
card from their several owners) are the huertas of the
famihes Barron, Escandon, Mier y Cells and Baidet.
In the western part of the town, reached by a branch

ENVIRONS OF MEXICO. 305

line of second class cars, is the arbol ben Ho, " the blessed
tree." Legend says that a long while ago, one fiercely-
hot day of summer, a holy priest paused beneath this
tree and in its cool shade became rested and refreshed.
Therefore, as he went away, comforted, he turned and
blessed the tree and bade it evermore be green : and
straightway there gushed out from among its roots a
most sweet and copious spring. Those who doubt this
legend must reconcile with their doubt the facts that
the tree always is green, and that the sweet spring con-
tinues to flow.

Mixcoac (on the line of the San Angel tramway, a
mile or so south of Tacubaya) is a charming little town
of low adobe houses built along narrow lanes which wan-
der among gardens. It is a manufacturing town, and
its manufactures are a trifle incongruous : bricks and
flowers. There is a very tolerable tivoli here, the Cas-
taiieda, at which breakfast may be had.

San Angel (reached by horse-cars from the west side
of the Plaza Mayor ; also by the Tlalpam horse-cars to
San Mateo, and thence to San Angel by a cross-country
horse-car line. A very pleasant expedition may be made
by going by one of these routes and returning by the
other. The cross-country line passes through the towns
of Coyoacan and Churubusco, which see below). This
pretty little town, five or six miles south of Mexico, is
built upon a hill-side in the midst of orchards and gar-
dens ; and in the growing time it is a cloud of blossoms
and green leaves. Many pleasure houses (casas de recreo)
are here, where city-folk come for ease in the hot months ;
but there is nothing here to compare with the perfectly
ordered gardens of Tacubaya. In point of fact, San An-
gel has somewhat outhved its usefulness and is rather

306 MEXICAN GUIDE.

down-at-lieel — and therefore it is a very delightful place
indeed. Its most attractive feature is tlie picturesque
and now deserted Carmelite monastery of Nuestra Seiiora
del Carmen, with its fine church crowned by exceed-
ingly beautiful tiled domes. This monastery possesses a
very respectable age. In the year 1613, Don Felipe de
Guzman, a pious cacique of Chimalistac, in fulfilment of
his father's testament, gave up to the Carmelite order a
huerta of considerable size. Here the Carmelites built a
little hospice. Don Felipe de Guzman presently died ;
and a little later died also his widow, childless. By her
will the entire estate of which she died possessed passed
to the Carmelite fathers : and by these it was devoted
to the building of the existing monastery and church.
The plans for these buildings were prepared by the cele-
brated architect Fray Andres de San Miguel, a lay brother
of the Carmelite order, and at that time held to be the
first architect of New Spain. That this reputation was
well merited is shown by the beauty of his stiU existing
work. The building was begun June 20, 1615, and was
pushed with so much vigor that the church and convent
were finished within two years. The church was dedi-
cated to San Angelo Martir, whence came the name of
the little town that presently grew up around it. Later,
in 1633, another rich patroness appearing, Doiia Ana
Aguilar y Niiio, the dedication of the church was changed
at her request to Santa Ana. The handsome chapel, dedi-
cated to Jesus Nazareno, known as the Seilor de Con-
treras, was built at the end of the last century by Fray
Juan de Santa Maria. The church was thoroughly re-
paired in 1857. It is a large and handsome building
containing a number of images much reverenced. The
monastery is a most fascinating place even in its ruin — -

ENVIRONS OF MEXICO. 307

for a considerable portion of it has been razed and what
remains is falling into decay. In its rear, sloping to the
south and east, is a garden once kept trimly but now a
wilderness of fruit trees and shrubs and flowers in which
are old water tanks and a great fish pond — from which
the fish long since have vanished ; and from the terrace
overhanging the garden, just out fi'om the refectory, one
looks eastward over miles of orchards and gardens —
dotted here and there with low square houses, and here and
there with Httle church towers, and above all these the
great tower of the church at Coyoacan — to the far horizon
where the snow-capped mountains rise against the blue
sky. In the refectory there are remnants of some very
tolerable frescoes ; and in the cloister, just off the church
yai'd, are others still more ruinous. Among these latter,
cleansed fi'om the overlying white-wash by some loving
hand, is a wonderfully fine head of Christ.

Coyoacan (reached most directly by the Tlalpam
tramway, starting from the south side of the Plaza Mayor,
to San Mateo, and there changing to the car for San An-
gel that passes through Coyoacan. It may be reached
also by the tramway to San Angel, and thence by the car
to San Mateo). This very picturesque town is older than
the City of Mexico. After the Conquest (August 17,
1521) Cortes established in Coyoacan the seat of govern-
ment, and from here directed the laying out of the pres-
ent City of Mexico. Immediately after taking up his
abode here he gave a banquet to his captains in honor of
the victory which they had achieved ; and as about this
time there arrived at Yera Cruz a ship having a consider-
able quantity of wine aboard the Conquerors were able
to celebrate their victories right royally. So scandalous,
indeed, was this feast, that the worthy Fray Bartolome

308 MEXICAN GUIDE.

de Olmedo, cliaplain to Cortes, felt constrained to order
the whole company to do penance, and on the ensuing-
Sunday preached a most vigorous sermon at them. A
large and handsome house was built here, in which Cortes,
with La Marina, dwelt contentedly while the building of
the city went on. This house still may be seen, at the
northern side of the little plaza. A part of it is a jail and
the remainder is devoted to the officers of the town gov-
ernment. Over the main doorway, blurred by many coats
of white-wash, are graven the arms of the Conqueror.
Next to this, west, is another house in which Cortes
dwelt, and a well is pointed out in the garden in which
he is said to have drowned his wife. Recentlv discover-
ed legal records tend to confirm the popular tradition —
which adds that the wife is buried in the cross-crowned
mound in the churchyard. Many legends of Cortes
survive hereabouts, and if the visitor is lucky enough to
come across a story-telling old man or old woman a great
deal of very delightful and quite impossible history may
be learned in a comparatively short time. South of the
plaza, across the highway, is the large and imposing
church of San Juan Bautista which, together with the
Dominican monastery connected with it, was founded by
the eminent Fray Domingo de Vetanzos, probably about
the year 1530. The present church — as may be read in
the graving upon its fayade — was built in 1583. In the
church-yard is a stone cross set up on a little mound that
tradition declares was a place of worship in primitive
times : and tradition further declares that the cross was
placed here by Cortes.

The Ped regal (stony place) lies south of San Angel
and Coyoacan. The portion of it directly south of the
latter town is exceedingly picturesque, the rocky, uneven

ENVIRONS OF MEXICO. 309

ground being covered with a lavish growth of cactus and
stunted trees, and kixuriant bushes and traihng vines.
NfUTONV footways, usually bordered by low stone walls,
ramify in every direction, passing curious little stone
houses, and garden patches, and winding along the edges
of ragged gulches and by the sides of clear streams. In
the midst of this maze is the very picturesque chapel of
the Niiio Jesus, and the painfully trim-looking chapel of
the Concepcion. The shortest way into this charming
wilderness is along the road that runs southward in front
of the chui'ch-yard of San Juan Bautista in Coyoacan,
and thence bearing to the left from a point a little beyond
the cross-road where is set up a pretty cross of stone. By
bearing to the right a scarcely less delightful walk may
be taken among the gardens and adobe houses of an In-
dian town.

Churubusco (reached by the Tlalpam tramway, start-
ing fi'om the south side of the Plaza Mayor, to San Mateo,
and thence — a distance of half a mile — on foot or by the
tramway leading to San Angel). There is no town here,
only a few scattered little houses ; the very ancient church
of San Mateo, once the parish church, but now closed and
falling into decay ; and the beautiful church and ex-mon-
astery of Santa Maria de los Angeles. In primitive times
there v/as here a very important town, Huitziloj)ochco,
that grew up around the temple of the god Huitzilopoch-
th — from the first of which trying names, by a pardonable
corruption, that of Churubusco was derived. In this
temple the god Huitzilopochtli, who in his life was a most
famous warrior, was worshipped. " This jDlace," saj's the
delightful chronicler Baltasar Medina, " was the dwelhng
and diabolical habitation of infernal spirits that with fear-
ful noises and bowlings disturbed all the region round

810 MEXICAlSr GUIDE.

about where the idol had usurped the worship of the true
God. The holy monks built here in honor of the true
God, who crushes the serpent's head in the waters, a tem-
ple of the faithful, giving to it the name of Santa Maria
de los Angeles, because where once had flourished the sin
of idolatry now superabounds the grace and glory of this
Lady. To this most honorable and efficacious name was
added that of San Antonio Abad, whose stone image was
placed beside the church door ; for against the persecu-
tion of the demons, w^ho like hungry lions haunted this
place the altar of their worship among the heathen, rag-
ing against the faithful now that their Dagon had fallen,
the Christians invoked the protection of this saintly abbot,
who, among his many gifts and privileges of grace, had
empire and dominion against the assaults of Lucifer."
Upon the site of this primitive church the present beauti-
ful church and monastery were built, being completed
May 2, 1678. Thej^atron and patroness of the new church
and monastery were Don Diego del Castillo, citizen of
Mexico, native of the City of Grenada, merchant of silver,
and Dofia Helena de la Cruz, his wife. The kneeling effi-
gies of this pious gentleman and his wife, carved in wood
and painted, still are preserved in the sacristy of the church
— a most seemly couple, very quaint in their picturesque
garments of the fashion of two hundred years ago. Al-
though sadly fallen into decay, and although a portion of
the monastery has been taken possession of by the gov-
ernment for a military hospital, this church and monas-
tery are among the most beautiful of the foundations of
the religious orders in or near the capitol. Especially
beautiful is the lavish decoration in glazed tiles : the little
chapel of San Antonio Abad beside the church door —
now bereft of the image of the demon-daunting saint

ENVIRONS OF MEXICO. 311

and beginning to drop to pieces — is covered with tiles
from its base to the pinnacle of its dome ; there is a
dado of tiles in the lovely cloister ; once a dado of tiles
ran around the whole of the large refectory — now a
ruin ; the Abbot's bath — which can be seen now only
from the roof, or by climbing up a ladder placed against
the window of the main stair- way — is a gem of tile-work ;
the chou', still perfect, is a mosaic of tiles arranged in ex-
quisite taste. The church contains a quaint old organ
inclosed in a richly carved wooden case ; three well carved
wooden busts of saints — probably by the artist who made
the portraits of Don Diego and his worthy wife, and
a fine painting of the Assumption of the Virgin. In the
sacristy there are several pictures of no especial artis-
tic value, but exceedingly curious. By way of finishing
touch, in the midst of the sunny patio that the cloister
surrounds, there wells up into an antique stone basin a
wonderfully clear spring. No more interesting expedition
out of Mexico can be made than to this beautiful place.

In the plaza in front of the ex-monastery, now a hos-
pital, is a monument commemorating the battle fought
here with the Americans August 20, 1847. The monas-
tery was very gallantly defended by General Pedro
Maria Anaya against the assault of Generals Worth,
Smith, and Twio-jrs. After the work had been carried
Worth asked Anaya if among the surrendered material
of war there was any ammunition, to which the brave
Mexican made the historic answer : " Had I any ammu-
nition you would not be here ! "

Tialpam (reached by horse-cars starting from the
south side of the Plaza Mayor), formerly kno^vn as San
Agustin de las Cuevas. This flourishing little town of
about 7,000 inhabitants lies fourteen miles south of

312 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Mexico. There are many flower and fruit gardens
hereabouts for the supply of the city markets. In and
near the town are important factories of cotton, and
woollen cloth, and paper. In former times, at Whitsun-
tide, a great gambhng fete was held at San Agustin de
las Cuevas to which all the wealth and fashion, and all
the rascality and cut-throatism, of the capital resorted in
a manner most amicably democratic. So outrageous did
this festival become that about thirty years ago it was
definitely suppressed. In 1794 the Viceroy Revillagi-
gedo greatly improved the town, straightening and pav-
ing its streets and giving it an adequate supply of water.
At one time it was the capital of the State of Mexico.

Popotia, " the place of the brooms " (reached by the
Tacuba line of horse cars, starting from the western side
of the Plaza Mayor). The only point of interest here,
but that a point of very great interest, is the arhol de la
noche triste, the ' Tree of the Dismal Night,' beneath
which Cortes sat him down and wept on the night of the
terrible retreat from Mexico, July 1, 1520. The tree, an
ahuehuete (properly ahuehuetl), identical in kind with
those in the park of Chapultepec, flourished in perfect
health until a few years ago when a fire was kindled be-
neath it that seriously burned its trunk. Since then,
several of the upper branches have died. It is now pro-
tected by a high iron railing, and by a most zealous
policeman. Relic-hunters are warned that this is not a
good subject for the practice of their peculiar line of
vulgar thievery. In February, 1885, some alleged ladies
and gentlemen of American extraction, who liad broken
twigs from the tree, were most justly arrested and most
righteously fined. Beside the tree stands the curious
old church of San Esteban.

ENVIRONS OF MEXICO. 313

Tacuba, a corrupted form of Tlacupan (reached by
horse-cai's starting from the west side of the Plaza
Mayor), lu primitive times this was an important town.
Here reigned in succession, between the years 1430 and
1525, Totoquiyauhtzin I., Chimalpopoca, Totoquiyauht-
zin n., and Tetlepanquetzaltzin — this last named mon-
arch being hanged by order of Cortes in 1525. The
town has about 2,000 inhabitants. There is here a hand-
some church surrounded by a wall of inverted arches.
Near the church is the residence of the present Arch-
bishop of Mexico, Seiior Dr. Don Pelagio Antonio de
Labastida y Davalos. Especially impressive services
ai'e held in Tacuba during Holy Week.

Atzcapotzaico — " the ant-hill ; " so named in primitive
times because of its very numerous inhabitants (reached by
horse-cars starting from the west side of the Plaza Mayor
and running through Popotla and Tacuba). The founda-
tion of the Aztec kingdom conquered by Cortes was laid
in 1428, when the kings of Tenochtitlan and Texcoco
(Chichimecs) overcame and killed the cruel king of Atzca-
potzaico, Maxtla. As the result of this victory the legiti-
mate ruler of the Chichimecs, the poet-king- Netzahual-
coyotl, was re-established upon the throne that the father
of Maxtla had usurped and that the son had retained ; and
the king of Tenochtitlan received the territory pertaining
to the kingdom of Atzcapotzaico — out of a j)ortion of
Avhich he erected the small kingdom of Tlacopan (Tacuba :
see above).* The present town of Atzcapotzaico numbers
about 1,500 inhabitants, who are largely engaged in the
manufacture of pottery. There is also here an important

* The rather absurd terms "king," " kingdom," and " tlirone,''
are used liere, and elsewhere, in deference to the custom uni-
formly observed by the Spanish chroniclers.

314 MEXICAN GUIDE.

manufactory of textiles. Upon the site of the great tem-
ple of primitive times stands the church and now partly
ruined monastery erected by the Dominicans in 1565.
The present church was completed October 8, 1702.
Upon the side of the tower facing the plaza, near the top
of its first stor}^, is graven the image of an ant — symboli-
cal of the name of the town and of the great population
that it once had. The church is a large and handsome
building with a fine tower and two beautiful domes ; and
the monastery, even the more because of its ruinous
state, is wonderfully picturesque.

Around Atzcapotzalco linger many delightful legends,
the most notable of which is a version of the Malinche
myth that in one form or another crops out all over
Mexico. Following eastward for nearly a mile the street
at the back of the monastery, the legend-lover will come
to Zancopinca, where is a pond of sweet water beside
which is a ruined aqueduct. In the pond, as in a palace
of crystal, lives for half of each day the Malinche— the
other half of her day being spent in the spring of Cha-
pultepec. But whereas at Chapultepec she is a benign
spirit, here she is a spirit of much malignity. With a
song of infinite sweetness she lures to the pond unwary
passers-by, and once beside the pond her extraordinary
beauty completes the unhappy conquest that her wickedly
sweet voice has begun. It is most dangerous to pass near
this place in the very early morning or in the evening,
for at these times her syren-song is heard. Whoever
hears this song, unless he would disappear forever from
among the living, must close his ears and with all possi-
ble speed hasten far away. Should he not take these
heroic measures for self-preservation, he will feel a soft
languor creeping over him, dulling his senses yet filling

ENVIRONS OF MEXICO. 315

him with an ineffable delight ; slowly but in'esistibly he
will be drawn toward the pond, and when he reaches it
and there sees beckoning to him the beautiful Malinche
he surely will cast himself into its clear depths and never
more be known among men. The old Indian who will
tell this story possibly will add, telling it close in the ear
of his listener in manner most confidential, that in the
depths of this pond lie hidden the treasures concealed
by Guatimotzin ; the hiding place of which, even under
the cruel torture to which Cortes subjected him, he re-
fused to reveal. Westward from the monastery, through
a winding lane between bushy hedges, is reached an open
space in the midst of which is a grove composed of five
great ahuehuetes. These trees, the old Indian wdll af-
firm, once were a part of a wonderful enchantment. In
ancient times there w^as beneath and among their roots
a spring that constant^ welled up, but that never over-
flowed ; and whosoever drank of this spring at once and
forever disappeared. One day there came out from the
church a procession of holy fathers carrying with them
the image of the Blessed Virgin ; and these passed sing-
ing along the road until they came to the spring. Be-
side it they set up an altar, on which the Virgin was ;
and a preacher preached against the spring's wickedness ;
and then all the multitude cast into it stones and earth
until it was filled up and overlaid and hidden ; and £)ver
where it had been was built an altar to the Virgin within
a chapel, that remained there until at last it dropped
down in little pieces because it had become so very old.
So this evil spring was overcome and made to vanish
away. But even now he who will enter the grove of
ahuehuetes and will lay his ear close to the earth will hear
the spring still murmuring and singing its enchantments

316 MEXICAN GUIDE.

beneath the ground. And its memory still lives in the
proverb, cited when any one suddenly and mysteriously
disappears : Este bebio del agua de los ahuehuetes.

La Pied ad (reached by horse-car from the Plaza
Mayor). At the southern extremity of the Calzada de
la Piedad, less than a mile from the Garita de Belen, are
the church and ex-monastery of Nuestra Seilora de la
Piedad, a Dominican foundation of 1652. About the
middle of the seventeenth century there was in Pome a
monk of the order of Santo Domingo who had been
charged by the prelate of the monastery to which he be-
longed in Mexico to have painted by the best artist then
in Rome a picture of the Virgin with the dead Christ.
But when the monk, about to depart for Mexico, asked
for the picture, the artist had finished only its outline
drawing. Nevertheless, the monk took this with him
and, journeying through Spain to the seaboard, took
ship for Mexico. And it fell out that as he and his
companions sailed westward a dreadful tempest arose, so
that there seemed no doubt but that the ship would be
overwhelmed by the sea. In this extremity they made
a solemn vow to the Virgin that in return for her pro-
tection they would build for her in Mexico a temple in
which the painting of her that they carried with them
should be enshrined. And the Vircfin heard their
prayer and they all were saved. Therefore they col-
lected alms, and so built the church of La Piedad. And
yet another miracle happened, for when the picture that
the monk had brought from Rome was opened in Mexico,
behold ! it was not the mere outline that he had taken
from the Roman artist, but a very beautiful picture fin-
ished in its every part ! And the miraculous picture
hangs over the main altar of the church of La Piedad,

SHORT EXCURSIONS FROM MEXICO. 317

and is greatly venerated, even until this present day.
The church was dedicated February 2, 1652. In addi-
tion to the miraculous picture are several notable paint-
ings by the Mexican artists Cabrera and Velasquez, and a
curious picture representing the storm at sea that was
stilled by the Virgin's intervention.

XIII. SHORT EXCURSIONS FROM MEXICO.

The VI ga Canal (reached by horse-cars passing
east along the southern side of the Plaza Mayor). A
pasear by boat on the Viga can be made an affair of a
couple of hours — to the chinampas at Santa Anita and
return ; of a day — to Mexicalcingo and return, stopping
at the intermediate villages of Santa Anita, Ixtacalco,
and San Juanico; or even of two days — through the
whole length of the canal and across the western end of
Lake Xochimilco to the town of the same name, stop-
ping there all night and returning on the following day.
The one day expedition certainl}' should be taken.
There are no fixed prices for the boats, and the begin-
ning of the cruise is almost a personal combat with a
crowd of boatmen as to which boat shall be taken and
what amount shall be paid for its use. For a party of
four, or less, a boat should be had for not more than two
dollars. For the shorter expedition, to Sta. Anita and
the chinampas, including the return trip, not more than six
7^eales should be paid. By playing the men against each
other, and by going through the form of abandoning the
expedition in disgust, reasonable terms may be obtained.
The boats in use are flat-bottomed affairs, twelve or fif-

318 MEXICAI^ GUIDE.

teen feet long and about four feet wide, roofed except at
bow and stern, and with loose curtains at the sides,
benches running fore and aft — a species of barbaric
gondola. Thej are propelled by a pole, that the boat-
man operates in the bow. Almost immediately after
getting under way the boat passes through the Garita
de la Yiga, where boats bringing merchandise of any
sort to the city are halted for the receipt of the city tax.
Outside of the garita a line of boats loaded with fire-
wood usually is found ; for these great boats cannot pass
through the narrow way left open under the stone
arches. The first town reached is Santa Anita, a Mex-
ican version of Coney Island. To this pretty place the
lower and middle classes resort in shoals on Sunday
and feast-day afternoons. It is a little town of straw-
thatched houses, nearly every one of which is a shop or
a restaurant (and many of them drinking places also),
and everywhere there is a pervading smell of cooked
tamales. There are swings, and places wherein lively
games are played, and flower-selling places — where men
and women buy garlands of brilliant-hued poj)pies
wherewith to crown each other ; and everywhere is a
crowd made up of flower-crowned people, genuinely
merry and light of heart. Surrounding the town are
the chinampas, the floating gardens that once really
did float, but that now are little patches of garden
ground separated by narrow canals. Here are grown
flowers and vegetables for the city market, and for sale
at home on Sundays and feast-days — where the popular
vegetables, eaten without other sauce than liking, are
huge radishes and lettuce. The church of Santa Anita
is a quaint old building with a fine tower. At Ixtacal-
00, the next town on the line of the canal, are more

SHORT EXCURSIONS FROM MEXICO. 319

chinamjjas, less gayety, a small market and a very pre-
sentable old clmrcli, dedicated to San Matias — a Fran-
ciscan foundation of more than three hundred years ago.
In front of the chiu'ch is a little plaza with a fountain of
sweet water in its midst ; and away from the plaza, along
the lane that is marked by a palm-tree at its beginning,
is a small, curious building that once was the chapel of
Santiago. It is used as a dwelling now, and right in
among its numerous inhabitants is the remnant of what
seems to have been a most gallant image of Santiago —
now galloping to defend the faith on a headless horse !
Mexicalcingo, about seven miles south of the city, was a
place of some importance before the Conquest, but now
is an insignificant little town of less than three hundred
inhabitants. A small monastery, and the church of San
Marco, were founded here by the Franciscans at a very
early period ; and in Yetancurt's time, two centuries
ago, the parish numbered upward of 1,500 souls. The
monastery still exists, but in a ruinous condition, while
the comparatively large church — built on the site of the
primitive structure — is in tolerably good repair. It
is rather a bleak-looking edifice. The road from Mexico
to Ixtaj)alapan crosses the canal at this point, and a very
picturesque bit is had in the juxtaposition of this bridge
and a rambling adobe house shaded by a row of great
old trees growing along the water's edge. This is a
good place to tie up and have breakfast (provision for
which must be earned along) in a leisurely fashion, pre-
paratory to starting on the return trip : and benevolent
people will give a loaf of white bread to the nice old
woman who lives in the northern end of the rambling
house for the use and benefit of her cat : for the cat has
an inordinate craving for white bread that rarely is sat-

320 MEXICAN GUIDE.

isfied. On a Sunday or feast-day afternoon, the return
trip, especially from Santa Anita to the city, is one of
the memorable sights of Mexico. The canal is crowded
thickly with boats of all sorts and sizes, and the boats
are crowded with garlanded merry-makers — tinkling
guitars, singing, and on the larger boats even dancing.
At this time, too, a wonderfully wizened and shocking-
looking old beggar, an institution of the canal, paddles
about vigorously in his canoe and reaps a very respect-
able harvest of alms ; and the huge passenger boats for
Xochimilco and Chalco are starting on the cruise that
will not end until the morning of the ensuing day. The
fact should be added that, strictly speaking, the Viga
canal is not a canal at all, but a navigable sluice through
which the waters of the lakes Xochimilco and Chalco
discharge into the lower level of Texcoco. It is possible
that the name Viga is derived from the wooden bridges
of vigas (beams) which once spanned the canal.

The Desierto (about fifteen miles southwest of the city,
reached on horseback). That very crabbed chronicler,
Thomas Gage, an English monk of the Dominican order
who was smuggled into Mexico about the middle of the
seventeenth century, thus describes, in his " New Sur-
vey of the "West Indias," the Desierto in its palmy days :
" Northwest- ward three leagues from Mexico is the
pleasantest place of all that are about Mexico, called La
Soledad, and by others el desierto, the solitary or desert
place and wildernesse. "Were all wildernesses like it, to
livt>^in a wildernesse would be better than to live in a City.
This hath been a device of poor Fryers named discalced,
or barefooted Carmelites, who, to make show of their
hypocriticall and apparent godlinesse, and that whilest
they would be thought to live like Eremites, retired from

SHORT EXCURSIONS FROM MEXICO. 321

the world, they may draw the world unto them ; they have
built there a stately Cloister, which being upou a hill and
among* rocks, makes it to be more admired. About the
Cloister they have fashioned out many holes and Caves
in, under, and among the rocks, like Eremites lodgings,
with a room to lie in, and an Oratory to pray in, with pict-
ures, and Images, and rare devices for mortification, as
disciplines of wyar, rods of Iron, hair-cloths girdles with
sharp wyar points to girdle about their bare flesh, and
many such like toyes, which hang about their Oratories,
to make people admire their mortified and holy lives.
All these Eremeticall holes and caves (which are some ten
in all)^ are within the bounds and compasse of the Clois-
ter and among orchards and gardens full of fruits and
flowers, which may take up two miles compasse ; and
here among the rocks are many springs of water, which
with the shade of the plantins and other trees, are most
cool and pleasant to the Eremites ; they have also the
sweet smell of theroze andjazmin, which is a little flower,
but the sweetest of all others ; there is not any other
flower to be found that is rare and exquisite in that
Country, which is not in that wildernesse to delight the
senses of those mortified Eremites."

All this lovely place really is a solitary place, a wilder-
ness, now ; but even in its ruin it is one of the most
beautiful spots to be found near the city — while the re-
mains of the cloister and the " Eremeticall holes and
caves " make it one of the most curious and interesting.

San Juan Teotihuacan (twenty-seven miles out
from Mexico on the line of the Vera Cruz railway). Near
the village of this name are the very curious pyramids
of the Sun and Moon (so-called), together with other in-
teresting prehistoric remains. The pyramids rise in the

322 MEXICAN GUIDE.

midst of an arid region, largely composed of volcanic
basalt deeply indented by numerous quarries, whence
building material was obtained in prehistoric times.
Although as seen from the railway the pyramids seem
small in comparison with the adjacent little mountain,
the Cerro Gordo, their really prodigious size becomes
apparent when they are viewed from the level of the
plain whereon they stand. They rise from the banks of
the small river of Teotihuacan ; and for more than a
league in radius traces are discoverable of a large and
most substantially built city. The pyramid of the Sun,
according to the very careful measurements of Seiior
Garcia Cubas, is 216 ft. 8 in. high, with a base 761 ft. x
721 ft. 7 in. square. The platform on the top is 59 feet
from north to south by 105 feet from east to west. The
pyramid of the Moon is 150 ft. 11 in. high, with a base
511 ft. X 426 ft. 5 in., and a crowning platform 19 ft. 8 in.
square.* The only entrance as yet discovered is found
on the southern face of the pyramid of the Moon, at a
height of 65 feet from the ground. This gives inlet to a
narrow descending gallery, interrupted by a deep square
well, the walls of which are laid up with carefully squared
stone. The axis of this gallery (observation of Seiior
Garcia Cubas) coincides exactly with the magnetic meri-
dian. Beyond the gallery the interior remains unex-
plored. The pyramid of the Sun has not been entered
at all. To the south of the pja-amid of the Sun is a large
earthwork known as the ciudadela (citadel) ; a square in-
closed by a mound averaging 262 feet thick by 32 feet
high. Id the centre of the inclosed square is a small
pyramid, and upon the inclosing earth-work are fourteen

* The pyramid of Cheops is 475 ft. 10 in. high, with a base 774
ft. X 1102 ft. square.

SHORT EXCURSIONS FROM MEXICO. 323

small pyramids disposed at regular intervals. In the
neighborhood of the pyramids are great numbers of tu-
muli, isolated and grouped. The most notable group of
tumuli is that which borders the so-called Calle de los
Maertos (the Street of the Dead). This curious cause-
way begins near the " Citadel " and, passing the western
face of the pyramid of the Sun, ends at the southern
front of the pyramid of the Moon — there widening out
into a large circle, in the centre of which is a tumulus.
Many of the tumuli have been opened, disclosing in some
cases boxes of wrought stone inclosing a skull and orna-
ments of obsidian and pottery ; in other cases (in the
tumuli along the sides of the Street of the Dead) only
empty chambers have been found. The conclusion ar-
rived at by Seilor Orozco y Berra in regard to these very
curious remains — mainly based upon the wide divergence
from any kno\vn types of the clay masks found in what
may be assumed to be the older of the tombs — is that
they are the work of a race older than either Toltecs or
Acolhuas, of which only these monuments now remain.

Texcoco (on the line of the Irolo railway, 25 miles out
from Mexico. Trains leave from the San Lazaro and
PeralviUo stations. In the town there is a tidy Httle
hotel, with a fair restaurant attached, kept by a French-
man. Thepw/^itehere is particularly good). During the
century preceding the Conquest, Texcoco equalled the
City of Tenochtitlan in importance. In the year 1431
the legitimate ruler, Netzahualcoyotl, having deposed
the usurper Maxtla (see Atzcapotzalco) was firmly estab-
lished upon his throne. Of this great man it is difficult
to speak in terms of too high praise. The considerate
historian, Seiior Orozco y Berra, thus sums his character :
"Just, yet clement, compassionate of misfortune, gener-

324 MEXICAN GUIDE.

ous, intelligent, an intrepid warrior, a philosopher, poet,
engineer, legislator, the father of his people, he filled
with his fame the world of Anahuac. . . . The Tex-
coco of his time may be called the Athens of America ;
as at the same period the strong, aggressive race inhab-
iting Tenochtitlan made that city the antetype of ancient
Eome." A part of the success of Cortes was due to the
fact that at the time of his appearance this kingdom was
divided by civil wars among the grand- children of Netz-
ahualcoyotl, and that one of the factions became allied
with the invaders. Texcoco was the base of operations
against the city of Tenochtitlan. Here the "brigan-
tines," * built in Tlaxcala and brought across the moun-
tains in sections, were put together and launched through
the canal over which still may be seen the puente de los
bergantines. Pending the building of the City of Mexico,
the first Franciscan mission was established here by
Fray Pedro de Gante. Here for a time, when in disfavor
with the Spanish king and forbidden to reside in Mexico,
Cortes made his home ; and in the church here remained
for some years the Conqueror's bones. The existing town
presents a very agreeable appearance. Its principal
street is planted along each curb with a row of young
orange-trees, and down this perspective is seen the fine
mass of the ancient church of San Francisco ; having
near it the still older church, a very plain structure, that
probably dates from earty in the sixteenth century. In
the Plaza is a monument crowned with a bust of Netza-
hualcoyotl ; at the corner of two of the principal streets
is a very handsome fountain, the gift of the philanthropist

* The " brigan tines " were flat-bottomed boats propelled by
sails and oars. Their misleading name in English is a too free
translation of the Spanish word hergaiiUn.

SHORT EXCURSIONS FROM MEXICO. 325

and antiquarian Senor Ruperto Jaspeado ; and in addi-
tion to tiie church of San Francisco several other ancient
churches command attention. Aztec remains ai'e very
plentiful about Texcoco. In the northwestern section of
the town is the remnant of a mound composed of stones
and earth, in which, in 1827, Mr. Poinsett found a regu-
larly arched and well-built passage or sewer of stone
cemented with lime ; and upon which, in 1850, Mr.
Maj'er observed " several large slabs of basaltic rock,
neatly squared and laid north and south." In the south-
ern part of Texcoco are the massive remains of three
pyramids, or mounds, each about four hundred feet along
its base lines. In the person of Seiior Jaspeado (whose
residence adjoins the apothecary's shop not far from the
church of San Francisco), persons speaking Spanish will
find a most able exponent and interpreter of the town's
antiquities.

Tetzcotzinco. About three miles east of Texcoco is
"the laughing hill " [risuena colina) of Tetzcotzinco. Here
is an enduring monument to the engineering skill and
good taste of Netzahualcoyotl in the shape of the won-
derful pleasaunce that he caused to be built for his amuse-
ment and recreation. The remains of terraced walks and
stairways wind around the hill from base to summit ;
seats are hollowed in shady nooks among the rocks, and
everj'where traces are found of ingenious contrivances
by which the natural beauty and cool comfort of the sit-
uation were enhanced. The most important and most
curious of these remains, at an elevation of eighty or one
hundred feet, is that to which has been given the purely
fanciful title of " Montezuma's bath " — a circular reser-
vou* about five feet in diameter and three feet deep whence
water was distributed through many channels to the

326 MEXICAN GUIDE.

hanging gardens below. In. order to supply the little
reservoir stupendous works were executed. Near the
" laughing hill," distant half or three-quarters of a mile,
is another small hill, and beyond this, twelve or fifteen
miles, is the mountain chain that encircles the Valley.
From the reservoir the side of the hill in which it is hol-
lowed is cut down and levelled, as though graded for a
railroad, for about half a mile ; thence the grade is carried
across a ravine to the adjacent hill on an embankment
fully sixty feet high ; thence the side of the second hill
is graded for a distance of a mile and a half ; and thence
the grade is carried on an embankment across the plain
to the distant mountains. Along the top of the level thus
formed was built an aqueduct, much of which still re-
mains in excellent preservation and testifies to the skill
of its builders. It is formed of a very hard plaster, made
of lime and small portions of a soft red stone ; is about
two feet wide, and has a conduit about ten inches in di-
ameter— a concave trough covered by convex sections of
plaster, together forming a tube. A part of this pleasur-
ing place, though some distance from it, is the Bosque del
Contador, a magnificent grove of ahuehuetes, inclosing a
great quadrangle that probably in ancient times was a
lake.

Molino de F lores. This charming country place, be-
longing to the family Cervantes, lies off the line of the
railway about three miles west of Texcoco. Its chief
beauty is a rocky ravine, plentifully shaded, in which,
beside a rustic chapel, is a water-fall. The gardens
watered by the stream are laid out with much taste and
are filled with flowers. In their midst stands the large
and handsome residence ; and at a short distance be-
low the waterfall is the mill. At times when the resi-

SHORT EXCURSIONS FROM MEXICO. 327

dence is not occupied strjingers are admitted to the
grounds by the steward.

Cuatlenchan. Not far from the Molino de Flores is
the little village of this name, notable as being near to a
very remarkable prehistoric relic. This is the prostrate
figure in stone of an idol popularly (and perhaps cor-
rectly) styled Xicaca, goddess of waters. The figure is
a huge monolith, about eighteen feet long by about four
feet across, and is nearly perfect — though as much in-
jured as was possible without recourse to drilling and
blasting. The figure probably was thrown down from
the crest of the hill, and certainly was defaced, by the
Spaniards ; but against such a very massive idol as this
is even that most iconoclastic of all archbishops, the
devil-defying Zumarraga, was comparatively powerless.

TIalnepantla. The attractions of this town are
limited but varied. They consist of an ancient conven-
tual church, and bull-fights. Travellers who delight not
in bull-fighting should visit the town on a day not a
feast-day nor Sunday ; should take the car leaving the
Plaza Mayor at 1:30 p.m., and return in the car leaving
TIalnepantla at 5:40 p.m. The trip is well worth taking
for the sake of seeing the many interesting little towns
by the way, and still more for the lovely sunset effect —
westward on the low% blue mountains, and eastward on
the volcanoes — during the return. The church was be-
gun in 1583, and probably was dedicated in 1587 — which
dates may be seen, respectively, on the screen of the
sacristy and over the side entrance. On the outer
wall of the chapel of the Misericordia is the date 1609,
and upon the newly-stuccoed tower is the date 1704.
This church is interesting in that its interior, saving
a single altar introduced in the last century, has not

328 MEXicAisr guide.

been modernized. The chapel of the Misericordia is
very quaint.

Tajo de Nochistongo (on the line of the Mexican
Central Railway. The station of Huehuetoca is 29 miles
out from Mexico). This great work was planned by the
engineer Enrico Martinez to carry off the superfluous
waters of Lake Zumpango — the highest of the several
lakes in the Mexican valley — and so to prevent over-
flow into the lower lakes and the inundation of the city.
A still more comprehensive plan that he had in mind
was to strike at the root of the matter and make his
drain deep enough to carry off the waters of Texcoco ;
but this, because of its great cost, was abandoned.
Work was begun November 28, 1607. Fifteen thou-
sand Indians were employed — this force being utilized
by sinking shafts at different points and working head-
ings from each shaft in opposite directions — and in
eleven months a tunnel was completed eleven feet wide
by thirteen feet high and more than four miles long.
The inner facing of the tunnel, being of adobe, softened
and caved ; and a stone facing, being simply a vault with-
out firm foundation, proved equally insecure. On June
20, 1629, the rainy season having set in with unusual
violence, Martinez gave orders that the mouth of the
tunnel should be closed — either intending by a very
practical demonstration to convince the people of Mex-
ico of the utility of his tunnel (in regard to which much
diversity of opinion prevailed, and concerning which he
had been engaged in an acrimonious controversy with
the authorities), or, as he himself stated, being fearful
that the work would be completely wrecked by the en-
trance of so great a volume of water. The effect was
instantaneous. In a single night the whole citj^, except-

SHORT EXCURSIONS FROM MEXICO. 329

ing the Plaza Maj'or, was three feet under water. Dur-
ing five years, 1629-34 this, " the great inundation,"
Listed ; throughout all of which time the streets were
passable only in boats. The foundations of many build-
ings were destroyed, trade was paralyzed, and among
the poorer classes there was infinite misery. The order
actually was issued from Madrid to abandon the sub-
merged city and build a new Mexico on the high ground
between Tacuba and Tacubaya. Unfortunately, before
this wise order could be executed, a very dry season,
dui'ing which several earthquakes cracked the ground
and so permitted the water to escape, made the pro-
jected removal unnecessary. Martinez, who had been
imprisoned for causing this great calamity, was released,
and was ordered to execute works by which the city
should be made secure against hke visitations in future.
He reopened the tunnel, and as an additional safeguard
rebuilt the dyke of San Cristobal. This great dyke con-
sists of two distinct masses of, approximately, two miles
and three quarters and a mile and a half in length, each
portion being twenty-seven feet in thickness, and vary-
ing in height from eight to ten feet. Great as these
works were, they did not afford absolute protection to
the city ; for the tendency of the tunnel to cave and
become choked constantly threatened a repetition of the
disaster of 1629. From the engineering standpoint of
the times the necessity of taking out the tunnel in open
cut was recognized. During more than a centuiy this
great undertaking was carried on in a desultory fashion ;
and at last, being taken in hand by the Consulada, or
corporate body of merchants of the capital, was pressed
vigorously to a conclusion between the years 1767 and
1789. In order to gain a slope so gradual from the top

330 MEXICAN GUIDE.

to the bottom as to prevent tlie sides from falling in, a
great width had to be given to the cut at the top. For
a considerable portion of its extent its width varies from
278 to 630 feet, while its perpendicular depth is from
147 to 196 feet. The whole length of the cut, from the
sluice called the vertideros to the salto, or fall, of the river
Tula, is 67,537 feet. A very complete view of this re-
markable work can be had from the trains of the Mexi-
can Central Eailway, the line of which road is carried
through the tajo, or cut, at an elevation of fifty feet or
more above the stream.

PART III.

PROVINCIAL MEXICO.

PAET III.

PROVINCIAL MEXICO.

jf: THE MEXICAN RAIL WA Y.

Practical Matters. At either end of the line tickets
should be purchased and luggage should be checked on
the afternoon preceding the morning of departure. (At
Vera Cruz luggage can be sent direct from the steamer
landing to the railway station, when passed by the cus-
tom-house officials). If a stop-over ticket is wanted the
fact should be clearly stated, and the traveller should
make sure that a ticket of this sort has been sold him.
Thirty-three pounds (15 kilograms) of luggage is carried
free. The excess rate for luggage is about $3.50 to Pu-
ebla, and about $4.50 to the City of Mexico per 100
pounds. Seats should be taken on the left hand side of
the car in coming up from Vera Cruz, and on the right
hand side in going down from the City of Mexico. On
the up journey light overcoats and w^raps should be car-
ried, both as a protection from the chilliness of the
higher level, and the clouds of dust which fill the car
after Boca del Monte is passed. Stops of from twenty
minutes to half an hour are made at Orizaba, Esperanza,
and Apizaco, at each of which stations there is a very
fair restaurant. Meals cost six reales ; coffee, chocolate,
and bread, two reales.

334 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Sights by the Way. The train for the City of Mex-
ico starts from Yera Cruz at the atrocious hour of 5.45
A.M. Should the traveller remain awake, there is not
much of interest for him to see while crossing the
sandy, chaparral region of the coast. In leaving the
city, the line traverses the fortifications and passes in
sight of the Alameda and the cemetery of Casa Mata, and
thence across the Lagnina de Cocos, and not far from the
Laguna Boticario. It was near the Laguna de Cocos
that the army defending Vera Cruz in 1847 surrendered
to General Scott. At La Zamorana is the junction with
the steam line leading toMedellin ; and at Tejeria is the
junction with the tramway leading to Jalapa. At Sole-
dad, 26 miles out, the treaty between the Generals Prim
and Doblado was concluded in 1862 (see page 68). Near
this station the Rio Jamapa is crossed on a bridge more
than four hundred feet long. From Soledad the won-
derfully beautiful views of the mountains begin. At
Paso del Macho, reached after a run through a desolate,
rocky region, the line already has attained an altitude
of 1,500 feet above the sea. Three miles beyond this
station the iron bridge of San Alejo, spanning one of the
tributaries of the Atoyac, is crossed ; a structure 318
feet long and 30 feet above the stream. Sugar-cane and
coffee plantations now begin, and very beautiful para-
sites, of the orchid and bromelia species, are seen grow-
ing upon the forest trees. The line winds around and
under — through a tunnel 200 feet long — the base of the
Cerro de Chiquihuite, and immediately after leaving the
tunnel crosses the Chiquihuite bridge, 220 feet long.
Presently the fall of the Atoyac is seen — not a very vig-
orous waterfall in the dry season, however — in the midst
of dense tropical vegetation. Just before reaching the
station of Atoyac the iron bridge, 330 feet long, over

THE MEXICAN RAILWAY. 335

the Atoyac Eiver is crossed. At this station the sharpest
portion of the ascent begins, a grade of four per cent ;
and here the powerful double-ender Fairlie locomotives
are attached to the trains. Between Atoyac and Cor-
doba, passing through several small tunnels, and travers-
ing an extraordinarily fertile country clothed with a
lavish growth, the line rises in a distance of 20 miles
from an elevation of 1,510 to an elevation of 2,710 feet
above the sea. The town of Cordoba (which see) lies a
little more than a mile from the railway, in the midst of
cane-fields, coffee plantations, and banana groves. The
fruit for sale at this station, especially the mangoes and
oranges, is the best that is offered along the line. After
leaving the little station of Fortin, so named because of
a ruined fort in the vicinity, the traveller should devote
his attention very exclusively to the wonders, natural and
artificial, of the next few miles of the line. The scenery
here is of surpassing grandeur, and the railway fights its
■way through this wild place, through five tunnels and
across three bridges. The great bridge is that which
crosses the Metlac ravine. This structure is built upon
a curve of 325 feet radius, on a three per cent grade ; is
350 feet long, and rises 92 feet above the stream. It is of
cast- and wrought-iron, rising on eight pillars from bases
of masonry. A little while after crossing the Metlac
bridge the beautiful valley of Orizaba comes into view,
with the snow-capped mountain rising beyond. Just
before reaching Orizaba, the Cerro del borrego (Hill of
the Lamb) is rounded. On this sharp acclivity a small
force of French soldiers, on the 13th and 14th of June,
1860, routed a much larger force of Mexicans.

At Orizaba (which see) are the repair shops of the
railway company. From this point to Maltrata the
railway runs parallel with the Eio Blanco and crosses

336 MEXICAN GUIDE.

three of its tributaries There are several small tunnels,
in this section. The great feature of this portion of the
road is the Barranca del Infiernillo — the Kavine of the
Little Hell — a wild and desolate gorge, dropping almost
perpendicularly six hundred feet below the ledge on the
mountain side on which the track is laid. In the far
depths below is seen a little stream. Beyond the Infier-
nillo the line comes out into the lovely valley of La
Joya — The Jewel — in the midst of which, at an elevation
of 5,544 feet above the sea, is the picturesque town of Mal-
trata. In long, sweeping curves the line, rapidly rising,
leaves the valley of La Joya and continues the ascent along
a terraced way cut in the sides of the mountains. The
lovely valley, and the red-tiled roofs and red-domed church
of Maltrata are seen far below. Near the station of La
Bota — so called because of a spot like a boot on the
mountain near by — water is taken in ; the source of sup-
ply being a spring struck in blasting out the grade.
Winner's Bridge — named for the engineer in charge of
its construction — 96 feet long and nearly as many feet
above the stream is crossed, and, after passing through
a tunnel and a deep cut, the line comes to Boca del
Monte — the " Mouth of the Mountain " — on the eastern
edge of the Mexican plateau and 7,849 feet above the sea.
Practically, the remainder of the run is over level
country, although the highest point on the road is still a
few miles farther west. (At Esperanza, a few miles
beyond, the Fairlie locomotive is detached from the
train, and an ordinary locomotive substituted). This,
too, is the end of the strikingly picturesque portion of
the journey, though between San Marcos and Huaman-
tla, there is a fine view of the Malintzi close at hand,
and the show-crowned volcanoes are in sight continuously
Here, too, the very dusty portion of the journey begins,

THE MEXICAN RAILWAY. 337

and continues until the train reaches the City of Mexico. .
At Esperanza, about 1 p.m., a stop of half an hour is
made for breakfast. A very good meal is provided for
six reales. The prices for wines and beer are extortion-
ate. Rooms may be had in the station hotel at $1 a
day. At this point the east and the west-bound trains
meet, and the military guard — a rudimentary survival —
is transferred, the one returning to Vera Cruz and the
other to the City of Mexico.

