Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1906)
ii v ii 1; FLOWING" 5 "THE w. F. WOODWARD, who miid midwinter trip to M" lc. Mturnlnf -a few week (co. brought back with him fund of Inureetlnt informa tion nd many atorlca of life In that quaint ciSuntrjr. Mr. Wood wwfft-trip embraced vtalta to various point of In terest In the republic and he sJso tare considerable attention to stud ring an cient landmarks and learning of some of the legends and myths connected with them. He also Investigated the present . A ti innntrv and in U K 7 CVIlUltivilB - , hts visits to . out-of-way plaoes studied the natives in all their plctur squeness. " - ' In deecriblng the trip Mr. Woodward laid: "On the way to Mexico no ne ahoutd fall to visit the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. . It is a sight that cannot be described. No words can ever paint . ma - ...'1. ...t.U.il' nnllf in picture ""'u' doe it masalvenesa startle you but the coloring Is most gorgeous.- Tn gran Aaar of the canyon 1 at once overpower- in- and awe-inspiring. I saw men there who would never confess to weeping at nhvalcal or mental rain, yet in the sight at thla aoraeous outlay of nature' hn- 4lnrk tears ran down their cheeks. The American DeoDle do not appreciate the wonders of that wonderland. If they did it would be visited by more tourists annually than now go to Eu rope. Instead of reading in the papers r the lack of steamship accommodation n kunim we would be reading of the lack of train to carry people to the Grand canyon, - . "How about Mexico?. ; Well It I a wonderful country- Not only wonderful for its richness. An mine, agricultural and natural resources, but wonderful In It ways. Wonderful because it way are so ancient. Wonderful because the modI hare not progressed when they have their home in a country with so many advantages and great natural re sources. It is rich in history and one tan appreciate this wealth when they have traveled through It and learned of the many interesting things Inonneo- Hnn with some of the historic buildings till standing. W visited the ruin ot a number ot Altec cities and villages. When you look upon what these wonder fuf neonle wrought In that age, you can not fail to be Impressed with the fact h h mint hm nnaaeesed a hlaher stat of, development than Is generally attributed to them. The handiwork on enme of their nalace Is truly marvelous but not more wonderful than, their power to ereot auob palace. , ( II WMEXKVCITY300 VRS. OLD. "It 1 the past history of Mexico that holds many attractions for th visitor. Take for Instance some of th cathe drals. They are truly remaraaoie. was much Interested in the construction a th rnhfa of aoma of the edifices. They are constructed of til brick. 1 a material a auraoi as iioiw. u foundation and method of support show no mall degree or engineering in fact although erected hundreds of year ago they how much skill from an engineering standpoint a doe th con struction of the modern skyscraper. 'In connection with these roofs I came across on Interesting story- Cen turies ago when the contractor nan xin i.hxt a massive cathedral he had soma nlitta about the roof standing. . He the usual oroc under It but for Bom reason th substano used did not seem to hi mind .to form iut right Fearing a collapse n nssnnea 10 opain said everything was all right and the good brother accepted th structure. Th nrona were anowea r remain causa every on was afraid to remove them. Finally a plan wa hit upon; It was to remove th post and yet run no risk of any one losing tneir ure. i o accomplish thla fire were tartd around each post and then every one hurried from the building. Th post burned away and th roof etood. the contractor having wrought better than he and the brother had thought Th church 1 stilt standing, in ezceueni condition and likely to endure for can tries. " . In hi travels In Mexico on Interest ing matter in connection with , the churches Mr. Woodward learned wa th history of th churches at Queretaro. To the town belongs a tradition that 1 one of th richest In Mexico, it is a kind of a David and Oollath affair. The tradition Is to th effect. that Bnanlnh nobleman had a call or a dream that he wa to convert th people of that section to Christianity, lie or. eanlmed aa anar dnd took along with hi olilera eeveral priest to baptls th converts. Coming to Queretaro he troposed to th people that they should elect champion ta meet an equsl num ber to be chosen by himself, and prom- Is to ablda by the result of th fight between the ehamplon. If th Bpn Ish should gala - victory th people should submit to baptism and abandon the worship of Asteo idols; if th peo ple's champion won, th Spaniard would withdraw and leave Queretaro a they found It Th fight raged all day. , It wag a Aand-te-hana eootUot aodaUU r.LCCir cui.day joutjtat; roTLAfrp, sunday n n i ay me 1 1 A- TRSNjSLT Photographs by Mr. Woodward. height there suddenly appeared In the sky th form of the .blessed Santiago, and near him a red cross. This vision put an and to th battle. The people of Queretaro. yielded and begged the serv ice of th priests. ' They erected a stone cross on the spot where the fight occurred and in th Church of Santa Crus at Queretaro can now be een the original stone cto.