the alameda of vera cruz.—tropical growths.—the palo de leche and its peculiarities.—a dangerous plant.—fountains and water-carriers.—governor's palace.—brief history of vera cruz.—pillaged by pirates and captured in wars.—fortress of san juan de ulloa.—horrors of a mexican prison.—excursion to jalapa.—the national bridge.—cerro gordo.—general scott's victory.—jalapa.—a city of mists.—staple products of the region.—jalap and its qualities.—pretty women.—peculiarities of the streets.—orizaba and perote.—new railway connections.—tampico and anton lizardo.—delayed by a norther.—departure by steamer.—farewell to vera cruz.
the walk of our young friends took them to the alameda, which proved unusually attractive, as it was filled with tropical plants and trees to which their eyes had not been accustomed in the upland region. they welcomed the palm-trees as old friends; the palm does not flourish in mexico at a greater elevation than 1500 feet above the level of the sea excepting under peculiarly favorable circumstances. the palms of vera cruz are finely developed, but they do not attain the size of those at medellin, twelve miles down the coast. medellin is a summer resort of the veracruzanos; they go there for recreation during the hot season, or at least such of them as cannot afford the longer journey to orizaba and the mountain regions.
many of the trees and bushes in the alameda were bright with flowers. as if there were not enough floral products growing in sight, several flower-sellers came around with their wares, which they persistently offered to the visitors. frank asked for the palo de leche, but the flower-sellers
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did not have it, though one enterprising dealer endeavored to substitute a common blossom in its place, with the gravest assurance that it was the article sought.
"i haven't heard of that flower before," said fred. "why were you asking for it?"
"i read about it last night," was the reply, "and had a curiosity to see what it was like."
"well, what did you read that was interesting?"
"the description said that the term palo de leche means simply 'milky plant,' and is applied to several plants from whose stems a milky substance exudes. we have the same kind of plant in the north, such as the milk-weed and its kindred. there are many varieties of the palo de leche in mexico, and they belong to the family of euphorbia.
"one kind is used by the indians for fishing; they throw the leaves into the water and the fishes are stupefied and rise to the surface, where they are easily taken before the effect of the narcotic has passed away. the same writer says that if the milk is thrown upon a fire it gives out fumes which produce nausea and severe headaches that often last for several hours. taken internally, the milk of some of the euphorbia is a deadly poison; it will produce death or insanity, according to the size and preparation of the dose or the condition of the person to whom it is administered. there is a popular belief among the mexicans that the insanity of the ex-empress carlotta was caused by this poison. while many deny this and point to the fact that she became insane after going to europe, they admit that the palo de leche is to be feared when in the hands of unscrupulous persons. on the other hand, it is claimed that the indians can so prepare and use the poison as to regulate the time at which it will cause death or insanity."
"if that is the case," replied fred, "it is no wonder that the flower-sellers do not deal in what you wanted. perhaps it would not be altogether safe for a mexican to ask for it, as he might be suspected of evil designs and bring the police nearer than would be comfortable."
the subject of palo de leche was dropped and the walk continued.
a coffee-carrier.
at a fountain they saw quite a group of men and quadrupeds, and a glance showed that the same system of water supply prevails here as in most other cities of mexico. water is carried by the aguadores either on their own backs or on those of donkeys. an aguador who possesses a donkey is an aristocrat in his line of business, and looks down upon the poor wretch who is obliged to be his own beast of burden. the mule and donkey are important animals at vera cruz, and a good part of the carrying business is in their hands—or on their backs.
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fountain at vera cruz.
frank and fred paused to look at the governor's palace, an imposing edifice of two stories with a high tower at one corner. there are wide balconies on each of the stories, where the occupants can sit in the shade and enjoy the cool breeze whenever it happens to blow. a drawback to sitting there is the presence of the mosquitoes, which fill all the space not taken up by the governor and his household. not only do the inhabitants of vera cruz maintain a constant warfare with mosquitoes, but they associate intimately with fleas, ticks, and other bodily annoyances. official station offers no exemption; the insect pests are indiscriminate in their attentions, and light on the brow of the governor or the general in command of the post just as readily as on that of the humblest peon. if there is any difference it is in favor of the peon, as his tougher skin renders him less inviting to the diminutive assailants.
the governor's palace.
