area and inhabitants of mexico.—character of the population.—indians, europeans, and mestizos; their respective numbers and characteristics.—inclinations of the mixed races.—tendencies of educated indians.—president juarez as an example.—how the indians live.—how the spaniards took possession of the land.—creoles and their origin.—the mestizos.—leperos and their character.—adroit thieves.—pawning a church organ.—the leperos and the brigands.—church of san domingo.—short history of the inquisition in mexico.—the auto-da-fé.
on the day following the visit to the church of guadalupe doctor bronson was occupied with some business matters that rendered his movements somewhat uncertain. frank and fred thought it a good opportunity to make some statistical notes about mexico which they had been for some time contemplating, but had postponed in consequence of there being no hurry about the matter. the figures were at hand whenever they chose to use them, and so they had no anxiety on the subject.
indian of northern mexico.
"first," said fred, "we will see the extent of the country, learn how large the population is, and of what it is composed."
"very well," was frank's reply; "you may put down the figures and other memoranda as i read them off."
the youths settled down to their work, fred at table with note-book and pencil, and frank with an array of books before him. for an hour or two their heads were, as dr. holmes says, "ant-hills of units and
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tens," as we shall see from the following, which they have permitted us to copy:
"mexico lies between the 15th and 33d parallels of latitude, and the 86th and 117th meridians of longitude. its greatest length is only a trifle less than 2000 miles, and its greatest width 750 miles. at the isthmus of tehuantepec it narrows to 140 miles; and this is the place where captain eads proposed to make a railway for transporting ships from one ocean to the other. we'll have something to say about this proposition in another place.
"we cannot find that there has ever been an exact survey of the country or a careful census of the inhabitants. no two authorities agree concerning the area and population; but an average of the best of them shows that the country measures about 800,000 square miles, and has 10,500,000 inhabitants. it is divided into twenty-seven states, one territory, and one federal district; the federal district includes the capital city, and may be regarded as the equivalent of the district of columbia in the united states, though it is much larger in area.
a mestizo woman.
"one-half the population consists of mestizos, or 'mixed people;' one-sixth are europeans or their creole descendants; and one-third and more are of pure indian blood. the following figures are from the last census:
indians
3,200,000
europeans and their descendants
1,500,000
mestizos—mixed races
5,800,000
—————
total
10,500,000
"señor garcia cubas, a mexican gentleman who has written a statistical work about mexico, published at the office of the minister of public works, says of the different races of people in the country: 'the difference of dress, customs, and language shows the heterogeneous character of the population.... the habits and customs of the people that make up the creole portion of the population are essentially european, and conform particularly to the fashions of the french, with some features borrowed
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from the spanish. their national language is spanish; french is considerably used; and english, german, and italian are receiving increased attention. the nearest descendants of the spanish, and those less mixed up with the natives of mexico, belong by their complexion to the white race. the natural inclination of the mixed races to the habits and customs of the whites and creoles, as well as their estrangement from those of the natives, is the reason that many of them figure in the most important associations of the country, by their learning and intelligence, including in this number the worthy members of the middle classes. from this powerful coalition the force of an energetic development naturally results, which is inimical to the indian race. many of the natives themselves contribute to this fatal consequence, as they have joined the body i have referred to, and founded new families with the habits and customs of the upper classes.'"
"president juarez may be cited as an example of the pure indian of mexico," fred remarked, "who leaves behind him the traditions and customs of his race, and adopts those of the enlightened classes."
"i presume so," replied frank, "and every indian who has adopted the dress and ways of the european, and identified himself with the nineteenth century habits of thought, is helping to assimilate the aboriginal race with the new one. in this way the population will in time become essentially european, but it will take hundreds of years to bring about such a state of things. railways, commerce, education, and liberal ideas will accomplish it; and the mexico of the twentieth century promises to be a great improvement upon that of the eighteenth. there is now no political distinction on account of race, and the social one cannot last much longer."
having given utterance to this sage remark, frank blushed at his audacity in hazarding a prophecy, and referred again to the books before him.
"wouldn't it be well," said fred, "to say something about the natives, and compare them with the indians of the western states and territories of our own country?"