- t " " In aneaklna- of the tradition ana ie- gends surrounding the churches of Mex- co Mr. Woodward says may are " in teracting, and they hav a great hold on the Imagination of the people, a ort of a uperatltlou fear being prevalent ThY Mexican Plata, The plesa In Mexico," say Mr. Woodward, "la a . great Institution. Every town, in fact I should say every hamlet, ha It plasa, but In th larger place it I a great point of Attraction. In th Cities, ana particularly toe ww of Mexico, great, car I taken to pro vide these pretty places or recreation for the people. The plasa Is the proper ty nf avervbodv. me pudiio ouuaiuas. whinh include the principal church and a government building, face on the plasa.' In these plasa are plat of rail, aalm trees. Diant ana iiuwrrm, u I th center of everything, and to the middle la generally a banastano, rrom which In th larger cttlea, muslo is mMTA averv afternoon. - "Th streetcar service in Mexico is really a Joke: In fact; .nearly, all kinds ot traveling Is, except on th through tralna. Wa enjoyed a 40-mlle ride In a streetcar to Esperansa. It took us four hours. Our tickets called for first claas. but that seemed to mane no airierence, for we traveled after th third class. There are thre classes In -' Mexican travel. The first all foreigners and lead in Mexicans sstronlse: the second class Is for peons, and the third class for those who cannot afford the others. la making this 40-mlle trip th third class wsnt first, and w got the benefit of the dust kicked up by th mules. They ehsnge mule every 10 mile, and in r.v.lln the mule do travel, that is. for a mule; but It Is hard work for th driver. "Th 'mule is sn institution. In every nart of Mexico. Th country owe much to that abused animal. HI praises hav never been properly sung, nor hsv hi virtues been fairly recorded. Mexico could never have advanced th' little that It h without th help f th mule and hi Httl brother, th burro, Th driving of th mule, particularly t these etreetoars; which, by th way. are diacerded vehicle of St. Louis, la reslly an art On th part of th driver it I am constant hiss, whistle and Whip. Th mal doe not enj to aaind this. i n i(W3 . 1 and if it wa not for th ffort he put forth th mule would no aouot reei lighted. . :r ---;,;"" Mexican Travel. ' . "Traveling In Mexioo ha ora draw back and some advantage. Th eating stations along the road are fair, some of them being excellent, but when a native travels" he. does so wun au nis family and household effects. They go In the second class. For year th rail road company tried to. break up tn practice, but evidently ha given up In despair. If you go into a second-class coach you will find a Mexican occupy ing ne aeat. his Wire ana cnuaren an othr, or as many as neceesary. To the seat wilt probably be tle a pig. while one! of the-chlldren will hold a chicken or V dog. or some other part of the household effects. It may be pictur esque to go into a car filled "With smoke and hear the grunt of a pig. accompa nied by the crowing of a cock, or the barking of a dog. and I gueas yon would find a cow in the car If the cow. could be carried aboard. I made one visit to the seeond-claa coach, and that wa nough for me. "The same condition ' prevail prac tically In th markets. The good are spread on the ground where the dogs and other animals can run over them. To a convenient post th chickens are tied, for all chickens are sold allv In Mexico, and to another may Be tiea a ni nr some other animals, while strut ting through nearby street will the found the bussards. for the bussard la the scavenger In many of th cities. A fairly; good scavenger, but I prefer morning, aprii; v lizsl H 1 it V THB 1S' r XV V;.:- ;,;S, r- J for myself th man with the broom and hoe and a cart to carry away the refus that Is gathered. "Very little aavanc nas . oeen mui In aarlculturo In Mexico. Th plowing among th native I moat primitive end the wagon used look as ir tney migni hav done service In snclsnt Rome. The wheels arT solid. There i one advan tage In this and that is mere is no danger of tires coming off, for they have none. The plow Is the kind usually associated with the history of J.osepn and the famine In Egypt It Is simply a wedge-shaped piece of wood, which has beerr modernised by the- addition of a shoe of iron, wh ion over tn point, preventing it becoming dull too soon. Th plowing Is by oxen and much of th hauling 1 by th same power, but these oxen ar not yoked a in ths United States. Instesd of