"vera cruz has had an interesting history," wrote fred in his journal. "it was founded by cortez in 1519, who gave it the name of villa rica de la vera cruz (the rich city of the true cross). the original site was a little north of the present one, and altogether the location of the city
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has been changed three times. the last change occurred in the year 1600, and brought it to where the first buildings were erected by the spaniards before cortez made the formal location of what he intended as the maritime metropolis of the new world.
"the city has suffered in a great many ways. leaving out the annual visitation of yellow-fever, which we have already mentioned, it has had occasion to mourn the advent of buccaneers, pirates, hostile fleets and armies, and occasional conflagrations and hurricanes. in 1568, and again in 1683, it was sacked by pirates, and many of its inhabitants were killed. in 1618 it was nearly burned to the ground by a fire that broke out during a northerly gale. in 1822 and 1823 it was bombarded by the spaniards, who held the castle of san juan de ulloa, on the island opposite the city, in the struggle of the mexicans for independence. in 1838 it was bombarded by the french, and nine years later by the americans. the latter captured it by coming ashore on the beach some distance below the city and attacking it from the land side, so that the surrender was rendered imperative. some of the mexicans complained that general scott did not 'fight fair,' as he made his attack where they were least prepared for defence. evidently
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they expected him to march up to the muzzles of their guns instead of going around to the undefended rear of the city as he did.
"the shipping in the harbor was destroyed by a hurricane in 1856, and it has suffered serious damage in other years. president juarez was besieged here in 1859 by general miramon; two years later the city was taken by the french and imperialists, and remained in their hands until 1867, when the death of maximilian and the collapse of the empire restored it to mexican possession."
on the way to the fort.
after breakfast the party arranged to visit the fortress which stands on the island of san juan, already mentioned. at the mole, or pier, the only one of which vera cruz can boast, they hired a boat in which they were rowed to the fort; the distance is nearly a mile, and our friends were easily able to understand the unsafe character of the harbor of vera cruz. it is little better than an open roadstead; when high winds prevail landing from or embarking upon a steamer is impossible, and during heavy northers steamers sometimes put to sea for safety. there are no docks where vessels can lie; everything must be discharged or received by boats or lighters, and the uncertainties of the weather make the time of a steamer's departure very uncertain. the dangerous character of the harbor is said to cause the insurance companies to increase their rates when vera cruz is given as a vessel's destination.
"the fort is a grim-looking place," said frank; "its walls are thick enough to justify the belief of its builders that it was impregnable. whatever it may have been in ancient times, it is not of much consequence at
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present, and short work would be made of it by modern artillery. no attempt is made to keep it in condition to resist a determined attack, all the cannon which it possesses being of ancient date; many of these cannon would be quite as dangerous to the garrison as to the enemy in case they were discharged. the story goes that it cost so much to build the fort that the king of spain once called for a telescope, and pointed it at the west.
"'for what is your majesty looking?' inquired one of his officers of state.
"'i am looking for san juan de ulloa,' he answered; 'i have spent so much money on it that i ought to see the fort standing out on the western sky.'
"our guide pointed out some great rings of copper that were built into the wall of the fortress on the face next to the city. these rings were intended for ships to tie to under protection of the guns, but in the past two hundred years the water has become so shoal that only a small boat can come near enough to make any use of the fastenings. there are large court-yards inside the fort, where a whole regiment could parade, and the casemates are sufficiently capacious to hold a garrison six times as large as the government keeps here. parts of the walls are broken down, and no effort is made to keep them in repair. the chief use of the once celebrated fort is as a prison; they told us that about sixty or seventy prisoners were kept there, some of them being sentenced for life. we looked into some of the vacant dungeons, and thought them the most horrible places of imprisonment we had ever seen. they are badly ventilated, very little light can enter them, and the walls are damp and almost dripping with moisture. escape is out of the question, as the water around the island swarms with sharks, and a prisoner who should attempt to get away by swimming to the shore would be eaten by these monsters of the sea."
an excursion of a pleasanter character was made to the city of jalapa (ha-la-pa—a as in father); it should be called a journey rather than an excursion, as it consumed no less than three days. jalapa is seventy-four miles from vera cruz and 4000 feet above the sea, and one of the prettiest places in mexico. our friends were obliged to rise at a very early hour, as the train starts at 5 a.m.; they went by steam for sixteen miles to tejeria, and there changed to a tram-car, drawn by mules, for a ride of sixty miles. the old diligence-road between vera cruz and the capital passes through jalapa, but it is not much used since the completion of the railway.