From Esperanza a tramway, 30 miles long, extends to
Tehuacan (Hotel Diligencias) ; and thence a dihgence is
run, forty miles farther, to Tecomabapa.

San Andres Chalchicomula, tying about four miles off
the line of the railroad, with which it is connected by a
tramway, is the point of departure in making the dilBfi-
cult ascent of Orizaba. At San Marcos a bridge over
the Vera Cruz Hne carries the track of the railway from
Puebla to San Juan de los Llanos — all that has been
completed of the road from Puebla to Jalapa via Perote,
under the concession gxanted May 23, 1868, to Ramon
Zangronio. From Apizaco a branch line extends to Pue-
bla, a distance of 29 miles. Between the stations of
Guadalupe and Soltepec, at the siding of Ococotlan, is
the highest point on the road, an elevation of 8,333 feet
above the sea. Excepting a shght ascent between Irolo
and Ometusco, the train runs from Soltepec to the City
of Mexico on a constantly descending grade. Apam is
in the heart of the maguey region, and hereabouts the
hesi pulque in Mexico can be obtained. That which is sold
for a medio in httle earthen pots at the stations, however,
usually is so diluted with water as to be undiinkable.
From Irolo, a tramway extends to Pachuca, 37 miles dis-
tant. The Ii'olo line of the Interoceanic Railwa}" also
connects this town with the City of Mexico. Ii'olo is a
15

338 MEXICAN GUIDE.

very important point for the sMpment of 2^ulque. Both
the Mexican and the Interoceanic railways run pulque
trains every morning to the capital. The great planta-
tions of maguey {agave americana) through which the
line of the railway passes in this Apam region, indicate
the extent of the pulque industry. Otumba possesses
historical importance as the scene of the battle fought by
Cortez with the Mexicans, July 8, 1520, during his retreat
after the disaster of the Noche Triste. Darkness falls
at about this point on the journey. The train enters the
Valley of Mexico soon after passing Tepexpam, and about
8 P.M. arrives at the Buena Vista station.

Coming out from the City of Mexico on the morning
train, starting at 6.15, as the train leaves the station
the low dome of Santa Maria de los Angeles is seen on
the right ; beyond this, to the right, the great church of
Santiago Tlaltelolco (now a bonded warehouse) adjoin-
ing the new custom-house ; and on the left the grand
stand and race-track of the Jockey Club. From this
point the volcanoes come in sight, and remain in sight
during the greater part of the day. The sanctuary of
Guadalupe is passed on the left. From Guadalupe Lake
Texcoco is seen on the right. Just beyond Guadalupe is
seen, on the left, a powder-house, a walled enclosure with
low stone towers. The branch track leading to the little
town of Socoalco is passed, and the town is seen on the
left. Further on one of the drainage trenches is crossed.
About 6.55 salt works are seen on the left, and about
7.15 the towers of the churches of San Juan de Teoti-
huacan are seen on the left, and a moment later the Pyr-
amids of the Sun and Moon (which see). About 7.35
the branch line leading to the hacienda de Zoapayucan
is passed, and fifteen minutes later the hacienda is seen
on the right. At Soltepec, from the eastern end of the plat-

THE MEXICAN RAILWAY. 339

fonii, there is a peculiarly fine view at this early period of
the day of the foui* great mountain peaks : Popocate-
petl, Ixtaccihuatl, Orizaba, and the Malintzi.

Ajnzaco to Puebla. A few minutes after leaving the
station at Apizaco, the chapel of Santa Cruz, beside a
mill and gi*anary, is seen on the right. A moment later,
on the left, is seen a charmingly composed landscape : a
water-fall, a bit of canon, and an old gray stone aqueduct.
Across the valley is seen the brown Malintzi, with the
smaller Cerro del Pinal at its base. Farther on is seen,
on the left, the church of San Manuel and a manufactory
of woollen cloth. The queer little chapel on a hill is the
Calvario. Then is seen, on the left, the yellow dome of
San Bernardino. Many deep barrancas are crossed. The
little urn-shaped adobe buildings seen here, and else-
where on the line, are granaries. The low stone pillars
are boundary-marks. Over the hills, to the right, are
seen the two towers of the Sanctuary of Ocotlan (see
Tlaxcala). At Santa Anita the tramway, on the right,
leads to Tlaxcala. Beyond Santa Anita, on the right, is
seen the lake of Acuitlapiha. When nearing Panzacola
the large cotton-mill. El Valor, with its red-domed church,
is seen on the right. Near the station at Panzacola, on
the right, the large building standing in the midst of a
park-like enclosure surrounded by high stone walls, is
the Panzacola iron foundry. After passing this station a
short distance, on the right is seen the Pyramid of Cho-
lula crowned with its church. On nearing Puebla the
rancho de San Juan, a heavy stone building crowning a
low hill, is seen on the right. Then the towers and
domes of Puebla come in sight across the plain, with
blue, low-lying mountains beyond. Just before entering
the town the old fort of the Loreto is seen on a hill on
the left ; and beyond this the hill and fort of Guadalupe.

340 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Vera Cruz to Jalapa. The tramway to Jalapa follows
the ancient highway that led from Vera Cruz to the City
of Mexico. The cars are drawn at a brisk pace by four
mules attached to each, changed about every two hours.
(On the down trip the mules usually go at a gallop).
The tramway leaves the line of the Mexican Railway at
Tejeria ; crosses the sandy chaparral region of the coast,
and thence onward continues through the rich tropical
country on the eastern escarpment of the Plateau. At 35
miles from Mexico the National Bridge is passed, built
in the early years of the present century. At Plan del
Rio the Imperial Grenadiers were defeated and made
prisoners in December, 1822, by General Santa Anna —
a victory that virtually caused the downfall of the Em-
peror Yturbide. The hacienda once owned by Santa
Anna may be seen from the line. At Cerro Gordo a
victory was gained by the American army May 18, 1847.
The scenery along almost the whole of the line is extra-
ordinarily fine. Jalapa (which see) is reached about
4.30 P.M.

History. During the two centuries succeeding the
Conquest the journey between Vera Cruz and the City
of Mexico was made on horseback, mule-back, or on
foot. At the beginning of the j)resent century the jour-
ney was made from Vera Cruz to Jalapa by litter, and
thence to the capital by coach. A regular diligence line
was established between Jalapa and the City of Mexico
in 1833 ; and this was extended a little later to Vera
Cruz. The first concession for a railway in Mexico was
given August 22, 1837, by the then President, Don Anas-
tasio Bustamante, to Francisco Arillaga for a line between
Vera Cruz and the City of Mexico. This project got no
farther than a preliminary survey, which pointedly de-
veloped the enormous difficulties to be overcome in the

THE MEXICAN RAILWAY. 341

building of tlie road. A new concession was given,
May 31, 1842, to Joseph Faure, for a line from Vera
Cruz to the river of San Juan ; and a decree issued at
the same time by which two per cent, of the duties re-
ceived at the Vera Cruz custom-house should be devoted
to building this railroad, and to maintaining the high-
way leading to Perote. The general direction of the
work was confided to Antonio Garay, the then Secretary
of Finance. Under this concession a little more than two
miles of track was laid at the Vera Cruz end of the line.
Then the accidental death of M. Faure — caused by a
fall from his horse while superintending construction —
brought the work summarily to an end. A new conces-
sion was given, August 12, 1857, to the brothers Mosso
for a transcontinental Hne between San Juan and Aca-
pulco ; and by these concessionaries the line, three miles
in length, betw^een the City of Mexico and the suburb
of Guadalupe was brought nearly to completion. Fi-
nancial difficulties brought the work to an untimety end.
A decree issued August 31, 1857, declaring all previous
concessions cancelled, and granting to Don Antonio
Escandon a new and exclusive concession for a railway
from Vera Cruz through the City of Mexico to the Pa-
cific coast. The portion of the line ah-eady constructed
was purchased by the new concessionary, and two sur-
vey's— one following the highway through Orizaba, and
the other the highway through Jalapa — were made. The
Orizaba route was adopted : and the City of Puebla
was left off the line because the Ayuntamiento imposed
upon the concessionary the payment of a very consider-
able sum for the privilege of bringing the railway into
the city. Construction had progressed from Vera Cruz
as far as Tejeria, about ten miles, when the revolution
of 1857 intervened to stop the work. In 1861 a new

342 MEXICAN GUIDE.

ooiicession was granted to Senor Escandon that included
as one of its conditions the obligation to build a branch
line to Puebla ; and as its most important privilege a
subvention payable from a loan of $8,000,000 from the
Government, on which was placed an interest charge of
five per cent, per annum, the principal payable in
twenty-five years. The troublous times preceding the
establishment of the Empire prevented the prosecution
of the work. In 1864 the Imperial Mexican Company
was formed, to which Senor Escandon transferred his
concession. This new organization received the official
sanction of Maximilian, January 26, 1865. During the
ensuing two years the line was completed from Vera
Cruz as far as Paso del Macho, 47 miles ; and from the
City of Mexico as far as Apizaco, 86 miles. On the fall
of the Empire, the Republican Government decreed
(November 27, 1867) that the concession was forfeited,
because the company had entered into a contract with
the fictitious government set up in Mexico by the
French. The concession was renewed (November 10,
1868) by an Act of Congress ; the " Compania del Ferro-
carril Mexicana, limitada," was organized ; bonds were
floated in England ; the work was placed in charge of
competent English engineers ; an American contractor
— Mr. Thomas Braniff, the present Resident Director of
the road — took in hand the more difficult portion of the
work ; and under these favoring conditions construction
was carried forward as rapidly as was possible in view
of the enormous natural obstacles to be overcome. The
branch road to Puebla, putting that city in direct rail
communication with the capital, was opened September
16, 1869 ; and the east and west tracks at last met, in
the heights above Maltrata, December 20, 1872. The
ceremony of blessing the road was performed, Decern-

THE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 343

ber 31st, following, in tlie Buena Vista station, by the
Archbishop of Mexico in person, followed by a solemn
service of thanksgiving in the cathedral. On January 1,
1873, an excursion part}^, including President Lerdo de
Tejada, high officials of the Government, and other dis-
tinguished persons, left the City of Mexico on two
special trains and, stopping at every citj and town by
the wa}' to take part in the popular rejoicing, went down
to Vera Cruz. This celebration continued for eight
d&js, ending with the return of the party to Mexico.
The road was opened to the use of the general public,
January 22, 1873.

Due to the wasteful methods of its construction, to its
many extrinsic misfortunes, and to the enormous outlay
of money required by the very difficult character of the
work, this railway, in proportion to its length, is one of
the costliest railways in the world. The acknowledged
expenditure of Government funds upon it was $12,575
000. The total cost of the road — main line, 263 miles ;
Puebla branch, 30 miles — has been fixed officially (Eeport
of Secretary of Finance, 1879) at $36,319,526.52. This is
at the rate of more than $123,000 per mile. The average
net income of the road has been about $1,500,000 a year.
The net income, in round numbers, for the year 1885,
was $1,872,000.

11, THE 3IEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY.

Practical Matters. The train is backed across from
the Mexican side of the river to the station in El Paso
about half an hour before its time for leaving. The
sleeping-car, by order of the Mexican custom's officials,
remains closed until the examination of hand-baggage

344 MEXICAN GUIDE.

has been made in Paso del Norte. On through tickets
from points in the United States 150 pounds of baggage
is carried free. On local tickets, that is from any point
to any other point on the line, only 33 pounds of lug-
gage is carried free. The rates for extra luggage from
El Paso to the points here named, per 100 pounds,
are: To Chihuahua, $3.50; Jimenez, |5 ; Lerdo, $6.50 ;
Calera, $9.75 ; Zacatecas, and all points south thereof,
$10. Travellers taking the train at San Isidro for the
City of Mexico probably will effect a saving by shipping
all extra luggage by express. As a rule, for distances of
more than 300 miles it will be a little cheaper to send
extra luggage by express, which includes, also, free de-
livery. (See Express Service.) For diligence connec-
tions, see page 369.

Sights by the Way. A few minutes after leaving the
station in El Paso the train crosses the Rio Grande on a
wooden truss bridge to the Mexican town of Paso del
Norte (which see). Here a stop is made long enough
for the examination of luggage by the custom's officials,
and i for a dreary supper in the railway restaurant.
Aft^r the examination of luggage the Pullman car is
opened. The train leaves Paso del Norte in the early
evening, runs all night through a desolate, plain country,
broken by low ranges of mountains, and arrives at the
breakfast station. Chihuahua (which see), early on the
following morning. There is no good reason why trav-
ellers for pleasure only should stop at Chihuahua.
From the train may be seen the towers of the beautiful
parish church, and the low, square tower of the Mint, in
which Hidalgo was imprisoned — and these two sights
very nearly comprehend the attractions of the town.

After leaving the Chihuahua station, the smelter of
the Santa Eulalia mines is seen on the left, and beyond

THE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 345

this, carried over a stone, arched bridge, the branch
railway to the mines. Just south of Chihuahua, on the
right, is the rugged mountain known as the Cerro del
Coronel — so named because an unlucky colonel in com-
mand of a party of revolutionists was executed here.
East of Chihuahua, bordering the wide plain in the midst
of which the city stands, are the Santa Eulalia moun-
tains ; and west of the city is the Mapula range. During
the day the run is made between these ranges (known
locally by various names) through a desolate plain. In
the afternoon and evening the train skirts the western
edge of the lake region, known as the Laguna (lake)
country, or Bolson (pocket) of Mapiml Near Santa
Rosalia, passed a little before noon, are mineral springs
of alleged high curative qualities in diseases of a rheu-
matic type ; but, as no accommodations for invalids exist,
they are practically valueless. Just north of the Santa
Rosalia station the north branch of the Conchqs is
crossed on a long trestle ; and an hour or two later the
south branch of the same stream is crossed south of
Jimenez. At Jimenez a bad dinner is served. Here
the north-bound train is encountered. Letters stamped
with Mexican stamps can be mailed in the mail car ; or,
stamped with American stamps, may take their chances
in the care of one of the officials, or one of the passen-
gers, of the north-bound train. Near Conejos, reached
late in the afternoon, the mountains seen east of tjie
station — curiously striped in long, perpendicular lines —
contain deposits of sulphur of which considerable ship-
ments are made. At Lerdo, on the southern edge of the
Laguna, a stop is made for what usually is a bad supper,
though sometimes a happy surprise awaits the traveller
in the shape of the capital little wild ducks which here-
abouts abound. Lerdo is the chief shipping-point for
15*

346 MEXICAN GUIDE.

the important cotton- growing region of which it is the
commercial centre. At the towns of Matamoras and San
Isidro connections, by dihgence, are made with Saltillo,
on the hne of the Mexican National Railway.

Fresnillo (second morning from Paso del Norte) is an
important mining town, dating from the year 1554 — when
Francisco de Ibarra discovered the now-abandoned Pro-
ailo mine. In the early morning the train is running
through a broad plain, with low-lying mountains right
and left, and the range on which Zacatecas stands ahead.
A stop is made at the unimportant town of Calera for a
bad breakfast. From this point, eastward, a group of
pottery kilns may be seen. The manufacture of pottery
(see page 10) is one of the prominent industries in this
region, of which Zacatecas is the centre. A few miles
south of Calera the ascent of the mountain range begins.
-^4oi^^~^o^^®^ ^^^ reduction works, enclosed by forti-
fie^l walls, are seen on the mountain slopes eastward.
TVie great northern highway is crossed in the course of
t|de ascent. From the station at Zacatecas (which see)
t^he very picturesque descent southward begins. The
[railway winds around the hillside above a deep ravine,
/on the opposite side of which rises the curiously-shaped
/ Cerro de la Biifa (buffalo), and in the depths of which
lies a part of the town together with numerous re-
duction works. The more striking features of the patio
reduction process — breaking the ore and amalgamating
it with quicksilver, by driving horses around through
the muddy mass — may be seen very well from the car-
windows. The numerous white stone posts scattered
over the hiU-side mark the boundaries of the several
claims. Three miles south of Zacatecas the track passes
high above the suburb of Guadalupe, built around the
church dedicated to Mexico's patron saint. Over, and

THE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 347

far beyond this suburb, is seen Lake Pevemaldillo ; and
on the farther shore of the lake the pottery kilns of
the little town of Ojo Caliente. Near Soldad, 38 miles
south of Zacatecas, are several small lakes whence salt
and carbonate of soda are obtained.

At Aguas Cahentes (which see) the first and only
really good meal of the journey is obtained — though at
Silao, the one remaining eating station on the run south,
the food is eatable. At Aguas Cahentes, the north-bound
train is encountered. Thirty miles farther south the
line crosses a wide and deep barranca, through which
flows the Encarnacion River. On the eastern side of the
track a massive stone dam holds the water of the river in
store for irrigation. The iron bridge at this point, is
the most important upon the hne. It is 734 feet long
and is 150 feet above the bed of the stream. From the
station of Encarnacion, reached a few minutes after the
bridge has been crossed, the town of Encarnacion is
seen, a mile or so away, on the west. Its most promi-
nent feature is the parochial church of the Candelaria,
with two fine, slender towers and a weak dome. A mile
beyond the town, on the hill-side, are seen the white
chapel and white enclosing walls of the Campo Santo
(parish burial-ground). A Httle south of the town, and
between it and the railway, is the suburb of San Pedro,
in which is the sanctuary of San Pedro, crowned by a
large and very elegant dome. A tramway extends
through this suburb, from the station to the town.

At Lagos (which see) connection is made by diHgence
westward to Guadalajara and eastward to San Luis Po-
tosi. From the station may be seen the lantern-crowned
dome and beautiful spires of the parish church. There
are hedges of organ-cactus here — rare so far north — and
many trees. The important manufacturing city of

348 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Leon (which see) is passed in the early evening. From
the station a part of the city may be seen, including the
tower of San Miguel, and the dome and tower of the
cathedral. The stop at Silao (which see) is made after
nightfall, but through the dusk the graceful tower of the
parish church may be seen. From this point extends
the branch line to Guanajuato (which see). A better
meal can be obtained at a little French restaurant, near
the station, than at the station eating-house — though
the food to be procured at this latter is fairly good.

South of Silao the train passes through the rich farm-
ing region known as the Bajio (lowland), greatly ravaged
during the civil wars. At Irapuato, passed about 8,30,
peculiarly good strawberries are brought to the train for
sale ; at Salamanca, passed about 9, gloves, leather gar-
ments, and straw hats, usually may be bought ; and at
Celaya (which see), passed about 10, may be bought the
sweetmeats (dulces) for the manufacture of which the
town is famous. At this point the Mexican Central and
Mexican National Railways cross. Queretaro (which see)
is passed a little before midnight. Passengers troubled
with insomnia can find diversion at this point in bargain-
ing by torch-light for worthless opals ; and occasionally
may have the good luck to buy some of the delicious
Queretaro dulce. South of the city the train passes be-
neath the great aqueduct, and near the Hercules cotton
mills — one of the most important manufactories in Mex-
ico. Later, the train crosses the broad plain of the Caza-
dero (hunt : so named because of the great hunt organ-
ized here by the Lidians in the year 1540, as a testimo-
nial of their good will toward the first Viceroy, Don An-
tonio de Mendoza) ; and from the border of this plain
the ascent begins of the mountain chain that borders the
Valley of Mexico.

THE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 349

At Tula (which see) the ascent of the mountains is
completed and the line enters the Valley through the
Tajo de Nochistongo (which see) the great drainage cut
made to save the City of Mexico from inundation. It is
quite worth the traveller's while to turn out at 6 a.m., in
order to see this famous work as the train passes through
it ; and also to catch a first view — to be had on a clear
morning — of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl, the snow-
crowned volcanoes on the Valley's eastern edge. At about
8.30 A.M. the train enters the Buena Vista station, and
the journey is at an end. Directly across the street from
the station is a restaurant, where may be had the bread
and coffee for which, during the last hour of the journey
the traveller has longed. If a solid meal is required the
traveller must needs forego his breakfast for yet an-
other haK hour ; that is, until established in a hotel.

History. The articles of association of the Mexican
Central Railway Company, limited, w^ere signed in Bos-
ton, February 21, 1880. Four days later, February 25th,
the charter of incorporation was issued under the gen-
eral raihroad law of Massachusetts. April 3d following,
President Diaz transferred to Robert R. Symon and
others the charter (forfeited December 26, 1876) of a
company also styled the Central ; and this charter at
once was acquired by the Mexican Central Railway Com-
pany. Under this charter work was begun. The Mexi-
can Congress passed a general act, June 1, 1880, au-
thorizing the President to grant railway concessions.
September 8th, following, the first gTant under this act
was made to the Mexican Central Railway Company.
The company was guaranteed a subsidy of $15,200 per
mile ($9,500 per kilometre) : given the right to import
materials for construction free of duty for a term of
fifteen years ; exempted from taxation for a period of fifty

350 MEXICAN aUIDE.

years after tlie completion of all the lines of the projected
system. By the terms of the concession the entire
property of the company reverts to the Mexican Govern-
ment at the expiration of a term of ninety-nine years
after the completion of the entire projected system. In
addition to this concession from the Federal Government,
the company acquired particular rights from various
State governments, and also purchased the charters of
several minor lines of road that thereupon were merged
in its general system. The subsidy was made payable
in customs certificates, the Government making compul-
sory the payment of six per cent, of aU customs dues in
these certificates until September 16, 1884 ; after which
date the compulsory payment in certificates was to be
increased to eight per cent.

The survey of the proposed main line was begun in
January, 1880 ; and track-laying began September 15th,
following. The line from El Paso southward was opened
to Chihuahua, September 16, 1882, and to Yilla Lerdo
September 1, 1883. The line from the City of Mexico
northward was opened to Queretaro in February, 1882 ;
to Leon, in July, 1882 ; to Aguas Calientes in September,
1883 ; to Zacatecas in December, 1883. The important
bridge at Encarnacion being completed, the north and
south tracks met March 8, 1884 ; and the road was opened
formally on the national festival of the Fifth of May. Four
calls for subscriptions were made by the board of direc-
tion, March 17 and December 22, 1880 ; April 12, 1882 ;
January 25, 1883. The total tender (in American money)
was about $28,892,500. The total subscription was
about $31,182,000. Upon the completion of the main
line, with earnings also of some portions of the branch
lines then completed, the company had earned in sub-
sidies about $18,000,000 in Mexican money. Up to the

THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 351

time when (by tlie law of June 22, 1885) payment of sub-
sidies was suspended, the company actually had received
from the Mexican Government in cash certificates the sum
of $3,724,055.31 Mexican money. The gross earnings of
the road for the year ending May 1, 1885, were $3,428,-
169.24 ; for the year ending May 1, 1886, $3,539,412.61.
The operating expenses for the same periods were, $2,-
299,752.76 and $2,204,379.16. So far, the road has not
justified the hopes of its builders. This has been due,
in part, to the inability of the Mexican Government to
fulfil its obligations in the matter of the subsidy ; in'
part to the dulness of trade, not only in Mexico, but in
the United States. But it also has been due to the too
sanguine belief that a railroad in a Spanish American
country would create traffic for itself, as is done by rail-
roads in the United States.

In addition to the main line north and south, the con-
cession to the Mexican Central Railway Company pro-
vides for an. east and west hne from Tampico, on the
Gulf, through San Luis Potosi to the main line at
Aguas Calientes ; and westward from the main line, at
Irapuato, through Guadalajara to the Pacific port of San
Bias. In November, 1886, the line from Tampico had
been completed to El Salto (101 miles) and work was
going on slowly. As yet, no passenger trains have been
run on this section.

III. TEE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY.

Practical Matters. At Laredo there is a local ex-
press company that transfers luggage between the station
of the International (from San Antonio) and that of the
Mexican National, for twenty-five cents for each piece.
An omnibus carries passengers between these points for

352 MEXICATT GUIDE.

twenty-five cents. Carriages may be hired at either sta-
tion. There is a very fair restaurant at the Mexican Na-
tional station, where breakfast or supper can be had for
seventy-five cents. A chair car is attached to the Mexi-
can National train, for the use of which an extra rate is
charged. The shady side is to the right. Between La-
redo and Monterey there is little choice of side, so far as
view is concerned. Between Monterev and Saltillo, the
choice is slightly in favor of seats on the left — but
both sides of the line between these points afford views
of such wonderful grandeur that the most desirable point
of view is the rear platform, at least until the train has
passed the little station of Ojo Caliente.

On the northern division, on through tickets from
points in the United States, 150 pounds of baggage is
allowed. On local tickets on the northern division, and
on all tickets on the southern division, the allowance of
baggage is 33 pounds (15 kilograms).

On the southern division the preferable side, in leav-
ing the City of Mexico, is the right. This is the shady
side in the morning, and the side from w ich the best
\iew can be had in the afternoon. The first-class cars at
this end of the line are only ordinary passenger cars.
Coffee and bread can be procured in the station restau-
rant at La Colonia. For dihgence connections, see com-
pany's time-table.

Sights by the Way. Main line, north. A few min-
utes after leaving the Laredo station, the Rio Grande is
crossed on a high wooden trestle, and immediately there-
after the train is halted at the Nuevo Laredo station for
the examination of luggage by the Mexican customs offi-
cials. (See Custom-house Regulations.) After leaving
Nuevo Laredo the train runs for several hours through a
desolate chaparral plain ; but when this dreary region is

THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 353

passed the scenery thence onward almost to Saltillo is
extraordinarily line. Beyond Lampazos, to the right, is
seen a long, level-crested mountain, the mesa (table) de
I OS Cartujanos. It is an elevated table-land, 1,400 feet in
perpendicular height, of about 80,000 acres. In ancient
times it was the home of the so-called Indian tribe of
C:a'tujanos (Carthusians), whose name, possibh'', was de-
rived from the establishment among them of a Benedic-
tine mission. A path about five feet wide and three
miles long leads to the summit — the precipitous sides
rendering other access impossible. Being plentifully
wooded and watered, with an abundance of grass, and
being thus isolated, it is the finest stock range in the
world. Lampazos, 72 miles from Laredo, on the con-
fines of the free zone, has been for many years a notori-
ous resort of smugglers. Bustamante, 105 miles from
Laredo, is one of the several frontier settlements of Tlas-
calans made between the years 1680 and 1690 for the
purpose of holding in check the Indians of the North.
As Monterey is approached the Cerro de la Silla (Saddle
Mountain), with its cleft crest, is seen on the left ; beyond
this, and to its right, is seen the Cerro de las Mitras (the
Mountain of the Mitres), and between the two is seen,
rising sheer from the plain beyond the cit}'-, the great
purj^le mass of the Sierra. (See Monterey.)

After leaving Monterey the line follows the valley of
the San Juan, the valley decreasing in width as it ascends
toward the Plateau. Near Santa Catarina a curious
hole may be seen, to the left, through the crest of the
mountain. At Garcia are two remarkable caves, Be-
t we ej* Monterey and Garcia the mountain scenery scarce-
ly can be surpassed in grandeur — the mountains on
each side of the valley, exquisite in reddish and pur-
plish colorings, rising up in sheer, bare masses to a

354 MEXICAN GUIDE.

great height. Only less impressive is the scenery onward
through the canon of the San Juan until Los Muertos
(so named because of an Indian massacre there in ancient
times) with, on the left, its beautiful glimpse of the
river flowing beneath great ahuehuetes, is passed, and
the train reaches the first escarpment of the Plateau.
Thence onward until Saltillo is reached the valley
widens, the mountains decrease in height and are far-
ther away, and the outlook ceases to be especially pic-
turesque,

Main line^ south. As the train leaves the Colonia
station, in the Western suburb of the City of Mexico,
the hacienda of the Teja is seen on the left. A little
farther on the tree of the Noche Triste, beside the little
church of San Esteban, is seen on the right. To
the left, Chapultepec is seen across the valley, with the
towns of Tacubaya and San Angel on the foot-hills be-
yond. Passing close by the large church of San Gabriel,
the parish church of Tacuba, the line crosses the high-
way and, presently, begins to ascend the Valley of Los
E-emedios. From a point beyond the station of San
Bartolome Naucalpan, the Sanctuary of Los Remedioa
(which see), is seen on a hill on the right ; and a Httle
farther west the towers and arches of the abortive water-
works. At Eio Hondo the line already is well up thci
flanks of the Monte de las Cruces — so called because oi
the many crosses along this pass which marked the
graves of travellers slain by highwaymen, or of highway-
men shot by the officers of the law. Up the rugged
Hondo Valley the line is carried along the edges of and
across deep barrancas — as the rincon del laurel — and over
the great barranca of the two rivers (dos rios) on an iron
bridge 200 feet long and 90 feet above the streams.
From the bridge may be seen, to the left, the church of

THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 355

Huisqiiilucan and, in the depths of the ravine, farther
away, the church and village of " the little Saint Francis "
— San Francisquito. Near the top of the ascent is the
timnel of San Martin, 721 feet long. Up to this point
the ascent affords a series of beautiful views of the Valley
of Mexico ; the mountain slopes, along which the line is
carried, in the foreground ; the city, Chapultepec, Gua-
daluj)e, and the lakes in the middle distance ; the encir-
chng mountains in the background ; the snow-peaks of
the volcanoes rising over all. To get this view at its
best, the joui-ney should be made in the afternoon.

Upon the relatively level ground of the crest of the
range the scenery — mountain meadows enclosed by walls
of rock — is very Hke that of the Colorado parks. Near the
station of Salazar — but upon the wagon-road, invisible
from the train — is the monument, now falling into ruin,
erected October 30, 1851, in commemoration of the
battle of Las Cruces, fought here October 30, 1811, in
which Hidalgo gained a positive victory over the royalist
forces. Beyond Salazar, after passing through a small
canon, the tres pefias, three picturesque rocks which
seem to have strayed away from Monument Park in Col-
orado, are seen on the right. The stream seen at this
point, beside which the line descends, is the river Lerma.
The divide is crossed at La Cima, on the western edge of
the plain of Salazar, at a height of 10,635 feet above the
level of the sea.

The descent into the Toluca Valley is almost as pic-
turesque as the ascent from the Valley of Mexico. The
hne follows the windings of the Lerma, affording a suc-
cession of views of the valley below, and of the quiescent
volcano, the Nevado de Toluca, on its farther side. The
track is carried across a number of barrancas of greater
or less depth, the largest of which is that of Jajalpa, in

356 MEXICAIS' GUIDE.

wliicli the stream is seen 115 feet below. On the left,
at the foot of the precipitate mountain side is seen the
town of Ocoyoacac ; and, farther away, the httle towns of
Santiago Tianguistengo and Capulhuac.

The village of Lerma, beside the lake of the same
name, is uninteresting. The large parish church, with
beauiiful spire and dome, contains neither pictures nor
sculptures of importance. Toward the end of the six-
teenth century this point, on the great highway to the
Pacific ports, was a famous resort for robbers. In order
not to spoil their own tiade by driving travel absolutely
off the highway, the freebooting fraternity instituted a
regular system of tolls ; a pro-rata payment on all val-
uables carried over the road. The robber band finally
was broken up by one Martin Boelin de Varejou, about
the year 1613. In return for his good work, Varejon
was given permission to ask a favor of the king, and he
asked that the village which he had purged of its robber
denizens should receive the official title of La Gran Ciu-
dad de Lerma. Therefore this town of less than twelve
hundred inhabitants officially is styled the Great City of
Lerma, even until the present day.

The railway crosses in a straight line, parallel with
the old highway, the level valley to the city of Toluca
(which see). From Toluca, ahead, and later, as the train
advances, abeam and astern to the right, is seen a very
beautiful dome-like mountain : the Gerro del Senor — the
Hill of our Lord. This was a place of pilgrimage in
times past, and with a strong field-glass it is possible to
distinguish the little sanctuary that now is falling into de-
cay. At and beyond Toluca houses with red-tiled roofs
are seen, and grow more common until they become the
rule. In the fields great dams of heavy masonry hold
the water in store for irrigation. The line passes

THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 357

through the Ixtlahuaca tunnel and over the gently sloping
plain beyond, where the town of Ixtlahuacan is seen at a
distance of about two miles on the right. In the midst
of this plain is Flor de Maria, the breakfast station. An
excellent meal is served here for six reales. Beer, two
reales the bottle ; wines at not very unreasonable rates.
The line leaves the Ixtlahuaca Valley along a terraced
way, high above the caiion of Tultenango, or Zopilotes
(seats here on the right), and descends by a series of
sharp grades (rear platform here) into the valley of Solis.
Looking back a very fine view is had of the sheer cliffs,
along the sides of which the train has passed ; and to
the right, the rounded top of the mountain known as the
Mineral del Oro, that derives its name from the gold
workings carried on upon its flanks. The character of
the mountains changes here from the sharp, craggy
peaks on the other side of the divide to long, flowing,
curving lines. After rounding the shoulder of another
mountain, the valley of Maravatio is entered, and the
town of the same name (which see) is seen. Rounding
another mountain shoulder above the Cathedral CaHon
— so named because of the effect of gothic architecture
produced by the erosion of the rocks — the Hne enters the
Acambaro Yalley and parallels the Lerma, Hned with
great trees growing close to and in the water, to Acam-
baro. Before that town is reached the picturesque
church and village of San Jose is seen on the right.

At Acambaro (which see) a stop of twenty minutes is
made — long enough for Mexican passengers to get a cup
of afternoon coffee at the very fair restaurant at the sta-
tion. At this point the western division (which see, be-
low) unites with the main line. After passing Acambaro
the main Hne crosses a bushy plain, and thence contin-
ues down the Valley of the Lerma. This valley is thickly

358 MEXICAN GUIDE.

studded with picturesque Indian villages — the houses of
stone, with high, peaked, thatched roofs. Just after
passing the first of these, a pretty waterfall is seen on
the left, where the river, here quite wide, falls over
a low ledge of rocks. And hereabouts the softly rounded
mountains begin again. At Salvatierra (which see) the
Hne passes close by the important woollen mill which is
the principal commercial feature of the town. Sugar-
cane is seen growing here, remarkable as being, perhaps,
the highest elevation — very nearl}^ 6,000 feet — at which
the cane is grown. North of Salvatierra the line crosses
through a broken country from the Valley of the Lerma
to the Valley of the Laja. At Celaya (which see) the
Mexican Central Railway is crossed.

By the time that Celaya is reached darkness has fallen,
and the remaining point of especial interest, the beauti-
ful Canon of the Laja, must be enjoyed as the return
journey is made by dayhght. But should there by
chance be a moon, the traveller should betake himself
to the back platform as the train passes through this
canon ; and he will see one of the most weirdly beauti-
ful sights in Mexico. The train arrives at San Miguel de
Allende (which see), the present northern terminus of
the southern division, a little before 10 p.m. The station
is about two miles from the town, and separated from
it by a deep valley with long, gently sloping sides.

Western division. On leaving Acambaro the Hne as-
cends the mountain slope west of the town, and from
this height there is a lovely view over the valley, broken
by many little lakes. After crossing the divide the
line enters the lake country, skirting for many miles the
large lake of Cuitzeo, that is alive with wild-fowl. The
large mills, unfinished, and the unfinished aqueduct, just
beyond the fine Hacienda de Andocutin, are the remains

THE MEXICAN NATIONAL KAILWAY. 359

of an abortive manufacturing enterprise of forty years
ago. Along the edge of the lake are numerous works
for tlie extraction of salt by primitive methods of evap-
oration. The little town of Arraro is supported by this
industry.

Morelia (which see) is reached about 6 p.m. Bej^ond
this city the double peaks of the Cerro de Quinceo are
seen on the left, and mountains continue close at hand
until the end of the run. About five miles beyond Mo-
relia, on the right, a glimpse may be had of a charming
waterfall — el salto de la huerta. At Undameo there is a
fine stone bridge across the river built for the passage of
the traffic with the west coast. Crossing a low divide,
beyond Coapa, the Hne bends to the north and passes
the hacienda of Ibarra, almost at the water's edge. Lake
Patzcuaro (passed after dark, however), surrounded by
forest-clad hills and studded with islands, is even more
beautiful than Lake Cuitzeo. The line turns south from
the edge of the lake, and terminates at the foot of the
hill on which the town of Patzcuaro (which see) stands.
A steamboat service on Lake Patzcuaro will begin early
in 1887.

H istory. A concession, generally known as the Palmer-
Sullivan concession, was granted to the Mexican National
Construction Company by an act of the Mexican Congress
of September 13, 1880, for the following named Hues of
railway : From the City of Mexico to the Pacific coast at
the port of Manzanillo, or between that point and La
Navidad, passing through the towns of Toluca, Maravatio,
Acambaro, Morelia, Zamora, and La Piedad ; and from a
point on the foregoing line between Maravatio and Mo-
relia to a point on the northern frontier at Laredo, or be-
tween Laredo and Eagle Pass, passing through the towns
of San Luis Potosi, Saltillo, and Monterey j the railway

360 MEXICAN GUIDE.

thus constructed to be three feet gauge. An additional
concession, given January 10, 1883, granted the right to
extend this system from the port of Matamoras, through
Mier, to Monterey ; and from San Luis Potosi, through
Zacatecas, to La,gos. These concessions guaranteed the
payment of a subvention of $11,270 per mile (|7,000) per
kilometre) on the line from the City of Mexico to the
Pacific, and of $10,460 per mile ($6,500 per kilometre)
on the line to the northern frontier. To secure the pay-
ment of this subsidy the Government agreed to issue to
the company, on the completion of each section of 100
kilometres (62 miles), railroad construction certificates
representing the value of the subsidy earned ; and to
make obligatory the payment of six per cent of all fron-
tier and maritime custom-house dues in this scrip. The
concession granted the right to bring into the country
free of duty materials to be used in railroad construction
and operation ; right of way, without indemnity, over
Government lands ; right to free use of material suitable
to construction found on Government lands ; right to all
mineral deposits discovered, subject to the operation of
the general mining laws ; right of exemption from taxa-
tion, and other privileges and immunities. By the terms
of the concession the company was bound to complete
at least 450 kilometres (280 miles) of track every two
years ; the line to the Pacific within five years ; the line
to the northern frontier within eight years ; these several
terms running from September 13, 1880. The concession
further provided that at the end of ninety-nine years the
railway should revert to the Government, with the right
to purchase from the company its rolling stock, build-
ings, etc., at an appraised value ; also, that should the
Government then decide to lease the line, the company
should have the right of preference as lessee. By the

THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 861

law of June 30, 1886, this cou cession was amended and
modified. This law extended the time within which the
entire line must be completed to ten years from July 15,
1886 ; reduced to 250 kilometres (155 miles) the section
of track to be completed in each period of two years ;
imposed a fine of $15,000 should this clause not be
fulfilled on the main line north and south ; made the
subsidy payable upon each completed section of 25 kilo-
metres (15^ miles) ; confined the free importation of
materials to a liberal list of specified articles ; authorized
the construction of the whole, or of any part, of the line of
standard (4 ft. 8^ in.) gauge, and modified minor points
of the original contract, On July 1, 1886, a modifica-
tion of the contract in regard to payments of subsidy
became effective. This provided that the payments
should be made at the rate of three-fourths of one per
cent, of the custom-house receipts for the half year end-
ing June 30, 1887 ; and should increase half-j^early there-
after, until July 1, 1890, after which date the payment
of six per cent, of the custom's receipts should be re-
sumed.

Construction began October 14, 1880. The northern
division was completed from Laredo, through Monterey
to Saltillo, 236 miles, September 14, 1883 ; the southern
division was completed from the City of Mexico, through
Toluca, Acambaro, and Celaya, to San Miguel de Allende,
254 miles, November 29, 1883 — leaving a section of 364
miles to be completed on the main line. The Pacific
Division was completed from Acambaro, through MoreHa,
to Patzcuaro, 98 miles, June 1, 1886. The Matamoras
division is completed to San Miguel (not to be con-
founded with San Miguel de Allende), 75 miles. The
section between Zacatecas and the suburb of Guadalupe,
5 miles, operated at present by animal traction, was pur-
16

362 MEXICAN GUIDE.

chased in 1881. The company also has acquired by
purchase the Hne between the City of Mexico and El
Salto, 41 miles ; and the line (through the State of
Texas) from Laredo to the port of Corpus Christi, 161
miles. A few miles of track has been laid east from the
port of Manzanillo. By the concession of June 2, 1883,
the company was granted the right to construct a line
of railway completely around the City of Mexico (making
connections with the several railways) with branch lines
to Tlalpam, San Angel, and Contreras. Of this line,
known as the Gintura, or Belt, the important section
that connects the several railways entering the city with
the Mexican tracks is completed and in operation. In
all, the company now has 933 miles of railway open to
traffic.

IV. THE INTEEOGEANIC BAILWAY.

Practical Information. The two divisions of this
line (which connect at Los Reyes, ten miles out) start
from separate stations in the City of Mexico, the Peral-
villo and San Lazaro, both on the eastern side of the
city (see map). A time-table is published in The Two
BepubUcs. The baggage allowance with each ticket is
33 pounds. In going to Irolo, the journey can be made
more comfortably by the Mexican Railway ; but expe-
ditions by this line certainly should be made to Texcoco,
Amecameca, and Cuautla.

The Interoceanic Railway, built under a concession
granted in April, 1878, is intended to connect Vera Cruz
and Acapulco, via the City of Mexico. The Morelos di-
vision is completed to Yautepec, a point 98 miles south-
west, and the Irolo division to Calpulalpam, a point 74
miles northeast of the City of Mexico.

THE INTEEOCEANIC RAILWAY. 363

Sights by the Way. Irolo division. On leaving the
Peralvillo station there is a veiy fine view of the city,
with the church of La Soledad conspicuous in the fore-
ground. The long, reel-brick building, on the outskirts
of the city, is the Government Artillery School (distinct
from the Chapultepec institution). The adobe butts,
used for artillery practice, may be seen a half mile or
more eastward of the building. Lake Texcoco is seen
on the left. The canal of San Lazaro is crossed, and im-
mediately thereafter is passed the Peuon — its most con-
spicuous building, the large bathing enclosure, within
which is the church. The side-track here extends to
stone-crushing machinery. From a little beyond the
Peiion the line parallels that of the Morelos division to
the station of Los Reyes, where the two tracks are close
together. From this point the line swings to the north-
east and skii*ts the lake, though at a considerable dis-
tance from it. Soon after leaving Los Eeyes the quaint
little adobe town of Tecamachalco is passed on right, and
on left the larger town of La Magdalena. Later, on left,
a walled corral, with flanking towers, over which is seen
the church of Chimalhuacan ; far away, to right, with a
background of blue hills, the dome of San Vicente de
Chicoloapam ; on right, still against the blue hills, the
tall towers of the church of Cautlenchan ; near, on left,
the tower of San Bernardino ; far away on right the
churches of Xotla ; on left, close to track, the gaudy
rancho, belonging to General Gonzales, of Chapingo ;
on hill on right, towers and dome of San Diego. Then
Texcoco (which see) is reached. Beyond Texcoco, the
most notable sight on the road is the great aqueduct
near Zempoala — built about the middle of the sixteenth
century by Fray Francisco Tembleque, and still, al-
though in bad order, substantially sound. This great

364 MEXICAN GFJIDE.

work, usually spoken of as the Arcos de Zempoala, is
thirty seven miles long, is carried across three valleys
on high arches, and has (near the point passed by the
railroad) one arch that is 82 feet high with a span of 64
feet. From Texcoco to Irolo the line runs through the
pulque country.

Morelos division. On leaving the station of San
Lazaro, the Artillery School is seen on the left, with the
hill of the Pen on and Lake Texcoco beyond. As far as
Los Reyes the line parallels the ancient causeway, for-
merly the highway to Puebla. On right is seen the
marshy borders of Lake Chalco, alive with wild-ducks.
At Ayotla, a very picturesque adobe town with hedges of
organ-cactus, fresh fish are sold in baskets (four reales)
and a cheese made hereabouts, put up in rushes (one real),
that is not nearly so good as it looks. From this point
the volcanoes come into sight, and are the chief feature
of the landscape during the remainder of the journey.
At La Compania tramways lead to Chalco (on the right)
and to Tlalmanalco (on the left). Beyond La Compania,
on left, is the town of Cuatlenchan, built upon the
long steep side of a high hill that is crowned by the
church. The line skirts the base of the Sacro Monte
(see Amecameca) and cuts directly across the pathway
formerly followed by the rehgious processions between
the parish church and the shrine. Until the little tovni
of Ozumba is reached the grade is upward, from the
bottom of the Valley of Mexico to a pass in the encu'chng
mountains. A very fair breakfast is seiwed at Ozumba
for four reales. Wine, one dollar a bottle ; beer, two
reales ; excellent pulque free. This place is famous for
its delicious bread.

