The Project Gutenberg eBook, Mexico and Her People of To-day, by Nevin O. (Nevin Otto) Winter, Illustrated by Nevin O. Winter and C. R. Birt

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MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE OF TO-DAY

Uniform with This Volume

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L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
53 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass.

A BELLE OF TEHUANTEPEC ([See page 180])

MEXICO AND
HER PEOPLE
OF TO-DAY

AN ACCOUNT OF THE
CUSTOMS, CHARACTERISTICS, AMUSEMENTS,
HISTORY AND ADVANCEMENT
OF THE MEXICANS, AND THE DEVELOPMENT
AND RESOURCES OF THEIR
COUNTRY

BY
NEVIN O. WINTER

ILLUSTRATED FROM ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS
BY THE
AUTHOR and C. R. BIRT

New Revised Edition

BOSTON
L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY
MDCCCCXII

Copyright, 1907,
By L. C. Page & Company
(INCORPORATED)

Copyright, 1912,
By L. C. Page & Company
(INCORPORATED)

Entered at Stationers’ Hall, London
All rights reserved

Second Impression, May, 1908
Third Impression, June, 1910
New Revised Edition, January, 1912

Electrotyped and Printed by
THE COLONIAL PRESS
C. H. Simonds & Co., Boston, U.S.A.

TO
My Mother
AND THE MEMORY OF
My Father

PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION

Since the first publication of “Mexico and Her People of To-day,” Mexico has seen stirring times, and there has been a radical change in the government. Revolution again broke forth, and the long dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz has ended. These conditions have made advisable a completely revised edition of this work, which the public and the press have stamped with their approval to a degree that has been most pleasing. To both public and press the author desires to return his most sincere thanks, and he has in this revision endeavoured to be as accurate and painstaking as in the original preparation. Furthermore, another trip to that most interesting country has enabled the author to give a description of a section but briefly treated in the previous edition. New appendices have been added, consisting of a bibliography and a few suggestions for those contemplating a trip to Mexico.

Nevin O. Winter.

Toledo, Ohio, January, 1912.

PREFACE

Many books have been written about Mexico, but several of the best works were written a quarter of a century ago and are now out of print. This fact and the developments of the past few years leads the author to believe that there is a field for another book on that most interesting country; a book that should present in readable form reliable information concerning the customs and characteristics of the people of Mexico, as well as the great natural resources of the country and their present state of development, or lack of development.

It has been the aim of the author to make a complete and accurate presentation of the subject rather than to advance radical views concerning and harsh criticism of our next-door neighbours. With this idea in mind he has read nearly every prominent work on Mexico and Mexican history, as well as other current periodical literature concerning that country during the two years devoted to the preparation of this volume. It is hoped that the wide range of subjects, covering the customs, habits, amusements, history, antiquities, and resources will render the volume of value to any one interested in Mexico and her progress.

If this volume shall aid in any way to a better understanding of Mexico by Americans, or in furthering the present progressive movement in that country, then the author will feel amply repaid for the months of labour devoted to its preparation.

The author wishes to make special acknowledgment of obligation to his friend Mr. C. R. Birt, his companion during the greater part of his travels through Mexico, and to whose artistic sense in selection and grouping the excellence of many of the photographs herewith reproduced is due.

Toledo, Ohio, September, 1907.

CONTENTS

CHAPTERPAGE
I.Aztec Land[1]
II.Across the Plateaus[22]
III.The Capital[46]
IV.The Valley of Anahuac[74]
V.The Tropics[90]
VI.A Glimpse of the Oriental in the Occident[111]
VII.The Isthmus of Tehuantepec[128]
VIII.In the Footsteps of the Ancients[144]
IX.Woman and Her Sphere[162]
X.The Peon[183]
XI.Customs and Characteristics[201]
XII.Holidays and Holy-days[225]
XIII.A Transplanted Sport[243]
XIV.Education and the Arts[257]
XV.Mines and Mining[274]
XVI.Railways and Their Influence[290]
XVII.Religious Forces[308]
XVIII.Passing of the Lawless[328]
XIX.The Story of the Republic[343]
XX.The Guiding Hand[369]
XXI.The Revolution of 1910[396]
XXII.The Sierras and Beyond[415]
XXIII.The Ruined Cities of Yucatan[438]
XXIV.The Present and the Future[456]
Appendices[479]
Index[485]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
A Belle of Tehuantepec ([See page 180])[Frontispiece]
Snow-capped Popocatapetl[4]
General Map of Mexico[6]
An Indian Maiden[10]
“The Land of Burros and Sombreros”[22]
Market Scene in San Luis Potosi[30]
Cock-fighting in Mexico[33]
The Maguey[41]
Map of the Valley of Mexico[46]
The Patio of an Old Residence[48]
The Cathedral[60]
A Picturesque Pulque Shop[66]
The Calendar Stone[77]
Scenes on the Viga Canal[82]
Castle of Chapultepec[86]
Bridge at Orizaba.—The Buzzards of Vera Cruz.—Avenue of Palms, Vera Cruz[98]
An Indian Home in the Hot Country[104]
Rice Culture[109]
The Aqueduct, Oaxaca.—A Fountain in Oaxaca[116]
The Market-women of Oaxaca.—The Pottery-market, Oaxaca[118]
Crossing the River on Market-day[121]
The Market, Tehuantepec[132]
Entrance to the Underground Chamber, Mitla.—North Temple, Mitla.—Hall of the Monoliths, Mitla[157]
A Zapoteco Woman[161]
“Playing the Bear”[170]
Washing on the Banks of a Stream[177]
A Peon and His Wife[184]
A Cargador[198]
Making Tortillas[215]
A Mexican Market[218]
Candy Boy and Girl[220]
Burning an Effigy of Judas at Easter-time[233]
Candle Booths in Guadalupe[240]
Beggars of the City of Mexico[242]
Planting the Banderillas[250]
An Aztec Schoolgirl[266]
Peon Miners at Lunch[280]
Along the Mexican Southern Railway[300]
Wayside Shrine with an Offering of Flowers[312]
A Rurale[332]
Army Headquarters, City of Mexico[336]
A Village Church[364]
A Company of Rurales[370]
Sr. Don Francisco I. Madero[411]
A Group of Peons[419]
Tarahumari Indians[421]
Crumbling Ruins of the Ancient Mexican Civilization[441]
An Old Church[451]
Primitive Transportation[457]
Primitive Ploughing near Oaxaca[465]