"it certainly would," responded frank, "and so here goes:
indian girl spinning cotton.
"the mexican indian is not much unlike the american one in general appearance, as he is of a brown or olive color, and has little or no beard. his cheek-bones are high, and he has slender limbs and a broad chest. owing to his having been so long accustomed to carrying burdens on his back, he is inclined to stoop, while the american indian stands erect. the mexican indian is also liable to stoutness, while the american one is not.
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his dress is pretty much the same in all parts of the country, varied, of course, by the conditions of the climate. short and wide trousers of coarse cotton cloth, a loose jacket of the same material, a serape or blanket for
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cool weather or at night, a straw hat, and a pair of sandals form his costume. the different tribes are distinguished by the colors of the clothing, but this distinction is slowly being effaced."
"now a few words about the creoles," suggested fred.
peddler of wooden trays.
"but i have not done with the indians yet," replied frank, "as this is a good place to say something about their houses. we have mentioned them in another place, but i want to add that in the hot country the indian dwelling is made of wood, thatched with palm or banana leaves, while in the uplands it is of adobe, with a flat roof covered with clay supported by beams and stamped or beaten hard. a fire is generally kept burning day and night, and near it are the cooking utensils, which cost altogether only a few dollars at most. the hut has no furniture except a few stools and some mats of cane or rushes, which serve as beds at night and seats by day. a whole family lives in a space which we should consider small for one person and altogether too restricted for two.
"when the spaniards conquered the country they took possession of the lands and everything else; they allowed the indians only sufficient space for their villages, and a plot of ground 3600 feet square for agricultural purposes, which all the inhabitants of a village were to cultivate in common. they still have this common garden, but the majority of them
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abandon their rights in it, and earn their living by hiring out with land-owners or miners. in former times a spaniard spoke of himself as gente de razon, or man of intelligence, while he designated the indian as gente sin razon, a man of no understanding. the indians accepted this distinction, and often speak of themselves in this way. of course this is not the case with the superior ones, who have adopted the european ways of living.
charcoal vender.
"now i come to the creoles," said frank, "who are either europeans or people of european parentage. they were formerly the ruling class of mexico in every sense of the expression, but since the revolution and the laws of the reform their position is changed, as they are compelled to recognize the equality of the educated indian, which in olden times they absolutely refused to do. when juarez, who, as already stated, was an indian of pure blood, became president it was a great shock to the sensibilities of many of the old aristocrats, but they survived it because they were compelled to do so. the hostility has generally died out, but a good deal of it lingers and will remain for many generations."
of the old aristocracy.
"i am reminded," said fred, "of a transaction which is attributed to the pilgrim fathers of new england when they landed at what is now plymouth."
"what is that?"
"they are said to have held a meeting, and passed the following preamble and resolution:
"'whereas, it has been decreed that the saints shall inherit the earth;
"'it is therefore resolved, that we are the saints.'"
"the spanish conquerors of mexico evidently did not think it worth
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while to pass any resolutions or hold any meetings," answered frank, with a laugh. "they went ahead and inherited the earth without bothering themselves about formalities. the indians were considered to have no rights that the white men were required to respect, and were made to understand that it was owing to the great mercy and tenderness of the spaniards that the natives were not slaughtered down to the last of the race. and there is little doubt that they would have been slaughtered had they not been needed for menial work and to make life easy for the newcomers.
a creole residence.
"as before stated, the creoles have the manners, customs, and dress of spain to a large extent, though they follow the fashions of france in several particulars. the account of a mexican courtship shows how the women are secluded, as in spain. the men have the spanish taste for gaming, bull-fights, and gallantry, and they have lost little of the polite forms for which andalusia is famous. where their means permit they are princely in their hospitality, and no grandee of castile could stab his intimate friend with a stiletto more gracefully than can the mexican creole in case of a misunderstanding. that the creole women are pretty and possessed of most fascinating manners is the testimony of all who have seen them.