From Ozumba the descent begins. Its steepest por-
tion is in the next ten miles, where the line twists back-

THE INTEROCEANIC RAILWAY. 365

wai'd and forward along the sharp declivity in order to
obtain a sufficiently easy grade. At several points in this
ciu'ving descent three lines of track at different eleva-
tions he close together. From Nepantla, a place famous
as the bu'th of Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz (see Ame-
cameca) the descent is much less steep ; but all the way
to Cuautla the road is down hill. Throughout this de-
scent the rugged scenery, dominated by the snow-capped
volcano, is sui-passingly fine. For a long while during
the descent the great church of San Miguel in the Indian
town of Atlatlahutla, is in sight on the right ; and when
the train passes south of it the large monastery, now
abandoned, is seen. The tovsm really is large, but the
many straw-thatched huts are so small, and so hidden by
the trees, that the great church seems to stand alone.
Another Indian village farther on, Tetetlecingo, is not-
able for the cuiious nomenclature of its inhabitants.
The mayor is named Watermelon, and among the lead-
ing famihes are the Scorpions, Squashes, Snakes, Peaches,
Fleas, Apricots, and Spiders ! The cuiious little circu-
lar buildings of adobe, with conical thatches of straw, fre-
cjuently seen during the descent, are used in some cases as
granaries ; when a little elevated from the ground, with
a place for a fire beneath, they are used as vapor- baths.
Near Yecapixtla, on the left, are seen a number of large
trees, looking very hke open umbrellas. The level regu-
larity of their lower branches is due to the cropping of
cattle : every twig within reach has been eaten away.
As Cuautla is approached the large sugar hacienda of
Santa Ines is seen on the right. Beyond Cuautla (which
see) the line continues through the cane-country, girdled
by magnificent mountains, to Yautepec — a charming
little town in which all the picturesque features of
Cuautla are repeated, and are intensified by advantages

366 MEXICAN GUIDE.

of situation which Cuautla does not possess. This is
the present terminus of the line. Hence horses may be
taken to Cuernavaca, a ride of about five hours ; and
from Cuernavaca the return to the City of Mexico may be
made by dihgence.

V. MINOR LINES OF TRAVEL.

Railways. A railway map of Mexico that includes
the projected hues of railway looks not unlike a railway
map of Illinois ; and the actual mileage of Mexican rail-
ways really is surprisingly large when the conditions
under which the lines have been built are remembered,
with the fact that, practically, all the building has been
done witliin the past ten years. The Sonora Railway was
built under a concession granted September 14, 1880 ;
was ready for trafiic in October, 1882, and was opened
formally November 25th, following. This line extends
from Benson, Arizona, through the frontier towTi of No-
gales, southwest to the port of Guaymas (which see) on
the Gulf of California, a distance of 363 miles. The run-
ning time is seventeen hours. The baggage allowance
between Benson and Nogales is 100 pounds ; between
Nogales and points south, 30 pounds. This is not yet a
route known to tourists, but it deserves to be. There is a
great deal of fine scenery along the line of the road, espe-
cially as it nears the coast ; delicious fruits abound ; and
from Guaymus (see Coastwise Steam Lines) expeditions
can be made easily along the beautiful west coast of Mexico.

The International Railway^ is built from Piedras Ne-
gras (opposite Eagle Pass) to Monclova. A very profit-
able little road has been built between Merida and the
port of Progreso, a distance of 28 miles (first class

* Inquiries concerning this railway remain unanswered.

MINOR LINES OF TRAVEL. 367

fare, one dollar), for the carriage of benequen. A line
extends from Puebla to San Juan de los Llanos, about
35 miles. A line is in operation from Vera Cruz, Me-
dellin, a distance of about 15 miles. In addition to
steam lines, long lines of tramways, operated by animal
traction, are numerous. The more important of these
are the lines from Puebla to San Martin Texmelucan,
about 20 miles ; from Puebla to Atlixco, 29 miles ;
from Irolo to Pachuca, 37 miles ; and the line (see Mex-
ican Railway) from Vera Cruz to Jalapa, 70 miles. The
Mexicans have taken very kindly to tramways. They are
cheaper to build and to oj)erate than steam railways, and
are a less violent transition from pack trains, carts, and
stage coaches. Almost every city in the republic now is
provided with street railways, and the tendency to ex-
tend the lines into the country is very marked. On both
the city and suburban lines freight cars are run, and the
freight traffic of the longer Hnes of tramway is an impor-
tant item of the general receipts.

Diiigence Lines. The very fair diligence service
throughout the greater portion of Mexico enables an en-
ergetic traveller, blessed with a fair allowance of health
and bodily strength, to go ahnost anywhere. Informa-
tion in regard to the lines of southern and southwestern
Mexico may be obtained in the Capital, at the Officina
General de Diligencias, in the rear of the Yturbide Hotel.

Two diligence lines are run between Saltillo, the
present Mexican National terminus (northern division)
and points on the Mexican Central Railway. Sada's
line leaves Saltillo at 5 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays,
and arrives the next evening at 6 p.m. at San Isidro.
The noi-th-bound train is due at San Isidro about 2
A.M. ; the south-bound train about 1 a.m.. The only
waiting-place is a forlorn room. Tena's line leaves Sal-

368 MEXICAN GUIDE.

tillo at 4 A.M. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,
and arrives at Matamoras at noon the next day. The
south-bound train is due here about 8 p.m., and the north-
bound at 7 A.M. The fare by either of these hnes is $15,
exclusive of food and lodging by the way. Tv^^enty-five
pounds of baggage is carried free. The excess rate for
baggage is eight cents a pound by Sada's line, and ten
cents a pound by Tena's line. The return trips are made
from San Isidro, at 5 a.m., on Mondays and Thursdays, and
from Matamoros, at 7.15 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays,
and Fridays. In case of any delay less than twenty-four
hours, stages do not start until the arrival of the trains.
On Sada's line special coaches can be hired for any day.

The stage connections of the Mexican Central Railway
are shown in the table on next page.

Coastwise Steam Lines. Local agents should be
consulted in regard to sailings, as the dates given below
are liable to change.

Vera Cruz and New Orleans, calling at Tuxpan and
Tampico. Saihngs every seventeen days.

Progreso and Frontera, calling at Champoton and Car-
men. Sailings irregulaar.

Pacific Mail Steamship Go. Steamers leave New York
on the 1st and 20th, and Panama on the 12th and 31st
of every month. Steamers leave San Francisco on the
1st and 15th of every month. On both up and down
trips, calls are made at Acapulco, Manzanillo, San Bias,
and Mazatlan.

California and Mexican Steamship Co. The steamer
Newhern sails from Guaymas on the 17th of each month
for La Paz and Mazatlan.

Redo Line. The steamer Alejandro sails twice each
month from Guaymas for La Paz, Altata, Mazatlan, San
Bias, Chamela, and Manzanillo.

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370 MEXICAN GUIDE.

VL PUEBLA DE L OS ANGELES.

Station to Hotel. Tramways lead from the several
railway stations to the Plaza Mayor, fare 6^ cents. Car-
riages from the principal hotels meet arriving trains at
the station of the branch line of the Vera Cruz Eail-
way. The drivers of these carriages will attend to the
transfer of luggage, at a charge of two reales for each
piece.

Hotels. At the Hotel Diligencias, a very picturesque
establishment, reasonably comfortable rooms, and fair
food can be had for $2 a day and upward, according to
rooms. Very similar accommodations, though with less
picturesque surroundings, can be had at the Hotel Es-
pafiol at the same price. The Hotel Universal is not
quite so good as these, though its prices practically are
the same, but it is worth seeing because of its curious
tiled walls and tiled patio. The Gran Hotel de America,
at the northeast corner of the Plaza Mayor, has a pleas-
ant outlook, but does not profess to be quite first-class
The rates here are : for a room facing on the Calle de la
Compaiiia, six reales a day ; meals (coffee, breakfast, and
dinner), six reales a day. At all of these hotels a con-
siderable reduction will be made for terms of a week or
a month.

Baths. The warm baths of San Pablo, five blocks
west and three blocks north of the Plaza Mayor ; and
of Santiago, on the west side of the Paseo Nuevo, are de-
lightful. There are baths also in the Estanque de los
Pescaditos, two blocks north and three blocks east of
the Plaza Mayor ; and in the Hotel Universal in the
first block from the northeast corner of the Plaza Mayor.

PUEBLA DE LOS ANGELES. 371

Public Offices. The post-office is in the block east
from the southeast rear corner of the cathedral. The
telegraph office is one block east and half a block north
of the Plaza Maj^or. The custom-house is in the second
block east from the southeast corner of the Plaza Mayor.
The office of the diligence company is in the Hotel de
Diligencias.

Shopping. The more characteristic products of Pu-
ebla are baskets and mats made of colored straw, that
may be bought in the market ; fruit and other objects
wrought from Puebla onyx, which, with clay figures, may
be bought in the principal shops ; tiles and pottery (see
page 10) which can be bought to the best advantage at
the potteries — as the Fabrica de Guadalupe and other
establishments east of the Matamoras (Cholula) railway
station ; and a peculiarly good soap that may be bought
in the grocery stores (liendas).

Tramways and Carriages. — Tramways extend from
the Plaza Mayor to all parts of the city, cars are run at
intervals of fifteen minutes. Fare, 6^ cents. Carriages
may be hired m the Plaza Mayor for four reales an hour.
The most comfortable carriage to be hired in the city
can be procured at the Hotel Espanol for six reales an
hour.

Railway Excursions. — Several railways centre in
Puebla, affording possibilities of interesting excursions
into the surrounding country. All of these, with the ex-
ception of the steam line to San Marcos, and thence to
San Juan de los Llanos, are operated by animal traction.
Private cars can be hired at reasonable rates, excepting
on the San Marcos steam line, and for any hour. A car
to and from Cholula, seating sixteen people, can be hired
at the Matamoras station for $10 — and affords by far the
pleasanter way of making this expedition.

372 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Site and Characteristics. — ^Puebla, capital of the
state of the same name, a city of 70,000 inhabitants, at
an elevation of 7,100 feet above the sea, is at the extrem-
ity of a branch line from the Mexican Railway, 117 miles
from the City of Mexico, and 207 miles from Vera Cruz.
It maintains extensive manufactories of cotton cloth, pot-
tery, and glass-ware, together with minor manufactures,
and is the centre of a very considerable general trade.
It is built on uneven ground, on the side of a gently slop-
ing hill ; a fortunate arrangement that makes its drain-
age excellent, and that, by lessening the severe effect
of its aggressive right-angles, adds materially to its pic-
ture squen ess. The two great volcanoes, Popocatepetl and
Ixtacclhuatl, are in full view, west of the city, and, be-
ing much closer than to the City of Mexico, and without
intervening foot-hills, are far more impressive and mag-
nificent. (See below, Suburbs.) The streets are de-
lightfully clean, and comparatively broad. The street-
crossings are little causeways — very necessary during the
rainy season. A striking feature of the city is the lavish
architectural use of richly colored glazed tiles. Not only
upon the domes and outer and inner walls of the churches
are these tiles used, but for exterior and interior decora-
tion of a great majority of the houses. One of the most
curious houses in the city, in the first Calle de Mercaderes,
has its entire front covered in tile mosaic work. In this
respect the church of Nuestra Sefiora de la Luz and the
ex-convent of Santa Rosa (now an insane asylum) also
are remarkable. For purposes of use and decoration a
great deal of excellent wrought-iron work will be found
in both churches and houses — the finest example being
the beautiful gratings of the choir in the cathedral.

The Plaza Mayor is a pretty garden in the centre of
the city. The new paseo, on the western edge of the

PUEBLA DE LOS ANGELES. 373

city, is a melancholy pleasure-gi'onncl, forsaken and for-
lorn. The old 2^(iseo, in the northeast quarter of the city
(see below, Suburbs) is one of the most charming places
in Mexico. The principal market, one block west and
two blocks north of the Plaza Mayor is exceptionally in-
teresting. The colored-straw baskets and mats, for
which Puebla is celebrated, with other curious Indian
manufactures, may be bought here. The Jardin Botan-
ico, seven blocks north and one block west of the Plaza
Mayor, is a pretty spot, in which is the distributing reser-
voir (caja de agua) of a department of the city water-works.

Public Entertainment. The leading theatre of the
city is the Guerrero, on the north side of the Plaza
Mayor. The Teatro Principal is in the Plazuela de San
Francisco, four blocks north and two blocks east of the
Plaza Mayor. The theatre of the Sociedad Artistico-
Filarmonica is in the Calle del Correo Viejo, one block
south and half a block west of the Plaza Mavor. The
old bull-ring is on the east side of the Paseo Nuevo, five
blocks west of the Plaza Mayor ; the new bull-ring is
close to the church of San Francisco. There is a tivoli
connected with the baths of San Pablo ; another with the
baths of Santiago, and a third with the baths of the Es-
tanque de los Pescaditos.

Suburbs. Avery good thing to do, the morning after
arriving in Puebla, is to walk to the northeastern corner
of the town, thence through the old paseo and up the
hill beyond to the fort of Guadalupe, thence across to
the fort of the Loreto, and thence down the causeway
and back into the city. If sufficient energy remains
unexpended, the traveller will do well then to mount
the cathredral tower (fee, one real). The result of this
expedition will be to give him a very good understand-
ing of the topography and general features of Puebla.

374 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Walking two blocks east from the Plaza Mayor, and
four blocks north, the Plazuela de San Francisco is
reached. Turning here to the right, beside the hand-
some fountain, and passing the old bull-ring on the
right and the chapel of Dolores on the left, the Atoyac
is crossed on a stone bridge, and the triangular plazuela
is reached on which fronts the church of San Francisco
(which see) and, on the right, the monastery building,
now a barrack, and the disused church of the Tercer
Orden. Here, on the left, the paseo begins : a little
park terraced above the Atoyac (a tiny stream in the dry
season), and thickly planted with fine old trees. From
the farther end of the paseo — which is not more than a
quarter of a mile long — a path leads upward, passing on
the left the curious mass of churches composing the Cal-
vario and the little church of the Piadosas, and on the
right the fine church of San Juan del Rio, with corru-
gated dome of brick- work. Beyond these churches the
ascent is steeper, but the path — along the ancient cause-
way that is carried on an old stone bridge across a deep
gulch in the hill-side — is not especially difficult. Up
and down this causeway went the religious processions
in the days when the hill was crowned not by a fort, but
by the church of Guadalupe that has given it its name.

This hill is famous in the annals of Mexican history,
for here was won, in 1862, the battle of the Fifth of May.
Strictly speaking, this victory was only a rej)ulse. The
Mexican forces, 2,000 strong, commanded by General
Zaragoza, were defended by earthworks and fortifications
improvised by cutting down the walls of the church
of Guadalupe. An additional force of 2,000 Mexicans
occupied other points in and about the cit3^ The
French troops, 6,000 strong, under General de Lorencez,
attacked the fort with great vigor. They were sig-

PUEBLA DE LOS ANGELES. 375

Dally repulsed. In itself this battle was not a very im-
portant one ; but it marked a turning-point in the af-
fairs of the nation, and its moral effect, in inspiring the
Mexicans to continue their gallant defence of their coun-
try, cannot be overestimated. A far more brilliant affair
occurred here five years later, when, the situations being
precisely reversed. General Porfirio Diaz took Puebla by
storm (April 2, 1867), and made prisoners of its French
defenders. In the interval between these battles the ex-
isting stone fortications on the hill of Guadalupe had
been erected. The interior of the church of Guadalupe
now is a kitchen garden, in which the garrison — a pleas-
ant old fellow, who will be delighted to earn a couple of
rea/es by showing the points of interest, and giving a
somewhat imaginative account of the battle — grows let-
tuces. At the side of the church is the great cistern,
within which may be seen a cross wrought in the ma-
sonry, that in former times supplied the sanctuary with
water. Adjoining the church is the ruined house in
which dwelt the padre capellan. In the roofless cloister
lie two brass 18-pounders, with the date of their foun-
ding and founder's name, "J. & E. Hall, 1844." In the
rear of the ruined house a stairway descends into a crypt,
that in war-time was used as the magazine.

From the northeast angle of the fort is to be seen one
of the great views of the world : three snow-crowned
volcanoes, and a fourth mountain that stops just beneath
the snow-line, at 13,000 feet above the level of the sea.
Due east, over the low hill of Amaluca (where General
Forey's headquarters were established), is seen the crest
of Orizaba ; to the left, the Cerro del Tecolote (a long,
broken hill rising between two smaller ones) ; to the
left, the height of the Malintzi ; to the left, far away, the
Cerro del Conde ; to the left, a gradually rising line that,

376 MEXICA]^ GUIDE.

in the west, culminates in the peaks of Ixtaccihuatl and
Popocatepetl. In the foreground, a little north of west,
is the fort of the Loreto ; over beyond the city is the Cerro
de San Juan, crowned by an hacienda with three great
arches in its fa9ade ; and directly over this hill is seen the
church of Los Eemedios upon the Pyramid of Cholula.

From the northwest angle of the fort the city of
Puebla is seen spread out like a map. The church with
a red fa9ade is San Jose ; beyond this, on the other
side of the city, is San Augustin ; to the left, with square,
two-story tower and gTayish-Avhite dome, Santo Do-
mingo ; nearly in front of this, with dark, brownish
tower, the Concepcion • to the left, with brilliant little
yellow dome, Santa Teresa ; to the left, with small red
dome San Crist6bal ; to the left the towers of the Cathe-
dral ; close to this, still to the left, the great yellow dome
of the Carmen, and the red dome of San Angel de Analco ;
to the left, the blue dome of the Compania, surrounded
by trees ; to the left, the glistening white dome of the
Soledad ; and then the great tower of San Francisco ris-
ing beside the Atoyac at the foot of the hill ; just south
of the city are seen the suburbs of Jonaco and Los
Remedios.

A half mile north of this fort, at a lower level, on the
hill of the Loreto, is the fort of the Cinco de Mayo, that
encloses the abandoned church of the Loreto within its
walls. This quaint little church is the foundation of a
pious Indian of the past century, whom the Virgin of the
Loreto miraculously preserved from death, on this very
spot, in the midst of a dreadful tempest. The fort, al-
though really of recent construction, is of so antique a
type that it might very well have been planned by that
eminent military engineer, the late Captain Tobias
Shandy. A few soldiers do garrison duty here, but no

PUEBLA DE LOS ANGELES. 377

ver}^ severe discipline is maintained, and the fort may bo
entered without a pass. For the accommodation of
processions to and from the old church, a causeway was
built descending to the city. This is now ruinous, and
the fine arch at its lower extremity, on which, with other
figm'es, is a carving of the Santa Casa de Loreto, and
which is surmounted by a ruinous figure of San Miguel,
is falling into decay. Passing the red-domed church
of Santa Anita, on the left, the Atoyac is crossed on a
stone bridge just below a pretty little fall. The tui^n to
the right, by the cavah-y barracks, leads directly to
the plaza and church of San Jose.

Education. Colleges and schools are maintained by
the State, municipality, church, and various societies.
The Colegio del Estado, formerly the Colegio Carolina,
in the second block east from the south side of the Plaza
Mayor, founded in the past century under the adminis-
tration of the Jesuits, is a well-appointed institution, pro-
vided with cabinets of natural history, physics, chemistry,
a library, of 12,000 volumes, and a staff of twenty-eight
professors. In this building is the interesting State
museum, and the State meteorological observatory.
The school of medicine, one block south of the cathedral,
in the street running east and west, compares favorably
with the similar institution in the capital. In this build-
ing is housed the public hbrary (open daily, excepting
Sundays and feast-days, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and from
3 to 5 P.M., in which is a collection of 26,000 volumes.
Other notable educational institutions are : the Colegio
Seminario, founded by Bishop Romano in 1579 ; the
Escuela de Artes y Oficios (trade school), in the second
block east from the northeast corner of the Plaza Mayor ;
the Colegio de Infantes ; the Escuela Normal, and the
Colegio Catolico del Sagrado Corazon.

378 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Academy of the Fine Arts. — Midway in the second
block east from the northeast corner of the Plaza
Mayor. Open to the pubhc on Mondays and Thursdays
from 10 A.M. to 12 M.

Charitable Institutions. An institution in which,
with reason, the citizens of Puebla take great pride is
the Casa de Maternidad (Lying-in-Hospital), recently
erected upon what was the plaza of San Agustin (one
block south and three blocks west of the Plaza Mayor).
This admirable charity was founded by the will of Luis
Haro y Tamarez, who bequeathed $50,000 for its founda-
tion and $100,000 for its endowment. The State Hos-
pital General, founded before the year 1659 by Bishop
Palafox y Mendoza, is a well-appointed institution,
maintaining' more than 150 beds. There are also hos-

pitals for the insane ; a charity hospital for children,
founded in 1877 ; a State orphan asylum, founded by
Bishop Palafox y Mendoza early in the seventeenth
century ; a poor-house ; an office for gratuitous vaccina-
tion. A Junta de Beneficencia admirably supplements
the workings of these and minor charitable institutions.
Public Buildings. The sessions of the State Legis-
lature are held in the old Commercial Exchange (Alhon-
diga), on the north side, east corner, of the Plaza Mayor.
The courts sit in the building (formerly the Colegio de
San Pantaleon) midway in the second block south from
the southeast corner of the Plaza Mayor. The State
Penitentiary, west of the northern end of the Paseo
Nuevo, is one of the best-appointed and best-managed
institutions of its kind in Mexico. It was projected in
1844, and recently has been completed in a very satis-
factory manner. Incorporated in its structure is a por-
tion of the old church of San Xavier. The city main-
tains a jail and house of correction.

PUEBLA DE LOS ANGELES. 379

The Cathedral. The corner-stone of the first church
was laid in the year 1532, by Bishop Zumarraga ; and
four years later, August 29, 1536, was laid the corner-
stone of the first cathedral. Both of these buildings
have disappeared ; although it is probable that a portion
of the nave of the first church is a part of the present
Sai}Tario. The date of the foundin2C of the existin<^'
cathedi'al is uncertain ; but it is known that by the year
1636 the building was well advanced. It was conse-
crated April 18, 1649 ; but since that date material
additions have been made to it, including the south or
" new " tower, erected some time in the last century. It
is built upon the south side of the Plaza Mayor, and is
slightly elevated upon a stone platform, or terrace.
Upon the limits of this terrace, enclosing the atrium, an
iron railing is in course of erection (1886) that, with a
monument within the atrium, will constitute a memorial
to the late Pope Pius IX. This work, under the direc-
tion of the Sociedad Catolica, was begun with solemn
ceremonials September 1, 1878. The railing compre-
hends statues of the Twelve Apostles ; intermediate pi-
lasters representing the Doctors of the Church, with the
especial heresies or heretics over which or whom they
have notably prevailed ; crosiers, representing the Apos-
tolic jurisdiction ; the arms of the Republic ; angels
crowning the pillars, in reference to the angelic protec-
tion that the city of Puebla claims in its name, and in
fact has received. Upon the principal gate mil be basso-
relievos representing the founding of Puebla ; the lay-
ing of the first stone of the Cathedral ; the consecration
of the Cathedral ; and the commission having the erec-
tion of the monument in charge. Crowning the pillars
of the gateway will be statues of Charity and Hope.
Upon many of the panels of the railing are inscribed

380 MEXICAN GUIDE.

the names of the donor, or donors, of that jDarticular sec-
tion.

Elevated upon its terrace, the Cathedral stands out
boldly from the surrounding buildings. On the west
front rise two lofty towers, and between these is the main
entrance, surmounted by stone mouldings and basso-re-
lievos in white marble. Over the central doorway is the
date, 1664, when this portion of the building was finished,
and above this is a crown from which depends the insig-
nia of the order of the Golden Fleece. Over the door-
way to the right is a basso relievo representing San
Francisco receiving the Stigmata ; and over the entrance
to the left one of Santa Rosa presenting the crown of
flowers to the Infant Christ in the Virgin's arms, The
building is 323 feet long by 101 feet wide ; has an in-
terior height of 80 feet, and is surmounted by a fine
dome. An inscription upon the " old " tower tells that
it (the tower) cost $100,000. In this tower are eighteen
bells, the largest of which weighs upward of nine tons
The building is of very massive construction, with heavy
buttresses, the whole of a dark stone resembling blue
basalt.

In its interior adornments this cathedral is the finest
in Mexico ; although the effect of the lofty nave is much
injured by the choir, surmounted by the organs and trib-
unes, in its centre. The aisles are divided off by massive
columns, and the floor is laid in colored marbles. The
interior is in course of renovation (1886), under the di-
rection of Senor Leandro Tello, a native of Cholula, and
of Indian extraction. The sound judgment and excellent
taste displayed in his work is another evidence of the ar-
tistic instinct inherent in the Mexican people. The high
altar, bcGfun in 1789 and finished in 1819, is the work of
Manuel Tolsa, and cost more than $110,000. It is com-

PUEBLA DE LOS ANGELES. 381

posed of a, great variety of Mexican marbles, the onyx
peculiar to Puebla predominating. Tbe bronze figure
of the Pui'isima, crowning the tabernacle, also is by
Tolsa, and the other decorative figures are after his de-
signs. Beneath the altar is the sepulchre of the bish-
ojDS, a rich and beautiful crypt in which Puebla onyx is
used lavishly.

The choir, of stone, is closed toward the altar by
beautiful iron, swinging, gratings, wrought in 1697,
by the master Mateo de la Cruz. The two organs are
encased in richly carved wood, and adorned with figures
of angels blowing trumpets. The side entrances are
through carved wood doors. The interior is a marvel of
marquetry work, of which the culmination is the door,
with its inlaid picture of St, Peter, that gives access to
the shrine above the Bishop's seat, where is preserved a
thorn fi'om the crown of Christ. All of this beautiful
work, including the music-stand surmounted by a figure
of San Juan Nepomuceno, is the work of the master
Pedro Munos. On the stalls, inlaid, may be read the
date when Munos began his work, 1719, and the date
when he completed it, August 24, 1722. Between the
choir and the altar, a little to the left, is the pulpit and
sounding-board, carved from Puebla onyx.

Outside of the aisles are the several chapels, each en-
closed with a fine iron raihng. The Capilla de los Reyes
was restored in 1886, but in admirable taste. The dome
is painted by Villalpando. There is an old and faded
picture of the Assumption, of good quality. The shrine
contains the little fio'ure of Nuestra Senora de la Di-
fensa, a little miracle-working lady with very charming
attributes.

The Capilla de San Jose contains a notably fine fig-
ure of San Jose by the Puebla sculptor, Jose Villegas

382 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Cora, and admirable figures of Santa Ana and San Joa-
quin. Here is preserved a very beautiful ivory crucifix,
sent as a present to Bishop Vazquez, by Gregory XVI.
The tomb of this good bishop is in front of this altar,
and some part of his virtues are told upon the marble
slab let into the floor.

The Capilla de los Eelicarios has a beautiful old altar
of carved and gilded wood in which pictures are inserted.
Here, in a silver urn, are preserved the bones of the
heato Sebastian de Aparicio (see below, Church of San
Francisco), together with many antique little boxes and
urns in which relics of one sort and another are pre-
served. Ranged in rows on each side of the chapel are
busts of many saints. In the breast of each of these fig-
ures, visible behind a small pane of glass, is a scrap of
the bones of the saint himself.

The Sacristy is in keeping with the cathedral. The
walls are covered with paintings set in carved and
gilded frames. The chests of drawers for the vestments
are of a dark wood, richly carved. Two beautifully carved
tables, covered with slabs of onyx are in the room ; and
-svrought of onyx also is the laver against the east wall.

The Chapter Room {sala capitular) is a vaulted and
domed apartment hung around with portraits of fifteen
of the Bishops of Puebla. The set is not complete here,
the remaining portraits being in the Episcopal Palace.
In the centre of the west wall hangs a beautiful painting
of the Assumption, and a portrait of Gregory XVHI.
To the right of these is a portrait of the Emperor Charles
V. and beneath, a portrait of Fray Julian Garces, first
Bishop of Puebla. To the left is a portrait of Leo X.
and beneath, a portrait of the late Bishop of Puebla, Sr.
Dr. D. Francisco P. Verea. Partly obscured by the pic-
tures are very rich hangings of Flanders tapestry, that

PUEBLA DE LOS ANGELES. 383

tradition declares were presented to the Cathedral by-
Charles V. There are some fine carved chairs here, and
a carved table with a top of onyx. In the adjacent ves-
try is a collection of portraits of eminent canons of the
cathedral.

In addition to those named, the more notable pictures
in the Cathedral are : On the north outer wall of the choir
foiu' pictures by Ibarra — an allegorical representation of
the Holy Sacrament ; an Assumption ; the Apparition
of Nuestra Senora de la Merced to San Raymundo de
Peilafort (one of the best pictures in the Cathedral) ; and
a Santa Leocadia. On the south wall of the choir are
two more pictures by Ibarra ; a Virgin and Child, to
whom San Jose and San Miguel are offering the fabric
of the Cathedral, and a Child Jesus on a globe, with the
Virgin, surrounded by a glory of angels. On this south-
ern side of the choir, on the altar of that saint, is a very
good figure of San Nicolas, by Cora. In the Capilla de
la Soledad are very impressive pictures illustrating the
Passion. In the Capilla de los Relicarios is a lovely
painting, very dark with age, of the Dolores of Acazingo.
In the Capilla de San Pedro is a very fine San Francisco.
The fourteen pictures of the Stations of the Cross are by
Cabrera, but as they were " restored " in 1885 their value
as examples of that artist's work has vanished. In the
Sacristy, the Triumph of Mary (north wall), the Triumph
of the Cross (east wall), Faith destroying Idolatry, and
the several allegorical works hanging above these, are all
by Echave. The Last Supper (west wall), Christ wash-
ing the Feet of the Disciples (east wall), and the Virgin
protecting the chapter (south wall), with the pictures
above of the Apparition of the Virgin del Pilar and San
Yldefonso receiving the Scapulary, are all by Ibarra.

Adjoining the Cathedral is the parish church of the

384 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Sagrario, a quaint and interesting building that contains
some fine carvings by Cora ; a beautiful font of onyx in
the baptistry, and, over the altar, a picture by Zendejas,
of especial interest in that it was his last work and was
painted when he was ninety-two years old.

San Francisco. After the Cathedral, this is the
most interesting church in Puebla. It was founded in
1532, in a very humble way, by the good Franciscan
brother Motolinia, who selected for it the effective site
above the Atoyac, where now, in front of the church, is
the beginning of the Paseo Nuevo. The existing church
building dates from 1667, although in later times it has
received some alterations and additions. Its tower is
unusually high and well proportioned. The structure is
of a dark, bluish-brown stone, with a fagade of brick or-
namented by panels of tiles, and by carvings in stone
and statues. The central basso-relievo represents San
Francisco receiving the stigmata. Adjoining the church
to the south is the convent building, now used as a mili-
tary hospital ; and beyond the hospital, westward, are
the now abandoned chapels of the Santa Escuela and the
Tercer Orden. The convent property extended as far
west as the existing bull-ring, which occupies a part of
the ancient garden.

The interior of the church is cruciform, without aisles ;
and the great single nave is so fine in its proportions and
size, and is covered b}^ so noble a vaulted roof, that not
even the Doric absurdities introduced in later times have
wholty spoiled it. The choir, in a gallery over the en-
trance, is upheld by an exceptionally flat arch. Tradition
declares that the architect who jDlanned this arch enter-
tained grave doubts as to its stability. Therefore, when
it was finished, he incontinently betook himself to parts
unknown, leaving the monks to take the risks attendant

PUEBLA DE LOS ANGELES. 385

iipou removing tlie false-work. These, prudently, took
out the supporting beams by setting fire to them : and
to the wonder of all the arch remained firm. And it
continues firm now, at the end of two hundred years.
The high altar is of relatively modern construction and
is not especially impressive. In the tabernacle is pre-
served the greatly venerated image of Nuestra Senora de
los Bemedios, usually styled La Conquistadora. This
little figui'e, about eight inches high with a tiny baby
•ujDon its arm, carved in wood, and now worm-eaten and
crumbhng, was presented in Coyoacan by Cortes to his
friend the Tlascallan cacique Don Axotecatl Cocomitzin,
in thankfulness for the aid given by this chieftain at the
time of the Conauest. This fact is attested, and the
identity of the image is established, by documents duly
drawn on the 22d of August, 1582. The interior of the
chui'ch is \iolently frescoed. The only paintings in it
that merit any attention are those in the choir — the one
portion of the church proper that has not been harmed
by renovation. In the choir, too, are some finely carved
wooden stalls, and a delightful old organ.

Opening from the north side of the church, separated
from it by a grating of wrought iron, is the chapel
(formerly of the Conquistadora) of San Sebastian de
Aparicio — a lay brother of the Franciscan order, born
1502, died 1600, who first introduced oxen and wheeled
carts into Mexico ; who for many years drove an ox-cart
post over the Vera Cruz road between Jalapa and the
capital, and who in 1542 began, and for a long while
thereafter continued, an ox-cart post over the danger-
ous Tierra Dentro road, through the Chichimec coun-
try, between the City of Mexico and Zacatecas. In
the course of his long life Fray Sebastian encountered
many j)erils, and, being loved by the Blessed Virgin and
17

386 MEXICAN GUIDE.

certain of the saints, great numbers of miracles were
wrought in his behalf. The especially interesting feat-
ure of his chapel is the collection of paintings illustrat-
ing his life, in which many of these miracles are set
forth. Strictly speaking. Fray Sebastian is not yet a real
saint. He was made a heato by Pius VI., in the year
1790, and now is in a fair way to be canonized at no
distant dav.

Two other pictorial lives of saints are hung upon the
walls of this chapel : San Diego de Alcala and San Pas-
cual. The chapel has not been renovated, fortunately,
since long before it vv^as relinquished (October 14, 1794)
by her little Ladyship, the Conquistadora. It is a well-
proportioned cruciform structure, built before the year
1672, with a dome over the nave and a smaller dome
Over the choir. In the west transept is a very quaint
picture of the apparition of Our Lady of Aranzazu, in
which, notably in the figure of the shepherd, there is
excellent workmanship. The bones of Fray Sebastian,
enclosed in a silver case, formerly were enshrined in the
beautiful old altar. They now are in the Capilla de los
Eelicarios of the Cathedral. The image now upon the
high altar is that of San Antonio de la Torre — a curious
old picture of the saint holding the infant Christ upon
his arm, brought hither when the Chapel of San Antonio
in the base of the tower was closed. There are some
excellent Y\^ood-carvings in this chapel, probably by Cora.

The sacristy of tlie church contains interesting por-
traits of the first Franciscan missionaries to Mexico,
nsualty called the " Twelve Apostles," and a Last Supper
and Holy Sepulchre, of fair quality. In the lavatory is
a beautiful laver of tile-work, over which is a portrait of
the eminent Franciscan missionary in Mexico (1683-
1726), Fray Antonio Margil de Jesus, with the disci-

PUEBLA DE LOS ANGELES. 387

pie who accompanied him upon his dangerous mission
to JaUsco. There are some pictures here, also, from
the closed convent and closed outlying churches ; and
others, from the same sources, in the curious little burial
chapel east of the chapel of San Sebastian Aparicio. Of
these a few are interesting because of their subjects or
quaint treatment.

The chapel of the Cordon, opening from under the
choir, has been dismantled ; and that of San Antonio
de la Torre has been not only dismantled but walled up.
The chapel of San Juan, north of the church and sepa-
rate from it, has been entirely abandoned to secular uses.
The chapel of the Tercer Estacion, just east of the chapel
of San Juan, is disused. The chapel beyond this, on
the opposite side of the street, San C^Tcnio, never was a
part of the Franciscan establishment. The old burial-
ground of the convent, in the rear of the chapel of the
Tercer Estacion, difficult to gain access to, is both inter-
esting and picturesque.

La Com pan ia. This Jesuit foundation, under the in-
vocation of the Espiritu Santo, and under the patronage
of Don Melchor de Covarrubias, dates from April 15,
1587. The existing church, completed in the year 1690,
is a massive and elegant building, the exterior orna-
mented with a rich and effective arabesque in stucco
and surmounted by towers and a tiled dome. The two
large towers rest on open arches, through which the side-
walk of the street is carried ; and these archways, as
well as the ox3en porch between the towers, may be
closed by wrought-iron gratings. Flying buttresses,
rarely seen in Spanish- American architecture, are sprung
across the roof of the aisles to the walls of the nave. The
interior effect is of space, lightness, and strength ; but
the massive character of the work is relieved by an

388 MEXICAN GUIDE.

elegant richness of detail. The altars are of a compar-
atively modern date, and the chief interest of the interior,
after its architectural qualities, centres in its paintings
and carvings. The fourteen pictures of the Stations of
the Cross possess much merit ; there are finely carved
figures of the Twelve Apostles upon the twelve corinthian
columns which support the vaulted roof, and there is a
very good figure of San Ignacio Loyola on the altar at
the end of the south aisle.

The sacristy contains some beautiful marquetry work,
dating from 1726 ; a great picture by Joseph Carnero,
" The Triumph of Mary ; " and a very rich altar contain-
ing pictures by Juan de Villalobos. In a niche in the
dome of the sacristy is a carving, life size, three quar-
ters length, of the patron. In the ante-sacristy is a fine
"Descent from the Cross," and a fascinating old table of
inlaid work.

San Cristobal. This church w^as founded, in con-
nection with a foundhng hospital, in the early part of
the seventeeth century. In later times (Dec. 9, 1687)
its invocation was changed to that of the Purisima Con-
cepcion, but it commonly is spoken of by its primitive
name. The fa9ade is of dark stone, similar to that used
in the cathedral, and similarly is relieved by carvings and
by inserted basso-relievos of white marble. The interior
effect of extraordinary richness is produced by the ceil-
ing of intricate stucco-w^ork into which figures are
introduced. Under the vault of the choir is a portrait
figure of the Venerable Fray Juan Escoto. The very
fine figure of San Cristobal, in the choir, and other carv-
ings are by Cora. One or two of the pictures are worthy
of attention. The pulpit is of onyx. The curiously raised
seats at the sides of the nave are for men ; the seats in
the nave are for women — an arrangement very unusual,

PUEBLA DE LOS ANGELES. 389

possibly unique. In the year 188G this church was re-
stored— with a wholesome and commendable attention
to the strict meaning of that much abused word.

Other Churches. Other especially notable churches
are : Santa Clara, notable for its fine arched roof — and
for the buttresses added shortly after it was erected to
keep this roof from caving in, and also for possessing in its
relicdrio thorns from the crown of Christ ; San Antonio
(formerly known as Santa Barbara) a church much rev-
erenced because in the monastery of which it was a part
San FeUpe de Jesus, the Mexican proto-martyr, lived his
by-no-means-saintly novitiate, and because it possesses
in its relicdrio a scrap of this saint's skin ; the beautiful
old church of Nuestra Senora de la Luz, notable even in
Puebla for its lavish tile-work ; the curious group of
churches composing the Calvario ; the church of San
Jose — the saint who protects Puebla from lightning, and
whose image venerated in this church is carved from a
lightning-riven tree — ^in which is a very rich sacristy and
the beautiful chapel of Jesus Nazareno ; the church of
La Soledad, upon which vast sums of money have been
spent and which contains a singularly fine camarin. In
all, there are forty-five churches in Puebla ; and in the
careful study of these any one with a taste for the cu-
rious and quaint can spend several delightful months.

History. Concerning the founding of Puebla an ed-
ifying local chronicler writes:* "Passing by the tra-
dition that in ancient times, before the blessed light of
Christianity ever shone in these parts, the unregenerate
heathen saw visions of angels marshalled in mighty
hosts in the heavens above where the city now stands, let

* Puebla Sagrada j Prof an a. Informe dado a su muj ilustre
Ayuntamiento el Ano de 1746. Por el M. R. P. Fray Juan Villa
Sanchez, religioso del couvento de Santo Domingo.

390 MEXICAN GUIDE.

us come at once to a stable groundwork of ascertained
fact. In the year of our Lord 1529 came to Tlaxcala the
illustrious Frav Julian Garces, the first consecrated bish-
op of the Catholic Church whose feet, shod with Pon-
tifical holiness, ever trod in this heathen Edom. Even
before his coming the project had been mooted of found-
ing somewhere in these parts a town that might be a
resting-place in the long and weary walk from the coast
to the City of Mexico. With this project the new Bishop
was in hearty accord ; yet was he uncertain in his mind
as to where best might be placed the new town.

"As all know, it ofttimes happens that one dreams
in the night of those things of which one thinks most by
day. Thus it was that oaie night this venerable gentle-
man, being retired to the humble bed upon which he
took his scanty rest, dreamed a prophetic dream. In
his vision, while his spirit was controlled by a superior
power, he beheld a most beautiful plain (hermosisima
vega) bounded by the great slope of the volcanoes west-
ward, broken by two Uttle hills a league asunder, dotted
by many springs, and cut by two rivers which gave abun-
dant water and made all things fresh and green. And
as he gazed, in j^leased amazement, at this charming
place, lo ! he saw two angels who with line and rod
measured bounds and distances upon the ground — as
do those who plan the founding of great buildings and
mark where shall be wide streets and open squares. And
having beheld this vision, the Bishop awoke.

" Straightway he set himself, that very hour, to search-
ing for the site that, as his vision had shown him, was
chosen of the angels. And as he walked, being, no doubt,
divinely ordered in his goings, he came to the very plain
that he had seen in his dream. Then gladly he ex-
claimed : ' This is the site that the Lord has chosen

PUEBLA DE LOS ANGELES. 391

through his holy angels ; and here, to His gloiy, shall
the city be ! '"

Fray Toribio de Benevente, better known as Motolinia,
gives in his "Historia de los Indios de Nueva Espafia"
a different version of the founding — an account that exalts
the minor friars at the expense of the angels. He writes :
" The Citj' of the Angels which is in this New Spain, in
the Province of Tlascala, was founded with the approval
and by the order of the Audencia Keal, being President the
Bishop Fuenleal, at the urgent request of the minor friars
[Franciscans]. These friars begged that there might be
made a tow^n of Spaniards who should themselves culti-
vate the earth in the manner and fashion of Spain, with-
out w^ishing or having allotments of Indian slaves ; that
thus there might be gathered together in useful employ-
ment the many going about the country vagabond and
idle. Therefore the city was founded on the 16th of
April — being the day of Santo Toribio — in the year 1532.
On this day came the inhabitants that were to be, forty
families of Spaniards ; and the Indians of the surround-
ing towns, a great multitude, most willingly helped the
Christians — bringing materials for the first houses of
straw, and singing joj^uUy as they gave their aid. And
before the plan of the city was marked out upon the
ground, was celebrated the first mass."

Although styled Puebla de los Angeles — in recognition
of its miraculous founding — for three centuries and a
half, the official name of the city now, in memorial of
the victory of the Fifth of May, is Puebla de Zaragoza.
From a military stand-point Puebla is the key to the
City of Mexico, and excepting only the capital no city in
the republic has changed hands so frequently with the
varying fortunes of war. The chief events in its history
have been the battles for its possession. Only to men-

392 . MEXICAN GUIDE.

tion the more notable of these : It was captured by
Tturbide, August 2, 1821 ; occupied by Scott, without
opposition, May 25, 1847 ; successfully defended against
the French, May 5, 1862 ; captured by the French, May
17, 1863 ; captured from the French by General Diaz,
AprH 2, 1867.

VII. CHOLULA.

Practical Information. Cholula is reached by a
tramway from Puebla, a distance of eight miles. A
special car can be chartered for the trip, for a party of
sixteen or less, for $10. The regular cars (fare 2 reales)
leave at 7 a.m., and 2.30 p.m., and leave Cholula, return-
ing, at 9.45 A.M. and 5.15 p.m. On Sundays and feast-days
the service is increased (consult local time-table). The
tramway continues beyond Cholula to Atlixco. For an
all-day expedition food should be carried from Puebla.
Something to eat, however, may be procured at the Httle
Fonda de la Reforma.

Sights by the Way. The ride from Puebla, across
the beautiful Atoyac Valley, is very pleasant. On leaving
the station is seen : on the left, the church of Guadalupe
and the penitentiary (formerly, in part, the church of
San Xavier) ; on the right the ruined church of San Mi-
guelito and the cotton-mill of the Juego de Pelote ; and,
beyond, the yellow dome of the church of the Corazon
de Jesus and the red dome of the church of Nuestro Se-
iior de los Trabajos. The line leaves the city through
the arch of the Garita de Mexico, and for a short distance
runs parallel with the tramway leading to San Martin
Outside the Garita, on the left, is seen the hacienda of
San Juan, a heavy stone building with arcaded front
crowning a little hill. The mound of Cholula, with the

CIIOLULA. 398

volcanoes rising bej^ond, is in sight ahead, and grows more
impressive as it is approached. On the left, a handsome
stone viaduct carries the highway to the City of Mexico
across the valley. The Atoyac is crossed on a stone
bridge, from which, to the right, is seen the hacienda and
cotton-mill of Santo Domingo, and ahead, to the right,
the tower of the Sanctuary of Guadalupe standing upon
a low hill. The church of Cuautlancingo also is seen on
the right, and on the left the church of Quamospa. The
station at which the car stops is at the base of the
mound.

The Town of Choi u la. This place, a large city in
the time of the Conquest, now is a desolate little town of
less than 5,000 inhabitants. It is laid out with severe
regularity, surrounding a central plaza. To the west of
the plaza is the market-place, still called by its primitive
name, Tianquiz (market). Of the public buildings the
churches are the more important. In the northeast cor-
ner of the plaza stands the old Franciscan establish-
ment (the monastery, of course, now closed) founded
prior to 1529. The existing church, dedicated to San
Gabriel, was finished probably in 1604. Its most nota-
ble feature is the hi^'h altar, a modern construction that
cost $10,000. Adjoining the church is the cha^^el of
the Tercer Orden and the Eoyal chapel {capilla real).
This latter, built because the church — though very large
— was too small to hold the vast numbers of Indians who
came to mass, is still known as the capilla de Iqs natu-
rales. It is a curious structure, now falling into decay,
the great roof of which is composed of little domes, up-
held by sixty-four large round columns. On the steps
of the court is carved the date 1608, while on the stone
cross is graven 1660. Probably the earlier date refers
to the founding of the chapel, and the latter to its final
17^

394 MEXICAN GUIDE.

completion — much delayed by the fact that the first
chapel fell down during the night succeeding the day
of its dedication. Upon the columns of the inner court
of the monastery are painted the portraits of twelve of
the friars who lived here in early times, including Fray
Miguel Navarro and Fray Juan Osorio. On the north-
west corner of the plaza is the parish church of Sau
Pedro Tlatiltenanco, erected (probably) early in the sev-
enteenth century. There are upward of twenty other
churches in the city, of which several are abandoned ;
and also the church of Nuestra Senora de los Remedios
on top of the Pyramid, and the chapel of Nuestra Sen-
ora de Guadalupe, on a natural hill west of the city.

