AT TUXTLA GUTIERREZ
(1901)
We knew that Governor Pimentel was not at home, having met him in Coalzacoalcos, where we had presented our official letters, and had received from him a communication to his Lieutenant-Governor, Lopez. Having spent the afternoon in settling and cleaning, I called in the evening upon Governor Lopez and explained my needs. After chatting a little time together, he inquired whether I had not made the steamboat journey from Coalzacoalcos to Vera Cruz in March, 1896, and, upon my answering in the affirmative, told me that we had been fellow-travellers on that occasion. He promised that there should be no delay, and made an appointment with me for the morning. I then called on Don Conrado Palacios, who lived directly opposite our little tavern, and who claimed that he recognized me the moment I dismounted from our cart this morning. He is still photographer, but for three years of the time since last we met has been living in the State of Vera Cruz, and but lately returned to Tuxtla. In the morning, Governor Lopez supplied the letters for my further journey, and summoned the jefe politico and the presidente of the city and gave them personal orders that they were to assist, in every way, my work at Tuxtla, among the Zoques. The jefe himself took charge of my arrangements, put his office at my disposition for a workshop, and the work began at once. Contrary to my usual experience, we had less difficulty in securing female subjects here than male. The male indians of Tuxtla are, in large part, employed in contract labor on fincas at a distance from the town. According to their contract, they are not subject to the order of local authorities, and may not be summoned without permission of their employers, or a pecuniary settlement with them. The first day, more than half the women were measured, and the second day, the rest. As is well known the women of Tehuantepec are famous for their beauty. It is not so well known that rivalry exists between them and the women of Tuxtla in this matter. This rivalry had been called to our attention on our preceding visit, and we found that it had in no wise abated. Personally, we saw no comparison between the two sets of women, the Tehuantepecanas being far superior. Eustasio, however, ungallantly and unpatriotically declared that he thought the women of Tuxtla the handsomer; however, we suspect that Eustasio would find the women of any town he might be in, the champions in beauty for the time being. Their dress is picturesque. The enagua is made of two strips of dark blue cloth, sewed together, side by side, with a fancy stitching of colored silks. The free borders are also decorated with similar stitching, and the ends of the strip, which is usually more than two yards in length, sewn together with similarly decorative needlework. In fastening this garment about the body, no belt is used. The open bag is gathered in about the waist, the surplus is folded into pleats in front and the overlap, at the upper edge, is so tucked in as to hold the garment tightly in place, and at the same time form a pouch, or pocket, in which small articles are carried. The little huipíl, worn upon the upper body, is of thin, white cotton cloth, native-woven, but a neat and pretty stuff; there are no sleeves, and the neck-opening and arm-slits are bordered with pleated strips of cotton, worked with black embroidery. A larger huipíl is regularly carried, but we never saw it in use; practically, it never is worn. If put in place, it would form a garment for the body, with the neck-opening and sleeves bordered with lace, and the lower edge reaching to the knees. The woman carries this garment with her, folding it into a sort of pad, which she places on her head, letting it hang down upon the back and shoulders. Upon this cushion, the woman carries a great bowl, made from the rind of a sort of squash or pumpkin, in which she brings her stuff to market. These vessels are a specialty of the neighborhood, being made at Chiapa; they are richly decorated with a lacquer finish, of bright color. In carrying a baby, the child is placed against one side of the body, with its little legs astride, one in front and one behind, and then lashed in place by a strip of cloth, which is knotted over the woman's opposite shoulder. Almost every Zoque woman is asymmetrical, from this mode of carrying babies, one shoulder being much higher than the other. Among the subjects measured, was a woman notable in several ways. She was the fattest indian woman we had ever seen; she was the richest of her kind, and not only were her garments beautiful in work and decoration, but she was gorgeous with necklaces, bristling with gold coins and crosses; more than this, she was a capital case of purple pinta. The disease is common among the indians of the town, and, while both the red and white forms are found, purple seems to be the common type. Sometimes the face looks as if powder-burned, the purple blotch appearing as if in scattered specks; at other times, the purple spots are continuous, and the skin seems raised and pitted.