"in regard to the mestizos," said frank, "i will quote a few words from 'mexico and the mexicans,' and let you write them down."
fred assented, whereupon frank slowly read out the following:
"the noblest of the aztecs fell in battle with the spaniards. their property fell into the hands of the victors, who at the same time became possessed of the families of those who had fallen. the rude warriors married the dusky daughters, who became their equals by baptism. it was not considered a mésalliance to marry a noble aztec girl. the sons of montezuma, who were educated in spain, received the title of count. the indian aristocracy adopted christianity, and became amalgamated with the new population.
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group of mexican horsemen.
"the mestizo is thus the child of a white father and an indian mother. he is a magnificent horseman; one might take him for an arab as, lance in hand, he rushes past upon his light steed. in the warmer regions he wears, on sundays, a carefully plaited white shirt, wide trousers of white or colored drilling, fastened round the hips by a gay girdle, brown leather gaiters, and broad felt hat, with silver cord or fur band around it. the mestizos include the great majority of the rancheros, or farmers, and the arrieros, or mule-drivers; many of them are educated, and take a leading part in law, politics, and medicine, where they often attain high rank. they are excellent soldiers, especially on horseback, and it is this class of mexicans that have given the mexican cavalry its high reputation."
"how about the leperos?" queried fred. "don't they belong among the mestizos?"
"yes," was the reply, "that is what the books i am looking at say of them. they come from the union of the worst of the two races, and are said to possess the vices of both with the good qualities of neither. they are the class from which the thieves and beggars of mexico are recruited. one writer says, 'a lepero is a thief from infancy, and is able to steal as soon as he leaves his mother's arms.' the chief of police says that nine out of ten of the men and boys selling lottery tickets or newspapers on the streets are thieves and pickpockets, and their legitimate business is simply a cloak for the illegal one.
"another authority says that on the line of the mexican railway from vera cruz to the capital nothing that two men can lift is left out-of-doors after dark. all car-couplings must be carried into the stations; and the rascals used to steal the spikes that held the rails to the ties until the company adopted the plan of riveting them to the rails after they were driven into place.
"brantz meyer tells about an englishman who was walking along one of the principal streets of mexico, when he suddenly felt his hat rising from his head. he
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looked up and saw it sailing towards the window from which the thief had caught it by the dexterous use of a hook.
"another story that he tells is about a mexican who was stopped on the road by three others, who robbed him of his cloak. they told him to wait where he was and he would be able to make something by doing so; out of curiosity he waited, and in a little while an accomplice of the thieves came and handed him a pawn ticket. he accompanied the gift with a graceful bow, and explained that the cloak had been pawned for thirty dollars. 'we wanted the money and not the cloak,' the thief explained, 'and as the garment is worth at least a hundred dollars, you can redeem it and make seventy dollars by the transaction.'
"there was once a lepero who pretended to be converted by the preaching and teaching of a missionary, and the good man gave him employment as janitor of the church. one day an organ was delivered at the church, and the missionary appointed a time when it should be exhibited to his friends. the party assembled accordingly, and the missionary
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was surprised to find that the janitor was absent. he was still more surprised when he found that the organ had followed the janitor's example and was missing. the janitor had carried it away during the night to a neighboring empeño, and pawned the instrument for whatever he could obtain on it."
a society belle.
we may add to frank's account of this gentry that the brigands were of the lepero class, though very often they had leaders of a higher rank in life. the government has executed a good many of them in its efforts to break up the system of highway robbery, and altogether the natural instincts of the leperos have been greatly curbed in recent years. they are almost always armed with either knife or pistol, and make ready use of these weapons on frequent occasions. at nearly every festival or assemblage of any kind, fights among leperos form a part of the proceedings. it is not customary to interfere between the combatants, the bystanders forming a circle and looking calmly on until one of them falls.