The Pyramid of ChoJuSa.* East of the Cerro de
la Cruz, separated from it by plantations containing
magueys and an occasional copal tree, rises the colossal
mound to which, since the time of Humboldt, the name
of Pyramid of Cholula has been given. It stands out
boldly, with the beautiful church of Nuestra Senora de
los Remedios on its summit, almost overshadowing the
town of Cholula beneath. In close proximity the
mound presents the appearance of an oblong, conical
hill resting on projecting platforms of unequal height.
At one corner the tramway has been cut through its
structure, and at several places excavations have been
made ; which changes, with the growth of vegetation,
have somewhat modified its general outlines as these ap-

* The account here given of the mound of Cholula is in part a
transcript of that published by Mr, A. F. Bandelier in his " Ee-
port of an Archgeological Tour in Mexico in 1881,'' a work that no
studious traveller in Mexico should be without. This account
differs in some important particulars from accepted high authori-
ties ; but it is used here because it is believed to be the highest
authority.

CHOLULA. 395

peared at the time of the Conquest. This is proved by
the eaiiiest picture of the inouud now j)i'eserved — the
blazon of the coat of arms, of which the mound is a
part, granted to the city of Cholula in the year 1540.
Strictly speaking, the existing- copy of this blazon is not
a picture. It is a sculptui-e or graving in black lava, and
is now preserved in one of the houses at the corner of
the Calles Real and Chalingo. It suggests a four-storied
pyramid with a truncated top. Overgrown as the
mound now is with verdure, and partly with trees, and
with a fine paved road leading to its summit, it looks
strikingly like a natural hill, upon the slopes of which
the washings of the rain have laid bare bald bluffs, and
into which the descending waters have cut crevices.
However, the several terraces, irregularly disposed in the
matter of levels and widths, still may be clearl}^ dis-
cerned. The Hues of the base, including their irregu-
lar windings, give the following measurements : north
Hne, 1,000 ft. ; east hne, 1,026 ft. ; south line, 833 ft. ;
west line, 1,000 ft. Ascending the western face of the
mound, there is a steep ascent, with a vertical rise of
71^ ft., to the first level, having here an average width of
213 ft. This level is intersected obliquely by the paved
road of Spanish construction. The second ascent, with
a vertical rise of 66 ft., ends at the summit of the
mound, a polygonal platform paved and surrounded by
a fine wall. The ascent is made by a stairway (of Span-
ish construction) of hewn stone, fourteen feet wide. A
portal with a stone cross inside it forms the landing.
Four cypress trees are planted upon this upper plateau,
which forms a court around the church. The length of
the plateau from east to west, approximate^, is 203 ft. ;
and its length from north to south 144 ft. There are
two other entrances to the upper court, one on the

396 MEXICAI^ GUIDE.

north, and the other on the south, to which pnved roads,
not steps, lead. The present appearance of the summit
is due entirely to the Spaniards. There is not a trace of
aboriginal work upon it. The materials of which the
mound is constructed are earth, broken limestone, little
pebbles, and occasional particles of lava. The earth is
in the form of adobe bricks, and also is used as binding
material in which the bricks are embedded. The bricks
are sun-dried, not burnt. Limestone broken into slabs
was used for steps, and for the stairways by which the
mound was ascended ; and pulverized carbonate of lime,
mixed with pebbles and lava fragments, for the inter-
vening ledges and the coating of the stairwaj^s. All of
these materials were obtained near by. The size of the
bricks used in the mound vary, as does their chemical
composition : the one fact pointing to different epochs
of construction, the other to varying sources whence
material for construction was drawn. And from these
facts the assumption is probable that the mound was
built slowly, and with labor furnished from different
localities in its vicinity. From all of which, and from
other minor facts of a confirmatory nature, Mr. Bande-
lier draws this general and very reasonable conclusion as
to the purpose for which the mound was built : " The
central hill I have designated as a former mound of wor-
ship. Its shape and size, as well as tradition and the
statements of eye-witnesses, agree in confirming this
view. If we regard it, then, as such, it stands in refer-
ence to the other parts of the structure as the centre of
a settlement on the level ground. If we imagine the
plateau and aprons around it covered with houses, pos-
sibly of a large size, like those of Uxmal and Palenque,
or on a scale intermediate between them and the com-
munal dwellings of Pecos and many other places in New

TLAXCALA. 397

Mexico, we have then on the mound of Cholula, as it
originally was, room for a large aboriginal population.
The structure accordingl}^ presents itself as the base of an
artificially elevated and therefore, according to Indian
military art, fortified pueblo." As to the builders of this
remarkable mound, Mr. Bandelier comes no nearer to a
positive conclusion than a qualified eliminative negative
to the effect that seemingly it certainly was not built by
the Nahuatl or Indians found in possession at the time
of the Conquest. The authorship of the work therefore
may be referred either to Olmecs or Toltecs. Upon its
top there was found by the Spaniards a temple dedicated
to Quetzalcoatl, which, with characteristic promptitude,
they threw down, and substituted in its place a Christian
temple. At a later date the existing church was erected,
a handsome building with two towers and a dome that,
l^roportionately to the size of the building, is unusually
large.

VIIL TLAXGALA.

Practical Information. This town may be visited
on the way from Puebla to the City of Mexico — taking
the morning train from Puebla to Santa Ana, and the
afternoon train from Santa Ana to Apizaco, where con-
nection is made with the up train from Vera Cruz.
There are two hotels in the town, San Carlos and San
Francisco. The former is the more desirable, and has
the additional advantage of being directly across the
street from Petra's fonda. One dollar a day is charged
for rooms ; and Petra charges one dollar a day for the
very fair food and excellent pulque which she provides.
Single meals cost four reales. The tram-car passes Pe-

398 MEXICAN GUIDE.

trn.' sfonda, but a few steps from the plaza, and it is well
to alight there and order breakfast before beginning
sight-seeing. There are baths in the Hotel de San
Francisco.

Santa Ana to TIaxcala. A tramway extends from
the station of Santa Ana across the valley to the town.
Four trips are made each way daily, connecting with all
trains ; fare 18 cents. The car passes from the station
through the quaint little town of Santa Ana, and ten
minutes later through the town of San Pablo Apetitlan
— a fine wrought-iron cross on church tower — and
thence down into the Valley of the Atoyac (called here,
also, Asiotla) at a gallop. After crossing the river is
seen to the right the church of San Esteban, built upon
the foundations of the house occupied at the time of the
Conquest by the chief Tlahuexolotzin. The trip occu-
pies about half an hour.

Site and Characteristics. TIaxcala, a city of 4,000
inhabitants, capital of the little State of the same name,
stands in a broken, hilly region, far down on the eastern
slope of the mountains which shut in the Valley of
Mexico. It has no business interests to keep it alive ;
and about it is an air of picturesque decay that makes it,
in view of its stirring and romantic past, all the more
fascinating. It straggles about a forgotten little plaza,
land wanders up the hill-side toward the ancient convent
of San Francisco, and down toward the river-side. The
houses are of adobe, for the most part of but a single
story, and more or less out of repair.

On the east side of the plaza is the Casa Municipal,
two stories high. This is one of the oldest buildings in
the town ; dating, in whole or in part, from the founding
here of the Spanish town immediately after the Con-
quest. The great stone figure in the entrance-way is not

TLAXCALA. 399

an antique. In the Council Room are copies of tlio por-
traits of the four chiefs whose staunch adherence to the
interests of the Spaniards made the Conquest of Mexico
by Cortos possible. These are : Lorenzo Mazihcatzin,
chief of Ocotetulco ; Gonzalo Tlahuexolotzin, chief of
Tepeticpac ; Bartholome Zitlalpopoca, chief of Quia-
huiztlan, and Vicente Xicohtencatl, chief of Tizatlan.
The originals of these portraits were included in the
very valuable collection of prehistoric relics, and relics
of the early period of the Spanish domination, that
Boturini took out of the country in 1742 — all of which
Avas lost at sea. The portraits which hang on each side
of the portrait of Hidalgo are of Don Mariano Macedo,
and Sr. Dr. Miguel Guridi y Alcocer, Territorial repre-
sentatives of Tlaxcala in the National Congress of 1825.
The curious piece of silken embroidery represents the
first battle between the Spaniards and Tlaxcalans.

In the adjoining archive room are preserved : the
grant of arms to Tlaxcala, beautifully illuminated on
parchment, and bearing the signature of the Emperor
Charles V.; a very interesting collection of idols un-
earthed at various times in and near the town ; the
standard given by Cortes to the Tlaxcalan chiefs ; the
robes which the chiefs wore when they were baptized ;
the GfenealoGfical tree of the chief Xicohtencatl ; the
city's charter, a beautifully illuminated parchment book
bound in vellum, with the portrait of the grantor, Philip
n., and his signature, with the date : Barcelona, May
10th, 1585. In the record-room are preserved many
curious land-titles, and other official documents, run-
ning back to the sixteenth century. In the outer corri-
dor is a great treasure-chest, divided within into com-
partments for copper, silver, and gold coin. The keys
pertaining to the four locks were held by four officers

400 MEXICAN GUIDE.

of the city who collectively were responsible for the
treasure.

Churches. The most interesting church in the city
is that of San Francisco, a foundation of 1521. The ap-
proach to this is up a paved way, bordered by a double
row of old trees, and under a triple archway that unites
the bell-tower with the convent buildings (now used as
a barrack). The hill-side is terraced and the outer wall
of the atrium and the outlying bell-tower are on the brink
of a considerable descent. The roof of the church is
upheld by richly carved cedar beams. Over the entrance
to the chaj^el of Guadalupe is a beautifully carved screen,
richly gilded. In keeping with this fine wood-work is
the beautiful old altar, into which are inserted illustra-
tions of the life of the Virgin painted in 1669. The altar
of Dolores was erected by the Capitan Don Diego de
Tapia in 1661 para entiero de los ninos angeles, "for the
burial of the angel children." On the south side of the
church, near the entrance, is a picture of Nstra. Srat de
Europa, and on the north side Nstra. Sra. de la Antigua,
both very old and exceedingly queer. Near the chancel
are three medallion pictures : a Trinity, Santo Domingo,
and San Juan Nepomucno — the central picture especially
good.

The chapel of the Tercer Orden, opening from the
church, is very rich in carved and gilded wood-work, into
which pictures are inserted. The high altar is strikingly
fine ; in the shrine is the Mexican Virgin del Pueblito,
upheld by San Francisco. In this chapel is preserved
the pulpit from which the Christian faith first was
preached in the New "World, as is told in the inscrip-
tion : " Aqui tubo principio el Santo Evangelio en este
nuevo mundo." Here also is preserved the font in which
the four Tlaxcalan chiefs were baptized in the year 1520.

TLAXOALA. 401

In two of the altars are remains of wood-carving in low
relief, colored — very curious. In the sacristy of the
church are several curious old pictures, of no especial
merit ; the primitive vestments ; an ancient carved table ;
and an ex voto picture presented in the far past by the
chief Zitlalpopoca. On the hill-side, above the church,
is the comparatively modern chapel of Nstro. Sr. del
Veciuo, and above this a burial-place entered under a
high stone arch. Below the church is the new bull-ring.

The parish church, a little removed from the plaza, has
a beautiful fayade of stucco, brick, and blue tiles. The
interior has been spoiled by modern " improvements "
and shocking frescos. In the baptistry, at right of en-
trance, is a picture representing the baptism of the Tlax-
calan chiefs. The beautiful little chapel of the Sagrario,
in which is a very good picture of Nstra. Sra. de la Luz,
is the redeeming feature of the church. In the sacristy
is a- curious picture of the apparition of Nstra. Sra. de
Ocotlan. The dome of the church was destroyed by an
earthquake in October, 1864, as a tablet at the left of the
entrance records. Close by the parish church is the Ca-
pilla Real — built expressly for services for the Indians
— now in ruins. The curious fayade remains almost un-
injured, with the arms of Spain on the base of each
tow^er, and a statue of Philip II. Inside the choir-arch
there is an inscription, but no date.

Santuario de Ocotlan. This famous shrine is upon
a hill, a little more than a mile southeast of the Plaza.
Tradition declares that in the first years succeeding the
Conquest, a certain godly Indian, whose name was Juan
Diego, was most faithful in ministering to his fellow-
townsmen smitten by a great pestilence that then raged
in these parts. Thinking to procure better water for the
sick to drink, he passed from the church of San Fran-
26

402 MEXICAN auiDE.

Cisco, where he had been at prayers, toward the river.
And when he had come to the place where the holy well
now is, where then was a grove of great pine-trees, called
by the Indians ocotes, he heard calling him a sweet voice,
which said : " God save thee, my son. Where goest
thou ? " And he beheld standing there the Blessed Vir-
gin. And to her he said : "I go to bring water to them
who are sick." And she answered : "I will give you wa-
ter that will not only quench the thirst of them who are
sick, but that will cure their infirmity." And lo ! from
beneath a great ocote there gushed forth a sweet and
lively spring ! Then did the Blessed Virgin bid Juan
Diego search in that spot and he would find her holy
image. And having thus spoken, she vanished from
him, leaving him animated by a holy and tranquil joj.
And when, with the religious from San Francisco, he
made search — for he was minded not to go upon this
quest alone — he found the image where the Blessed
Virgin had declared that it would be. Then the fathers
placed it in the church of San Lorenzo, where it was
venerated and wrought many miracles ; and with gladly
given alms the shrine was built for it upon the hill,
above the sacred spot where, at the Virgin's command,
the water had gushed forth. And there this shrine,
greatly beautified in modern times (that is to say in the
seventeenth century), remains to this day.

The way to the shrine leads past the little chapel of
San Nicolas, and, up the glaring hill-side, a little to the
left of the chapel erected over the holy well. The sanctu-
ary is a curious structure, with contrasting effects of
white and red, standing upon the crest of the hill — from
which there is a magnificent view. In the large adjoin-
ing building dwells the Padre Capellan ; and here are
apartments for the dignitaries of the church, who in times

TLAXCALA. 403

past came hither in great numbers on the day of fes-
tival, the anniversary of the apparition, May 3cl. The
chancel, transepts, pulpit, and dome, are a mass of very
rich and beautiful carving, the work of the Indian sculp-
tor, Francisco IVIiguel — who to the execution of this
cai'\dng, and to that which beautifies the camarin, devoted
twenty-five years of his life. The altar is beautifully
wrought of silver ; and the holy figure is enclosed in a
glazed silver shrine. Upon the figure's forehead hovers,
miraculously, a tiny star that vanishes, and again appears.
The nave was modernized between the years 1852 and
1854: at the charges of the Seiiora Doiia Maria Josefa
ZabaLza, but in a manner at once rich and elegant. This
devout lady was a person of excellent taste, for an in-
scription, at the south side of the entrance, tells that she
refrained from modifying the work in the chancel and
transepts "because of its antiquity and merit" — for
which virtue of omission may her spirit rest in peace !
On the north wall of the nave are portraits of the chap-
lains who began and completed the church — Don Juan
de Escobar and Don Francisco Fernandez de Sylva — de-
voutly kneeling on each side of the Virgin of the Apoca-
lypse. On the south wall is a picture of Nstra. Sra. de
la Luz. In the ante-sacristy the story of the miraculous
appaiition is told in pictures painted by Manuel Caro in
1781 ; there is a very good "Last Supper" and "Pas-
sion," by Joseph Joachim Magon, painted in 1754 ; beau-
tiful carved benches and table ; and curious windows of
Puebla onyx which let in a soft and mellow light.

The camarin, in the rear of the high altar, is a won-
derful work of art : an exquisite arabesque of most deli-
cate stucco-work, into which are introduced figures of the
Twelve Apostles and the Doctors of the church ; the
whole colored and gilded. The paintings by Juan de

404 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Villalobos — the " Virgin of Ocotlan," and a " Life of the
Virgin " in panels — have good quahty, but are decidedly
inferior to the delicate carving. The floor is covered
with two thicknesses of Mexican antique tapestry, and
the room is full of small and curious objects, in the
study of which an hour or more may be very satisfac-
torily passed.

IX. Z AG ATE GAS.

Practical Information. A tramway (fare 6|- cents)
extends from the railway station into and through the
city, passing the principal hotel. Luggage is carried on
tram-cars or by cargadores, for one or two reales. The
Hotel Zacatecano (in the building once occupied by the
Augustinian convent) is reasonably comfortable. Rates :
$2 a day. Eooms, $1 ; single meals, six realef?. The
.restaurant is superintended by a Frenchman and is very
fair. Owing to the scarcity of water, bathing is a lux-
ury. The single bathing establishment in the city, on
the main plaza, is a forlorn place ; yet the charge for a
bath is four reales. Carriages are almost unknown in
the city ; but a few are for hire in the suburb of Guada-
lupe.

Site and Characteristics. Zacatecas (a name vari-
ously derived from a tribe of Indians known as Zacate-
cas ; and from zacatlan, place where grows the grass
called zacate), capital of the State of the same name, lies
on the line of the Mexican Central Railway, 785 miles
south of El Paso, and 439 miles north of the City of
Mexico. It has a population of about 30,000 souls. It
is crowded into a narrow ravine, and, although deep in
this valley, is very nearly 8,000 feet above the level of
the sea. Owing to its great altitude, its winter cHmate

ZACATECAS. 405

is cold and tiding. Lacking a sufficient water-supply, it
is dirty and abounding in bad smells. The prevalent
diseases ai-e typhus and pneumonia, each of which works
great havoc in the poorly clothed and insufficiently fed
population. Its situation, while highly objectionable
from a sanitary point of view, renders it eminently pict-
uresque. Above the ravine in which it is built the
mountains rise on every hand ; their slopes dotted with
massive stone buildings in which the work of silver reduc-
tion is carried on. Dominating the city is the curious
mountain ridge, the Bufa (buffalo), upon which stands
the little church of Los Eemedios, founded in the year
1728, under the jDatronage of Don Jose de Kivera Ber-
nardez. The ascent to this chapel was a favorite peni-
tential pilgTimage in former times, and penitents who
had been very wicked indeed made the ascent upon
theii' knees. The pilgrimage to the church of Guadalupe
(noticed below) also was a means by which the evil-doers
of Zacatecas were brought back to grace in the godly
days antedating the Keform. Nor are these peniten-
tial pilgrimages abandoned even now. On the hill of
the Bufa a battle was fought, March 2, 1871, between a
revolutionary army under the generals Trevino, Guerra,
and Garcia de la Cadena, and the Juarez forces under
General Sostenes Eocha — resulting in the defeat of the
revolutionists.

The city is one of the most important mining centres
in the republic — though in late years the output of sil-
ver has decreased very materially. Among its more im-
portant mines at the present time are the Veta Grande,
Zacatecas, and Panuco. In the district a great number
of mines are worked, and the city, as the source of sup-
ply for this active region, possesses a very considerable
business importance. A great deal of coarse red pottery

406 MEXICATSr GUIDE.

is made in and near the city ; a visit to a pottery will
prove very interesting. The more important features
of the city are its mines ; its reduction works, in which
the patio process of treating ores is carried on ; its mint
(which may be visited by permit) ; State government
building, churches, orphan asylum, and hospital. Per-
mits usually can be obtained to visit the mines ; de-
scended not by ladders but by notched sticks. But pru-
dent people, who yet are not prudent enough to stay out
of mines altogether, will wait until, at Guanajuato, they
can descend into the bow^els of the earth by the com-
paratively easy means of a stone stairway. Women-
visitors are strongly objected to by the Zacatecas miners,
as their entry into a mine is believed to bring bad luck.
One of the several reduction works certainly should be
visited. The market, in a series of terraces on the hill-
side, is curious and worth seeing. In the outskirts of
the city is an alameda — a well-meant attempt at a
pleasure-ground that has not been crowned with abso-
lute success. The city for the most part is built of a
dark, reddish-brown stone that produces a somewhat
sombre effect.

Churches. The primitive parish church was erected
in 1559. The existing building (now the cathedral) was
begun in the year 1612, and the first service was held
in it December 8, 1625. It was not completed, how-
ever, until a century and a quarter later. It was dedi-
cated, with most imposing ceremonies, August 15, 1752,
under the advocation of Nuestra Sefiora de la Asuncion.
It is built of brown-stone, well cut, and is ornamented
with many carvings. The west front, above which rises
the tower, is especially rich, being decorated with life-
size statues of Christ and the Apostles set in niches be-
tween columns. This front is broken by cornices into

ZACATECAS. 407

three stories, find is surmounted by a cross. The dome
is tiled. The interior is decorated in white and gold.
Before the confiscation of church property the interior
adornments of this church were exceedingly magnificent.
The font alone, of solid silver, was worth $100,000.
When the See of Zacatecas was erected, January 26,
1862, this church became the cathedral, and was conse-
crated as such in 1864.

Jesuit fathers came to Zacatecas in the year 1616, and
in the year following their first church was erected.
This having fallen into decay, the present church of San
Jose was begun February 19, 1746, and was completed
December 14, 1749. It was dedicated May 24, 1750.
Standing on a levelled space upon the mountain -side,
this large cruciform church, with its fine towers and
tiled dome, presents a very striking appearance. The
church contains a number of interesting pictures and
carvings. The church of San Francisco, founded July 2,
1567 (the existing building dates from March 15, 1649);
the church of San Agustin, dedicated June 21, 1782, and
the churches of Santo Domingo and the Merced also
should be visited.

Suburb of Guadalupe. A detached section of the
Mexican National Railway connects Zacatecas with the
suburb of Guadalupe. The tram-cars mn out by gravity
at a high rate of sj)eed, and are dragged back by six
mules harnessed three abreast. Trains of first- and sec-
ond-class cars leave each end of the line every hour be-
tween 6 A.M. and 8 p.m. An extra train leaves Zacatecas
for Guadalupe at 9 p.m. The nucleus of this outlying
town is the Colegio de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe,
founded in the year 1707 by Fray Antonio Margil de
Jesus, from the Colegio de la Santa Cruz de Queretaro.
The church, built in 1721, is ciniciform ; has a large

408 MEXICAlSr GUIDE.

tiled dome, and a smaller dome over the chancel, also
tiled ; has two towers, of which the larger is sur-
mounted by a curious tiled minaret. The interior dec-
orations of the main altar, the fourteen minor altars,
and the choir even yet are rich. A detached chapel, with
a ceiling of carved arabesques colored and gilded, merits
especial attention. It is as fine, or nearly as fine, as the
camarin of the sanctuary of Ocotlan.

The Orfanatorio de Guadalupe, established (in the
building formerly used as a convent) January 13, 1875,
by General Trinidad Garcia de la Cadena, is one of the
most notable charitable institutions in the Republic.
More than 1,000 orphans are maintained here, being
educated both in letters and in trades — the product of
the trade-school being put to immediate and profitable
use. From the bakery and cloth factory the bread and
clotliing required, not only in the school itself, but in the
municipal prison are supplied, and a considerable surplus
of woven goods remains to be sold in the general market.
(The traveller may purchase zarapes here, but only those
of the lower grade.) In the printing establishment the
greater part of the municipal printing is done. In con-
nection with the institution is a school for deaf-mutes.

The first discovery of silver at Zacatecas was made
September 8, 1546, by Juan de Tolosa. Less than two
years later, January 20, 1548, the town was founded by
Baltasar Tremino de Banuelos, Crist6bal de Onate, and
Diego de Ibarra ; and so rapidly did it increase in im-
portance, population, and wealth that a royal order of
January 8, 1585, made it a city.

AGUAS CALIENTES. 409

X AGUAS CALIENTES.

Practical Information. A tramway from the rail-
way station runs direct to the main plaza, on which is
the more desirable hotel : fare, four cents ; or, a carriage
can be taken at the railway station : fare, four reale^
for one or four people with hand-luggage. Large pieces
of luo'o*aj?e can be sent from the station to the hotel for
one or two reales, according to size and weight. The
Hotel de la Plaza, presided over by the Seiiorita Chavero,
is reasonably comfortable. Rates : $2 a day for lodging
and food. Single meals, four i^eales. Coffee and bread,
one real. There are baths in the city, of which the
more desirable are the Delicias, in the Tercera Obrador ;
but the baths for which the city is famous are in the
suburbs. Tramways (cars leave the main plaza every half-
hour from 6 A.M. to 1 p.m. and from 3 to 8 p.m. ; fare,
foui' cents) make these suburban baths easily accessible.
The cost of a bath at either the Banos Grandes or Banos
Nuevos is two reales.

Site and Characteristics. Aguas Calientes (hot
waters), capital of the State of the same name, is so called
because of the numerous hot springs found hereabouts.
The city, on the line of the Mexican Central Railway,
860 miles south of El Paso and 364 miles north of the
City of Mexico, lies on a fertile and abundantly watered
plain, at an elevation of 6,100 feet above the sea. It has a
population of about 22,000 souls. Because of its many
gardens and flowers and trees, its surrounding vine-
yards, meadows, and cultivated fields, and its general
semitropical appearance, this is one of the most delight-
ful spots in Mexico. The city is irregularly laid out ;
contains a charming main plaza and ten minor plazas —
among which are included the gardens of San Marcos

410 MEXICAN GUIDE.

and Guadalupe (the Jardin de San Marcos and the
Tivoli de Hidalgo are reached by the narrow-gauge tram-
way starting from the main plaza) ; the buildings in
which are housed the offices of the State government ;
thirteen churches ; a college of secondary instruction
(founded in 1879) ; a hospital ; an imposing jail that ex-
cites much local pride ; and an interesting market in
which delicious fruit may be bought. There is a very
fair wine made here from the grapes which are grown
in great quantities in and around the city.

The wonderful charm of this little city, however, is
not in its buildings, but in its general picturesqueness.
It is a city that every artist will love. Its exception-
ally mild and agreeable climate, that is gently stimula-
ting, makes it a peculiarly favorable wintering place
for invalids — although the hotel accommodations are
by no means in keeping with what many invalids re-
quire. The business interests of the town are merci-
fully small. Yet once a year the city bustles into a most
picturesque activity with a fair that, until it comes again,
affords a never-failing subject of conversation. Saint
Mark is an apostle held in much esteem here, but
less, probably, because of his inherent characteristics
than because upon his feast-day, April 23d, the fair be-
gins. The fair lasts until the 10th of May — and so in-
cludes the great national festival of May Fifth. This
period is one of prolonged, and not always entirely dec-
orous, merrymaking. It is, in one important feature, a
sort of expanded Thanksgiving Day — for at this time all
the turkeys, or at least a w^orking majority of them, are
slain and eaten. On the whole, the cacones, as tui'keys
are called here, are held in more worshipped honor dur-
ing this joyous season than is the Saint himself — nor is
this inversion of matters to be wondered at, for caco7ies

LEON. 411

thus were made the main features of the fiesla long be-
fore the Christian saint ever was heard of in these parts.
The fair of San Marcos is one of the most curious and
most characteristic sights to be seen in Mexico. Trav-
ellers should make a point of visiting Aguas Calientes
during its continuance ; and should get to the city two
or three daj^s before it begins in order to secure rooms.
Aguas Calientes was founded in the year 1520 by
Cristobal de Oiiate, under the advocation of Nuestra
Senora de la Asuncion. The parish church, dedicated to
this Virgin, contains several interesting pictures. San
Diego, founded in the year 1667 upon the site previously
occupied by the church of the Carmen, is exceedingly
quaint and curious — though, from the local standpoint,
its chief curiosities are its inlaid wooden floor, a figure
of the Purisima, and certain desiccated monks in its
vault. In the church of San Marcos are two paintings by
Ibarra worthy of notice : a "Saint Mark," and an "Adora-
tion of the Kings." Other churches that may be visited
are : San Juan de Dios (1615) ; the Merced (1665) ; San
Jose (1686) ; El Seiior del Encino, and the Jesuit foun-
dation of San Ignacio, better known as the Euseiianza.

XL LEON.

Practical information. A tramway (fare, 6 J cents)
connects the railway station and the city— a distance of
about a mile. This tramway passes within a few steps
of the Hotel de Diligencias. Luggage will be conveyed
on platform cars for one or two reales, as the weight of
the pieces may determine ; and in the city will be carried
from the car to the hotel for a medio or a real. A car-
riage can be had for four reales for one or four persons.

412 MEXICAN GUIDE.

The Hotel de Diligencias is fairly comfortable. An an-
nex to this establishment just across the street affords
extra rooms should the hotel proper be full. Terms :
$2 the day for lodging and meals. There are baths in
the Calles Angeles and Honda.

Site and Characteristics. Leon, a city of about
80,000 inhabitants, in the State of Guanajuato, lies on the
line of the Mexican Central Railway, 965 miles south of
El Paso and 259 miles north of Mexico, at an elevation
of 5,863 feet above the sea. It stands in the midst of a
fertile plain, watered by the little river Turbio, and in its
environs are many delightful gardens and an abundance
of trees. Being a city of artisans, its houses for the
most part are low and small ; nor does it contain many
buildings of any sort especially interesting, As a man-
ufacturing city its importance is great. Tanning, and
the manufacture of leather goods — leather garments,
shoes, and saddles ; the weaving of rebosos (the cotton
shawl worn by all the women of the lower class) ; to-
gether with a considerable manufacture of woollen goods,
hats, soap, and of common ironware, including cutlery,
constitutes its chief industries. The annual fair here
formerly was one of the great fairs of the country. The
city is regularly laid out ; has a central plaza and twelve
minor plazas ; and among its more notable buildings are
the Casa Municipal (city hall), Alhondiga (commercial ex-
change), barracks, and jail. The main plaza has a foun-
tain in its centre and is planted with trees. On one side
of the plaza is the Casa Municipal ; on the other three
sides, portales lined with shops. The market is interest-
ing, but has no especial characteristics worthy of note.
Just outside the city, on the road leading to Silao, is a
j)icturesque causeway shaded by trees that is the jjaseo
of the town. This pretty place is reached by a tram-

LEON. 413

way from the plfiza. On the road leading to Lagos, a
short distance from the city, are hot and cold springs
utilized for baths.

Churches. The curacy of Leon was founded before
the year 1586 — for in that year the first curate, Alonzo
Espinoso, was slain by the Chichemec Indians. A por-
trait of this unlucky cura was preserved until recent times
in the sacristy of the parish church. During the ensu-
ing two hundred years the curacy was administered by
the Franciscans — by whom the existing parish church,
dedicated to San Sebastian, was erected early in the
last centmy. It was remodelled in 1834. Adjoining this
is the small church of the Tercer Orden, also a Francis-
can foundation. The one strikingly handsome church in
the city (now the cathedral) is the Jesuit foundation of
the Compania Nueva — built upon the site of the first
church of the Compania, a small building erected in
1744. The existing church was begun August 6, 1746,
and was dedicated in the year 1765 under the in-
vocation of Nuestra Senora de la Luz (Our Lady of
Light). After the erection of the See of Leon (March,
1863) it was consecrated a cathedral, March 16, 1866.
It is without aisles ; disproportionately long for its
width (220 X 45 feet) ; has a fine dome and two unusu-
ally high towers — these last completed in 1878. Here is
venerated the original image of Nuestra Senora de la
Luz, presented to the city by the Jesuit Father Joso
Maria Genovesi about the year 1740. The originality of
this picture is attested by a certificate upon its back
signed by four eminent Jesuits. Nuestra Seiiora de la
Luz was made the Patroness of Leon, May 23, 1840,
when the city government solemnly swore allegiance to
her ; an act that was approved by Pope Pius IX., De-
cember 20, 1851. The church of Nuestra Senora de los

414 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Angeles, also a Jesuit foundation, contains some note-
worthy carvings by the artist Sixto Muiioz, a native of
Leon. The oldest church in the city, La Soledad, is be-
lieved to be contemporaneous with the foundation of
the town. The churches of San Juan de Dios and San
Felipe Neri also should be seen.

History. When Pedro Almindez de Chirinos, one of
the captains of Cortes, made his incursion northward
into the Chichimec country, some of his soldiers entered
the valley where Leon now stands and gave it the name
of the Valle de la Senora. That there was a Sjpanish
town here as early as the year 1552 is shown by a royal
order of Charles V., dated August 12th of that year, in
which he refers to the Mexican town of Leon. The for-
mal authorization for the creation of a town in this place
was given by the Viceroy Almanza, December 12, 1575 ;
aiid the formal foundation took place January 12, 1576.
The royal authorization for this town, however, was not
given in Mexico until March 22, 1712. It was made a
city by the Legislature of Guanajuato shortly after the
Independence.

XII. GUANAJUATO.

Practical information. The tramway from Marfil
(fare, one real) lands the traveller at either of the hotels.
Luggage is brought in on a platform car.

Tolerably fair board and lodging can be had, together
or separately, at the Hotel Suiza at the rate of $2 a day
for both, or $1 a day for either one. Early breakfast
(bread and coffee) costs one real ; mid-day breakfast
and dinner cost four reales each. The best food, and
rooms as good as can be obtained elsewhere, will be

GUANAJUATO. 415

found a.t the little hotel known simply as " Doiia Ma-
ria's," in the Altas de la Vizcaina. Should rooms not be
obtainable here, the traveller will do well to lodge at the
Suiza or Bafios (the Concordia is not desirable) and come
to Doila Maria's for his meals. Doiia Maria Carrada is
not the picturesque personage that a lively imagination
would create from her soft-sounding name. She is
stout and loud-voiced, and her hotel is less good posi-
tively than as compared with its surroundings. The
rates at the Hotel de Baiios, Dona Maria's, and the Con-
cordia, are identical with those at the Suiza.

In order to escape the bad air and the very bad
smells, worse even by night than by day, of Guanajuato,
it is not a bad plan to spend the nights at Silao. The
hotel at the railway station (see Silao) is tolerably good ;
and tolerably good food can be had at the railway res-
taurant, or at the little French restaurant near by. In
order to avoid the very early start from Guanajuato, the
traveller certainlv should take the afternoon train to
Silao, and spend the night there.

History. The name Guanajuato is a corruption of
quanashuato — meaning, in the Tarrascan tongue, " hill of
the frogs ; " and this name was given to the settlement be-
cause the Tarrascan Indians found here a huge stone in
the shape of a frog that they worshipped. The site of
this city, with much surrounding land in what was a very
barren place, was given by the Viceroy Don Antonio de
Mendoza to Don Rodrigo Vazquez, one of the conquista-
dores, in recompense for his services in helping to win
for his royal master the rich country of New Sj^ain. Tra-
dition tells that the discovery of silver here — believed to
have been in the mine of La Luz, in the San Bernabe
vein — was made accidentally by some muleteers in the
year 154:8. Then came hither certain Spanish adventur-

416 MEXICAN GUIDE.

ers, who built in the year 1554, where now is Marfil, a
little fort that they called the Real cle Minas ; and in
this fort they guarded the silver which they found.
Three years later (1557) the first settlement is believed
to have been made on the site of the existing city.* A
royal order issued in 1679, by which this settlement was
created a town, with the formidable name of the Villa j
Real de Minas de Santa Fe de Guanajuato. By a royal
order of December 8, 1741, the town was made a city.
Guanajuato played an important part in the war of In-
dependence. It was captured by Hidalgo's mob of revo-
lutionists September 28, 1810, and several times changed
liands as the war went on. The shot-marks still to be
seen on the walls of the Alhondiga de Granaditas attest
the vigorous cannonadings here in former times. The
city is one of the three (the others being Catorce and
Zacatecas) great mining cities of Mexico. Its present
product of silver, greatly decreased since the time of
the Spanish domination, is about |6, 000, 000 (Mexican
money) a year. Ten years after the first discovery of
silver the wonderfully rich " mother vein," veta madre,
was opened. This is now pierced by the Valenciana,
Tepeya, Cata, Santa Ana, and numerous other mines.
In all, nearly two thousand claims have been staked off
in the Guanajuato district.

Site and CSiaracterlstics. Guanajuato, capital of
the State of the same name, lies fifteen miles east of the
line of the Mexican Central Railway. A branch road
leads from Silao (986 miles south of El Paso ; 238 miles
north of the City of Mexico) to the suburb of Marfil, a
distance of twelve miles, whence a tramway extends into
and through the city.

* These early dates cannot be given precisely. The records of
the city were burned in 1810.

GUANAJUATO. 417

The city is built in a deep and narrow ravine, terraced
on each side in order to give additional standing room
for houses. The mouth of the ravine is at Marfil, and
its further extremity, ending against the mountain side,
has no outlet. The Plaza de Mejia Mora has an eleva-
tion of 6,830 feet above the level of the sea. The gen-
eral effect of the city — narrow and irregular streets,
broken by sharp acclivities, along which are ranged for-
tress-like houses — is eminently mediaeval. This antique
effect is lessened, however, by the bustling activity that
pervades the place — and along the narrow streets are
carried telephone and telegraph wires ! In the dry sea-
son Guanajuato is notoriously unhealthy. In the season
of rains, when it is washed clean, the health of the city
is excellent. Owing to its situation, it is liable to dan-
gerous inundations. Of the many violent floods which
have occurred here, the worst was in the year 1760,
when a great loss of life and property occurred. The
latest serious inundation, also attended with a consider-
able loss of life, was in the night of June 7, 1885. At the
upper end of the ravine (reached easily on foot, or by
the tramway) is the Presa de la 011a. Here the valley
widens a little, and the stream descending from the
mountains fills a succession of reservoirs built one be-
low the other in terraces. Beside these reservoirs, and
across the dams confining them, winds the road ; and
scattered along the road are a number of handsome resi-
dences, with gardens and many trees. In this charming
place the band plays in afternoons and evenings of Sun-
days and feast-days. In the city proper is the pretty
Plaza de Mejia Mora — where a mural tablet designates
the house in which the eminent engineer and first Mexi-
can aeronaut, Benito Leon Acosta, was bom.

The most impressive building, dominating the city, is

418 MEXICAN GUIDE.

the great Alhondiga de Granaditas. This was erected
by the Intendente Don Juan Antonio Eiaiio in the year
1785, and served — as its name implies — as a commercial
exchange. As already stated, this building was capt-
ured by Hidalgo ; and when Hidalgo was executed in
Chihuahua, with Allende, Aldama, and Jimenez, the
heads of these patriots were sent to Guanajuato and ex-
posed upon the walls of this building. The spike upon
which Hidalgo's head was fastened still is pointed out.
In front of the building is a bronze statue of Hidalgo.
The Alhondiga now is used as a prison, in which the
prisoners are taught trades. This institution may be
visited — but in a Mexican prison are many creeping and
hopping things, which creep and hop from the unjust
prisoners to the just visitors with a most undesirable
celerity.

The State Government is housed in a building, styled
by courtesy a palace, that is situated between the parish
church and the jail. On the plaza, in a house that once
was the private dwelling of the ladies Yrizares, are the
chambers of the State Legislature and offices of the
courts. The Mint (which may be visited with a permit)
is a handsome building after its kind. A new and hand-
some theatre, built of a greenish stone native to the place,
is in course of erection. The city maintains a school of
jurisprudence, a preparatory school, a trade school, 25
primary schools and .25 rudimentary schools ; also, a
fairly good public library.

Travellers of mole-like tendencies should visit the
mines here, for, being descended by stone stairways,
they ai-e the most accessible mines in Mexico. A permit
to visit a mine usually can be obtained on application to
the administrador. (See blank form of request, p. 92.)

Churches. The first church founded here, by the

GUANAJUATO. 419

Jesuits, about the year 1557, subsequently became the
chapel of the College of the Purisima Concepcion. In it
was venerated the famous image of Nuestra Senora de
Guanajuato, sent by Philip 11. in the latter part of the
sixteenth century. The present parish church, dedicated
to San Francisco, in which this image now is housed,
originally was the property of the Juaninos, and was
dedicated to San Juan de Dios. It was completed in its
primitive form in the year 1696. Upon the suppression
of the Juaninos it passed, September 9, 1828, to the
possession of the Franciscans. It was then remodelled.
The beautiful old altars were torn away, and the existing
costly and commonplace altars were erected in their
stead. Similar unpleasant changes were made in the
sacristy, and in the richly adorned chapel in which Nu-
estra Senora de Guanajuato had resided for more than a
century and a quarter ; and what had been the camarln
of this chapel was transformed into a baptistry. But
even after these harrowing changes the church is inter-
esting. It has a simple fa9ade, flanked by two well-pro-
portioned towers, in one of which is a large and sweet-
toned bell. The interior is richly decorated in modern
st^ie, a lavish gilding being used upon the main altar
and six side altars. In both baptistry and sacristy are
pictures b}^ Vallejo.

The finest church in the city is the Compania, a Jesuit
foundation, erected between the years 1747 and 1765,
at a cost of $200,000, of which sum more than $80,000
was expended in blasting out a level space to build upon.
The single tower contains an unusually fine group of
bells— Mexican church bells are not hung in chimes — of
which the great bell was blessed in 1852 by Bishop Ti-
mon, of Buffalo, then temporarily in Mexico. The facade
is ornamented with statues of saints of the Jesuit Order,

420 MEXICAN GUIDE.

and emblematic figures. The principal figures over the
central doorway are Saint Ignatius Loyola and Charit}- ;
above the lateral doorwa^^s are figures of Faith and Hope.
The interior is handsomely decorated, and contains three
pictures by Ibarra — " The Triumph of l^Iary," " The In-
fant Christ adored by Loyola and Xavier," and "The
Adoration of Mary." Being banished from Mexico in
1767, the Jesuits had possession of this church for less
than two years after its completion. Subsequently, until
the Reform, it was administered by the Oratorians of
San Felipe Neri. Other notable churches in the city are
San Sebastian, San Roque, and San Jose.

Suburbs. The little town of Marfil, with its heavily
built stone houses, is even more Moorish in its general
effect than small tow^ns in Mexico usually are. It is
quite worth a morning's walk. The Fort of San Miguel,
on a height commanding the city, also should be visited.
It is very quaint and interesting. Above and beyond
La Presa are some curious quarries, easily reached on
foot, whence an excellent building-stone is obtained. In
taking out this stone great caves, with roofs supported
by pillars, have been left. The church and causeway of
Guadalupe, built at the charges of Don Agustin de la
Eosa, and dedicated, November 30, 1733, also should be
visited. An engineering work, once of great importance,
is the highway that leads from Guanajuato through
Marfil to the level lands below. This was begun in the
year 1767, and was finished in the year 1852.

QUERETARO. 421

XIII QUERJ^TARO.

Practical Information. A tramway leads from the
station to the Plaza Major ; fare 6^ cents. Carnages
can be had (for four people, with hand-luggage) from
station to hotel for four reales. Tolerably fair food and
lodging can be had for $1 a &ixj for either, and $2 a day
for both, at the Hotel Ferro-carril Central ; and, not quite
so good, at the same rates, at the Hotel de Diligencias.
The more desirable baths are in the Calle de Locutorios.
The dulce, a very good nougat for which Queretaro is
famous, can be bought at either of the dulcerias in the
Portal de Carmelitas. Opals may be bought in the
Calle j on de Ciego, No. 3 ; Calle del Chirimoyo, No. 16 ;
or Calle de Biombo, No. 9. Fair stones can be had for $5,
and for ten or fifteen dollars very beautiful stones may
be bought. Carriages may be hired for four reales the
hour.

Site and Characteristics. Queretaro, capital of the
State of the same name, a city of 47,000 inhabitants,
lies on the Hne of the Mexican Central Eailway, 1,071
miles south of El Paso and 153 miles north of the City
of Mexico, at an elevation of 5,900 feet above the level of
the sea. The city is built upon a low, rocky ridge in
the midst of a fertile agricultural country. It is laid
out, relatively speaking, irregularly, and in addition to
its pretty main plaza has half a dozen minor plazas and
a charming alameda. The main plaza is adorned with a
fountain, a statue of the Marques de la Villa del Villar
de la Aguila, and is planted with palms, bananas and
other semi-tropical trees. In this pretty place it was
the habit of Maximilian to take his evening walk during
the siege, sitting often on the stone curb of the foun-
tain ; which fact, coming to the knowledge of the be-

422 . MEXICAIS" GUIDE.

siegers, the plaza was the objective point of many shells.
Maximilian was not hit, but the statue was. Fortu-
nately, the shot did not work serious injury. The ala-
meda, in the suburb near the railway station, reached
by tramway from the main plaza, is also semi-tropical in
the character of its vegetation, and is very pretty indeed.
The building occupied by the State Legislature contains
(with the relics of Maximilian named below) an interest-
ing collection of portraits of the Governors of Queretaro.
The building has attached to it a delightful garden.
The most important public work is the fine stone aque-
duct. This was begun, February 15, 1726, and was fin-
ished, October 17, 1738, at a total cost of $124,791, of
which sum $82,987 was contributed by the Marques de
la Villa del Villar de la Aguila. The water is drawn
from a source in the mountains about five miles from
the city ; is brought through a tunnel, and thence is
carried over seventy-four arches, the highest of which is
ninety-four feet from the ground. This great work as-
sures to the city an ample and wholesome water-supply.
More than a score of fountains are scattered throuq-h
the city, of which the most notable, a handsome basin
surmounted by a stone figure of Neptune, was set up in
1797, facing the Plaza of San Francisco.

As a distributing centre Queretaro possesses a con-
siderable business importance. Leather work is done
here on a somewhat extensive scale, and a large amount
of sugar is made in the near-by cane country. The
manufacture of cotton cloth has been a prominent in-
dustry for more than two centuries. The most impor-
tant mill in this region, and in Mexico, is the Hercules,
built in a ravine about two miles outside of the city.
This establishment employs about five hundred Indian
operatives, whose wages average three reales a day. Both

QUERETARO. 423

steam and water power are used — the former supplied
by an engine of 150-horse power, and the latter by an
overshot water-wheel 46 feet in diameter. The mills are
surrounded by massive stone walls, pierced for mus-
ketry. Connected with the house of the proprietor are
beautiful gardens adorned with jflowers, trees, artificial
lakes, and statuary — of which last the more notable piece
is the statue of Hercules that gives the name to the
mills.