having the conventional yoke, which goes around th neck, th Mexican yoke consist of a beam whlcn is tied to tne animais horns. " . . "Pottery work is on of , th featnre of Mexican life. Almost every, village ha a potter and In the market place of th larger citlea much spec Is de voted to the al and barter of article of earthenware. Th pottery work. In fact.' is one of the ; meet intereatlng thinra I found In my tour and I would blvlit ur one vlaltlng Mexico to in veetlgate It, for they will learn much e intaraat and advantage. There I on curious cutom that t should hav mentioned In connection with trananortatlon facilities. On the carriage in th citlea are little r When on see tk flag up it In' thAt Um pal to Pn foe n. 1 1 11 . I i. '.mm, v ' -it; ..X. k v. 2 JL-fl-e ..r Sua A. POTTEICi" MV&KErX. There ere two colore a -blue one means first-class, and red flags second-class. The tram car are dealgnated by the same .colors. r Aztec Ruing. 7.'-'.'". " ' ,', "Th Asteo ruins and the cathedrals are th principal pieces of Interest to visit, and next to a study of th condi tions surrounding th natives, their methods of living, etc, the churches and ruins will attract the visitor. In visit ing out-of-way plsces, . or even places close to town, travelers cannot exercise too much caution. One of the best preaerved ruins wj visited is st MRU. about. 400 miles -south of th City of Mexico. Whst Is left of It I In an excellent stat of preservation. The color ar remarkable, and show but- few traces of. the wear and tear of centuries. Th government maintains guard at ell the various ruins and he acts as a guide. We descended Into th subterranean chamber of this ruin ' Ban way tattattos. From th New Tork Herald. Thst America leads the world In the number and efficiency of its railroads la of course common- knowledge. At the close of the last century North America had no lees than IJ0.S00 miles of track In. operation, while th total for Europe. Asia. Africa. Australia and South America was only a trifle greater about 170.000. The United States then hsd a mile of road for every Sftt Inhabitants, Europe ons for. every 1.147. end British India one for every 11.40. This country Invented the parlor, sleep ing and dining cars, th pressed steel freight esr. many ef the best features of the modern locomotive, the air brske, th automstlo coupler and a host of re lated devices, and It run th fastest longdistance tralna. One of the moot marvelous develop ment In th whole rsllroad system is that which has taken place at the head of a train In the laat TO years. The best locomotives today are about four times as long as the De Witt Clin ton (HID, a foot or two higher, have driver tht are tl r even 10) Inches tn diameter Instead of only 4, and carry n0 pounds of steam Inatead of only 0. 1 ut theae flsuree sftord n l1e ef the re-1 filn tha- has been effected in relative to the other fei . : I M grown ainorr t ul: it vf, .V , GONG TO V i MARKET, AT CALFNTZS jTf'&-1 IV..' -e- - H r iJ and It was rather an Interesting expert ence to be In halls which evidently In past sges had been the seen of gorgeou aplendorav -Th "Mexican government ha - been Investigating a number of the ruins, trying to learn something of the people who built such remerkabl structures, but these investigations hsve been discontinued for a time. ' At the . ruins at Mitla, in fact, at all th Asteo ruina, I kept a book, in which vlaltor register their names and any opinion, if they had one, regarding the building, or the rac which built it and ha dis appeared. At Mitla .recently, there ha been a very learned Chinese scholar and investigator; After writing his name he wrote that the ruin were very almllar to a number of ruin in northern China, conveying th impreaeion that the ancient people of north China and the Astecs were very the same, or at least uaed the same kind of construction and . decorations ttr the building ot temple and palace." . fc . : . th smokeetsck hss actually diminished In else. In the De Witt Clinton the smoke- plpo we a big the boiler. One doe tint :. realise what . modern science has done for thl type of en gine until he is told that It haa a pull of from It to 3v tons, as against 019 poundsl A locomotive bultt not long ago fof the Santa Fe weighed J3V - tons. Trevelhick's engine, built Juat a cwn tury ago,' weighed)' five! Stephenson's Rocket (11 was several hundred pounds lighter. Sven between 180 and I80 the sverage weight of a pssaenger locomotive wae JO tons and ot a fr1ght engine . At the close of the fiscal year - there were, in operation In th United State 1JI.W miles of track, or within 16.000 miles, of th total for North America. ' . Orowtfc ef Bngland. From the Baltimore American. Owing to the tbi'M urowtti of t United Htalee, the h Ian now spoken by p "0" t other civilised t" - " 000 peonie r " . Speek I r . ' i ' of the s t I 75. r pi.. J I