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the national bridge.—robbing a coach.
general scott marched by that road, and the youths were on the watch for el puente nacional, or the national bridge, where he was sharply resisted by the mexican army. it is thirty-five miles from vera cruz, and is an immense viaduct, built in the early part of the present century, when the road to the capital was begun. in the happy days of brigandage it was the favorite spot for stopping coaches and plundering passengers; many a traveller has given up his valuables at this spot, under the potent influence of a pistol in the hands of a mexican "road-agent."
"sixty miles by mule-power was a long distance," said fred, "and we wondered how it was to be accomplished. the mules went along at a good pace, considering that it was an ascending grade; they were urged by the whip in the hands of the driver, and he was certainly not a merciful one, perhaps for the reason that the mules belonged to the railway company and not to himself. part of our ride was through a comparatively desert region, and we rejoiced that it was early in the morning while the sun was not high and hot. the train was composed of three cars; each car had four mules for its motive power, and the vehicles were divided into first, second, and third class. first class fare is $6.63; second class, $4.08; and third class not far from $2.00. my memorandum for
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third class is so blurred that i cannot make the figures out to a certainty. the mules were changed every two hours, and seemed very well satisfied when their terms of service were ended.
sketched at rinconada.
"we stopped at rinconada, where we breakfasted, and changed mules for the second time, the first change having been made at the national bridge. the second station from rinconada was cerro gordo, where general scott defeated the mexicans in 1847. it is a narrow pass bordered by high hills, and connects the lowlands of the coast with the regions of the tierra templada. how an army could get through the pass in the face of anything like determined and intelligent opposition by a force superior in numbers, it is difficult to understand. an english writer who has visited the spot says of it as follows: 'that 10,000 americans should have been able to get through the mountain passes, and to reach the capital at all, is an astonishing thing; and after that, their successes in the valley of mexico follow as a matter of course. they could never have crossed the mountains but for a combination of circumstances.'
"after passing cerro gordo, in which we had no such difficulties as beset general scott, we found ourselves in a less tropical region than the one behind us. cornfields were numerous, and so were fields of barley; that we had not left the region of warmth altogether was evident by the
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sugar-cane and the coffee-trees that abounded in many places. they continued up to and into jalapa, whither our mules went at a gallop, and came to a halt about half-past four in the afternoon. twelve hours for a journey of seventy-four miles, up a slope of 4000 feet, and sixty miles of the distance by mule-power, isn't so bad after all.
part of jalapa.
"there was a drawback to the interest of the scene in the shape of a cloud of mist in which we were enveloped as we entered the city; but the wind swept it away and we had some beautiful views; then it came on again, to our aggravation, and in fact it kept up a sort of peep-show performance all the time we were there. they told us that a good deal of rain falls at jalapa, and when there is no rain there is generally a mist of more or less density. we were reminded of ireland and scotland, and in more ways than one; the mists that obstruct the view are the glory of jalapa in keeping everything green, even to our memory of it. it does not rain, nor is the sky obscured all the time, else there would be no ripening of fruit in the gardens; and the gardens of jalapa are among the finest in the world.
"the great staple of jalapa is coffee, but there is a large product of
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sugar; and as for plantains, bananas, mangoes, and similar fruits, they are to be had in abundance and for little more than the asking. we looked for that old-fashioned drastic medicine, jalap, which takes its name from the city, but were told it is no longer exclusively produced here. doctor bronson says the drug was introduced into england from mexico in 1609, and was in use for 200 years before the plant from which it came was known. it belongs to the same family as the 'four-o'-clock' of our gardens, and grows wild in the mountains in the neighborhood of jalapa. as this city was then the centre of commerce in this article, the name adhered to it, just as the name of calicut adhered to the cloth called calico, which originally came from that town of india.
"another staple for which jalapa is famous is pretty women; but so far as we have been able to observe, it has no monopoly of them against the other cities of mexico. they have been praised by many travellers, and there is a mexican saying that 'las jalapeños son muy halagüeñas' ('the women of jalapa are very charming.') we have seen many pretty faces, and if the weather had been uninterruptedly fine perhaps we could have seen more.
a narrow street.