History. The name Queretaro is derived, according
to some authorities, from querendaro^ a corruption of the
Tarrascan word querenda^ meaning " the place of the stony
peak," and referring to the city's site close beside a rocky
hill. A more probable derivation is from the Tarascau
word queretai'o, meaning "a game of ball." At the time
of the conquest there was here an Otomite town. In
1531 the Otomite chief Fernando de Tapia, a most zeal-
ous convert to Christianity, gained permission to go
forth and christianize the members of his tribe dwelHng
in this place. In his native town of Xilotepec, and in
the near-by town of Tula, he recruited a little army ;
and certain godly priests went with him to baptize into
Christianity such of the heathen as he might convert.
Coming to Queretaro, he arranged with its people that
champions presented by them and presented by him
should fight together, but only with their fists and feet,
that blood might not be shed ; and that, should his
champions win, then the people of the town should be-
come Christians and renounce forever their false gods.
Then the champions fought, and all the multitude
shouted, and beat drums, and shot arrows into the air.
And while the fighting continued the light of the sun
was lessened, and floating in the air above the combatants
plainly was seen by all the blessed Santiago, and beside

424 MEXICAIT GUIDE.

him a great ruddy cross ! Amazed and awed by this
prodigy, the people of Queretaro withdrew their cham-
pions and willingly yielded themselves vanquished, and
begged to be baptized. This wonder occurred, July 25,
1531, and because this was the Feast of Santiago, and
because of that saint's miraculous manifestation, the
Christian town was called Santiago de Queretaro. Upon
the hill where the champions had fought, the now Chris-
tian Indians begged that there might be set up a stone
cross in the semblance of that which had appeared to
them from heaven. This, therefore, was done, and about
the cross was built a chapel. In 1682 the existing
church of the Santa Cruz was built. The most recent
renovation of this building was in 1865.

In 1655 Queretaro was made a city by a royal order
given by Philip IV. As the time of the revolt against
Spain drew near, it was prominent as a centre of the
patriotic movement (see Historic Summary) ; in the
wars that followed its people bore an honorable part ;
and in later times it has taken its full share of sieges and
assaults. The more notable events in its modern history
are : The ratification of the treaty of peace with the
United States in 1848 ; its defence by Maximilian against
the Liberal forces under Escobedo in the early months
of 1867 ; its fall, through the treachery of Colonel Lopez,
May 19, 1867 ; the execution, June 19th following, of
Maximilian, Mejia, and Miramon. Mr. Seward, during
his visit to Mexico in 1869, w^as received here with great
enthusiasm.

The Death of IVSaximilian. The court martial that
tried Maximilian and the generals Mejia and Miramon
was convened in the Yturbide Theatre at 10 a.m, June 14.
Maximilian, who was suffering from an acute attack of ill-
ness, was not present. He was represented by counsel.

QUERETAKO. 425

At 10 P.M., June 15tb, the court united in a sentence of
death. The sentence was approved at once by General
Escobedo, who ordered the execution to take place the
next day. A telegram from Juarez, at San Luis Potosi,
deferred the execution until the 19th. In this interval a
strong effort was made to save the prisoners' lives. A
protest had been received from the Government of the
United States against the execution of Maximilian. This
was emphasized by the petitions of prominent Mexicans.
The Princess Salm-Salm — always a picturesque sort of a
personage — rode the one hundred and twenty miles across
country and on her knees implored Juarez to spare Max-
imilian's life. Personally, it would seem, Juarez would
have been glad to remit the death penalty. Politically,
his faith was firm that clemency was impossible. He re-
fused to annul his order.

Maximilian, pending his trial and execution, was con-
fined— after three days in the Convent of La Cruz — in the
Convent of the Capuchinas. This convent, a large stone
building, now used as a barrack, is in the street that leads
from the Theatre Yturbide to the Cerro de las Campanas.
The chamber in which he was confined, with Mejia and
Miramon, is a large, vaulted room, with a heavily grated
window. Opening from it, at that time, were three win-
dowless cells which were occupied as bedrooms. From
this place the prisoners were conducted, early on the
morning of June 19th, to the Cerro de las Campanas.
About half-way up the hiU was an adohe wall, constructed
during the siege as a breastwork, guarding the more im-
portant fortification upon the summit — the last point to
surrender, and where Maximilian was captured. In front
of this wall the prisoners were stationed and the firiug
parties were told off. Maximilian had asked as a favor
that he might be shot in the body, so that when his body

426 MEXICAN GUIDE.

was sent to Austria his mother once more might look
upon his face. This request was granted. According
to Father Soria, his attendant confessor, his last words
were : "I forgive all, and I pray that all may forgive me.
And I pray that my blood, about to be shed, will flow
for the good of Mexico. Live Mexico ! Live Lidepen-
dence ! " Mejia andMiramon fell dead at the first volley.
Maximilian fell wounded to insensibility. A second vol-
ley gave him death. It is believed that Mejia, to com-
fort him in his last hours, assured him that Carlotta had
died in Europe. It is certain, at least, that he had the
consolation of believing her to be dead. His body was
placed temporarily in a rough coffin and was taken to the
Convent of the Capuchinas. Subsequently it was em-
balmed, and, by order of Juarez, was enclosed in a rose-
wood coffin, beautifully carved, which, in turn, was en-
closed in a metal case. So it was sent to Austria. This
unfortunate man, who was so cruelly betrayed to his
death through the cowardly treachery of Napoleon HI.,
lies buried at Miramar.

Mementoes of Maximilian. In the building in
which the State Legislature has its sittings are preserved :
The table on which the death sentence was signed by the
members of the court martial ; the coffin in which Max-
imilian's body was brought from the place of execution ;
his portrait ; the wooden stools on which Mejia and
Miramon sat during their trial by court martial. Per-
mission to visit the room in which the prisoners were
confined in the Convent of the Capuchinas can be obtained
from the officer in charge of the barrack into which that
building has been transformed. The Yturbide Theatre,
in which the court martial sat, remains unchanged. Fol-
lowing the street that leads from the theatre past the
Capuchiuas, one comes out, in twenty minutes or half

QUERETARO. 427

an hour, upon a rugged plain. Westward is seen the
long, gray Cerro de las Campanas. The road entirely
disappears before the plain is crossed. The hill is cov-
ered with loose fragments of rock, and the place of the
execution — about half-way up the ascent — cannot be
found without a guide. This spot formerly was marked
by three wooden crosses. The only mark now is a little
heap of stones that bids fair also speedily to disappear.
The place occupied by the firing parties similarly is
marked by a heap of stones. The wall in front of which
the prisoners were ranged has been completely washed
away b}^ the rains. Traces of the redoubt on top of the
hill, where Maximilian surrendered, still may be distin-
guished. From this crest is a very beautiful view of the
city, the gTeat plain surrounding it, and the mountains
beyond.

Churches. The Church of San Francisco, now the
cathedral (the See of Queretaro was erected in 1863),
was founded almost immediately after the Spaniards
possessed the town. The existing church was com-
pleted in 1698, since which time it has been repaired
and modified. Its present handsome appearance dates
from 1727, when it was carefully restored and enlarged
by Fray Fernando Alonzo Gonzalez, Commissioner-
General of the Indies. The beautiful choir was added
at the end of the last century. In the church are pre-
served two notable images, that of Jesus Nazareno, exe-
cuted in 1760 by the sculptor Bartolico (so called) ; and
that of San Diego de Alcala, executed in 1606 by the
master Francisco Martinez. Near the church is the
Chapel of the Lore to, containing a replica of the Santa
Casa. The existing Church of the Oratorio of San Felipe
Neri, was begun in 1786, under the patronage of Don
Melchor Noriega, and was completed with the fortune

428 MEXICAN GUIDE.

bequeathed for this purpose by his widow in 1793. It
contains a fine sacristy, and a very elegant high altar of
jasper and alabaster. The Church of Santa Clara, for-
merly a part of the now extinct Convent of Santa Clara,
is interesting as having been founded by a rich Indian,
the Cacique Diego de Tapia, son of the Fernando de
Tapia by whom the primitive town was christianized.
The act of this pious Indian was induced by a desire
to settle in life his only daughter ; to which end he
readily accepted the proposition of Fray Miguel Lo-
pez to build a convent in which his daughter should be
the first novice. The existing church was finished in
July, 1633, Don Diego de Tapia also founded, in 1586,
the Church and Hospital of the Purisima Concepcion —
the existing church being finished in 1726. Other nota-
ble churches are San Antonio, Santo Domingo, San
Agustin, the Carmen, the Merced, Santa Teresa, and
Santa Rosa. The Church of Santa Cruz (once attached
to the now extinct college of the same name), built in
1688, contains some curious images and the famous stone
cross that was set up and worshipped by the first con-
verts to Christianity, more than three centuries and a
half ago.

A short distance west of the city is the little town of
San Francisco ; so very small a town that it is, and al-
ways has been, called simply the pueblito. Here is
the shrine of Nuestra Senora del Pueblito, one of the
famous shrines of Mexico. The very holy image in this
place is a figure two-thirds life-size, representing the
Virgin of the Conception. It was wrought in \he year
1632 by Fray Sebastian Gallegos, a sculptor monk in
the convent of San Francisco in Queretaro, especially
for the purpose of being brought to this place, and so
turning from their persistent idolatry the Indians liv-

VERA CRUZ. 429

ing hereabout. The image has wept many times, has
sweated, has assumed on occasion a most fierce expres-
sion of countenance, and has wrought many notable mir-
acles— all with the happiest possible effect upon the In-
dians afore-mentioned. Tlie church in which the image
now is housed was erected in 1766 under the jDatronage
of Don Pedro XJrtiaga. It is exceedingly quaint and in-
teresting, and has a very richly adorned camarin that
contains many curious rehcs.

XIV. VERA CRUZ.

Practical Matters. Ships anchor, usually, a little
south of the island of San Juan de Ulua, and are boarded
by the health-officer and port-captain, by whom is given
the necessary license to land. A swarm of boats sur-
rounds the ship, and the boatmen yell landing rates and
cry the names of the hotels. In fair weather the fixed
price for landing passengers is four redes for a single
person in a boat and three reales apiece in a boat-load
of two or more. For an ordinary trunk the charge is two
reales; for a valise, one real. In bad weather these rates
are increased. In very bad weather a, landing cannot be
made at all. In point of fact, the boatmen pay no atten-
tion to the tariff, but try to get as much as possible. The
landing must be bargained for, and the traveller who gets
himself and his luo'g:aQ'e ashore for four or six reales will
do very well. This should include delivery of luggage at
the custom-house.

The custom-house inspection (see p. 83) is made in
the government building at the land end of the mole.
When passed, luggage should be sent at once to the
railway station. The carter's charge for each piece is

430 MEXrCAN GUIDE.

two reales. Several persons can combine in hiring a cart
for one dollar, and, by sending a load of six or eight
pieces, reduce the rate. The regular tariff for carriages
is four reales an hour, or course of more than fifteen min-
utes. The street-car fare is 6^ cents. It is best to buy
railway tickets and check luggage in the afternoon pre-
ceding the morning of departure (see Mexican Rail-
way).

At the leading hotel, the Diligencias, the rate for
board and lodging is $2.50 a day. At the Hotel de
Mexico, which has the advantage of facing directly upon
the water, equally satisfactory accommodations are pro-
vided for $2 a day. At the Vera Cmzano and Oriente
the rate is $1.50 a day.

Site and Characteristics. Vera Cruz is a city of
10,000 inhabitants (with a very considerable floating pop-
ulation), on the Gulf coast of Mexico, 263 miles (by rail)
east of the capital. It is built in a sandy, desolate re-
gion, and during four months of the year is very un-
healthy. There is music, usually in the evenings, on the
main plaza. The alameda is an outburst of tropical foli-
age. Beyond the alameda is the negro quarter. The
market-place is picturesque, and very good fruit is sold
there. At the extremity of the city, near the cemetery,
is the penal establishment of the Presidio Mihtar, a large
fortress-like building. Here are housed the prisoners
employed at work upon the streets. Other points of in-
terest are the mole, the fortifications, the churches, the
Casa Municipal (built in 1627, but modified in later
times), the public library (in the former Franciscan con-
vent), and the vultures (zopilotes) who are licensed scav-
engers. The Fort of San Juan de Ulua was begun in
1582, and was finished about the middle of the last cen-
tury. It was occupied by the French in 1838 ; the

VERA CKUZ. 431

Americans in 1847 ; the French, English, and Spanish in
18G5 ; and was the seat of the Juarez Government at the
time of the promulgation of the Laws of the Reform. A
pleasant expedition may be made to the fort by boat.
The legal fare to go and return is one dollar for one or
two persons, and four reales for each additional person.
Another expedition, much longer, may be made to the
Island of Sacrificios — to which the legal fare for one or
live persons, including the return, is six dollars, and four
reales for each additional person.

Churches. The parish church, dedicated, June 13,
1734, to Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion, fronts upon the
Plaza Mayor. The Church of San Francisco, a founda-
tion of 1568 (the existing building of much later con-
struction), was closed in 1834. The tower is the light-
house " Benito Juarez ; " and the convent building
contains the public' hbrary. This church was maintained
by a sea-tribute, levied upon the shipping of the port.
The churches of the Compania and San Agustin both
date from 1619, having been then rebuilt after the seri-
ous fire of that j'ear. In San Juan de Ulua is the chapel
of Nuestra Senora de la Escalera, to which image-offerings
are made in return for safe journeys by sea.

History. Grijalva landed here in the year 1518 (see
p. 41). The first landing made by Cortes, April 21,
1519, was upon the site of the present Fort of San Juan
de Ulua. On the ensuing day he landed where the pres-
ent city stands ; * and because his landing was made up-
on Good-Friday, and because the accounts were good
of gold in that land, he gave to the town that he then

* Altliougli tlie town has been moved no less than four times,
the last moving — in the year 1600, in conformity with orders
sent from Spain during the viceroyalty of the Conde de Monterey
— brought it back to its primitive site.

432 MEXICAI^ GUIDE.

and there founded the name of the Villa rica de la Santa
Vera Cruz — the Eich City of the Holy True Cross. This
town has been a great seaport, and, because of its dire
unhealthf ulness, the terror of seafaring men during the
past three centuries. During the period preceding In-
dependence the commerce of the port avera^ged $12,000,-
000 annually of importations, and $18,000,000 of expor-
tations — the odd $6,000,000 being about the annual
average of the royal revenue derived from New Spain.
The exports, moreover, included merchandise from China
and the East that was brought across the country. In
the last fifty years of the Spanish domination the export
trade from Vera Cruz averaged upward of ^20,000,000 ;
and when the country revived, after the revolution of
1810-21, the exports increased to $26,000,000. The
opening of railway communication with the United
States already has diminished greatly the commerce of
the port (see p. 13).

Medellin and Alvarado. An expedition from Vera
Cruz that should be attempted only by very leisurely
travellers, whose liking for queer things is stronger than
their liking for personal comfort, is to Medellin and Al-
varado. The first of these little towns, named b}^ Cor-
tes after his native town in Estramadura, is sixteen
miles south of Vera Cruz, at the confluence of the rivers
Jamapa and Atoyac. It is a favorite place of resort of
the people of Vera Cruz, and affords excellent baths.
On the opposite side of the river, at Paso del Toro,
begins the tramway to Alvarado, a little fishing-town on
the right bank of the broad river Papaluapan, 53 miles
south of Vera Cruz. The inhabitants of this town claim
descent from the Spaniards who fought in the battle of
Lepanto, and the anniversary of the battle is celebrated
here as a great feast-day. From Medellin to Alvarado

JALAPA. 433

the tramway rnus througli a tropical jungle, and for the
sake of this picturesque ride, and the odd incidents sure
to occur by the wa}^ the journey is to be made. At
Alvarado there is a forlorn little hotel, kept by Miguel
Vives, where the night may be passed.

XV. JALAPA.

Practical Information. In making the expedition
to this dehghtful town a full day must be allowed for
the joui'ne}^ from Vera Cruz, and another for the return,
(See Mexican Railway.) The hotels in Jalapa — Mexi-
cano and Veracruzano — at either of which the rate is
$2 a day, are reasonably comfortable. A tramway ex-
tends to Coatepec (fare, one real). A more romantic way
of getting to this very picturesque little town is to walk
or ride by the old road leading to it from Jalapa through
the forest, a distance of six or seven miles. Coming out
from this tree-covered pathway, the traveller sees one of
the great views of the world : the valley of Coatepec, and
over this the Cofre de Perote and Orizaba — from snow-
peaks to hot lands at a glance. In the east a faint blue
line shows where the sea is.

Site and Characteristics. Jalapa is a city of 14,000
inhabitants, in the State of Vera Cruz, at a distance of 70
miles by tramway from Vera Cruz, at an altitude of 4,300
feet above the level of the sea. The city is a curious,
old-fashioned place — old-fashioned even in Mexico, where
the fashion of everything is old — with streets as refresh-
ingly crooked and irregular as they are picturesque and
miraculously clean. It lies upon undulating ground, on
the slope of the hill of Macuiltepec ; most of its streets
28

434 MEXICAN GUIDE.

are very steep ; its houses are in the old, heavy Spanish
style, with windows almost flush with the pavement,
defended by iron bars. In the background of the city,
over hills and ravines and lesser mountains, is seen the
great Cofre de Perote (the white mass of porphyry, re-
sembling a chest, whence its name of cofre, showing
upon its dark side) ; and towering above all is the snow-
peak of Orizaba. The city is famous throughout Mex-
ico for the exceeding beauty of its women and of its
situation. From these, its pleasing characteristics, arise
the saying that Jalapa is a part of heaven let down to
earth, and the proverb : Las Jalapenas son halagilenas —
" bewitching, alluring are the women of Jalapa." A less
pleasing characteristic, its frequent days of mist and
rain — at once the cause of, and a very serious drawback
upon the enjoyment of, its green loveliness — has given
rise to yet another saying hereabouts. During these
melancholy days the Jalapeiio, muffled in his zarape and
smoking dismally, mutters : '^ Ave Maria purisima, que
venga el sol ! " — Holy Virgin, let the sun shine ! The
probability of sad weather therefore must be considered
in deciding upon making the excursion. The best-
known product of Jalapa is the " jalap " of old-fashioned
medical practice that hereabouts abounds.

The government palace on the Plaza Mayor is a some-
what pretentious building that is chronically at odds
with its surroundings. The theatre is small, but built
in good taste. The Cartographical Institute is the centre
of the Ordnance Survey. The completed State map of
Puebla is a satisfactory earnest of what may be expected
from this useful and well-managed institution. The
cathedral (consecrated as such November 18, 1864),
small and ill-shaped, formerly was the parish church of
Kuestra Seiiora de la Concepcion ; founded in the six-

JALAPA. 435

teenth centnry, and rebuilt in 1773. A new cathedral is
in course of erection. The Franciscan estBybli&hment,
closed long before the passage of the Laws of the Re-
form, was founded by Cortes, and the first church was
finished in 1555. From the roof of this building there
is a very fine view. San Juan de Dios also is a very
ancient foundation. The hospital formerly attached to
this estabhshment now is administered by the munici-
pality. Other churches which may be visited are San
Hipolito, a foundation of 1641 ; the Beaterio of San
Francisco de Sales, founded about 1750 ; San Jose,
erected in 1770, and the Calvario, founded in 1805. But
the peculiar charm of Jalapa is not its churches nor its
few old buildings, but the beautiful natural scenery
amidst which it lies. In addition to the trip to Coate-
pec, mentioned above, an expedition, on horseback,
should be made to the town of Jilotepec, lying in the
bottom of a deep valley, about seven miles away.

Jalapa (meaning " place of water and sand ") was an
Indian town at the time of the Conquest ; and because
of its position on what, for a long while, was the main
road between Vera Cruz and the City of Mexico it early
became a place of importance. After the organization
of the Republic it was for a time capital of the State of
Vera Cruz. Between the years 1720 and 1777 a great
annual fair was held here for the sale of the goods
brought yearly by the fleet from Cadiz ; whence is de-
rived the name Jalapa de la Feria, frequently applied to
the city in documents of the last century.

436 MEXICAN GUIDE.

XVI. ORIZABA.

Practical Information. A tramway extends from
the station into the town, passing the doors of the hotels.
Fare, Q\ cents. The two hotels — La Borda (English
spoken) and the Diligencias — are very fair ; both clean,
with comfortable beds and good food ; both command
very beautiful views ; at both the rate is $2 a day, with a
considerable reduction for terms of a week or longer.
The starting-point of the lines of tram-cars is close to
the hotels. One Hne extends to the railway station ;
another (cars marked Dolores) traverses the town ; and
a third (cars every hour — running time, twenty-five
minutes) extends to^^the pretty suburb of the Yngenio,
and thence, a little beyond, to the Nogales station on
the Mexican Eailway. Travellers with only hand-bag-
gage can take the car to the Yngenio an hour before the
train from Vera Cruz is due ; alight in front of the
church at Yngenio ; see this, the mill, and the pretty
lake, and then, at the Nogales station, take the train for
the City of Mexico. On the line of this tramway, just
outside the gaj^ita, is the pretty Angostura garden,
where strawberries and flowers may be bought. Another
pleasant expedition, an hour's drive, is to the Cascade in
the Rincon Grande. Three hours beyond the Rincon
Grande is the finer cascade of Tuxpango. Other falls in
the vicinity of the town are near the Barrio Nuevo, and
at Santa Ana. Orchids abound in this region. In the
course of these suburban expeditions, victims of the
orchid habit can collect many rare varieties.

Site and Characteristics. Orizaba is a town of
15,000 inhabitants, in the State of Vera Cruz, on the
line of the Mexican Railway, 82 miles from Vera Cruz,

ORIZABA. 437

181 miles from the City of Mexico, at an elevation of 4,000
feet above the level of the sea. The town lies in a little
valley siuTOunded by very fine mountains. The peak of
Orizaba, however, cannot be seen, save a tiny strip of
glittering w^hite over the crest of the Cerro de la Esca-
mela, and even this only from the upper rooms of the
Borda. The other surrounding hills are : the Borrego,
wdiere a cross marks the burial-place of the French
soldiers killed in the affair of June 13-14, 1860 ; the
Eanchito de Cristo ; Jalapilla ; San Juan del Eio ; the
Biucon Grande ; and La Perla. The town is composed,
for the most part, of low houses with red-tiled roofs ; it
is crossed by two small streams, and by the little river
Orizaba (through a rocky ravine filled with tropical
plants), all of which unite near by in the Eiver Blanco.
There is a pretty little alameda, adorned with a monu-
ment to the patriot Ignacio de la Llave, a notable bene-
factor to this town, erected in 1877 ; a trim little plaza,
upon which faces the handsome theatre ; a market,
made up of many little sheds (the market-day is Thurs-
day), where excellent fruit may be bought. Just north
of the alameda is the Escuela Modela, occupying the
buildings used for the exposition in 1881.

Churches. Santa Teresa, formerly El Calvario, is
the oldest foundation in the town. Primitively this was
the parish church, and the first building was a little
house thatched with strav/. The Calvario (adjoining the
church pro]oer, and no longer in use) was erected in
1564, being the first church of stone built in this town.
Here Bishop Palafox y Mendoza, in 1642, placed the
Santa Cristo that still (being now in the adjacent new
church, erected in 1833) is greatly venerated. The
present parish church, dedicated to San Miguel, is a
large and handsome building, standing in a great stone-

438 MEXICAN GUIDE.

paved atrium, and presenting an admirable architectural
effect in mass. The interior, spoiled in part by unduly
large pillars, is heavy ; all the beautiful old altars vs^ere
taken away in 1834 ; the walls' are covered with crude,
cold color, applied in tasteless design. From the north-
ern side projects the large chapel of the Corazon de
Jesus, and from the southern the chapel of the Rosario.
The organ was built b}'' a lay brother of San Felipo Neri,
Miguel Pizarro. In the sacristy is a magnificent chest
of drawers, of ebony inlaid with ivory, in which the
priestly vestments are stored. The church was begun
in the last decade of the seventeenth century, and was
finished about the year 1720. The tower was completed
in 1732. It contains a clock, of French manufacture,
erected in 1867.

San Jose de Gracia (close by the hotels) is a large and
imposing group of buildings comprehending the church
proper, the chapel of the Tercer Orden, and the convent.
This is a Fernandino foundation of 1793. The plans —
not strictly followed — were prepared by Tolsa ; work was
begun in 1802, and about 1810 the church was finished.
The general effect of the interior is good architecturally ;
but, being so recent an erection, there is an entire ab-
sence of that quaintness and mellowness of age that in
most Mexican churches is the essential charm. The
frescos are by the elder Barranca, as are nearly all the
other pictures.

San Juan de Dios is a foundation of the early part of
the seventeenth century. At this time certain charitable
townsmen of Orizaba, Don Pedro Mexia, Don Sebastian
Maldonado, and Don Juan Ramon, feeling sad at heart
because so many travellers coming from the fever-stricken
coast fell ill in Orizaba, and died there because there was
none whose business it was to care for them, found in

ORIZABA. 439

their souls the good desire to erect a hospital within
■which such sick wayfarers might be received. And this,
with the approval of the Viceroy, given July 18, 1618,
they did ; and the hospital, and with it a little church,
was completed in the ensuing year and placed in the
charge of the Hospitaller Brothers of San Juan de Dios.
In 1696 an earthquake so injured the primitive church
that a new chui'ch, that now existing, was built. In the
exterior north w^all of the transept is the date when the
body of the church was completed, January 6, 1714. On
the tower is the date November 12, 1738, when the
tower was begun. The whole was finished, and was
dedicated under the invocation of the Immaculate Con-
ception, in the year 1763. This church, after having
been closed for a number of years, was reopened in 1873.
The primitive hospital is a mass of ruins ; but the char-
ity, under the dii'ection of the Ayuntamiento, sur\dves.
Other churches which may be visited are the Carmen,
Santa Gertrudis, San Miguel, and Guadalupe. The un-
finished dome, seen from the railway station, pertains to
an abortive chapel in the Campo Santo.

In all the churches are pictures by Gabriel Barranco,
an artist born in Orizaba, and whose hfe has been passed
in his native town. His work, naturally, has many
limitations ; but it possesses positive merits, when at its
best, of color and drawing, and is most interesting in
the character, as well as in the quality, of its expression.
Its least successful feature is its composition. The
groups are not w^ell held together, and the lack of em-
phasis upon a central figure tends to weaken the whole.
An illustration of both his good and bad qualities is his
*' Christ Tormented," in the church of San Jose de Gracia,
at the end of the west aisle. In the sacristy of this
church his " House of Nazareth," in which there is much

440 MEXICAN GUIDE.

tenderness, shows — in such touches as the Mexican mat
upon which the Child is seated, the dress of San Jose
and the Virgin, the tea-pot on a shelf against the wall,
the tools on the carpenter's bench — a genuine simphcity
of feeling that certainly tends to anachronism, but that
certainly is yery lovable. This man's work is not an
echo, but a continued embodiment of the art feeling of
Italy and Germany (even more than of Spain) of three
centuries ago ; and under conditions of isolation iden-
tical with those under which lived and worked a very
large number of the minor artists of that time. Seiior
Barranco, now a very old man, has been compelled by
blindness to abandon his brushes ; but his son, Gabriel
Barranco the younger, is an artist of much the same
quality as his father. This young man very well may
live to continue into the twentieth century a class of art
work that distinctly belongs to the sixteenth.

History. Orizaba is a Ghichimec foundation that
antedates the Conquest. Primitively it was known as
Ahauializapan (meaning "joy in the water ") ; a very
trying name, that has passed through these modifications :
Aulicava, Ullizava, Olizava, Orizaba. Here Cortes left a
small force on his march inland that, but for the lucky
arrival of Sandoval, would have been massacred after
his departure. Being above the fever level, this always
has been a favorite resting-place on the journey up from
the coast. It has been also a place of retreat during the
summer for the people of Vera Cruz, as well as a pleasure
resort in the winter for the people of the plateau. It
was a favorite resort of Maximilian's. Although it must
have been a place of some importance as early as the
year 1553 (a document of that date mentioning the ex-
istence of a flour-mill here, and so implying the pres-
ence of a considerable Spanish population), it did not

PACIIUCA AND REAL DEL MOISTTE. 441

receive its charter a,s a town until the year 1774. The
town several times was besieged during the War of In-
dependence. In the night of June 13-14, 18G2, a little
force of one hundred French Zouaves surprised and
routed, on the Cerro del Borego, a Mexican force of be-
tween four and five thousand men.

XVIL PACHUCA AND REAL DEL 3fONTE.

Practical Matters. A tramway extends from Irolo
to Pachuca, a distance of 37 miles (first class fare, $1.20).
Gargadores will carry luggage from the railway station to
the near-by Hotel de Diligencias for a real or two. The
hotel is reasonably comfortable. Eate, $2 a day. Apart
fi'om the interest attaching to the mines hereabout,
the scenery of this region is very fine — notably at Regla,
where is a fine canon of basaltic formation. Takim;'
Pachuca as a base, several days can be very pleasantly
spent in making expeditions into the picturesque and
interesting surrounding country.

Site and Characteristics. Pachuca, capital of the
State of Hidalgo, is a mining city of about 14,000 inhab-
itants, 85 miles distant by rail from the City of Mexico,
at an elevation of 8,000 feet above the level of the sea.
The city lies in a basin, and the surrounding mountains
everywhere are scarred with the openings of mines. On
the hill to the north, the Cerro de la Magdalena, were the
famous workings of the Rosario, Candado, and Xacal, all
on the Analcos vein. The more important mine now in
bonanza is the Santa Gertrudis. In all, about eighty
mines are clustered together here. In the district, tlie
workings are more than two hundred and sixty. The
city is very irregularly built ; the streets narrow^, crooked,

442 MEXICAN GUIDE.

and steep. The more important buildings are the Caja, a
handsome structure surmounted by towers, founded in
1670 by Don Sebastian de Toledo, Marques de Mancera,
as a treasury for the royal tribute received from the
mines, and as the place of sale of quicksilver (a govern-
ment monopoly) ; the Casa de Diligencias, fronting upon
the Plaza of the Diligencias ; the Casa Colorada, built in
the eighteenth century by the philanthropic Conde de
Eegia for a public granary. The aqueduct also was built
by the Conde de Regla, but the source of supply is de-
fective, and Pachuca suffers greatly for want of water —
though less since the spring of the Pefia Redonda was
made available in 1883. One of the several amalga-
mating works should be visited. That of the Loreto,
spanning the water-course that flows through the city, is
most accessible and is the largest in this region. The
Church of San Francisco, with its adjacent Chapel of the
Tercer Orden, is a foundation of 1596. The existing
church, erected under the patronage of Doiia Beatriz de
Miranda, was completed in the jesiv 1660. In the chapel
of the Tercer Orden lies buried Fray Crist6bal de la
Cruz. The buildings formerly used as a missionary col-
lege now are occupied by a school of mining engineerings
for the practical training of graduates of the Miheria in
the City of Mexico. The Feast of San Francisco, lasting
from September 30th to October 8th, is celebrated with
much enthusiasm, manifested in bull-fights, cock-fights,
and general drunkenness. Sunday, the market-day, is
celebrated in a very similar fashion.

History. Shortly after the Conquest a shepherd dis-
covered the rich silver workings here, and a miniug
camp at once sprang up that, about 1534, was made a
town. Here was invented, in 1557, by Bartolome de
Medina, the so-called " patio process " for the amalga-

PACIIUCA AND REAL DEL MONTE. 443

raation of silver ore. Among the more famous of the
niicieut mines was the Trinidad, whence was extracted
$40,000,000 in silver in ten years. The period of the
revolt against Spain, and of the subsequent civil wars,
reduced the fortunes of the city to a very low depth.
It was seized and sacked by revolutionists, April 23,
1812, when $300,000 worth of silver was taken from the
Caja, and the records of the city were destroyed. Until
1850, its fortunes continued to decline, and its j)opula-
tion greatly diminished. In this year the Eosario Mine
came into bonanza — at once reviving the city's dormant
prosj)erity.

Real del Monte. This famous mininQ- town is
reached over the fine road, now deteriorated, built to it
from Pachuca in the flush days of the English company.
The town Hes in a mountain-enclosed amphitheatre ; is
brightened by gardens, and by cultivated patches on the
surrounding slopes ; is a perfect labyrinth of narrow
streets and narrower alleys, and is about as picturesque
as a town well can be. The notable buildings are the
gTeat Maestranza, occupying an entire block, in which
are the general offices, store-rooms, machine-shops, etc.,
of the mining company ; the similar edifice, though
smaller, pertaining to the Cayetano mine ; the Presidio,
in which were housed the convicts emjoloyed as laborers ;
the Casa Grande, in which dwells the superintendent ;
the parish church, and the church of the Vera Cruz.
The general effect of the town — peaked-roof houses with
chimneys, surrounding the works of the mine — is much
more English than Mexican. The chimneys are very
necessary, for the elevation (9,100 feet) produces a chilly,
damp atmosphere, much rain, and occasional snow.
In the Cerro de Judio is the English burying-ground,
approached by a pretty causeway from the Dolores Mine.

444 MEXICAN GUIDE.

In 1739 the Biscayan, Pedro Jose Eomero de Terre-
ros, had acquired a capital of 160,000 in mining in Que-
retaro, and with this fortune set out for his home in
Spain. On his way he passed through the Pachuca dis-
trict, and was so impressed with the promise of the
Eeal del Monte region that he remained there and set
about opening the mine. He spent his $60,000, and a
considerable sum borrowed at a very high rate of inter-
est, before he liad any return. Then the mine came into
bonanza, and between the years 1762 and 1781 jielded
$12,500,000. Up to the year 1819 the mines had
jdelded upwards of $30,000,000. In this year they were
abandoned, owing to the disturbed political condition of
the country ; and a year or two later passed into the pos-
session of a limited stock company organized in England
under the name of the Real del Monte Mining Company.
The corporation took charge of the mines in July, 1824 ;
and although the property was in a ruinous condition the
company's shares, the par value for which was £100,
sold up to £16,000 in the course of the ensuing year.
Enormous sums were spent in putting the property in
order — no less than 1,500 tons of machinery was packed
up from the coast — and the entire management was
marked by a reckless extravagance. The net result of
the investment — when, in October, 1848, the company
went into liquidation — was a deficit of $4,000,000. In
all, silver to the value of $16,000,000 had been taken out ;
bat in carrying on the work $20,000,000 had been spent.
A Mexican company was organized in 1850 that ac-
quired the property and mining plant at an almost
nominal sum, and that has earned very satisfactory re-
turns.

LOS KEMEDIOS. 445

XVIIL LOS REMEDI08.

Practical Matters. This is a trj'ing expedition, in-
volving an eai'ly start and a walk of more than three
miles in the sun. The morning train is taken on the
Mexican National Kail way (coffee and bread can be pro-
cured at the Colonia Station) to San Bartolome Naucalpan,
fifteen minutes out. From the station walk north through
the httle town — stopping at ihefonda, on the left hand
side, to order breakfast to be ready against the return — •
to a railway track ; follow from this point the path lead-
ing up the hill- side, to the left. As soon as the town is
cleared, the sanctuary is in sight on the hill beyond.
The view in the course of this walk is wonderfuUj'- fine.
On the return, a very fair Mexican breakfast will be found
ready at Wi^fonda, costing four reales, with a good, very
light, beer at one real the bottle. The spare time before
the arrival of the train for Mexico can be employed in
visiting the parish church. There is one good picture
in this church — a dead Christ, with the Virgin, San Jose,
Santa Ana, and San Joaquin — in the south transept, re-
markable for the free use of gold in connection with the
color.

The Sanctuary. The high mass of buildings seen
as the sanctuary is approached has much more the ap-
pearance of a fortress than of a shrine. The large build-
ing adjoining the church was erected at the charges of
the Ayuntamiento of the City of Mexico for the housing
of the resident clergy ; and for the accommodation of
the oTeat dignitaries of the Church and State on the occa-
sion of the annual festival, September 1st ; and on the oc-
casions when these functionaries came to bring the holy

446 MEXICAT^ GUIDE.

image in state to the city, that its aid might be invoked.
The great cloister that surrounded the inner wall of the
atrium was erected to shelter the Indian pilgrims who
slept in this open place. Almost all of this cloister now
is in ruins, and all the buildings are falling into decay.
The shabby facade of the church is simple and, there
being but one small tower, rather lop-sided. Above the
doorway is a sad little figure of the Virgin, bereft by
time and weather of the bright colors that once made it
a very gay little Virgin indeed. The interior is very bare,
the pictures, illustrating the history of the Virgin, having
been long since removed. The altar dates from about
fifty years ago, and is not nearly so good as the altar that
it replaced. The silver railings which enclosed the chan-
cel took wings, together with the great silver maguey,
the jewels, and the other substantial riches of the shrine,
upon the adoption of the Laws of the Reform. In front of
the chancel a small slab of Puebla onyx inserted in the
floor bears the inscription : " This is the true spot where
was found the most holy Virgin, beneath a maguey, by the
Chief Don Juan de Aguila Tobar in the year 1540 ; [being
the spot] where she said to him, in the times of her ap-
pearance to him, that he should search for her." This
slab, in 1796, replaced a pillar (now in the inner cloister)
that had upon its top a little maguey in which was a carv-
ing of the image. Under the main altar the Cacique Don
Juan is buried.

The pictures in the sacristy are neither well painted
nor interesting. In the ante-sacristy are the illustrations
of the life of the Virgin that were inserted into the an-
cient altar. In the ante-camarin are good paintings by
Francisco de los Angeles (1699) of the Twelve Apostles.
Here also is the veritable chest, according to tradition,
in which the Indian chief sought to make the image a

LOS REMEDIOS. 447

prisoner, and from which it escaped and came back to this
hill. The camarin has a roof of very elegant stucco work,
but not to be compai'ed, in its cold whiteness, with the
splendor of the camarin at Ocotlan. It is here, to
favored visitors, that the holy image is shown — a little
wooden figure, about eight inches long, coarsely carved,
lacking one eye and a part of the nose, and very dark
brown with age. In its arms is the tiny figure of the
Child. A few pearls, small ones, still are left for the Vir-
gin's adornment ; but her great treasures, including her
rich vestments, have been carried away. Even the lamps
upon the altar, once silver, now are tin ! In the shrine
with the image is preserved, in a silken case, the gourd —
many times broken, and held together by bands of iron
and of brass — in which the good Indian offered the holy
image food to content her with his house and keep her
with him.

The Water-works. It is the especial function of this
Virgin to bring rain ; but in the matter of supplying
her own chosen abode with water she has manifested a
reprehensible carelessness. For the purpose of bring-
ing water to the sanctuary, the great aqueduct, the
tank upon the hill-side above, and the two water-towers,
were built at the charges of Don Alonzo Tello de Guz-
man, who began the work in the year 1620 and who, a
few years later, completed it, together with the hand-
some stone fountain near the entrance to the atrium, at
a cost of 115,000 — a very small sum, even with Indian
slave labor, for so great a work. But Don Alonzo's
magnificent project was without result. According to
Don Ignacio Carrillo y Perez, the official historian of
the shrine, the aqueduct was a failure, "because the
levels were not properly estimated, or because the con-
duit was wrongly laid, or because the most Holy Virgin

448 MEXICAN GUIDE.

wished tliat it should fail — to the end that those who
visited her sanctuary might gain some merit by the
trouble that they must take to satisfy their thirst." Yet
this same historian states, upon the authority of " a most
veracious person, a resident of this sanctuary," that the
aqueduct was repaired, and that water did enter the
fountain during the years 1723-24. And some support
is given to his assertion by the fact (to which he does
not refer) that upon the little water-tower, near the foun-
tain, is a stone bearing a long inscription— all of which
has become illegible, save the date, " April, 1724."

Legend and History. After leading a romantic and
somewhat adventurous life in Spain, this holj^ image was
brought to Mexico by Juan Rodriguez de Villafuerte,
one of the soldiers of Cortes. During the first and
peaceful occupation of the city of Tenochtitlan, now
Mexico, it was permitted to be set up in a shrine upon
the great Teocalli among the Aztec gods. It was carried
thence on the night of the retreat from the city, the
Noche Triste, by Villafuerte ; when he, and all that was
left of the army of Cortes, sought shelter in the temple
of Otoncapulco, that stood upon the hill of Totoltepec,
where now is the Holy Virgin's shrine. And by the tem-
ple, being too sorely wounded to carry it farther, he hid
the image beneath a maguej'-, and left it there.

In the year 1540 a certain Indian chief, a Christian,
Don Juan de Aguila Tobar— who also is known by his
heathen name of Cequauhtzin — while hunting upon this
same hill, beheld a vision of the Holy Virgin, who told
him to search beneath a maguey for her image. And
this happened not once but several times, and then the
Indian found the image and took it to his home. But
the image returned again to this hill. Then did he
bring it again to his house, and in a dish made of a gourd

LOS REMEDIOS. 449

set before it to eat tempting things. But the image re-
sisted the food and returned to this hill. Then did he
enclose the image in a great box, fastened with strong
locks ; and to make the matter still more sure he slept
upon the box's lid. But in the morning the image was
gone, and he found it once more upon the hill of To-
toltepec, beneath the maguey. Then he told to the
Fathers of San Gabriel, in Tacuba, in which town ho
lived, of these strange things which had befallen him ;
and these perceived that a miracle had been performed,
and a sign given showing that on the hill of her choice
the Vii'gin should have built a temple in her honor.
And so it was done — and the more because the Virgin
showed, by many other notable miracles, that she wished
it so to be.

The existing chiu-ch, replacing a ruinous chapel, was
erected at the charges of Don Garcia Albomos, Obrero
Mayor of the City of Mexico. It was begiin in May, 1574,
and was finished in August, 1575. The vaulted roof and
dome were added early in the seventeenth century, the
records showing that, after the completion of these im-
provements, the church again was dedicated, May 25,
1629. The camarin was added, between the years 1692-
95, at the charges of Dr. Francisco Fernandez Marmo-
lejo, Gidor of the Eeal Audencia, and his wife Dorla
Francisca de Sosa ; a master workman in stucco being
brought from Puebla expressly that he might do this
work.

Nuestra Sefiora de los Remedios was the Patroness of
the City of Mexico, and was especially invoked in sea-
sons of di^ought to bring rain ; but was invoked also
when pestilence or other calamity fell upon the city.
When her services were required she was brought into
the city in most solemn state, even the Ai'chbishop and
29

450 MEXICAlSr GUIDE.

the Viceroy following humbly in her train; and in
the Cathedral, with splendid and impressive ceremonies,
her aid was besought. With the Virgin of Guadalupe
this Virgin of Succor divided the highest religious hon-
ors of the land. Her shrine was magnificent ; the value
of her jewels and vestments was more than a million of
dollars. Her downfall was the result of her entangle-
ment in politics. After the battle of Las Cruces, Octo-
ber 30, 1810, when the Royalist forces were driven back
to Mexico by Hidalgo, Our Lady of Succor was brought
into the city with solemn ceremonies ; her aid was in-
voked against the rebels, and she formally was made
Generala of the armies of the king. She thus became
the representative of the Spanish faction, as the Virgin
of Guadalupe was representative of the Mexican. The
feeling among the Mexicans grew so bitter against her
that, when Independence was secured, the order actually
was issued — though it was not executed — for her banish-
ment from the country ! Although the ill-feeling against
her has lessened. La Gachupina, as she was derisively
called, never has recovered her lost ground. The more
notable festivals now celebrated in the church of Nues-
tra Seiiora de las Remedios are the feast of her day,
September 1st, and one peculiar to the Indians on the
fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost. As this latter is
mentioned by Vetancurt, it certainly has been observed
for at least two hundred years.

XIX. SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE.

Practical Matters. The railway station is a little
more than a mile from the town. Very ancient carriages
are on hand to meet arriving trains, and will carry four

SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE. 451

passengers or less to the hotel for four reales, and trunks
for two realea each. These carriages are available also
for expeditions to Atotonilco, to which the rate should
not exceed three, or at most, four dollars. The Hotel
Allende, on the little Plaza Mayor, is a handsome build-
ing, dating from the early part of the last century. The
rate here, hitherto, for board and lodging, has been $1.50
a day. This season the rate probably will be raised to
two dollars a day. The hotel is reasonably clean, and
the food, strictly Mexican, is by no means bad. The
beds are very hard. A good Mexican-brewed beer is
sold for one real the bottle. The baths, mentioned be-
low, are among the most delightful in Mexico.

Site and Characteristics. San Miguel de Allende
is a city of 15,000 inhabitants in the State of Guanajuato,
on the line of the Mexican National Bailway, 254 miles
from the City of Mexico (the present northern terminus
of the southern division), at an elevation of 6,000 feet
above the level of the sea. The city is built upon a de-
clivity above the valley of the Laja, and beneath the
mountain knovsm as the Cerro de Montezuma — concern-
ing the enchantments of which mountain, until the great
cross was put upon it, any well-informed citizen will
be able, and glad, to convey much valuable information.
The little plaza is terraced on its down-hill side, produc-
ing, in conjunction with the great Gothic church that
fronts upon it, and the arcades at its right, a very pict-
uresque effect.

In the southern suburb of the tovni are many beau-
tiful gardens, made fertile by the water that :&ows from
a great spring, the Chorro, on the hill-side above. The
hill-side is laid out in terraced gardens, through which
■wind stone-paved paths and stairways ; and immediately
about the spring are conveniently-arranged baths —

452 MEXICAIS' auiDE.

slightly warm in winter, and in summer cool. From a
mirador in front of the batli-liouses a fine view of the
town and of the valley and distant mountains beyond
may be had.