ZOQUE MODE OF CARRYING BABIES; TUXTLA GUTIERREZ
FAT, RICH, AND PIXTA; TUXTLA GUTIERREZ
It appears that the adjusting of family quarrels and disputes between friends are among the duties of the jefe. In the office that day, a quarrel was settled involving two young men related by blood and by comradeship; a woman and a man of middle age were also interested; the quarrel had been a serious one, involving assaults, ambushes, and shootings. The jefe first summoned each of the four persons singly, going over the whole matter with each one; the more intelligent of the two combatants was first to be reasoned with; then the woman was called in and he and she were left together in the office. For a long time, they would not even speak to each other. Finding this condition, the jefe reasoned with them, and warned them that they must come to some conclusion, after which he left them to themselves again. At first they would not speak, but finally held a conversation, and came to an understanding; the old man was then called in and made to talk the matter over with the two, who had already been in conference. Lastly, the more belligerent youth was summoned, the jefe remaining in the room with the whole party. At first he would not speak, but finally his pride and anger gave way, and he shook hands with his cousin, and the whole party left, after promising the jefe that the past should be forgotten.
The first afternoon that we were working, a curious couple came to the jefe's office. The woman was not unattractive, though rather bold and hard in bearing. She was dark, pretentiously made-up, and rather elegantly dressed. The gentleman was a quiet, handsome fellow, dressed in sober black. When they sailed in, I supposed they were the jefe's personal friends. Sitting down, they showed interest in my work, and the lady in a rather strident voice, but with much composure, addressed us in English. Her knowledge of our language, however, proved to be extremely limited, being confined to such expressions as "How are you, sir?" "I am very well," "Yes, sir," "No, sir," and "I know New York." She was a mystery to the town, where she was commonly called "the Turkish lady."
ZOQUE WOMEN; TUXTLA GUTIERREZ
THE INDIAN ALCALDES; TUXTLA GUTIERREZ
This nickname, her limited knowledge of English, and her boasted acquaintance with New York, aroused the question, in my mind, whether she might not have been an oriental dancer. She, herself, told us that she was born in South America, and referred to Caracas, as if it were a place with which she was familiar. The jefe was extremely polite in his dealings with these people, and, as soon as they were seated, rang his bell for glasses, and we all drank the lady's health in cognac. The fact was, that these two persons were prisoners; they had come here within a few days, and had the city for a prison; as they had made no effort to leave the town, their movements were not interfered with, but if they had attempted to step outside the city limits, they would have been shot without a word of warning. The jefe himself did not know who they were, nor what crime they had committed; nor did he know how long they would remain in his custody; they had come a weary journey, as he put it, "along the Cordillera;" they had been passed from hand to hand, from one jefe to another; when the order came, he was to start them on their journey to the jefe of the next district. Of the many stories told regarding them, a few will serve as samples. She was said to be the wife of a wealthy merchant of Campeche, from whom she had eloped with her companion, carrying away $150,000. According to another view, they were connected with an important band of forgers and robbers, who had been carrying on extensive operations. The most minutely detailed story, however, was that she had been the mistress and favorite of Francisco Canton, Governor of the State of Yucatan; that, pleased with a younger and handsomer man, she had stolen $7,000 from His Excellency, and attempted an elopement; that, captured, they were being sent as prisoners, nominally to Mexico. Whether any of these stories had a basis of fact, we cannot say, but from remarks the prisoners themselves made to us, we feel sure that the centre of their trouble was Mérida, and that, in some way, they had offended the pompous governor. At all events, it is likely that, long before these words are written, both have met their death upon the road. It is a common thing for prisoners, passing along the Cordillera, to be shot "while attempting to escape from their guard."