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a mexican grandee.
fred laid aside his pencil and note-book, while frank closed the volumes he had consulted. this done, the youths went out for a stroll, intending to submit the result of their labors to the doctor when next they met him.
a sermon in the church.
their walk took them to the church of san domingo, which was once a magnificent building, but has suffered greatly in its proportions and decorations in recent years. it was the church of the dominican order of priesthood, and had a large convent near it. the convent, or more properly monastery, has been destroyed, and the church has lost some of its parts by reason of the extension of streets which were needed for the business of the city.
church of san domingo.
close to the church is the school of medicine, which is partly supported by government and partly by fees received from the students. the building was interesting to frank and fred because it was once the tribunal of the inquisition, which was established in mexico in 1571, and suppressed in 1813. immediately after the suppression of the inquisition the building was converted into a prison; afterwards it was the office of the government lotteries, and then a barrack for soldiers. the mexican congress met here for a time; and in 1854 the building was adapted to its present use as a school of medicine.
one day the youths accompanied doctor bronson in a visit to the school, and while he was busy with medical matters they accompanied their guide in looking up the few traces that remain of the inquisition. some of the cells where prisoners were confined were shown to them, and also the room where they were tried. after their return from the inspection the youths tried to obtain a full history of the inquisition, but were unsuccessful. doctor bronson told them that no satisfactory and impartial history of it had ever been written, all the works that have appeared on the subject being either very hostile or very friendly.
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"briefly we may say," added the doctor, "that the inquisition was formally established in the thirteenth century, and came to an end in the first part of the nineteenth; but trials and punishment for heresy had taken place as early as the fourth century. the inquisition was more powerful in spain than in any other country of europe; and it never had any hold of consequence outside of spain, italy, and france, and the colonies of spain. one historian (llorente) says that during the whole period of the spanish inquisition—from 1483 to 1808—31,912 persons were burned alive, 17,659 were burned in effigy, and 291,456 were subjected to rigorous pains and penalties. the accuracy of his statements is doubted, prescott considering them greatly exaggerated and his figures most improbable; and other writers share prescott's opinion.
"the decree by which the inquisition was established in mexico especially exempted the indians from its operations, and thereby secured its popularity among them, as the public burning of spanish and other heretics afforded much amusement to the natives, and was a sort of substitute for the human sacrifices of the aztecs, which the conquest had abolished. the mexican inquisition was under the special charge of the dominican order, the same as in spain, and hence was associated with the church of san domingo.
"there is," continued the doctor, "a popular misapprehension concerning the auto-da-fé, or profession of faith. it is generally believed to be the burning of the condemned, whereas the auto-da-fé was simply the
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public ceremony that followed the secret trial by the inquisition. the members of the tribunal, and all others assembled with them, made a public auto-da-fé, or profession of their faith in christianity and the doctrines of the church. after this was done the list of the condemned was read, together with the punishments accorded to them, and then the victims were handed over to the civil authorities for punishment. the trial and sentence were the work of the church, but the punishment was that of the civil power only.
"the first auto-da-fé in mexico was in 1574, when 'twenty-one pestilent lutherans' were burned, and from that time on the public burnings were frequent. how many people perished in these affairs is not known; but it must not be understood that all the victims who suffered were burned alive. in most instances, even where the body of the condemned man was burned, he was killed by strangling; thus in one case where fifteen persons perished, fourteen were first strangled, and only one was burned alive. the penalty of death by burning was visited only upon heretics and sorcerers.
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"and here," added the doctor, "is a photograph of four victims of the inquisition, whose skeletons were found in the wall of the building which was the seat of the tribunal in mexico. they are supposed to have been built into the wall at the time of its construction, but nothing is actually known concerning them.
torture chamber.
"the trials of accused persons were always held in secret; the unfortunates were not permitted to see their accusers, or even know their names. the punishments were death by fire or on the scaffold, imprisonment for life or shorter terms, with or without hard labor, forfeiture of property, civil infamy, and in mild cases public retraction and penance. accused persons might be tortured to make them confess their guilt, and an accomplice might be a witness against an accused individual."
"what a horrible system!" exclaimed frank.
"yes," replied the doctor, "but you must remember that it was very nearly the same form of procedure as that of the civil tribunals of the
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same countries and times, and not unlike what is known in some parts of the world at the present day. and, furthermore, remember that while the inquisitors of spain and mexico were doing the deeds which have been proven against them, persecution was by no means unknown in england and america. perhaps at the very hour when a victim of the inquisition was being put to death in mexico, the christian people of salem, massachusetts, were hanging somebody accused of being a witch, or the english puritans, under cromwell, were putting charles i. to death!"