Churches. The parish church, dedicated to San
Miguel, erected about the middle of the past century,
now is in course of transformation into a Gothic edifice.
This curious change was planned and has been carried
on by a native of the town who has had no training as an
architect, and whose working drawings for the most part
have been traced on the ground where the stone-masons
are at work. The front and towers are nearly finished,
and, while the structure will not bear scrutiny, the gen-
eral effect is excellent. The interior of the church re-
mains as it was left after a severe course of renovation
between the years 1840 and 1846. There is an interest-
in g: camarin in which is venerated a Crucifix known as
the Senor de la Conquiata. Beneath the main altar is a
crypt in which distinguished ecclesiastics and civilians
are buried. Adjoining the parish church is the church
of San Rafael (the Santa Escuela) in which there are
some curious figures of saints — notably of San Antonio
Abad, in fine old Spanish costume, who having lost his
primitive pig has had supplied in its place a most sinis-
ter looking pig of modern Mexican manufacture. Ves-
pers, or any convenient service, should be heard in this
church, the music being remarkably fine. The Oratorio
of San Felipe Neri was founded in San Miguel in the year
1712. The most beautiful thing in the city, one of the
most beautiful things in all Mexico, is the chapel of the
Casa de Loreto that is attached to this church. This ex-
quisite creation, a jewel in carved wood, color, gilding,
delicate metal-work and glazed tiles, was the gift, in the
year 1635, of the Senor Don Manuel Tomas de la Canal

SAIsr MIGUEL DE ALLENDE. 453

and the Seiiora Dona Maria Herras de Flores, his wife —
whose portraits are preserved in the Santa Casa. The
palace in which this pious gentleman and his wife lived
is now the Hotel AUende, and the very original decora-
tion for a hotel — the figure of the Virgin of Loreto carved
in stone over the main entrance — is a relic of these its
former occupants. The family of Canal is now extinct
in this hue. In the rear of the Santa Casa is a shrine in
which are the bones of San Columban, preserved in a wax
body and greatly venerated.

Several other churches are well worth looking at : the
Concepcion, a part of the ex-convent of Capuchinas, still
preserving its convent chapel separated from the church
by a double iron grating, and containing, in a cloister,
some very gTotesque pictures ; San Francisco, with its
adjoining ex-monastery ; Nuestra Sefiora de la Soledad ;
and three or four more. The chapel of the Calvario
stands at the top of a very steep street, and below it,
extending to the plaza, where the fii'st is, are the four-
teen Stations of the Cross. Sinners did penance in for-
mer times by ascending this steep place upon their
knees, stopping at each of the Stations to make the
proper j)rayer. Near to the Calvario is the little Beate-
rio * of Santo Domingo, attached to which is a small
church built on two levels — the chancel beiug a terrace
above the nave — on the side of the hill. The space re-
served for the beatas is partitioned from the body of the
church by a wooden grating. In a dark, crooked pas-
sage, partly cut through the hillside, uniting the church
and the Beaterio, is a dark cell, formerly used for penance
and correction. The primitive town of San Miguel was

* A beaterio is a community of women not vowed, not cloistered,
not wearing the liabit of an order, but simply devoted to good
works.

454 MEXICAN GUIDE.

founded nearly three miles west of the present city ; and
on this ancient site the first small church, known as San
Miguel Viejo, is still in existence, being now upward of
three hundred years old. On the crest of a high hill in
the rear of the old town is an altar — that from below
seems to be a watch-tower — where services are held on
certain festival days.

History. Local historians insist that San Miguel was
founded by the Franciscan Fray Juan de San IVIigiiel in
the year 1542— when was built the little church, a
league westward of the town, now styled San IVIiguel el
Viejo. Historians at large insist, and in this they are
rig-ht, that the formal foundation of the town was in the
year 1560, under an order from the Viceroy Velasco to
establish hereabouts an outpost against the Chichimec
Indians. Both accounts are harmonized by the reason-
able supposition that the Viceroy's post was placed close
by the Franciscan mission. This city has an important
place in the history of Mexican Independence. The
eminent patriot Ignacio Allende was born here January
20, 1779 — from which fact his name was added to that
of the town shortly after Independence was secured.
Allende was with Hidalgo in Dolores and gave vigorous
aid to the rising of September 16, 1810 ; and when Hi-
dalgo marched to San IVIiguel, the Queen's regiment, to
which Allende belonged, then stationed there, was in-
duced to join the revolt.

Atotoniico. About ten or twelve miles north of San
Migniel is the celebrated Santuario de Jesus Nazareno de
Atotoniico, whence Hidalgo took the banner blazoned
with the Virgin of Guadalupe that became the standard
of Independence. Apart from its interesting historical
associations, this very curious sanctuary is well worth a
visit in itself. It was founded, in a place famous for

MORELIA. 455

robberies and murders, by the venerable Father Felipe
Neri de Alfaro, in tlie year 1748. There is a main
church, dedicated to Jesus Nazareno, and five large
chapels. Unfortunately, the interior of the church was
renovated in the year 1849. Pictures by Ibarra and
Rodriguez Juarez still are in place.

XX. MORELIA.

Practical Walters. A tramway extends from the
railway station into the city, passing the doors of the
hotels. Fare, Q^ cents. Trunks, two reales each — with a
trifle to the servant who brings them from the car to the
bedchamber. The new Hotel Oseguera promises to be
one of the most comfortable hotels in Mexico. Very
fair quarters and food will be found also at the Hotel de
Michoacan. At either the rate is $2 a day and upward,
according to size and location of room. The nearest
baths to the hotels (unless baths should prove to be a
part of the Oseguera establishment) are those of the
Soledad. Better baths, in the eastern suburb, are those
of the Bosque and Recreo. The post-office is in the
third block east from the southeastern corner of the
cathedral. Morelia is famous for its dulces — jams of
guava, peach, pear, and other fruits. These may be
bought in the shops on the main plaza. The curious
lacquered-ware of Uruapam may be bought in a house
diagonally across and north from the post-office, in the
street running east and west ; where also may be bought
the famous Uruapam coffee. An excellent guide-book to
Morelia (for sale for six reales in the bookstores on
the main plaza) has been prepared by Senor Lie. Juan de
la Torre. Even persons who do not read Spanish will

456 MEXicAisr guide.

do well to purchase this book because of its accompany-
ing map.

Site and Characteristics. Morelia, capital of the
State of Michoacan, is a city of about 30,000 inhabitants,
on the line of the western division of the Mexican Na-
tional Railway, 235 miles from the City of Mexico, at an
elevation of 6,200 feet above the level of the sea. It is
built upon a hill that rises in the midst of a lovely val-
ley, is very clean, very dry, has an equable and delight-
ful climate, and in general and in detail is one of the
most thoroughly satisfying cities in Mexico. At the
peak of the town is the cathedral, standing between the
gardens in the plazas of the Martyrs, to the west, and of
La Paz, to the east. From this central elevation the
streets descend in all directions toward the encircling
meadows. There are several minor plazas, and in the
eastern suburb — reached by tramway or, more satisfac-
torily, on foot along the picturesque causeway of Gua-
dalupe— is the charming Paseo de San Pedro. At the
northeast corner of this park, beyond the recently reno-
vated chapel of San Pedro, is the ruinous chapel of the
Concepcion — possibly the primitive church of Morelia,
erected probably in 1541. To the east of the park are the
foundations of the State Penitentiary, modelled upon the
plan of the Eastern Penitentiary of Pennsylvania. This
important work was begun in 1849 (under the law of De-
cember 24, 1848), and was progressing in a very satisfac-
tory manner when, in 1851, the Dictator Santa Anna confis-
cated the fund of more than $100,000 reserved in the State
Treasury for its prosecution. On the northern side of the
city, near the cemetery of the Urdiales, is the abandoned
Paseo de las Lechugas, and a partially completed stone
bridge across an unfinished drainage-canal. Tins drain-
age project came to an untimely end in 1869. The Cal-

MOKELIA. 457

zada de Guadalape was begun in the year 1732, by
Bishop Calatayud, in order to make an easy and a pleas-
ant approach to the sanctuary of Guadalupe. It is a
raised stone causewa}' (about forty feet broad and four-
teen hundred feet long), with stone parapets and stone
benches along its sides, shaded by double rows of elms.
The causeway was much improved in the latter part of
the last century. The oldest elms were planted in 1791
by the then Intendente, Don Juan Antonio de Eiano —
who was slain when the city of Guanajuato was captured
bv Hidalo^o.

The water-supply of the city is derived from a spring-
about four miles distant, whence the water is conduct-
ed through a handsome stone aqueduct. This notable
structure was erected in a year of famine, 1785, by the
then Bishop of Michoacan, Fray Antonio de San Miguel
Igiesias, in order to provide work, and so means to pro-
cure food, for the starving people. Under the great arch
of the aqueduct that spans the Calzada de Guadalupe
is an inscription, in part illegible, commemorating this
good bishop's charitable and useful work.

The main plaza, called of the Martyrs, is ornamented
by a pretty garden, dating from 1870, and is surrounded
on three sides by arcades. Here Matamoras was exe-
cuted, February 3, 1840 ; a fact commemorated by a
mural tablet in the centre of the arcade on the eastern
side. The dismal name of the plaza is derived from the
very unjust execution here, December 8, 1830, of a com-
pany of revolutionists. The plaza on the eastern side of
the cathedral, also adorned with a garden, is that of La
Paz. The Plaza of San Francisco, in front of the church
of that name, was created on the site of the former
burial-place in 1860. The market is held here.

The Palacio del Gobierno, fronting the cathedral, for-

458 MEXICAN GUIDE.

merly was the Colegio Seminario. In this building are
the chambers devoted to the State Government, the State
archives, and a public library (mainly from the library
of the Colegio de San Nicolas) of 15,000 volumes. This
building was begun in 1732. It was occupied by the
State Government in May, 1859. The house in which
Morelos was born, September 30, 1765, marked by a
commemorative tablet, is at the corner of the second
block south from the cathedral. Continuing south on
this same street to the first street on the left, and fol-
lowing this one block, the house in which Morelos lived
is seen. Here are preserved his portrait and the hand-
kerchief that was about his head when, after trial by
the Inquisition, he was shot, December 22, 1815. The
house in which Yturbide was born, September 27, 1783,
is in the first block east of the cathedral, on the left.
In the house midway in the block, on the south side of
the Plaza de los Martires, the first secret meetings in
favor of National Independence were held ; and in the
house opposite the Hotel Oseguera a party of conspir-
ators against the Spanish Government was caj^tured in
1809. The Casa Municipal is in the second block west
from the southwest corner of the plaza. The Ocampo
Theatre is at the corner of the second block north from
the northwest corner of the plaza. The bull-ring, one
of the finest in the country, is in the block west of the
end of the aqueduct. It is built entirely of stone,
will seat 3,000 spectators, and cost $20,000. It was
opened, with great ceremony, November 1, 1844. The
hipodromo is in the street running east and west, two
blocks south of the plaza. The Hotel Oseguera is in the
building, materially modified, erected for an episcopal
palace by Bishop Juan Ortega Montanez about the year
1685. SVhen this handsome building was completed,

MO RE LI A. 459

and was fnniislied at a great cost, there was some little
talk in Morelia about the propriety of a churchman's
dwelling- in so much luxury. And this talk coming to
the Bishop's ears, he straightway presented his palace to
the brothers of San Juan de Dios that they might make
of it a hospital ; and such it was for many jeavs ! The
hospital thus founded, now in the ex-convent of the Ca-
j)uchinas, is maintained by the city government.

Churches. The cathedral was founded in Tzintzun-
tzan in the year 1538 ; was removed toPatzcuaro in 1540 ;
and to Valladolid (now Morelia) by a decree of Novem-
ber 9, 1579. What probably was the primitive cathedral
building in this cit}', the present church of La Cruz, is
a bare little place ; that is interesting, however, because
of its age. The present cathedral w^as begun in 1640 ; and
was dedicated, without the towers, in 1706. The organs
were put in place in 1732 ; the towers were completed
in 1744 ; the main altar and some of the side altars were
rebuilt in 1845 ; the w^hole interior was repainted and
regilt in 1880. The handsome iron railings and gates
which enclose the atrium were erected in 1854. The
silver railings, with silver images, candlesticks, and ves-
sels, were removed from the cathedral, September 23,
1858, by the Federal Government. This act was in con-
sequence of the refusal of the chapter to pay a contribu-
tion of $100,000. The value of the property removed
is estimated at about §400,000, exclusive of the value of
the workmanship. Even with this loss, ihe valuables
remaining to the cathedral permit the mounting of the
services with unusual magnificence.

The exterior of the cathedral is impressive. On the
north front rise two peculiarly beautiful and majestic
towers. The isolation of the building— standing be-
tween the plazas of the Martyi's and La Paz — greatly

460 MEXICAlSr GUIDE.

adds to its commanding effect. The interior has lost its
charm of antiquity ; but, the renovations having been
effected in good taste, still remains strikingly magnifi-
cent. The woodwork about the choir is especially fine.
In the rich sacristy are some interesting paintings by
Rodriguez Juarez. On the eastern side of the building,
communicating with it, is the Sagrario, the head parish
church of the diocese. Here is the silver font in which
both Morelos and Yturbide were baptized.

The church of San Francisco is a foundation of 1531.
The existing church was erected early in the seventeenth
century ; the nave being completed, probably, in 1610,
which date may be read over the main portal. Unfortu-
nately, the interior was renovated in 1828. Tradition af-
firms that a secret passage leads from the vaults of San
Francisco to a point in the meadows outside of the city.
In order to make room for the market now in front of
this church (opened May 5, 1872) the chapels of the
Tercer Orden and Eosario, together with the fourteen
chapels of the stations of the cross, were destroyed, and
the ancient grave-yard was taken possession of. In the
rear of the church is a ruinous little chapel in which, it
is believed by a considerable faction, was celebrated the
first mass. Another considerable faction believes that
the first mass was celebrated in the ruined chapel of the
Concepcion, east of the Paseo de San Pedro.

The church of the Augustinians, a foundation of 1550,
is dedicated to Nuestra Sefiora de Socorro, and contains
an image of this Virgin, especially venerated because it
was presented to this convent by San Tomas de Villa-
nueva. The existing church was begun in 1650, and was
finished a few years later. It had the misfortune to be
renovated in the jesir 1838. In this church are preserved
portraits of Fray Alonzo de la Vera Cruz, the founder

MORELIA. 461

(1540) of the University of Tiripitio and (1552) of the
University of Mexico ; of Fray Juan Bautista, "the Apos-
tle of the Tierra CaHente," who died December 20, 1567 ;
and of the eminent chronicler Diego Basalenque, who
died in Charo in the year 1651. The sanctuary of Gau-
dalupe, built in the year 1708, adjoins the ex-monastery
of San Diego (now a hospital). The church was enlarged
in 1776, and the main altar, by the architect Nicolas
Luna, was erected about the year 1815. The organ is
in a richly carved case, and the organ-loft is upheld by
caryatides admirably carved. The chains which fence off
the atrium of this church formerly were used as shackles
for prisoners in the chain-gang, until the constitution of
1857 did away with this and all other infamous punish-
ments. The Carmen, a very handsome building, dating
from 1596 (renovated 1839), contains some notable pict-
ures by Juan and Nicolas Juarez, and a portrait of
Bishop Palafox y Mendoza, by Cabrera. The Com-
pafiia, including the college that was a part of the
Jesuit foundation, is a mass of buildings very rich archi-
tecturally. The existing church dates from 1681 ; but
the isolated tower is almost a century older (the date
1582 still may be deciphered upon it) and pertained to
the first church built here. The college buildings are
used for a trade-school. Other churches which may be
visited are Santa Catalina de Sena, Las Teresas, and the
Capuchinas, all of which pertained to convents of nuns ;
the Merced and San Jose.

Colegio de San ^8icolas. This is the oldest exist-
ing collegiate institution in Mexico. It was founded
in Patzcuaro, by Bishop Quiroga, in the year 1540, and
was translated to Valladolid (now Morelia) when, in
1580, that city became the seat of the See of Michoa-
can. It was then consolidated, October 10, 1580, with

462 MEXICAI^ GUIDE.

the college established in Valladolid before 1566, by
Fray Juan de San Miguel. A royal order of November
23, 1797, established in the college a law-school. The
institution was involved in the troubles incident to the
war of independence, and from 1810 until 1847 was
closed. In this latter year, through the efforts of Don
Melchor Ocampo, it was reopened ; but was closed again
during the Dictatorship of Santa Anna, and during the
reign of Maximilian. The injuries done to the college
building during the French occupation compelled its
rebuilding. The college was reopened -in temporary
quarters March 16, 1869, and took possession of its new
building, on the ancient site, in May, 1882. In the coL-
lege the portrait of Bishop Quiroga is preserved. One
of the first pupils in this institution was Don Antonio
Huitzimengari y Mendoza, son of the Calzontzin (see
Patzcuaro) so cruelly murdered by Munoz. In later
times it included among its pupils Morelos and Ytur-
bide.

Baths of Coincho. These baths are upon the hne
of the railroad about ten miles out from Morelia, in a very
picturesque region. The waters issue from the gTOund
at almost 100° Fahr. There are no conveniences for
bathing — even towels must be taken along — and pro-
visions must be carried from Morelia, for nothing to eat
can iJe bought.

History. The City of Valladolid, now Morelia, was
founded, May 18, 1541. In this year, according to the
Augustinian chronicler Fray Diego Basalenque, "the
Viceroy Mendoza found a very charming {iiuiy Undo) site
for a city, having the seven qualities which Plato de-
clares such a site should have ; and there he founded a
city with the name of his own country, Valladolid, join-
ing together some of the most noble people that were

PATZCUATiO AND TZINTZUNTZAN. 463

to be found in all the earth to be its citizens, so that
at once a small but very noble city was there." It
is very certain that no one having any knowledge of
the beauty of Morelia, and of the " hidalgma " of its
kindly inhabitants, will deny that it is a small but very
noble city even until this day.

Moreha suffered greatly during the revolutionary war,
and at this period its population fell from upward of
20,000 to less than 3,000 souls. In honor of the patriot
Morelos, the name of the city was changed from Valla-
dolid to Moreha by an Act of the Legislature of Mi-
choacan of September 12, i828.

XXL pAtzguaro and tzintzuntzan.

Practical Matters. A coach carries passengers from
the railway station into Patzcuaro at a charge of two
redes, and baggage is brought in at the rate of two
reales for each piece. The Hotel Concordia is the more
desirable, but the beds are very hard, and the food is
poor. At the Hotel Quiroga the food is a trifle better,
but the rooms are not so good. The rate at either
hotel, for food and lodging, is $2 a day for the better
rooms. On " fish days," Tuesday and Friday, the excel-
lent fish from the lake usually are served. Horses may
be hired for the expeditions to Tzintzuntzan, Uruapam,
and other points of interest, from Senor Pablo Plata.
The hiring of canoes on the lake can be accomplished
through the landlord of either of the hotels. It is
probable that by Januarj^ a steamboat will have been
launched upon the lake — to the detriment of the pictu-
resque, but providing an easy way of getting to many in-
teresting points which now are accessible only to robust

464 MEXICAN GUIDE.

travellers. Patzcuaro should be visited early in the win-
ter. As the rainy season approaches the atmosphere be-
comes thick, and this obscurity is increased by the
numerous fires of charcoal-burners, to the serious injury
of the landscape effect.

Site and Characteristics. Patzcuaro (meaning in
the Tarascan tongue " place of delights " ) is a city of
8,000 inhabitants, in the State of Michoacan, at the pres-
ent western extremity of the Mexican National Railway,
274 miles from the City of Mexico, at an elevation of 7,200
feet above the level of the sea. It is built upon hilly,
broken ground, the streets are narrow and crooked, and
the general effect is picturesque to a degree. There is
a pretty central plaza surrounded by arcades, several
minor plazas, and within the city are included upward
of fifty blocks of houses. A considerable trade is trans-
acted here between the plateau eastward and the hot
country below to the west. The local market, held on
Friday, always is interesting. Hammered copper vessels,
feather pictures, very small carvings in bone, and micro-
scopic work-boxes (little affairs of an inch or inch and
a half long, properly fitted inside, and provided with
lock and key), are among the products of the place, of
which s]3ecimens should be secured. The city is sup-
plied with water from an abundant spring, which, ac-
cording to tradition, gushed forth from the rock struck
by Bishop Quiroga with his staff. The facts that an altar
was built over the spring, and that the staff still is pre-
served in the cathedral in Morelia, attest the truth of
this tradition. From the Hill of the Calvario, at the place
known as Los Balcones, or Las Sillas, where stone seats
have been placed by the Ayuntamiento, there is a very
lovely view — the irregular city, the lake, with its three
islands, its forty-seven surrounding towns, and its gToen

PATZCUARO AND TZINTZUNTZAN. 465

shores ; and in the background the tree-clad mountains.
The path to this charming place is the causeway leading
past the foiu'teen stations of the cross to the church of
the Calvario. A \ery good view of the lake also may be
had from just in the rear of the Hotel Concordia.

Churches. Upon the removal hither of the seat of
the See of Michoacan, Bishop Quiroga set about building
a cathedral of very great size. License for this work
was given by Julian III., in a bull published, July 8, 1550,
and construction was pushed rapidly. Unfortunately,
the ground upon which the building was placed proved
to be unstable beneath the great weight, for which
reason the pi'oject was abandoned. Only the nave was
finished ; and this, the seat of the See having been re-
moved to Morelia, now is the parish church. It will
hold 3,000 people. This building was badly shaken by
the earthquake of April 7, 1845, and again by that of
June 19, 1858.

"While the great cathedral was in course of erection,
the seat of the See was the church that subsequently be-
came the Compafiia. It was at the request of Bishop
Quiroga, made direct to Loyola, that the Jesuits came to
Mexico — although their actual arrival was not until after
his death. Very properly, therefore, in this church that
he founded and that the Jesuits subsequently occupied,
is his sepulchre. In the altar on the evangel side (left
side on entering) his bones are preserved in wrappings
of silk. The figure of Nuestra Senora de la Salud,
made by order of Bishop Quiroga, is preserved in the
chiu'ch dedicated under this advocation. The exist-
ing church, built at the end of the seventeenth century,
pertained to the richest nunnery in Patzcuaro, and was
exceedingly curious and interesting. Unfortunately, it
was renovated in 1845. Other churches which may be
30

466 MEXICAIT GUIDE.

visited are San Agustin (close by the Hotel Concor-
dia), a foundation of 1576, the existing church dating
from the latter part of the seventeenth century ; San
Juan de Dios, founded about 1650, but renovated in
1841 (the hospital is maintained by the municipality) ;
San Francisco, founded by Fray Martin de Coruiia, " the
apostle of Michoacan," and containing his tomb ; Guada-
lupe, built at the beginning of the present century. The
interesting chapel of the Humilladero — rather more than
a mile from the Plaza Mayor, on the road coming from
Morelia — marks the spot where the Indians received
peacefully the first Spaniards that ever were in these
parts.

Lake Patzcuaro is a body of fresh water nearly
twenty miles long by ten miles broad. It encircles three
islands : Xanicho, with a population of upward of 1,000 ;
Xaracuaro, with a population of about 100, and Pacanda,
on which are a few families. All of this island popula-
tion, together with the greater portion of the dwellers
upon the mainland near the lake, is supported by fish-
ing. Xanicho is a progressive little community, main-
taining schools for girls and for boys, and boasting a
queer little church, San Geronimo. In the year 1791 a
feluca (sprit-rig sail-boat) was put upon the lake to serve
as a model for the Indians ; and in 1857 a six-oared barge
was placed here with the same laudable purpose. But
the iidians, while expressing abstract approval of these
fine craft, continued to use their canoes. During the
present season a steamboat, with capacity for carrying-
three hundred passengers, probably, will be put in com-
mission. From the lake many prehistoric relics — shields,
idols, pottery — have been recovered.

Tzintz»intzan (an imitative name: the sound of
humming-birds, which abound here). By trail or boat,

PATZCUAKO AND TZINTZUNTZAN. 467

this town is about 15 miles from Patzcuaro. The ride is
a hard one. Provisions must be carried along, for there
is not even afonda in the town.

Tzintzuntzan was the capital of Michoacan in the
time of the Tarascan chieftaincy. Its population before
the Conquest is stated at 40,000 souls. Its present pop-
ulation is less than 2,600. The town, built of adobe,
straggles over two low hills lying close to the eastern
edge of the lake. With the translation in 1540 of the
seat of the See of Michoacan to Patzcuaro, the importance
of the town vanished and it rapidly fell into decay. The
Franciscan establishment here was closed in 1740, and
all that now remains of the convent is a ruined cloister,
in the midst of which is a tangled garden. Near by is
«n orchard of extraordinarily large olive-trees, planted
here three centuries and a half ago ; and beneath the
olive-trees is the ancient burial-place. The chaj)els of
the Tercer Orden and the Hospital still exist, though
falling into ruin ; and the convent church, a bare, shabby
place, is in a little better order only because it has been
made the parroquia. The one industry of the little
town is potting, and the potteries will be found worth a
visit. In the forlorn Casa Municipal is an interesting
picture of the Calzontzin Sinzicha receiving Christian-
ity. Excavations were undertaken here in 1855 by Father
Aguirre, with the result of laying bare the beginning of a
subterranean passage. Without any acts of violence,
but simply by filling up the excavated place, the Indians
put a stop to the further progress of the work.

The only really important point of interest in Tzin-
tzuntzan— seeing which more than balances all the diffi-
culties and discomforts of making the expedition even
on horseback — is the picture in the sacristy of the par-
ish church : an Entombment, attributed to Titian. Sur-

468 MEXICAN GUIDE.

rounding the dead Christ are the Virgin, Magdalen,
Saint John, and seven other figures, all life-size. The
tradition concerning this picture asserts positively that
it is by Titian, and that it was sent to Bishop Quiroga by
Philip II. — and in substantiation of this assertion the
figure at the extreme right, in the background, is pointed
to as that of the royal donor. Intrinsic evidence sup-
ports the tradition. The extraordinarily fine color, the
composition, the grouping, the attitudes of the individual
figures, the treatment of the lights and shades, and the
quality of the bit of landscape in the background, all
seem to indicate Titian as the master. An effort on the
part of the Archbishop of Mexico to purchase this v^ork
was unsuccessful. The Indians absolutely refused to per-
mit the picture to be taken away.

Iguatzio. This little town lies close to Tzintzun-
tzan, with which it communicates by a well-paved road.
It is remarkable because of its many prehistoric re-
mains : A pyramid that now serves as ^ plaza de armas;
the remains of a fortress or tower ; sepulchres from
which ornaments, idols, arms, and implements of various
sorts have been taken. Two timbered subterranean
passages found here remain unexplored. Tradition de-
clares that they communicate with the passage discov-
ered in Tzintzuntzan in 1855. The paved surface road-
way between the two towns also antedates the coming
of the Spaniards.

History. After the conquest of the Valley of Mexico,
embassies passed between Cortes and the Tarascan Cal-
zontzin {i.e., chief) Sinzicha ; and in the end the Tarascan
ruler begged that Cortes would send him teachers to teach
his people how to worship the powerful Christian gods.
And missionaries went to them, and many of them became
Christians ; and all were inclined to listen to the preaching

PATZOUAKO AND TZINTZUNTZAN. 469

of the Christian faith. The end of this good order of
things came through the evil acts of Nino de Guzman.
This man, the President of the first Audencia, came into
IVIichoacan at the head of an army, with which he had
set out for the conquest of JaHsco. He levied ujDon
the C^lzontzin for 10,000 men and much treasure. The
men were provided ; bat the tribute to the Spaniards
having almost exhausted the chief's treasury, very little
treasure could be brought. Guzman believed that the
treasure was being concealed fi'om him. Therefore he
burned the Calzontzin to death ; and other horrid tort-
ures he applied to other chiefs. And the people, mad-
dened with terror, fled from their homes to the moun-
tains and refused at all to return.

To remedy the many evils done in Mexico by the
first Audencia, for the ill-doing was not confined to
Michoacan, the Emperor Charles V. selected very care-
full}^ the members of the second Audencia from among
the wisest and best men of Spain. And one of its mem-
bers w^as an eminent lawyer, the Licenciado Vasco de
Quiroga. Being come to Mexico, and hearing of the
condition of things with the Tarascan Indians, Don
Vasco himself went, in the year 1533, to the depopulated
towns ; and wdth an admirable patience and gentleness
and love, prevailed at last upon the terror-stricken In-
dians to have faith in him and return to their homes.
The Bishopric of Michoacan then was founded, and this
mitre — having been renounced by Fray Luis de Fuen-
salida — was offered to Quiroga, though he was then a
layman, by the Emperor Charles V. Therefore Quiroga
took holy orders, and, having been raised quickly through
the successive grades of the priesthood, was consecrated
a bishop, and took possession of his See in the church of
San Francisco in Tzintzuntzan, August 22, 1588 ; being

470 MEXICAN GUIDE.

himself at this time sixty-eight years old. As bishop he
completed the conquest through love that he had be-
gun while yet a layman. He established schools of let-
ters and the arts ; introduced the manufacture of copper
ware and other metal working ; imported from Spain
cattle and seeds for acclimatization ; founded hospitals ;
and established, the first university (San Nicolas, now in
Morelia) that ever w^as in New Spain. This holy man
died at XJruapam, while engaged upon a diocesan visi-
tation, on the evening of Wednesday, March 14, 1565,
being nearly ninety-six years old. To this day his per-
sonality is a living force in Michoacan ; his name is rev-
erenced, his memorv is loved.

The City of Michoacan was founded by a royal order
given, February 28, 1534, by the Emperor Charles V.,
and the territory over which this city had jurisdiction
included, both Tzintzuntzan and Patzcuaro. In all an-
cient documents the two towns are referred to as a single
city. In moving the seat of his See, therefore, Bishop
Quiroga did not go outside of the chartered limits
of the Cit}'' of Michoacan. Very little of Tzintzunt-
zan was left after the migration, for the colony that was
planted in Patzcuaro consisted of twenty families of
Spaniards, and upward of 30,000 Tarascan Indians. The
seat of the See was translated finally to Valladolid (now
Morelia, which see) by a decree of November 9, 1579.

XXII. MONTEREY.

Practical Matters, A tramway extends from the
railway station to the Plaza Mayor, fare 6^ cents.
Carriages may be hired at the station for four reales for
four passengers or less. Trunks can be brought in on

MONTEREY. 471

carriages for t-wo realcs ; or may be sent in on a cart for
the same price. The least objectionable of the hotels is
the Hidalgo, in the rear of the Casa Municipal, near the
main plaza. The other hotels are the Yturbide and
Leader. At each of these the rates range from $1.50 to
82.50 a day (according to quality of room) for board and
lodging. To secure less than the highest rate a bar-
gain must be made in advance. The more desirable
baths in the city are those of the Befugio, in the Calle
del Dr. Mier. Carriages are for hire (in the plaza in front
of the Hotel Hidalgo) for four reales an hour. On feast-
days the rate is six reales an hour. A tramway extends
westward from the main plaza to the foot of the hill on
which stands the Obispado Viejo (fare, one real), and
thence, passing near the alameda, to the hot baths at
Topo Chico (fare, two reales). The post-office is on the
south side of the Plaza Mayor. The excellent white wine
of Parras sometimes can be bought (for about $5 the
dozen) at the drug store at the corner of the Calles del
Teatro and Dr. Mier.

The Hot Baths. At Topo Chico, about three miles
north of the city, are hot baths reputed to possess valu-
able curative qualities in nervous, rheumatic, and other
diseases. The temperature is 106°. A large a.nd well-
arranged bathing establishment is in course of erection
at the springs, and is announced to be in readiness for
use by Februar^^ 1, 1887. A tramway extends from the
main plaza to Topo Chico : fare, two reales ; including
bath ticket, four reales.

Site and Characteristics. Monterey, capital of the
State of Nuevo Leon, is a city of about 20,000 inhabitants,
on the line of the Mexican National Railway, 172 miles
southwest of Laredo, at an elevation of 1,800 feet above
the level of the sea. Although invaded by an American

472 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Colony, this city still is essentially Mexican ; and a
traveller who cannot take time for a long journey into
Mexico readily may obtain here in a week or a fort-
night a very good notion of Mexican manners and cus-
toms, as well as a comforting association with the roman-
tic and picturesque. The city is built upon broken
ground in the midst of a great plain, from w^hich rises
on the east the Cerro de la Silla (4,149 feet) and on the
west the Cen-o de las Mitras (3,618 feet). To the south
is the magnificent sweep of the Sierra Madre. A spur
of the Mitras juts out above the city to the west, and on
this is perched commandingly the building known as the
Obispado Viejo. In the very heart of the city is the
great spring, the Ojo de Agiia. The little Plaza Mayor
is a charming garden, in the midst of which is a quaint
fountain. Fronting upon the plaza is the handsome ca-
thedral, and near by is the ancient church of San Fran-
cisco— where, in the old convent garden, grows a single
stately palm. Northwest of the city is a neglected ala-
meda ; beyond this the curious Campo Santo, and in this
vicinity are bushy lanes very pleasant either for walking or
riding. Along the highway leading west from the city
are many charming country places — casas de reereo : houses
standing in great gardens fed by abundant water and full
of fruit and flowers. In the northeastern quarter of the
city is the bridge of the Purisima, on which there was
some sharp fighting in 1846. The more important build-
ings, aside from the churches, are : The Casa Municipal,
on the west side of the Plaza Mayor ; the Episcopal Palace,
just south of the cathedral ; the State Government build-
ing ; the large theatre. The bull-ring is merely a shed.
West of the city, on a spur of the Mitras, is the building-
mentioned above, the old Episcopal Palace ( Obispado Viejo).
This very picturesque building, now occupied as an ai*til-

MONTEREY. 478

lery barrack and falling into decaj^, was erected between
the years 1782-90 by Bishop Verger ; not as liis formal
abiding-place, but as a palacio de recreo — where his Epis-
copal dignity might unbend a little, and where, after his
labors, he might find refreshment and ease. North of
the city is a ruinous mass of buildings known as " the
black fort." Here was begun, about 1792, the first ca-
thedral. The site was abandoned for that occupied by
the existing cathedral ; and u]3on the available founda-
tion was reared the Citadel at the time of the American
invasion.

Churches. The cathedral is a modern structure,
begun in the last decade of the last century and conse-
crated July 4, 1833. It never was remarkable for the
richness of its decorations, and its various injuries and
losses in war times have left it still more bare. At the
time of the American attack upon the city it was used
as a powder-magazine — and only a series of lucky acci-
dents saved it, amidst the bursting shells, from being
blown into fragments. The building is very massive,
and its exterior effect, while rather heavy, is decidedly
impressive. The oldest religious foundation in the city
probably is the church of San Francisco, that dates, pos-
sibly, from 1560 ; and that certainly was not founded
later than 1596. Upon the site of the primitive church
building is a ruinous structure that dates from the early
part of the seventeenth century ; and adjoining this is
the existing church, dating from 1730. The convent
now is the city jail. The church of Nuestra Senora del
Koble, in which the miraculous image of Our Lady of
the Oak is enshrined, is a large and handsome building,
begun in the year 1855, and as yet not quite completed.

In the convent of the Caridad, now occupied by an ad-
mirably organized charity school, is an unfinished clois-

474 MEXICAN GUIDE.

ter with very elegant hanging key-stones. The convent
of the Capuchinas now is used as a hospital. South of
the city, on the foot-hills of the Sierra, are the chapels of
Guadalupe and Lourdes — the last completed in 1882.

Excursions. Garcia, or Pesqueria, 20 miles south of
Monterey by rail, is a very picturesque little adohe town.
Near by are two notable caves, which may be visited in
company with Senor Sanchez, a trustworthy guide. Pro-
visions should be carried along, as there is no fonda in
Pesqueria. The Potrero, a meadow surrounded by very
high mountains and reached through a fine canon, may
be visited from Monterey by carriage — an interesting
drive (along the great highway to the south) to the town
of Santa Catarina, and thence to the Potrero — in all,
about 12 miles. This is a favorite place for picnic parties.
Excursions also may be made to the cotton-mills at Santa
Catarina, to the village of Guadalupe, about four miles
east of the city, and to the hot baths at Topo Chico, men-
tioned above.

History. The first settlement here, made about the
year 1560, was known as Santa Lucia ; and the little
stream that crosses the city from west to east still bears
this name. The formal settlement was made in Sep-
tember, 1596, by Fray Diego de Leon ; at which time
was conferred the title of city and the name of Monterey
— in honor of Don Gaspar de Zuniga, Conde de Monte-
rey, the then viceroy. At the time of the American in-
vasion Monterey was garrisoned by a force of upward
of 9,000 men, commanded by General Ampudia. The
city was attacked by General Taylor, commanding a
force of 7,000 men, September 21, 1846, and, after three
days of hard fighting, surrendered on the 24th. The
most brilliant feature of the attack was the storming of
the Obispado Viejo by General Worth on the morniog

CUERNAVACA. 475

of the 21st, and of the height above on the ensuing da}'.
Possession of these positions virtually assured the sur-
render of the city.

XXIII. CUERNA VA GA.

The Journey. A regular line of diligencias -plies be-
tween the City of Mexico and Cuernavaca, leaving the
city at 6 a.m. on Mondays, "Wednesdays, and Fridays,
and returning on the following days. The fare each
way, including an allowance of twenty-five pounds of lug-
gage, is $4.50, Mexican money. Seats should be secured
in advance at the general offices of diligencias in the rear
of the Hotel Yturbide. A rough and uncomfortable
drive of more than two hours can be avoided by taking
the tramway to Tlalpam, and there claiming the re-
served seats. This journey of a day is a thoroughly
characteristic bit of diligence travel, with the added ad-
vantao'es of following? a road that leads throuq'h wonder-
fully fine scenery to a very picturesque and historically
interesting town — the favorite dwelling-place of Cortes,
and the favorite dwelling-place also of Maximilian.

From Tlalpam the road ascends steadily, and by steep
grades, the pass between Ajusco and Tapucia — giving a
fine view northward of the Valley of Mexico, with Tlal-
pam and the Pedregal in the foreground ; Coyoacan,
Churubusco, and San Angel in a line beyond ; Tacubaya
and Chapultepec still further ; the City of Mexico in the
middle distance, and in the background the Guadalupe
Mountains. At El Guarda (where breakfast is served),
an old defensive outpost, nearly 10,000 feet above sea-
level, the highway from Xochimilco and points to the
eastward enters the main road by a pass on the eastern
side of Tapucia. Some distance beyond this point, at

476 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Cruz del Marques (where the Marques del Valle de Oa-
xaca, otherwise Cortes, set up a cross to mark the north-
ern boundary of his Cuernavaca estate), the long descent
begins — and does not end until Cuernavaca is reached,
about 2 P.M.

Practical WSatters. The Diligencias, at which the
diligencia brings up, is a fairly comfortable hotel in a
strikingly picturesque situation. The rate is $2 a d-^j.
Arrangements may be made at the diligencia office for
horses, or for a coach, for expeditions into the surround-
ing country. If the negotiation is conducted with a cour-
teous diplomacy very reasonable terms may be secured.
There are excellent baths in the town and in the sub-
urbs.

Site and Characteristics. Cuernavaca (literally,
" cow-horn," a corruption of the primitive name Quauh-
nahuac, meaning, " where the eagle stops ") is a city
of 12,000 inhabitants, the capital of the State of Mo-
relos. The Cuernavaca Valley lies at an elevation of
nearly four thousand feet above sea-level, and, being
abundantly watered, is one of the most fertile regions,
and one of the most important sugar-producing districts,
in Mexico.

The town of Cuernavaca, at an elevation of 4,900 feet
above the sea, is built upon a headland that projects into
the valley between two steep barrancas, or ravines. Be-
ing plentifully supplied with water, the whole town is
a garden, and is almost buried in abundant masses of
trees. The winter climate is very delightful, and excel-
lent fruit abounds here ; with which tropical luxuries
are the tropical drawbacks of venomous insects and rep-
tiles. The streets of the io^^^l are narrow and crooked,
with the single exception of the Calle Nacional. The
houses for the most part are roofed with red tiles — pro-

CUEKNAVAOA. 477

ducing a veiy pleasing eilect when the town is looked
down upon from the Cerro de Calvario and the red roofs
are seen amidst the green masses of the trees. The
Plaza Mayor is irregular in shape, and is adorned with a
garden. The Plaza de Mercado is a recent erection, at
a cost of $20,000. What was the palace of Cortes is
now the State Government building, including the cham-
bers of the legislature, the courts, jail, and offices. The
building had fallen into a ruinous condition, when it w^as
repaired and devoted to these uses in 1872. The other
place of especial note is the Jardin de Borda — the garden
surrounding the house built by the rich miner, Joseph de
la Borde. The garden lies on a terraced slope and is full
of fruit and flowers. There are great tanks, and every-
where little running streams. In the day of its perfec-
tion this place was a realization of a dream of fairyland.
Even now, though falling into decay, it is very beauti-
ful. Joseph de la Borde, or, as he was known in Mexico,
Jose de la Borda, born in the year 1700, came from
France to Mexico when but sixteen years old ; and by
his fortunate mining ventures at Tlalpujahua, Tasco, and
Zacatecas, he made a fortune of $10,000,000. Upward
of a million was spent in the creation of this garden.
Another million was spent in building and decorating
the great church at Tasco.

Churches. January 2, 1529, there came to Cuerna-
vaca, to found the church and convent of San Francisco,
certain brothers of the Franciscan order, among them
Fray Juan Torribio Benevente, called Motolinia ; and
the establishment founded under such w^orthy auspices
was one of the most important that pertained to the
order in Mexico. The church, large, high, commanding,
is a single gxeat nave, with several dependent chapels.
In the tower is a clock that tradition tells was in the

478 MEXICAIT GUIDE.

clock-tower of the Segovia cathedral, and thence was
sent by Charles V. to Cortes. Other churches are the
Tercer Orden, the Asuncion (the parish church), San
Pedro, Guadalupe (built by Jose de la Borda the
younger), and the Calvario, on a height just outside the
city.

Suburban Expeditions. Near the city are the
Springs of Guadalupe, and others, whence the water-
supply is drawn ; and in this region are three cascades.
The larger of these, about 25 feet high, is in the ravine of
Tlaltenango ; there is another in a little ravine off from
that of Amanalco, and the third, over basaltic rocks, is
in the barrio of San Antonio. This suburb of San An-
tonio is reached by way of a well-built road. There are
potteries here which will repay a visit, and below the
water-fall is a charming? lake. In the rear of the house
called the Casa de Cortes (not to be confounded with the
Palacio de Cortes, in the city proper) is a solitary rock
upon which are prehistoric carvings ; and on the crest
of a little hill near by is a lizard, about eight feet long,
carved in stone. A league to the southeast, on a hill
called Quauhtetl (meaning stone eagle), is an eagle nearly
a yard across, carved in stone. A very interesting ex-
pedition may be made to one of the many sugar hacien-
das in the vicinity. Several of these are worthy of note
because of their antiquity — as that of Temisco, a great
building in the old Spanish style erected soon after the
Conquest. At the hacienda of Atlacomulco may be seen,
in addition to the growing cane, plantations of coffee and

oranges.

History. Cuernavaca was captured by Cortes, aided
by his Tlascalan allies, before siege was laid to the City of
Mexico ; and from its capture dates its foundation as a
Christian town. In the municipal archives, documents

AMECAMECA. 479

relating to the conquest and settlement may be seen.
The valley of Cuernavaca was included in the grants made
to Cortes by the Emperor Charles V. ; and upon his estate
here, his favorite abiding-place, he began in Mexico the
cultivation of the cane. It was upon this estate that the
last years of the Conqueror's life in Mexico were passed.

Excursions. From Cuernavaca an interesting, but
rather rough, expedition of eighteen miles on horseback
may be made to the ruins of Xochicalco. These, re-
garded variously as remnants of a temple or a fortress,
surmount a rocky eminence nearly two miles in circum-
ference. Their most important feature is a portion of a
well-constructed stone building that measures seventy-
six by sixtj^-eight feet. A still rougher expedition, of
tliree or four days, may be made to the famous caves of
Cacahuamilpa, about forty-five miles to the south.

The return from Cuernavaca to Mexico may be made
by the diligencia, or by hiring horses and riding across
to Yautepec, in the very early morning, and thence by
rail. (See Interoceauic Bail way.) The ride is through
the beautiful cane country, with magnificent mountain
scenery constantly in sight.

XXIV. AMECAMECA.

Practical Information. The Hotel Ferro Carril,
close to the railway station, is a bare little place, with
very hard beds ; but it is clean, the food is very fair,
and the landlord, Sefior Manuel Tiracla, is a gentle,
obliging man whose good-natured desire to do every-
thing that a landlord ought to do really is one of the
attractions of the place. Rates, |2 a day for food and
lodging. For terms of a week or longer the rate is re-

480 MEXICAN GUIDE.

duced to 12 reales a day. A crude red wine is sold for
$1 the bottle ; good Mexican-brewed beer, two reales the
bottle ; excellent pu/^ we, free. The desirable rooms to
secure are those in the southeast corner of the hotel,
commanding — across the high peaked roofs of the town
— the great view of the volcanoes. (See Interoceanic
Railway.)

Site and Characteristics. Amecameca, a town of
10,000 inhabitants, in the State of Mexico, on the line
of the Interoceanic Railway, lies at the eastern base of
the volcanoes, on the farther side of a wide valley, at an
elevation of 7,600 feet above the level of the sea. A
visit to Mexico that does not include a short sta^^ here
is incomplete — for the view from the terrace of the
Sacro Monte (almost as good from the windows of the
hotel) is one of the great views of the world. If possi-
ble, the visit here should be made in Januarv, when the
crests of the mountains are not likely to be obscured by
clouds.