The jefe politico of this district is a man of education, and professional ability; he is a physician, trained in the City of Mexico; he is ingenious in mechanics, and has devised a number of instruments and inventions of a scientific kind. He had been but a short time in this district, having come from Tonala, where he has a finca. He entertained us at his house, while we were there, and showed us every assistance. It is plain, however, that he found us a white elephant upon his hands. Not that his willingness was lacking, but where should he find one hundred indian men? We pestered him almost to death for subjects, when at last his secretario suggested the district jail. This was a veritable inspiration. There they were sure we would have no difficulty in finding the remainder of our hundred. To the jail we went, but out of seventy-five prisoners fully half were Tzotzils from Chamula and not Zoques. More than half of the remainder were not indian, but mestizos. In fact, out of the total number, only a baker's dozen served our purpose. When we again presented ourselves, the following morning, for subjects, the poor man was in genuine desperation. But again his assistant made a shrewd suggestion. Yesterday we were at the jail; to-day we should go to the cuartel, and measure the soldiers. There were two hundred there, and this would more than see us through. The jefe himself accompanied us to the barracks and introduced us to the colonel, leaving orders that we should be supplied with every aid, and went off happy, in the sense of a bad job well done. But out of the two hundred soldiers in the barracks, just ten turned out to be Zoques of pure blood. And long before the day was over, we were again clamoring at the jefe's house for thirty-six more subjects. To tell the truth, we doubted his ability to secure them, and, in order to lose no time, started our goods and plaster by carreta for San Cristobal. Still, while it was plain that he did not know where to look for help, the good man assured us that we should have our thirty-six subjects the next morning. Meantime, he sent officials with us to visit certain indian houses which we desired to examine, and arranged that we should see a certain characteristic indian dance at his house, at four o'clock that afternoon.
Tuxtla Gutierrez is a capital city. It is also a busy commercial centre. Of course, the population is for the most part mestizo, and not indian. We had been surprised at finding so many indians in the city as there were. We were yet more surprised to find to what extent the houses of the city, though admirably built, were truly indian in style, presenting many points of interest. The walls of the "god-house" were heavy and substantial, smoothly daubed with mud, neatly plastered and often adorned with colored decorations. The "cook-house," slighter and less well-built, was made of poles daubed with mud, and rough with heavy thatching. The granary was elevated above the ground, and sheltered with its own neat thatching.
In the afternoon, at four o'clock, we betook ourselves to the jefe's house to see the dance. At Tuxtla, there are two town governments, that of the mestizos and that of the indians. The indian officials—"alcaldes indios"—are recognizable by their dress, which is a survival of the ancient indian dress of the district. Their camisa, broad hat, and leather breeches, are characteristic. Around the head, under the hat, they wear a red cloth, and those who have served as indian alcaldes continue to wear this head-cloth after their official service ends. These indian officials had been commissioned to bring together the dancers, and make all necessary arrangements. The colonel, the prisoners of state, and one or two other guests were present. The leader of the dance was gaily dressed, in a pair of wide drawers with lace about the legs below the knee, a pair of overdrawers made of bright-colored handkerchiefs, and a helmet or cap of bright-red stuff from which rose a crest of macaw feathers, tipped with tufts of cotton. On his back, he bore a kind of pouch, the upper edge of which was bordered with a line of macaw feathers. In his hand, he carried a wooden war-axe. A pretty little girl, dressed in a Guatemaltec enagua, wore a fancy head-dress, and, in her hand, bore a jícara, which was filled with pink carnival flowers. These two dancers faced each other and in dancing moved slowly back and forth, and from one foot to the other; the only other dancers were two men, one of whom was dressed as, and took the part of a woman. This couple danced in much the same way, but with greater freedom than the chief persons, and at times circled around them. The music consisted of a violin and native pito or pipe, and a drum of the huehuetl type,—cut from a single cylindrical block, but with skin stretched over both ends instead of one.
I was surprised the following morning when thirty-six subjects were produced; we knew that, for the moment, the building operations of the government palace were discontinued, and we suspected that all the work done by indians in Tuxtla was likewise temporarily ceased. When the last one had passed under the instruments, the jefe heaved a sigh, rang his bell for glasses, and the event was celebrated by a final draught of cognac.
ZOQUE DANCERS; TUXTLA GUTIERREZ
TZENDALS FROM TENEJAPA; COLD HANDS
The man with whom we had expected to arrange for animals had promised to come to the hotel at seven. He came not then, nor at half-past, nor at eight, nor at nine. When we sent an inquiry, he made the cool reply, that it was now too late to arrange matters; that he would see us at eight the following morning. Furious at his failure, we ourselves went with the boy from the hotel at ten o'clock to his house, but could not get him even to open the door. "To-morrow! To-morrow!" was his cry. Desperate, we went, although it was now almost midnight, to another arriero, who, after some dickering, agreed to leave at eight the following morning, charging a price something more than fifty per cent above the usual rate. Of course he was behindhand, but we actually set out at nine.