"the streets resemble those of spain more than do any we saw in mexico, puebla, or vera cruz; they are narrow, crooked, and irregular, and separating
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solid old buildings with thick walls and heavily grated windows. the city has about 15,000 inhabitants, and there is said to have been an indian town here at the time of cortez's arrival. the houses cling to the hill-side as though afraid of falling off, and there is a good deal of uphill and down-hill in a walk through the streets; in fact it seems to be uphill no matter which way you go. an excellent feature about the streets is their cleanliness.
"another vegetable product of the region around jalapa is the vanilla, which was cultivated here long before the conquest. the indians had practically a monopoly of it at one time, but its cultivation has spread to other parts of mexico and central america, and also to distant countries. the best quality still comes from this part of mexico, and the indians show great skill in harvesting and curing the pods. the drying of the pods takes a long time, and if any mistake is made in the process, it greatly injures the value of the product.
"we had a fine view of the peak of orizaba and the famous mountain of perote, which, from its shape, is known as the cofre, or casket. at the base of this mountain is the town of perote, which was famous during the mexican war as the place where some americans were imprisoned. doctor bronson says there was a novel of that time called 'the prisoner of perote,' which had a very large circulation.
"downhill is easier than uphill all the world over, and nowhere more so than on a tram-way. we started from jalapa at seven in the morning, and went flying down the road, turning curves at a gallop, dashing on as though pursued by a nemesis or a pack of wolves, and raising clouds of dust wherever the roads were dry. our hair stood on end half the time—figuratively at least; and i wished the mules could have told us what they thought of such recklessness. we breakfasted again at rinconada, and at a little past four in the afternoon rolled into vera cruz."
jalapa is to be connected with puebla and the city of mexico by the interoceanic railway, perhaps before these words appear in print, as a part of the line is already built and work is being pushed on the remainder. as has been shown on previous pages, it is the intention to carry the railway through to the pacific ocean by making use of the line already completed from the capital to morelos and yautepec. another pacific line has been surveyed from puebla through the state of oajaca, and a part of the road has been built.
on their return trip from jalapa to vera cruz our friends made the acquaintance of a railway engineer who had been at work upon the line from tampico westward. he was enthusiastic about the future of
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tampico, and predicted that when the railway had formed its connection with the national and central lines vera cruz would be "out in the cold," as he expressed it. "tampico has," said he, "a harbor that can be greatly improved by dredging away a part of the bar, which is now dangerous; the town is five miles up a river, and affords the shelter which a ship cannot find at vera cruz. with the dredging i mentioned, the port can be used by the same class of vessels that now go to vera cruz. tampico will get all the business when the railway is completed and the line opened to the capital."
exterior of a church.
filled with the idea of the importance of tampico and the ruin that awaited vera cruz, before leaving the latter city frank had a conversation with an advocate of another port of future importance. the new claimant for commercial favors was anton lizardo, which lies some distance down the coast and was selected as the starting-point of the mexican southern railway. it is claimed to be in a healthy locality, and to have a fairly good harbor capable of improvement by the use of the dredge and the construction of piers at which vessels may lie. general grant was the president of the mexican southern railway, and since his death the enterprise has languished, and our friends were unable to learn that it showed any positive signs of activity.
it was doctor bronson's intention to leave vera cruz on the day following their return from jalapa, but his plans were rudely upset by a norther, which set in furiously and for two days cut off all communication
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with the ships in harbor or out of it. frank and fred climbed to the top of the highest tower they could find, and watched the waves breaking on the walls, and also on the long line of beach north and south of the city. at times the island of san juan de ulloa seemed to be half buried in the spray; the ships rose and fell unpleasantly as they tugged at their anchors, and some of them took the course of prudence and steamed away seaward. two or three small craft were torn from their moorings and driven ashore; that similar accidents may befall larger vessels was painfully evidenced by an english steamer which lay high and dry on the beach, where she had been wrecked in a norther a few weeks before.
but all things have an end, and so did the gale, which blew itself out after cleansing the city of all miasmatic impurities, and rendering it healthy for a while. the sea went down, and as soon as the steamer on which they were to leave had completed her cargo and was ready for sea, the travelling trio went on board. an hour later they were moving over the dark waters of the gulf of mexico, with their faces turned in the direction of the equator.