The Sacro !V!onte. A secondary attraction, in it-
self very well worth a visit, is the shrine of the Sacro
Monte. The little hill thus named, rising abruptly from
the plain, and covered with a thick growth of trees, was
the favorite abiding-place of the good Fray Martin de
Valencia, one of the " Twelve Apostles." (See The Re-
ligious Orders.) This holy man was greatly beloved by
the Indians, for his goodness to them ; and he was so
loved of wild creatures that many little animals came to
live near him upon the Sacro Monte, and great flocks
of sweet-singing birds sang to him from the branches of
the trees. His home was the cave, that now is the ca-
Tuarin of the shrine. And it is said that after his death
and burial at Tlalmanalco the Indians secretly removed
his body thence and buried it here in the cave ; that his

AMECAMECA. 481

presence might be with them, and that his bones might
rest in the place where he had so loved to dwelL

In the shrine is preserved a greatly reverenced image
of the dead Christ, called of the Holy Sepulchre (Santo
Intierro), that tradition declares Fray Martin himself
placed here about the year 1527. This is possible, yet
it must be noted that the chronicler Mendieta, while
mentioning the Sacro Monte, and the fact that Fra}'-
Martin dwelt here, does not mention the image as being
here also. Another legendary account of the matter is
that certain muleteers, who were carrying holy images
to a southern town, lost from' their train hereabouts the
mule upon which this image was packed. And when
the mule was found he was standing quietly in the cave
upon the mount. Thus it was seen of all the townspeo-
ple that the image was pleased to abide here with them
for theu' protection ; therefore they bought it of the
muleteers and placed it in a shrine in the cave that it
had chosen to be its home. Whichever of these leo"ends
is true, at least it is certain that the image has been in
this place for more than three centuries — since before
the year 1550. It is made of a very light material,
probably the pith of corn-stalks prepared with some
sort of gum, and although it is life-size it weighs but a
little more than two pounds. A great pilgrimage is made
to this shrine every year, in Holy-Week. When these
pilgrimages began is unknown — possibly they are survi-
vals, as in the case of the shrine of Guadalupe, of a rite
antedating Christianity. The beginning of the annual
festival (for it really is a festival, not a fast, as it strictly
should be) is on Ash- Wednesday, when the image is
brought down from its shrine and placed in the parish
church, and when a fair is held in the town. The great
fair of the year is held in Holy- Week ; and on Good-
31

482 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Friday the feast culminates in the return of the image
to its shrine. Preceding its return, a masque of the
Passion is played in the atrium of the parish church.
This is a most curious and interesting exhibition, in
which the actors are Indians ; a veritable bit of the Mid-
dle Ages in which may be seen in crude realism Avhat at
Oberammergau has become little more than a mere the-
atrical performance. It is much better worth seeing
than is the more conventional celebration in the cathe-
dral in the City of Mexico. Until the yeai* 1885 the
bringing down and carrying up of the holy image from
and to its shrine was attended with solemn ceremonials
and a great procession — the law forbidding religious pro-
cessions to the contr^'y notwithstanding. In 188(3, for
the first time in more than three centuries (the new law
being then enforced) the processions did not take place.
In the interest of the picturesque it is to be regretted
that this curious custom has come to an end. The re-
turn of the image, up the ^vinding- causeway to its shrine
on the hill, after dark on Good-Friday evening, accom-
panied by a gi^eat multitude of Indians bearing torches,
was one of the most curious and most striking spectacles
to be seen in Mexico. This festival, like that of Guada-
lupe, is managed mainly by the Indians themselves.
Visitors on Ash- Wednesday should not fail to see the
religious daxice in the porch before the shrine. In wit-
nessing this festival at Amecameca, or any religious fes-
tival in which the majority of the participants are In-
dian^ not only good breeding but personal safety re-
quires the manifestation of all outward signs of respect,
and entire absence of anything, in word or gesture, that
implies amusement or contempt.

In order to provide for the annual procession, a stone
causeway has been made upon the hiUside, in the course

AMECAMECA. 483

of which is a little chapel and the fourteen Stations of
the Cross. Very devout pilgrims make the ascent of
this rougli, stony place upon their knees. The shrine
proper is an octagonal building of comparatively recent
erection, to which the cave is the camarin. A great many
ex votos hang here — thank-offerings from those whom
the Santo Intierro miraculously has preserved from dan-
gers, or directly saved from death. From the terrace is
the great view of the volcanoes. The large church and
convent southward, in the valley, are the most obvious
features of the little town of Ayapango. On the crest of
the Sacro Monte, at a considerably higher level than the
shrine, is the chapel of Guadalupe. In this is a joainting
of certain of the hermit saints by Villalobos. A really
good picture, nearly rotted from its frame, the Virgin of
the Castle, hangs high upon the eastern wall. In the
hard clay hereabouts are seen crude gravings of hands
and feet, occasionally with the cross. These are the
work of pilgrims, in tangible evidence that their hands
and feet have been upon the holy place. Another curi-
ous custom of the pilgrims, " for good luck," is that of
leaving some part of their possessions — usually a rag torn
from their dress, with hairs from their head — fastened
upon the trees of the holy hill.

History and Matters of Interest, The town of
Amecameca was founded before the Conquest. The cu-
racy was established and the parish church was begun
by the Dominicans in 1547. The existing church dates
from about the year 1709. It is a large and handsome
building, containing some curious carvings by Miranda,
and a fairly good picture of Christ bearing the Cross.
It is dedicated to Nuestra Seiiora de la Asuncion and
San Sebastian. Over the arched entrance to the atrium
the legs of San Sebastian remain— the rest of this unfor-

484 MEXICAN GUIDE.

tunate saint having fallen in the earthquake of 1884.
Upon the arch under which passes the way from the
church to the Sacro Monte is a statue of San Simon Sti-
htes. Upon the wall of the abandoned chapel of the
Santa Escuela is a glazed tile bearing an inscription of
gratitude to Yturbide, " our Liberator ;" and asking that,
in thankfulness and Christian charity, prayers be said
for the repose of his soul. The little chapel of the Eo-
sario, in the eastern part of the town, has rather good
carved wooden doors, a fair altarpiece, and excellent
carved fio-ures of Santa Ana and San Jose. "What was
the most interesting relic in the town, the surviving tower
of the very ancient foundation of San Juan, was destroyed
by the earthquake of 1884. The material of the tower
was used in the construction of the Casa Municipal on
the west side of the Plaza Mayor.

Near the town of Amecameca, at Nepantla, was born
ihe " musa Mexicana," Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, the
celebrated Mexican poetess of the seventeenth century.
The present literary celebrity of the town is due to the
fact that the present Vicario Foraneo is Sr. Br. D. Fortino
Hipolito Vera, the learned editor of the new edition of
Beristain y Souza and a recognized authority in Mexican
ecclesiastical history.

Ascent of Popocatepetl. Amecameca is the point
of departure from the railway in making the ascent of
Popocatepetl. Provisions for the expedition can be ob-
tained at the Hotel Ferrocarril — canned meats, and
wines and liquors, however, should be brought from
the city. Arrangements for horses, guides, 'etc., can be
made with Sr. Juan Noriega Mijares, the pro23rietor of the
large shop, La Flor de Amecameca, on the north side of
the Plaza Mayor. A note from General Ochoa, the
owner of Popocatepetl, will greatly facilitate these ar-

MIIS^OR CITIES AND TOWN'S. 485

rangements ; as well as a cordial reception by his agents
at the sulphur works on the mountain. The first night
is passed at General Ochoa's rancho, Tlamacas, at an
elevation of 13,000 feet. On the ensuing morning the
ascent should be begun at a very early hour ; on horse-
back to the snow line, and thence upward on foot. The
descent into the crater can be made by means of the
bucket and windlass used by the sulphur- gatherers. The
second night, also, is passed, in returning, at Tlamacas.
Amecameca is reached in time for mid-day breakfast,
before returning to Mexico on the afternoon train. The
cost of this expedition, for a party of four — including
railway fares, meals at hotels, and all other incidental
expenses — is about $25 apiece. The expedition is a
very exhausting one, and should be undertaken only by
strong persons in good health. It is especially perilous
to those suffering from affections of the heart. Its dis-
comforts are manifold. The sulphur rancho consists
of a draughty shelter, and a terribly bad smell ; the
walk upward through the snow is a severe physical
strain. The more necessary preparations for the ascent
are : Light but warm woollen clothing, including woollen
mittens ; cotton-cloth swathings for the feet ; an outfit
of thick blankets — which are not to be had at Tlama-
cas, and which the severe cold at night renders indispen-
sable ; smoked glasses, and plenty of nourishing food.

XXV. MINOR CITIES AND TOWNS.

Acambaro. A town of 10,000 inhabitants, in the
State of Guanajuato, on the line of the Mexican National
Railway, the point of junction of the Western Division
with the main line, 178 miles from the City of Mexico.

486 MEXICAN GUIDE.

There is a restaurant at the railway station, where the
service is bad and the food tolerably good. Meals here
cost six reales. A small hotel in the town affords poor
meals for four reales each, and doubtful rooms at a dol-
lar a day.

Acambaro (meaning, in the Tarascan tongue, "the
place where the maguey abounds ") lies in the Lerma
Valley, in the midst of a fertile and beautiful country.
Lying on the line of the old highway to the west coast,
it formerly was a halting-place of some importance, and
even at one time had a considerable trade of its own. It
was in this period of prosperity that the great stone
bridge — replacing an earlier structure — was built across
the Lerma by the Ayuntamiento of the town. Now it
is of no importance at all — only a delightful do-nothing,
down-at-heel, little Mexican town. However, the manu-
facture of woollens is carried on here in a small way ;
and if the inhabitants — who mainly are Tarascan and
Otomite Indians — ever realize that their town is an im-
portant railway junction, it is possible that the commer-
cial fortunes of Acambaro may revive. From the stand-
point of the picturesque this will not be a desirable
change. "With its tumble-down one-story adobe houses,
its pretty, little, neglected plaza, where the Mexican
eagle sits on a fountain complacently eating his snake,
and with townsfolk who are content to sun themselves
and be thankful that sunshine is so cheap and so plen-
tiful, the town is very satisfactory just as it is.

The town, in the present State of Guanajuato, w^as
founded September 19, 1526, by Nicolas Montanes de
San Luis, Cacique of Xilotepec, an Otomite ally of the
Spaniards, who also went with Don Fernando de Tapia
to the conquest of Queretaro. This cacique has left be-
hind him a most quaint and delightful diary of his mil-

MINOR CITIES AND TOWNS. 487

itary operations, the temptation to quote at length from
which is very strong indeed. On the 20th, the day after
the founding, Don Nicolas and his little army paraded
with much dignity through what were to be the streets
of the town ; then they assisted at the celebration of the
mass in a temporary chapel erected where the parish
church now stands ; and after the mass the town officers
were named.

The convent and church of San Francisco, the latter
now the parish church, were founded contemporaneously
with the founding of the town. Both were rebuilt, of
stone, in 1529 ; and in 1532 the existing church was
begun. It was completed a few years later, and is one
of the oldest church buildings in Mexico. Fortunately,
its interior has not been changed, at least not within the
past two centuries — and there is about the place a com-
forting feeling of conservative antiquity. This church
was sacked during the war of the Independence by the
revolutionists. Adjoining it is the deserted convent, and
a hospital of which only the chapel survives. The large
church-yard is shaded by great trees. In one corner of
this enclosure stands the unfinished chapel, of handsome
design and built of well-cut stone, that was begun by
the then cura, Fray Macedonio Romero, in 1850, as a
thank-offering for the town's escape from cholera. It
was to have been dedicated to Nuestra Sefiora del Re-
fugio— and may be yet, should escape from another pes-
tilence ever stir up the towns-people to complete it. The
one other church of importance, Guadalupe, is not es-
pecially interesting. In the street of AmargTira is a curi-
ous series of fourteen little chapels, the stations of the
cross, ending at the chapel of the Soledad on the crest
of a low hill.

Good drinking-water is brought to the town by an

488 MEXICAN GUIDE.

aquerluct built in the year 1527 by the Franciscan Fray
Antonio Bermul. Aqambaro, commanding the great
western highway, is a point of military importance,
and for this reason has had rather more than its share
of sieges and assaults. It was here that Hidalgo con-
centrated his army previous to moving on the City of
Mexico in 1810.

Celaya. A city of 18,000 inhabitants, in the State of
Guanajuato, on the lines of the Mexican Central and
Mexican National Railways (which here cross), 1,042
miles south of El Paso and 182 miles north of Mexico.
A tramway extends from the x'ailway stations (near to-
gether) to the pretty little main plaza. Fronting upon
the plaza, about midway in the Portal de Guadalupe, is
the Hotel Guadalupe, where food and lodging may be
obtained for $2 a day. A bath will be found at the
corner of the Calles de la Cruz and San Agustin, near
the church of San Agustin. The dulces, for which the
town is famous, may be bought in either of the dulcerias
in the arcade near the hotel.

Celaya, built in the broad valley of the Laja, but at a
distance of more than two miles from the stream, is a
city of some commercial importance. "Woollen cloth,
cotton prints, rebosos, soap, and sweetmeats are its prin-
cipal manufactures. It has a commercial exchange
(alh6ndiga), and its commerce was sufficient to warrant
the building of the long and massive causeway that
crosses the bottom lands of the Laja, and assures a dry
and safe road in the rainy season. The founders of the
city were sixteen married men, with their wives and
families, and seventeen young bachelors ; and with these
were many Tarascan and Otomite Indians who did dig
and delve. This company, acting under the orders of
the then Viceroy, Don Martin Enriquez de Almanza,

MINOR CITIES AND TOWNS. 489

effected its settlement October 12, 1570. And the
founders, being for the most part Biscayans, gave to the
town the name of Zalaya, which word, in the Basque
tongue, means level land. Eighty-five years later, by a
royal order given by Philip IV., October 20, 1655 (but
not published in Mexico until December 7, 1658), Celaya
was made a city. And the fact that this dignity was
conferred long before a similar dignity was conferred
upon Guanajuato is a source of much complacent satis-
faction to the Celayan chi'oniclers. The jDi'^sent city,
built upon slightly rolling ground, and not severely rect-
angular, is attractive in its general features, and in cer-
tain of its architectural details it is extraordinarily fine.

All of the architectural beauty of the city is due to a sin-
gle man : Eduardo Tresguerras — architect, sculj)tor, and
painter. This remarkable man was born in Celaya, May
13, 1765, and died there, August 3, 1833. He is buried in
the chapel (close by the parish church) that he himself
built for his sepulchre, and dedicated to Nuestra Seiiora
de los Dolores, to which Virgin he was especially devoted.
His best painting, probably, is his portrait of his wife,
that is preserved, as are some of his best sculptures, in
private hands. His great work, famous throughout Mex-
ico, is the noble church of Our Lady of Carmen, remark-
able alike for its size, its grandeur, its beautiful simplicity
conjoined Avith dignity, its lightness, and its grace. It
is surmounted by a tower and dome, both renowned for
their extraordinary hesiutj. The church, in the form of
a Latin cross, the nave 220 feet long by 55 feet wdde,
and 69 feet high, was erected (on the site of an earlier
church destroyed by fire) between the years 1803 and
1807. It is enriched with some notable frescos by
Tresguerras. In the chapel of the Last Judgment, in
addition to his striking frescos, is his painting in oils of

490 MEXICAN GUIDE.

Our Lady of Carmen. Here also, representing him at the
ages of 35 and 63 years, are portraits of this "Michael
Angelo of Mexico," as Tresguerras is not inaptly called.
In the church proper, but so hung as to be almost in-
visible unless the main doors are opened, is a strong
picture by Nicolas Rodriguez Juarez, painted in 1695,
and in perfect condition, "The Triumph of Mary." This
was in the primitive church, and was rescued from the
fire.

A very picturesque group of churches and chapels is
that of which San Francisco is the centre. San Fran-
cisco was founded about the year 1570. The existing
church, excepting the fapade and dome, of later con-
struction, dates from 1715. Its beautiful altars were
erected early in the present century by Tresguerras.
The adjacent quaint parish church, and the church of
the Tercer Orden — in which the altars are by Tresguer-
ras— both date from early in the seventeenth century,
and both belonged to the Franciscan establishment.
Within this group is the chapel of Dolores built by Tres-
guerras for his burial. The church of San Agustin, a
block or two away from San Francisco, was founded in
1603. The existing church dates from 1610. As a
whole it is not especially impressive, but the tower, built
by Tresguerras, is strikingly fine.

Saving an interesting market, a theatre, and some few
public buildings, there is very little to be seen in Celaya
but its churches. But anyone with a love for the beau-
tiful will find in the church of the Carmen alone a suf-
ficient reward for the inconveniences which a pilgrimage
thither involves.

Chihuahua. A city of 12,000 inhabitants, capital of
the State of the same name, on the line of the Mexican
Central Railway, 225 miles south of El Paso ; 1,000

MINOR CITIES AND TOWNS. 491

miles iiortli of the City of Mexico. A tramway from the
station passes the door of the least undesirable hotel ;
fare, 6^ cents. An omnibus also plies between the sta-
tion and the hotels ; fare, two reales ; charge for trunks,
two reales each. (Attempts on the part of the drivers to
exceed these charges should be resisted.) Carriages may
be hired at the station for four reales for one or two peo-
ple for the trip to either of the hotels. The hotels are
not satisfactory. The least objectionable are the Casa
Eobinson and Smith's. Bate at either, $2.50 a day.
There are good new baths at the end of the old ijaseo.

It is not worth the while of travellers going farther
south to stop at Chihuahua at all. The city is so overrun
by Americans, of the frontier type, that it has ceased to
be a representative Mexican town. The market, set off
in departments, is interesting — but not so interesting as
many other Mexican markets ; the old paseo is neglected
and shabby, while the new paseo has no especial indi-
viduality. The one strong feature of the city is the very
handsome parish church (sometimes styled, incorrectly, a
cathedral) dedicated to San Francisco. This fine building-
was erected between the years 1717 and 1789, with the
proceeds of a tax of one real on the half-pound of silver
(producing, it is believed, the sum of $800,000) that was
levied upon the product of the celebrated Santa Eulalia
mine. The building is rather unusually high for its
width, as is the case also with its towers, giving an ef-
fect of lightness and grace not often seen in Spanish-
American architecture. It is admirably placed, so that
from almost any point outside of the town its slender
towers are seen rising against a background of low-
lying hills and blue sky. UiDon its richly ornamented
fa9ade are thirteen statues — San Francisco and the Twelve
Apostles. In the recesses of the sui^portiug arches of

492 MEXICAJN^ GUIDE.

the dome are basso-relievos of the Fathers of the Church.
In one of the towers may be seen a bell that was broken
by a cannon-ball during the bombardment of the city by
the French in 1866. Tradition tells that an inclined
plane of earth was raised against the towers as they
were built, up which was carried the material used in
construction ; and that this plane extended across the
whole width of the plaza ere the work was done. The
Church of the Compania, a Jesuit foundation built under
the patronage of Don Manuel de Santa Cruz in the year
1717 ; the Oratorio de San Felipe Neri, and the Santu-
ario de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, also may be vis-
ited. In the last-named, at the end of the alameda, is a
notable figure of San Ignacio Loyola. Other objects of
interest are : The Mint, formerly the Hospital Real, in
one of the tower rooms of which Hidalgo, Allen de, Al-
dama, and Jimenez were confined during the time -pie-
ceding their execution ; the monument that marks the
spot where these patriots were shot, July 31, 1811 ; the
aqueduct, three and a half miles long, running for a con-
siderable portion of this distance upon low stone arches,
built in the latter part of the last century. An interest-
ing expedition, requiring a full day, may be made to
the Santa Eulalia mine. Permission to visit the mine
usually can be obtained at the city office of the superin-
tendent.

Chihuahua (meaning "the place where things are
made"), anciently Taraumara, and later San Felipe el
Real, was founded by Diego de Ibarra in the year 1539.
It stands in the midst of a desolate, mountain-girdled
plain ; is built for the most part of adobe, and, in com-
mon with adobe-built towns, is picturesque rather than
impressive. In former times this city was the seat of
the considerable trade that was carried on between

MINOR CITIES AND TOWNS. 493

Northern Mexico and the United States. Annual cara-
vans passed between this point and Santa F6, where an
exchange of commodities was effected with the American
traders, whose caravans came southwestward over the
Santa Fe trail. After fighting the battles of Bracito and
Sacramento, Colonel Doniphan's command occupied
Chihuahua early in 1847 ; and thence made the memo-
rable march southward to a successful junction with the
forces of General Taylor.

Cordoba. A town of about 6,000 inhabitants, in the
State of Vera Cruz, on the line of the Mexican Bailway,
66 miles from Vera Cruz and 197 miles from the City of
Mexico, at an elevation of 2,710 feet above the level of
the sea. A tramway extends from the station to the
town, a distance of about a mile ; fare, 6^ cents. Barely
tolerable food and lodging will be found at the little
hotel. Bates, $2 a day.

Cordoba was founded by order (April 18, 1618) of the
Viceroy Don Diego Fernandez de Cordoba, as a refuge
station on the road from Vera Cruz to the capital. It
was built upon the little hill of Xitango, in the fertile
valley of the Bio Seco, and presently, as the centre of
a rich agricultural region, became an important town.
Sugar-cane was grown ; sugar-houses and distilleries
were established ; tobacco was gTown as early as 1756 ;
a little later Juan Antonio Gomez introduced coffee and
the Manila mango ; and within the present century
plantations of cinchona have been set out. Natural
products of the place are bananas, oranges, g*uavas, pine-
ajDples, granaditas, chirimoj'as, and other tropical fruits.
Since the year 1812, when the first decree emancipating-
slaves was promulgated in Mexico, the material prosperity
of the town steadily has declined. But this very decline
has increased its charming picturesqueness. Its rich lux-

494 MEXIOAl^ on IDE.

uriance of tropical vegetation, its impressive mountain
scenerj'', and its air of cheerful content v^ith. its condi-
tion of lost prosperity, combine to make it one of the
most attractive little towns in Mexico. Happily, there
is not much to be done here in the way of regular sight-
seeing. The church of San Antonio, founded by the
Franciscans in 1686, the existing building completed in
1725 ; the convent, hospital, and church of San Hipolito,
founded in 1793 ; the dilapidated and uninteresting
house on the plaza in which Maximilian passed a night
on his wa}'' inland from Vera Cruz ; the little theatre ;
the market — the great market-day is Sunda^^, before
noon — in which may be seen the Indian women from
Amatlan, wearing coral and silver ornaments and a thor-
oughly Neapolitan head-dress — these are the sights of
Cordoba. Any citizen of Cordoba will be glad to have
a chance to mention the fact that here, August 24, 1821,
was concluded the treaty, between General Yturbide
and the Viceroy O'Donoju, that recognized the inde-
pendence of Mexico. It is not probable that the citizen
will add that in the damp, hot summers ague is com-
mon here, and that yellow fever occasionally appears ;
nor will it be courteous for the traveller to touch upon
these unpleasant matters. It is well to keep them in
mind, however, and not visit Cordoba later than the
month of March.

Cuautla. A city of 11,000 inhabitants, in the State
of Morelos, on the line of the Interoceanic Railway, 85
miles southeast of the City of Mexico, at an elevation of
3,500 feet above the level of the sea. The Gran Hotel
de San Diego is just across the plaza from the railway
station. Trunks may be sent across by cargadores for a
real each ; bags for a medio each. The rates at the hotel,
from $2.50 a day upward, are high ; but the food is un-

MINOr^ CITIES AND TOWNS. 495

usufilly good, and the rooms, for a provincial hotel in
Mexico, unusually comfortable. Very fair wines may be
bought, but at extortionately high prices. There are
fair baths in the city, and very good sulphur-baths a
little east of the town, near the river.

There is very little to see in Cuautla in the way of
old buildings. The parish church, dedicated to San-
tiago, a foundation of 1605, is quaint and interesting.
The church and convent of San Diego, also a seventeenth
century foundation, now are used as the railway freight
and passenger stations. From the roof of the church a
very fine ^dew is had of the canefields and mountains
beyond. An expedition may be made to the sugar
Hacienda de Sta. Ines, a few miles away on the line of
the railroad ; for w^hich a platform car, with a horse to
draw it, may be hired at the railway station. A still
finer hacienda near by is Coahuixtla, which may be
visited on horseback. The Spanish-built ^Dortion of the
town is rectangular and commonplace. The great charm
of Cuautla is its tropical luxuriance and picturesqueness.
The straight, unattractive streets need be followed but a
little way to come into lanes, hedged with banana- and
orange-trees, that go rambling away among gardens^
and along which, half hid among the dense foliage, are
scattered Indian huts. Everywhere is running water.
East of the town is the river Xuchitengo, the nearly
dry course of which, though dry only in the dry season,
is spanned by a massive stone bridge, from wdiich there
is a view of the broad valley and the hills beyond, and
the gTeat peak of Popocatepetl towering in the north.
Seen from this, the southern side, the snowcap is only
a triangular tuft on the western slope.

Cuautla was conquered by Cortes, and was included
in his original grant of lands. Subsequently it reverted

496 'MEXICAN GUIDE.

to the crown. Its founding as a Spanisli town dates
from tlie establishment here of the Dominican mission
in 1605. The town officially is styled Cuautla Morelos,
in memory of its heroic defence by the patriot Morelos
during the war of the Independence. The Royalist
general, Calleja, attacked the town February 19, 1812,
and was repulsed. He then besieged it in form. The
siege lasted for more than two months and a half, and
while neither force would risk an attack numerous
skirmishes occurred during this period. Morelos sought
to hold the town until the beginning of the rainy season,
when the hot, wet weather certainly would bring sick-
ness among the unacclimated troops from the highlands.
But famine frustrated this plan. So short of food did
the garrison become that a cat sold for six dollars, a
lizard for two dollars, and rats for a dollar apiece.
Unable to hold out, Morelos successfully evacuated the
town. This heroic defence and successful retreat —
leading to a series of brilliant assaults elsewhere by the
little army that Morelos commanded — did much to in-
spirit the patriot cause.

Yau tepee. From Cuautla the excursion may be con-
tinued to Yautepec, fourteen miles farther south and the
present terminus of the railroad. In this deUghtful little
town all the picturesque features of Cuautla are repeat-
ed, and are increased by advantages of situation which
Cuautla does not possess. From this point horses may
be taken to Cuernavaca (a ride of about five hours), and
the return thence to Mexico made via diligencia.

Guaymas. Atow^n of about 4,000 inhabitants, on the
coast (Gulf of California) of Sonora ; the tide-water ter-
minus of the Sonora Railway. There are two small
hotels here — the Cosmopolitan and Central, of which the
former is the more desirable. The rate at either is $2 a

MINOR CITIES AND TOWNS. 497

day. The food is of the country, but the traveller at
least is sure of good oysters — for which the town is fa-
mous.

In common with the other towns of the west coast,
Guaymas is built upon the shores of a land-locked bay
surrounded by high hills — a veritable frying-pan in sum-
mer, but in the winter dry and pleasantly warm. The
town is long and narrow, and is built for the most part
of adobe ; a few houses are of brick and stone. Owing
to its picturesque situation, and the picturesque charac-
ter of a part of the country traversed by rail in reaching
it, Guaymas is very well worth visiting. A still stronger
attraction that it holds out is that from this point (see
Coastwise Steam Lines) steamers ply regularly to La
Paz, Mazatlan, San Bias, and Manzanillo ; thus affording
an opportunity for an easily made expedition to these
very interesting old ports, and along the beautiful west
coast. This is not a trip to be made by persons in deli-
cate health, for various inconveniences and some few pri-
vations are encountered by the way ; but sturdy trav-
ellers, with a Uking for the quaint and a love for the
beautiful, will reckon the gain in these aesthetic direc-
tions as outweighing the loss of personal comfort.

Lagos. A city of 22,000 inhabitants, in the State of
Jalisco, on the line of the Mexican Central Railway, 929
miles from El Paso and 295 miles from the City of Mex-
ico, at an elevation of 6,100 feet above the level of the
sea. A tramway extends from the railway station into
the city (fare, 6^ cents). A diligence meets trains and
takes passengers, with ordinary luggage, to the Hotel
de Diligeucias free. At this hotel " Don Pedro," father
of the proprietor, and himself proprietor emeritus, pre-
sides jollily over excellent fare. The rate is $2 a clay.

The importance of this city lies in its being the point of
33

498 MEXICAN GUIDE.

departure for the diligeucias (see Diligence Lines, p. 369)
for Guadalajara and San Luis Potosi. There is a pretty
little plaza, where the band plays of evenings ; and on
this plaza, elevated upon a terrace, is the handsome
church of San Francisco — especially notable for its mo-
saic wooden floor. Other churches which may be vis-
ited are the Parr6quia and the Merced.

Maravatfo. A town of 5,000 inhabitants, in the State
of Michoacan, on the line of the Mexican National Rail-
way, 138 miles from the City of Mexico. At the Httle
Hotel de Diligencias rather remarkably hard beds and
eatable food can be had for |2 a day. The town has a
lake on one side of it and a sandy hill on the other,
anei so contrives to be both dusty and damp. Fevers
are common, with diseases of a bilious type. In 1850
the town was ravaged by cholera.

Despite these drawbacks, this is an attractive little
place. There is a pretty main plaza ; two other plazas in
the suburbs of San Nicolas and San Miguel ; fountains
afford a good supply of water ; several of the churches are
interesting, and the general effect of the irregularly built
houses, with red-tiled roofs, is eminently picturesque.
The parish church, dedicated to San Juan Bautista, a
Franciscan foundation, is a large, cruciform, heavily
built structure in which there are some interesting carved
altars. Other churches worth visiting are the Columna,
Nuestro Senor de los Herreros (Our Lord of the Black-
smiths), the Hospital, San Nicolas, and San Miguel —
these last in the suburbs of the same names. The bridge
that here crosses a tributary of the Lerraa was built in
the early part of the present century by the diligence
company.

The primitive town, the little remnant of which is
known as Maravatlo el Alto, was about fifteen miles

MINOR CITIES AND TOWNS. 499

south of the present site, and was a Tarascan foundation —
the eastern outpost of the dominion of Michoacan. Here
the Spanish town was founded in 1535. In 1540 the
land where the town now is was granted to the Viceroy
Mendoza, and in 1541 the existing foundation was made.
The oldest house in the town, dating from 1573, stands
on a line with the grave-yard of the parish church. Pigs
and sheep are raised hereabout in large numbers. The
shoes made in Maravatio are celebrated for their ex-
cellence.

Merida. Capital of the State of Yucatan, a city of
30,000 inhabitants, reached by rail from the port of Pro-
greso. Wind and weather favoring, and time permitting,
it sometimes is possible to visit this city while the steamer
is discharging and taking in cargo. The railway has been
built to accommodate the large and rapidly growing trade
in henequin fibre, of which Merida is the centre. The
distance by rail is about 30 miles ; the running time
about two hours ; the fare $1. In Merida there is a lit-
tle hotel, the Bazar, at which a fair Mexican meal can be
had for six reales. There are very delightful baths.
Three Hnes of railway extend for short distances into the
interior.

A leisurely traveller, with a tendency toward antiqua-
rian research, will do well to stop over a steamer at
Merida and make a trip of exploration to the ruins of
Uxmal, sixty miles distant to the south.

Merida was founded about the year 1542, after the
conquest of Yucatan by the Montejos, father and son —
the latter succeeding to the command of the forces em-
ployed in this war of conquest that began in 1526. The
more interesting buildings of the present city are its
churches. The existing cathedral, succeeding a still ear-
lier one, was completed in the year 1598, at a cost of

500 MEXICAN GUIDE.

$300,000. Thefa9ade is ornamented by statues of Saint
Peter and Saint Paul (the finely sculptured royal arms
were covered with plaster in 1822), and is surmounted by
a balustrade guarding a footway between the two towers.
In the southern tower is a clock, made in London in 1731.
The vaulted, carved roof is supported upon sixteen very
massive columns, which divide the nave from the aisles ;
and above it rises a fine dome, also carved. The existing
high altar, completed in 1762, is of wood, richly carved
and gilded, and was surmounted originally by the royal
arms ; a tabernacle, erected a few years ago, although
fine in itself, obscures the earlier work, and does not at
all harmonize with it. From the chancel a passage-way
leads to the curious circular choir in the body of the
building, in which there are some good wood-carviugs.
Four handsome chapels and the sacristy are worthy of
notice. Even in Merida many persons believe that the
church of San Juan de Dios was the primitive cathedral ;
this mistake arisino: from the fact that in the interval be-
tween the destruction of the first and the completion of
the existing cathedral this church was used as the cathe-
dral of the diocese. San Juan de Dios is a very ancient
foundation. The existing church, with its adjacent hos-
pital and monastery, was completed in the year 1625.
The monastery and hospital are extinct, and the church
has fallen into decay. The ex-Seminario de San Pedro,
founded in 1711, is now used by the Legislature, and as
a theatre. San Juan Bautista i s a miracle-working church,
or was in its early years. Very soon after the foundation
of the city a plague of locusts came upon the land, and
as a means of staying this plague — there being some un-
certainty as to which saint had jurisdiction in the prem-
ises— lots were cast to find from what quarter aid should
be asked : and the lot fell upon Saint John the Baptist.

MINOR CITIES AND TOWNS. 501

Thereupon a mass was said to this saint, and the locusts
disappeared. Then the church was erected, and for a
lono" while the fields were safe. But the church was
neglected as time went on, until the year 1618, when,
on the eve of St. John, the locusts once more appeared,
and in such quantities as never before were known. A
vow then was made by the Governor and the Bishop to
attend each year at a mass to be said in the church on
the festival of St. John ; and since that time the locusts
have been held in check. The church was rebuilt in the
year 1771. Other notable churches are the Compania
de Jesus, the Candelaria, San Francisco, and Santa Lucia.

Salt i Mo. Capital of the State of Coahuila, a city of
10,000 inhabitants, at the present southern end of the
northern division of the Mexican National Railway, 231
miles from Laredo, at an elevation of 5,200 feet above
the level of the sea. Carriages may be hired at the rail-
way station for four reales, for four persons or less.
Trunks will be carried for two reales each. The Hotel
San Esteban, or Diligencias, in the old convent adjoining
the church of San Esteban, is a very picturesque j^lace,
and also is clean and comfortable. The rate is f 2 and
$2.50 a day. Travellers will do well to ask for Parras
wine — a sound and wholesome native wine, red and
white, very like some of the coarser grades of Hungarian
wines. At the boarding house kept by Dr. Chess (the
food rather better than at the hotels) the rate is f 1.50 a
day. (For Diligence Lines, see p. 367.)

The city lies close to the northeastern edge of the
plateau, and its peculiarly agreeable summer climate
causes it to be much resorted to during the hot months
by the dwellers upon the hot lands below it to the east.
It is especially famous for its manufacture of zarapes ;
there are cotton-mills in the neighborhood, and a con-

502 MEXICAlSr GUIDE.

siclerable business is done in goat- and sheep-skins.
There is a pretty central plaza, and a charming alameda.
On a hill near the city is a fort built during the French
occupation, Saltillo was founded in 1586, but was not
made a city until 1827 — at which time was added to its
name that of the revolutionary heroine Leon a Vicario.

Salvatierra. A city of 10,000 inhabitants, in the
State of Guanajuato, on the line of the Mexican National
Railway, 197 miles from the City of Mexico. The most
desirable one of the three small hotels is the Diligen-
cias — $2 a day. In former times the town was a small
trading centre. Its only importance in a business way
now is due to the large woollen factory established by
Don Patricio Valencia. There are several churches
worth visiting. The largest and handsomest is the par-
ish church dedicated to Nuestra Senora de las Luces,
built in the early years of the present century after de-
signs by Tresguerras. It has a peculiarly fine tov/er. A
fine stone bridge across the Lerma dates from a few
years after the city's foundation.

Salvatierra was founded in the year 1643, in lands be-
longing to Don Andres Alderete and his wife, who re-
ceived in return for their gift of a site an annual allow-
ance of $2,000 from the royal treasury. They further
stipulated that their foundation should be granted a
charter as a city, and that it should be named Salva-
tierra in honor of the then viceroy. All of which stipu-
lations were accorded in the royal order that issued in the
year 1643. The city has been very hardly dealt with
during the civil wars — as, indeed, has this whole region
of the Bajio in which it stands.

Silao. A citj of 15,000 inhabitants, in the State of
Guanajuato, on the line of the Mexican Central Railway,
986 miles south of El Paso and 238 miles north of the

MINOU CITIES AND TOWNS. 503

City of Mexico. Reasonably comfortable and clean
rooms can be had at the hotel at the railway station for
six reales a day. Meals can be had in the railway
restaurant for one dollar ; or, rather better, at the little
French restaurant just across the way for six reales.
Coffee and bread at the railway restaurant costs two
reales ; at the French restaurant one real. This is the
point of departure of the branch line, fifteen miles long,
to Marfil. (See Guanajuato.)

The city now is of little commercial importance — al-
though there are a few flour-mills here — but is decidedly
picturesque. The parish church, dedicated to Santiago,
was begun near the end of the seventeenth century and
was finished in 1728. Its cuiious and beautiful wooden
altars were replaced by the existing abominations in
1835. The most notable feature of the church is its
slender, graceful spire. The church of the Senor de la
Vera Cruz was built at the beginning of the seventeenth
century, to house a Santo Cristo given in the port of Vera
Cruz to certain Indians of Silao by Spanish missionaries.
The figure is of ^^^.pier mache or some kindred material,
and tradition declares that it dates from before the
Moorish conquest of Spain. Other churches which may
be visited are the Santuario del Padre Jesus, built in
1798 and repaired in 1841 ; and the church of San Nico-
las, sadly modernized in 1832. Silao was founded by
Don Francisco Cervantes Bendon about the year 1553.
It was made a town in 1833, and in 1861 a city.

Toluca. Capital of the State of Mexico, a city of
16,000 inhabitants, on the line of the Mexican National
Railway, 45 miles from the City of Mexico, at an eleva-
tion of 8,600 feet above the level of the sea

A tramway leads from the railway station, through the
Calle de la Independencia — past a statue of Hidalgo with

504 MEXICAN GUIDE.

curiously twisted legs — to the pretty little Plaza Mayor.
Fare, 6^ cents. There are two hotels here — the Leon
de Oro and the Gran Sociedad, neither very good. The
rate at each is $2 a day ; single meals, six reales. Ex-
cellent beer can be bought here for one real a bottle.
There are good baths near the hotels.

The magnificent scenery on the way hither is the
single and sufficient reason for coming up by the after-
noon train — at which time are the best effects of light
and shade — and returning on the ensuing morning to the
City of Mexico. Even in the case of travellers who intend
going to Morelia and Patzcuaro, it is quite worth while
either to start in the afternoon and continue the journey
from Toluca on the ensuing morning, or to make the
shorter expedition independently of the longer one — so
exceedingly beautiful is the afternoon view.

Toluca has an air of newness and prosperity that is
uncommon in Mexico, and that, while no doubt pleasant
to the townsfolk, is not at all to the liking of travellers
in search of the picturesque. Yet, in point of fact, this
is one of the oldest Spanish settlements in Mexico. The
site was included in the grant of the Emperor Charles
V. to the Marques del Yalle de Oaxaca, otherwise Cortes,
and a settlement was made here before 1533. A few years
later Toluca was made a town, and in 1677 it was made a
city. The capital of the State of Mexico was removed
hither in 1831. The State buildings, fronting on the
trim Plaza Mayor, with its monument, were erected in
1872, upon the site of the house formerly occupied by
Don Martin Cortes, son of the Conqueror. They are
the finest buildings of this sort in the Republic. In the
audience-room are preserved portraits of the governors
of the State of Mexico. The Palace of Justice is in tlie
building, partly rebuilt in 1871, of the convent of San

MINOR CITIES AND TOWNS. 505

Juan de Dios. There is a bandsome theatre, the Prin-
cipal, another theatre, Gorostiza, and a bull-ring. In
the suburbs is a pretty alameda — refreshing^ uncared
for — near which is the church of the Santa Vera Cruz,
with a fa9ade decorated with colored figures of saints,
presenting an appearance much less devout than gro-
tesque.

The parish church is the chapel of the Tercer Orden,
pertaining to the former Franciscan establishment.
The site for the Franciscan church and convent was
given by the Matlalzinca chief whose Christian name was
Juan Cortes. The piimitive church, probably a slight
building of wood, was replaced in 1585 by a larger
structui^e of stone, and this, in turn, in the seventeenth
century, by the church of which the large chapel of the
Tercer Orden was a part. The church was razed in
1874, and upon its site a magnificent temple is in
course of erection. Its completion bids fair to be in the
very remote future, for in twelve years the massive walls
have not been raised twelve feet. The existing parish
church includes a portion of the church built in 1585.
In a passage leading to it from a side street — a passage
quite at variance with the present plan — may be seen an
old arch, upon which is inscribed : " This gallery has not
been straightened, to the end that this arch, and the two
at the end of the sacristy, may be preserved ; these be-
ing parts of the first Catholic temple that ever was in
Toluca." The front of the church is carried up in an
open gable — in the nature of an exaggerated Carmelite
bell-gable — that is both curious and effective. The in-
terior of the building is almost the only thing in Toluca
that is not exasperatingly new. One other gratifyingly
ancient article is to be seen in a side chapel (that was the
primitive church) of Nuestra Senora del Carmen. This is

506 MEXICAN GUIDE.

a very curious little portable organ of Mexican manufact-
ure— possibly the first organ made in America. In the
same chapel is a very fine "Virgin and dead Christ."

A little more than two miles west of the city is the
church of Nuestra Senora de Tecajic, in which is pre-
served a miraculous and miracle-working image, much
venerated by the Indians — a picture, painted on coarse
cotton-cloth, representing the Assumj)tion of the Virgin.
This shrine has been in existence for more than two cen-
turies.

Near the city is the extinct volcano of the Nevado,
known also by the primitive name of Xinantecatl. In
the crater is now a lake, in the centre of which is a
whirlpool. From the crest of this mountain — the ascent
is comparatively easy — is a magnificent view.

Within a few leagues of Toluca grows the curious
arhol de las iiianitas — " the tree of the little hands," so
called because of the shape of its flower.

Tula. A town of 1,500 inhabitants, in the State of
Hidalgo, on the line of the Mexican Central Railway, 50
miles (two hours and a half) from the City of Mexico.
By taking the early morning train out, and the late after-
noon train in, the traveller will have six or seven hours
for sight-seeing. There is a little hotel, the Diligencias,
in the town, at which an eatable meal can be obtained
for four reales. It should be ordered, for the hour de-
sired, immediately upon aiTiviug.

Tula, anciently ToUan (meaning " the place of reeds,"
or, possibly, " the place of many people "), is believed to
have been a Toltec foundation, and was an important
Otomite town at the time of the Conquest. It was one
of the first of the outlying towns to embrace Christianity,
and its people were stanch allies of the Spaniards in ex-
tending their conquests. The special points of interest

MINOR CITIES AND TOWNS. 507

here are Toltec remains and the very curious ancient
church.

At the Hotel de Dihgencias a guide may be obtained
to the i-uined town. Cosme Luque, who worked under
Charnay, will be the best guide for persons speaking
Spanish. The way to the ruins lies along the road,
shaded by gTeat ash-trees, that leads to Ixmiquilpan, or
the Cardonal ; thence across the river Tula, and up the
Cerro del Tesoro, w^here the pueblo examined by Char-
nay will be seen. The^ building is of uncut stone, laid
in mud, and covered with a hai'd cement. The floors
are coated with this same cement, of a ruddy tint. The
largest room in the building is only about twelve or
fifteen feet square. At the other extremity of the hill is
another pueblo, larger than the first, and usually called
the casa grande, or " great house." In this there are
about thirty small rooms, built at difierent levels and
connected by stairways. In the plaza of Tula are some
interesting prehistoric rehcs, the more notable being a
portion of a column and the lower half of a colossal
statue. The baptismal font in the church is a remnant
of Toltec work ; as is also an inscribed stone near the
chui'ch-door. Many of the houses in the town have set
into theu' walls carved stones from the TxmiQdi pueblos.

A church was built in Tula within a year or two after
the Conquest. The existing church, a Franciscan foun-
dation, dedicated to San Jose, was begun by Fray Alonzo
Rangel in the year 1553, and was completed by Fray
Antonio de San Juan in the year 1561. It is built of a
light-colored stone, and such is its massive appearance
and great solidity — the walls are nearly seven feet thick
— that it seems less like a church than a fortress. It was,
indeed, primitively intended to be used both as a church
and as a place of refuge from the assaults of the Chiche-

508 MEXICAN GUIDE.

mec Indians ; a fact that accounts for its battlemented
roof and the heavy wall surrounding it. The building
is 192 feet long by 41 feet wide, and 82 feet high. The
single tower is 125 feet high. The character of the stone-
work is exceptionally good. Two relatively modern
cbapels have been added to the original structure. The
church contains a number of pictures which, less because
of their artistic quality than because of their great age
and quaint crudity, are exceedingly interesting. In the
archives are preserved many manuscripts in the Mexi-
can tongue. The convent, finished in 1585, is much
decayed. In the cloister, now used as a military stable,
still may be seen pictures illustrating the life of San
Francisco. To this convent, in its early years, was at-
tached the eminent Fray Alonzo Urbana [obit Septem-
ber 19, 1592), a most notable master of the Otomite and
Nahuatl tongues. The atrium, surrounding both church
and convent, is terraced above the present street, and is
surrounded by a massive stone wall.

INDEX.

Academy, Military, 303

San Carlos, 147
Acambaro, 4S5
Acapulco, steamer to, 368
Acatlan, Sta. Cruz, 177
Aculco, battle, 56
Adobe, picture on, 244
Aduana, 142
Aeronaut Acosta, 417
Agricultural School, 252
Aguas Calientes, 4U9
Agustin, San, 144, 205

fire in, 176
Agustin, S. de las Cuevas, 311
Ahiutzotl, monuraent, 301
Ajusco, height, 6
Alameda, 48, 51, 277
Alamo, massacre, 62
Albuquerque, founding, 49
Aldama, execution, 56, 492

head, 418

patriot, 55

tomb, 169
Alhdndiga de Granaditas, 418
Aliens, rights, 7, 16
AUende, born, 454

execution, 56, 492

head, 418

patriot, 55

portrait, 141

tomb, 169
Alien de, S. Miguel de, 450
Altamirano, Ignacio, 39
Altata, steamer to, 368
Altitudes, cities, 4

mountains, 6
Alvarado, armor, 164

leap, 290
Alvarado, town, 432
Alvarez, hospital founded, 256
Alum, 9
Amatlan, 494

Ambassadors, Hall of, 141
Amecameca, 479
American Cemetery, 289

Hospital, 263

Minister, 123
Ana, Sta., Ch., 183
Analcos vein, 441
Andocutin, hacienda, 328
Andres, San, hospital, 261
Angeles, Los, ch. City of Mexico,

244
Angeles, Nstra. Sra. de, 244
Angel, San, town, 305
Angostura, battle, 64
Angostura garden, 436
Animals, domestic, 7

wild, 7
Animas, Capilla de las, 170
Anna, Santa, see Santa Anna.
Antonio Abad, S., 217
Antonio de las Huertas, S., 178
Apam, 337

plain of, 6
Aparicio, Sebastian de, 385

bones of, 382
Apostles of Mexico, 21
Aqueduct, Los Remedios, 447

Morelia, 457

Queretaro, 422

Zempoala, 363
Aqueducts, 51, 282
Aranzazu, Nstra. Sra. de, 195

picture of, 386
Araro, 359
Arbeu, theatre, 271
Arbol de las Manitas, 506
Archbishopric of Mexico, 21
Archbishops, portraits, 170
Arch, flat, 384
Archiepiscopal palace, 142
Architect, Tresguerras, 489
Archives, national, 147

510

INDEX.

Arista, portrait, 141
Army, 18
Arrest, 15
Artesian weUs, 282
Artists, 148
Artist, Orizaba, 439

woman, 148, 169
Arts, fine, 147
Arzobispado, 142
A silo de Mendigos, 269
Asphalt, 9

Assembly of Notables, 69
Asylum, foundling, 263
Afcarazanas, 135
Atotonilco, banner, 55

going to, 451

shrine, 454
Atzcapotzalco, 313

tramway to, 122
Audencia, 46, 469
Augustinians, 205
Authors, 35
Auto de f e, 20, 137
Ayuntaroiento, 137

Baggage, Cit. Mex., 102

extra, 96, 333, 344, 352, 362
Bajio, El, 6, 348
Bala, Nstra. Sra. de la, 242
Balcones, Los, 464
Ball, Our Lady of the, 242
Balvanera, La, 823
Bandelier, books by, 156, 163
Bank notes, 80
Banner of the Conquest, 208

Independence, 454
Baptists, 33

Barranca del Infiernillo, 336
Barranco, Gabriel, 439
Basket for trunk, 98
Baskets, Puebla, 373
Bath, Montezuma's, 335
Baths, 90

Cit. Mex., 107

Coincho, 462
Bazaine, house, 288

traitor, 71
Beaterio, definition, 453
Beer, 88
Beggars, 94

Belen de los Padres, 212
Belen, prison, 139
Bells, Hill of the, 425, 427
Belt railway, 362
Beneficencia, La, 253

Benevolent Society, 253
Bergantines, 324
Bernardo, San, 235
Betlemitas, library, 147

order, 219

school, 219
Biblioteca Nacional, 144
Bishop Quiroga, 469

Zumarraga, 21
Bishopric of Mexico, 21

Yucatan, 21
Bishoprics, 22
Bishops' portraits, Puebla, 382

sepulchre of, 381
BUnd, school, 269
Boarding-houses, 106
Boats, Vera Cruz, 429
Boca del Monte, 336
Bolson de Mapimi, 6, 345
Bone-work, 464
Bonitas, Las, 239
Bonnets, 109
Book, first printed, 46

stores, 110
Books, old, 139
Borrego, Cerro de, 437
Eorda, Jardin de la, 477
Borde, Joseph de la, 477
Bracito, battle, 493
Bread of Ozumba, 364
Breakfast, Mexican, 105
Bric-a-brac, 266
Bridge, National, 54
" Brigan tines," 324
Brigida, Santa, 237
Bucareli, tomb of, 51

paseo, 279

viceroy, 51
Buena Vista, battle, 64
Bufa, Cerro de la, 405
BuflFalo, Bishop of, 419
Buildings notable, 286
Bull-fighting, 271

Puebla, 373
Bull-ring, Morelia, 458
Burning to death, 469
Bustamante, 353
Butter, 109

Cabinet officers, 17, 123
Cabrera, 151
Cacahuamilpa, caves, 479
Calderon, battle, 56
Calendar Stone, 156
California annexed, 64

INDEX.

511

California, expedition to, 48
Calle de los Muertos, d2'6
Callcs, Cit. Mex.,1-^
Calzada de Guadalupe, 457

Nueva, 287
Calzadas, Cit. Mex., 126, 280
Calzontzin Sizincha, 457, 468
Camara de Diputados, 141
Camarin, Amecameca, 480

Guadalupe, 408

Los Remedies, 447, 449

Ocotlan, 403

Pueblito, 429
Camilo, San, 221
Camilists, 231

Campanas, Cerro de las, 425, 427
Canal, family, 452
Canal, Viga, 317
CaTion Cathedral, 357

Laja, 358

Tultenango, 357

Zopilotes, 357
Cantabraua. Domingo de, 181
Capuchinas, 236

Guadalupe, 298
Cardonal, Santo Cristo de, 233
Cargadores (porters), 90
Caridad, La, 240

Carlotta, hospital founded by, 262
Carmen, Xstra. Sra. del, 214

at Celaya, 489
Carmelites, 214
Carmen, town, steamer to, 368
Cartographical Institute, 434
Carvings, prehistoric, 478
Casa de Azulejos, 288

Lore to, 452

los Mascarones, 287

Maternidad, 262

Moneda, 142

Grande, Tula, 507

Mata, 303

skirmish, 64
Casas, Bartolome' de las, 47
Casas de huespedes, 106
Castaefida, La, 305

tramway to, 119, 130
Catalina de Sena, Sta., 226
Catarina Martir, Sta., 183
Cathedral canon, 357

City of Mexico, 165

Puebla, 379
Cats for food, 496
Cattle range, 353
Causeways, 380

Cavalry, 18

Cave at Amecameca, 480

Cacahuamilpa, 479

Pesqueria (Garcia), 474
Cazadero, El, 348
Celaya, 488
Cemeteries, 289
Central Railway, 351
Cerro Gordo, 340

del Borrego, 335, 437

del Loreto, 376

de Montezuma, 451

de Quinceo, 359

del Sefior, 356
Chac-Mool, 163
Chamber of Deputies, 141
Chamela, steamer to, 368
Champoton, steamer to, 368
Chapultepec, 300

storming, 64, 303
Chapala, Lake, 7
Charities, 254

minor, 268

Puebla, 378
Charity, Brothers of, 257

Sisters of, 239
Charles IV., statue, 375, 283
Charles V., portrait, 382
Chavez, see Echave
Chihuahua, 490

executions in, 56
Choir, Puebla, 381
Cholula, town, 393

massacre, 45

pyramid, 394
Chorro, spring, 451
Christians, first, 20
Chroniclers, 35
Church, 19

beautiful, 489

collegiate, 297

Comonfort and the, 65

first, 20

first blow at, 63

first, Cit. Mex., 171, 173

large, 465

visiting, 92
Chiirches, City of Mexico :

Ana, Santa, 183

Animas, Chapel, 170

Antonio Abad, San, 217

Balvanera, La, 223

Belen de los Padres, 213

Bernardo San, 235

Brigida, Santa, 237

512

INDEX.

Churches, City of Mexico :

Camilo, San (Seminario), 221

Caridad, La, 239

Carmen, El, 214

CataHna de Sena, Sta., 226

Catarina Martir, Sta., 183

Cathedral, 165

Clara, Sta., 223

Colegio de las Mfias, 220

Concepcion, La, 221

Corpus Christi, 236

Cosme, San, 178

Crnz Acatlan, Sta., 177

Cruz y Soledad, Sta., 177

Diego, San, 213

Domingo, Santo, 200

Encarnacion, La, 228

Ensenanza, La, 238

Fernando, San, 220

Felipe de Jesus, San, 169

Francisco, San, 188

Gerdnimo, San, 225

Hipolifco, San, 206

Hospital Real (Protestant) 255

Ines, S. (SagradoCorazon), 229

Jesus Maria, 224

Jesus Nazareno, 240

Jose', San, 184

Josede GraciaS. (Prot.), 230

Juan de Dios, San, 216

Juan de la Penitencias, 226

Lazaro, San, 216

Lorenzo, San, 229

Loreto, 208

Maria de los Angeles, Sta., 244

Maria la Redonda, Sta. , 175

Miguel, San, 184

Monserrate, 215

Pablo, San, 174

Palma, Santo Tomas la. 178

Porta Coeli, 201

Profesa, La, 217

Regina Coeli, 184

Sagrario, 172

Salto del Agua, 246

Santiago Tlaltelolco, 199

Santisima, La, 245

Sagrado Corazon (S. Ines), 229

Sebastian, San, 175

Seminario (San Camilo), 221

Soledad, chapel, 174

Teresa la Antigua, Sta. 231

Teresa la Nueva, Sta, 235

Tomas la Palma, Santo, 178

Vera Cruz, Sta., 176

Churches, independent, 246

Protestant, 29

Protestant, services in, 124
Churches, parish, City of Mexico,

171
Churches, Puebla:

Antonio, San, 389

Calvario, 389

Cathedral, 379

Clara, Santa, 389

Compania, La, 387

Cristobal, San, 388

Felipe de Jesus, S., 389

Francisco, San, 384

Jesus Nazareno, 389

Jose, San, 389

Luz, La, 389

Sagrario, 383

Soledad, La, 389
Churrigueresque, dehnition, 173
Churubusco, 309

battle of, 64

tramway to, 121
Cigars, duties on, 84

manufacture of, 11
Cinco de Mayo, festival, 19,

battle, 68, 374

fort, 376

library, 147

picture, 141
Cintura Railway, S62
Circu^lating libraries, 109
Circus, 271
Citadel, Cit. of Max., 143

Monterey, 473
Citizenship, 16
Cityof Mexico, 134

Calzadas (causeways), 126,
280

churches (see above)

City Hall, 136

Climate, 134

French occupy, 69

government, 137

markets, 137

population, 136
Scott captures, 64
siege of, 45
streets, list of, 1 25
water-supply, 136
Cindadela, 142
Claim of the pies, 67
Clara Maria, 212
Clara, Santa, 223
Climate, 4, 77

INDEX.

513

Clothing, 89
Cloth, cotton, 9

woollen, 9
Coaches, hackney, 94, 101

City of Mexico, 112
Coal, 9

Coastwise lines, 368
Coatepec Valley, 438
Cobbler, 108
CollVe of Uruapam, 8
Cofre de Perote, 8, 434
Coinage, 144
Coincho, baths, 463
Coins, Mexican, 81
Colegio de la Paz, 367

de las nifias, 220

de S. Nicolas, 461
College, medical, 251
Colleges, City of Mexico, 247
Collegiate church, 297
Columbus monument, 285
Commerce, foreign, 11, 432

Vera Cruz, 11, 432
Committee of Regency, 58
Comonfort and Franciscans, 197
Comonfort, treachery of, 66
Compaiila, La, Puebla, 387
Concepcion, La, 221
Congress, 17

tirst, 58
Conquest of Mexico, 41
Conquest, standard, 43, 164, 208
Conquistadora, La, 385
Conservatorio de Miisica, 248
Constitution, 15

first, 56

of 1824, 60

of 1857, 65
Convents, 23
Copper, 8
Copper-work, 464
Cordoba, 493

Treaty of, 58
Cora, sculptor, 381
Corpus Christi, 236
Corsairs, English, 48
Cortes, burial of, 243

church founded by, 240

Coyoacan, in, 307

Cuernavaca, in, 477, 478

descendants of, 42

fleet of, 43

hospital founded by, 254

landing of, 44

meeting Montezuma, 280

Cortt's, parents of, 42

portrait of, 164
Cosnie, San, 178
Cost of travel, 79
Cotton country, 345

cloth, 9
Court, Federal, 142
Courts of Law, 18
Coyoacan, 307

tramway to, 121
Cristobal, S. Paebla, 388
Cross of Queretaro, 4'Jo, 428
Cruces, Las, battle, 355
Cruces, Monte de las, 354
Cruz del Marques, 476
Cruz, Juan a Ines de la, 36, 226,

365. 484
Cruz y Soledad, Sta., 177
Cuatlenchan, 327
Cuatla la Morelos, 494
Cuernavaca, 475
Cuitzeo, Lake, 7, 358
Cuna, La, 263
Currency, 80
Custom house, 83, 142
Cutlery, manufactured, 11

to buy, 109

Dark Cell, 453
Dead, street of the, 323
Deaf and dumb school, 269
Debt, English, 67, 75, 76

foreign, 67
Defensa, La, 381
Deputies, Chamber of, 17, 141
Desierto, El, 320
Dialects, native, 34
Diaz, Porfirio, at Puebla, 375

provisional president, 74

re-elected president, 75

revolt of, 73
Diego, Juan, font, 184

vision of, 290
Diego, San, 213
Dieguinos, 213
Diligence, City of Mexico, 112

lines, 368, 369

Saltillo, 78

San Isidro, 78
Diputacion, 136
Discalced Franciscans, 213
Divino Salvador, Hospital, 260
Divisions, political, 13
Doctors, 89
Dolores, cemetery, 289

514

INDEX.

Dolores, Grito de, 55

tramway to, 119
Domingo, Santo, 200
Dominicans, 23
Dominican Order, 200
Dona Maria's. 415
Doniphan's advance, 64
Drafts, 80

Drain, Nochistongo, 328
Drake, Sir Francis, 4i>
Drawn-work, 109
Dress, 89
Dry season, 5
Dulces (sweets), 89

Celaya, 488

City of Mexico, 109

Morelia, 455
Durango, diligen.ee, 369
Dutiable articles, 83
Dyke of Saa Cristobal, 329

Eating, 87

Echave, pictures by, 152, 38S

Education, 32

City of Mexico, 247

Puebla, 377
El Paso, town, 97
Empire, first, 59

second, 69
Encarnacion, bridge, 347, 350

church, 228

town, 347
Engineers, mining, 443
England, trade with, 12, 13
English cemetery, 289

corsairs, 48

debt, 67, 75, 7&
Ensenanza, La., 238
Envoy, U. S., 123
Episcopal church, 134
Escuela de Medicina, 25i

Preparatoria, 251
Espiracion, chapel, 201
Espiritu Santo, 208
Eulalia, Sta., mine, 491^ 493
Excavations, 467
Exercise, 87
Exchange, 80
Excursion cars, 117
Expenses, 79
Exports, 12, 13
Express, City of Mexico, 113

local, 101

service, 96
Extra baggage, 96

Fair, Aguas Calientes, 410

Jalapa, 435
Fairlie locomotive, 335
Feast days, 19
Feasting sick people, 257
Federal Court, 142

Government, 17
Fees, 87, 90
Festivals, national, 19
Felipe de Jesus, S. church, 195

relics of, 169
: Fernandinos, order, 320
; Fernando, San, 320

cemetery, 289
Fifth of May, 19, 68

battle, 374

picture, 141
Fighting monks, 211
J^iuancier, The Mexicarty 110
. Fine Arts, Puebla, 378

School, Cit. Mex.,147
Fire, God of, 162
First church, 20

pulpit, 400
Flag, Mexican, 57
Flat arch, 384
Fleet to Spain, 51
Flor de Maria, 357
Flores, Molino de, 336
Flower market, 138
Fondas, 91

Font, Juan Diego, 184
Food, 86
Foot-marks, 483
Foreign commerce, 11
Foreign debt, 67

legations, 133
Foreigners, rights of, 16
Forey, Marshal, 69
Fort, black, 473

Cinco de Mayo, 374

Guadalupe, 376 -
Founding Acambaro, 487
Foundling Asylum, 263
Fountain, enchanted, 315
Fourth of July celebration, 333
; France and United States, 70

trasde with, 12, 13
Franciscan, Order, 189
Franciscanos descalzos, 180
Franciscans, 23

conspiracy, 65, 197
Francisco, S., ch. Chihuahua, 491

City of Mexico, 39, 188

Puebla, 384

INDEX.

515

Francisco, S., Texcoco, 324
Free list, 83

Fremont in California, 64
French at Vera Cruz, 07, 68

cemetery, 289

intervention, 67
FresniUo, 47, 346
Friends' Mission, 32
Fruits, 8

Gaceta de Mexico, La., 50

Gachupina, La, 450

Gage, Thomas, 320

Gante, Fr. Pedro de, 20, 171

Garcia (Pesqueria), 474

Germany, trade with, 12, 13

Geronimo, San, 225

Gold, 8

Goliad, massacre, 62

Gonzalez, impeachment, 75

President, 74
Good Friday, Amecameca, 482
Gothic church, 452
Government, 15

offices, 141

officials, 123
Grant in church tower, 179

lodgings, Cit. Mex,, 251

on Mexican war, 303
Gregorio, San, 209
Grijalva, landing, 41, 431
Grito de Dolores, 55
Guadalajara, diligence, 369
Guadalupe, aqueduct, 49

banner, 164

calzada, 457

festivals, 294

fort, 374

Guanajuato, 420

-Hidalgo, 300

treaty of, 64

in politics, 298

legend, 290

picture, 296

shrine, 295

spring, 298

springs, 478

tramway to, 118

Zacatecas, 407
Guanajuato, 414

Hidalgo at, 55
Guarantees, the Three, 57
Guarda, El, 475
Guatimotzin, bust, 278

monument, 285

Guatimotzin, tortured, 46
Guaymas, 496

steamers from, 368
Guercino, 153
Guerrero monument, 279

portrait, 141

statue, 286
Guides, 107
Guide, 153
Guzman, Nufio de, 469

Hackney coaches, 94, 101

Cit. Mex., 112
Hall of Ambassadors, 141
Hand-marks, 483
Hands, tree of the little, 506
Harbors, 5
Hardware, manufactured, 11

to buy, 109
Hat stores, 108
Heights, cities, 4

mountain, 6
Henequen, export, 13, 13
Hercules mill, 422
Hidalgo at Acambaro, 488

at Guanajuato, 55

at Morelia, 55

conspiracy of, 55

execution of, 56, 493

head, 418

Liceo, 38

portrait, 141

relics, 164

statue, 417

theatre, 271

tomb, 169
Hipolito, San, 206

hospital, 256
Hipolitos, order, 257
Historians, 35
Historical summary, 41
Historic houses, 286
Horses, saddle, 113
Hospicio de Pobres, 264
Hospital, American, 263

Concepcion Beistigui, 263

Divino Salvador, 260

French, 263

Jesus Nazareno, 254

Juarez, 261

Lying-in, 263

Morelos, 358

Municipal, 261

Real, 255

San Andres, 361

516

INDEX.

Hospital, San Hipclito, 256

San Juan de Dios, 258

San Pablo, 261

Spanish, 263
Hotel rates, 79

Yturbide, 287
Hotels, 91

Puebla, 370

City of Mexico, 103
Houses, notable, 286
House, tiled, 288
Huitzilopocbtli, idol, 157

shrine, 309
Humboldt, house, 288

Ibarra, pictures, 152, 383
Iguala, Plan of, 57, 69
Iguatzio, 468
Illness, 89
Imports, 11
Imprisonment, 15
Ines Santa, 229
Independence, first martyr, 54

first step toward, 53

monument, 275
Independent Mexico, 58
Indian girls, convent, 336
Indians, terrified, 469
Indio Triste, 159
Inquisition, the, 25
Insane asylum, 260
International Rwy., 368
Interoceanic Rwy., 362
Intervention, French, 67
Interpreters, 107
Inundation, great, 328
Invalids, wintering place, 410
Irolo, 338
Iron, 8

Isabel, see Ysabel
Iturbide, see Yturbide
Iturrigaray, Viceroy, 54
Ixtacalco, 318
Ixtaccihuatl, height, 6

Jalapa, 433

railway to, 340
Jesuit schools, 251
Jesuits, arrival, 47, 208

suppressions, 24, 51, 209

teachers, 23
Jesus Maria, 224
Jesus Nazareno, church, 240

hospital, 254
Jilotepec, 435

Jimenez, execution, 56, 493

head, 418*

tomb, 169
Jose, San, 184

de Gracia, S., 230

el Real, S., 217

S. de los Naturales, 185
Juan de Dios, San ch. , 216

de Dios, S. hospital, 258

de la Penitencia, S. , 226
Juarez, death, 73

enters Mexico, 13

hospital, 261

monument, 286

policy, 73

portrait, 141

President, 66

railway and telegraph, 73

re-elected President, 73

second re-election, 73
Juarez Brothers, artists, 151
Judiciary, 18
Jurisprudence, school, 353

Key-stones, hanging, 474
Kilometres and miles, 83

La Barca, diligence, 369
Lagos, 497
Laja, canon, 358
La Joya, 336
Lake Cuitzeo, 358

Patzcuaro, 360
Lakes, 7
Lampazos, 353
Lancasterian Society, 253
Language, 34
La Paz, steamer to, 368
Laredo, 352
Las Casas, 47

picture, 154
Las Cruces, battle, 56
Latin, logic, and philosophy, 199
Laws of Reform, 24, 66, 73
Lawyer made Bishop, 469
Lazaro, San, 216

dyke, 47
Lead, 9

League, measure, 81
Leather work, 11, 413
Legations, foreign, 123
Legend, Malinche, 314
Legs of San Sebastian, 483
Legua, measure, 81
Leon, 411

INDEX.

517

Leonardo, 153
Leon, Patroness of, 413
Lerdo, President, 73
Villa, 345
Lerma, river, 355

town, 356
Lestonac, Jeanne de, 238
Letters, 94, 111
Libraries, 34, 109, 147
Library, Cinco de Mayo, 147

National, 144

Paebla, 377
Liceo Hidalgo, 38
Lightning Saint, 389
Literature, 35
Liturgy, Mozarabic, 29
Llave monument, 437
Local express, 101
Locomotive, Fairlie, 335
Locusts, plague of, 500
Lodgings, City of Mexico, 106
Lopez, hospitals founded, 259
Lorenzana, bishop, 29

hospital founded, 263
Lorenzo, San, 229
Loreto, Santa Casa de, 452

cerro del, 374

Ustra Sta, de, 208
Los Remedies, 445

legend, 448,
Luggage, City of Mexico, 102

extra, 96, 333, 344, 352, 363
Lunch-basket, 86
Lying-in Hospital, 262

Macao, bronze from, 168
Mad women cared for, 260
Mail, 94, 111
Maltrata, 336
Manufactures, 9
Manterola, Ramon, 40
MaazaniHo, steamer to, 363
Mapimi, Bolson de, 6, 345
Maps, government, 434
Maravatio, 498
Marfil, town, 420
Maria la Redonda, Sta., 175
Marina, La, 44
Market, flower, 138
Markets, City of Mexico, 137
Marquetry, 381
Martinez, engineer, 328

monument, 276
Mass, first, 20
Masses, 45, 171, 324

Matamoras, execution, 457

portrait, 141
Matamoras, diligence, 346

occupied, 63
May, Fifth of festival, 19

battle, 68, 374
Mazatlan, steamer to, 368
Maximilian, arrival, 69

burial place, 436

crowned, 69

execution, 73, 435

poUcy of, 69, 70

prisoner, 72

prison of, 425

relics, 164, 426

shot at, 431

tendered crown, 69

trial, 434
Measures, Mexican, 81
MedeUin, 433

Medina, Bartolome de, 443
Medicina, Escuela de, 251
Medicine, 89
Medical school, first, 256
Mejia (Mexia), execution, 73, 435

trial, 434
Mending, 108
Mendoza, Viceroy, 46
Mercedarians, order, 310
Merced, La, 310
Merida, 499

Mesa, de los Cartujanos, 353
Mescal, 11

Methodist church, 31, 134
Metlac ravine, 335
Mexicaloingo, 319
Mexican breakfast, 105

Financier^ The, 110

flag, 57

government officials, 133

measures, 81

States, 14

war, the, 63
Mexican Railway, 333

history, 340

opening, 73
Mexican Central Railway, 343

history, 349

opened, 75
Mexican National Railway, 351

history, 359
Mexico, City of, 134

siege of, 45

climate, 4
Mexico, coast of, 5

513

IJN^DEX.

Mexico, conquest of, 44

discovery of, 41

harbors, 5

limits of, 3

physical features, 3

primitive, 41

routes to, 78

when to go to, 77
" Michael Angelo, of Mexico," 490
Michoacan, City of, 470
Miguel, San, ch., 184
Miles and kilometres, 82
Military Academy, 303

force, 18
Milliner, 109
Mineral del Oro, 357

products, 8
Mineria, La, 249
Mine, Sta. Eulalia, 344, 491, 492
Mines, 8

Mining, school of, 442
Minister, U. S., 123
Mint, City of Mexico, 142

Guanajuato, 418

Zacatecas, 406
Miramon, defeat, 71

execution, 72, 425

trial, 424
Missionaries, 20
Missions, Protestant, 30
Mitras, Cerro de las, 472
Mixcoac, 305

tramway to, 119, 120
Molino de Flores, 326

del Rey, 3G3

del Rey, affair of, 64
Monclova, 366

founding of, 49
Money, buying, 80

Mexican, 80
Monks, 23

fighting, 211

theatrical, 255
Monserrate, Nstra. Sra. de, 215
Monte de las Cruces, 354
Monte de Piedad, 265

collapse of, 74
Monterey, 470

capture, 64
Montezuma, Cerro de, 451
Montezuma's bath, 325

new house, 140
Monument, Ahnitzotl, 301

Charles IV., 283

Columbus, 285

Monument, Guatimotzin, 278, 285

Guerrero, 279, 286

Independence, 275

Juarez, 286

Llave, 437

Martinez, 276

Morelos, 286

Pius IX., 379
Monuments, 2S3
Moon, pyramid, 321
Morelia, 445

Hidalgo at, 55
Morelos, born, 458

at Cuautla, 56

execution, 29, 56

hospital, 258

name to Morelia, 463

portrait, 141

statue, 286
Mountain altitudes, 6
Mozarabic Liturgy, 29
Municipal Hospital, 261
Murillo, 152, 170
Musa Mexicana, 484
Museo Nacional, 155
Museums, 34
Miisica, Conservatorio de, 248

Nacional, Theatre, 270
Naphtha, 9

Napoleon, back-down, 70
National Archives, 147

bridge, 54

festivals, 19

library, 144

museum, 155

palace, 140

railway, 351
Native dialects, 34
Navy, 18

Neapolitan head-dress, 494
Neri, Felipe, S. Congregacion,

218
Netzahualcoyotl, 35, 323, 325
Nevado de Toluca, 506
Newspapers, 34, 50, 110
New Mexico, conquest, 48
Nickel riots, 74, 81
Nicolas, Colegio de San, 461
Noche Triste, defeat, 45

memorial, 207

tree, 122, 312
Nochistongo, drain, 328
Nuevo, Paseo, 279
Nun, royal, 225

INDEX,

519

Obispabo Vie.to, 473
Ochoa, General, 484
Ocotlan, Santuario, 401
Officials, government, 133
Old books, 110, 139
"Old" tower, 380
Olive-trees, hu-ge, 467
Ojo de Agua, 473
Oratorians, 318
Orchids, 436
Orders, religious, 23
Ordnance survey, 434
Orfanatorio at Zacatecas, 408
Organ, old, 506
Orizaba, height, 6

town, 436
Orozco y Berra, history, 163
Ortiz, Dona Josefa, 55
Otumba, 338
Overcoats, 89
Ox-cart (Aparicio), 385

Pablo, San, ch., 174

hospital, 261
Pachuca, 441
Padierna, aflfair of, 64
Palacio de Justicia, 143

Nacional, 140
Palo Alto, skirmish, 63
Panteones, 389
Parian, El, 374

sacking of, 375
Parish churches, Cit. Max., 171

priests, 94
Parra, Felix, 154
Parras, wine, 471, 501
Parties, political, 60
Paseo de Bucareli, 379

Nuevo, 379

del Pendon, SOS

de la Ref orma, 379

de la Viga, 278
Paso del Norte, 97
Passage, concealed, 460, 468
Passes, 93
Passion play, 483
Passports, 83
Patio process, 346, 406

invention, 47, 443
Patriots, 56
Patroness of Leon, 413
Pawn-shop, national, 365
Patzcuaro, citv, 463

lake, 7, 359, 466
Pedregal, El, 308

Pcdregal, El, Scott crosses, 64
Pedro de Gante, Fr., 30
Pedro S. and S, Pablo, 309
Penitentiary, Morelia, 456
Pensacola, founding, 49
Pesqueria (Garcia), 474
Permits, 93
Petroleum, 9
Picture by Titian, 467

commemorative, 181
Pictures, Cit. Mex., 147

Puebla, 383
Piedad, La, 316

tramway to, 120
Pies, claim of the, 67
Pig, Mexican, 453
Pirates, English, 48
Philharmonic Society, 371
Pilgrims, Amecameca, 483
Pius IX. monument, 379
Plan of Igaala, 57, 69

La Noria, 73

Tuxtepec, 74
Plains, 6
Platina, 8
Plaza Mayor, City of Mexico, 373

del Seminario, 376
Pocket of Mapiml, 6, 345
Poetess, Mexican, 484
Poets, 35
Political divisions, 13

parties, 60
Politics, Virgin in, 450
Poor-house, 264
Popocatepetl, height, 6

ascent of, 484
Popotla, 313
Population, 14
Porta Coeli, 301
Portales, 139
Porters (cargadores), 90
Ports, 5

Postal regulations, 94, 111
Post-office, 94, 111
Potrero, the, 474
Pottery, 10

to buy, 108

Zacatecas, 406
Preparatory school, 251
Presbyterians, 31
President, 17

calling on, 133

first, 60
Presidential succession, 18
Pretty girls, college of the, 339

520

IISTDEX.

Price, Gen., advance of, 64
Priestly aid, 93
Prieto Guiilermo, 37
Prim, General, 68
Principal, theatre, 269
Printing-press, first, 46
Prisons, City of Mexico, 139
Profesa, La, 217
Protestant churches, 124
Protestantism, 29
Proverbs at Jalapa, 434
Puebla de Jos Angeles, 370

a walk in, 378

battle of, 19, 68, 374

cathedral, 379

charities, 378

Diaz captures, 71

education, 377

fine arts, 378

French capture, 69

history, 389

railway to, 339

Scott captures, 64

view near, 375
Pueblito, Nstra. Sra. del, 428
Puente Nacional, 54
Pulpit, first, 400
Pulque, 11, 88, 337
Purlsima, bridge, 472
Pyramids, Sun, Moon, 321

QUERETARO, 421

siege of, 71
Queraadero, 26, 277
Quetzalcoatl, 161
Quicksilver, 9
Quiroga, Bishop, 469

bones of, 465

Rainy season, 5
Rail-route to Mexico, 77
Railway eating houses, 86
Railway, Cintura, 362

International, 366

Interoceanic, 362

Mexican, 333

Mexican National, 351

Sonora, 366

subsidies, 76
Railways, City of Mexico, 112

minor, 366

street. City of Mexico, 113
Rats for food, 496
Real del Monte. 443
Reboso, definition, 412

Reforma, Paseo de la, 279
Reformation, the, 24
Reform, Laws of the, 24
made constitutional, 73
proclaimed, 66
Regency, 58
Regina Coeli, 184
Regla, Conde de, 255
Relics, Puebla, 382
Religion, 19

Religious foundations, 164
orders, 23
suppression, 24
Remedios, Los, 445
Resaca de la Palma, skirmish, 63
Restaurants, 91

City of Mexico, 103
Revillagigedo, Viceroy, 51

reforms by, 274
Revolution, first, 61
Revolutionary period, 53
Rincon Grande, 4f]6
Rio Grande crossed, 63
Riot, Nickel, 74
of 1692, 273
Parian, 275
Rivera, 153
Rivers, 7

Roman Catholic Church, 19
Routes to Mexico, 78
Royal nun, 225
Rubens, 152
Ruins at Xochicalco, 479

Sacramento, battle, 64, 493

Sacrificial stone, 157

Sacro Monte, 480

Saddle-horses, 113

Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, 229

Sagrario, 173

Salm-Salm, Princess, 425

Salon de Conciertos, 271

Salt, 9

Saltillo, 501

diligence from, 78
Salto de Alvarado, 290
Salto del Agua, church, 246

fountain, 282
Salvatierra, 502
Sanctuary, right of, 183, 184
San Angel, town, 305

tramway to, 120, 121
San Bias, steamer to, 368
San Carlos Academy, 147
San Cristobal, dyke, 329

INDEX.

521

San Isiiiro, town, 846

diligence from, 78
San Juan de los Llanos, rwy. to, 371
San Juan Teotihuacan, town, 321
San Luis Potosi. diligence, 309
San Mdrcos, railway to, 371
Sail Miguel de Alleude, town, 450
Santa Anita, town, 318 _
Santa Anna, dictator, 65

revolt of, 61
Santa Eulalia mine, 344, 491, 492
S.inta Fe trail. 493
Santiago Tlaltelolco, eh., 199
Santisima, ch., 245
Santo Intierro, image, 481
Sarapes, see Zarapes
School, blind, 269

business, 253

correctional, 263

deaf and dumb, 269

jurisprudence, 353

preparatory, 251

trade, 269
Schools, 32

City of Mexico, 247
Scott's advance, 64
Sculptor, Indian, 403
Sea-ports, 5

Sea-route to Mexico, 78
Sebastian, San, 175
Seminario Conciliar, 253

plaza del, 276
Senate, 17

Senor de Burgos, 194
Senor de Sta. Teresa, 233
September 16th, 55
Serapes, see Zarapes
Serpent worship, 160
Servants, 90
Seward at Queretaro, 434

letter of, 70
Shackles, cast oflf, 461
Shoemaker, 108
Shopping, 139, 266

City of Mexico, 107

Puebla, 371
Shrines, visiting, 98
Sickness, 89
Sierra Madre, 4
Silao, 503

SiUa. Cerro de la, 473
Sillas, Las, 464
Sinking church, 210
Silver, 8

currency, 80

Silver, jewelry, 109
Slidell, special envoy, G3
Social organization, 53
Sociedad Filarmonica, 271

Catolica, 254
Soledad, Capilla de la, 174
Sonora Railway, 366
Spagnoletto, 153
Spanish tongue, 34
Spain, trade with, 12, 18
Spring, miraculous, 464
Springs of Guadalupe, 478
Stamps, postage, 1)4, 111
Standard of the Conquest, 43
State government, 13
States, Mexican, 14
Steamljoat (Patzcuaro), 466
Steamers, coastwise, 368
Stone, calendar, 156

of the sun, 156

sacrificial, 157
Street of the dead, 323
Street Railways, Cit. Mex., 113
Streets, City of Mexico, 125
Subsidies stopped, 76
Subterranean way, 460, 468
Suburban tramways, 116
Sugar, 10

haciendas, 478, 495
Sumaya, La, 148, 169
Sun, pyramid of the, 331

stone of the, 156
Suppression of religious orders, 24
Survey, ordnance, 434
Sweetmeats, 89

to buy, 109

Table-land, 4
Tacubaya, 304

tramway to, 119
Tacuba, 313

tramway to, 123
Tailor, 108

Tailors, alcaldes of the, 246
Tajo de Nochistongo, 328
Tampico, steamer to, 368
Tapestry, Puebla, 382
Tarascan chief, 467, 488
Taylor's advance, 63
Taxation, 18
Tecajic, shrine, 506
Telegraph, 95

City of Mexico, 113
Temisco, 478
Tenochtitlan, city, 134

522

INDEX.

Tenochtitlan, siege of, 45

Cortes enters, 45
Teoyaomiqui, idol, 157
Tercer Orden. 194
Teresa la Antigua, Sta., 331

la Nueva, Sta. 235
Terreros, miner, 444
Terrified Indians, 469
Tetzcotzinco, 325
Texas, conquest of, 49

Republic of, 62

State of, 62

revolt of, 62
Texcoco, 323
Tierra Caliente, 5

Fria, 5

Templada, 5
Tiled house, 288
Tiles, Fuebla, 372
Tin, 9

Titian, picture by, 467
Thanksgiving Day, 410
Theatres, City of Mexico, 269

Puebla, 373
Theatrical Monks, 255
Thermometer readings, 5
Theological Seminary, 253
Thomas, Saint, 161
"Three Guarantees," 57
Tlalnepantla, 327

tramway to, 122
Tlalpam, 311

tramway to, 121
Tlaltelolco, Santiago, 199
Tlamacas, 485
Tlaxcala, 397

Tlaxcalans, fights with, 45
Tolsa, Manuel, 149
Toltec remains, 507
Toluca, 503

Tomas la Palm a, Sto. , 178
Tomb of bishops, 381
Tonantzin, goddess, 290
Trade, foreign, 11
Tramways, City of Mexico, 113

suburban, 116

Zacatecas, 407
Treaty, Guadalupe-Hidalgo, 64, 300

La Soledad, 68

London, 67
Tree of the Noche Triste, 312

of the Little Hands, 506
Tresguerras, architect, 489
Trunk-mending. 108
Tula, 506

Tultenango, canon, 357
Turkey eating, 410
Tuxpango, 436
Tuxpan, steamer to, 368
Tuxtepec, Plan of, 74
'^ Twelve Apostles," 21
Tzintziintzan, 463, 466

Ulua, S. Juan de, 480
Underground passage, 460, 468
United States and France, 70

minister, 123

trade with, 12, 13

war with, 62
University of Mexico, 248, 461

Tiripitio, 461
Uxmal, 499

Vaccara, Andrea, 153
Valencia, Fr. Martin de, 480
Valladolid (Morelia), 462
Vallejo, pictures by, 214, 249, 252
Van Dyke, J 53
Vara, measure, 81
Vegetable products, 8
Veils, Lord of the Seven, 176
Velasco, Viceroy, 47
Velazquez, 153
Vera, author, 484
Vera Cruz, Santa, ch,, 176
Vera Cruz, city, 429

executions in, 74

French at, 67, 68

founding of, 44

Scott captures, 64
Verdad, Licenciado, 54
Viceregal period, 46
Viceroy and Archbishop, 48

eccentric, 51
Viceroys, portraits, 164
View at Amecameca, 480

at Coatepec, 433

at Puebla, 375
Viga, canal, 317

paseo de la, 278
Vilar, 154
Villa Lerdo, 345
Virgin, Mexican, 450

in politics, 450

Spanish, 450
Vizcainas, 267
Volador, market, 137
Vultures, Vera Cruz, 430

War with United States, 63
Watch-mending, 108

INDEX.

523

Water-clock, heavenly, 222

falls, 436

melon, mayor, 365

supply, 282

works, abortive, 447
Wells, artesian, 282
Wells, Fargo & Co., 96
Wine, 88

of Parras, 471,501
Writers, 35
Wood-carving, 381
WooUen cloth, 9

XiCACA, goddess, 327
Xanicho, 466
Xaracuaro, 466
Xochicalco, 479

Yautepec, 365, 496
Yguala, see Iguala
Yldefonso, San, 251
Yngenio, the, 436
Ysabel, Sta., 239

Yturbide, born, 458

emperor, 59

execution, 60

funeral, 189

portrait, 141

memorial, 484

sketch of, 57

tomb, 169
Yturbide, hotel. 287
Yucatan, bishopric of, 21

conquest of. 499

discovery of, 19

Zacatecas, 404
Zaragoza, Gen., 374
Zarapes, 10

to buy, 108, 408
Zempoala, arcos de, 363
Zendejas, last picture, 384
Zdcalo, garden, 275
Zopilotes, canon, 357
Zumarraga, bishop, 21

tomb, 170

[The Mexican' Guide has received the official endorse-
ment of the Jlexican Government (see extract from the
Di\Rio Ofici-\l below), the ivarm commendation of the
newspaper press of Mexico and the United States, the
substantial approval of the traveling public. It is the
only practical, accurate guide-book to Mexico.Ji

From the DiARIO OFICIAL (April 16, 1886), the official organ
of the Mexican Federal Government :

^'TJie Mexican Guide, escrita en idioma ingles j destinada 4 los
viajeros que visiten la capital, es un libro qne merece especial
recomendacion por la abundancia j exactitud de sus noticias, colec-
cionadas con especiales buen juicio y laboriosidad. Acompaiian d
este libro un piano de la ciudad de Mexico y otro de los alrededores
de la capital exactos y con utiles indicaciones. Recomendamos la
adquisicion de dicha Guia."

[translation.]

'^TIw Mexican Guide, written in English and destined for the
use of travelers who visit Mexico, is a book that merits especial
commendation because of the fullness and exactness of the facts
which it presents, and the judgment and care shown in its prep-
aration. The book is accompanied by a map of the City of Mexico
and one of its environs, both exact and useful. We recommend
the purchase of this guide."

From El Partido LIBERAL (April 13, 1886), the organ of
the Mexican Liberal Party [translation] :

' ' This book gives complete instructions to persons traveling in
Mexico who do not understand Spanish ; and in addition to this
describes carefully and exactly all places that strangers should
visit. The book is absolutely trustworthy in its historical notices,
as well as in its practical information, and as until now no book at

all of its kind has been published in English strangers traveling-
in Mexico will find it extremely useful and valuable. Two excel-
lent maps accompany the work."

From El Tiempo (April 14, 1886), the organ of the Mexican
Conservative and Clerical Parties [trajstslation] :

' * This is a valuable book that we have looked over with much
pleasure, because we have found in it exact and most intimate
knowledge of contemporary affairs and historical events ; such as
has been presented in no other guide and which scarcely was to be
expected in a book written by a foreigner. English-speaking trav-
elers in Mexico will find in Seiior Janvier's guide all the practical
information most useful for travel in this country ; and in addition
will find the answers to almost all the questions that could be asked
by any intelligent traveler interested in Mexican history."

From El ECONOMISTA Mexicana (April 15, i885), the lead-
ing commercial periodical (in Spanish) published in Mex-
ico [translation] :

*' Senor Thomas A. Janvier has just published in New York a
new guide to Mexico that merits, both for its appearance and con-
tents, the attention of travelers coming to visit our Republic ; and
also such persons as desire through the medium of an agreeable and
attractive book to become acquainted with Mexico. We do not
hesitate to assert that even Mexicans will find in this book much
curious and interesting information."

From The MEXICAN FINANCIER (April 10, 1886), published
in English and Spanish, the -leading financial and com-
mercial newspaper of Mexico :

" The Mexican Guide, by Thomas A. Janvier, published by
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, supplies most admirably a want
that the outpouring of English-speaking tourists into Mexico dur-
ing the past two years has made very pressing. Until now, the
only work of this nature that has been of any practical value to

travelers in Mexico lias been Ferguson's little Anecdotical Guide,
a pamplilet of 128 pages that had the misfortune to be published
in 1876 — just ten years before it was wanted — and, never having
been revised and republished, now is antiquated and of little use.
The more imposing volume published by the Messrs. Appleton is
rather a compendium of miscellaneous facts than a guide-book ;
and, while it contains much interesting information concerning
Mexico, it contains very little of the particular sort of information
that travelers in Mexico require. Mr. Janvier's guide, therefore,
has a clear field ; and it covers the field very satisfactorily. * * *
The Messrs. Scribner announce that the book, as is customary with
Baedeker and other first-class books of this nature, will be revised
and republished annnally ; and this promise, in connection with the
substantial and ample information that the book now contains, as-
sures The Mexican Guide the position of the standard guide-book
to Mexico, "

From THE NATION (April 8, i886) :

' ' One is slightly repelled by the apparent assumption in the title
given this book. Perhaps, however, the use of the definite article
is a sort of echo from the author's studies in the Spanish of his
authorities, where it does not have the exclusive air which English
gives it. * -2f * Once over this feeling of resenting what seems
to be an undue claim of superiority and completeness, there is little
but hearty praise to be given to Mr. Janvier's work. He has suc-
ceeded in producing a happy combination of Baedeker and Murray,
uniting the practical helpfulness of the former with the latter's
tendency to supply artistic and historical details. There might
seem, at times, to be a little too much of the last, as in the full
accounts given of the various religious foundations, yet this is all
so new (in English) and so good that it can readily be pardoned.
In accuracy, in experienced suggestions, in genial and shrewd
appreciation of the people and the country, Tlie Mexican Guide,
within the limits noted, seems to us to be almost beyond criticism.
Especially pleasant is it to note Mr. Janvier's high estimate of the
artistic resources of Mexico — her churches, monuments and scenery,
her people, their costumes and homes. This, of course, was to

3 ^s^/df . l^/T^ifT r/^

have been expected at tlie hands of 'Ivory Black.' When Mr.
Church conies to give us the results of his sketching trips in Mex-
ico, to be added to what Mrs. Foote and her Bishop and, now, Mr.
Janvier have written, we shall understand more of the picturesque
charm which attaches in so high a degree to Mexico."

From the Philadelphia TIMES:

" Tourists in Mexico, whose number is constantly increasing, will
be grateful for TJie Mexican Guide, by Thomas A. Janvier, a com-
pact and clearly-printed little leather-covered volume just published
by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. This guide-book has sev-
eral unusual merits, not least of which is that the author has seen
what he describes, * * * Along with these practical directions,
based upon a residence in the country for several seasons, Mr.
Janvier gives also a great deal of descriptive and historical infor-
mation which has the very uncommon merit of sympathetic appre-
ciation. He treats the people and their institutions and customs
with respect, and the book abounds in little touches of gentle humor
and artistic insight that make it very pleasant to read."

From the New Orleans TiMES-DEMOCRAT;

' ' The stranger adventuring for the first time to the land that
though so near our doors is comparatively but little known, will
find of invaluable assistance the information compiled and arranged
in these three hundred pages by a traveler through Mexico who
himself felt the need of just such counsel, suggestion and descrip-
tion as he here offers for the benefit of future travelers."

From the San Francisco CHRONICLE;

" The need of an ample guide-book of Mexico has long been felt
by travelers, and the one by Thomas A. Janvier, just published,
ought to be warmly welcomed. The text is succinct and the des-
criptions graphic, while of archasological and historical data there is
sufficient to initiate the observer into the ^:^athways leading into
deeper researches." a

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MAP OF

THE ENVIRONS

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Authorized for Publication with

THE MEXICAN GUIDE

By GENERAL CAitLOS PACHECO,

Minister or Public "Works. 1883.

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